McColl, Jim: The Minister As A Craftsman ~ 1Chr 4v9

First Chronicles four and verse nine. And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, because I bear him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. Look at verse fourteen, please. And Meonothal, Meonothai begat Ofra, and Sereiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Karish- Karishim, for they were craftsmen. And I want to pick out another one or two verses. Verse twenty one: The sons of Shelah, the sons of Judah, were Er, the father of Lika and Leada, the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, the house of Ashbea. And maybe just one other, uh, verse, please, near the end of the chapter. Look, please, at verse thirty nine. And they went to the entrance of Jedar or Geder, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide and quiet and peaceable, for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. That'll do for, uh, reading the Lord's blessing. The books of Chronicles, uh, are not dry, uh, dull history books. They are a priestly interpretation of sacred history from Adam through Judah's return from Babylon's captivity, leading them back to Jerusalem to be a remnant testimony for God. And when you read through these books, they provide spiritual principles by which we should live for God, individually and corporately. They provide very wonderful principles for us, despite the decline and the chaotic state of the religious world around us. That's what Paul had in mind in second Timothy, I think. He looks not only retrospectively, but he looks around him, as we have heard, and he views conditions that are pressing in fast against the man of God. But Paul continued to live triumphantly, as God expects you and expects me to do. It's set amongst the names, uh, in the genealogy of our chapter, and some of those names are hard to, uh, pronounce, aren't they? I don't know why so many people are interested in their family tree. I suppose if you are, it's all right, but, um... if we go, if we go back too far, we might be, you know, disappointed. But all these names in the genealogy have a very pronounced, uh, meaning behind them, and they're all calculated because central to all these genealogies is the bringing in of a Davidic and a Solomonic kingdom. And that would lead us on to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, wouldn't it? For they have pictures of the Lord Jesus. In the combination of David and Solomon, we have a beautiful picture of the future kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Having abolished all his enemies, he's now able to set up his kingdom in peaceful conditions. So that I see David and Solomon as being central to these books of the Chronicles, and we're not introduced to the sins of David, and we're not introduced to the weaknesses of Solomon, because they are typifying or picturing the coming in of that perfect king, our Lord Jesus Christ. But I just want to pick up one or two little practical things in the chapter we've read partly today. I want us to think, first of all, about, um, these incidents. The first one is in relation to Jabez, an interesting character. It says that he was more honorable than his brethren. Isn't that a nice thing to be said of you? There's an honorable person, somebody you can respect and acknowledge and honor. It tells of the dignity of his character and, uh, all that this man was in himself. And I suppose it's far more important what we are than what we do. Before we're introduced to what the Lord Jesus did, we are told what he was. You trace that in the early chapters of the Gospels, such as Matthew and Luke, and you'll see these lovely things. So that Jabez was a very honorable man. He was upright in his conduct. Well, we need people like that today, don't we? Upright in their conduct. There's nothing more devastating to a testimony than a dishonoring test- a dishonoring conduct. And so this man is a man that's honourable. But of course, the main issue about him following that is that his life was saturated with prayer. He was a man who believed much in prayer, or as we have heard, dependence on God. And this prayer has been looked at often. I'd just like to look at it in a very brief way with you for the next few minutes. Notice it says, oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. The realization of divine promise. And he's looking into the face of God, and he's saying, oh God, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. That's what I need. I don't deserve it, but I need the blessing of God. You know, when we open our Bibles at the book of Genesis, we are in- immediately introduced to, to cursing. God had to curse conditions. That was sad, wasn't it? I mean, sad for God to do that. But then there was great promises of blessing in the book of Genesis. That comes in very quickly in those opening chapters, for which we are very grateful. And I, I thought about Abraham. God brought Abraham into the enjoyment of his grace and unconditional blessing. In blessing, I will bless thee. Isn't it great to have a life touched by the blessing of God, personally, in our families. You younger people raising families, this is of prime importance. That education is useful and helpful and advantageous in many ways, but what is vital is the blessing of God in your family. It's the same with our assemblies. We need the blessing of God amongst us. So we need to pray earnestly about that, like Jabez, oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. We've been hearing about the fact that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. We've got to make that our own, though, haven't we? Then another point, Jabez says, and enlarge my coasts, my borders. Jabez knew the expansion by divine permission. To be enlarged by God is a great thing. I, I was reading Psalm four the other day. Answer me when I call, O God, that was enlarged me when I was in distress. Only God can give enlargement spiritually. Only God can give increase spiritually. I may preach and you may preach. There's no credit to us for that. It is God who giveth the increase. No rewards for blessing, but rewards for our loyalty to what has been committed to us, because God gives the increase. It's the same in spiritual things. I think this may answer to you, for you and me, from Ephesians chapter three, that we might be able to apprehend with all sense what is the length and breadth and depth and height. That's spiritual enlargement, isn't it? What are we going in for? Spiritual enlargement. Then the other s- point aspect of his prayer, and that thy hand might be with me. The consolation of the divine presence. Only God's hand has the energy and power to give enlargement, and only God's hand can help us in every circumstance of life, its trials and its conflicts and its problems and difficulties. And if there are difficulties individually and collectively, I think we need to appeal to God. Then, and that thou wouldst keep me from evil. The preservation by divine power. How many of us pray that prayer every morning? You younger people, we are all liable to fall, and we're all susceptible. We've all got the propensity to sin and fail miserably. But God is able to keep us from evil, you know. If I go into evil, I do it deliberately. But depending on God, God can keep us from evil. Not a wonderful life to live, to be kept from evil. When we get spiritual enlargement and joy, we may get careless and, and so on. That prosperity sometimes does that. I- I'm not reflecting in Brother George's ministry. What he said was absolutely right. We need to go in for this spiritual prosperity, but when we get prosperous, we're inclined to get heady or high-minded or careless. And this man Jabez is saying, oh, that thou wouldst keep me from evil, Lord. And then it says, and God granted him that which he requested, the satisfaction of divine pleasure. Isn't it great when God looks upon us with pleasure, and our prayers are meaningful, and our prayers really reach his throne? They're effective prayers. They're coming from a righteous background, a life of devotedness and righteousness and morality and purity, and emerging from compatible conditions like these. It says, and God granted him that which he requested. What a lovely thing. Look at verse fourteen, please. I want to speak now on the valley of craftsmen. Joab, the father of the valley of Harishim, for they were craftsmen. Notice that they dwelt in the valley. And you'll allow me a bit of spiritual application here, I'm, I'm sure. What's the spiritual idea about that, being in the valley? Well, I thought it would answer to Acts twenty. Listen to the words of Paul. Serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind. That's living in the valley, isn't it? That's serving in the valley. That's conscious of our smallness and aware of his greatness and the work that God has committed to us, the stewardship. They were craftsmen. It's hard to get a craftsman today, isn't it? This hall is the work of quality working men, men who, who did well with their hands. It's the evidence. There's something satisfying about the outcome of a craftsman's work. And although it may be difficult to find craftsmen in secular things of life. May I say, without being judgmental, it's getting very difficult to find craftsmen with the Word of God. Men who can handle the Word like a craftsman. And I think that is our need today. And I want to try and give encouragement along that. They were qualified, they were skilled in labor, skillful men. Now, I don't need to go very far in the New Testament at all to find answers to that. So we're, we're not only to be men of prayer dependent on God, but there needs to be an exercise of spiritual craftsmanship in the assembly at and at our at our conference meetings, skillful in the work of the Lord. You'll remember these words that emerge from the letter with just Paul's dying letter. And the things which thou has heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able, who shall be competent to teach others also. Of course we need to be faithful, but we d- we haven't to put all the emphasis on faithful men, that they might be able to teach others also. I hope we're going in for that, skilled in the teaching. The overseer must be blameless, given to hospitality, apt to teach. That word is skilled in the teaching. He may not be good at oratory, he may not be able to put words together in a fascinating, interesting, and delightful way, but overseers are expected to have a working knowledge of the scriptures, and they have the skill of imparting that word. They're able to teach others. They're able to instruct. Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching, that we may be able by sound teaching both to exhort and convince the gainsayer. Isn't there a need for those men today? Men who would bring in teaching contrary to what we have been taught and what we believe to be the mind of God. Isn't there a need for men skilled in the word to handle such situations? Or be it issues of morality or issues of other concerns, isn't it good to be able to bring the word of God to bear upon circumstances, critical conditions? You know, brethren, we don't have the natural skill to do it, or the philosophical capacity, but thank God we have the word of God. We have unerring guidance. We have divine light from heaven. We have the inspired, unchallengeable Word of God, I, which I believe has an answer to every circumstance. So, brethren, let's not be amateurs in divine things. Let's be craftsmen. Let's go in for a, you younger men, get, get to your Bible often and, and get good tools to work with, and, and, and saturate your mind with scripture so that the Spirit of God can enable you to draw a compilation of, of, of other scriptures to bear upon that subject. The scripture is its best exposition anyway, so that explaining one passage is done by another passage. Then I want to say, verse twenty one, a brief word on the weavers of fabric. Them that wrought fine linen of the house of Ashbea. We are now introduced to the linen workers of Beth Ashbea, linen workers. What are we going to get out of linen workers? Well, I thought we not only need dependence on God, a prayer life, and we not only need, uh, craftsmen to bring the word of God to us so accurately, but brethren, we also need, uh, men who can produce righteous conditions in our characters and lives. Linen workers. Let let me call upon your memory now to think about one or two references that may help us. I've called these men producers of adornment, you know, linen workers. You sisters like to wear nice clothes, don't you? That's fine, yeah. You like to be choosy about it. A- and and you and you buy and you wear a garment that you believe shows you up in good light, you know. So that linen has a close proximity t- to character, to adornment. That's what's on my mind. Now, watch the scriptures that I may want to apply to that. I would, my mind would travel back to Exodus twenty five, you remember, when Jehovah said to Moses to instruct the redeemed people to bring an offering, everyone whose heart maketh him willing. God says, I want an offering. And, and I'll tell you what my offering should be. And by the way, it was a, a heave offering, meaning movements of affection Godwards. That's what a heave, heave offering is. Lifting up towards God. Isn't it great to do that in a Lord's Day morning? Lift the Lord Jesus high to the Father. That's a heave offering. And so he tells them about the offering, and he, uh, in spiritual terms, I thought this refers to an energetic exercise of heart, movements of affection towards God. Anything that activates us Godward is a great exercise. Now, you'll notice that in these, uh, special items of the offering, there is one that is of special interest to me at this moment, and it says, and you shall bring fine twined linen. Fine twined linen. What's that? Well, I read once a long time ago, I think it may have been CAC, Coates' book on Exodus, and I took a note of it, and he suggested it means the even texture of a life where everything was in perfect keeping with God's design and desire. I like that. I thought that is the idea. That's the life of the Lord Jesus, isn't it? A life of even texture. Everything about him morally was pure and perfect and flawless and even. The fine texture of a holy life. Wouldn't it be great if that reflected in you and me in the assemblies today? Good, wholesome men and women. Men who hate sin and love righteousness. Men and women who give themselves to lives of moral purity. Linen workers. My brethren, let's produce amongst God's people and ourselves and as well. Let's produce condition, conditions that will take us far from worldliness and immorality and impurity of thinking. Let's minister and live in such a way as to produce moral adornment in the characters and lives of his people. I thought about the bride, the bride of Christ, you remember, the Lamb's wife, and it says she is adorned with a garment, which is the righteousnesses of the saints. Now, what kind of garment was it? It was a fine linen garment. And fellow believers, I think that that day when we shall stand beside the Lord Jesus, we shall do him justice. Why? Because I believe that that garment, woven in time by the Holy Spirit, will reflect and will be invested with the moral features of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wouldn't it be great to be like him? Compatible to his person, complementary to his undiminished glory. There we shall stand before him, reflecting his own perfect likeness. Linen workers. I thought that Paul was a linen worker when he wrote to the Philippians. Listen to this. I pray that you may be pure and without offense in the day of Christ or for Christ's day. And notice the literal rendering is for Christ's day, being complete as regards the fruit of righteousness, which is by Jesus Christ to God's glory and praise. You've got to agree with me, Paul was a linen worker. How beautifully he developed, in the sense, moral conformity to the Lord Jesus. I thank God for men in my lifetime whose ministry was calculated to not only promote within my soul fervent desires to live a life of profit, pardon me, and pleasure to God, but a ministry likewise that gave me a deep, earnest desire to be more like him and less like the world and myself. I don't know how much I've achieved, but whatever I may have achieved in my lifetime in that direction, I am very grateful to God. Look at verse twenty three as I watch my time. Verse twenty three, please, uh, of First Chronicles four. These were the porters and those that dwelt among the plants and hedges. Uh, there they dwelt with the king for his work. Humble, humble men, potters. Let it be a potter. Potters and planters. But you know, fellow believers, they dwelt with the king, and that's what matters, isn't it? Hm? Potters, what would they suggest to the mind? Well, it suggested to my mind that spiritual formation, suitability to the Lord and his service. You know, you watch the potter there with a lump of clay, you know, nothing to look at, is it? Just a big lump of clay. Then he starts working with it, you know. And before very long, it's beginning to take shape, isn't it? And then you look at the finished article, and you're utterly amazed. What has the man done with a lump of clay? He has formed a vessel. Hm? Isn't God doing that with us today? Isn't God the great potter? And you know, sometimes it breaks in his hands, doesn't it? Hmm? But he says, I'll make it again. I like that. I'll make it again. And what we are today, fellow believers, is because of what God has made us. Our brother George says, what you, you are what you eat. I lifted to this level, having a problem that way. He doesn't have any, you see, but having a problem that way is, uh, I am what God has made me. Brethren, let's thank God today for the formation of something in our lives that answers his pleasure. If one should purge or purify himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared for every good work. We need preparation in spiritual things. I love dictionaries and books, theological books of any kind that are going to be distinctly advantageous to my understanding of the word, but there's something infinitely grander than that, and it is the awareness that a vessel is being formed that's compatible to his mind and may be useful in his hands. Are we useful in his hands? When we look at Paul's list of workers in Romans chapter sixteen, I noticed the very first mention is a, a, a, is a woman. A woman, and, and I think that gives you women a, a special something, you know. I've heard them talk about the lady at the well. Well, I don't think that just works in too well, the lady at the well, but the woman at the well is fine, isn't it? Watch this dear woman, and you know her well, Phoebe. Paul says, our sister, a servant of the church, and a succourer of many. Isn't that a commendable thing? Isn't that a beautiful vessel produced by the Spirit of God through Pauline influence? The other name mentioned, another, is Greek Apelles, and it says about that person, approved in Christ.