The holy anointing oil

… I'd like to read a few more verses in Exodus chapter 30. We'll read from verse 32. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, And thou, take best spices. Verse 22, thank you. Now turn over, please, to the New Testament. Now turn over, please, to the New Testament, into Luke's Gospel. Would you please read in the 10th chapter. Verse 70. Verse 70, return with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us through thy name. Jesus said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning falling out of heaven. Oh, I give you the power of treading upon serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing shall in any wise endear you. Yet, in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subjected to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the heavenlies. In the same hour, Jesus rejoiced and stood and said, I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. Yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight. Now at the end of the 10th chapter of Luke, we'll just read a verse, too, from verse 38. And it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman, Martha by name, received him into her house. And she had a sister named Mary, who also, having sat down at the feet of Jesus, was listening to his word. And now we'll turn over to the 11th chapter. I won't read all the intervening verses, because I imagine I'm in a company that knows some of these verses very much better than I know them myself. But we'll just read verse 13. If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father, who is of heaven, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? And he was casting out a demon, and it was done. And it came to pass, the demon being gone out, the dumb man spake. It's very attractive, isn't it, that in the typical system, there is that which appeals to the nose. I did a little bit of work once upon this holy anointing oil, and I was amazed to discover that in the dimensions, we reach something like 37 and a half pints. And the ingredients of this anointing oil must have put over the whole of the tabernacle system an aroma which would arrest anybody who passed. Now I suggest that this might be a challenge to us. We are in the happy position, in love of the Spirit, and also the assembly, the habitation of God in the Spirit, where we're in this world for God and for testimony. And it is a challenge, is it not, as to whether part of that testimony also appeals to the nose. What sort of an impression are we leaving on people? You know, there is a verse that says that in Christ, called the apothecary's ointment, he sent forth a stinking sabre. That is it in this verse. Now what we have here are the ingredients of the oil, and the whole of that tabernacle system was given the benefit of this fragrant anointing. Now when we come to intercessory prayer, some might just have a little reserve about the application given by the first speaker to perfume in relation to prayer. But I'm going to disperse that at once. You may remember in Psalm, I think it's somewhere about Psalm 143, Let my prayer come before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Prayer, as the author writes, is God's delight. Of course the Lord Jesus exhibits this perfectly. Remember how he would say, Father, thou hearest me always. And it's very good, you know, to have a very clear outline in our minds as to the basis of acceptable prayer. I'll just give you two or three scriptures in connection with this. If ye abide in me, if my words abide in you, and ye abide in me, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Beloved brethren in Hounsdor, if they follow the 14th chapter of John, or the 15th chapter, we'll come to that next week perhaps. So, the matter of God's word, abiding in the heart, is an essential preliminary to our prayers being heard. There's another very important matter in John's epistle, we have a confidence. If we ask anything in accordance with his will, we hear thus. Why? Because we keep his commandments. It means a pathway of obedience. Remember how the Lord Jesus again sets forth the perfect example when he says, I do always those things which please the Father. And of course the third of these qualifications has already been mentioned. Prayer has to be in the name of the Lord Jesus. We occupy the position, we take the ground for him, and as our prayers rise to God, then naming that name, we can be confident there'll be an answer. Now, the little point I want to dwell on this afternoon is that there is a difference between the ointment and the spices. Now, the difference is the very obvious one when you read from verse 22 to the end of the chapter. Namely this, that so far as the ointment is concerned, there are certain measurements given, in limitation to the amount of the ointment. But when you come to the spices, at the end of the chapter, there's no limitation at all. Now, I'm just going to carry this thought into another realm. So far as our prayers are concerned, and I don't only mean our individual prayers, but I mean the prayers of the saints in all generations, there is a certain limitation upon them. Remember, at the end of Psalm 72, the prayers of David, the man of God, are ended. There comes a time, my lovely brethren, when prayer ceases and worship continues. And the little point I want to seek to develop this afternoon is that valuable as intercessory prayer is, there is necessarily along with it that which is worship for God. Now, I'm going to just seek to develop this a little bit. We started our meeting this afternoon with, we are by Christ. And I must say, as I listen to the opening prayer, my mind leaped forward to Revelation 5, but just a little bit further down from what was read to us. Remember how the four and twenty elders and that heavenly host, they sung a new song. Now, that new song isn't the song of redemption, exactly. It's the song that will be sung when the company is brought into heavenly conditions. And the interesting thing is that they take up the very words that we can sing now. Redeemed to God out of every kindred, nation, and tongue, and people. We're able to enter into eternal realities now when we're still treading the desert seas. Now, I'd just like to back this up with the verses that we have read in the Gospel by Luke. I suppose in this Gospel, all of us know that the Lord Jesus is the vessel of grace. It's about doing good. He stood up from Nazareth and announced his mission. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him. And you remember how, as we proceed in that Gospel, there's a widening out of the Testament. Bitter opposition, yes, but he goes up into the mountain and chooses twelve. In the ninth chapter, he sends them out. In the tenth chapter, he sends seventy others also. And this great army of witnesses prove the reality of the victory of the Gospel. And they return with joy and they say, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us by thine hand. Now, you might think, what? It's the climax. I mean, there's nothing more. The Gospel's going in. Souls are being converted. Surely there's nothing... Ah, what does the Lord say? Now, I ask you just to ponder what the Lord does say. He doesn't quench their enthusiasm, not a bit. The seventy return with joy. And the Lord says, Ah, I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven. His mind was moved forward to the day when the Gospel testimony will be completed. The church will be gathered home. And I've got a joy, he says, a joy that belongs to the purpose of God. It's the joy that's set before me. It shines before my soul. I want you to enter into it also. He says here, if those serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy is subject, nothing shall by any means injure you. In this rejoice not, that the spirits of the subject will come to you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Now, I suppose most of us here have been on the path for a few years. I think certain truths with experience begin to shine out from the sacred page. And I think one of the things that we appreciate as we get a little bit older is that we've been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. And what's more, we belong to a scene, a quickly coming scene, where the Lord Jesus will have his rightful place and in wonderful grace you and I are going to be there. Our names are written in heaven. We know according to God's purpose that we're going to be conformed to the image of God's beloved son, Romans 8.29. He does not yet appear, but we shall be. We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, we shall see him as he is. Now, this is a scene, beloved brethren, which must have been very much in the heart of the Lord Jesus. He could look forward to the day when Satan would fall out of heaven. Doubtless, we get pictures of this in the book of the Revelation. He must have had very clearly before him the ingredients of that world to come, of which we speak. The Apostle Paul opens it up for us, doesn't he, in his declaration to us of God's purpose, the many fountains in heaven and upon earth. That redeemed scene, all responsive to love divine. That redeemed scene, all responsive to love divine. It must have been very much in the heart of the Lord Jesus. Now, he says, I want you to enjoy what I'm enjoying. Your names are written in heaven. I think it's particularly attractive to see in this tenth chapter of Luke what it says in verse 21. It says, in the same hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit. What was the hour? Why, it was the very hour when he was pronouncing woe on the cities where most of his wonderful works had been done. He pronounces woe on Chorazin, on Bethsaida, in Capernaum. It seems that much of the testimony had been unfruitful. Judgment was all that awaited them. And I venture to say, brethren, that there's a good deal of parable between the circumstances where the Lord uttered these words and the day wherein we live. We're also living in a very dark day. We're living just at the moment before judgment falls. Things are getting worse and worse. Some of us might be even amazed that things have been allowed to get as bad as they have got before the Lord comes. He could come any moment. Well, just at that moment the Lord rejoiced and He says, I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto thanks. Everything is secure in His blessed hands. Father, Lord of heaven and earth, the Supreme One, has put everything into the hands of His well-beloved Son. Now, in safe hands, beloved. And it's because of the security of that position that we also can rest and rejoice today. Now, that isn't quite the end of the story. It would have been attractive, if there had been more time, to go over these intervening verses, but I think we ought to just notice in verse 38 this incident where Martha received Jesus into her house. Now, there are many lessons, of course, that we've drawn out of this section. You can see how Mary, having sat down at the feet of Jesus, was listening to His word. If we are really intelligent of this fact, that our names are written in heaven, we've still got a great deal to learn. You know, every one of us has still got a great deal to learn. One of the things that appalls me, I confess, is that after seeking the Lord's face all my life, I've still got so many gaps in my knowledge. There's a great deal to learn. And you can see how Martha is very much on the line of these 70. These 70 all agog with their work. However, they're all busy with the fact that angels, that the demons are subject to them, and here's a situation where Martha is covered about much sadder. Well, thank God for Christian service. That's a very happy service. Thank God for precious souls that are saved. Very happy service. Thank God for anything that we can do for the Master. It's still imperative that we all carefully preserve those occasions where we sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus and listen to his word. Many will shift us from that position, but the Lord values it, and he himself will protect us as we take up that position and we look down at the sword to his word. But that isn't quite all. As we sit at the feet of the Lord and we learn something of the truth of the Father, we find that the Father is a bounteous giver. Now, there are many scriptures, of course, that have been brought forth to substantiate this, but this one that I read in the 11th chapter of Luke is a very interesting scripture. I'll just read the verse again. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father, who is of heaven, give the Holy Spirit to them without asking? This is what the dictionary calls a painful glory argument. If you look that up in the dictionary, with stronger reason, which of you as parents, and even if we're not parents, as spiritual parents with children, wouldn't give them our very best? We used to use it to get off the right hand for them. Well, if we, being evil, would behave thus in regard to our children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them without asking? Now, I know that the gift of the Spirit is used in very many different ways in the New Testament. But there is this instance where the Spirit is given to those that ask Him. Now, I suppose of all the gifts that have come down from the Father, the greatest of them all is the presence of the Divine Person. You and I are indwelt of God the Holy Spirit, and God couldn't give us a greater gift than that. How can nature be heaven? If we know God as Father, we've got all the resources to lift us up to this heavenly plane. You know, when we preach the Gospel, we usually say, young man, it's a question of hell or heaven. That's what we preach in the Gospels. Hell or heaven. But to the saints, you know, God the Holy Spirit says to you and me, it's either earth or heaven. And I think it's not too much to say that especially in the Western world, it's the earth that has robbed us of the enjoyment of our heavenly portion. Well, our citizenship is in heaven, we've got a house from heaven, our names are written in heaven, we've got all these heavenly resources, and here we find the top note of those resources, He gives us the Holy Spirit. Now what's the effect of all this? The very next word is that they brought to Him one who was dumb. Now I think you'll pardon me if I say the study of dumbness is of some interest to me. I've been busy with dumbness for some years in my life. And if in the New Testament you find the Lord dealing with a dumb person, you'll never find that that dumbness is dissociated from some other defect. The dumb person is either deaf and dumb, or he's blind and dumb, or he's dumb and he's got a demon. What God is looking for is the open mouth. Open mouth in prayer, we've had that already, but He's looking for open mouth in praise. And you find here that the Lord Jesus, in the light of all that He's been bringing before us in this section, names written in heaven, the Father revealed, the Holy Spirit given, He's looking for our mouths to be open. Open in prayer, but also open in praise. And I believe that in this wonderful section we have a typical picture that people make in the Old Testament, the New Testament, in the New Testament, to carry their hearts, to praise Him more and more. Now, I don't think we can say more than that, really. Just that the Lord might give us to really take these things home to our hearts in Christian life. And in the Bible, we've found He's responsive to all that has happened. …