The Brazen Laver
It is the maintaining of fellowship with Christ, that we wish to speak of.
And one of the examples of this, is:

Exodus 30:18-20 “Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
For Aaron and his sons shall wash there hands and there feet thereat:
When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:”

The brazen Laver was made for cleansing. It was set just outside the door of the Holy Place, in the court of the tabernacle. This was in the natural sunlight. The priests, and people offering, could be in this court; but the people could not minister at the altar or the laver.

When Aaron and his sons were given for the service of the priesthood, they were brought to the laver and given a bath by Moses; once.
Exodus 29:4, 9 “And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall wash them with water.
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.”

This pictures our regeneration; when we are born again. It was never repeated.
They were priests from then on.
So with us. When we are born again, we are forever His children.

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”

But as priests, they would minister, by sacrifice, at the brazen altar. There, the sacrifices for sin and peace would be given.
Their hands would be bloody, and their feet would be dirty from walking on the bare ground.
So, they were commanded to come to the Laver to wash both their hands and feet, before they went into the Holy Place to burn incense at the golden altar, or light the lamp (M’nourah).
This they were to do every time they went into the Holy Place.

The Holy Place signified fellowship with God:
the golden altar and the burning incense showed the prayer which ascends to God (the fire to burn came from the brazen altar everyday, tying Christ sacrifice and our prayers together)
the table of shewbread showed forth the sufficiency of God for our needs;
and the lampstand showed forth God as the only light for our work.

All showed forth fellowship with God.
But before they could go in and have this fellowship, they must wash at the brazen laver.

As Christians, we need daily cleansing from the defilements of the way, if we are to maintain fellowship with God.
In our walk, we constantly have dealings with those who are dead in trespasses and sins; and their very influence defiles us.

In honesty, we are also aware of the blemishes of our service (which speak of our hands), and the failures of our walk (our feet).
We do; but we hesitate, and mar our words.(as though we were ashamed of Christ)
We don’t do what God wants us to do. (We have good reasons, we think. How good will they seem before God?)

These do not interfere with our standing as Christians. We are still born again.
But it does interfere with our communion with God.

Ephesians 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Laver, like everything else in the Tabernacle speaks of Christ’s sufficiency to meet our every need.

The example from the New Testament is Peter:

John 13:8-10 “Peter saith unto him (Jesus), Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

At the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the disciples feet, Peter protested; “You will never wash my feet!” Peter knew He was Lord, and it did not seem right for Him to do this.
But Jesus made it clear, “If I don’t wash your feet, you will have no part WITH Me.”

Jesus didn’t say, “If I don’t wash you, you will have no part in Me.”
But He said, “you will have no part with me”.

Jesus told Peter he was clean “every whit”, except for the cleansing of his feet.
“In Christ”, speaks of our being born again.
“With Christ”, speaks of our fellowship with Him.

And if we are to have fellowship with Christ (and the strength that comes from it), we must be cleansed, daily from our sins, and defilements.
(Defilement comes from the things we hear; we may not agree with the awful stuff; but we have heard it, and it defiles us.
It comes from the things we see. Though we may not desire to have them (a new car, or the jackpot of the lottery; as well as the other lusts), still we have been brought into their influence.
These, defile us.)

The Laver of Brass shows God judgement on these defilements; for the priests could not enter the Holy Place, without washing.

But it also shows that He has met the need of that judgement, by the water, which removes the very things that condemn.

The Laver was there, but they had to wash in the water that it provided.
Christ Jesus has made a way for us to come and wash in His word.

They were tested, by the Laver. Would they wash and have all that the Holy Place meant?

We, too, are tested by the Son of God. Do we want that fellowship and communion which enlivens us? Will we go to the Word of God and judge our ways before Him?

1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”

Water is also to invigorate. And the Word of God gives us comfort and a refreshing feeling. It revives us. It makes us feel whole, and clean again. Ready for the next moment, the next day.

Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

 

 

The means of Deliverance

Matthew 5:21-22 “Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever will kill shall be in danger of the judgement:
But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement: and whosoever will say unto his brother, Raca (silly person), shall be in danger of the counsel: but whosoever will say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Sin, self, and the World are connected. They are our “enemies”. For they work to lead us away from Christ and His Will.

Sin is wrong doing (we all agree here, although we may not agree with what “wrong doing” consists of).
But it is also wrong being, which includes all the inward sins of resentment, a flash of anger which never leaves the mind, and wrong attitudes.
Jesus set this forth in the verses above.

And so sin always involves self.

Self is the term for the old nature. The old nature is our fallen man from Adam. It is the nature which claims your right to rule yourself: your right to decide and lead yourself (morally or not), your right to feel what you want, your right to think what you want.
It is you, as your own lord.
1 Corinthians 3:3 “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (The natural man)”

And so we see, the old nature is always open to the influence of the World around us: and the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

The World’s influence comes, as we walk in it everyday.
(When the Bible speaks of the World, it is talking of the “spirit of the times”. It does not mean the birds, trees, etc. But the attitudes, and the rage, of the times we live in)

As Christians, we are to be in the World, but not of it.
John 17:14-16 “I have given them thy word: and the world hath hated them; because they are not of the world; even as I am not of the world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ”

The World’s system wants no part of Jesus Christ as Lord.
They may accept or praise Him as a holy man, a great teacher, or a good guy; but they will not submit and yield to Him as Lord.

1 John 2:15-17 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

These are formidable foes. But we are not left to ourselves, thank God, but are enabled to live and work in the World, as it is, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit within.

1 John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

To overcome is to still be standing with God, when the battle against the influence of the World for today, is over. (How many of us hear horrible swearing, filthy suggestions, dirty jokes, hatred filled speeches).
It is to still be hanging on to God’s Word. To still be looking to Christ for everything.

It is deliverance in the situation, as well as out of it.
It is to be energized within, given strength and comfort.
It is to know what to do, here and now. (not just for next week, or next year)

1 John 5:4-5 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

And how does faith give us victory?
Faith centers our life around Christ Jesus. And if He is the center, all other things must take their rightful place.

Faith receives the Word of God, and by the Holy Spirit places within us the power to do it. (Grace is the unmerited favor of power)
Faith makes us aware that we are not alone in this fight; on the contrary, we are made to know His presence in a real way. (Remember the servant’s eyes being opened to see who was for them, 2 Kings 6:12-17)
We have a much more powerful friend.

Romans 8:37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
God’s grace is provided through the Holy Spirit, that we may do the task at hand.
It is power we receive in our spirits, our souls (our mind, heart, and will), and our bodies.
It comes as light for our walk, so we will not stumble, or be tripped up.

Overcoming should be our everyday experience.
It usually isn’t. We fail to hear. Or we give in to self.
But Christ Jesus has supplied all we need to overcome; we must yield to Him in the situation we are in.
1 John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.”

1 Corinthians 10:13-14 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above which ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Wherefore my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

The means of deliverance for any Christian is yielding to the Holy Spirit within.
Receiving and using the grace given, in the situation.
Reading His Word, letting it give us all He has for us in it. ( all the promises, and commandments)
Overcoming by faith in Him.
Walking in His Light.

 

The Widow’s Mites

Mark 12:41-42 “And Jesus set over against the treasury, and beheld how people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites which make a farthing.”

Jesus had been preaching in the temple to the people, and had warned them about the those who love to be religious (and look religious), but whose main goal was to have men think well of them, while sinning against their fellow man.

Then He watches as the people bring offerings to God.

Mark 12:43-44 “And he called to him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, then all they that have cast into the treasury;
For they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want, did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

For an Israelite, there were certain things which must be given: tithes, and certain offerings at certain times.
But the offerings to the treasury, were to be, because you loved the Lord.

This she did, and it was recognized by Jesus, for it.

For this widow, it did not matter if she had anything. It did matter if the Lord’s house was lacking. (This is what they took the money for. For the upkeep of the house of God.)

We often think, “If we could do some great thing for God.”

But the Lord wants us. Two mites are not great. Hardly anything in the world’s estimation.
But the Lord Jesus said she had put in more than they all did.

Because she put in her living.

What are we giving to God?
No, I don’t ask about your money.

I am asking about your love. How much love are you showing to God?

Do you love Him? And how much time do you spend with Him?
Morning prayers (and they don’t have to be long)
Evening prayers, to set everything from the day in order before Him. (So you don’t wake up carrying the same burdens you went to bed with)

The widow’s mites were cast to the Lord’s treasury. In among the rich and affluent; she came.
Placing at God’s disposal, all she had.

Again I ask, How much of ourselves are we giving God?
Are you doing, for admiration from others?
Or are you giving God your life?

May we all get the same praise from Jesus, she had.

 

 

Their Rest and Our Rest
Hebrews 4:9,11 “There remained therefore a rest to the people of God.
Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

What is this rest?
It is rest concerning the things which are promised us, as Christians.
Paul had been speaking concerning the Israelites which had not entered into the Promised Land, because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:17-18 “But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?”

The land of Canaan, was their rest. But they refused it.(Numbers 13:25-14:11)
Numbers 14:22-24 “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereunto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”

And what is our rest?
Hebrews 4:1-2 “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

Our rest is the promises of God to us: Of His Spirit, and the fruit of His Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Of Peace as a Stronghold (Philippians 4:7, it says “keep”, or garrison in the original)
Of forgiveness and Cleansing (1 John 1:9)
That He would hear us, if we ask in His Name (John 14:13)
Light, or guidance (John 8:12)
Grace, or the unmerited favor of power. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Our rest has to do with us, actually possessing these promises in our lives. Each promise the Lord gives us: actually obtaining them.
How many are we “entering into rest” about?

And how do we enter into this rest? By “laboring” to believe and obey Him through everything.

I’ll give an example: Caleb.
Caleb was of the tribe of Judah. And he, along with one man from every tribe was sent into the land to “spy it out”.
It was to show the people how great the land was!
And it was beautiful, and productive. Everything the Lord had said!

But, the people of the land were fighters, some giants were there.
So when the spy’s came back to camp, they showed the good things of the land; but emphasized the giants.

The people became disheartened, because they refused God.
How many things had God brought them through?
Yet, now, they would not believe Him, in order to gain all that He had promised?

How strong UNBELIEF is. We are sometimes unaware of our own unbelief, until we are told to do something, we feel we can’t. Then, do we trust God? And how far?

But Caleb and Joshua believed the Lord, and tried to persuade the people to trust in Him; and go into the land. Again, they refused, crying in dismay.

When the people looked for someone to take them back to Egypt; God spoke: and those people were shut out of their “rest” in the land of promise.

Their children went in, and took the land, divided it into tribes. And Caleb, still alive, and still following the Lord; came for his inheritance, his “rest”:

Joshua 14:6, 9, 12 “Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Juphunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-Barnes.
And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s forever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord thy God.
Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakaim were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.”

Caleb had a very beautiful, and hard inheritance: for the Anakaim were giants.
But he took that mountain. And had all that the Lord promised.

To enter into the Lord’s rest for us, is to get the promises that the Lord has given us, into our lives. To prove that He was right. That He is all we need, and will give us all His help.
We do this by believing obedience. By “wholly following the Lord”.

Our Adversary, the devil, would remind us of all the obstacles to obtaining these promises.
Are their obstacles? Of course, that is why we are told to “labor” to enter into rest.

We “labor” to keep hold of faith in the day of trial, fear, or even boredom.
If faith will hold on to Jesus Christ, He will lead us into all the promises He has given us.
Hebrews 10:35-36 “Cast not away therefore your confidence (in Christ), which hath great recompense of reward.
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

The Centurion’s Faith

Matthew 8:5-7 “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.”

(In Luke, it says that he sent the elders of the city, and then friends, which represented him to Jesus. Luke 7:1-10. He thought himself unworthy of the Lord coming to his house, for he was a gentile.
This representation was, as if he came himself)

Jesus has said he would come and heal the centurion’s servant.
And this draws a statement of faith from him, which marveled, or pleased the Lord a lot. So much so; that He speaks of it to the crowd.

Matthew 8:8-10 “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith took hold in this centurion’s heart, when he heard of all that Jesus was doing, both in Capernaum, and other places.
(Capernaum was the place Jesus lived, after leaving Nazareth. It was the place he did many miracles.
Luke 4:31-32 “And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.”
Luke 4:36-37 “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commanded the unclean spirits, and they come out.
And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”)

When this centurion heard of these things, he must have thought they were wonderful, for he loved Israel. BUT, until he needed Jesus’ power for himself (for his sick servant, who was dear to him), it was just information.
Good news, but it had not touched him.

Then, his servant got sick, grievously tormented, and ready to die.

Suddenly, those things he had heard about Jesus, were for him.

(How many times we are the same: we have heard Bible lessons for years, even, and they are good news, but then something happens that affects us, and “Wham”, that good news hits us where we live.
We can have this! This is real! This is for me.)

Faith has made the information real from the first. We believe it.
Then faith evidences that information within us, because we have a need that is only met by this. (By Christ Jesus)

The centurion also knew, by faith, that if Jesus heard of the need, He could meet it.
Faith reached out, through the elders, and friends, to Jesus; and stated the need.

When Jesus said He would come, the centurion’s faith reached out further by the evidence of Jesus’ coming; and said:
“Speak the word, only”
Why? Was he testing Jesus?
No. But he felt unworthy that Jesus should come into his house.

And why did he feel Jesus could do this? Was it just because of what he had heard?
No.
It was from his own experience. He was a voice of Rome, as a centurion (he had one hundred men under him).
Under all the authority of Rome, he spoke and told men what to do. And they did it.

So he knew that Jesus, was the voice of God, and had the authority to speak, and make things happen, because He spoke.
He could heal, because He was the Son of God.
This was the centurion’s faith. Wow!

Matthew 8:13 “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

Believe is the action of faith. And as he believed Jesus could heal by his word, only; so it was.

What of us? We say we have faith in God. We say we believe what Jesus has said, and done for us.
Are we using this faith with God, and evidencing His authority and power in our lives, first; and in the lives of people we pray for?

The Lord honors true faith in Himself. (Not presumption, or to ask of Him, what we know is not His will). But real faith, reaches out to Him, that He will do what He wills.

Jesus’ will was to heal the sick; both sin-sick and many illnesses, while He was here on earth; as He preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
He did this to meet the need of the people, that the chief priests and scribes had discounted; and for the most part, had abandoned.

But God never abandon’s His people. Those that come unto Him, He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)
But it takes humbling of our hearts, to come. (As this centurion did)

John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.”
The centurion’s faith was real. He had heard. And he came, humbly to Jesus; and honored Him.
What is our faith doing?

 

 

The Garden of our Souls

Song of Solomon 4:12 “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”

It is in the garden of our souls, that we have the personal relationship to Jesus. He considers us:
“My sister”, Because in Him, we are of the family of God.
“My spouse”, Because He wants that love relationship with us.

In the beginning, after being born again, a believer is like a piece of undeveloped land;  formerly hard and unyielding; which has now been dedicated to the Lord.

We begin to allow Him to transform us into a beautiful garden.
This is something that is the same for each believer, as to the final results; but very different for each as to the means God uses.

In a garden, you do not plant things at random. There is order, although the order may differ in your garden, then in mine.

For some gardens, the beautiful flowers, and bushes may take center stage; whereas in another, berries, or trees of nuts and fruits. In another, vegetables are top priority.

But each is a garden producing fruit for the Gardener.

This is to come to the place where we are willing, whole heartedly working for the pleasure and Will of God.
When we have determined this (it is the will, willing with the Holy Spirit within), we begin to see Him build a “wall” around us; for we are become a “garden enclosed”, which includes in it a spring shut up, a fountain sealed for use in the garden.

The “spring shut up”, is the Holy Spirit within.
(Isaiah 58:11 “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”)
He is not given to us, so we can “show off” to others. But He is “shut up” to us, so we can experience His power in our lives, to bring us into subjection to Christ; and so we can have His peace in the world we walk in.

The “fountain sealed”, is the precious blood of Christ, whereby we are forgiven and cleansed. (Zechariah 13:1 “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanliness.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”)

We are for the Lord’s pleasure. Our beauty of character, and faithful works, are for His joy.

Song of Solomon 4:16 “Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”

The north wind can be chilling, and frosty.
The south wind is mild, and warm.

We can come to see, in our learning with Christ, that He has worked in us the fruit of the Spirit; and taught us to use His grace.

So, no matter the circumstances: favorable or not, we will learn that we do not have to be influenced by them.
Instead, we can simply use them to the Lord’s advantage.

We can come to the place, where real prosperity, Spiritual Prosperity, does not rest upon external circumstances.
No, it rests upon the internal life of Christ within us. The inner man of the heart; the relationship with Christ.

We can grow in any situation, when we come to this.
We are totally dependent upon God, and being filled with His grace in each situation.
We are looking, in a special way, to the Holy Spirit, to accomplish His purpose in everything.

There is no difficulty in adjusting to any circumstance. This is pretty amazing, since most of us do not like change. (Some say they do, IF they make the change. But if it is thrust upon them, that is different.)

Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know how to be abased, (very hard, without the Holy Spirit’s help) and I know how to abound (not if we let it go to our heads): every where in all things I am instructed (not just told, but empowered so we can learn) both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

It is “through Christ”. He saves, He makes me His own, He teaches by the Holy Spirit, He furnishes all the grace, and holds me up in His own hand.

We are His garden. We are “in Christ”, and it is “through Christ” that we live.

The Christian life is not easy; not so much because of the circumstances we are in; but because we do not have in our experience the lessons we need.

Is it because we will not go through them?
Or is it because you do not know all that Christ has for you?

Christ’s invitation to “learn of Me” still holds true.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls:
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

 

Are we Profitable Servants?

Luke 17:7-10 “But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
And will not rather say unto him, make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and after ward thou shalt eat and drink?
Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

To do what was our duty to do, is to be found faithful in all our gifts and callings.

But everything we’ve been called to do; every work He would require at our hands, has been paid for already.
The full price was paid for by the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The power and plan to do is given to us, by Him; we have but to follow Him and do.

And when we have done that which was our duty to do, as His faithful servants?
We must say we are unprofitable servants; because what we do is not a matter of merit.
We are accountable to Him for our duty.

How is it then, we minister to His satisfaction? What is it that truly pleases Him?

It is what we become, ourselves, under His training, that pleases Him.

If in the end of our training, we are still arguing about the circumstances, or plan, or way, or anything; we are not much pleasure to Him. (Think of your child, who does the chores you tell him, but not until you have to yell at him, or practically drag him out to do it. When he is done, you do not have pleasure in the doing, but rather feel it would have been easier for you, to do it yourself.)
We may do what we are told, finally, for some reason. But the pleasure of the Lord in the doing, is that we are identified with Him in it.
That never happens if we are still at odds, in some way, with Him.

What He wants is a love relationship: so He uses the story of a servant who has worked in the field, yet still is to serve Him, in the house.

When we are busy all day, FOR Christ; we tend to forget (unless we have learned the lesson here), that we also need to Love Christ, personally. (Pictured in the setting before Him the food and drink, personally)
We need to become, under His hand, a loving disciple that will do anything (without thinking of the consequences), to please Him.

(The term, “under His hand”, is another phrase that you used to hear often; but don’t any more. Let me explain: My wife and I are older, and we are used to holding hands when walking, or I have my hand at her elbow, or on her shoulder.
Yes, it is good for balance; but also we can communicate with each other by the hands.
This is the same with the Lord’s hand. His touch, on our eyes, or ears, or shoulder, or elbow to turn us here or there; or away from this or that.
But as I know my wife likes my hand on her, so we should like the hand of God on us.)

The mature love of lovers, knows the things that please. So we should grow up: out of ourself life, into Christ’s life for us; and become lovers of God.

You may say that this parable is of a servant. Yes, and I say let us look to who Jesus was giving this to, and for what reason He gave this.
Jesus had been talking to His disciples about offenses.
There are many in this life: many which we do, and many which come to us. How were they to deal with them?
Rebuke the offender, or tell him you were offended: and if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he turns and does it seven times in a day; yet is sorry seven times, they were to forgive him each and every time.

The disciples, feeling totally inadequate (and who isn’t without the power of the Holy Spirit?), said:

Luke 17:5-6 “And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto the sycamine tree, be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea: and it should obey you.”

Here, then is the setting for the story of the servant: Faith is the workhorse of our Christians lives. It makes God real, and His Word hearable.
So we can know Him.
And we can, by faith have the power of God in our lives, and through them.

As His servants, we are to do our duty, Absolutely.
As His love servants, we are to become more and more in love with Christ; and become all we were created for.
A lover of God is a beautiful creation; for we are formed into His likeness, and character.

 

Keep Thy Heart

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

The heart in Scripture is the soul, or personality of the individual. It is what makes us, us.
It is made up of mind or thoughts; heart, or affections; and will, or the limited power we have to do.

If we are born again (the Bible was written for God’s people), then we are warned to “keep our hearts”.

We are not to let it wander around into things it should not go near.
We are told to hold it close to God, by the exercise of willing love.
(If you say you can not will love; I disagree. If you are talking about the affections which fly here and there; no you can not do much with them, until they are brought into subjection to Christ Jesus.
But when we are born again, we are given power to exercise our will for God in a new way. The will becomes the holder of all precious materials for God. One of these is love. And as such, we will to love what God loves.)
We then will to stay close to the Altogether Lovely One, Jesus Christ.

We have become so surrounded by the World’s terms and definitions about them; that we have forgotten the reality of the power of God in our lives.

The world says love is an emotional response to someone or something.
God says love comes from Him, into our hearts, and is returned to Him by an act of our will.
1 John 4:16,19 “And we have known and believed the love God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
We love him, because he first loved us.”

Believe is another word, the World has misused. It says it is a action of the mind, which grasps the concept of something that has proved itself.

But God says it is an action of the will, whereby we place our whole being on Him, and His Word.
Mark 9:24 “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”are

This father willed to believe. Even praying Jesus to help his unbelief.
To believe is the action of faith.
And faith is placed within us by the Holy Spirit, when we come to Christ.
It works in us to believe: place our whole selves on Christ.

That is the action part, where we do His Will.

So we are told to “Keep our hearts” and we are to do this “with all diligence”.

It takes a lot of effort to keep our hearts close to Christ.
We have a tendency to “slide” away from Him. There are many temptations in this world.
Jeremiah 3:14 “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord;…”

Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

But, as we love Him, we grow stronger and stronger in that love. We are never out of danger, till we reach our home in heaven, but He has made a way of escape, even in the temptation:

1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, BUT WILL WITH THE TEMPTATION ALSO MAKE A WAY TO ESCAPE, that ye may be able to bear it.

For out of it (our hearts- our souls) are the issues of life.
Issues, or the source of life.
When we are saved, we are given eternal life, which is a condition of life.
(It is not just to live forever. Everyone will live forever, someplace. The born again ones, in Heaven with God, in bliss. The lost, in the Lake of Fire, in torment.)

This condition of life is Christ’s Life within us by the Holy Spirit.
We are to hang on to Him. Steady ourselves with His Arm. (We need a lot of steadying)
And we are to use all the grace that He gives us, to keep hanging on to Him.
He never leaves us, but we often leave Him.
That is why hanging on, keeping our hearts for Him, is so important.

Love Him, for He loved you with an Everlasting Love.
Trust Him, for He is Faithful.
Believe, and Obey Him, for He leads us in the best way to go.

 

To Walk Before God

Psalm 56:13 “For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?”

The term, “to walk with God”, used to be common among Christians. I have not heard it very often, lately.

To “walk”, we need to have the ability to walk, and we need to have a way or path to walk in.

All this is stated here:
“For Thou hast delivered my soul from death…”
This is what Jesus Christ did on His Cross, for us, who receive Him as Lord and Savior.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

And since He has saved us, He has surely given us the “way” to walk with Him, and the ability (grace) to walk with Him.

“Wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling”
This is what the Holy Spirit does in us, practically, as we deny ourselves, and seek His Will. We are delivered in the circumstances of our lives from sin , self, the world, and the devil.
Jude 24 “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

3 John 4 “I have no greater joy then to hear that my children walk in truth.”

1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.”

All of this is: “That I may walk before God in the light of the living”.
This is not heaven, but here on earth.
To go about our everyday life, walking with the sensible knowledge that:
Our Heavenly Father’s Will is working out, in us and for us.
Our Lord Jesus is interceding for us, that we may obtain all He has for us.
And the Holy Spirit is enabling us, now; moment by moment.

We truly live, as we use the grace given, and walk with Him.

 

The First Principle, Obedience.

Acts 8:1,4-5 “…And at that time there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.”

Jesus had told them to be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Until the persecution, they had concentrated their activities in Jerusalem.
But now they were forced to flee; and so began the spread of the gospel throughout the world.

Philip was one of the deacons appointed to see to the daily needs of the Church. (Acts 6:3-6)

But now he goes down to Samaria, to preach of Christ.

Acts 8:6-8 “And the people with one accord gave heed unto the things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
For unclean spirits crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
And there was great joy in that city. ”

Here was a real Awakening. There was great joy in that city. Surely there would be, since Jesus Christ has come into the hearts and lives of the citizens.

Acts 8:12 “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women.”

Soon after this, Peter and John came from Jerusalem, to help Philip, after they heard that Samaria received the word of God.

In the midst of this Awakening, Philip is told to leave there and go down to Gaza, which is desert.

Acts 8:26 “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip saying, Arise, and go toward the south, unto the way which goeth down to Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert.”

And what was his reaction to this? Did he argue and say, “Lord, I am in a great revival here. I can’t leave now.” ?
No.

Acts 8:27-29 “And he arose and went: (That is Obedience)
And behold a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had a charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet.
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”

The Holy Spirit tells Philip, Go near, and join this man.
And Philip runs!
And is given the opportunity to speak of Jesus Christ.

Acts 8:30-34 “And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he should come up and sit with him.
The place of the Scripture which he read was this,
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
and like a lamb dumb before his Shearer, so opened not his mouth:
In his humiliation his judgement was taken away:
and who shall declare His generation?
For his life is taken from the earth.
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man?”

This eunuch had been to Jerusalem, to worship. Even though he had been there at the time of Pentecost, he was untouched by all that was going on there.

(Remember, Pentecost was when the Holy Spirit was given: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,…
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together….
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:1-2,4,6,38)

And now, this eunuch was returning home, not knowing of the invitation Peter gave to all who gathered around them. He was looking to the Scriptures, but without understanding.
And Philip, using that very Scripture, spoke to him, of Jesus: Who He was, and what He had done, for the saving of the soul.

Acts 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

Obedience is the first principle of all of God’s Principles. It Honors God, because it is for the Lord.
His Presence is with the one doing it, in a real way.
He honors the one doing it.
He blesses the obedience, whether it is seen at the time or not.
(Obedience in the Greek means “willingly doing what you are told”.
You can do, because you have to, or to gain something.
But Obedience is the willing heart doing, to please our Lord Jesus Christ.)

Acts 8:36-38 “As they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”

Philip was obedient, and the eunuch was obedient, and he went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 8:39 “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”

To know about Jesus, is good.
But to truly know Him, is joy.
There was joy in Samaria, and with the eunuch, because of Philip’s obedience.

The first principle is Obedience. For Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15)