Keep the lamp burning bright

Notes from sermon on Sunday 12 May 2013

Acts 2 verses 1 – 13

Zechariah 4 verses 5 and 6 “Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, knowest thou not what these be? And I said, no my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto me saying, this is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts.”

God reveals to Zerubabbel the character and nature of God’s work.  We sometimes think God’s work can be carried on by man’s own talent, understanding, wisdom but that is not so.  God challenges the prophet here “not by might nor by power but by my spirit.”  Somehow when you speak in the work place people don’t want to hear.  When you speak to neighbours they don’t want to hear.  When you speak to your family they don’t want to hear.  The unsaved man or woman is blinded by the god of this world.  He controls the situations of this world.  Yes God is sovereign but the devil has the world under his control.  Those who have never came to a saving knowledge of Christ and his work on Calvary’s cross.  He has blinded their eyes.  As you talk you realise you are coming against a brick wall.  Maybe they have a sympathy to the work of God and to the word of God but blinded to the need to be saved.  It is only by God’s spirit not by wisdom of words.  Paul says it is by God’s Holy Spirit.  We have been learning about the society in which this man lived.  It was cold to the word of God.  They had come back from Babylon and yes had started the work of rebuilding the temple but were cold to it all.  The situation they found themselves in – cold and indifferent to the word of God.  Then we see the scene he saw – the simplicity of it, the secrecy of it and the sufficiency of it all.

Here was the lamp burning bright.  What was the secrecy of it?  The filling of the lamp.  He saw the bowl sitting on the top.  He saw 7 pipes running to the 7 lamps.  The secret of this lamp was the filling of the oil.  Oil symbolises the Spirit of God.  The Holy Spirit is not someone we can see but he is active in our midst.  Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, a religious Pharisee who came by night with questions on his heart.  The Lord Jesus saw more than the questions.  He was not right with the Lord, not saved.  We can get so close to the door of God’s salvation.  Judas kissed Jesus’ cheek yet he went and hanged himself.  Coming to the door of God’s salvation.  “thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12 verse 34) Jesus once said to the scribe who turned and walked away.  When Nicodemus came to Jesus, Jesus spoke of the work of God’s salvation.  “The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.” (John 3 verse 8)  Sometimes we can give a good guess as to what is working on your heart yet the one beside you says there is nothing here for me today.  The Spirit of God comes to you and strives with you, directing your attention and eyes to the state of your heart today.  Goes to the very heart and shows you that you are not saved.  The greatest need you have.  He shows you the 3 crosses and in particular the middle cross.  He shows you that Jesus died for your sin.  There on that cross God was speaking to a downcast nation, ridiculed, wanted to see them strive with the word of God.  He reminds them not of their own ability.  We are living in a very discouraging age.  There is much by way of ridicule for the child of God.  Need to be constantly filled with the spirit of God.  The secret of the child of God.  The secrecy is not in the ability he has not in the knowledge of the scriptures.  It is in the filling of the Spirit of God.  How important that is.  In Acts 5 we read of Peter standing before the religious leaders.  “And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (verse 32)

The secrecy of the flow.  God has a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit just for you, for you to do what you have to do.  You need this filling constantly.  The infilling would have been no use if there had been a blockage in the pipe.  Acts 2 the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit came into all of them that he might flow through them to reach the multitudes.  The Spirit of God has to be flowing through us.  Paul writing to Timothy speaking of the importance of remaining close to God.  He tells Timothy to flee from these things – 2 Timothy 2 verse 21 “if a man therefore purge himself from these he shall be a vessel unto honour sanctified and meet for the masters use and prepared unto every good work.”  Sometimes you and I get ourselves into a situation where God is not able to flow through us.  We need to turn away from these things that are hindering God flowing through us.  God points out something we need to be doing then we need to get back to it.  Need to make sure the Holy Spirit is flowing through us.

The secrecy of the fruit.  He had seen the lamps burning ever so brightly.  That is what we need to be doing today.  He can use us in situations and there will be fruit in our lives.  “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5 verse 16)  In John 15 Jesus said “I am the vine ye are the branches.”  The secrecy is my abiding in him, drawing my every substance from him that through him I might bear fruit.  God can use us, any one of us, from the weakest to the strongest, from the youngest to the oldest.  He will not do it until we step forward and ask him to use us for his service.  God came to Gideon while he was under a tree threshing wheat.  The angel of the Lord drew near to him, spoke to him.  Gideon’s response was simple – ‘If the Lord is with us why are all these things happening to us?’  God was going to use this man of disbelief and doubt, make him a great leader.  How many have not said when things are not going well “I must have done something terrible that God has forsaken me.”  He wants you to lift up your eyes and offer yourself to him totally.  In the Upper Room when the spirit came and filled every believer Peter going out stands in the streets of Jerusalem, he faces all the religious leaders. has no fear in him now.  No unbelief in him.  He stands and preaches the word of God.  Why because it is the secrecy of the word of God.  3000 souls that day were saved because of those words.  The disciples gave their life to the Lord and waited until they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  Are we filled?  Are we saved first and foremost?  Saved by God’s grace, knowing God’s forgiveness?