May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, how we do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast given us Thy only begotten Son. Thou hast given us that unspeakable gift, even Thine own Son. Oh, we just worship Thee and we just thank Thee.
We pray that even tonight Thou wilt reveal Thy Son much more to us, that we may see Him more, that we may worship Him more. In Thy precious name, amen.
What we are here this time is on this matter of the believers’ life and ministry, as illustrated in the tabernacle.
We would like to use the tabernacle to illustrate a believer’s life and also his ministry. As we mentioned last night, the tabernacle is divided into three parts: the outer court, the holy place, and the holiest of all.
So far as a believer’s experience is concerned, we enter into the outer court first. Then we get into the holy place, and finally we find ourselves in the holiest of all. So this is the approach that we will use for this time.
Of course, we know according to the purpose of God, the order is just reversed. It begins with the holiest of all, comes out to the holy place, and then reaches the outer court.
We feel that these three parts, in a sense, represent the three stages in a believer’s life and ministry. The outer court speaks of purification. The holy place speaks of enlightenment or transformation. The holiest of all speaks of union.
Now, in the outer court, you will find there are two pieces of furniture. At the very entrance of the outer court there stands a huge piece of furniture: the brazen altar of burnt offering.
We mentioned last night that it speaks of the cross of our Lord Jesus. There is no way to come to the presence of God except through the cross of our Lord Jesus. The cross is the way to God.
You will find it stands right at the entrance. You cannot fail to see it, and you are not able to bypass it. In our approach to God, we have to come to Him by the cross of our Lord Jesus.
The cross is the most basic and the most comprehensive thing in the Word of God.
We find that not only by the cross—the blood of the cross of our Lord Jesus—are our sins forgiven, but through the death on the cross of our Lord Jesus, we find that our old man was removed.
It is through the cross that the life of God is released, that we may have life, eternal life. And it is because of the cross that we become the children of God.
It is the same cross that separates us from the world. So far as the world is concerned, we are crucified; and so far as we are concerned, the world is crucified.
It is also through the cross that our Lord Jesus has captured the principalities and authorities, has destroyed all the power of darkness, and delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness, translating us into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.
So you will find everything is based upon the cross. We find that the blood of the cross has not only washed our sins away, but God has made us a kingdom of priests. So by the cross, we are not only saved, but by the cross, we are also saved to serve.
The cross stands at the very entrance to God.
Then we find the second piece of furniture in the outer court: the brazen laver.
The priests, when they begin to serve in the tabernacle, whether they come to the brazen altar to offer sacrifices or enter into the holy place to minister to God, have to wash their hands and their feet.
We mentioned last night that we who believe in the Lord Jesus, our sins have been washed by the blood. We also find that we have been washed with water—not in the sense of taking away our sins, but water baptism speaks of a new position. We are now in a new position. We belong to Christ.
Every believer is a priest.
As we come to the Lord, we are all living stones, being built up together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So the universal priesthood of believers is the teaching of the Bible.
Today, every child of God, whether man or woman, grown-up or child, if they believe in the Lord Jesus, every child of God is at the same time a priest unto God.
As priests, of course, we know our vocation is to serve God. So we mentioned last night: no matter what your avocation may be, your vocation as a believer, as a priest, is in the service of God.
But let us remember that the God whom we serve is a holy God. He is a living God; He is a holy God. Therefore, we cannot serve Him if our feet are dirty and our hands are unclean.
That is the reason why you will find the priests have to wash their hands and their feet every time they serve God.
Our feet speak of our walk. As we walk through the world, unconsciously we pick up the dirt of the world. Unconsciously, the spirit of the world seems to dull our spirit and affect our communion with the Lord.
Therefore, you will find it is of utmost importance: whenever we begin to serve the Lord, we have to have our feet washed—washed by the water—that our spirit will be renewed and our relationship with the Lord will be fresh and living, so that our service may be acceptable to God.
And not only that, but our hands. We cannot serve God with the hands of the flesh, because the flesh, in the sight of God, is defilement. We need to have our hands washed.
We cannot serve God in our fleshly energy, with our fleshly cleverness, or even with our natural talents. We have to be washed in the water so that we may serve God with clean hands.
We mentioned also last night that the water that washes is different from the blood that washes. The blood washes us from our sins, but the water washes us from defilement.
The water here stands for the life of our Lord Jesus. The life of our Lord Jesus in us is this water that continues to cleanse us with the Word, so that we may be fit to serve God as priests.
Furthermore, we mentioned that the brazen laver is made of the mirrors of the women who assembled before the entrance of the tent of meeting.
That is to say, these women, their lives were so devoted to God that they were willing to give up their mirrors. The mirrors in the old days were made of brass. They were willing to give up their mirrors. They had no use for vanity because they sought the glory of God.
These mirrors were made into the brazen laver. So whenever a priest approaches the laver, immediately it convicts him; it judges him. It reveals his dirty feet and unclean hands so that the water may wash him free.
So that is what we mentioned last night. I cannot repeat the whole thing, but because some of you were not there, I just filled it in a little bit.
Then, of course, not only in the outer court do you have the life, but you have the ministry. So our ministry in the outer court simply means: the cross that saves us is the cross that we serve.
We preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is our ministry.
This evening we would like to go a step further into the holy place.
Now, we know the holy place is the place of the priests. The children of Israel could enter into the outer court, but they were not allowed to enter into the holy place because the holy place is a place of the priests.
So, brothers and sisters, we do thank God that we are not only made children of God, but we are also made a kingdom of priests. And as priests, we can enter into the holy place.
You know, the holy place stands between the holiest of all and the outer court. So, in one sense, the holiest of all represents heaven, where God dwells, and the outer court speaks of the world.
But the holy place stands in between the holiest of all and the outer court. Actually, it speaks of the church. Why? Because the church, so far as its calling and nature are concerned, is heavenly; but so far as its location and testimony are concerned, it is on the earth.
So you find we are a spiritual house as well as a holy priesthood. We are the church of God, and we are the priesthood that serves in the house of God.
One thing you notice: in the outer court, everything is made of copper or brass. The brazen altar is made of wood but overlaid with copper. The brazen laver is made purely of copper.
We mentioned last night that copper in the Scripture speaks of divine righteousness, dealing with human responsibility. Because of this, it speaks of judgment.
So in the outer court, everything is of copper. It speaks of judgment. God is righteous, and anything that is unrighteous has to be judged. God is holy, and anything that is unclean has to be judged.
And being judged, thank God, He has made provision for us—for cleansing, for purification. So in the outer court, it is mainly a matter of purification. That speaks of the first stage of our believer’s life.
We are all concerned with this matter of cleansing. How can I be cleansed from my sins? How can I be cleansed from all defilements? This is what occupies us in the first stage of our believers’ life.
But when you enter into the holy place, you will find everything is of gold.
The golden altar of incense is made of acacia wood but overlaid with gold. You find the golden table of showbread is made of wood but overlaid with gold. Then you find the golden lampstand, or the candlestick; it is of pure gold. Everything there is gold.
Now, we know gold in the Scripture speaks of God’s nature: incorruptible, noble, beyond everything. It speaks of the nature of God, the nature of God’s life.
So here you find, in the holy place, the whole concept is not on the matter of judgment and purification. Rather, it is on this matter of enlightenment and transformation.
In the outer court, we are occupied with what the Lord can do for me. But in the holy place, it is what the Lord is to me.
The first thing you notice in the holy place is the golden lampstand.
You know, in the outer court it is surrounded, but there is no cover. So in the outer court, people move around by the sunlight.
But when you enter into the holy place, you find it is not only surrounded, but it is covered with layers of coverings, so that the sunlight—the natural light—cannot penetrate into the holy place. In the holy place, it would be utter darkness if the lampstand were not shining.
So in the holy place, you will find people move around guided by the light from the golden lampstand.
Now, brothers and sisters, we know in the early stage of our believer’s life, probably what decides our walk, or what guides our decisions, will be more in the way of natural reasoning.
In other words, whenever we are confronted with a problem, we try to reason it out: the pros and the cons, the good and the evil. So in the early days of our Christian life, probably we are guided by natural reasoning.
But as you grow in the Lord, you will find that the Christian life is no longer guided by natural reasoning. Instead, you will find that you are guided by the light that comes out from the golden lampstand.
Now, what is the light that comes from the golden lampstand?
We remember our Lord Jesus said:
I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
In other words, this golden lampstand and the light upon it speak of our Lord Jesus as the light of life.
If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, cleanses us from all our sins.
Before 1 John 1:7, you have 1 John 1:5. It says:
God is light,
and there is no darkness in Him.
So, brothers and sisters, we find that not only God’s Word is light; God Himself is light. God is light, and God dwells in the light.
If we walk in the light, now the light there does not refer merely to God’s Word. God’s Word is light that shines upon our path; that is true. But in 1 John, you will find the light there refers to God, who is light.
So, in other words, if we walk in the light, it means if we walk in the light of life, as God lives in the light, then we have fellowship with one another.
Now, brothers and sisters, do you know that the life that we receive at new birth is the life of our Lord Jesus?
Every child of God has this light in him or in her. This very life sheds light from within. In other words, we are not guided by external light, but we are guided in the service of God by the light within.
Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6:
The eye is the lamp of the body.
If thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil,
thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
Now, what the Lord is referring to is nothing external. It is what is within. So, dear brothers and sisters, let us remember that we all have the light of life within us.
The life of the Lord Jesus will shed its light upon us from within. And when it begins to shine from within, then it is our responsibility to walk in the light, as God dwells in the light.
Now, let me use an illustration. God is light, and He dwells in the light. Of course, if we use an illustration, may we say His light is perfect, His light is complete, His light is absolute, His light is full. Let us say it is a hundred-candle light. That is what God is.
But do you know that when you believe in the Lord Jesus, that life has entered into your life? And that life of Christ in you—because you are newly born, a new baby in Christ—probably is just one-candle light.
The light is new, so the light is small. But at least you have one-candle light. This one-candle light will shine from within to tell you how you shall walk before God.
You are no longer guided by outside reasonings, what people say, or even what your own reasoning says. You are to be guided in your walk by the light of life shining from within.
When the light shines, it is your responsibility to walk in the light. And God is in the light. When you do that, you have fellowship with one another.
Now, it is true: God’s light is a hundred-candle light, and your light is only one-candle light. Even though there is a great difference of degree, remember, it is the sameness of kind, because it is the very life of God.
Therefore, even though the degrees are different, the kind is the same. Therefore, there can be fellowship. And the blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, cleanses us from all things.
You will find that as you obey the one-candle light you have, and God begins to have fellowship with you, He will begin to show you something that needs cleansing. The blood of the Lord Jesus is there, available for you, so that you may grow into two-candle light.
As you obey and walk in the two-candle light, you again have fellowship with God. When you have fellowship with God, you will find that light begins to shine upon you and shows you something more that needs cleansing.
When you obey it, you begin to get three-candle light. This is the way that we grow in life.
Our spiritual growth is not based upon anything external. It is based upon the life within. The life shines and continues to shine, and if we obey, then we grow and our fellowship with God is uninterrupted.
Brothers and sisters, sometimes we ask the question, “How can God fellowship with me? God is perfect. I am imperfect. How can He have fellowship with me?”
Well, if it waits until we get to a hundred-candle light, we have no hope.
But thank God, God as a grown-up deals with a child. We are but a baby. Because we are a baby, there are many things we do not understand. There are many dirt, much uncleanness, and many sins that we do not even know about.
They are there, but we are not conscious of them. Anything that we are conscious of is being enlightened by the light of life. Whenever we are enlightened by the light of life, we need to confess, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins.
But there are many, many uncleannesses in us yet. Because we have only one-candle light, we do not see all this dirt and dust. God still can have fellowship with us. Thank God for that.
But on the contrary, if you have three-candle light and you only walk in two-candle light, then your fellowship with God will be interrupted.
That is the reason why, dear brothers and sisters, you can never judge any brother or any sister.
Because he has to walk in the light that God has given him, and you have to walk in the light that God has given you. How can you judge your brother and your sister?
Sometimes you may have five-candle light and another has only two-candle light, but he is walking with the Lord, with his conscience void of offence, and he has fellowship with God. Sometimes you think, “How can he do that? I can see there are certain things in his life that are not right yet.” But God is more generous than you are.
This is the way that we grow in the Lord. It is the light of life, the inner light. If we walk in the light, if we follow the Lord Jesus—He is the light of life—we do not walk in darkness, but we have the light of life.
Well, maybe I can use another way of explaining it. In 1 John 2:27, it says we have the anointing within us, or the unction within us. You do not need anybody to teach you. You have the anointing within you, and what the anointing teaches is true and is not false.
Obey the teaching of the anointing, and you abide in Christ.
This is just another way of putting it. We know that the anointing within us speaks of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the oil, and as the Holy Spirit operates, it is like anointing—like something being anointed upon you.
You know, brothers and sisters, when the Holy Spirit works in your life, it is just like an ointment being poured on your wounds. It is soothing. It is gentle. It is never forcing or overwhelming, but it is gentle, it is persistent, and it is very encouraging.
You find the Holy Spirit gently moves upon your wounds. The reason is not to hurt you, but to cure you, to heal you.
So it is the anointing within you. The Holy Spirit will speak with a still, small voice. It is not like a big fire. It is not like an earthquake. No, we are waiting for an earthquake, but God is not there. It is a still, small voice.
Within our spirit, we hear it: “This is the way; walk in it.”
Brothers and sisters, if we obey the teaching of the anointing, then we abide in Christ.
You will find the Holy Spirit within us is not only the anointing that teaches us in all things; He is also the law of the Spirit of life. He not only teaches, but He gives us the power to enable us to obey whatever He teaches. That is grace.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you will find in the holy place you begin to experience Christ as the light of life. You begin to see that He is leading you day by day. You walk by His light, and how blessed that is.
There is no reason why you should stumble. You stumble in darkness. You have the light. If you obey the light of life, then you will find that you grow in the Lord and are able to serve God accordingly.
That is the golden lampstand: Christ, our light of life.
You find in the holy place there is another piece of furniture called the golden table of showbread.
Whenever you think of a table, like what we did before—lots of tables here—you know what it is. A table speaks of fellowship. Let us break bread together. It is fellowship; it is communion.
On the table, what you enjoy—whatever is put on the table for you to enjoy as your food—is your food. So, in other words, here you find Christ is not only our light of life, but He is the bread of life.
He is our life. Christ is our life. He is the One who supports us, sustains us, nourishes us, and gives us strength. He is our very life.
The showbread, in the original, literally means “the bread of the presence,” or “the bread of the face.”
Here you find our Lord Jesus as the showbread on the table, with the frankincense spread on the cakes. The fragrance ascends up to God for God to enjoy. Our Lord Jesus is a joy to the Father.
You remember our Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, the heavens opened again and again and said:
This is My beloved Son,
in Whom I am well pleased.
Our Lord Jesus is a fragrance. He is a sweet odour.
The bread of the presence is before God—towards God. And towards us, you find the showbread, after it has been exhibited for a week, is changed every Sabbath. Whatever is taken down from the table becomes the food of the priests.
So, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is not only a fragrance to the Father, but He is our food. We are priests. Therefore, we are privileged to take Him as our food, as our life.
Brothers and sisters, in the beginning of our Christian life, we know that our Lord Jesus is our Saviour. Now, thank God for that. He is our Saviour. His blood is shed for the remission of our sins. Our sins are forgiven. Thank God for that.
But we do not know that He is also our life.
If you only know Christ as your Saviour, yes, your sins were forgiven and the past is solved. But how about the present? How are you going to live day by day before God? How are you going to live your Christian life?
Many people know the Lord as their Saviour, and after they are saved, they feel, “Now we are saved. We have to live a good life. We have to live a life that will be pleasing to God.” So you are determined; you make resolutions. “Now I am going to do the will of God. I am going to please God. I am going to live a good Christian life—or I will try.”
The more you try, the more you get nervous. That is the reason why there are so many nervous Christians today.
Because no one can live a Christian life by himself or herself.
The Lord Jesus has not only saved us from our sins, but He has saved us from ourselves.
I often say, when we preach the gospel to sinners, we tell the sinner, “Do not be afraid to die, because Christ has died for you, so you will not die anymore.” When saints die, it is not death; it is sleep.
But there is a gospel for believers: “You do not need to be afraid to live. You do not need to live. Somebody lives for you. Christ lives for you.” So why live?
Brothers and sisters, so many Christians are tired of living. Are you tired? Some people say, “I am retired, but not tired.” Maybe you are tired, but you have not retired. You are still trying. You are still trying. Why?
Because you do not know that Jesus is your life. He is the showbread. He is the golden table of showbread. He is communicating, giving Himself to you to be your very life.
Now, what is life for if it is not for living? So let Him live. Why do you want to live yourself such a miserable life? Why not just give up and let Him live?
The apostle Paul said:
I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I that live,
but Christ liveth in me.
Christ is our life. You begin to see that He is your life; He is your light.
Then, in the holy place, you have the golden altar of incense.
Now, the golden altar of incense speaks of Christ as our High Priest. Christ, our High Priest.
Why? Because the incense speaks of the virtues, the beauty, of our Lord Jesus. It is made of fragrant spices and made into incense. The incense is burned and ascends to God, to be a sweet-smelling savour to God, to satisfy and please God’s heart.
That is what our Lord Jesus is. He is our High Priest.
In Hebrews 7, we are told that He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him.
We have a High Priest who is holy, blameless, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens. He is now at the right hand of God His Father, making intercession for us, in order that He may save us to the uttermost—to the end.
Dear brothers and sisters, do we know our Lord Jesus as our High Priest? The whole book of Hebrews is on this subject: Christ is our High Priest.
Why? Because if we do not know Christ as our High Priest, we cannot live today. How can we live today if we do not know Him as our High Priest?
On the earth, He is our Apostle. God sent Him to this earth to accomplish a mission, the work of redemption, and it is finished. Therefore, you find He sits at the right hand of God. No more is to be done; the work of redemption is completed. You cannot add anything to it.
But at the same time, you will find our Lord Jesus does not sit in heaven nodding His head and having a nap. He is very busy in heaven.
As the High Priest, you find He stands in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. As an Apostle, He sits: it is finished. As the High Priest, He stands because He is still serving. He is there ministering unto His own church.
He loves His church. He is sanctifying the church by the washing of water with the Word, in order to present the church to Himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish.
He is interceding. Brothers and sisters, the best way to explain it is this: while He is interceding before the Father, the Holy Spirit is working in us.
This is the high priesthood of our Lord Jesus. We need to know Him as our High Priest. Without His intercession, I cannot live a minute.
So, brothers and sisters, you will find that in the holy place you begin to realize that Christ is your life, He is your light, and He is your High Priest. In other words, everything that you need to live a Christian life has been provided.
It is a Person: Christ Jesus. He is the provision of God for you.
Well, this is a believer’s life in the holy place. Now we return to the believer’s ministry in the holy place, because the holy place is the place where the priests really minister.
Every morning, the priest would enter into the holy place to trim the lamp, to dress it. He would use a golden snuffer.
In the old days, it was not like the electric lamps that we have today. It was a vessel. You put oil in it and put a wick in it. When the wick draws the oil and you light the wick, then the light begins to shine.
But after it has been burning for a while, you will find the level of the oil goes down, and the wick, being used, becomes charred at the point. When that happens, you find that the light begins to dim.
So every morning, every evening—twice a day—the priest would dress the lamp, from evening to morning and morning to evening. The reason is to keep the light burning day and night.
Everything in the holy place speaks of the church, because the holy place itself speaks of the church.
The golden lampstand speaks of the church. How do we know? Because in Revelation 1, you remember that John, in the isle of Patmos, saw a vision. The vision he saw was One like the Son of Man standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands.
The lampstands were explained to the apostle John: the lampstands are the churches. So we know a lampstand represents a church.
In other words, on the earth you have the church in Ephesus, but before God there is a golden lampstand that represents the church in Ephesus.
Now, what is the church? The church is a lampstand. What is a lampstand? A lampstand is an instrument or a vessel for the light, to uplift the light so that the light may shine over the whole house.
A lampstand is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end. So the church is not an end in itself. The testimony of Jesus is to shine forth, and people may see and hear Christ. That is what the church is.
Brothers and sisters, when God’s people come together, anyone who enters into the midst of God’s people should immediately be convicted by the Spirit of God, bow down, and say, “God is in your midst.” That is what the church is.
The church never draws attention to itself. It points people to Christ. It is a means to an end. It is to uplift Christ. That is the only reason for the existence of a church.
If the light is gone, then that lampstand is to be removed. In other words, in God’s eyes, it is no use anymore. It may continue on earth, but before God it is gone. The testimony is gone.
So that is what the church is: a golden lampstand.
Dear brothers and sisters, you find it is very strange, in a sense. What is the church? We say a church is composed of believers.
I think we know better. The church is not a building on one corner of the city square. Oftentimes you have a city square: three corners have three different church buildings, and one corner is a court.
Now, that is not what the church is. The church is not made of bricks, stone, mud, wood, or whatever it is. I think we know better.
What is the church? The church is made up of God’s people. God has called out of every nation, every tribe, every people, and every tongue, and gathered these people together unto Himself. That is the church.
Where two or three are gathered together unto My name, the Lord says, “There am I in the midst of them.” That is what the church really is.
Now, if that is the case, there is something wrong here. Why? Because if that is the case, the lampstand should be made of wood and overlaid with gold. Would that not be more right?
We are wood, right? Wood represents human nature, and we are all human. We are the people who make up the church. So it should be made of wood, but, thank God, overlaid with gold.
That is what the lampstand should be. But strangely, you find in God’s revelation this is not the case. In God’s revelation, the lampstand has no wood in it. It is all gold. It is all gold.
Why? Because the church is not made up of you and me. Well, if the church is made up of you and me, woe to the church.
You will find even two people are so different, and we will fight. The church will be divided. No two flesh can dwell together.
Thank God, it is not you and me. It is the Christ in you and the Christ in me.
That is why it is gold. It is all gold. There is no wood there. In other words, everything that is you or me has to be crossed out.
What is left is Christ. It is the Christ in you and me who is built up together into the golden lampstand.
You know, I love one illustration. When God’s people come together to break bread, you see on the table a loaf of bread. That is Christ; that represents Christ—His body.
The Word became flesh, incarnated. God took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh. In this body, He lived thirty-three years absolutely perfect before God. On the cross, that body was broken for us.
So when we come to remember the Lord, before we break the bread, that loaf represents Christ—His own Person.
But when we break the bread, you take a piece, I take a piece, everyone takes a piece. There is no more bread.
But when God looks down from heaven, He sees that bread still complete.
That bread is the Christ. That is the church.
In 1 Corinthians 12, we are told that the body is one and has many members. Though the members are many, yet there is one body; so also is the Christ.
In other words, you will find Christ is in us, and He is represented corporately by His people.
So the lampstand represents the church. The church means that you and I—it is true—it is Christ in you, Christ in me, and Christ in every one of us. But remember, it is Christ, not Christ and you.
The trouble with Christianity today is that when we bring Christ in, we bring ourselves in too. We find that it is a greater measure of ourselves and a very small measure of Christ. That is the reason why we have all these confusions, all these problems.
How we need the cross to work in our lives, so that it will be Christ and Christ.
There is much we can say, but I cannot go into more detail. We have to hurry on. In other words, you will find we are the lampstand.
Our purpose of being together is only one: to contain Christ and to uplift Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
But then you find we are not only the lampstand; we are the priests too. In other words, the priest is to dress the lamp. So it is our responsibility as priests to see that the light is burning.
This is a twenty-four-hour service. It is the responsibility of every brother and every sister in the church to see that the oil is being supplied.
You remember in Zechariah 4, he saw a golden lampstand, and on the two sides of the golden lampstand, two olive trees. These two olive trees continually poured gold into the bowl.
Then you find the gold, as it is burned, turns into oil for the light. These two trees represent sons of oil. In other words, they are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Because they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they are able to supply the oil to the lamp, that the light may shine.
So, brothers and sisters, remember: to be filled with the Holy Spirit is not just for your personal enjoyment or for your personal pride. Not so.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to supply the oil to the lamp. How we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is: “Be filled with the Spirit.”
As you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the church will not be lacking in oil, and the light will be burning.
On the other hand, you find the wick. We have to trim it.
Sometimes you find the wick and the oil are separated; therefore, no oil comes through. Or sometimes you find that the top of the wick is burned, defiled, and the oil cannot get through. You need to use the golden snuffer to cut it off so that the oil can be drawn into it.
Now, brothers and sisters, this simply means that we are also like the wick.
It is the oil that gives light. The wick does not give light. If you burn a wick, it is gone, consumed in a few seconds. But it is the oil.
That is what we are: we are a wick. We cannot supply the light, but we draw the Holy Spirit through us, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit, the testimony of Jesus is maintained.
We cannot maintain the testimony of Jesus. It is the power of the Holy Spirit:
Not by might, nor by power,
but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.
But we have a responsibility to see that the wick is clear, that the oil can get through.
That is the reason why the Bible says: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Do not quench the Holy Spirit. Resist not the Holy Spirit. Obey the Holy Spirit.
If we cooperate, then you will find the Holy Spirit can get through us, and that is how the light shines. This is our responsibility.
Brothers and sisters, every one of us is responsible to see whether we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit, to put it another way—and that is what the original means—is to be ruled by the Holy Spirit. Your life is under the rule, under the government, of the Holy Spirit.
When you are under the government of the Holy Spirit, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Then the oil will get through and the light will shine.
So here you find the church is a lampstand, and we are the priests ministering at the lampstand.
Now you find, not only the lampstand, but so far as our ministry is concerned, there is the golden table of showbread.
The showbread not only represents Christ as the bread of life; it also represents the church. Why? Because you find there are twelve cakes, not just one. The twelve represent the twelve tribes of Israel.
It is put in two rows. Two in the Scripture speaks of witness. If you have two or three witnessing, then everything is settled. So the church is for witnessing, and twelve speaks of governmental perfection.
Here you find the cakes on the table—the bread of remembrance—also represent the church.
Now, the church is a fellowship, is it not? The table speaks of fellowship. What is the church? The church is a fellowship.
In other words, we fellowship with God the Father and God the Son, and on that basis, we fellowship with one another.
You remember the apostle John said:
What we have seen and heard declare we unto you also,
that ye also may have fellowship with us:
yea, and our fellowship is with the Father,
and with His Son Jesus Christ.
That is what fellowship is. We are having fellowship with the Father and with the Son, and on that basis we are fellowshipping with one another. We are all at the table. We are communing together. We are fellowshipping together. We are together sharing Christ, sharing Christ with one another. Now, that is fellowship.
You find these cakes and their incense. So far as God is concerned, the fragrance on the cakes—you know, it is called frankincense because it is frank, it is open. In other words, the fragrance just comes out; it is not hidden.
So you find that the sweet fragrance ascends to God. Oh, how God is pleased with the fellowship of the saints.
Whenever a brother or sister fellowships with another brother or sister, there is joy in heaven. Of course, the apostle John says that your joy may be full. There is nothing that gives joy more than fellowshipping with brothers and sisters.
We are the children, and there we are exhibited for the glory of God and also for the food of one another.
You know, in fellowship we feed one another. We feel full. We feel happy, joyful. I receive Christ from you, and you receive Christ from me. Therefore, you find we grow up in Christ. That is the church.
Not only that, you find this is where our ministry is. So, brothers and sisters, remember that we are a fellowship. Therefore, we need to fellowship with one another.
The more we fellowship with God—with God the Father and God the Son—the more we are able to fellowship with one another.
Fellowship is a two-way street. You never think of fellowship as one way. In other words, there are people who are always giving and giving and giving, and some people are always there receiving and receiving and receiving, and never giving. Now, that is not fellowship.
Fellowship is two-way. So every brother and sister should share with one another. Do not just receive and receive and receive. What you have received, share with somebody else.
As you share, you are enriched, and joy will fill your heart, and the Father will be pleased. So a church is a fellowship. That is where our ministry really is.
Then you find the golden altar of incense. So far as Jewish history is concerned, every day one of the priests would go to the golden altar of incense to burn incense.
It was to be done every day, twice a day, at the time of prayer: the morning prayer and the evening prayer.
Then a priest would go into the holy place to burn incense. It was considered the highest honour a priest could ever have. Why? Because the golden altar of incense is closest to the ark and the mercy seat.
When the priest entered in to burn the incense, all the people would be in the outer court. Nobody was in the temple itself. The priest was alone there.
As the incense burned, he would pray the prayer of the nation. He was not to pray his own private prayer. He was to pray the prayer of the nation. We know the prayer of the nation of Israel was that Messiah would come.
That is what the Old Testament was. But in the New Testament, thank God, it is grace. Every one of us has the privilege to go to the golden altar of incense to burn incense there. Every one of us can do that.
In the old days, if a priest received the privilege by lot, and the lot fell upon him to burn incense at the golden altar, he could only do it once in his lifetime. He could never repeat it. Many served their whole lives without that privilege being given.
You read Luke, and you find Zacharias. He was already advancing in age, ready to retire, and he had never had that privilege. Then suddenly the privilege came.
Thank God, it is wide open to every one of us. In other words, we are made worshippers. We are made intercessors.
What is the church? The church is a house of prayer for all nations. That is what the church is.
We are to worship God because that is what the Father is seeking. The Father is seeking true worshippers, those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. We are the true worshippers. We can come before Him and worship Him.
You know, we worship God through Christ, and we worship God with Christ.
How do you worship? You worship God with Christ, because no one is worthy before God. Only Christ is worthy. When we worship with Christ, then God accepts that worship.
If you try to worship with yourself, you will be rejected. You find that Cain tried to worship with the best of his produce, and he was rejected. But when Abel worshipped with the lamb, he was accepted.
So, brothers and sisters, that is what worship is. When you worship God, you do not worship God with yourself, like that Pharisee:
Lord, I fast twice in the week;
I give tithes of all that I possess.
Look how good a man I am.
He was not justified. But here you find a publican:
O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
He went home justified. We worship with Christ.
Brothers and sisters, when we come together to worship God, we worship God with Christ. We thank God for what Christ has done for us. We tell God how we appreciate His gift to us. We tell God what Christ means to us, and we worship God with Christ.
When we worship God with Christ, then God’s heart is satisfied. That is worship.
That is the reason why the more we know Christ, the more we are able to worship. Oftentimes we find our worship is just words; there is no substance. The reason is that we do not know Christ as we should.
If we experience Christ more, then there is much more with which we can worship God.
Not only worship, but to pray, to intercede. You know, the Lord Jesus teaches the church to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
In other words, prayer is not just asking something for ourselves. The prayer of the church is standing with God for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is our ministry.
When the church gathers to pray, we are not praying our individual prayers. We are praying corporately for the interests of God, for the glory of God.
So in the holy place, you find that is how we work together as priests, how we minister unto God. It is a ministry unto God.
When you go out into the outer court, you minister to the people. But when you enter into the holy place, you minister unto God.
This is the second stage in our believer’s life. So may the Lord help us that we may not just remain in the outer court, but by the grace of God, we will enter into the holy place and minister unto God.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for the wonderful provision Thou hast provided for us in Christ Jesus.
We do thank Thee that our Lord Jesus is not only the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the trespass offering, the sin offering—the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
We do praise and thank Thee that our Lord Jesus is the One who washes us with His life by the Word, that we may be purified from all defilements.
We do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast made us a kingdom of priests unto God, that we may serve Thee with clean hands and clean feet.
Father, we do thank Thee that our Lord Jesus is truly our life, our light, our High Priest. We cannot live without Him, but with Him we can live. Oh, the victory that is in Jesus. Oh, how we worship Thee.
We do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast not only made Christ unto us life, light, and High Priest, but Thou hast called us to be Thy vessel of testimony. Thou hast called us to be a fellowship. Thou hast called us to be worshippers and intercessors.
Lord, we pray that by Thy grace, through the life and light and High Priest, we may be able to fulfil our ministry unto Thee, to the praise of Thy glory.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.