In the course of Christ’s discourse to His disciples about parables, He pointed out one of our great privileges. The Holy Spirit has opened our eyes, our ears and our hearts, making us receptive to the things of God. Instead of gross and fatty hearts we have been blessed with soft, supple and impressionable hearts. These are not personal character traits for which we can take credit – they are blessings from God. “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
I would like you to join me in thanksgiving – two weeks ahead of the societally-mandated day.
As with all Christians, we possess a great many outstanding gifts from God.
As the Lord told His disciples, we no longer have hearts of stone – or gross and fatty hearts. I say “we no longer” have hearts of stone, because we all have had them, and we still lean in that direction. For me, I was raised in a so-called Christian denomination, where I was exposed to structured religion. I attended often enough for the tender soil of my heart to become packed and hard. I could have become proud of my so-called “baptism” – my semi-regular church attendance – my religion. It is quite possible with me, as I have seen in hundreds of others, to have become so religious that the gospel could have bounced off me like a tennis ball off a racket. I have observed that highly religious people – Episcopalians, some Catholics, some Lutherans are far harder to evangelize than the non-religious evil-doer. In my case, the Lord graciously dragged a plow over my heart and exposed what little tender soil lay under it. I could have very easily been the rocky soil, or the weedy soil so that when then gospel was dropped it could have quickly been choked out or broiled by the circumstances of my life. But God was gracious – extremely gracious – towards that teenage sinner named David Oldfield. And I’m sure that many of you could recount a similar sort of story.
I wonder how many people lived in Israel in the days of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. Out of a population of thousands, how many people were so struck by the Word of God that they dropped their nets, their axes, their money bags, and their dish towels to follow the Lord? It was a relatively few upon whom the good seed of God so fell that they became productive vines in the vineyard of God.
As with Lydia and every true saint of God, the Holy Spirit scraped a harrow across our souls and dropped in the precious seed of the Word of God. The rocks around our tiny roots were thrown into piles or perhaps even into fences around us to protect us. And the thorns and tares were pulled out by the servants of God, so that the Word could grow and prosper. There was nothing in Andrew or Peter, or in you and me, which deserved that special ministry of God. The Lord has yet to see even a sixty-fold bumper crop of fruit from any of us, and yet knowing exactly what sort of servants we would become He blessed us anyway.
There are a lot of self-professed “Christians” who want to take credit for their salvation – at least partially. But the true saint of the Lord knows that he has obtained mercy – he was saved by God’s grace. “Blessed are your eyes, your ears and your hearts.” A moment ago I said that God had been “gracious – extremely gracious” – towards me. When we consider the kind of people we were before the Lord saved us…. And when we consider the glorious majesty of God, and the depths to which He had to reach in order to save us….. Doesn’t the word “extremely” as in “extremely gracious” become redundant. Just for the Lord to look in our direction is “extremely gracious” – there is no other kind of grace but the extreme variety. And similarly, I’ve used the word “blessed” as in “the Lord has blessed us.” But doesn’t that human word fall short of describing the extent of God’s grace towards us? I don’t know that there is a word in English which accurately or adequately conveys the unmerited favor of God. Neither “esher” (eh’- sher) in Hebrew or “makarios” (mak-ar’-ee-os) in Greek adequately express the extent of God’s grace towards the sinner in eternally saving him.
“Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” Another of the blessed privileges of being a Christian is to sit at Jesus’ feet and to listen to Him. I suppose that this little morsel must be eaten with just a little salt. Because Moses had the blessing of the burning bush and hiding behind the rock when the glory of the Lord passed by. Abraham visited with the Lord in ways that the disciples never did. And Elijah saw the handiwork of Jehovah and then heard His soft tender voice. Would anyone want to join Daniel in the lion’s den or his friends in the furnace, just so that we could fellowship with Christ the way that they did? “Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see.” The twelve disciples knew Jehovah in a way unlike any other men in history. They had the privilege of hearing things which had never been spoken before. They saw miracles of which even Elijah or Elisha had never dreamed. Several great prophets, who knew the Lord extremely well, like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, did not have the privileges that the twelve possessed.
But the twelve didn’t have everything that you and I possess. Moses’ knowledge of God was great and different from that of John. And John’s intimate acquaintance with Christ was different from that of ours. But the essence of Jesus’ statement is as true of us as it is of John, Peter, James and Andrew. “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” Peter never knew the Christ of the Book of Revelation, but He is available to us. John didn’t know Christ in the same way that the Apostle Paul did, but Paul shared Him with us. Picture Adoniram Judson serving the Saviour in Burma for so many years – and suffering so many things in that service – disease, heat, privation, hatred and rejection. But then look at him in that Asian prison – a place as deplorable as anything that Jeremiah endured. In his suffering that man came to know the Saviour in ways that Moses, David, or Paul never did.
Even without great suffering, each and every saint of God, can sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from Him. We can worship Him, pouring out the frankincense from our tiny alabaster boxes. We too can sit with our mouths agape and our minds spinning as He speaks about unutterable things of glory. Oh, what privileges have been graciously bestowed upon the children of this world – who have been saved by the Lord’s grace.
Beyond these things, there are some special privileges which belong to the especially blessed.
I believe that the twelve men to whom Jesus directed this Bible lesson, were part of a very special organization. They were members of the Lord’s “ecclesia” – His “called out assembly” – His church. Just as there are today, I’m sure that it was much the same in Jesus day – there were many believers in Christ, who were not privileged to fellowship with Him within His “ecclesia.” Despite the charge which is sometimes heard, I do not believe, and this church does not believe, that ONLY members of the Lord’s church are saved and will spend eternity in Heaven. I believe that the Lord has His elect in a great many places – even in a great many unscriptural churches. But I also believe that God has special blessings for those who have learned to sit at Christ’s feet in His special assembly – His church.
Out of the many general disciples that He had, Christ called twelve to join Him in His church and in His ministry. They had the privilege of sitting at Jesus’ feet on a regular basis. They walked with Him and dined with Him; they were called to be witnesses to His miracles. They were called to carry and repeat the events of Jesus’ life and the message that He gave to them. There is a special blessing to being a part of the Lord’s church. There are special responsibilities to being a part of one of the Lord’s churches. And I believe there will be special eternal rewards for willingly serving God in one of the Lord’s churches.
You see, I believe Christ’s church – Calvary Baptist church among them – is a pillar and ground of the truth. That what Paul says in I Timothy 3:15 – “The church of the living God (is) the pillar and ground of the truth.” In what way are we the pillar and ground of the truth? Is this church built like a column or a pillar? Are we a literal pillar or a foundation? Would there be no more truth in the world if a bomb destroyed us and removed this building and us with it? We are the pillar and ground of the truth in the sense that we are the supporters and defenders of God’s Truth. This church is the pillar and ground of the truth in a figurative or metaphorical sort of way.
I also believe that each church is a body of Christ. I believe that Calvary Independent Baptist church is the body of Christ in Post Falls, Idaho. In what way are we the body of Christ? When someone looks at us, do they see the Lord’s hands, eyes, hair and smile? We are the body of Christ, in the sense that we represent Him here. And all of the members of this church supply various appendages, offices and responsibilities toward the body. The word “body” is used in a metaphorical sense in regard to Christ and his church. And that is why there can be a body of Christ in Post Falls, another in Loveland and another in Anchorage.
The Bible also talks about us as being the building of God. It’s not talking about the white building with the faded blue door across from the coffee house on the corner of 12th and Spokane. It is talking about us – the people, the assembly, the “ecclesia,” as the building of God. It is speaking of us figuratively or metaphorically.
We could also say the same thing about the bride of Christ. As a member of this church, as the disciples were of the church in which they were members – we are a part of the bride of Christ. Please turn to Ephesians 5:22-32 – “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Lord the church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”
What Paul was talking about here was a relationship – husbands and wives – Christ and His churches. I deliberated changed the wording from “church” to “churches,” because I think that Paul was speaking generically about each and every one of the Lord’s churches. Any church which is doctrinally sound and scripturally authorized is related to Christ in the way that a wife is related to her husband. They are faithful to each other; they serve each other, they enjoy each other’s company. They love each other, they feed each other, they adore each other. Isn’t that true of Christ and each of His churches? The Old Testament prophets of God knew nothing about the church – that is a New Testament revelation. But the twelve disciples were a part of the very first church of Christ, and you and I are a part of what may prove to be one of the last churches of Christ on earth. What a blessed privilege.
There are undoubtedly a great many more blessed privileges before us as children of God, but I bring to your attention just one of them. “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” There have been thousands of Christians since the time that our Saviour lived upon this earth. And there have been thousands of other saints of God even prior to the days of the New Testament. But there will be only a relatively small handful which can expect to leave this world in the translation of the saints just prior to the beginning of the Tribulation. You and I can expect to enjoy that blessed privilege – Christ is coming – perhaps this evening.