15 October 2006: OIL FOR THE LAMP – How to Keep Your Light Burning Continually!
TOPIC: Holy Spirit; enthusiasm, fire, light, oil (of sacrifice), service
TITLE: OIL FOR THE LAMP - How to Keep Your Light Burning Continually! [Adapted from Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening devotional for 28 August “Morning”]
TEXT: Leviticus 24:1-4
CONCISE OUTLINE
Oil is seen as a condiment (something used to give a special flavor to food) for Scripture by most readers of the Scriptures. It is far more important than that (199x)!
EXPANDED OUTLINE
God is the Father of lights …
When the Holy Spirit gives spiritual light, He opens our eyes to behold God’s glory and to see the face of Jesus; we then see sin at its blackest.
Spiritual light [whether wisdom, insight, understanding, knowledge, joy, holiness, or peace] is priceless. So, if the light we’ve received is invaluable, what must the core of that light be; and how glorious must be the place where He reveals Himself.
The Lord sees “light” in our heart, He put it there … that is supposed to be our core. All the shadows of our soul can’t conceal it from Him [Hebrews 4:12-13] nor extinguish the wick. He not only sees it, but He preserves it. This light, preserved by His grace, He will one day display as the sun at high noon.
And it is not just any oil which is used in the Lord's service: not just crude oil which seeps from the earth, nor just the oil of a fish, nor just the oil of vegetables or nuts … none of these are acceptable; only one oil is anointed oil, and that of God’s own choosing … an olive’s oil [the Holy Spirit].
The pretended grace of the good man, the fancied grace of the minister, the imagined grace of religious rituals will never sustain the flame … the Lord wouldn’t be pleased with oceans of such oil. No, God goes to the olive-press of Calvary, and draws his supply from the One who was beaten and crushed for you and me.
And the oil of gospel grace is pure and clear; and so the flame is bright and clear. The Church is Christ’s golden lampstand, and if we are to be lights in this darkness. Yet we are too often like the lightning bug, showing little light except in the midst of darkness, and then only blinking on and off.
Satan makes a fierce attack on our perseverance; it is the bull’s-eye for all of his fiery darts. He strives to hinder us in service: he insinuates we are doing no good; and that we need rest. He endeavors to make us weary, he whispers, “Curse God, and die.”
He attacks our steadfastness: “What good is there in being enthusiastic? Sleep,” he says, “rest like the others, and let your lamp go dry of oil like the lazy virgins.”
As soon as the Lord gives light to any man, he proceeds to separate himself from the darkness; he quits outward ceremony, for nothing short of spiritual light will satisfy him; he withdraws from worldly pursuits, and seeks the company of saints.
Even the consecrated flames cannot give light without oil; though they shine in the tabernacle, they need to be fed; though no wind blows upon them, they require trimming … and OUR NEED IS JUST AS GREAT.
RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB - Sermons
TITLE: OIL FOR THE LAMP - How to Keep Your Light Burning Continually! [Adapted from Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening devotional for 28 August “Morning”]
TEXT: Leviticus 24:1-4
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. Outside the veil of testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morn-ing before the LORD continually; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. He shall keep the lamps in order on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.’”FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are the key aspects of the Tabernacle’s continual flame?
CONCISE OUTLINE
I. THE OIL BROUGHT IS BY A PARTICULAR PEOPLE!TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: It is Aaron and his High Priestly descendents that are mentioned here. Christ, the bible says, is our High Priest! [Hebrews 6:19; 9:1-7; 10:20]
II. THE OIL BROUGHT IS OF A PARTICULAR KIND!
III. THE OIL BROUGHT IS FOR A PARTICULAR PLACE!
IV. THE OIL BURNT IS AT A PARTICULAR TIME!
V. THE OIL BURNT IS IN A PARTICULAR WAY!
Oil is seen as a condiment (something used to give a special flavor to food) for Scripture by most readers of the Scriptures. It is far more important than that (199x)!
[SPURGEON QUOTE] My soul, how much thou needest this, for thy lamp will not long continue to burn without it. Thy snuff will smoke and become an offence if light be gone, and gone it will be if oil be absent. Thou hast no oil well springing up in thy human nature, and therefore thou must go to them that sell and buy for thyself, or like the foolish virgins, thou wilt have to cry, “My lamp is gone out.”Referring to Bez-al-el the Tabernacle craftsman in Exodus 31:3, God said …
Even the consecrated lamps could not give light without oil; though they shone in the tabernacle they needed to be fed, though no rough winds blew upon them they required to be trimmed, and thy need is equally as great. Under the most happy circumstances thou canst not give light for another hour unless fresh oil of grace be given thee.
Spurgeon reflects the common understanding of oil as a type of the Holy Spirit and His anointing of His people.
"… I have filled him with the Spirit of God [oil], in wisdom, in un-derstanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship ...."Jesus Himself specifically pointed out the Holy Spirit would be “in” them [John 14:17].
[Graham] “A friend ... said, ‘I used Jesus for my eternal life, and the Holy Spirit ... for my internal life.’”FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are the key aspects of the Tabernacle’s continual flame?
[SERVICE] If I had a glove on my hand, I would be able to show you that the glove can’t do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, the glove can do many things. It is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts.
The Christian is a glove. It is the Holy Spirit in us, the hand, who does the work. We have to make room for the hand so that every fin-ger in the glove is filled.
EXPANDED OUTLINE
I. THE OIL BROUGHT IS BY A PARTICULAR PEOPLE! [2]A. “Command the sons of Israel that they bring”II. THE OIL BROUGHT IS OF A PARTICULAR KIND! [2]
B. We are the children of God the spiritual Israel.
C. Combined, we are the Temple of God; he’s given us the Holy Spirit [and so the church] to be “lights in the world.” [1 Peter 2]
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what … fellowship has light with darkness?”2 Corinthians 6:14
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light …1 Peter 2:9A. Pure, clear!III. THE OIL BROUGHT IS FOR A PARTICULAR PLACE! [3]1. “clear oil”B. But beaten, crushed!
2. We are to be holy! [1 Peter 1:16] (without noticeable impurities)1. “from beaten olives” (tried)
2. Trod upon!
3. Paul often spoke of his experiences here.A. In the tabernacle; “in the tent of meeting” (“new” sanctified nature)IV. THE OIL BURNT IS AT A PARTICULAR TIME!
B. “Outside the veil of testimony” (outside our future "glorified" nature)
C. Before the Lord!A. “From evening to morning” [Spurgeon named his devotions]V. THE OIL BURNT IS IN A PARTICULAR WAY! [3,4]
B. During the times of darknessA. It is to be ordered or maintained!“Aaron shall keep it in order … He shall keep the lamps in order”B. It is to burn continuously, perpetually!
“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowl-edge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”2 Corinthians 4:5-61) Three times the passage says “continuously”!
2) Are our lamps full? Will they burn brightly from pure oil in the darkness?
APPLICATION/CHALLENGE:
God is the Father of lights …
“Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.”He is fixed, He moves not!James 1:17
When the Holy Spirit gives spiritual light, He opens our eyes to behold God’s glory and to see the face of Jesus; we then see sin at its blackest.
Spiritual light [whether wisdom, insight, understanding, knowledge, joy, holiness, or peace] is priceless. So, if the light we’ve received is invaluable, what must the core of that light be; and how glorious must be the place where He reveals Himself.
The Lord sees “light” in our heart, He put it there … that is supposed to be our core. All the shadows of our soul can’t conceal it from Him [Hebrews 4:12-13] nor extinguish the wick. He not only sees it, but He preserves it. This light, preserved by His grace, He will one day display as the sun at high noon.
And it is not just any oil which is used in the Lord's service: not just crude oil which seeps from the earth, nor just the oil of a fish, nor just the oil of vegetables or nuts … none of these are acceptable; only one oil is anointed oil, and that of God’s own choosing … an olive’s oil [the Holy Spirit].
The pretended grace of the good man, the fancied grace of the minister, the imagined grace of religious rituals will never sustain the flame … the Lord wouldn’t be pleased with oceans of such oil. No, God goes to the olive-press of Calvary, and draws his supply from the One who was beaten and crushed for you and me.
And the oil of gospel grace is pure and clear; and so the flame is bright and clear. The Church is Christ’s golden lampstand, and if we are to be lights in this darkness. Yet we are too often like the lightning bug, showing little light except in the midst of darkness, and then only blinking on and off.
Satan makes a fierce attack on our perseverance; it is the bull’s-eye for all of his fiery darts. He strives to hinder us in service: he insinuates we are doing no good; and that we need rest. He endeavors to make us weary, he whispers, “Curse God, and die.”
He attacks our steadfastness: “What good is there in being enthusiastic? Sleep,” he says, “rest like the others, and let your lamp go dry of oil like the lazy virgins.”
"For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,”But the powers of darkness are not to be feared, for the Lord is our light, He destroys them; and hell will not prevail, for the Lord is our salvation, He supplies the oil.Matthew 25:3
[LIGHT] Along our highways, well placed at appropriate locations, are official signs which give us direction and warn us of danger. Most of these are the reflector type; that is, they are designed to reflect the light of auto headlamps.Darkness, by itself, is calm and quiet, but when the Lord sends in light, there’s conflict, for the one is in opposition to the other till the believer is all light in the Lord. If there’s conflict within a believer, there’s certainly conflict outside him.
In darkness, they are invisible to anyone who travels without a light. But when our auto headlights are flashed upon these signs, they reflect back to us their message of guidance or caution. Their night-time aid to us depends upon the light we bring to them. They have no meaning for unlighted lamps.
God would like to guide us through the days and through the years of this life. His signs are out there-in all the appropriate places. But whether we see them will depend upon the light with which we approach them.
As soon as the Lord gives light to any man, he proceeds to separate himself from the darkness; he quits outward ceremony, for nothing short of spiritual light will satisfy him; he withdraws from worldly pursuits, and seeks the company of saints.
Even the consecrated flames cannot give light without oil; though they shine in the tabernacle, they need to be fed; though no wind blows upon them, they require trimming … and OUR NEED IS JUST AS GREAT.
RELATED LINKS: The SHEEP'S CRIB - Sermons
SPECIFIC TAGS: Christianity, Consecration, High Priest, Holy Oil, Leviticus, Light,
Religion, Tabernacle, Temple, Worship
GENERAL TAGS: Homoletics, Preaching, Sermons
Religion, Tabernacle, Temple, Worship
GENERAL TAGS: Homoletics, Preaching, Sermons
Labels: Sermons
posted by John Gillmartin at 3:21 PM
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