Thank you all for being here. I'm glad to see all of you tonight, especially after we've not had a study for the past few weeks due to the author's interview and then the holiday last week. But, I am hoping we can renew our "habit" here.

In the past few weeks (before our little break) we were examining the walk of a Christian, and the wonderful invitation we have to be called out of sin; and to live as our Savior lived. The only way we can do that, therefore, is to look at the way He lived; and what that means to us now. As long as we keep it in mind that it is possible to do as He did, and avoid unrighteousness consistently, the "problem," if we can call it that, becomes simply a matter of finding out how He did it.

When Chirst left this world, He said to His disciples: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." (John 16:7)

And what was this Comforter to do? "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is 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 will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13-14)

Of course, the Holy Spirit is not really a "new" gift to believers. In fact, even the concept of the Holy Spirit living within the faithful is found in the oldest book of the Bible. And no, it's not Genesis :)

Here: "I said, 'Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.'" (Job 32:7-9)

Our friend Job is explaining that even years of experience, and great intellect, cannot give one true understanding. In fact, that is explicitly stated elsewhere: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Pro 3:5)

And we will come back to that point later.

I can tell you; you can watch endless debates between Christians and secular philosophers. You can see arguments and discussions over the details of doctrine - but human wisdom is unable to convict the heart of sin. One cannot learn of Christ unless the Spirit is allowed to work in the mind, and in the soul.

It is this Spirit that from the first book to the last is calling the Lord's children home: "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let him that heareth say, 'Come.' And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev 22:17)

This is the Spirit that Christ gave to us as a gift. It was not new... but perhaps one can look at it as a "fresh outpouring," for as such Peter described it at Pentecost. It is this Spirit that leads Christians; and teaches them to become more like Him who died for us.

But now, this does not mean that every believer can just move on impulse and expect to do the right thing all the time. If that were so, there would be no need for a Church; for an organized body: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." (Rom 12:5)

We need only consider the situation in Acts 15, where the believers needed the church leaders to meet in order to consider the issue of circumcision, for a demonstration of this point. "And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter." (Acts 15:6)

The point I am making is simply this: There is a Spirit in man; the Holy Spirit, if one has become a believer. And It's purpose is to lead men into all truth - however, we cannot rely solely on our own understanding, but must also have our wills in submission to the Body of Christ, and with mutual love for its members. This is the only way to be sure one is heading in the right direction.

Now, does this mean we are to have our judgement completely submitted to men? To the human leaders of a church? Not necessarily. The true leader of the true Church is Christ. "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body." (Eph 5:23)

Paul illustrates the relationship as a marriage - with Christ as the Head, and the Leader, and the Church as the woman - the wife. And this Wife is a woman in a very real, if spiritual, sense of the word. She has times, and seasons - she has cycles, and a time of "preparation" to meet the Husband when the wedding feast draws near. She even has a time of pregnancy in the last days, as John vividly illustrates in his vision: "And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered." (Rev 12:2)

As "children of the bridechamber," we find ourselves in a situation where Chirst speaks to us directly through His spirit, and also speaks to us through His Body. I wouldn't like to be accused of saying that the organization itself has no function, in spite of the great cynicism which exists concerning trusting religious leaders. The Bible teaches very plainly: "Let all things be done decently and in order." (1 Cor 14:40)

And: "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5)

The words "younger" and "elder" there are interesting terms. The original Greek words are neos and presbuterus; the first term meaning simply "new ones," and the latter term, from which we get "presbytery," and "Presbyterian," meaning the more experienced individuals in spiritual matters, essentially the leaders. In other words, Peter is saying, "You new ones submit yourselves to the leaders..." The New Testament uses the terms "elders," "bishops," and "presbyters" interchangeably.

If we are in submission to Christ, we will also therefore be in submission to the authorities He has placed over us for our safekeeping. Now, what does this have to do with Victory over sin? :)

The answer is simply this - In the past few talks, I have been speaking of victory as a personal experience. And it IS. Overcoming one's sin nature is necessarily a miracle that can be accomplished only with a deep, personal and unbroken communion between the human and the divine as revealed by our Lord. However, we cannot exclude the social aspects of Christianity either. The Messiah was a very social individual. He would seek people out, and fellowship with them, so much so that His enemies found occasion to exaggerate: "The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, 'Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!'" (Luke 7:34)

And as meals were a favorite analogy of His, the invitation is extended to us today, in a spiritual sense: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Rev 3:20)

It is only by understanding the connection between Christ and His Bride that we can truly view the Church as an institution He gave to us for our education, and for our growth in Godliness. This is why I have called the study "The Light of The World," because our Lord is the Light of His church, and His church is the "candlestick" that burns in the darkness of this last age to bring others to the truth.

"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light." (Luke 11:33) We are to be that people through whom the world sees the brilliant light that is our Savior.

And how did we, and the Church, become that candlestick? Because of our Redeemer's sufferings on our behalf. Here is the analogy of marriage again, continuing the passage in Ephesians we glanced at before: "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph 5:23-27)

Notice that it is the giving of "Himself for it" that sanctifies, and cleanses, and washes, and provides the Church with the means to be "holy and without blemish." We will see that it is this act of giving Himself, the very doing it, that provided the blessings of the Holy Spirit, and the Light of which He was representative.

Here is one of our major texts for tonight: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'" (John 8:12)

Here is an interesting dualism, Christ speaks for of HIMSELF as the light, and then of us, the church, as the light. Here: "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5) "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." (Mat 5:14)

Notice the key phrase there, "as long as I am in the world." There was a time of transferrence, when He became our High Priest, and moved on to Heaven, and we recieved the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and took over His earthly mission of revealing the Father to sinners; to draw them into the kingdom.

We don't really have time for a study of "light" in the Bible, but as the Messiah is primarly concerned with the light produced from burning, we can perhaps look at that issue in some detail.

There is an elderly gentleman who fellowships with my church who used to be a fireman. Once he asked me, "Do you know what three things are needed to make a fire?" I knew two of them. I said, "Well, fuel and air." He said, "Right, but what starts it?" Ahh... heat. A spark. Something to get it going :)

We can see from just a brief glace over the passages that speak of the Spirit of the Father that the Holy Ghost fulfills all of these criteria... For "air," "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Gen 2:7)

For "heat," "His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." (Psa 19:6)

Now what about fuel? Looking at the Levitical tabernacle, we find in the pattern this passage: "Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets... the pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light." (Exo 39:32-33,37)

Notice it's called a "pure candlestick," a fitting representation of a true and undefiled church... and that it uses "oil for light." We can remember the well-known parable that demonstrates that having a lamp with no oil is less than useless: "They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." (Mat 25:3-4)

This, I think we're all aware, is a vivid analogy for an individual, or a church, that has the "form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof." (2 Tim 3:5) We can have all the rituals, and good works, and do everything right outwardly, but if we don't have the Spirit as our true motivation: "'To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?' saith the LORD: 'I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.'" (Isa 1:11)

It is not about what we DO, after all... "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.'" (Zech 4:6)

This advice was given by our Lord to the outwardly religious: "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." (Mat 23:26)

Strong words, but I think they are deep, and beautiful also. And we are reminded by the previous verses, that it is not by our force of will. Human self-control, temperance, good habits - these all have their place, but in terms of avoiding temptation, and being made consistent at it, that must come directly from Christ. He provides the heat, and the spark... and He also gives us the fuel, all of this by His Holy Spirit, so that we can truly be "lights of the world."

If we are pure candlesticks, that is... free of sin, we will reflect it individually - and the church organization will likewise burn brightly, if its members are committed to righteousness by faith.

But at the outpouring of Pentecost, the fire truly took hold. It is written: "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." (Acts 2:3)

Looking at the verse before, we see there was "air," in the setting of spiritual wind: "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:2) And from the way onlookers reacted to the apostles, accusing them (sort of) of being drunk, we know there was "heat": "Others mocking said, 'These men are full of new wine.'" (Acts 2:13) Of course, no one can get drunk on "new wine," or gleukos, but that's a topic for another night :)

So where was the fuel from? What was the oil's origin?

It was here, in this passage again: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it." (Eph 5:25) In the "giving of Himself."

In the Old Testament, the blood of "burnt offerings," a symbol of what Christ is to us was to be "poured out" on the altar before the burning: "And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh." (Deu 12:27)

It was said similarly of the coming Savior: "Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out his soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isa 53:12)

Notice He "poured out His soul," and by this process: "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." (Isa 53:4)

We can trace that sacrifice, and the images that foreshadowed it, all the way from the Creation: "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel..." (Heb 12:24) Even that first human death was a symbol of the sacrifice given for all mankind.

And it was by the sufferings of Christ that the fuel was given for the light to shine in the Church He established. By His sufferings we were healed, and He provided us with the Spirit that would guide His earthly Bride into all truth, and lead her safely home. For let us not forget, though we are saved individually, we are saved along with and with the help of, our fellow believers: " Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:41-42) "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3) That is the claim of the True Bride, and fellowshipping is an important aspect of the journey home :)

Now let us look at the point at which Christ suffered, and poured out His soul for the salvation, cleansing and anointing of the Church - and remember, Oil is not only used as fuel, but also to anoint, to select.

At what point would we say that our Messiah suffered the most in His ministry; other than the Cross itself?

The agony in Gethsemane. That was probably the most pain the Gospels ever record Him as being in, other than His actual death. It is written of that dark time: "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.' And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou will.'" (Mat 26:37-39)

Even in the midst of His sufferings, He was in a state of submission to the Father, and of amazing self-denial. Luke describes His pain even more keenly: "And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44)

So great was His pain that even the very blood in His veins began to be squeezed out of His skin. Now, have you ever wondered what the name of that garden means? Have you ever wondered what the definition of "Gethsemane" is?

In Greek, it literally means, "Oil press."

Maybe it explains why the "Mount of Olives" is mentioned so frequently by name in the travels of our Messiah, and the significance of their being a garden at its base called Gethsemane. The "old tree" of Judaism bore no fruit, and as Christ spoke to the olive tree: "And Jesus answered and said unto it, 'No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.' And His disciples heard it." (Mark 11:14)

But as for Him, His blood; His sufferings would be the oil, pressed out of Him at the end of His trials, that at once chose us and gave us that fuel to burn, so that we could now be His lights in this dark earth.

The prophet Zechariah saw an image of the Church in a vision: "And 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: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.' And I answered again, and said unto him, 'What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?" (Zech 4:1-3,12)

There can be many interpretations of the "two olive branches." Zechariah is told they are "the two anointed ones." in verse 12. John is told they are the "two witnesses" of the last days (Rev 11:4). But regardless of the exact nature of the means by which the fuel gets to His people, the source of the oil is Christ. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." (John 15:1)

Perhaps in our own walk, if we remember that we were chosen, and blessed, and empowered, by the sufferings of our Lord, we can more easily follow Peter's advice: "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." (1 Pet 4:13)

Remember, as Job did, that our sufferings are only for a time, but that by our Messiah's grace, and by His love, and by His example, even when we suffer, even when we endure trials and temptation - even when we struggle and continually win the victory, others are also being blessed by us. We may not always see it, but as we follow Christ, we become good examples to others, we become representatives of the Spirit of the Father, and we are made worthy and everlasting vessels of the Holy Ghost, vessels of the oil of salvation pressed out of our Master by HIS trials, the authority He gave to His chosen people, and the fuel for the eternal flame of love.

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." (Eph 5:8 NKJV)

Amen.

David.