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Lowell Brueckner

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Seeking the Spirit of the Kingdom, chapter eight

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Has anyone suggested selflessness as the evidence of a Spirit-filled life? Should it not be? To be filled with the Holy Spirit, certainly means to be emptied of self. The eighth and final chapter of this book considers one of the most beautiful stories in the entire Bible. Its beauty lies in the spirit of the main character. Did I say main character? He certainly isn’t seeking that position; in fact, he would turn our attention towards others, who play a part in this account… to Isaac, to Abraham, or to Rebekah. He is only on a mission for his master.  Open your heart and learn from a slave the meaning of being wholly under the control of the Holy Spirit. Does his example evoke a cry from your heart to be like him?


CHAPTER 8

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPIRIT-CONTROLLED LIFE

AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE ETERNAL PLAN

The final and perhaps best chapter
The word genesis means beginning or origin. The book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of everything that we know. There begins a revelation of the personality of God and His eternal purposes. It speaks of creation and we can see in it the first steps in the development of the plan for which the universe was created. We begin to enter into the book and we discover Abraham, a man who only existed for the Kingdom of God. God’s specific purposes for Abraham in His Kingdom were two: First, Abraham was to be a patriarch of a nation that God was raising up, through which He would manifest Himself to the entire earth. The second reason was that he would be the father of all that would come near to God by faith.

Genesis 24 relates a story that occurs as Abraham’s life was coming to an end. Sarah, his wife, had died and Abraham begins to think about the next generation and how the divine plan would unfold. It is obvious that his son, Isaac, would have to be married and have a son, who would carry the seed that God had promised. Therefore, Abraham sent his slave to Mesopotamia, where Abraham had his roots and where his relatives still lived, to seek a bride for Isaac.


Many Bible students have seen in this true story the eternal plan of God in allegorical form. It is very important that we also are clearly aware of that exact plan, in order that our feet may be directed towards the same goal. In few words, this is its content: God the Father sends the Holy Spirit into the world, searching for a bride for His eternal Son. As a dowry, the Son died in order to purchase her (Symbolically, Isaac was sacrificed in chapter 22.) and the day will come, when He will take this bride to heaven and there will occur the celebration of a wedding that will surpass all other celebrations. Afterwards, He will return to earth with her and they will reign together for a thousand years, as king and queen. Each Christian should keep this little scheme deeply recorded in his mind and in his heart, as the central point of his thoughts and activities. He should be completely involved in this plan of the Kingdom of God.

In the allegory, the servant of Abraham represents the Holy Spirit and His principal purpose on Earth. We considered how He identified with the apostles in the book of Acts. Today, He continues to identify with the servants of God, who live according to the same purpose and demonstrate the same characteristics of the divine Person, who fills their beings. The fruits of their lives manifest the personality of the One who makes his dwelling place in them and takes control of their bodies, souls and spirits. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Now, I would like that we would observe the characteristics and purposes of a life filled with the Holy Spirit, as it functions for the glory of God.

We know by other passages that the name of this servant is Eliezer, but in this chapter he is anonymous. The fruit of the Spirit is meekness and everything He does is towards the purpose of the Father and the well-being of the Son. The servant received no personal benefit for his service and efforts. He would not be richer or more famous, when his work was done. When Isaac was born, this man lost all the inheritance, which was to be his, but he shows no resentment. On the contrary, he now dedicates his life to serving the son. I don’t know where in the Bible we can find a better representation of the One, who did not come to this world to speak of Himself, but to glorify the Son.

The first instruction that Abraham gave his servant was negative: “You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live” (verse 3). We give a lot of advice to young Christians about the danger of being unequally yoked with unbelievers and surely Abraham also was preoccupied with the same thing. Throughout their history, God warned His people not to join with the Canaanite women. He did not want His seed to be corrupted. The servant was not to look for a bride for Isaac in a haphazard or common way, but by the only means that would bring glory to God. Similarly, any servant of God should take care not to compromise with the world in fulfilling the commission that Jesus has given him to make disciples among all nations. The Christian who is motivated by the flesh will utilize any method or system that comes into his mind, but the person full of the Spirit will submit Himself to His direction. Before we begin to function in the Kingdom of God, we must have it very clear, as to who will be the source of our guidance.

After receiving this instruction, the servant asked the same question that any of us might ask: “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” (verse 5). Once more, the response is negative. It was precisely that land, from which God had told Abraham to leave, in order to lead him to the land, where he now lived (verses 6-7). Because he obeyed, the son is now in the center of the will of God and he was not to take one step backward. God never retreats in His plans or gives place to sentiments or human comfort. The girl, just as Abraham in the beginning, must leave her house and her relatives to become involved with Isaac in the plan of God. There could be no compromise in this marriage. In the same way, we must never take one step backward, in spite of difficulties and complications that come our way.

We will see how God is preparing hearts for the fulfillment of His will (verse 7b). The servant will not choose a girl by chance. The work does not begin when he enters Mesopotamia, but the Angel of the Lord has gone before him. He, simply, must enter into the eternal work, conceived before the foundation of the world. The sovereignty of God continues to be the principal factor in His work and is not limited to human mentality.

COOPERATING WITH THE DIVINE PLAN

With this guidance, the servant comes to the land of Abraham’s parentage and waits by the well outside the city of Nahor. How many times in the Bible does a well come into play in God’s stories? Four come immediately to mind, this being the first. Jacob, in the next generation, came to this same land and beside the well, he found Rachel. Jacob removed a stone from the well, so her flock could drink. Moses, fleeing from Pharaoh, came to Midian and defended seven sisters, who were shepherdesses, by a well. Of course, we have the well-known story, in which God, who had become man, weary with His journey, sat by a well and met the Samaritan woman.

As Jesus, sitting by the well in Samaria so many years later, this man did not immediately go into the city. The importance of his mission did not make him aggressive or bold. The fruit of the Spirit is meekness, patience and temperance. He waited outside, knowing that God had the situation under control.

What did he do in the meantime? He recognized the need for God to move in the situation, so he prayed (verse 12). In the Old Testament or in the New, the manifestation of the presence of God is for the person or the group that goes to prayer. There is no exception. If a work does not result as a product of prayer, you can know that it will be extremely corrupted with humanism.

Study the prayer well and see that it had to do completely with the well-being and the purpose of God in his masters. There was no petition for a personal plan and, of course, his prayer was answered for that reason. He did not have many girls in mind, in order to choose among them. It was directed towards one girl alone and he asked that she be worthy to take part in that plan, to which God was calling her. He prayed that she should be a servant, willing to do much more than what she was asked to do. “May it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’ – may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master” (verse 14).

By the prophet Isaiah, God demonstrated his willingness to answer those who pray as this man did: “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear (Is. 65:24). Before the servant pronounced the first syllable, God was in the city moving Rebecca and before he finished his prayer, she was before him. “Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah… came out with her jar on her shoulder” (verse 15).

How willing this girl was! I imagine that it was no small job to water 10 camels, thirsty from their journey, “until they have finished drinking (verse 19). How many times did she have to lower her jar into the well to draw water? No one asked her to do it, but she did it from the heart. When we see this happening in people, we know that we are dealing with hearts prepared by God.

The servant watched wonderingly, while the girl did exactly all that he had asked in prayer. What was his reaction? “Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord” (verse 26). He was one, whom the Father always is searching for – a true worshiper. He was a man full of the Holy Spirit, who existed only for the glory of God. He was the kind of person, of which Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:23). God longs for more than simple believers and even for something more than disciples; above all, He is searching for worshipers. Are we like this servant? Do we know how to worship? Without a doubt, we know something about praise, but it seems to me that A. W. Tozer was right when he said, “Worship is the lost jewel of the church.”

Are we looking for worshipers? Paul was: “If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you” (1 Cor. 14:24-25). We should not be satisfied because those who visit our gatherings sing, pray or lift their hands. This is no indication of the presence of God among us. We can only know that God is truly among us, when an unbeliever enters and his sins, of which no one knows, are exposed in the light. He comes under two strong convictions. First, he is a filthy sinner and second, he should not be in this place or, at least, he should not be on his feet. As a result, he falls to worship in the presence of a holy and fearful God.

This happens through members of the body of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, manifesting supernatural gifts. In this case, the unbeliever is convinced and judged of his sins by all those who exercise the gift of prophecy. The evidence of the presence of the Lord in that place is overwhelming, converting the unbeliever in a worshiper, surrendered at the feet of bronze (see Rev. 2:18). He gives glory to the majestic Son of Man.

Whenever we see worship in the Bible, we find people prostrate. Leonard Ravenhill told his experience of praying with A. W. Tozer. On one occasion, Tozer said to him, “Len, others can pray as they wish, but you and I will worship on our faces.” Tozer bought a small carpet, more or less the size of his body, and there, with a handkerchief between his nose and the carpet so as not to breathe dust, he spent hours in the presence of God, many times without pronouncing a word. Worship is too profound to express with words. Of course, there is no value in adopting the physical position, if the reality of worship is not in our hearts. But for Tozer, it was.

Raymond McAfee was one, who often prayed with Tozer. He said that sometimes Tozer worshiped prostrate and other times prayed kneeling before a chair. McAfee described one special moment: “Tozer knelt by his chair, took off his glasses and laid them on the chair. Resting on his bent ankles, he clasped his hands together, raised his face with his eyes closed and began: ‘O God, we are before Thee.’ With that there came a rush of God’s presence that filled the room. We both worshiped in silent ecstasy and wonder and adoration. I’ve never forgotten that moment, and I don’t want to forget it.”

The man, who is full of the Holy Spirit and lives for the glory of another, is guided while he walks: “The Lord has guided me in the way” (verse 27). It is not difficult to walk in the will of God, when there is such an attitude of surrender in the will of a servant. Solomon, in the wisdom of the Lord, instructs us with words that have been the theme for many a fruitful life: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil” (Prov. 3:5-7). In this servant, we see those words put into practice.

In the midst of the beauty that we have been observing, we must notice something dirty and smelly from someone, who is not a worshiper and does not seek the glory of God, but what he can get from the situation. When Laban saw his sister enter and “saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists… he went to the man… and he said, ‘Come in, blessed of the Lord!” (verse 30, 31). May God deliver us from such a one and from such a disposition! In the first volume of this theme, we looked at Balaam and now, we have a similar case. Balaam was one, who recognized the sovereignty of the word of God, but at the same time, loved the recompense of wickedness.

Laban, along with his father, also recognized that God had spoken. “The matter comes from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good” (verse 50). When God speaks, He does not require our opinion, as to whether we approve or not. If God has spoken, we need to put a period at the end of His sentence, because there is nothing left to be said.

Now, we will take a good look at some examples to illustrate the central theme of these three volumes, “Seek the Kingdom of God”, to see how it works out in practical form. When the servant entered into the house, his hosts put food before him, but “he said, ‘I will not eat until I have told my business” (verse 33). The priority, before all else, is to pay attention first to the business of the King of the Kingdom of God. In this slave, we have an example of someone, who was totally consistent in everything that he did. The consequences were eternal; as long as Isaac had no wife, the seed could not be passed on. Any interruption in the succession of the ancestors of Christ signified that He could not be born. The responsibility on the shoulders of this man could not be heavier.

When the servant saw that the father and brother of the girl did not offer any resistance, he could contemplate again the powerful work of God in this case. Probably the greatest miracles from God occur in the heart of the human being, where the most hardened substance in the universe is softened. If we could understand the depth of hardness, deceit and rebellion that lie in the heart, then we could appreciate the greatness of the work that breaks it. The servant was conscious of the Lord moving in these people and could not stay on his feet. Imagine it! In their presence, “when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord” (verse 26) once again.

The mother and brother only asked one favor and, humanly speaking, it seemed reasonable. They wanted to say goodbye to the girl in a way that such a drastic separation deserved. It was a time when all transportation was by foot or beast and the distance was great. Such a separation in their family, as the will of God required for Rebecca, surely meant that they would never see her again. The Bible, at least, does not mention that they ever reunited. For that reason, they asked for ten more days, in which Rebecca could stay with them.

The servant responded, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master” (verse 56). The family’s petition, you see, logical as it may seem, did not take into account the worthiness of the King of Kings and the respect due Him. The intention of the slave was to obey immediately. If an earthly head of state gives an order, he expects that it will be carried out at that moment. How much more should it be done for the supreme Ruler of the universe. Any delay is time spent in disobedience. The servant, representing a life filled with the Holy Spirit, does not hesitate to obey.

God has outlined His plan and He Himself has seen to all the preparation. It is sure and irrevocable, but from us He expects, not a favorable opinion, as we have said before, but an “amen”. He awaits a “Yes, Lord, so be it in me!” When the angel announced to Mary those unique purposes, so costly for her life, he stayed until he heard her “amen”, before terminating the visit. She responded, “‘Behold the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:38). As in Mary, God had done a wonderful preparatory work in Rebecca. She was willing to leave her family and all that she knew, to live in a totally unfamiliar ambience far away. She surrenders to the eternal will of God and said simply and definitely, “I will go” (verse 58). Here is a perfect demonstration of the theme of the three volumes, which we are considering. Here we began in the introduction before the first volume and here is where we will end.

Coming from different times in history, we have often heard reliable and mature men in the faith say that there is a great and essential need, which is rarely met. It is for people, who know to set apart time to meditate. There are few that have the priorities of life in the correct order, as do the personalities in this story. Fulfilling his part, we now see Isaac, recognizing the value of being alone with God, meditating in a field. “Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening” (verse 63).

The Holy Spirit has left us this testimony in Scripture, so that we can understand that the one who meditates is not wasting time. His meditations led to reality: “He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.” Isaac was seeking the Kingdom of God and the one, who would join with him to bring about the purposes of the Kingdom, at that moment, entered the scene on a camel.

Those, who bring most blessing to earth, are the ones who focus their thoughts on heavenly things. Only these learn the secrets that God imparts to those that turn aside from the activities and voices of the age. They want to learn the ancient truth that the world cannot teach them. They long, most of all, to identify with the Holy Spirit and, by His fullness, function for the glory of God in Christ Jesus.


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