Continuance
in the Path of Obedience
and other
Ministry by Josiah Harper

The Formation of a Vessel

Doubtless there are times in the history of every one of us when we are overcome by a spirit of depression.

• It may be that we have wondered if we are of any use at all in the testimony; we become discouraged, occupied with ourselves and our weaknesses and shortcomings. To such a one I would say that God has you in hand.

• Jeremiah had to go down to the potter's house to get a word from Lord, and it may be in the consideration of this Scripture that the Lord has a word of comfort for you.

• Although you may not have responded to what is in God's mind about you, He has the wisdom and skill to reduce you and to deal with you in such a way that you will be formed according to His thought.

• Now that is so with every one of us. It has been a great comfort to me to be assured that God knew all about me before I was born.
  • "My substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret", Psalm 139: 15.

• It may be that He has to reduce us, but He will ultimately bring us out according to His own mind, to contain what He has in His mind for us to contain.

• God has use for you and He will bring you to recognize what that use is if you are prepared to yield to His own loving and wise hand.

Job was a man who went through severe discipline, a man who came to the point when he "cursed his day".

• I do not think there is any one here who would go so far as that – as to curse the day in which he was born.

• Job became so depressed that he wished that he had not been born at all.

• Yet God was working with him and bringing him down in order that He might bring him up according to His mind.

• When Job said, "Let the day perish wherein I was born", he might have been the only man born that day – he was self-occupied. Self-occupation is a very depressing thing.

• Job had been severely tested in many ways, but he comes to the point in chapter 42 when he says,
  • "I know that Thou canst do everything, and that Thou canst be hindered in no thought of Thine".

• So let each one of us take it to heart than we do not seek to hinder God in His operations with us, not seeking to move contrary to His will, but having a quiet submission and saying as Job
  • "I know that Thou canst do everything, and that Thou canst be hindered in no thought of Thine".

• Jeremiah, the very man to whom God would give a word in the potter's house, was very low at times.

• He had some very trying experiences – he had been put in prison, he had had his feet put in the stocks, he had been put in a dungeon – yet God was pleased to allow His servant to pass that way to form him.

• Do not let us be dismayed – all our circumstances are ordered by God in His wisdom, no matter how difficult. The psalmist says,
  • "All my members are written in Thy book", and

    "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me".

• Jeremiah, like Job, cursed the day wherein he was born, even though God had said to him,
  • "Before I formed thee … I knew thee; and before thou camest forth … I hallowed thee", 1: 5.

Now God has something in mind for us too. He is working in every circumstance of our daily life, having us in hand upon His wheel.

• He is working according to divine wisdom, to bring us to where we shall be able to hold everything that He has in mind for us.

  Paul, writing to the Philippians, says,

  • "He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ", 1: 6.

• There will be no failure with God. There are plenty of failures with us, and discouragement and depression, but God's way is perfect. The psalmist says,
  • "in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!", Psalm 139: 16-17.

    Paul says, "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus?", Romans 9: 20.

• Do we ever question God and His way with us? A little further in that chapter we read that we are
  • "vessels of mercy … prepared for glory", 9: 23.

• God in His infinite mercy has taken us up as vessels of mercy to have a place in the glory soon to be displayed to a wondering universe.

The Surrender of the Vessel

When we come to understand that, it gives us some little impetus to move into what is presented in Romans 12. The apostle says,

• "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service".

• God would have all the saints intelligent, and He would have this mark of intelligence about them, that they present their bodies a living sacrifice to God.

• The apostle brings to bear upon the affections of the saints the compassions of God.

• Think of it, the feelings of God moving out in the glad tidings – in presenting Jesus to us – the glad tidings of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, the One who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.

• In view of His glorious work, God has sent forth His Spirit, and shed abroad His love in our hearts. But He wants an answer to it.

• I think it is a lovely thing to see souls committing themselves fully to God – yielding their bodies a living sacrifice to God.

Then it goes on to say, "And be not conformed to this world". What an appeal this is in a day like the present!

• The world that hated Jesus and cast Him out has not altered one bit in spite all the education and culture.

• What evidence there is today as to the character of the world! What hatred and misery there is in it!

• Yet there are some who have accepted the coming out of God in the glad tidings and still are prepared to go on with the world.

• There are some young people, alas, brought up among the saints, that have chosen to go out into the world to conform to its way. God would appeal to you through the apostle:
  • "And be not conformed to this world".

• How could my heart be conformed to the world that crucified the Lord of glory? The apostle says,
  • "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price", 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20. What a price!

    "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ", 1 Peter 1: 18-19.

• Can we be conformed to a world that cast Him out? Can we not respond to God's claim over us and put ourselves on the altar?

• It costs us something every day. It is a living sacrifice. It is for God's pleasure.
  • "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God".

• Ephesians speaks about
  • the "good pleasure of His will", 1: 5,

    the "mystery of His will", 1: 9, and

    the "counsel of His will", 1: 11.

• But the thought in Romans 12 is that we should hold ourselves here in this world as vessels devoted to the will of God, and not pleasing ourselves.

• As we do that, we prove experimentally that the will of God is good.

• The Spirit helps us to the understanding and the accepting of God's will. Jesus said,
  • "I delight to do Thy will, O My God. Yea, Thy law is within My heart", Psalm 40: 8.

• It was so good, so perfect. He moved here doing the things that were pleasing to God, and that is open to us.

• God desires that we should surrender ourselves completely to Him, moving in the world that is marked by difficulty, death and sorrow as persons delighting in His will.

Now the question may arise in your mind,

• 'How can I discern His will amidst the broken condition of things in Christendom? I see churches, chapels, meeting-rooms, and I say, I do not know what to do'.

• God will give you instruction. So when Paul wrote to Timothy the Spirit of God was behind it in order that we might be guided aright in this day of the brokenness, when a Christian might enquire,
  • 'How must I walk and where must I go and how must I behave in these days of failure?'

In the first letter to Timothy he speaks about the house of God as being

• "the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth", 1 Timothy 3: 15.

• God has a house here in this world composed of all the saints who have the Spirit, and in it He has put that which is precious Him. The truth concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus, is held in that vessel.

• The saints are to hold it and they are to support it in the world that cast Him out.

• It is a very fine thing to understand the truth of the house of God, that God has a dwelling-place here in this world. Scripture says,
  • "the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee", 1 Kings 8: 27.

    The apostle says, "To the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only God …", 1 Timothy 1: 17.

• Yet He has a dwelling-place upon earth composed of all the saints, the lovers of Christ, indwelt by the Spirit
  • – "built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit", Ephesians 2: 22.

• Now that is the house in its purity, as suggested in chapter 3 of the first epistle.

• But when we come to the second epistle the breakdown is in view. Man has introduced his will, and there is confusion.

• Sects and schisms came in; division came into the church. Some held one name – following one man's will – some another, and thus confusion and breakdown came in.
  • One can understand a genuine soul saying, 'What must I do?'

• You must bow to the will God. There is only room for one will in the assembly and that is the will of God made known in the power of the Holy Spirit.,
  • So it says, "The firm foundation of God stands".

• A great comfort that is – God has never given up one of His thoughts and never will. God has in mind that we should be His dwelling-place and He is still dwelling here in the power of the Spirit.

• Amidst all the breakdown the "firm foundation of God stands". It is possible to reach a stable position.

• When persons ask to break bread, they should be intelligent as to what they are doing.

• If we reach a certain position we should be able to say why we are there. We want to know where we stand in the midst of Christendom.

"The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, The Lord knows those that are His".

• But when you turn the seal over, it strikes you with a sense of your responsibility:
  • "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity".

• The saints, as calling upon the name of the Lord, owning Him as Lord, have definite responsibility, for the thought is that we call upon Lord in subjection.

• There are those in Christendom that stifle those who are really spiritual, and such hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. That is unrighteousness.
  • Turn away from it. "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity".

• That is the responsibility of every lover of Christ – to leave unrighteousness, wherever it may be and whatever form it takes.

The Serviceability of the Vessel

Then there is another thing, the thought of serviceability to the Master. If you would like the Lord to use you, you must be pure, you must separate yourself from "vessels to dishonour".

• In a "great house", that is Christendom, there are vessels to honour and vessels to dishonour. One must leave unrighteousness and purify oneself from persons who are going on in an a unrighteous way and those also who are publicly linked with them.

• What a solemn matter that is! It means that one must be prepared to stand alone, and that is what everyone of us has had to do.

• If we are thus faithful to the Lord, He gives us others to walk with. That is why the saints meet together as they do.

• They have moved out in faithfulness to the Lord, and recognize that there is only one will to be operative and that is the Master's will. We call on Lord out of a pure heart and we get directions from Him.

On this ground we are able to come together to break bread. We can move together in the light of what marks the assembly of God in purity. God has never given up that thought. We can by the Spirit work out the truth of the body.

• Also as coming together in the power of the Spirit, we know what it is to be characteristically the temple of God.

• We find ourselves moving together in the consciousness that we are providing a clean place for the Lord in the "great house" position.

• We have not altered the ecclesiastical position a bit by meeting as we do. The ecclesiastical position is that of a great house,
  • but we have purified ourselves morally by withdrawing from unrighteousness under the direction of the Lord,

  • and now we are to follow "righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart".

Righteousness

We are exhorted to do what is right in our daily walk – to follow righteousness, but how do we move among our brethren? Are we following righteousness with our brethren always?

• In Matthew 5 the Lord speaks of the way of righteousness:
  • "if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift".

• Do we always do that? In chapter 18 He says,
  • "if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother". It is possible that he will hear you.

• If I am conscious that I have offended anyone, I have to do the going; and on the other hand if I am the party that has been offended, I must not wait until my brother expresses his sorrow – I am to go to him.

• Whether I am the offender or the offended, I am to do the going. That is just, that is right. Now, beloved brethren, are we all following righteousness?

Faith

Then there is faith. I think we find the way of faith in Mark.

• In chapter 10 "the way" is spoken of several times. It corresponds to the Christian "way" spoken of in the Act of the Apostles.

• There are some young people who come into fellowship not understanding the position that we are in and the responsibility of it.

• A young man ran "into the way" very simply, Mark 10: 17, but when he found out the responsibility of the path he went out of it. That is a very solemn matter.

• But at the end of chapter we find one who was governed by faith; he even threw aside his garment, and when the Lord said "Go",
  • "he followed Jesus in the way".

• That is not our own way, but as embracing the light of God as it comes to us we should follow it in faith.

Love

Love is the way of surpassing excellence, and we are to pursue it. It is demonstrated practically in John where Lord washed the disciples' feet.

• If we get to the feet of the brethren there is a good deal to do. The Lord says,
  • "I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you".

• That is what is expected of us, to follow the way of love, and it means serving one another in love constantly.

Peace

Then we have the way of peace in Luke. Luke speaks of the One who came into the world to guide our feet into the way of the peace. He also speaks about peace in heaven, Luke 19: 38.

• Jesus is there, filling out heaven with His worth, His glory and His beauty, but what about earth?

• What about the saints, what about the vessels who have purified themselves and whom the Lord has put together?

• He encourages them to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Is there peace among the brethren? There ought to be.

• The Spirit of God is here to enable us to maintain peaceful conditions amongst the brethren. We can understand the psalmist saying,
  • "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem", Psalm 122: 6.

• We need to do that, that there might be an atmosphere of peace amongst the saints.

• We should be using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace, and thus answer to the light that God has been pleased to give us.

May God grant that there may be a greater measure of response from all our hearts, so that in truth we may call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.

1. The first Scripture read shows that nearness to the Lord results in safety.

2. The second Scripture shows how that in nearness to the Lord we receive divine communications, and

3. the third shows that it is the source of power. Paul could say, "The Lord gave me power".

Safety

I am sure all the saints are aware of the tremendous effort of the part of Satan to spoil what is of God; it seems to be a special effort of Satan to spoil what is of God in these dark days.

• He has attempted to bring in universal cleavages among the saints and he is attempting to do that today, but, having failed in that, he has made a determined effort to break in on the saints in their localities.

• His endeavour is to spoil what is priestly, and this Scripture in 1 Samuel shows us that he is out for wholesale destruction.

Doeg the Edomite slew eighty-five priests of God, but one escaped, and the one who escaped fled to David, and David says,

• "Fear not: for he that seeketh thy life seeks my life" – mark the order – "but with me thou shalt be in safeguard".

• Satan is endeavouring to get rid of every feature of Christ, "he that … seeks my life", but in so doing he must get rid of the saints too, and he is doing it by the spirit of Edom – Doeg the Edomite.

• It is that spirit of vengeance that marks men, and alas, Edom is spoken of as the brother of Israel.

• Satan is endeavouring through one and another to bring in a hard spirit among the saints of God.

• Ezekiel tells us that God will deal with the spirit of vengeance that marked Edom, chapter 25. Amos 1: 11 tells us that God has a controversy with Edom,
  • "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four",

• and one is because he pursued his brother with a sword. It is a dangerous thing to take up a sword against our brethren.

• Let each one of us be careful lest we bear a hard thought against our brethren, lest we take up a sword, and cast of all pity;
  • for, if Satan can produce an unforgiving spirit among the saints, he has reached his end.

• Now the way to be safe and clear from this kind of thing is to keep near to Christ. David says, 'You keep near to me, and you will be safe'.

• It is a lovely thing to be near to the heart of Christ; it is there we learn how precious the saints are to the heart of Christ and to the heart of God.

• If we keep near to the Lord Jesus, He would say with the deep feeling, 'Satan is endeavouring to get rid of every feature of Me, but if you keep near to Me, I will show you how lovely the saints are in the My eyes '.

• We shall have such a view of the saints that we shall be prepared to serve them and love them as Christ loved them.

Now Abiathar became useful to David; he served him on several occasions, he had the ephod with him, and he carried on priestly service.

• The time came when there was open rebellion against David, and many turned away, but Abiathar kept near to David and he was safe.

• Alas, there came a day when Adonijah rose up against David. David was old, things were weak, and Abiathar said, 'It is no use holding on'.

• It may be so with us, we feel that things are so weak and we almost give up; Abiathar did, and he lost his position – he failed in not keeping near to David.

• No matter how weak things were, what was of God was going through, and we find ere long that Solomon was on the throne, and that at the same time as David,
  • and those who kept near to David came out in the glory of the kingdom.

• So let us keep near to Christ in view of that day when He shall appear.

Divines Communications

Now when we come to John's gospel we find one who is leaning on the breast of Jesus – near to Him.

• I long to be there constantly, for it is the place from which to receive divine communications.

• On this occasion things were dark. It was a question of a difficulty among the saints, and it was beyond anyone to find out what it was,
  • but it was open for anyone near enough to the Lord to receive a communication.

• John was in the bosom of Jesus and he turned and said to the Lord, "Who is it?", and Jesus answered.

• How beautiful to be among those near enough to the Lord to say, 'What is this matter which is grieving Thee?'

• And how delightful when He gives an answer, and it is open to every one of us to have such a place. He says in John 14: 21,
  • "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him".

• Now we have an intimacy of confidence to be gone in for, a position the Lord puts before every one of us,
  • of being consciously loved by the Father, and loved by the Lord, and He can come and manifest Himself to us.

• Verses 21 and 23 are spoken to individuals, showing that it is open to every one of us to receive divine communications. These things are not mystical.

• The Lord sometimes spoke in a way they did not understand, so Judas says,
  • "How is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us and not unto the world?"

• The Lord in answer to that says,
  • "If a man love Me he will keep My words".

  There is nothing mystical about that; it is a position the Lord would suggest is open to everyone.

• He would communicate to us not only His words, but He would like us to have the sense that we are loved by the Father, and not only that, but the Father and the Son would make Their abode with us.

• What do we know about it? It says in chapter 1:
  • "John stood and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God".

• One of the two which heard John speak was Andrew. Who do you think the other was? There were two and Jesus saw them following and He said,
  • "What seek ye?" And they said, "Where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, Come and see … and they abode with Him that day"

• – they came into the realm where they could see the wonderful affection between the Father and the Son.

• Scripture tells us who one disciple was, and I would like to put myself in the place of the other. What a wonderful thing to see where divine Persons dwell!

Power

Now in the third Scripture we find that nearness to the Lord results in power.

• Paul knew what it was to be near to the Lord and to be kept safe.

• Those who are the safest ofttimes pass through the greatest pressure, but as near to the Lord they are sustained in it and are kept safe.

• I have often marvelled at what he writes:
  • "For our light affliction, which is but for the moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory", 1 Corinthians 4: 17.

• Think of all he passed through – 2 Cor. 12: 23-27 – and he calls it "light affliction".

• He had his eye on Christ; he was near to Him. Is he going to be like Abiathar and fall out at the end? No. If there is anything I would like to do, it is to go through till the end.

• Now Paul is nearing the end and he is still safe, and he is still receiving communications.

• He has been preaching the gospel, and making it fully known, and he would say, 'I have got my power from the One to whom I kept near in all my afflictions'.
  • "The Lord stood with me, and gave me power".

• Nearness to the Lord gives power when everything seems gone, and he says, 'I want you to go through to the end too, Timothy!'

I would like to pass that on, that if we keep near to the Lord,

• He can preserve us from Satan, He can preserve us from taking the sword against our brethren,

• He will communicate divine things to us, and

• He will give us power at the end.

May He help us in giving grace constantly to keep near to Him!

2 Kings 6: 32

This Scripture in the second book of Kings shows that restfulness is the outcome of experience.

• The earlier part of chapter 6 shows us a young man who was very concerned as to the position in which he was and who had doubts as to whether he would get through. He is spoken of as the attendant of the man of God, Elisha.

• Elisha would represent the testimony in its completeness, being a type of what is extant in our day – and that is Christianity.

• His ministry of power was the outcome of seeing Elijah taken up into heaven, and the ministry was continued in greater power than even in Elijah's day.

• How that reminds us of the words of the Lord Jesus! As we consider the great things that He did, He could say Himself, in John 14,
  • "He than believes on Me, the works which I do shall he do also, and he shall do greater than these, because I go to the Father",

• referring to the Spirit's day, the day of Christianity, the day in which we find ourselves.

• Elisha represents that, as having a double portion of Elijah's spirit, so that what he did was all marked and characterized by grace – with one exception, I believe, where judgment was inevitable.

The position that Elisha was in was supreme; it was one of power. It was a position that God was behind, and therefore, although assailable, it was unconquerable.

• Now the young man that was with Elisha saw the tremendous opposition that was arrayed against Elisha, and he says, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?"

• I dare say there are some young brothers and sisters who have their mind on the tremendous forces that are against the testimony, not only what they can see but what they cannot see,
  • the spiritual powers of wickedness in heavenly places, the terrible forces of evil that are set against the testimony and the saints as in the testimony.

• As they think of it and can see the manifestation of it in some degree, they perhaps are filled with concern, and say, 'How shall we get through?'

• Well, I would like to say a word of comfort to you tonight – that the position is unconquerable.

• It may be that you have your eye on a few brethren in your locality marked by outward weakness, but let me assure you that they are there in the understanding
  • that the Spirit of God is with them, and that the Lord is with them, and that God is behind the position, which, although assailable, is unconquerable.

• The position must go through to the end.

The outcome of this young man's cry was that Elisha prayed and said,

• "Jehovah, I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see".

• My desire is that those who are young and are feeling a little bit discouraged by what they find outwardly in weakness may have their eyes opened to see the vast realm of what is available to the saints to carry them through.

• They have been baptized "to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", and if they have arrived at that, they have arrived at an understanding of that which is impregnable. How glorious it is!

• This young man had his eyes opened to see the horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. What Elisha represented and stood for was definitely protected and would go through.

• And so it is, beloved brethren. We may be small in our localities, but God is with us, and the Spirit is with us, and the Lord is with us, and we shall go through.

• The Spirit is going on with His glorious work of formation, and the grand end that God has in mind will be reached without question, and that is, that the Spirit and the bride say, "Come".

• The end of this period will be reached in full triumph and spiritual vigour.

• I would that all the brethren could have their eyes opened to see the vast resources of wealth which have been committed to the saints to hold in testimony till the Lord comes.

The attacks are very serious on the testimony, and restfulness is only produced as the outcome of experience.

• So the verse I read shows that Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him.

• They were there perfectly composed, in the midst of the murderous elements that were abroad; doubtless the enemy was seeking to overthrow Elisha and the elders that were with him. Elisha could say,
  • "Do ye see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? … Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?"

• Beloved brethren, the attacks that are made on the testimony may be made through persons, but the devil is behind it all. Satan is set to overthrow what there is here in this world for God's pleasure.

• But in spite of the knowledge of that fact there are those in their localities – perhaps only two or three – who have such an experience of God and are in such accord with the truth of Christianity in its fullness, that they are restful in the midst of it all!

• They know what to do when the attack comes. The word of wisdom says,
  • "Shut the door, and keep him off with the door".

• Well, that perhaps needs a little explanation. As far as I understand the truth of 2 Timothy 2, the position is that we have come in by the door.

• In the midst of all the breakdown of Christianity publicly, there is a position where those who desire to be faithful to the Lord, and to "name the name of the Lord", can withdraw from all the iniquity, and they find themselves in a place of security;
  • and we see the door that they move through in those verses in 2 Timothy, withdrawing from iniquity and

  • following "righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart".

• That is the door through which we have to come to find ourselves in the present position.

• Now, the enemy would seek to get in to destroy the position, but we can keep him off by the door. That is, in other words, by being faithful to the position we have taken up.

• The enemy would seek to get in through all kinds of things; by swamping the saints in the matter of trade unions, it may be; in this part of the country they are perhaps not tested as some in the industrial areas;
  • but it is the kind of thing that would bring the saints into bondage and compromise the position by ungodly links and associations.

• But the way is to keep the enemy out by the door, and we are to follow, or pursue,
  • "righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart".

• It in this position, as true to it, we can depend on all the protection that God affords to His people. If we are not true to the position, the enemy will get in.

The enemy is endeavouring to spoil what is of God. Those who have experience – as the elders with Elisha – understand; the murderer is behind it.

• What does that mean? It is a question whether we understand brotherly love. If a man says he loves God and hates his brother, how abides the truth in him?

• The murderer is behind every element of hatred that the enemy would seek to bring in amongst the people of God.

• There should be the consolidating of the position in love, and that is not a rare commodity amongst the brethren. Love is there, just as a righteousness is there, and faith, and peace.

• What the enemy is seeking to do is to disturb the peace amongst the brethren, but he can be kept out by the door.

• Let us be true to the position we are in! We have withdrawn from iniquity outside, publicly, and here we are inside, in the knowledge of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. How wonderful!

• We should be at peace and restful in spite of all the evil outside.

Matthew 11: 23-30

I go forward now to the New Testament to show how it is possible to be restful in service, and restful, too, in sorrow, and – there may be a word in this for some – restful in view of death.

• This chapter in Matthew's gospel, where the Lord is so restful in His service, begins with one who had served in his generation and who had served well;
  • he had been fearless in his ministry, but he was suffering for it; he was in prison, and when the circumstances were difficult and hard, doubts began to arise.

• When everything is going forward easily, we do not raise questions so much, but when things are adverse and difficult, then we begin to ask questions.

• John the baptist began to doubt in his mind whether the Lord were the true Messiah or not, and so he sends this message through his disciples,
  • "Art thou the coming one? or are we to wait for another?"

• But the Lord in His infinite grace and tenderness sends a message, a personal message, to John in prison, which I am sure would make him restful.

• If you were disturbed, the Lord would give you your own message; He would speak to you personally. The Lord does not speak in generalities when it is a question of comfort; He speaks to us personally.

• So He sent this special message to John,
  • "Blessed is whosoever shall not be offended in me".

• You might not understand a message like that, but John did; I have not the slightest doubt in my mind that that would bring comfort and solace to John the Baptist, and
  • when the moment came to him to go forward to be beheaded according to the commandment of the king, I believe he would go forward perfectly restful in spirit because he had that special message from the Lord.

• Then the Lord spoke of him and He says to the people,
  • "What went ye out to see?"

• 'Oh', you might say, 'he was a good servant but he weakened at the end and had to send to the Lord to ask for confirmation'.

• But the Lord covers that up beautifully; He did not expose John. He says to the people,
  • "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed moved about by the wind?"

• That is to say, John was not a man who was one day upright and the next day vacillating and moving to and fro.

• No, he was righteous; he knew what it was to be clothed with a garment of camel's hair, girded with a leathern girdle, and his nourishment in the wilderness was locusts and wild honey, not the luxury of the palace. The Lord says,
  • "Those who wear delicate things are in the houses of kings".

• John was not like that. The way in which the Lord covers up the servant is marvellous. In the light of it the Lord would have us restful.

The passage goes on to show how restful the Lord Himself was when all His service seemed to be in vain.

• He moved about in Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum, and they would not receive His mighty works which He had done. They refused His ministry.

• Was the Lord disturbed about that? He was perfectly restful in His spirit.

• He did not fail to point out the responsibility of those to whom He ministered. He says,
  • "Woe to thee, Chorazin! woe to thee, Bethsaida!"

• They had had opportunities that were priceless, and they had refused them. And what about Capernaum? The Lord says,
  • "And thou, Capernaum, who hast been raised up to heaven, shalt be brought down even to hades".

• There had been an opportunity there, the like of which has never been granted to any other place. The Lord had lived there and ministered there, such a rich ministry, and they had refused it, and the responsibility of the refusal was great.

• Just as their privilege of being ministered to was great, so their responsibility in refusing would receive the greater condemnation.

• I speak feelingly. I am speaking in a locality where there has been a rich ministry of Christ for many years which means that this locality is faced with a tremendous responsibility.

• In this place, where there has been a ministry that has encouraged the hearts of the saints throughout the world, what is the result of this ministry? Are the saints in this locality restful?

Beloved Mr. C. A. Coates, well known author of the 'Outlines', lived and ministered in Teignmouth for many years.       GAR

The Lord's answer to this refusal at that time was not to say how hard had been His lot to minister without result, but He turns His eyes to heaven.

• "At that time, Jesus answering said, I praise Thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth".

• How restful in His spirit! He gives the Father the place of absolute supremacy. The place of absolute supremacy is with the Father. Then He speaks in this wonderful way, that
  • "no one knows the Son but the Father, nor does any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal Him".

• And then, marvel of marvels, He goes on to say,
  • "Come to Me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest".

• The Lord was in perfect restfulness, perfect ease of mind in the midst of all the refusal of His ministry, because He had the perfect knowledge of the Father.

• The wonderful communion between the Son and the Father was such that the Lord was restful in every circumstance as a Man.

• Now I would say without hesitation that there are some who labour and they feel it a burden. I speak feelingly about this, beloved brethren, and I think you will understand what I mean.

• Their labour involves a state of burden. But the Lord says,
  • 'I want you to be restful about it; do not let it overwhelm you';

    "Come to Me … and I will give you rest".

• How will the Lord do that? You feel you want to do something for Lord and you feel it may be a burden to you. The Lord says:
  • "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light".

• I believe the Lord is saying this to those who would come to Him in order that He might make the Father known to them.

• At that time Jesus turned His eyes to heaven, and said, "Father", and the Lord would make the Father known to us in the intimacy of sonship's place.

• It is within our range, beloved brethren, to know the Father as the Son knows the Father, so that,

• whenever we are burdened or feel the weight of things as being occupied with the service, we have the opportunity of quietly turning our eyes to heaven and saying,
  • "I praise Thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth".

• I believe that is the end the Lord would have us all reach in connection with service – to be perfectly restful.

John 11: 19-20

Now we come to the thought of a test most of us have had to face, in relation to the sorrow of bereavement.

• There is nothing that tests the spirituality of the brethren more than bereavement, whether we can be restful in the presence of death.

• Verse 2 of this chapter of John's gospel marks out a certain personality: it says,
  • "It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair".

• It was that Mary, that person, who is going to be the subject of restfulness.

• Now the actual fact of anointing Lord with ointment and wiping His feet with her hair did not take place until chapter 12,
  • but you see how the Spirit of God delights to bring forward the person who did that, to show the spiritual personality that was there;

    the kind of person that can be put forward as an example of restfulness, in the presence of the article of death.

• I believe, as I said before, the spiritual personality of the saints is tested as we have the element of death to face.

Martha, when she hears that the Lord was coming, gets up immediately and goes out to meet Him.

• She is not restful about it. And she says,
  • "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died";

• as much as to upbraid the Lord. She had her eye on her brother, the one who had died.

• But Mary sits in the house; she is restful. It is that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair.

• She is a spiritual person. She knows something of the beauty of the Lord's Person, and she is restful. But when she gets the word to move, she moves.

• Martha, having had this conversation with the Lord and having revealed the fact that she was occupied with the loss of her brother, then calls to Mary, saying,
  • "The teacher is come and calls thee".

• Then Mary gets up and moves to the Lord; and she is weeping. A spiritual person feels the element of death, feels it deeply, but she is restful in it.

• It is not that spirituality would make us unfeeling, far from it. Mary was weeping, but she was restful.

• She comes to the Lord, and when she speaks to the Lord she says exactly the same words as Martha used – but, it would seem, in a different way. She says,
  • "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died",

• exactly the same words, but the intonation different. A spiritual person has the Lord before him. As if to say that in the presence of the Lord death would have been an impossibility.

• Mary is restful in the presence of Lord; and then her spirituality, too, is marked by her weeping and feeling the position. It says,
  • "Jesus wept".

• He understands her feelings about this matter.

• So in the sense of all this, knowing the greatness of the Person, Jesus, the Son of God, the resurrection and the life, the One who would act for the glory of God and glorify Himself in it – that Person – it makes us restful.

• The more we know of the glory of the Lord in His Person, the more restful we are in the presence of death.

2 Peter 1: 13-18

In the last passage we find Peter restful as he faces dissolution.

• It is not now loss of a relative, one dear to him, but he is himself facing the article of death.

• One is conscious that a good many have never really faced this question of dissolution. They want to go on living; they feel there is something to live for.

• Well, there is; and it is right that young people should have a right outlook on life.

• But what is in my mind is that we should have such a wonderful sense of the greatness of the knowledge of God the Father, and the Son, that whatever betide, we may be restful about it.

• The apostle Peter was nearing the end of his course, and he knew – the Lord had told him – that he would die by being carried by hands that were not loving hands, where he did not wish to go, and he would be girded by another against his wish. As John 21 tells us,
  • "He said this signifying by what death he should glorify God".

• Peter recognized and felt that the moment was fast approaching, but he did not get irritable and upset by it; he was calm and restful.
  • "Knowing", he says in his epistle, "that the putting off of my tabernacle is speedily to take place, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has manifested to me".

• Why was he so restful? Because he was sustained inwardly by the sense of the glory-system in which he was to have a part eternally.

• He had been with the Lord Jesus on the holy mount in the presence of the glory; he had been there; it was an experience.

• I would like to impress upon all of us that these things we are speaking of are not theoretical; they are real. Peter says,
  • "I account it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance … that after my departure ye should have also, at any time, in your power to call to mind these things".

Peter is writing so that, at any time we are apt to feel discouraged or depressed, we should have the power to bring these things to our remembrance, so that we may be perfectly restful. He says,

• "For He received from God the Father, honour and glory, such a voice being uttered to Him by the excellent glory".

• It does not say it was the Father's voice; it was the Father's voice without question, but Peter says,
  • "Such a voice being uttered to Him by the excellent glory".

• As much as to say, 'Its power was such that it laid hold of me'. It absorbed his attention, "such a voice". "And this voice we heard". Peter heard it. Have we heard "such a voice"?

• In the service of God on the first day of the week we speak to God the Father, and we speak to the Lord Jesus. Have we been in the sphere spiritually where we have heard "such a voice"? Has it been real?

• Is there such a quality and experience, that when the article of death faces us we can face it with perfect equanimity at the memory of "such a voice"?
  • "And this voice we heard uttered from heaven, being with Him on the holy mountain".

    What did it say? "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight".

• It does not add here, "hear him"; that was the actual word in the gospel:
  • "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight: hear him".

• But Peter does not say, "hear him", now; as much as to say, 'I am perfectly at home in the sphere where the Father is fully complacent in the Son'. It is the Person of the Son. Peter says,
  • 'I have seen it'; "having been eye-witnesses of his majesty".

• He was absorbed by it – Father's voice, and the glory of the Son. 'This', he would say to these saints, 'is my home eternally'. So we can understand how readily Peter would be prepared to face dissolution.
  • "While yet we do not wish to be unclothed, but clothed", says the apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthians, "ardently desiring to have put on our house which is from heaven".

• That is to say, clothed suitably for heaven, with our house which is from heaven.

The Spirit is here to help us to reach it. "Another Comforter", the Lord says; "He shall glorify me".

• The Spirit is glorifying the Lord to us, and brings these things so really to us that, although we were not actually with Him on the holy mount like Peter, we love Him; as Peter says,
  • "whom, having not seen, ye love".

• What a wonderful system of glory we belong to, beloved brethren, where the Father and the Son and the Spirit are all operating to bring us into restfulness of spirit!

• All things that the Father has the Son has, and the Spirit takes of the Son's things and shows them to us – how marvellous!

• We may be perfectly at home with divine Persons, moving intelligently in service, knowing to whom we are speaking:
  • whether it is to the Father or to the Son, we know the Person of the Godhead to whom we are speaking, and we speak intelligently.

• The more we know it, the more restful we become.

• The enemy is set to destroy our restful spirit; as we were saying at the beginning of the meeting, there is a son of a murderer at the door seeking to destroy what is for the pleasure of God
  • but we can keep him out, beloved brethren, by the door.

• We are in a position of restfulness by the Spirit, and as in it we have the Father and the Son and the Spirit all working, and we are the subjects and objects of Their work, in order that we may be formed now, in time,

• for that eternal day when we shall be before Him, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, without blame, in love.

In the present time, God's dispensation which is in faith, God has been fully declared.

• It is possible for us in virtue of the death of Christ and His present position in glory, and our having received the Spirit on the principle of faith, to move right into the immediate presence of God.

• The creature may come into the knowledge of God as having been made known in Jesus.

• It is deeply affecting to consider the advent into this world of One who is God, the very same God who was in the holiest, hidden from the eyes of His creature by the veil.

• We are moved as we contemplate the Word become flesh and dwelling among us, for in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.
  • He is the One in whom the declaration of God is to be fully known.

• His blood has been shed; He has been raised and glorified; He is a Man now in the presence of God; and the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him the bodily.

• As the outcome of this wondrous work the Holy Spirit has been given, and the knowledge of God is now available to man.

• God Himself has been revealed as Father, and the Holy Spirit has come so that the revelation might be effective in us.
  • We are baptised to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

• God has been manifested thus in holy Trinity: as to Being, one God; yet three distinct Persons manifest in Their operations.

With this in mind I have read these Scriptures, because we have the voice of the Spirit, the voice of the Lord Jesus, and the voice of the Father.

• It is really God Himself who speaks, but the persons of whom we read are intelligent as to the One who speaks, whether it be the Father, the Son, or the Spirit.

• What is laid upon my heart is that we may be able to discern the speaking to us by the Spirit, by the Son, or by the Father. That calls for great sensitiveness.

• I am conscious that perhaps one has spoken a little too freely in relation to divine speaking without having really discerned the voice.

In Acts 22 Paul recounts that, as he journeyed toward Damascus, there was a light from heaven and a voice spoke to him.

• It was intended for his ears and he heard it and, discerning it, said,
  • "What shall I do, Lord?"

• It was the voice of the Man in the glory, and he recognized it and surrendered to the claims of the Lord Jesus.

• The others with him heard a sound, yet they could not discern the voice of the One who spoke. The Spirit of God is careful to record this.

• It calls for a readiness on our part to surrender completely to the Lord Jesus, so that we may be amongst those who not only hear the sound but discern the voice of the Person who speaks.

In Acts 11 Peter is recounting to the apostles and the brethren who were in Judæa how it was that he came to speak to Cornelius and to present the glad tidings to him;

• how he had used the key that was given to him by the Lord to open the door for the Gentiles to enter into blessing.

• He was evidently a spiritually minded person, for he used the opportunities that presented themselves in the best possible way.

• This becomes a challenge to us as to how we use our odd moments, as we speak; whether we use them wisely or unwisely.

• With Peter it was a question of waiting until the meal was ready. He did not waste his time in the meanwhile; he went to the housetop to pray.
  • I would like to encourage my own heart as well as the hearts of the beloved brethren that, should there be an occasion when we have to wait, we may use that time wisely, being ready to turn our eyes to heaven and to be in communion with God.

• It was thus that Peter became in an ecstasy. He moved in mind and feeling and experience outside the range of flesh and blood conditions, and saw in vision during that short time the origin and destiny of that great vessel the assembly.

• There was a mighty and holy concentration of instruction in that brief period.

• Many of us feel that our apprehensions as to the greatness of the assembly concerning its heavenly origin and destiny are very feeble, but Peter learned it in a short time of which he made such good use.

• While he was pondering over things the Spirit spoke to him and gave him instructions what to do. It is the Spirit here who, speaking to Peter, told him to go down with the men from Cornelius nothing doubting.

• It was not to be a supposition on his part that he had heard the Spirit. He is recounting now that it was the Spirit who had spoken to him.

• In chapter 10 the Spirit is inditing Himself that it was He who spoke to Peter,
  • "The Spirit said to him, Behold three men seek thee; but rise up, go down, and go with them, nothing doubting". And he went.

• I have only spoken of this incident to encourage us to be attuned sensitively, to be ready to hear the Spirit Himself speaking to us. As to the vision, it says,
  • "It came even to me".

• Surely, beloved brethren, we should all desire to be those persons who are ready to be spoken to by the Spirit, and who are able to discern what He says in an intelligent way.

• What He says is intelligible. We are coming more and more into the truth as divinely intelligible to us, and we should long to be intelligent and able to take it in.

The Spirit speaks not only to individuals but to assemblies. In chapter 13 we find this in the assembly in Antioch.

• They were ministering to the Lord and fasting, and conditions were so good that the Holy Spirit said,
  • "Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them".

• It is the Spirit again speaking to them assemblywise, and they were in such spiritual state that they recognized the Spirit's voice.

• This was not the Lord speaking to them as a glorified Man; it was the Spirit, and they responded to what the Spirit said.

• There was no doubt in the assembly. They laid their hands on them and let them go, and the Spirit sent them forth.

• We should be encouraged thus to understand more and more the possibilities accruing from the presence of the Holy Spirit with us.

• He is ready to speak to us in our local gatherings as walking together in the light of the assembly. Indeed the Lord says to the assemblies in Asia,
  • "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies".

In chapter 9 of the Acts, it is still the Lord Jesus Himself speaking.

• Ananias was a disciple in Damascus moving happily with his brethren in the city. He belonged to the company which would ultimately tell Saul what he had to do.

• The Lord did not tell Saul independently what to do; He said,
  • "Rise up and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do".

• What a value the Lord puts on an assembly position!

• The brother Ananias there was in a good spiritual state, and he was on most intimate terms with the Lord Jesus. The Lord says "Ananias", and in beautiful simplicity of response he says,
  • "Here am I, Lord".

• Can you conceive anything more wonderful than this holy intimacy with the Lord Jesus? He is the Man in whom all of fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. He is Lord to us.

• He spoke to Ananias, and Ananias spoke to Him freely but with reverence, for he understood the dignity that there is in speaking to One so great as the Lord Jesus. And the Lord tells him what He wants him to do.

• The Spirit had said to Peter,
  • "Go down … nothing doubting", and Peter went in obedience.

• Ananias recognizes the voice of the Lord, and he tells Him his fears. He was acquainted with the One who was in the place of highest exaltation, the One who said Himself,
  • "All power has been given to Me in heaven and upon earth".

• So in delightful simplicity he tells the Lord his fears concerning what he had heard about Saul and how really reluctant he is to go. But when the Lord says "Go", he has no further questions to raise, and he goes.

• We all know this incident very well, but I am saying this to show how intimately Ananias was in sensitive relationship with the Lord Jesus. He recognized His voice.

• It was not here the voice of the Father, or of the Spirit, but it was the voice of the Lord Jesus and he recognized it.

We have sung, "Blest Lord, Thou spakest! 'twas Thy voice that led our hearts to Thee".*

[* Hymn 47 by JND, in the 1973 Hymn Book.]

• I believe we were given to understand the voice of Lord Jesus by the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit and so became attuned. Our ears discern the voice of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.

• When He is presented at the beginning of the Revelation, it says that, at His coming,
  • "every eye shall see Him, and they which have pierced Him".

• Those who are of the assembly recognize who it is and say,
  • "To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood …"

• Do we all recognize His voice in such holy intimacy that, should He give us anything to do, we, like Ananias, are ready to do it?

• Beloved young brothers and sisters who have never yet responded to what the Lord has said to you in relation to the Supper,
  • "this do in remembrance of me",

• have you heard His voice sensitively, feelingly, as He has said this to you? If so, why not be like Ananias and respond to it at once?

The Lord does not speak to individuals only; He speaks to the assemblies. I would call your attention to His speaking to the assembly at Philadelphia.

• He presented Himself to John in Patmos in judicial garb, and in some feature of this in sending the word to the first four of the seven assemblies.

• But, although He presented Himself in judicial character to them, He presented Himself to Philadelphia as the Holy and the True.

• We know our Lord Jesus; we have heard His voice; we have heard His words – His words are spirit and life – and we have arrived at the understanding that He is the Holy One of God.

• He presents Himself to Philadelphia as the Holy and the True, and He that has the key of David. He opens and no one shall shut; He shuts and no one shall open.
  • Such a word as this is a great comfort to the heart of the saints in these days.

• Our Lord Jesus is in control of every position that can arise until He takes us to Himself. Let us encourage our hearts to listen to Him speaking to us assemblywise!

• It may be there are just a few in your locality, but, as walking in the light of the assembly, I believe the Lord will give credit and speak as the Holy and True.

• He will set before us an opened door and the understanding and blessedness of what is available to us. It is for us to be encouraged and go in for it.

• What a vast expanse of glory opens up before the vision of the soul of those set together and responding to His word, those who have "kept my word"!

• Moreover, at the Lord's Supper, we can move in intelligence; we can move through the opened door into the vast realm open to us in the service of God. No one can shut it.

Then He gives a word of encouragement. There are those who take the position of religious leaders, those who would presume to be such and are not.

• "I will cause that they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet, and shall know that I have loved thee".

• Have we heard that, beloved brethren? Have we really heard Him say that to us Himself?

• What a value He sets on the assembly! Think of His speaking to the Father in relation to us:
  • "that they may be perfected into one, and that the world may know… that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me".

• How marvellous is this! The world is going to know it. What should mark us now is that the world might believe.

• The assembly position at Philadelphia is such that the Lord says,
  • "they shall come and shall do homage before thy feet and shall know that I have loved thee".

• Whilst in the presence of so much departure in the world and apparent weakness, He says to them,
  • "thou hast a little power".

• Do we hear Him saying to us,
  • "thou hast kept my word and hast not denied my name"?

• What a great and wonderful manifestation there is to be before the universe! The world will know that they have been loved by Him and also that they have been loved by the Father as the Father has loved Him.

• This is almost too wonderful for human language to express, but it is the Lord's choice speaking to an assembly in relation to their faithfulness in a day of testing. There is no upbraiding.

• Then as conditions in the world get darker and more evil, He says,
  • "I will keep thee out of the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to try them that dwell upon the earth".

• Have we heard Him say it? I would challenge my own heart as I sit down with the brethren whether I have heard the Lord Jesus really saying to us what He says to the assembly at Philadelphia.

Now just a word in relation to the verses read from 2 Peter. Peter was one who heard the Lord speaking.

• He was the one who became the mouthpiece of those who were attracted to the Lord Jesus, as recorded in John 6.
  • When the Lord said "Will ye also go away?" he answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that Thou are the holy one of God".

• He had heard the Lord Jesus speaking words which are spirit and life and had been formed by them.

• Later on, when he was in the ecstasy, he recognized the voice of the Spirit.

• In this epistle he is referring to his departure from this world as imminent. He says,
  • "knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle is speedily to take place".

• He reminded the saints that he had heard the Father's voice as well. He speaks of the occasion of the transfiguration. The position was one of intense holiness –
  • "being with Him on the holy mountain".

• Indeed the glory of Christ was such that His garments were white as the light. Peter says,
  • "He received from God the Father honour and glory, such a voice being uttered to Him by the excellent glory: This is My beloved Son, in whom I have found My delight; and this voice we heard uttered":

• it was coming with intense power and feeling from God Himself. It was the Father's voice speaking.

• When Peter wrote this, he knew he was about to put off this tabernacle. He was about to move beyond the conditions of blood and flesh forever.

• His spiritual personality had been developed by divine speaking into a true knowledge of God.

• He was capable of discerning the speaking of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and is to be clothed upon with a house which is from heaven.

• It is God who has wrought us for this very thing. God is about to clothe His own with a house suited to express the formation of these persons before Himself for His own pleasure eternally.

Peter desired that we should have power at any time to bring these things to mind. The Spirit will help us to engage ourselves with what has come out from God,

• and as we do so there will be an intelligent movement in the realm of the knowledge of God, and expressions of praise and adoration will all be comely.

• I have a sense that the Spirit is helping us in order that we may move forward, in view of our translation,
  • as those who are intelligent in the knowledge of God as He has been made known to us in the Person of the Son.