PREACHING OF THE WORD OF GOD
Milos Pavlik
I have read an extended portion of the Holy Scripture, not intending to enlarge upon all the details of it but just to point out certain blessed features which this passage of the Holy Word presents as to the Lord Jesus and His wonderful work, and at the same time some wonderful features of this present time in which we live; for we live beloved friends in a wonderful time indeed, and also in very solemn time.
This chapter follows upon what we could have read in chapter 1 where the writer delights over the glory of the Lord Jesus. How wonderful a subject it is! This present time is characterised by this wonderful feature, God has come to this earth manifest in flesh and God has been spoken of in the Son. We are so very much privileged in having the manifestation of God in the person of the Lord Jesus. So that it says - it is very important - "we should give heed more abundantly to the things we have heard"; not to treat them lightly. We live in a very solemn time and it is very important to give heed to these things, for the greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. I would like to press it to give an impression of the very great solemnity of the present time. God has come so near to men, as near as possible; He could not come nearer. He appeared in the likeness of men and has taken upon Himself all our difficulties, all our troubles and sufferings, indeed all our sins. Is it not wonderful that we have to do with such a One? The Lord Jesus came to this earth as a Man like ourselves, sin apart (which the Holy Scripture carefully underlines), in order to bring us to His own position, to Himself. It is a wonderful thing that the Lord Jesus has taken up what we are, all that attached to us, come into our condition in order to bring us to His own wonderful condition of glory. There can be nothing greater and nothing more wonderful. Still, there is the possibility of being negligent of it. The Holy Spirit emphasised that: "how shall we escape if we have been negligent of so great salvation?" I will say something about the word 'negligent'. In a very solemn chapter, Matthew 22, where the king gave an invitation to the wedding feast for his son, there were some who were negligent of it and went after their own things. They considered their own things more important than this wonderful invitation. But beloved, to be invited to a marriage is a very great privilege, for it means, Come and share my joy. That is what God is doing; He is inviting everybody to come and share His joy, His joy in the Son. And what is the answer of man? Is it, I have no interest in it? That is terrible and because of that we have here the warning - let us not be negligent of it. God has poured out His own heart to mankind and invites everybody to share His own feelings of joy, His own satisfaction in the Lord Jesus.
We have read of the future world, "the habitable world which is to come". The world to come will be subjected to this wonderful Man. Therefore the writer quotes the eighth Psalm where the wonderful glory of the Lord Jesus as seated on the right hand of God is described. Let us repeat it: "What is man, that thou rememberest him, or son of man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him some little inferior to the angels; thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and hast set him over the works of thy hands; thou hast subjected all things under his feet". The writer says that is not yet fulfilled. We do not see it yet. There are four points: "Thou hast made him some little inferior to the angels"; "Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour". These two points have been fulfilled already. He has been made a little inferior to the angels; He has been crowned with glory and honour. Beloved, that is a warrant that these other points will be fulfilled as well. It will be all subjected to Him; He will be set over the works of the hands of God, and everybody will bow to Him; everybody. My dear friend, it is absolutely certain that you will bow your knees before Him; your tongue will confess Him as Lord, to the glory of the Father. If not yet, then in the future. But how blessed it is to do it now! in this present time, in this wonderful time of grace, to bow before Him and confess Him as your Lord, to accept His lordship, to acknowledge Him whom God has set over all. How great it is to see Him so! Not yet is all subjected under His power. Unnumbered mouths crying, We will not that this man should reign over us, are not yet stopped. This cry is everywhere to be heard, but it will be stopped, beloved, and everybody will acknowledge Him. But there is a wonderful opportunity to do it now, to bow before Him now in the present time, in this wonderful time of grace.
What does it mean? It means being brought to glory. Verse 11 and the few verses following show us the purpose of God. "For both he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all of one". That is a wonderful part of God's purpose. It is, of course, on the footing of His resurrection. In His condition as He was here below there could not be any relation ship with Him. It is a very deep and very precious word of our Lord Jesus when He said, "Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone", John 12: 24. The Lord Jesus would have remained alone had He not died and risen again. But on this wonderful footing of resurrection all are of one. Who are they all? Those who have believed Him, who are sanctified by Him. Is it not wonderful? But what was the way He reached it? Let us read further: "Since therefore the children partake of blood and flesh, he also, in like manner, took part in the same, that through death he might annul him who has the might of death, that is, the devil". He became like us, taking part in blood and flesh condition. Why? In order to be able to die. Does it not touch your heart? He came into manhood in order to die to taste death for every thing, that is for me and for you, for everyone. The work is finished, accomplished once for all, and now as "the leader and completer of faith" (Heb 12: 2) He is set down on the right hand of God in glory, and from that wonderful position of glory an invitation is being proclaimed. It reminds me of David in the second book of Samuel, where we have at the end of chapter 8 the words: "And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice to all his people. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler; and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests", and so on. The wonderful glory of his court is described there. All the difficulties of his life were behind him, he was now exalted to his royal glory. And what follows now? "And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake? ", 2 Sam 9: 1. This wonderful Overcomer, this wonderful Victor, who is seated at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honour, now extends His invitation: Is there any to whom I could show mercy? Mercy is proclaimed for everybody. What a wonderful mercy!
What is in view is that He should have brethren made like Himself, to be brought into this wonderful condition "all of one" and to be brought into what we have in verse 12. "I will declare thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises"
- to be brought into His glorious assembly where the praises of God are being sung, to be made one with Him! There cannot be any greater glory, any greater mercy, than that shown by the Lord Jesus, beloved. This is the glory of this wonderful Saviour. And not only that, there are a few verses now which point to His present service to all those who have received salvation. This precious letter to the Hebrews develops that. It displays this precious truth of His present office as the High Priest, who is ever able and ever willing to help those who have confided themselves to Him. Such is our wonderful Saviour. 'I love to sing of Jesus', as the hymn says (No.290) - wonderful Person! Let us confide ourselves to Him. Let us value this wonderful privilege we have in Him. Let us give Him the praise and glory. Let us be such of whom it can be said, "I will declare thy name to my brethren", and "in the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises".
Let us value this wonderful privilege, to be among those who sing the praise of God in the assembly under His leading now and for all eternity, for His eternal praise and glory.
DUNDEE
22 April 1990
"KEEP THYSELF PURE"
James Renton
Hebrews 9: 13,14; 2 Timothy 2: 22; 2 Peter 3: 1; 1 Timothy 5: 21-25
It is in mind to speak about purity. We go through the world where there is plenty to contaminate, even in the religious world. One of the great needs at the present moment is, purity.
I would like to illustrate these scriptures from women in the New Testament. The first one speaks about a pure conscience, which we see in the woman in John 4. The wherewithal for a pure conscience is presented in the scripture read in Hebrews 9: "how much rather shall the blood of the Christ, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works to worship the living God?" The righteous basis has been laid by which we can have a pure conscience, which is a very important thing for every believer. In John 4, which is one of the most beautiful incidents in the New Testament, we see how the Lord Jesus in His conversation with that woman presents first of all the attractiveness of what is in God's mind in the gift of living water. He gains her confidence and her interest in such a blessing as living water; and then He raised matters which affected her conscience. Things that were not on her conscience He raises with her, not to get her depressed or unduly occupied with her history but to clear her history and to set her up with a pure conscience. He goes into her history as, dear brethren, He would go into every one of our histories. "Go, call thy husband, and come here" raises the whole matter. What had not been previously on that woman's conscience the Lord put on her conscience to clear her conscience.
We arrive at and maintain a good conscience by self-judgment; and let us understand what self-judgment is. It is not judgment of self to satisfy self, it is judgment of self to God's satisfaction. The woman arrived at a pure conscience to God's satisfaction. She said "Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done". She did not say, Come see a man to whom I told all things I had ever done. That would have been to her satisfaction, but she said, Come see a Man who told me all things that I had ever done. She knew that everything was cleared, everything was out, because He had undertaken it. Selfjudgment is not judgment of self to satisfy self. Self-judgment is judgment to God's satisfaction. That woman saw herself as the Lord saw her. Self-judgment involves that we see ourselves as God sees us. That is how we arrive at a pure conscience, and how we maintain a pure conscience. "Purify your conscience from dead works to worship the living God". Did not that matter of the worship of God come into the conversation with that woman? "The Father seeks such as his worshippers". Who would such be? They would at least be persons who had a pure conscience, who saw themselves as God saw them with everything cleared to God's satisfaction. How that is needed at the present moment! I believe that all the difficulties that arise and continue among us are due to the lack of self-judgment, having judgment of ourselves to God's sat is fact ion. It is elementary, but it is most import ant to have and maintain. Hebrews 4 indicates the process of this judgment: "For the word of God" - that is the divine standard, the word of God, the expression of the mind of God, the logos - "is living and operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints, and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (vv. 12,13). It is a very inward process.
"There is not a creature unapparent before him". The word of God brings us to Him. "All things are naked and laid bare to his eyes, with whom we have to do". We have to see ourselves as God sees us. It has often been said, and it is very true, that the most difficult person for me to judge is myself. I have known men who had a pretty good judgment of everybody else except themselves. It is easier to judge others than to judge self. We tend to be easy on self. The woman who said, "Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done" had come under the scrutiny of the Lord and everything was clear to His satisfaction. May this be true of every one of us.
If we had and maintained this pure conscience what a wonderful company we would be. Such persons would be in unity, would see eye to eye, have the same judgment as God has. May it become attractive to every one of us! It becomes attractive as seen in that woman in John 4. She went out in testimony to the very men whom she would likely know and who would likely know her. Her testimony was effective for they came to know the Lord for themselves. They believed not only because of her word but because they had come to the Lord themselves. True testimony would result from persons who have this pure conscience.
Now there is a pure heart, and that relates to the affections. In second Timothy it says "with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart". Paul writes to the Corinthians and addresses them as those who call on the name of the Lord, but in times of public ruin, such as we are in, which second Timothy visualizes, Paul adds "out of a pure heart". I believe we see the pure heart in the woman in Luke 7. Jesus was invited to the Pharisee's house and no doubt felt the cold atmosphere, but she brought the warmth of affection that the Lord appreciated. He did not find it in the Pharisee; He does not find it in mere profession; He finds responsive affection in pure hearts. She was a woman in the city, publicly known as a sinner, but she gave herself in response to the Lord Jesus. She washed His feet with tears, wiped them with the hairs of her head. It was herself fully committed with a pure heart in response to the Lord Jesus. She was a repentant person. She was one who loved much; she had a pure heart. Think of that house, the coldness, the indifference of it; so it is with mere profession today. How the Lord Jesus values persons who have a pure heart! "Pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart". May we all be concerned, dear brethren, to have this simple reality of purity of affection for our Lord Jesus Christ. How important is attachment to the Lord Jesus with a pure heart as that woman was. The Lord said to her, "Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace". She is not named. Her name could have been Faith or Peace, but whatever her name was, the Lord said to her, "Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace". The Lord said also, "Her many sins are forgiven". "She loved much". How He values a pure heart! The bridegroom says "my love, my dove, mine undefiled", Song of Songs 5: 2. You can see it in principle in that woman, not long on the Christian way, but in reality with a pure heart. May we continue in simplicity, dear brethren, with purity of affection for the Lord Jesus Christ! In second Peter we have a pure mind. In his first epistle Peter speaks about the pure mental milk of the word: "as new-born babes desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word", chap 2: 2. That, dear brethren, is to feed our minds. Our minds need food. If our minds do not feed on pure food they will be contaminated. Our minds are always occupied with something. I suppose the most important faculty a believer has is his mind. What kind of food do we provide for our minds? In the world around us there is abundance of food for the mind, but we need to be delivered from all such food and value the pure mental milk of the word. We need to feed on pure food to maintain a pure mind. The pure mind is illustrated in Mary of Bethany. In Luke 10: 39 it says, "Mary ... having sat down at the feet of Jesus was listening to his word". She was feeding on pure food that would build up and maintain a pure mind. Our minds, I emphasise, need food. We are always thinking of something; the mind is never inactive when we are awake. The responsibility is on each one of us as to what kind of food we provide for our minds. There is an abundance of pure food in the Scriptures which would build up and maintain a pure mind.
When we think of all the contamination in the world around us, how valuable is pure food! The ministry that we value is pure food. I am not so sure about literature that is sometimes attractive to our young people. It may be more readable than the ministries that we value, but I can commend to everyone here the pure food of the ministries that the Lord has been pleased to give us in abundance in the recovery of the truth. Our brother referred to about 200 volumes. Is that not sufficient for us? Do we want anything else? The mind needs food, and there is enough in the Scriptures and ministry which has been accredited and the ministry which the Lord is giving currently. Mary of Bethany, as a result of feeding on pure food, became affectionate, but also intelligent. The Lord said, "Suffer her to have kept this for the day of my preparation for burial". The Lord had taught His disciples about the Son of man suffering, going into death and rising again, but they were not sufficiently interested; they understood not the saying; they did not follow it up; they were not interested in the suffering side; but Mary of Bethany is credited with having understood what the Lord was saying at that time. We ought to be in the current of the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will not come about without feeding our minds with pure food which is available in abundance for every one of us. May we be concerned, dear brethren, to have a pure mind! Think of what it means for the Lord Jesus to have persons here who have a pure mind to whom He can communicate what His mind is at any given moment. We read in 1 Corinthians 2: 16, "we have the mind of Christ". By means of having the Holy Spirit we have the wherewithal - I hesitate to say it - to think as the Lord Jesus Himself thinks. What capacity we have in the Spirit of our minds!
Now in 1 Timothy, a very interesting scripture, we have "Keep thyself pure". We say this sometimes to young people and, of course, it applies to young people. How important it is for them to keep themselves pure, to keep their bodies pure! I am not minimizing the importance of this word to young people, but the context indicates it is not only for young people. The writer says, "I testify before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels" - how solemn he is in his testimony - "that thou keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing by favour". This keeping thyself pure is being without prejudice. Young people can have prejudice, but so can older ones. Prejudice and preference are two matters that we are all susceptible to. "Keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing by favour". These two matters, prejudice and preference, often hinder us in knowing what the mind of the Lord is. Then he says, "Lay hands quickly on no man, nor partake in others' sins". Verse 23 is obviously a parenthesis; he says, "Keep thyself pure. Drink no longer only water, but use a little wine on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illnesses". Verse 24 obviously links with verse 22: "Lay hands quickly on no man, nor partake in others' sins". "Of some men the sins are manifest beforehand, going before to judgment, and some also they follow after". In between there comes verse 23; "Keep thyself pure". I believe the emphasis is, keep thyself from wrong influence. This applies not only to young people but to elderly ones too. Lay hands quickly on no man. Do not commit yourself too quickly. Keep thyself from wrong influence. We are all susceptible to wrong influence. This was written to Timothy and he is mentioned in this epistle as having youth: "Let no one despise thy youth" (chap 4: 12) for he would be younger than some of his contemporaries, but he was to have moral power and authority.
There were at least seven kings of Judah who were good kings, helped of God, some in a remarkable way, but they failed when they were old. This is a word therefore for those of us who are older. Beginning with Solomon, what a bright start he had! What a wonderful king he was! He had wisdom, given of God. What happened to him when he was older? He took 700 wives. That was not very wise, was it? They influenced him; they turned away his heart at the end of his life. We need to keep ourselves pure when we are old. "Keep thyself pure, Drink no longer only water, but use a little wine on account of thy stomach and thy frequent illnesses". If we get weak in body, old and feeble, we are more liable to be wrongly influenced. It seems to me this verse 23 comes in in that context. Then Asa, a good king who was greatly helped, was characterised by dependence on God, but at the end of his life he ceased to depend on God, but on the king of Syria for help. Jehoshaphat was a commendable man in many ways, but he made alliance with the ungodly. Joash, another good king, began as a young man and while Jehoiada the priest was alive, when under right influence, he was commendable and helped of God. Jehoiada died, and Joash began to be wrongly influenced by princes. Uzziah was marvellously helped, but later he presumed to take up matters that he was not qualified for and became a leper. Hezekiah began a wonderful recovery in his time, and was a pious king, but later succumbed to the flattery of the men of Babylon. Josiah was a great man who set on a great passover; there was no such passover since the time of Samuel. Think of the help Josiah received from God. Then what happened to him? He tried to interfere in a matter that was not his responsibility. Dear elder brethren, keep thyself pure. Brothers and sisters, keep thyself pure. It is a word for all of us.
We are rightly concerned about our young people. I am a little more concerned about elderly ones who know the truth, have taught us, and instead of uniting they tend to divide the brethren. That is a greater concern. We may have been greatly helped when we were younger - I am addressing older ones, and I am one of them - but let us continue in humility and dependence, and keep ourselves pure. Nehemiah consulted with himself; David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God, the God he knew. Nehemiah had intimacy with God, he often appeals to God. He is in touch with God. In consulting with himself he would be acquiring the mind of God. I have no doubt Mary of Magdala in John 20 was keeping herself pure. She had one Object to the exclusion of all else.
Dear brethren that is all I have to say. I say to young people and to older ones, keep thyself pure for the Lord's own sake. Amen.
PLAINFIELD
29 May 1989
CHILDREN AND PROPHECY
In our minds, prophecy has often been confined to the fore-telling of events. In Scripture however it means also the 'speaking forth' of the present mind of God through persons chosen and available at the time. Thus we say that prophetic speaking always has its 'bearing' upon all who receive it. The book of Hosea, the first of the 'Minor Prophets', records that by a prophet the people of Israel were brought out of Egypt and by a prophet they were preserved. Doubtless this was Moses.
As would be expected, prophecy has come and comes mainly through men, although we read in the Scriptures of prophetesses, some older and some relatively young, some married and others unmarried, also a widow. As to children there was one child, Samuel, who was divinely taught to speak out God's mind for the then people of Israel. Besides all these there have been angels who were called upon to utter the divine mind in connection with the birth and life of John and of the Lord Jesus Himself, and also in other circumstances.
The prophet Elisha had much to do with young people. There were always the sons of the prophets who represent those who have an interest in the truth of God but who need to be taught in His school by word and by example. Also mention is made of individuals such as the maiden in Naaman's house and the two sons of the poor widow. You will remember too that he brought back to life a child of tender age. The boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes. This miracle shows that when God in His grace gives a new life to us, however young, we should use the power to open and keep open the eyes of faith. Do you do so?
J.C.Evershed