THE LORD'S DISPOSITION OF HIS PEOPLE FOR SERVICE

THE LORD’S DISPOSITION OF HIS PEOPLE FOR SERVICE

Mark 3:13 - 15; Mark 5:18 - 20; Mark 14:32 - 34; Mark 16:14; Mark 16:19,20

These scriptures instruct us as to the Lord’s disposal of those whom He can use in His service. I need not add that these include all His own; for although we may not be commissioned, yet as believers we are all held for service, and the obligation to serve in due course attaches to each believer. Moreover, a particular service is assigned by the Lord to each, so that these passages are to instruct the youngest amongst us as well as the oldest.

I would remark as to the young, that the work of God in them will always show itself in outward smallness, the Lord Himself being the example for us, from the outset of our spiritual history. We are told that in youthfulness He was in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors, not seeking out persons of His own age, but in the midst of the doctors. The young would do well to follow that as an example; and whilst not specially accrediting the doctors of Jerusalem, the suggestion is that they were persons who had knowledge; and at that stage of the Lord’s life such an attitude was seemly. He sat in the midst of them. He was not teaching them as yet.

It is well that the young people should learn how to sit in the midst of those who know more than they; not that that applies to our Lord, because He is a divine Person, but as an example He was sitting there, both hearing and asking questions. That is another important thing, because you may hear many things that are not quite clear to you, and it is well to ask questions. He sat there as the instructed, as He had ^[p. 2] referred to Himself in spirit in Isaiah 50. He was given the tongue of the instructed that He might speak a word to him that was weary, and then His ear was opened as the instructed. Such was the wonderful stoop of our Lord in becoming Man, His attitude was perfectly right and seemly in every stage of His blessed life here on earth. He both heard and asked questions. I am only referring to the Lord as an example. Understanding is a feature of the work of God in us, it implies ability to take in the thoughts presented. I speak to the young, that you may see how you are brought into this and learn how to be at the Lord’s disposal at all times. There is a beautiful word in 2 Samuel 23:8 about David’s mighty men, their names are given, they belonged to him, they were part of his great realm, his kingdom, and one feature was that he had them. “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had”. The position is that they were at his disposal.

Mark opens up this thought, having service in mind, for in the Lord’s time, the time of the apostles, and in every period since in the history of the assembly, the need of service has been great. Mark is specially intended to qualify us for service, so that it is a question of those whom the Lord has, and how He disposes of them. As you will see later in chapter 14, in the supreme crisis of His life He says to some, “Sit here”. It is important to learn how to sit, as the Lord tells some here to do. I am not now opening up the supreme crisis of His life, that is too great a subject to bring in subordinately, but only point out that they are at His disposal, as He says to some, “Sit here while I shall pray”: and then He takes three others with Him, and begins to be sorrowful and depressed. The scene is wonderful. He says, “Abide here and watch”. They are at His disposal. In the supreme crisis He places His own, with perfect ^[p. 3] wisdom. We cannot be in a better position than that assigned to us by divine wisdom.

In chapter 3 you will observe that He went up into a mountain, thus reminding His disciples that the service requires energy, it is not armchair service. You will note that there is nothing said at the outset about beds or sitting places in the tabernacle. It is a mark of decline, as, for instance, in 1 Samuel, where we are told that Eli the priest sat on the seat by the door post, and that he lay in the temple, and when the young Samuel was brought to the temple he also lay there. No provision is made for that in Exodus, so that it is not in accord with the tabernacle position. The first movement here in Mark indicates that they are not lying down in the temple, nor taking their ease as in the days of Haggai, but going up to the mountain. It requires energy of purpose and strength of heart to go up. You will observe: “he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him”.

In that position there are those whom He can call. If there be no energy, or if there be no purpose of heart, they will not go. And if the eye is not on Jesus there will be reluctance or refusal to go up, and a preference to sit down below where things are easier and where no energy is required. Whilst we may put much energy into other things, such as sports and business, we may fail in spiritual energy, and that is what counts. The mountain is not only moral elevation but it requires energy and purpose of heart to reach the top. The Lord is there. Why did He not take them up, why did He not call them on the plain? Surely there is a meaning in that. According to Luke, after appointing the twelve He comes down with them to the plain, where men are, but here the call is from the top, requiring purpose; and it says, “they came unto him, and he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to ^[p. 4] preach, and to have power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils”.

The thought of the position on the mountain and the obedient response to the Lord’s call, is easily understood. He called whom He would, it was His own selection. There is no call for volunteers here, that is not the principle on which the service of God is carried on; it is on the principle of sovereign selection. He knows those who are suitable, and He will make His own selection. They answered His call, and then it says, “he ordained twelve, that they should be with him”. We have to test our companionship as soon as this call is heard. The companionship is that of the Lord Jesus, to be with Him, “that he might send them forth to preach”.

There can be no competency in preaching apart from being with Him and coming under His influence, seeing how He does things. That is largely the purpose of the four gospels, in confirmation of the epistles and the great work of God in the twelve and in Paul — to set out the perfection of things in Christ, so that we might learn from Him. Whilst you may learn from Paul and others, the more you advance in the truth, the more you wish to arrive at the full divine standard, for that is the idea of the gospels — so that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach. Not only that, they must have power to heal diseases and cast out devils; the preaching must be accompanied with such power. You will understand that I am not speaking of the great miraculous powers granted to the disciples in the establishment of christianity in this world, but there is something akin to that, which must go with the preaching; for diseases in a spiritual sense are found now amongst the Lord’s people.

It is not so much today the question of preaching amongst the heathen, the work is now in the main amongst the Lord’s people; and diseases and the power ^[p. 5] of Satan are very prevalent, not in the sense of demon possession, for that is rare in christendom, though it is not rare in heathendom. Let us not forget, however, that this does not mean that satanic power is rare in Christendom (see Revelation 2:24). The Spirit of God calls attention to the “depths of Satan” in christendom. The agents of the devil are active about us, so that there must be something today, akin to the power to heal disease and cast out demons, to cope with satanic power. If you go out in the Lord’s service you must expect satanic opposition, and you have to learn how to cope with it. Before entering on His service the Lord entered the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. This is the first feature of what I have before me.

The next feature is that of one being left, at the Lord’s direction, in an isolated position. One always thinks with great sympathy of isolated saints. If one might refer to one’s own prayers, India, Ceylon, Egypt and Russia have the foremost place, because isolation, whether it be of one or of a few saints, exposes them to the bitter winds. Like the peak of a mountain range, the higher the summit the more exposure to the bitter cold winds. The heat of the earth below is not available there. The nearer we are to the company of christians the more protection and warmth we enjoy. Isolation exposes us, but the Lord knows that, and He provides for it. He knows what will stand the test before He makes His dispositions of His people. If He has put us in isolated places He has thought it out well, it is His placing.

In this country, called Decapolis, the place of ten cities, the inhabitants did not want the Lord. I need not remind you that the concentration of men, of human beings, means the concentration of evil, even now, alas! The formation of cities began with Cain, and found an answer in Babel and has gone on ever since. God has checked it from time to time, but ^[p. 6] there never has been such a time of cities as the present, and that means that evil has increased power in this world; so that Decapolis, the place of ten cities, is not without significance. It is a place of peculiar satanic power, and this man was in a terrible state, he is spoken of as “possessed by demons”, legion we are told. Luke enlarges on that, and that he came out of the city suggestive of what the cities are. You all know about this man, this incident is rightly one of the most used in the gospel.

The point in my mind is that when the Lord went into the ship to depart, and that at a time when the whole country was hostile to Him, there was no one favourable to Him at all, it was at that particular time that the man besought the Lord “that he might be with him”. You might say, ‘Surely the Lord will let him come with Him, what is there for him in this terrible place, ten cities, this place of concentrated evil? He will be overwhelmed with the power of Satan in this place’. We might say that, but the Lord thought differently; the word is that Jesus “suffered him not, but says to him, Go to thine home to thine own people, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for thee, and has had mercy on thee”. Then we are told that, “he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him; and all wondered”. What a result! He is not coming under the power of Decapolis. The Lord had made no mistake in this, He had this in mind in casting out the demons, and so in taking up each one of us, He has in mind to break the power of evil in us and that we might get a place assigned to us by Him.

Another thing is that this testimony is to be rendered in the very spot where, as under the power of the demons, the man had dishonoured God in the most dreadful way. Is that country to be left? Is he to be taken away out of it? No, beloved brethren, the idea is ^[p. 7] that if the demons are cast out you are to be left where you have been the vessel of the demons, to be a vessel under God’s power, that is the idea. One great feature of the assembly’s place in this world is that believers are taken up where they have lived in their sinfulness, to stand for God. There is nothing more said about this man and what became of him, or as to whether an assembly was formed in Decapolis, but there could be little doubt that there were assemblies formed there, for that is the end in view.

What is said is that he “began to proclaim”, we are not told when he ended. Heaven alone knows that, it is in God’s book. It is a fine example. He began, and all marvelled, that was the result. I have no doubt that this man continued to preach, and that not only did they marvel, but they would believe, there was a positive testimony in the man. The Lord says, “Go home to thy friends”, he was to go to those that knew him, “and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee”. That is the thing to get hold of, what one man can do. Think of a lone believer in Jesus standing up in a country where the people had recently asked the Lord to leave the place! Think of him standing up, in Decapolis, the place of ten cities, and telling men what Jesus had done for him! I would like this to sink into our hearts, because there should be a result in taking up any service for the Lord and coming under His disposal. The next thing is some little evidence that people can take account of. This case is remarkable, “all wondered”.

In chapter 14, we have the thing set out in the most striking manner. As I remarked, it is the supreme crisis of the Lord’s blessed life and service in this world. There will never be such a crisis as this again. It could only happen once; but it happened, and whilst it detains the heart, as no other passage does, in regard of our Lord in His untold sufferings, it affords remarkable instruction in regard of what I am saying,

^[p. 8] that the Lord is disposing of what is under His hand. You may say they were a poor lot. The sequel shows even the most select three of them went to sleep in the position to which they were assigned. It is remarkable that the Spirit of God should record this. He would never uncover the failure of a saint unless it may be used to preserve another saint from that failure. These dear men, Peter, James and John, bear the shame in that this record about them has been read by millions of christians. They would thankfully accept the shame, for it has been effective, in the Lord’s good hand, to save others from a like failure.

The word Gethsemane is used in this gospel, and in Matthew; it alludes to pressure, and let no one who essays to be under the Lord’s hand, hope to evade pressure, at least at some time. Gethsemane alludes to that; pressure after pressure will come, crisis after crisis in the history of the testimony will come, and the Lord will make dispositions of what may be under His hand. The best of them went to sleep, as we have seen. You might say, I would not have done that, but then that is just the point, you would have done that. That is what you and I are capable of naturally. These men were only samples, so that we should learn from them negatively, and see to it that we do not go that way. We have the Holy Spirit now, they had not then; so that they are a sample of what the flesh is capable of, but in the recognition of the Spirit of God come down from heaven, there is no need of this at all. We have the means, which they had not, of complying with the Lord’s requirements, but if we do not use the means we have, we are no better than they. We do not understand what we have in the house. Elisha said to the widow who was in debt, “What hast thou in the house?” (2 Kings 4:2). It is in the recognition of the pot of oil and the use made of it, that we can comply with requirements.

The Lord says, “Sit here”. Sometimes it is wiser ^[p. 9] to sit than to be active. Oft-times people show they should be sitting when they are not. The Lord says, “Sit here while I shall pray”. We can afford to be restful when the Lord is praying. To extend the thought, the Lord is always interceding for us. No doubt He prayed for them here, although the passage speaks only of His prayers for Himself. He spoke in these wonderful words, written indelibly, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (chapter 14:36). Mark gives us that beautiful touch; but the Lord is speaking of His own matter here. There is no such personal matter with Him now. The matter now is the saints down here, “he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Think of that, as if He had nothing else to do. The Spirit of God would stress that, not that He has not other things, but “he ever liveth to make intercession”. He says, “Sit here, while I shall pray”: now while we are to sit it is surely with intentness. Then He goes forward with the other three. The actual agony takes place in their presence.

The scripture says, “he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy”. I was saying that it was in their presence, He went forward a little, but He made these statements to them before He went forward. He selected these men. In His mind they were evidently fit for this. It was only potential, because they failed in it, but they did not fail afterwards, they went through all this in their spirits afterwards, for they were martyred, but He brought them into it, and told them about His exercise. Think of the privilege afforded to them! And so in these crises of the assembly, which come one after another, the Lord will say to some of us, “Sit [not listlessly, but carefully] here while I shall pray”, and He would take others forward into the conflict, into the very place of the greatest pressure, and then He would say how He feels about things.

He says, “abide here and watch”. He does not say that to the others, the point with them is to sit. Then He says later, pray.

This is the position in every crisis. There are those who are wisely sitting and discerning, when the Lord is praying; and there are others who are brought forward into the conflict, into the very teeth of the enemy; and then the Lord goes further, because He can go further than any of us. At all times He goes ahead, like the ark of old, which went ahead to find a resting-place, and that modifies the power of the enemy for us. He breaks the power of the enemy’s wave, but it comes upon us, and hence the urgency, as disposed of by Him in that position, to watch and pray, “lest ye enter into temptation”. This marks every crisis, and they come one after another, and there will be no end of them while the assembly is here; so it is a question of each knowing how to be disposed of, taking his place at the Lord’s wise disposition and remaining in it, according to the word He gives us.

To carry the thought on, we have the sad history of unbelief portrayed in this gospel more than in any of the others. Mark stresses the unbelief of the disciples. If you look at chapter 16 you will be struck with the thought that if the Lord had not taken the matter in hand Himself, in spite of the appearing at His sepulchre, the testimony would have fallen to the ground, because the disciples were wholly unequal to it through unbelief. Why is all that recorded? Surely that we might be aware of the danger of unbelief, it is always lurking in our hearts, and would rob us of the victory that is within our grasp.

You will observe in verse 9, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene”. The verses from 9 to the end of the chapter, are questioned by some critics, but they are Scripture, intensely so. They are brought ^[p. 11] in obviously to show how the Lord can come in when disaster is pending, and at the outset of every crisis that occurs, disaster seems to be pending. Those of us who have had anything to do with the Lord’s service in a conflict know that the language that arises in the heart is: What can we do in the presence of this emergency?

In verse 8, while honourable reference is made to the women, we are told that, “they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid”. Of what good was that behaviour? They had seen wonderful things, they had seen evidence that the Lord was risen, they had the testimony of His resurrection from the “young man”, but they were amazed and trembled and said nothing to any man. Of what value was that? — they were no testimony. I would not make little of these dear women, because the other evangelists give us different views, but Mark gives us the view that is intended to bear upon us in regard to what he presents. Indeed when a crisis arises we are apt to be amazed and trembling, and anxious about this and that, and to say nothing because of fear. Of what good are we then? That is the position in Mark. But the ninth verse brings the Lord on the scene. He comes in and takes up things and leads to victory. The point in this chapter is whether I have faith. Without faith I am of little or no use at all. If I am not in active faith I am discrediting the things I speak about. I cannot speak aright except on the principle of faith. Better it was that they should say nothing when they were amazed and fearing.

The Lord takes the matter up and He recovers them all to faith. This direct intervention of the Lord in a crisis is most encouraging. He can bring His people back under His influence, so that faith asserts itself again; they really had the thing, but it was buried ^[p. 12] down under pressure in their hearts — useless as inactive. He elects to appear to Mary Magdalene first, the other gospels show how excellent the selection was. Then He appears to two others, that is, three, a full testimony. He appears to one, and then to two, and they bear witness to the apostles separately, the one first, and then the two. It says, “she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept” (verse 10). Dear brethren, look at this word “she ... told them that had been with him”! They were the ones. It was well they mourned and wept; it shows they were not indifferent.

Then it says, “they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not” (verse 11). Is the case hopeless? Think of the apostles here, those that had been favoured in the testimony, selected for it, mourning and weeping, and yet when the most trustworthy person that could come to them comes and tells them, they believe not. It looks as if the position is hopeless, but it is not hopeless, it never can be hopeless if the Lord is in it. Then it says, “After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country” (verse 12). Much could be said about that; it is not the time of the country now, it is the time of the city, God is witnessing to the cities; the millennium is the time of the country, when people will sit under the vine and the fig tree, but today is the time of the city. The Lord appeared to these that were going away from the city, and it says, “they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them”. It looks still more hopeless — but is it hopeless? The Lord has appeared to one, He has appeared to two, is He giving up now? No, beloved, and He never will. He comes to the eleven Himself; He has a way of getting to the brethren, and He came to them when they sat at meat, and upbraided them for their unbelief.

What I have said has only briefly touched the ^[p. 13] position. The Lord takes the matter of every crisis in hand, or it would be hopeless. He will see to it that those whom He uses are believers, there is not to be any unbelief in His service. He says to them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”, and “after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached every where”. The result is perfect, and we may be sure that the Lord not only disposes of us but He brings us back to faith: if we are not in faith, we can have no part in the dispensation. He sees to it that some at least are brought to faith, so that when He is in heaven, they go and preach everywhere, and the Lord works with them, confirming the word with signs following. There is every encouragement for us at this remarkable time in the assembly history. The Lord would have us under His hand to dispose of us and bring us into faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God.