PERSONS WHOM THE LORD COMMENDS
Luke 7: 44-48; 10: 38-42; 21: 1-4
I would like to speak briefly about these persons whom the Lord commends. It would be right to desire to be among those whom the Lord approves, whom He can commend. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10: 18, “For not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends”. There are plenty of commendations of men at the present time, but what should concern us is whom the Lord commends, and we would desire to be among such, “whom the Lord commends”. And so this woman in Luke 7 had not been a long time on the road, like one just beginning on the Christian pathway, shall we say, a sinner, but she had an appreciation of the Lord Jesus. One of the Pharisees, who were self-righteous persons, invited the Lord into his house, and no doubt there was a cold atmosphere there and no appreciation of Him whatsoever. You wonder why he invited Him, but he did anyway. But all the warmth was brought in by this woman. This sinner in the city came into the house in all her need, in all her sins, and found One who was able to forgive her. You know, if I had written this incident I would have said that one of the Pharisees invited the Lord to a meal, but he did not do this, and did not do that, and did not do the next thing. But that is not what Luke writes. Luke writes what the woman did, and then, afterwards, what the Pharisee did not do. Luke expands on what the woman did. She had this alabaster box of myrrh, and she washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. He tells what she did. She had all the warmth, she was the one whom the Lord commended—a sinner. Here she was, she had her own appreciation of the Lord Jesus, of His feet that brought Him in grace to meet her need.
I wonder if we all have that appreciation of the feet of Jesus, the One who, “emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form, taking his place in the likeness of men; and having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross”, Phil 2: 7, 8. As coming this way, treading His path in the cities and villages of this world, He was available to this woman in the Pharisee’s house. The woman came there and just poured out her appreciation of the Lord Jesus. The Lord commends her. She turned all her attention on the Lord Jesus and the Lord turns His attention to her, “turning to the woman he said to Simon”, the self-righteous Simon, the Pharisee, “Seest thou this woman?” What a commendation that was! He expands on what she did. He says, “I entered into thy house; thou gavest me not water on my feet, but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair”. She was all in this—her eyes, her tears, her hair—she was wholly absorbed with the Person of the Lord Jesus and her appreciation of Him, and that is open to every one of us. If we have not come a long way in the pathway we can do it here now, pour out our appreciation of the feet of Jesus that brought Him in grace available to us as sinners and offering forgiveness and extending forgiveness. Not only did He say about her, “Her many sins are forgiven”, but He said to her, “Thy sins are forgiven”. He made her conscious of the fact that her sins were forgiven. For believers now that would no doubt involve the gift of the Holy Spirit because we enjoy and are conscious of our forgiveness by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Now in Luke 10 we have another woman who is commended. She is commended because she, “having sat down at the feet of Jesus was listening to his word”. I do not know about you, but I have great sympathy with Martha, because it was her house, and the Lord came in and His disciples and she immediately thought of service. What will I do to serve these persons? Most of us would be like Martha, I am sure we would. But here was one, Mary, who “having sat down at the feet of Jesus was listening to his word”. She was listening to the teaching. Apparently the Lord was known as ‘the Teacher’ in Bethany, because in John 11 when Martha had her conversation with the Lord Jesus, she said to Mary. “The teacher … calls thee”, John 11: 28. He was known in Bethany as ‘the Teacher’, and you know, dear brethren, there is a great need of teaching. There has been a lack of teaching. There is a great need of teaching, sitting down at the feet of Jesus and listening to His word. The Lord commends persons who are subject to divine teaching. There is a great need of teaching all over, and Mary chose that good part. The Lord commends her for choosing that good part. I do not think the Lord was rough with Martha. I think He would say, O Martha, Martha. He would not be hard on her. It was not sin on Martha’s part, she was doing her best according to her ideas, but He commends Mary, she “has chosen the good part”. I would just like to emphasise the importance, dear brethren, of divine teaching. The Lord’s commandments, are we interested to know what these are? We need divine teaching to know what His commandments are. Divine teaching is available to us but it needs subjection on our part, it needs interest on our part. Mary had that interest. Mary had chosen the good part and that was being subject to the Lord’s teaching.
Now in Luke 21 we have another woman, and she was remarkable. I have never met anyone like this woman. I do not know whether you have, but I have never met anyone like this woman. It was devotion with her and sacrifice. I have never met anyone who gave all she had or all he had. No doubt it took place at Pentecost; I am sure this woman’s action was fulfilled at Pentecost when no one counted what he had was his own, but they had all things common. That was wonderful devotion and wonderful sacrifice. We are not living in that kind of day. We are meant to be stewards of what we have, but this woman was wholeheartedly devoted. And you know, in her locality, things were not good. Things were not good in Jerusalem. The Lord had just said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and who love salutations in the market-places, and first seats in the synagogues, and first places at suppers; who devour the houses of widows, and as a pretext make long prayers”, Luke 20: 46, 47. That was Jerusalem, that was the locality where this woman was. What was the answer? Did she complain? She gave all she had in devotion and sacrifice. What happened? The whole thing had to come down because of this woman. Before the Lord speaks about the temple and the buildings coming down, He had what He was looking for in this woman, it was devotion and complete sacrifice. I think few of us are like this woman, but the Lord commends her, “Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow has cast in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have cast into the gifts of God; but she out of her need has cast in all the living which she had”. How remarkable that is! No wonder she had the Lord’s commendation, for she cast in all the living which she had. Have you met a person like that? Are we in any measure devoted, prepared to sacrifice, committed to the Lord’s interests down here? If so, we will have the Lord’s commendation—“For not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends”, 2 Cor 10: 18.
Now in Revelation, to the angel of the assembly, representing a responsible person or persons, in Pergamos, the Lord addresses Himself, saying, “These things says he that has the sharp two-edged sword—I know where thou dwellest, where the throne of Satan is ...”. Although there had been a faithful witness there, Antipas, things had declined. There began to be mixture, there began to be worldly features in Pergamos. There began to be a popular kind of religion in Pergamos. No doubt it refers to the time of Constantine when Christianity became popular, and principles were sacrificed. The principle of separation was given up. There had been a time of persecution as in Smyrna, but in Pergamos it was the worldly element taking control, and that is a danger with every one of us. So the Lord calls attention to two doctrines; one was the doctrine of Balaam, and the other one was the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. It tells us about the doctrine of Balaam, it says, “I have ... against thee that thou hast there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a snare before the sons of Israel”. There has been a great snare of wrong teaching. We referred to it in the reading, the open principle, “to eat of idol sacrifices and commit fornication”, lack of devotion, lack of separation, and an open outlook. What a snare that has been right down since 1848, the open element, the desire for more liberty for our own wills and all these worldly influences coming in. What a snare that has been among the people of God. There was a conflict then, and there were sentimentalists who were lost in that conflict, and the enemy has attempted over and over again to bring in that kind of teaching. It sounds so plausible, it sounds so acceptable, the liberty for human thinking, because of the lack of principle. We speak of the open principle but really it is a lack of principle, and that is the doctrine of Balaam. Then there is the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Well, I am not very clear what that was, but we said in the reading that the two attacks of the enemy have been the open principle and interference in our localities. It has been a plague all down through the history, over and over again. It would seem the enemy does not have many tactics, but he seems to be successful in the same old thing again and again. It seems so many are lost and caught up in these doctrines. You see it speaks of the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.
Well, I want to speak about the overcomer. This is the kind of day we are in. At the end of Mr Darby’s life he was greatly concerned about the coming in of worldliness. There was an issue in 1879, the Ryde and Ramsgate matter. There was no issue of the truth, it was just a low state among the brethren, and he was concerned about worldliness. He saw things coming in.
I wonder what he would think now. In any case there is a word to the overcomer, “To him that overcomes, to him will I give of the hidden manna”. Oh, it is worthwhile overcoming in this worldly environment, dear brethren, to be given of the hidden manna. It is what God delights in in the manhood of Jesus, the hidden manna. Does not Mr Darby’s hymn say—
There on the hidden bread
Of Christ, once humbled here—
God’s treasured store—for ever fed,
His love my soul shall cheer.
(Hymn 79)
Think of the overcomer having the hidden manna, God’s appreciation of the manhood of Jesus. What a feast for our souls! That is available to the overcomer in this worldly conflict, “to him will I give of the hidden manna”. There is a great deal to say about that, if I could, the hidden manna; I think it is God’s delight in the manhood of Jesus, expressed here and where He is now. It refers to the pot of manna that was put in the ark, I suppose, but it is hidden, it is a secret matter. And then it says, “I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he that receives it”. And Mr Darby says about that—
Called by that secret name
Of undisclosed delight
(Blest answer to reproach and shame)
Graved on the stone of white.
I understand that white stone is a little pebble. It is a very small thing. It is nothing public, but it is just a little sense of the Lord’s commendation and the Lord’s approval to the overcomer in this worldly kind of atmosphere. It is a little thing that the overcomer can appreciate. It is for himself. You cannot boast about it; you cannot tell others about it; it is not a thing you can display or parade before others, it is not public. There is no company of believers which has the Lord’s public acclamation, public approval. There is no company on the earth which has the Lord’s public approval. What we look for is just a little sense of the Lord’s approval, the Lord’s commendation. That is the little stone. It says, “I will give to him a white stone”, it is a little pebble, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he that receives it”. There is no public approval. I want to emphasise that. It is not public, you cannot prove it to anybody else, but it is just a secret in the soul of the overcomer. It belongs to him, he keeps it to himself, but oh how he values it, a sense of the Lord’s commendation, the Lord’s approval. How we need to overcome, dear brethren, and have this secret name of undisclosed delight, a secret sense of the Lord’s approval. It may be that others do not approve. It may be even some brethren do not approve. But what we can go on with happily and restfully is a little sense of the Lord’s approval.
I would commend that to every one of us, because we are living in difficult times, but I think the Lord would comfort us. Has our time together not been some compensation? Has there not been an atmosphere of the Lord’s presence and the Lord’s help? Has there not been that? I think there has been. I cannot help thinking of our dear brother who goes alone soon to Brisbane, and another brother who goes alone to Armidale, another brother who goes alone to Perth, deprived of practical fellowship. You need to go with a sense of this white stone and on it the name written which no one knows but he that receives it. It is something by way of compensation, something that is going to support us and sustain us even if we are alone and deprived of practical fellowship. What days we are in, how difficult they are! But, O, how precious to have just a little indication that the Lord is approving of us where we are. There are other places where we are very few, just two or three. Well, here we are, “I will give to him”, an individual, “a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he that receives it”. You cannot boast of it. If we had something public maybe we would glory in it, maybe we would have some pride in it, but it is just this secret thing that is so precious and so valuable, even if others, even if brethren do not approve. Well if the Lord does, is that not all that matters? Does anything else matter at the moment, if the Lord approves? Can we not delight in that, just treasure it? May the Lord encourage us, for His Name’s sake.
SYDNEY
10th October 1992
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THE LORD JESUS CALLING PERSONS
I have a desire to speak about the Lord calling persons. That is the Lord’s attitude today—He is calling persons. Many persons called upon the Lord and He answered every one. He never turned any away—any exercise, any need, the Lord Jesus answered every one—“whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”, Acts 2: 21. The Lord is available for every one who calls upon Him. That is one side of the glad tidings, a very important side. Now I want to speak about the Lord Himself calling, and He is calling here today. He has a call for every one; He has something in mind for every one of us. It is a very wonderful thing that we live in a day when the Lord is calling us; it will not be always so. A gospel preaching is a very happy occasion, yet a very solemn and very serious one. It is an occasion when we have the word of God before us; it is not an ordinary occasion; it is an occasion when God makes His presence known by His word. I speak first of all about these four men whom the Lord called, that is Simon and Andrew and James and John. We learn from the first chapter of John’s gospel that, if not all, at least Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. That is why I read what John preached. John preached the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. That looked forward to the righteous basis for sins being remitted which was the work accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ, it could only be on the basis of that righteous transaction on the cross. We sang—
On the cross He once has suffered,
There by Him the work was done.
(Hymn 154)
That is the basis on which God can righteously remit the sins of repentant sinners. John preached it here, and Andrew was a sample of a disciple of John, that is, he had obeyed his glad tidings, had repented, and therefore was in the light of remission of sins. It says, “the baptism of repentance for remission of sins”. Repentance is a very deep work, not a superficial thing, it is not only an act of mind; we repent from the heart. Repentance means that we come to the same judgment of ourselves as God has, and God has shown His judgment of us in the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is how seriously God views sins. His own beloved Son has suffered on the cross, suffered three hours of darkness, suffered the forsaking; He undertook a work that no other could undertake. Only He was qualified to do it for only He was the sinless One but He suffered as if He had been the sinner. He took the sinner’s place. Think of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that He undertook this work at infinite cost to Himself. Scripture tells us He was made sin. What that means we cannot really fathom, but He was made the thing that He righteously hated. What an awful thing it was for the Lord Jesus to be made sin. He took the sinner’s place. He suffered as if He had been the sinner, in the sinner’s stead, so that there might be a righteous basis for God to forgive, to remit, the sins of those who repent. That work is so great that God, being as righteous and holy as ever He was, can forgive repentant sinners. It is a tribute to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered the three hours of forsaking, He sustained the penalty of death, He poured out His precious blood. He was buried in our stead. Instead of the sinner being put out of God’s sight, the Lord Jesus was buried three days and three nights in the heart of the earth to be the end of that order of man that sinned.
Think of all that the Lord undertook and completed for God’s satisfaction; so much so that God was so pleased with that work that He raised Him from the dead and highly exalted Him; the highest office in the universe is occupied by our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the position, so that righteously there is remission of sins based on the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, but based on repentance on the part of the sinner. The sinner owns his sinnership; he calls for mercy which is readily available because the work has been finished; there is nothing left of that work to do, that work is completed. What is called for on our part is repentance, so that we may come into the full result of what that finished work has in view in blessings that God has for us. It says here, “remission of sins”, it is not only God’s attitude of forgiveness, but it is remission, that is, there is a transaction that is complete, so that our sins will never rise again in our life down here and will never rise hereafter. That is the remission of sins on the basis of repentance, the Lord calls for repentance.
Then he goes on to say, “and were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins”—confessing their sinnership. The woman in John 4 said, “Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done”, John 4: 29. Her whole history was settled once and for all, not only for her satisfaction but for God’s satisfaction. It goes on to speak about the gift of the Holy Spirit, “I indeed have baptised you with water, but he shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit”. The gospel presented in these few verses that John preached anticipated the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit are two blessings available in the glad tidings to repentant sinners. I hope all here have repented and know their sins remitted. If not, that blessing can be yours today. If there is one here who is not assured of the remission of sins, do not hesitate, be exercised, be concerned, have that transaction this very day, and have it settled once and for all.
Now it is such persons the Lord calls here. He called these two, Simon and Andrew. He says, “Come after me”. He is calling them to be disciples. He calls believers today, believers who are real, who know their sins forgiven, He is calling them to be disciples, He is calling for committal to Him; for submission to Him as Lord and Master, and submission to His teaching; He is calling persons to be disciples, “Come after me”. He says, “and I will make you”. If we commit ourselves as disciples the Lord will make something of us for His own pleasure, for His service, for the promotion of His kingdom; He made something of these persons. He tells these first two what He would make them. He says, “and I will make you become fishers of men”, and so He did. Then He called these other two, it says, “and straightway he called them”. He did not say what He would make of them, but He made something of them because they committed themselves as disciples.
I would like to appeal to every one here, to answer the call that the Lord makes now. Having your sins settled you should become one of the disciples of Jesus, be available for Him for His purpose, to learn from Him and follow Him. Have Him before you as your ideal, that is what the disciples did, they followed Him wherever He went and listened to His instruction. Then in the absence of the Lord these four disciples cared for His interests, and represented the Lord in the time of His absence. The call is, “Come after me”. He called them to become disciples of His. I would appeal to every one here. First of all these two great blessings are available this very day, the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is calling those who have received these blessings, “Come after me”, He says. He calls us to follow; He calls us to be His disciples, and He will make something of us. The disciples often failed, they often said the wrong thing; read the gospels and you will find that, but the Lord was very patient. In fact, Peter denied Jesus three times, but did the Lord give him up? No, the Lord made something of him. Even a disciple denied Him three times, you might say a hopeless case. No, he had committed himself as a disciple and the Lord saw him through. You could never commit yourself to a more blessed Master than the Lord Jesus. The Lord became a Master to these disciples. I think the idea of Master is individual, Jesus, Master. Is He your Master? Are you under His authority? Are you here for Him, and for His pleasure, and for the will of God? That is the call, friend, that is the call to you. It is a call to be a disciple of Jesus.
The next we read of is in Matthew 18. It says very attractively, “And Jesus having called a little child to him”. We have had three days of meetings, and it might appear the little ones have been neglected. We have been speaking about the wonderful reality of abiding in God’s love which is not beyond the little ones. It says here, “Jesus having called a little child”. He would call little children. I would appeal to the little ones here, Jesus is interested in you. The brethren are interested in you, and it may appear in our readings that it was not so; we do not have Sunday schools, the truth is for all, young and old. When I was young I did not understand all that was being said, but I felt there was something worthwhile going in for. I think that is what young people ought to feel. If the older brethren speak about abiding in love and abiding in God, it is a very blessed thing, something worth going in for. The Lord is calling—the Lord called a little child, and He would call every little child here today. He called this little child, not only for the blessing of the little child, but for the older ones to learn from that little child. The Lord was pleased with the simplicity and the reality of that little child. It was not an ordinary little child, the Lord says, “this little child”. It says, “Jesus having called a little child to him, set it in their midst”. He says, “Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child”— this little child”—would you, dear young child, be a child that the Lord would call and you would simply answer the call of Jesus? ‘Come!—’tis Jesus gently calling’, the hymn says. He gently called this little child and this little child answered. May every little child be like that here today. The disciples were saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?” That is far removed from a little child’s spirit. Believers need to maintain, as long as we are here, the little child attitude, the simple reality of the little child. In the world to come it says that a little child shall lead them”, Isa 11: 6. The Lord set the little child in the midst of the disciples as an example to them. May we be kept in the simplicity and reality of a little child. When we grow to manhood we become complicated, but a little child is simple and real, just itself, just as we ought to be. Jesus called a little child to Him, and the child responded. May every one such here today do so too.
Now in the gospel of Luke the Lord called this woman. She was a believer, she was a child of Abraham. Think of the potential of being a child of Abraham, but it says, “there was a woman having a spirit of infirmity eighteen years”. It is not called an unclean spirit, it is a spirit of infirmity, some weakness, and Satan bound her. She had this spirit of infirmity eighteen years, “and she was bent together and wholly unable to lift her head up”. Dear believer, we can all get into that state. If Satan had his way with us he would have us all bound down and not able to lift our heads up; in depression or some such thing he would have us bound. He is a very mean foe, he would take advantage of every weakness we have. We all have weaknesses and he would take advantage of them, so she was bound for eighteen years. Then it says, “And Jesus, seeing her, called to her, and said to her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands upon her”. He identified Himself with her; identified Himself with the weak condition she was in, it says, “And he laid his hands upon her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God”. Then He speaks about her as “a daughter of Abraham”, there was potential there. There is potential with every believer, but Satan, if he had his way, would bind us and keep us in bondage, as he did with this woman for eighteen years. It was not an evil spirit; it is not called an unclean spirit, but a spirit of infirmity which Satan took advantage of; he will take advantage of every weakness we have. The Lord Jesus laid His hands upon her, He strengthened her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. It says later, “And as he said these things, all who were opposed to him were ashamed; and all the crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things which were being done by him”, Luke 13: 17. The Lord Jesus would call anyone who is bound; anyone who is depressed; anyone who has any kind of weakness, and give them strength.
Before closing I want to refer to Matthew 11 where the Lord calls certain persons. He says, “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest”, Matt 11: 28. In this incident the Lord reviews His service in Galilee—He reviews the cities in which most of His mighty works were done, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and there was little result. He was rejected. It would not be right to say the Lord was disappointed, but He felt the lack of result. Think of the Lord of glory, of God being here in Manhood in the Lord Jesus serving these cities, and being rejected! But He found resource in His Father. He said, “I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth”, Matt 11: 25. He had resource in His Father to whom He turned. He said prophetically, “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain; nevertheless my judgment is with Jehovah, and my work with my God”, Isa 49: 4. He turned to the Father. Now He says, “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened”. We may see little result, but He says in effect, I know what it is to labour and be burdened and see little result, I had a resource in My Father. He says, I know how you feel, come to Me, and I will be your resource. As Priest He understands this kind of feeling which many may have, but He says, “Come to me”. He had a resource in His Father. He says, “Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest”. There is rest there; it is a call to persons who have laboured and have been burdened and see little results of it all. Then He says, “Take my yoke upon you”. That yoke was the will of God, that is the yoke we take upon us, the yoke He took upon Himself we come into; “and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls”. Not only, “I will give you rest”, which is the Lord’s attitude, but “ye shall find rest”, that is experience, “ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”.
The Lord is calling every one of us. I wonder if every one of us will answer His call to repent, His call to discipleship; would there be anyone here? He is calling each little child. He is calling anyone who is depressed, who has an infirmity of which Satan has taken advantage. I would say again, Satan is a mean foe, he would take advantage of any weakness we have and have us cast down as he did with this woman for eighteen years. He would take advantage of any weakness we have, but the Lord would put His hands upon us, identify Himself with us, give us strength, give us power, no doubt by means of the Holy Spirit. He is able to do that, to strengthen us to overcome any spirit of infirmity and move forward in the pathway of faith pleasing to God. Then there is the call to anyone who has laboured and is burdened and seen little result; the Lord calls, He will give rest and you will find rest. May it be so for His Name’s sake!
SYDNEY
11th October 1992
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