Turn with me again to Exodus
chapter 27. We'll deal with the last two
verses tonight, beginning in verse 20. Let me say while you're
turning in Exodus chapters 25, 26, and all the way through verse
19, here in Exodus 27, we've seen the furniture of the tabernacle,
we've seen the materials used in the building of the tabernacle,
and we very clearly seen, I think, that they all pictured and typified
Christ our Lord. But now in verse 20 begins a
new section concerning the service of the tabernacle, and several
Bible scholars agree that the chapter division here in Exodus
chapter 27 should have ended probably in verse 19 with chapter
28 beginning with verse 20. But this new section and instruction
from God deals with the congregation of the priesthood along with
the holy vessels and the various parts of the tabernacle connected
with the priesthood. That's what we have in chapters
28 and 29, closing with the incense altar in chapter 30. And that's
the only furnishing thus far in the tabernacle that we haven't
covered, and that comes up in chapter 30. Let me say by way
of introduction that spiritual life, life eternal, begins for
the child of God by the Holy Spirit giving us life. It's appropriate that God would
begin this new section of the priesthood service beginning
with the oil for the lamps used in the golden candlestick. Now
I'd have you notice that the children of Israel are here commanded
to bring pure oil to be used in the lamps. And the priests
are to keep them burning continually. Look at verse 20. God says to
Moses, and thou shalt command the children of Israel that they
bring the pure oil, pure oil olive beaten for the light to
cause the lamp to burn always. In Leviticus chapter 24, verse
two, you can also pretty much find the same words there. It says, command the children
of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil, olive beaten for
the light to cause the lamps to burn continually. So these
lamps were to burn always. They were to burn continually.
And I was thinking as I read those verses, everything that
God commands of his people must be pure, must be perfect, and
must be continual. And that's our dilemma. That's
the problem that we have in and of ourselves. There's nothing
about us that is pure, so there can nothing come from us that
is pure, but that which a pure and a holy God provides for us. Verse 21, it says, in the tabernacle
of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony,
meaning the ark of the testimony, the ark of the covenant, Aaron
and his son shall order it from evening to morning before the
Lord. And it shall be a statute forever unto their generations
on the behalf of the children of Israel. And I think it's here
that we see our need of pure oil. Now it's true that Christ,
our high priest, gives his people spiritual life through the preaching
of the gospel. The Lord displeased by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe, that which the world
calls foolishness. Not foolishness at all to the
child of God, is it? But light comes only through
the Holy Spirit, and Christ, as our great high priest, keeps
that light burning. His gospel continues to go forth. and His Spirit is constantly
teaching His people. What a picture that is of the
lamp burning always. So first I want us to consider
that God requires this oil burnt in these lamps to be pure. This process to bring forth pure
olive oil involved the wounding and the bruising of the olive.
This was not an oil that they got out of fish. This wasn't
an oil that they got from the nuts of almonds or some other
nut. This oil was that that came from
the olive, from the olive tree. These olives were not ground
in a mill by stones. It says in verse 20, a beaten
oil. The stones would have contaminated
the oil, with the little particles of stone that would have fell
from the big stone that ground them to pieces and broke off.
They would have ground up with the olive oil, contaminating
it. Also, to have ground the olives
would have crushed the seed of the olive, which is also making
the oil impure. Everything, I was thinking, what
a picture that is. Everything that we do is mixed
with our stony hearts and the seed of our flesh. Therefore
making all that we do impure, defiled, and contaminated. These olives were beaten, it
says. Only the flesh, the skin of the
olive was open and the oil just came out by itself, pure and
Clear. Olive growers today call that
liquid, liquid gold, with each olive only producing, they say,
just a couple of drops of this pure oil. And this pure olive
oil typifies the Spirit of God, who is holy and pure. Remember the Holy Ghost, the
Holy Spirit, is one of the three members of the triune Godhead,
no less holy than God the Father or God the Son. And the scriptures
say that Christ was anointed by the Holy Spirit without measure,
being the God-man that must be so. And the psalmist speaking
of our Lord wrote this, thou lovest righteousness and hatest
wickedness. "'Therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee "'with the oil of gladness above thy fellows,'
Psalm 45 said." And the writer of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul,
I believe, quotes that same verse in Hebrews chapter one, verse
nine. And then speaking of God's elect, the Holy Spirit through
the prophet Isaiah said this. He said, "'To appoint unto them
that mourn in Zion, "'to give unto them beauty for ashes, and
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Isaiah
61.3. So I don't think that there's
any doubt here that the pure oil typifies God the Holy Spirit. God the Spirit is constantly
spoke of in scripture as holy. The third person in Trinity,
as I said, is as holy as God and God the Son are holy. And
the Spirit's work is to make chosen redeemed sinners, the
elect of God, new creatures in Christ. God commands us to be
holy as I am holy. How are we going to do that?
Only one way. God making us holy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. How often do we
say that? Well, that's the gospel. We have
to say it because it's the truth. Showing us that God requires
perfection, perfect holiness, perfect righteousness, perfect
obedience. Oh, have you ever tried that?
We can't do it, can we? God demands perfection in every
way. It must be perfect to be accepted. And it's God himself that makes
chosen sinners holy. Therefore, he gets all the praise,
all the honor, all the glory. The oil must come from the olive
being wounded and bruised. because the Holy Spirit, which
is the oil of joy and gladness is sent to the redeemed of the
Lord by Christ being wounded for his elect on Calvary's cross. Isaiah 53 verse five comes to
our mind with that statement, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities
and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes,
we are healed. Now, our Lord was not destroyed
by the crushing stones of the mill, like the olive that was
ground seed and all. Christ had a perfect heart of
righteousness and holiness, unlike the stony hearts and the fallen
seed within the center that contaminates up. He's holy and pure, undefiled. Our Lord and Savior was beaten,
He was wounded, He was bruised, and He bore the iniquity of all
God's elect on the tree. Yes, He was wounded, but not
destroyed. Yes, He was bruised, but not
contaminated. He was chastised for us, but
He satisfied God. He was beaten with stripes, but
we were healed. And our just God and Savior was
wounded, bruised, chastised, and beaten, suffering the stripes
which should have been ours, and that made our peace with
God. And this was all done in and
by and through His glorious substitution and sacrifice. I never grow tired
of hearing that. And having made all His people,
all His chosen, perfectly righteous, holy, and just, when Christ arose
from the grave, He promised the Holy Spirit and that Spirit was
pure because it was God's Spirit. Matter of fact, God the Spirit,
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And our Lord Jesus said
in John chapter 14, verses 16 and 17, He said, and I'll pray
the Father and He shall give you another comforter that He
may abide with you forever. The Holy Spirit is in our presence
tonight. "'Even the Spirit of truth, whom
the world cannot receive, "'because it seeth him not, neither knoweth
him. "'But ye know him, for he dwelleth
with you "'and shall be in you.'" That's God's promise to the believer. So we see that this pure olive
oil that was beaten typifies the Holy Spirit given to us through
the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross. And secondly,
I want us to consider the purpose of the oil. Again, verse 20,
look at it with me. And thou shalt command the children
of Israel that they bring the pure oil olive beaten for the
light to cause the lamp to burn always. You see, without this
oil, there will be no light. Let me say that again. Without
this oil, there would be no light. Without the Holy Spirit, no sinner
has the light of life. There's absolutely nothing more
opposed to God and the worship of God than darkness. And by
nature, none of us have any spiritual light. The natural man receives
not the things of the Spirit of God. Why? Because they're
dead and in darkness. And to make matters worse, being
dead in trespasses and sin, we can produce no light in and of
ourselves, for ourselves, can't do it. By nature, we are those
such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound
in affliction and iron," the psalmist said. Why? Because we,
the sons and daughters of Adam, rebelled against the words of
God. And contend is what the word
is, which means blasphemed and despised the council of the most
high, Psalm 107 verses 10 and 11. And this is the condemnation. Do you remember what our Lord
said it was? He said, and this is the condemnation that light
has come into the world. And men loved darkness rather
than light. You loved darkness more than
light. And I loved darkness more than
light before God had mercy and grace upon us and shined his
light upon us. We love darkness rather than
light. Why? Because our deeds were evil,
John 3, 19. And what proof this is that light must be given to
us from God, the Holy Spirit. Isaiah said, we walk in darkness
and have no light. Isaiah 50 10. The Lord Jesus
said, but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth because there's
no light in him. John 11 10. And in the first
creation, Genesis 1 verse 1, it says, in the beginning, God
created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form.
and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep." What a
picture that is of our hearts apart from Christ. And the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, who
did? God said, let there be light,
and there was light. And then in the new creation,
no different, It's the same. The Spirit of God moves upon
the formless, void, dark parts of His people, moves upon the
face of the deep within us. And that's what Paul was telling
us in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6. For God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. There's no light, there's no
knowledge, there's no enlightenment, except God the Spirit shine forth
his light in the face of problems. And this is the reason that Paul
in the previous verse there in 2 Corinthians chapter four said,
we preach not ourselves. We don't preach anything concerning
man, what man does, because man can do nothing. Man's in darkness
by nature. He said, we preach not ourselves,
but we preach Christ, Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your
servants for Jesus' sake. He said, we had this treasure
in earthen vessels. It's a treasure. Oh my, what
a treasure it is. And this is why and how, that
the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. And
the message we preach, if it doesn't give God in Christ all
the glory, then the Holy Spirit had no part in it. And that's
why Isaiah chapter eight, verse 20 tells us, to the law and to
the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it's
because there is no light in them. It's all about the light
that Christ gives. The spirit pictured by this pure
oil always, always glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. It always
shines the light on Christ, who is the light, just as the golden
candlestick shined on all in that tabernacle that pictured
Christ in the holy place. John chapter 16, verse 13 and
14 says this, how be it when he, the spirit of truth has come,
He will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he'll
show you things to come. And he shall glorify me, for
he shall receive of mine and show it unto you." That's talking
about the Spirit of God. How beautiful the picture found
here in the oil, keeping the lamp burning always. When Christ
gives the oil of joy and gladness to a believing sinner, the Holy
Spirit never leaves them, never forsakes them. God's Spirit keeps
his children in the light of Christ always and forever. And this is an everlasting love
that we have in Christ. He said, I've loved thee with
what? An everlasting love. Isn't that what Paul said? As
we've received mercy, we faint not. After all, we receive mercy
by the Holy Spirit, and by the Holy Spirit, we don't faint.
I just read a moment ago, John 14, 16. Let me mention it again. He said, and I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another comforter that he may
abide with you forever. I wish I could get ahold of that
like I ought to. He's with me always, Linda. Paul
wrote in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14, he said, now thanks be unto
God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ. How often? Always. And it may not seem like
it sometimes that we've got the victory, but trust me, we do,
because God knows what's best, we don't. We're so short sighted,
we can only see what's in front of us. But God works all things
together for the good of those that love Him. And we see so
many times further down the road. And we look back and we say,
I know why the Lord did that now. I know I've told you the
story. When Teresa and I moved to Texas,
we tried to sell our house. We tried to give it away and
nobody was interested. Five and a half years later,
we moved right back in the same house. What I thought was a bad
thing wound up being a great thing because God knows what
he's doing. God knows what he's doing. God's
on the throne. Those who persevere until the
end do so because they're preserved by the Holy Spirit of God until
the end. You think about that. Those who
are regenerated by the Holy Spirit shall continue believing on Christ
because the Holy Spirit abides with them forever. That's what
we just read. Questions always asked, do you believe in one
saved always saved? Yes, yes I do because the Holy
Spirit abides with me forever. He's constantly shining that
beautiful light on the Lord Jesus Christ. We endured to the end
because Christ loved us until the end. Christ gave us His Spirit
until the end. And His love is not only effectual,
but it's everlasting. It not only saves me, but it
keeps me safe. And that's why if God saves you
by His Spirit, you're always saved. And then thirdly, did
you notice from our text, who kept the oil and the lamps burning? Look again at verse 21. In the
tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before
the testimony, Aaron and his son shall order it from evening
to morning before the Lord. Now the tabernacle of the congregation
without the veil, meaning on the outside of the holy place,
in the outer court where the people could congregate, is a
picture of the house of God. The house of God is not a building.
The house of God is where the gospels preached, where God's
people congregate together and worship the Lord. And only the
priest could go into the holy place and in the holy of holies.
The golden candlestick, as you know, was in the holy place.
So Aaron, the high priest, here beautifully typifies Christ,
our high priest. And Aaron's sons typify God's
saints, who the scripture says, God has made a priest unto God. If you're a child of God, God
has made you a priest unto him. And they very accurately, I believe,
pictured the ministers of Christ. You see, wherever the preaching
of the gospel of Christ is found by his ministers, it's there
that Christ, our high priest, continually fills our lamps with
the oil of the Holy Spirit. And he keeps that light burning
continually and always. It's here that God reminds believers
of their need of the oil of the Holy Spirit given by Christ,
their high priest. God commands the children of
Israel to bring the oil to Aaron and to his sons in the tabernacle.
And God commands us to do the same thing. We cannot produce
the oil of the Holy Spirit. I don't know why men think they
can. I don't know why men and women
try to do so. Only Christ can provide for us
the oil of the Holy Spirit and put that oil in these vessels
of ours. It's the work of God. Only God
can keep His light burning in us continually. And this is to
remind us of the means that Christ uses. And that's the preaching
of the gospel. You know, even those, the golden
candlestick, the lamps, the lamps were sanctified. They were set
apart in the tabernacle, but they could only give light when
they had the pure oil in them. And they must be refueled daily. And it's the same with us. That's
why you're here again tonight. You need your candlestick filled
up. Though we're sanctified by the
Spirit of God, we still can't produce any light. We need the
fresh oil of God's mercy and grace in Christ given to us continually
by Christ through the preaching of his gospel and the ministry
of his word. Without it, we'll die. We'll
go out. There'll be no light. Do you
remember the 10 virgins in Matthew chapter 25? I encourage you to
read that passage of scripture again. They took their lamps
and they went forth, the scripture says, to meet the bridegroom.
Well, we know who that is. And the Lord in that parable
tells us that five of them were wise and five of them were foolish. You remember that story? But
the wise virgins, they took oil in their vessels with their lamps
and were told that the bridegroom tarried, that he didn't come
right away. And they all slumbered and slept
while waiting for him. Then at midnight, there was a
cry and it was heard that the bridegroom was coming and for
them to all go out into meeting. And all 10 virgins were told
arose and trimmed their lamps, but the foolish ones who didn't
bring any oil find that their lamps had gone out. And what
did they do? They begin to ask the wise women
for their oil. And they said, no, no, not so. For if we give you oil, then
we won't have enough for ourselves. Said, you go and buy for yourself.
And while they were gone to buy, the bridegroom came. And it says
that the wise versions went with the bridegroom to the marriage
and the door was shut. And then came the other five
virgins and came to the door and they cried, Lord, Lord, open
up unto us. But the Lord answered and said,
I know you not. It was then that the Lord Jesus
told those to whom he told this parable. He said, watch therefore,
for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of
Man coming. What a lesson that is. The child
of God must continually go to Christ, continually assemble
to hear his gospel preached. Why? It's our bread and it's
our drink. And this is the means through
which Christ gives the oil of joy to replace our mourning and
keep our light burning. The last part of verse 21 here
in our text tells us, it shall be a statute, a law, forever
and to the generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
And it was until the one typified came. Now there's a standing
law forever to God's people. You know what it is? Those who
continually look to Christ, those who through the gospel see that
the preaching of Christ is the only means to keep all in our
lands. That's why Paul said in Hebrews
10, verse 25, I'm convinced, that's why he said, not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is. There's
some that do. He said, but exhorting one another,
and so much the more as you see the day approaching. What approaching
day is he talking about? The day that Christ our bridegroom
comes for the marriage of his bride. That's the day he's talking
about. There'll be some found who have
forsaken the assembling of their selves together. They've slept,
and they've slumbered, and their oil is no longer burning. And
at the sound of the trumpeting, and at the great cry of Christ's
return, they'll be found without oil in their lamps, and shut
out of the one and only door that leads to life." Oh, what
a sobering thought. Christ the door. By him, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved. Are you a sheep? Well, he's the
door of the sheep. Those who Christ has made priest
unto God, listen to me in closing. Those whom Christ has made priest
unto God, like he did Aaron and his sons, they'll continually
keep the light burning within the veil. They'll see to it,
just like you are seeing to it tonight. Tell me, tell me the
story of Jesus. Tell me, tell me one more time.
How do we keep the light burning within the veil? We come together
and we hear about the unsearchable riches of Christ who loved us
and gave himself for us. That's the command of God. God
sends his spirit to fill them with his truth. And those that
truly worship God, the Lord said they worship him in what? Spirit
and truth. For when the Comforter has come,
whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth, which proceeded from the Father, He shall testify of me."
That's our message. And our message, Christ and Him
crucified, hearing it, meditating on it, thinking about it. I think
about it all the time, don't you? Well, that's the only way
this sinner will ever be saved and reconciled to God. It's the
most important thing in our lives. May God enable us to continue
to trust in Him. I'm telling you, it's a gift
of God's mercy and grace to us.