A great, great song, great message. I always enjoy and profit by
being in the presence of God's saints as they're leaving this
world. I've told you many times about
a friend many years ago, Brother Harold Martin, his last conscious
words I was allowed to hear. He said, preacher, it's good
to come to this place and know that everything is under the
blood. It's good to come to eternity
and know that everything is under the blood. Our text this evening
will be Leviticus 24, verses one through four. But I want
us to begin in Hebrews chapter nine. I want so very, very much
for you to see that it was the intention of God in giving us
the tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the ceremonies,
the Sabbath days, holy days, and all the events of the Old
Testament. It was God's intention in giving these things that they'd
be types and pictures of heavenly things. when I assert without
hesitancy, as I do, that all these carnal things were pictures
of spiritual things, specifically that they were pictures and types
of Christ and the gospel of God's free grace in him. I'm not just
pulling these things out of the air. I sometimes listen to fellows
preach who don't do much study and don't have any real ability
to expand scriptures and they say, this is what I see in this.
It doesn't matter what you see in this, and it doesn't matter
what I see in this. What does God tell us is in the
picture. Read a portion of Hebrews 9 with
me, and you'll see that the Spirit of God speaks specifically of
the tabernacle in the wilderness, its furnishings, and the sacrifices
offered on God's altar at the tabernacle. Hebrews 9, verse
1. Then verily, the first covenant
had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made,
the first wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread,
which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censer and the ark of the covenant, overlaid round
about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna,
and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant,
and over it the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy seat,
of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now, when these
things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first
tabernacle, the outer court of the tabernacle, accomplishing
the service of God, But into the second, into the holiest
of all, went the high priest alone once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people.
The Holy Ghost this signified, that the way into the holiest
of all was not yet made manifest. while as the first tabernacle
was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present in
which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not
make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the
conscience, which stood only in meats and drinks and divers
washings and carnal ordinances, now watch this, imposed on them
until the time of reformation, and pose on them until the time
that Christ came to fulfill it all. But Christ being come in
high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. Down in verse 23, we're told
that these carnal things were patterns of the heavens. In chapter 10, verse 1, we're
told that they are a shadow of good things to come. Now go back
to Leviticus 24. Leviticus 24. Try to get a picture of the tabernacle
in your mind's eye. It always helps when you're reading
scripture to try to get a picture of things in your mind's eye.
As you approach the tabernacle, the very first thing that strikes
your eye is the brazen altar, the place of sacrifice. That's
the very first thing. You come to God, the very first
thing you know, first thing you learn, the first thing that strikes
your eye is Christ crucified. The way of access to God is the
blood of Jesus Christ. Between that brazen altar and
the door of the tabernacle stood the laver of bright brass, the
place of cleansing. And then if you pull back the
curtain, you enter the outer court of the tabernacle, which
is called the sanctuary. In the sanctuary, this holy place,
the outer court, there were three pieces of furniture visible to
the eye. There was a table of showbread
with the 12 loaves of bread and the incense on the loaves on
your left side. In the back, just before you
get to the veil of the separation of the sanctuary from the holiest
of all is the golden altar of incense. That's the showbridge
on the right and on the left side is the golden candlestick. A candelabra, a candelabra with
seven lamps burning continually in it. Then if you could go with
Aaron behind the veil in the holiest of holies on the day
of atonement, you would see just one piece of furniture, the center
of Israel's worship. the center of everything in the
scriptures with regard to the worship of God. It's called the
Ark of the Covenant, overlaid with pure gold, cherubims on
either end of the mercy seat that covers the Ark of the Covenant,
looking constantly on the mercy seat, the blood of atonement
represented there, representing our Lord Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. This is the place where God promised,
I will meet with thee. And I will commune with thee
from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which
are upon the ark of the testimony of all things which I will give
thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. This is exactly
what Isaiah saw. when he saw the Lord Jesus Christ,
our crucified Redeemer, enthroned in heaven, seated upon the throne
of grace. It is this very same Ark of the
Covenant, this very same mercy seat that was portrayed here
in Exodus, that's portrayed here in the Old Testament. This is
what Ezekiel saw in his vision with the wheels of providence,
this very same thing. This is what Daniel saw when
the Lord Jesus was revealed to him. And this is what John portrays
for us in the vision of Revelation chapter four and chapter five.
And if you want to read about the articles of furniture in
greater detail, they're given in great detail in Exodus chapter
37 and 38. Tonight, let's just focus on
these three, these four verses in Leviticus 24. And I want to
talk to you about the golden candlestick and its message.
Leviticus 24, verse 1, The LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command
the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil olive
beaten for the lights, to cause the lamps to burn continually.
Without the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation
shall Aaron, God's priest, order it from the evening unto the
morning before the LORD continually. It shall be a statute forever
in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon
the pure candlestick before the Lord continually. Now, we don't
have to guess what all of this represents. The Spirit of God
tells us specifically that this lampstand portrays the Lord Jesus
Christ and the seven churches, that is the whole body of Christ,
the Church of Christ in this world. He tells us that in the
first chapter of the book of Revelation. Particularly, it
speaks of Christ, the light of the world. He is the stand itself. And branching out are these seven
churches, which are also lights given by God, drawing light from
Christ Jesus, so that Christ is the light of the world, and
his church on this earth is his light in this world. Now let's
look at three things very plainly. First, the oil, and then the
lamps in the candlestick, and then the message of the candlestick.
The first thing mentioned in our text is the oil God required
for the candlesticks. In verse 2, command the children
of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for
the light to cause the lamps to burn continually. God required
the children of Israel to bring the oil from the olives of their
own olive trees to his priest. that oil to be burned continually
in the candlestick. It must be pure oil, pure olive
oil, the very best undiluted clear oil. It must be beaten
from the olive trees, prepared with great care. I can't elaborate
on this any more than to say three or four things that are
obvious here. First, the oil represents God, the Holy Spirit,
and the gifts of the Spirit given us by Him. All the grace of God
given us by the Spirit of God comes to us as the oil of His
grace poured in by the hand of His mercy, the objects of His
mercy, love, and grace, sinners redeemed by the blood of Christ.
Second, true worship. always involves personal cost. True worship always involves
personal cost. It involves the cost of time
and Effort and money. It always involves those things.
Men and women pretend to worship God at their convenience, with
their whim, go to church when they want to, don't go when they
don't want to, but true worship involves personal cost. There's no such thing as worship
without sacrifice. David gave us the example. He
said, I will not offer to God that which doth cost me nothing. I will not offer to God that
which doth cost me nothing. As you well know, I don't spend
any more time dealing with the matter of giving on your part
or mine than as I go through the scriptures and it comes up
in the context of what I'm dealing with, as here. But it's something
that needs to be stated and stated clearly. God's people serve him,
gladly giving to him and his cause. They're not constrained
by law. They're not constrained by a
promise of greater riches. They're not constrained by the
threat of punishment. They serve him willingly with
gladness of heart, giving time, effort, and money in his cause. God loveth a cheerful giver. God loveth a cheerful giver,
someone who's genuinely pleased to serve him gladly. God make me such a servant. God make you such a servant. Here's a third lesson. In all
things, you and I are to bring God our best. Our best. I made you a promise many, many
years ago. I make it again. I make it to people who hear
this message wherever I go in this world to preach. I will
never come here unprepared. I won't do it. I will never attempt
to preach without preparation, without the best preparation
I can give. That's the least I can do. Let
us do so in all things in the service of our God. Give him
the best, give him the best. I recall some years ago, I was
at Ashland and someone had brought something in that they didn't
have any more use for and thought they'd leave it at the church.
I thought Brother Henry was gonna throw it with the giver out the
door. Well, it's good enough for the
church, not good enough for my house, not good enough for your
house, but it's good enough for church house. Our God ought to
have from us all the time the best we can give. And fourth,
our great and gracious God would have us worship Him, always worship
Him in the full assurance of acceptance with Him by Christ
Jesus. Turn over to Hebrews 10, Hebrews
chapter 10. Listen carefully. Brother Todd and I just told
the men back in the office, Rex mentioned it in his prayer, believing,
resting in Christ. We labor constantly to enter
into his rest because we keep looking elsewhere. By requiring
the children of Israel to bring the oil used by the priest to
be burned in the candlestick, the Lord gave them assurance
of acceptance. He said, you bring me your oil. pure oil of the olive beaten
you bring that to me and I put it in the hands of you put it
in the hands of my priest and he'll bring it in and it will
be accepted and that priest representing you declares your acceptance
the Lord God assures them that he will receive them and their
sacrifices look at Hebrews 10 verse 16 This is the covenant
that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I
will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write
them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now
where remission of these is, there is no more offering for
sin. Having therefore brethren boldness, the word is not cockiness
or arrogance, but confidence, confidence, freedom, freedom
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Aaron carried
the blood of the Paschal Lamb back behind the veil into the
holiest of all. with no dread, no fear, no shaking,
no trembling, no fear that he was gonna be slain like his sons,
they didn't have any value. He brought the sacrifice God
required and bringing the sacrifice God required. God accepted him
with the sacrifice. Now you come to God and don't
bring your works, your experiences, your feelings, but Christ alone
and you come to God with full assurance of faith. Read on,
verse 20. By a new and living way, we come
with boldness by the blood of Christ, which he hath consecrated
for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh. And having
a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith. having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. And back here in our text, Leviticus
24. Next, I want you to see the significance of the lamps in
the candlestick. This pure candlestick, he speaks
of in verse four. The pure candlestick, we're told
in Exodus 37, was made of pure gold. It was not something just
overlaid with gold. This, like the furnishings, is
a candlestick made of pure gold. It had seven lamps at the ends
of seven branches, upheld by one shaft. The shaft is Christ
Jesus the Lord. The candlestick is typical of
God's church in this world, upheld by Christ, constantly supplied
with light, life, and grace by God the Holy Ghost. Put these
together with John's vision in Revelation 1, and we'll see that
Christ upholds and sustains his church in all its branches. The number seven suggests fullness,
completeness, perfection. Every true gospel church is represented
in the seven branches of the candlestick, like those seven
churches of Asia, seven given number for the whole church,
and yet holding us out as individual churches. We are one in Christ,
individual congregations, but every true gospel church is upheld
by Christ Jesus the Lord. He sustains us. He keeps us. God, the Holy Ghost, dwells in
his church. You're the temple of God. The
Spirit of God dwells with you. You're a habitation of God through
the Spirit. Not only that, but Christ dwells
in his church by the Spirit, upholding it as he walks. in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks. Let's turn over to Revelation
1 and read, see if that's not exactly what he says. Our Lord
Jesus walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. He
holds the stars, the angels of the seven churches in his right
hand, and he walks continually in their midst. Revelation 1,
verse 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying,
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. What thou seest,
write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are
in Asia, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia,
Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man, clothed with
a garment. What garment? The garments of
salvation, stained with his own blood, down to the foot, and
girded about the paps with a golden girdle, full of strength. This
one who is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, for he's the wisdom
of God as white as snow. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
the omniscient one. His feet, like undefined brass,
as if burned in a furnace, tried in the furnace of God's own judgment. And his voice as the sound of
many waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars. And out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun that shineth in
his strength. He holds the angels of the churches
in his right hand, and those seven stars are that by which
he conveys his word through the church and to the church. And
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead, and he laid
his right hand upon me, his right hand of acceptance, his right
hand of fellowship, his right hand of power, saying unto me,
fear not, for I am first and the last. I am he that liveth
and was dead, and behold, I am alive evermore, amen. And had
the keys of hell and of death. You don't have any reason to
be afraid of hell or death. I had the keys of both. The man
who has the keys is usually the one in charge. Write the things
which thou hast seen and the things which are and the things
which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars
which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, the pastors
of these churches. And the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest are the seven churches. The lamps in the candlestick
were to be kept burning continually. We're told back here in Leviticus
24.4. That doesn't mean that they never
were allowed to go out. They obviously were. The priest
didn't keep them burning when they were moving from place to
place through the wilderness, but only when they were encamped
in a specific place for a time did they burn these candles.
The candles were trimmed, filled with oil and lit every morning. They burned until the nightfall. In the evening, they were then
trimmed and filled with oil and lit again, burned until the next
morning. You remember that when the Lord
called Samuel back in 1 Samuel 3, he called him while he and
Eli had gone to bed before the lamp of God went out in the temple. These lamps were to be kept burning
continually, kept burning to tell us that the grace of God
and the supply of God's grace to our souls is constant. The grace of God and the supply
of God's grace to our souls is constant, both in the day when
the sun shines brightly and in the night when our vision is
dim. That means our feelings and our
experiences, be they good or bad, do not in any way affect
God's goodness. If we believe not, Paul said,
he abideth faithful. He abideth faithful. The lamps were permitted to go
out to teach us our unceasing need of light and grace. The
light and grace of God's Spirit to keep us ever mindful of the
fact that light and grace bestowed upon us comes through the sanctuary
ministry of our great priest, the Lord Jesus, by his merit,
by his blood, by his righteousness. And our great Aaron orders the
light and the candlestick from evening until morning. That's
what's stated in verses three and four. We have God's ordained
means of grace. We have the preaching of the
gospel, the ordinances of divine worship, But only Christ, our
priest, can make the means of grace subservient to their intention
and purpose. This is the means by which God
speaks to his people. This is the place where God meets
with his people. But only by Christ, our Savior,
sending down from heaven The oil of His grace by His Spirit
are the means made effectual to our souls. Only as God the
Holy Spirit gives me that oil of His grace, the unction of
the Spirit, and gives you that oil of His grace, the unction
of His Spirit, is the preaching of the word of benefit to our
souls. Only as He gives grace are the
songs that we hear and the songs that we sing made beneficial
to our souls. Otherwise, they're just words
and tunes. Blessed Spirit of God, oh, blessed
Spirit of God, keep alive your own work of grace in our hearts. so that in times of languishing,
your holy oil of grace is sweetly conveyed to our languishing souls. And look, if you will, at Zechariah
chapter four, and you'll see that that's exactly the message
here. Zechariah four. Verse two. He said to me, what
seest thou? And I said, I've looked and behold
a candlestick all of gold with a bowl upon the top of it and
his seven lamps there on and seven pipes to the seven lamps,
which are upon the top thereof and two olive trees by it, one
upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side
thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked to me
saying, what are these my Lord? 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. In John 6, 63, this is what the
Spirit of God tells us about that. It is the Spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. Only does the Spirit of God,
only can the Spirit of God make what we're doing here this moment
profitable to our souls. We're ever dependent upon Him. The lamps, were to be kept burning
all through the day to teach us something more than the light
of nature is needed to lead us out of this wilderness to the
throne of God. We get wrapped up in this wilderness
and all the things of this wilderness. And the reality is the things
that we get wrapped up with, things that Jam our minds all
the time, are worthless and meaningless. The only thing that matters is
Christ and his kingdom, his grace and his glory. Now look at this.
The candlestick was kept burning throughout the night until the
dawning of a new day. God will maintain his witness
and his calls throughout all the ages of time. In every corner
of the earth, he will maintain his church and his calls until
the day star arises in your hearts. That is in conversion, in the
calling of his elect, or until the day star arises in the glorious
second advent of Christ. Let us then take a careful look
at the candlestick as it's presented in our text. Let's see what it
says about this candlestick. The candlestick stands not in
the most holy place, which refers to heaven, but in the sanctuary,
which refers to heavenly things enjoyed on this earth. Our Lord
Jesus, our great high priest, after A priest after the order
of Melchizedek uses the candlestick to speak of himself and to speak
of his churches in this world. So it's clearly his intention
that we should see it in that sense. The seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne of God is the sevenfold Spirit of
God. That is, continually burning
before God is the Spirit of God in all his perfection. The shaft
of the lampstand is Christ Jesus our Lord. He is that one who
holds the Spirit of God and the seven stars in his right hand. the olive oil feeding the flame
is God the Holy Spirit the unction of the Holy One by which we know
all things that one who teaches us the things of God and seals
them to us our Lord Jesus upholding the churches, these lamps of
God. Walking in the midst of the churches
and holding the angels of the churches in his right hand tells
us that the whole care of his church is his business. The whole
care of his church is his work. It is he who upholds us. It is he who feeds us with the
oil. It is he who gives the light
and keeps it burning. He trims the candles or the lamps
in the lampstand, the candlestick, and he carries away the trash,
the ashes. The priest Setting the lamps
in order daily portrays our Savior's great work of intercession, His
grace continually given to His Spirit because of His intercessions
at the right hand of God. And you and I are representatives
of our Lord Himself. Look at this passage in Matthew
5 for just a minute. Very familiar passage, but I
want you to see it. Our Lord tells us that we are
the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The salt
by which the world, the whole human race is preserved. We are the salt of the earth.
God's elect are the reason this earth stands preserved until
the day of judgment. And we are the light of the world.
Then he says in verse 16, chapter five of Matthew, Let your light
so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father which is in heaven. And I spent a good bit of time
looking at that today. And I can't find any way on this
earth in which men who don't know God can see you do something
and glorify God by seeing you do it. I know that it's commonly
understood by people to teach that. And please understand me,
don't ever be careless in the way you behave. It's important
that we behave just as Brother Jimmy read in Ephesians chapter
5, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. But unbelieving,
unregenerate men and women, seeing you walking in faith, in uprightness,
loving one another, loving Christ, forgiving one another, forbearing
with one another, does not in any way cause the unregenerate
to glorify your Father which is in heaven. What's he talking
about? Let your light shine before men. You who are believers, we
who are the church of God in this place, it is our business
to preach the gospel of God's free grace by every means we
have. I know our former presidents,
Bush and Bush, said, I always preach the gospel when necessary
by word. That's nonsense. You don't proclaim
good news by actions. You proclaim good news by proclaiming
it. You proclaim it as God gives
opportunity. Don't be bashful and you seek
every means to do so. and giving yourself to this work,
men, when they hear the gospel, when they hear the gospel, glorify
our Father which is in heaven. It does my heart good when I
run across people or hear from people from various parts of
the world and tell me that God was pleased the Word from these
lips to their hearts for their soul's eternal salvation. Oh,
I live for that. I live for that. Let us live
for that, giving ourselves wholly to the cause of our Redeemer.
May he graciously cause us to be like John the Baptist, burning
and shining lights all the rest of our days in this world. A
lighthouse upon a hill in a dark world. Oh, may God give us grace
constantly to hold before men the light of the gospel. Clearly,
plainly set forth in Jesus Christ by the preaching of the gospel.
There is a blessed unity about this candlestick and its lamps.
The candlestick is just one. One Lord, one faith, one Baptist,
one message. We have one message, that message
is free grace. And we who proclaim the message
are one, being one in Christ Jesus the Lord. The light of
each lamp is exactly the same. You and I, had the same oil of
grace without mixture. The gospel of God's free grace
gave us life by the power of the Spirit, and the Spirit of
God gives us the same oil of grace continually. This thing
is plain and clear. The gospel is all about God's
free grace. by the power of God's Spirit,
according to the purpose of God from eternity, through the Lamb
of God, our Savior, so that there is not even a sputter of works
involved in it. It's all the light of grace.
Now, turn, if you will, to the book of Zechariah, this fourth
chapter of Zechariah, and I want you to see God's interpretation
of this message of the lamp, the golden lampstand. If you
want to, when you get home, read the third chapter of Zechariah.
And there you have a picture of a sinner saved by God's grace,
Joshua. Those sinners saved by God's
grace shall never cease to be men wondered at. Wondered at
because of God's grace for us, and God's grace in us, and God's
grace carried to men by us. In this fourth chapter, if we
would see the light of the gospel, the light of the candlestick,
John Zachariah tells us we must be awakened by the Spirit of
God. Look at verse one. The angel
that talked with me came again and waked me as a man that is
wakened out of his sleep and said unto me, what seest thou?
And I said, I have looked and behold a candlestick all of gold.
with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon,
and seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top
thereof. I don't know about you, but I
notice as I read these various visions of the candlestick, as
with other things involved in the tabernacle, they're not all
exactly the same in description. because each vision is given
to teach things specifically. You don't need to imagine again
that I've just dreamed these things up. The Lord God tells
us plainly that the meaning of the candlestick's light is salvation
by grace through Christ alone. Skip down to verse eight. Moreover,
the word of the Lord came unto me saying, the hands of Zerubbabel
have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall finish
it, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. Oh, may God graciously. cause His light to shine in you
and in me continually, that we may behold His face in Jesus
Christ our Redeemer, that we might constantly have shining
in our hearts the light of Christ crucified, of God's free salvation
by Him, never lose sight Oh God, forgive me for failing this.
Let me never lose sight of him who loved me and gave himself
for me. Let the light of your grace shining
in the face of Christ ever shine in my heart and shine forth from
this place into the hearts of others. Men who have the light,
love to come to the light that their deeds may be exposed others
don't like the light because it exposes their deeds but men
who who walk in the light and have the light shining in their
hearts love to come to the lights because the light exposes all
the evil of our fallen nature, all the evil of our depraved
hearts, all the evil of our corrupt souls, and the light exposes
all the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, saving such
sinners as we are, declaring that ours is the righteousness
of God in Christ Jesus. Ours is acceptance with God by
Christ Jesus. The only way sinners can come
to God is by God's sacrifice. Walking in this light, this light
that shines continually on just two things, just two things,
God's altar and God's table. The altar and the table, the
altar and the table, the sacrifice of Christ crucified by whom we
have bread day by day to live by provided for God's people. That's the message of the golden
candlestick, amen.