We will read from the Old Testament this morning.
And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren:
and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it be not to my sorrow!
And God granted him that which he requested.
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell before thee is too strait for us.
Let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood.
But as one was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water; and he cried, and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed.
And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and made the iron to swim.
And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand, and took it.
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear;
break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child:
for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations; spare not:
lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left;
and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Let us look to the Lord in prayer.
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy presence with us in Christ Jesus. How we praise and thank Thee for Thy Word, which Thou hast given to us for our exhortation, encouragement, and comfort.
We ask Thee, O Lord, as we have read Thy Word, that Thou wilt breathe upon Thy Word and make it living and operative today; that it may speak to every one of us, stir our spirit, and strengthen our hands and our feet, that we may follow Thee. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Probably you wonder why I read these three passages. They do not seem to belong together. But if you read very carefully, you will find that in all these three passages there is a common factor. I wonder if you have found it.
And that common factor is enlargement.
In 1 Chronicles, we read of Jabez and his prayer: “Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border.” That is personal.
Then, when you come to 2 Kings 6, you find the request of the sons of the prophets to Elisha. Their request was that the place where they dwelt was too narrow, too strait for them. They needed a bigger house.
If the sons of the prophets represent the work of God, then it is a prayer for the enlargement of God’s work.
Finally, Isaiah 54 concerns the whole nation of Israel—how God will enlarge their tent, re-establish them, and strengthen them. If the children of Israel represent the church, then it is the enlargement of the church.
So, in these three passages they all speak of enlargement: one personal, the next for the work of God, and finally for the church of God.
In 1 Chronicles 4, we find the name Jabez. As a matter of fact, this man is mentioned in the whole Bible only in this one place, and in just two verses.
Jabez was of the sons of Judah, and yet the Holy Spirit singled this man out. Out of nowhere, suddenly you find these two verses spring up: “And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. And his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel.”
Only two verses for that man, and yet these two verses speak a great deal.
Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. Now, why? One reason given was that, when his mother bore him, she suffered great pain. Therefore his name was Jabez. Jabez means “causing pain.”
Now, is not that strange? Because of pain, he was more honorable.
I wonder, if you have a few children, and perhaps one child gives you more pain than any of the others, whether you love that child more than the others because he gives you more pain.
Now, you can enlarge that thought. Whatever gives us more pain, whatever we have to pay more cost to obtain, whatever we suffer for, becomes very precious to us.
Sometimes, when things come too easily, you do not treasure them very much. But if something comes to you very hard—if you have to work for it, pay a price for it, and perhaps suffer much for it—then that very thing becomes precious and dear to you.
This is a mystery of suffering. We all like to avoid suffering. If we can get anything without paying any cost, if we can receive it easily, if our life is easy, then we feel that would be wonderful.
But, dear brothers and sisters, there is a mystery of suffering. You do not receive as much honor if you do not suffer that much.
Jabez was a child of pain, of suffering, and probably he carried that into his own life. Because his mother suffered, perhaps he also suffered. We do not know; perhaps he was born with some infirmities. Out of such sufferings, he arrived at a more honorable place.
The reason why he was honored more than his brethren can be seen in his prayer. Now, why do we pray?
We pray because we realize that we are inadequate. We realize that we are weak. We realize that we are not able. And because of this, we pray.
If you feel that you are strong enough, if you feel that you are equal to your situation, do you pray? Probably you think that you do not need to pray because you can do it.
But here you find a man who was born in suffering, who knew suffering, weakness, and pain. Through all these experiences, he knew that he was not sufficient in himself. He realized his inadequacy, and because of this, his life could be summed up with prayer.
When the Holy Spirit mentioned that man, He mentioned the prayer of that man. In other words, it was not merely that Jabez said a prayer; that prayer represented his whole life.
His whole life can be seen in that prayer. He was a person who relied upon God completely. He was not independent, self-sufficient, or self-centered. He realized his own limitation, and therefore he leaned upon the Lord for his living.
And what did he pray? He said, “Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed.”
Now, the “bless me” mentality—is it not very prevalent today? All over the Christian world, there is that mentality: “Bless me, God. Bless me, Lord. Everything is, ‘Bless me.’”
And we know how wrong that can be. Yet here you find this man praying, “Lord, Thou wouldest bless me indeed,” and God answered his prayer.
In other words, there is a difference here. It is a difference of motive.
If we say, “Bless me, Lord,” and the motive is selfish, then it is something to be despised. But if we pray that the Lord would bless us because we know that without His blessing we simply cannot live, then, brothers and sisters, this is the right thing to do.
Do you realize that you cannot live without the blessing of the Lord?
Look at Jacob. How self-sufficient he was; how clever he was. He was able to meet any situation. He could scheme and plot and plan. He could bless himself. He really did not need God’s blessing—or so he thought.
Not until he came to Peniel. He had planned, he had fought, and still he could not feel secure. It was only at that moment that the Angel of the Lord came and wrestled with him.
Even so, Jacob would not give in until the dawn came and the Angel touched his thigh, and he was crippled. Then what happened?
He wrapped himself around the Angel and said, “Bless me. Now You have to bless me, because if You do not bless me, I am finished.”
Dear brothers and sisters, have we come to that point yet? Are we still living our life as if we can bless ourselves? We do not need God; we do not need His blessing.
Or have we come to the point of seeing that, without the blessing of the Lord, we are absolutely finished? Oh, that we may depend upon Him in such a way that we realize how we need His blessing.
Now, thank God, for He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. He has blessed us; but because we do not see, we do not really want His blessing, and therefore we miss His blessing.
We need God to bless us because we cannot bless ourselves. We need God to bless us that we may bless Him.
The only legitimate reason for asking blessing is that we may bless God. We want God to be glorified, exalted, and uplifted. But we know that without the blessing of the Lord, we cannot do it. We will only bring shame and disgrace to God.
It is for the sake of God that we ask Him to richly bless us. If this is our motive, He will answer our prayer.
What did Jabez ask God to bless? He asked, “Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border.”
Enlarge my border. Now, brothers and sisters, every one of us has a border.
A border is a portion. When God divided the land among the children of Israel, the whole land was bordered on all sides. Every tribe had its own border. Every family had its inheritance, and that inheritance had its borders.
In other words, a border speaks of a portion—something given to you. But because it has borders, it has limitation. God has measured to every one of us a measure. God has given to each one of us a portion, but that portion has its border; that is to say, it has its limitation.
On the one hand, it is not right if we are not content with that which God has given to us. We should be satisfied with whatever God has apportioned to us, whether it is a small portion or a larger portion.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. We should be satisfied with whatever God has given to us. Our problem is that we always feel that the grass on the other side—in other people’s territory—is greener.
We should take care of what God has given to us as our portion. We should cultivate it, make good use of it, and honor God with what He has given to us. We should not always be greedy about other people’s territory and forget what God has given to us.
Now, that is correct. But, on the other hand, even though God has given us a border, and He means for us to be faithful in whatever is within our realm, yet if we have faith and if we are faithful, He can enlarge our border.
Not in the sense that you try to steal other people’s territory or intrude upon their border, but in the sense that, if we are faithful to what God has given to us, God can enlarge our border.
This is what Jabez was praying: “Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border.” Not because he was dissatisfied with what God had given him, but because he wanted to see his border enlarged so that God could be glorified.
In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul says:
But we will not glory beyond our measure, but according to the measure of the province which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even unto you.
For we stretch not ourselves overmuch, as though we reached not unto you: for we came even as far as unto you in the gospel of Christ:
not glorying beyond our measure, that is, in other men’s labors.
Here you find the same thought. Paul said, “We will not go beyond measure.” Our God is a God of measure.
Now, brothers and sisters, I hope you will see this: our God is the God of measure. In other words, He measures to each one of us a measure, and He wants us to be faithful in whatever He has measured to us.
May I ask a question? Are you faithful to the measure that God has measured to you?
If you are faithful, then read on:
But having hope that, as your faith groweth, we shall be magnified in you according to our province unto further abundance,
so as to preach the gospel even unto the parts beyond you, and not to glory in another’s province in regard of things ready to our hand.
Because of Paul’s faithfulness within the measure God had given him, God would enlarge his measure so that he could reach beyond the Corinthians, even to the Romans, and perhaps to Spain.
So, in the Scriptures, every one of us is given a measure of border. But that measure and border can be enlarged through the blessing of the Lord.
On the one hand, we need to be satisfied with what God has given to us. But, on the other hand, we should never be so content that we do not want to have our border enlarged.
You read the parable of the talents. You find that our Lord gives to each servant a talent according to his ability. That is the measure.
One servant was given five talents, one was given two talents, and one was given one talent, in Matthew 25. They were each given according to their ability. There was their border.
The servant with five talents diligently worked with those five talents and gained five more. His border was enlarged and doubled. The servant with two talents worked faithfully with the two talents, and his border also became twice the size.
But the servant with one talent was not faithful in that which God had given him. He buried the talent, and as a result, he lost it all.
The same thing is found in the parable of the minas in Luke 19. The master gave ten servants one mina each. One, working with that one mina, gained ten more.
A talent speaks of gifts that God gives to each one of us. If minas speak of grace, then grace is given equally to us.
When God gives gifts, they are unequal in one sense, because He gives according to ability, and we do not all have the same ability.
I also remember D. L. Moody. He was an uneducated person, but God used him mightily. He brought many great servants of God and great scholars to preach in his conferences.
Often, when he introduced these great men of God, knowing that he was not highly educated and sometimes pronounced words wrongly, he would say, “I am but a man of two talents, for these are men with five talents.”
Now, if Moody only had two talents, I do not know what I have.
But, anyway, talents speak of gifts—spiritual gifts. They are varied. God gives gifts to each according to ability and according to where He puts you in the body of Christ.
So do not envy anybody. If God gives you greater gifts, thank God and be faithful in them. If God gives you smaller gifts, be faithful in the smaller gifts. But grace is equally distributed.
There is no reason why you should receive more grace than I do. Grace is equally distributed. But whether it is gift or grace, you can be so faithful in what God has given to you that your gift can be doubled and your grace can become tenfold.
Think of that. But if you are not faithful, if you bury the gift and the grace of God given to you, then you will lose them—not your salvation, but your reward.
Why is it that, with the blessing of God, our border can be enlarged? Because our God is infinite. Our God has no border.
If you read Ephesians 3, you find in the prayer of Paul:
That ye may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.
Whenever you come to God, you have to use those superlative expressions. Why? Because He is limitless.
What is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height? God’s breadth cannot be measured. God’s length cannot be measured. God’s height cannot be measured. God’s depth cannot be measured. The love of Christ surpasses knowledge. It is unspeakable and unsearchable.
When you come to God, you find that He is infinite. He is limitless. He is without borders. Because our God is such a God, when we come to Him, He can enlarge our border.
There is always something more He can give to you. Why is it that you do not have it? It is because He has to measure it according to your measure. You are not able to contain it.
That is why, at the end, Paul says:
Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
unto Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.
He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. You may ask; you may even think. Sometimes we think, but we dare not ask.
But He can give to you exceedingly above all that you may ask or think. Why? Because of the power that works in you, so that He may be glorified.
Dear brothers and sisters, there is nothing that pleases God more than for us to ask God to enlarge our border.
I am afraid that many believers are so contented that they just sit back and wait—not wait for the rapture, but wait for death.
Thank God for what He has already given to us. It is glorious and marvelous. We need always to be thankful.
But, dear brothers and sisters, think of our God. Even though He has given you a border because He knows your capacity, how He longs to give you more of Himself as your capacity is enlarged.
Even toward the end of his life, if you read Philippians, you find Paul saying, “I am still pressing on. Oh, that I may know Him.”
You may say, “Paul, you already have great boundaries. You know a lot. You have been given a lot. Are you still not satisfied?”
Paul would say, “Oh no, I am satisfied, but I am not contented. I am happy with what God has given to me, but when I see Him, I find that I have nothing. I am pressing on. I pursue that I may possess that for which He possessed me.”
He has something bigger for me, and I want Him to be satisfied. Brothers and sisters, this is the kind of attitude we must have.
But remember: you do not enlarge your border by trying to rob your neighbors. Your border will be enlarged through the blessing of the Lord.
If the Lord will bless you, then your border will be enlarged. So, first of all, I encourage dear brothers and sisters: be faithful in that which God has already given to you. If you are faithful, and if you have faith, then through the blessing of the Lord your border can be enlarged.
Of course, there are other things that Jabez prayed for, but I do not have time to go into them. You will have to look to the Lord yourself.
Then, in 2 Kings, you find the sons of the prophets coming to Elisha.
The days of Elisha were not easy days. If you read 2 Kings, you remember that he ministered under wicked kings. There was famine in the land, trouble, war—all these things. It was a difficult time.
During that difficult time, God raised up the prophet Elisha to be a testimony for God. And there were the sons of the prophets.
Now, who were the sons of the prophets? They were not natural sons of the prophets. The sons of the prophets were young men who had a desire to serve God.
Because they desired to serve God, they received training under the prophets, Elijah and Elisha. Probably Elijah continued what had begun even as far back as Samuel—the schools of the prophets.
These were young men desiring to serve the Lord, receiving training under the prophet Elisha.
Remember, these were difficult days. Yet they found that their house was too strait, too small for them. Evidently, more young people had a desire to serve God and wanted to be trained.
Because more young people came forth, the house became too small for them to live in. Now, that is a good sign.
Usually, during difficult times, you might think fewer young people would want to serve the Lord. People often want to serve the Lord when everything is easy and prosperous.
But thank God for these young men. Even though it was difficult, and sometimes they were hungry, they held on. They would not give up.
Instead of asking Elisha, “This place is too small; let us scatter,” they said, “We want to be together. We want to learn more. But this place is simply too small. Will you allow us to go to the Jordan, and let every man cut a beam and build a bigger house there, that we may dwell there?”
That is a good attitude.
When five thousand people were with our Lord Jesus and had nothing to eat, the disciples came and said, “It is getting dark. Why do You not disperse them and let them go into the villages to buy food?” Their mentality was to scatter them.
But the Lord said, “Give ye them to eat.” Here you find these sons of the prophets: instead of thinking of retreating, they were thinking of advancing. Instead of thinking of scattering, they were thinking of gathering.
“Let us build a bigger house, so that we may not only house ourselves, but there may be more young people who want to serve Thee and can come and learn with us.” That is a good mentality.
Where did they suggest going to obtain material for the building? They said, “Let us go, we pray thee, unto the Jordan.”
Naturally, there was a reason for this. Near the river, you can always find trees. You cannot find building material in the desert. You may have stones, but you cannot build a house with stones alone. So the natural place to go was the Jordan, because there they could find trees.
But spiritually, there is a significance. Jordan in Scripture always speaks of death and resurrection—identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
That is Jordan, and that is the place where you can obtain material for the building of the house. Now remember this principle.
Where can you find material for enlargement, for the enlargement of God’s work? You can find the material for the enlargement of God’s work only in Jordan.
In other words, we have to go down to Jordan to experience death and resurrection with Christ. As you experience and identify yourself with the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, then you cut down trees and take beams for the building of the house.
Every one of the sons of the prophets would go down to Jordan together, and every man would take a beam.
That is beautiful. For the enlargement of the work of God, everyone must be involved. Not just a few can go down and cut the trees; that will not be sufficient. Everyone must go down, cut a tree, and take a beam. Then the house will be built.
Fortunately, they asked Elisha to go with them, because an accident happened. While they were cutting the trees, suddenly one axe-head flew off the handle, fell into the Jordan, and sank to the bottom of the river.
It happened that the axe was borrowed. If it is your own and you lose it, you have lost it; but it was borrowed. So that son of the prophet cried, “Alas, my master! for it was borrowed.”
Not only had he failed to obtain a beam, but he had lost his axe-head. What a loss.
Elisha said, “Where fell it?” The son of the prophet pointed out the place. Elisha cut down a stick, threw it into the water, and made the axe-head swim—float. Now, that is against nature, but that is supernatural.
Elisha said, “Take it up to thee.” So the axe-head was returned to the handle, the tree was cut, and the beam was obtained.
Now, it is a miracle. But what is the spiritual meaning behind it?
Brothers and sisters, what I can see is this: enlargement can only be brought to pass through the principle of death and resurrection—or, to put it another way, through the principle of the cross.
Jordan speaks of the cross—identification. The axe also speaks of the cross. The stick also speaks of the cross. Everything there speaks of the cross.
But how do you explain the accident? Here you find the iron axe-head attached to the handle, and you use it to cut wood. But when the axe-head fell off the handle and fell into the water, it sank.
Why did it happen? Because it was borrowed.
No other son of the prophets lost his axe. They knew their own axes. They knew how to handle them; they knew how firm they were. But this one had borrowed an axe. He had never handled it before. It was not his. He did not know it.
Brothers and sisters, do you know that you can never borrow a cross? The cross is something you must experience yourself. If it is borrowed, it will not work.
Many people have heard the message of the cross. We have heard these messages about how we need to be identified with Christ in His death and resurrection.
But all we know may be merely mental knowledge of the cross. We ourselves may never have really experienced the working of the cross in our lives. As a matter of fact, we evade and escape whenever the cross comes our way, yet we are talking about the cross all the time.
Brothers and sisters, that borrowed axe will not cut down the tree. You will find that the axe-head falls into the water and sinks.
In other words, if we know the cross only mentally, without personally experiencing the cross, the result is that you die; you sink. It brings more death, but no resurrection—no resurrection.
Oh, how often we listen to the message of the cross, and we find the one who is preaching the message of the cross has a long face. The more he preaches, the deader he becomes.
Maybe it is a borrowed axe. It brings more death than life. The more he preaches on the cross, the more dead everybody becomes. It is just borrowed.
Do not speak on the cross unless you know it yourself and know that it is yours. Do not borrow it.
You remember our Lord Jesus said, “Deny thyself, and take up thy cross, and follow Me.” The Lord did not merely say, “Deny self, take up cross, and follow Me.”
You may deny another person’s self, but not yourself. You may take up another person’s cross, but not your own cross. No, it will not work.
Deny yourself. What you need to deny is yourself, not your brothers and sisters. Do not ask everybody else to deny themselves while you never do.
God does not want you to take up another person’s cross. You have your cross to bear, because it is only your cross that will crucify yourself. Other people’s cross will not crucify yourself.
That is a borrowed axe. A borrowed axe never works. It does not have that sharpness that cuts.
But here you find Elisha cutting a stick, throwing it into the river, and making the axe-head float. Why? Because he knew the cross in life.
When the axe was returned to the handle, then the tree could be cut. So, dear brothers and sisters, what is the secret of enlargement? The secret of enlargement is the cross.
Finally, you find Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54 follows very closely after Isaiah 53. As a matter of fact, in the original manuscript there is no chapter division, so when you read it, you have to read it together.
Isaiah 53 is a wonderful chapter. It is the most comprehensive prophecy concerning the work of our Lord Jesus on the cross—how our Lord Jesus was crucified, how He bore our sins and our iniquities, and how for our sake He was smitten.
Immediately following that chapter—the finished work of Christ on the cross—you find Isaiah 54: “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child.”
Now, brothers and sisters, is that not wonderful? Immediately following the great chapter on the finished work of Christ, you find the call, the exhortation: “Sing, O barren.”
Are we not barren? “Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child.”
Historically, this refers to the children of Israel, the nation of Israel. One day, the nation of Israel will be regathered, their borders will be enlarged, and they will be established before the Lord. It is all because of God’s promise and God’s covenant.
But we would like to use it as a type of the church. Brothers and sisters, what is the basis for enlargement?
The basis for enlargement is the finished work of Christ.
It is because of what Christ has done on Calvary’s cross that there is no reason why we should be barren. There should be no reason why we should not bear children.
In the natural, in ourselves, we have no strength. In the natural, in ourselves, we cannot bear children. We cannot bear fruit—spiritual fruit.
But because of the finished work of Christ on Calvary’s cross, let us rejoice. Why? Because He is going to give us children. “More are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.”
Naturally, we cannot do it. But thank God, through the finished work of Christ, we are promised more children than those who are born naturally.
And children who are born supernaturally are much better than children born naturally.
Here is a promise, and that promise is based upon the finished work of Christ. We may put it another way: the purpose of the work of Christ is for enlargement.
Why did our Lord Jesus die on the cross? What should be the result of His finished work? The result should be enlargement. There should be more children born. The result should be enlargement.
Therefore, verse 2 says:
Enlarge the place of thy tent,
and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations; spare not:
lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
To whom are these words spoken? These words are spoken to the church—to those who know the finished work of Christ, to those who know the purpose of God.
If we know God’s purpose, then we should respond in faith and say, “O Lord, if it is Thy will that there should be more children given, that there should be increase in the house of God, then we must enlarge the place of our tents.”
On God’s side, there is the redemptive work of Christ. There is the promise and the purpose connected with the finished work of Christ.
On the other hand, there are God’s people. How do we respond to what God has done and what He is going to do?
Do we respond by saying, “O Lord, this is enough. This place is good enough. We do not see any reason why we should enlarge the place of our tents. We are quite happy and contented. We will just stay here, Lord. That is all we want to do. Thou hast blessed enough. No more, no more. We cannot contain it. We are quite happy.”
If we do not enlarge the place of our tents, then God will not give us more children. If He begins to increase and we do not enlarge, then the increase will stop.
This is a deep spiritual principle.
You remember the widow who came to Elisha. Elisha said, “Borrow many vessels.” Now remember: you can borrow vessels, but not oil. Borrow many vessels—empty vessels. The more, the better.
Then close the door and pour from that little pot of oil. When every vessel was filled, the oil stopped. That is a principle.
Here we see the work of Christ. He is answering His own heart’s desire and giving increase. This is the time when we have to enlarge the place of our tents.
This will be the response of faith. If we do not respond, that will be the end.
How do we respond? “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations; spare not.”
Oh, the Holy Spirit says, “Spare not.”
Dear brothers and sisters, God spared not His only begotten Son. Will He not give all things to us with Him?
Abraham spared not his beloved son Isaac, and because of this God blessed him with an oath.
The apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” To the Philippians he said, “I am willing to be poured out as a drink offering upon your sacrifice.”
Spare not. God knows us. Oh, how we want to keep back, keep back. On the one hand, we want God’s blessing; on the other hand, we keep back ourselves. What a contradiction.
God has much with which to bless, but we have to spare not.
Mary spared not that pound of nard. Mary spared not the alabaster flask. She broke the flask and poured the oil completely out of it. She emptied the flask.
Spare not. The Lord says, “Spare not. Do not reserve anything. Do not keep back.”
Because if you do, you are keeping back the blessing of the Lord.
“Lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.” What are the cords? The cords are the cords of fellowship. Lengthen the cords of fellowship.
Do not just have fellowship within a few. Yes, we have good fellowship, but what about your brothers and sisters? Lengthen the cords.
Strengthen the stakes. What are the stakes? The stakes are the teaching of the apostles, the teaching of Christ. Let us be rooted and grounded in the Word and in the truth of God.
When we are rooted and grounded in the truth of God, and when we enlarge and lengthen our cords of fellowship, you find that the house is extended.
And the blessing of the Lord will come upon us.
In these three instances, you find a prayer for enlargement. We need to pray for enlargement—for His sake, not for our own sake.
Number two: the preparation for enlargement. We need to go down to Jordan and cut a beam. We need to know more of our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection—know more of the cross.
Finally, the provision for enlargement. We need not only to bear, but to lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes.
When enlargement comes, the Lord will be glorified.
Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, Thou art the God without limit, the infinite God.
Thy riches are unsearchable. Thy love is unspeakable. Thy answer to prayer is far exceeding above all that we may ask or think. The breadth, the length, the depth, and the height of Thee are unknown.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that we have Thee as our God.
Thou hast blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Oh, enlarge our borders, that we may contain more of Thee.
Not because we are ambitious for ourselves, but because we are ambitious for Thee. We want Thee to be more glorified. We want more praises to rise to Thee. We want Thy heart to be satisfied. We want Thy testimony to be uplifted. We want Thy Son to return and Thy bride to be ready.
O Lord, do give us that positive and active attitude. We want to be enlarged for Thy sake.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.