02. A Pillar In The Temple Of My God
CHAPTER TWO
A PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE OF MY GOD
“And the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and the sockets of brass” (Exo 27:17).
A WORD for ministers and church members.
As we have seen already, the curtains of the court of fine twined linen were suspended by silver hooks to the sixty pillars, of which twenty were for the north and south side, and ten for the east and west side.
In his letter to Timothy, the apostle says that the house of God, the church of the living God, is the pillar and ground of the truth. Our blessed Lord said: “I am the truth.” The calling of the church is to manifest that truth to the world. Woe, when the church or its members should become unfaithful to its trust. “If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mat 6:23).
The world does not realize what it owes to Gods children. If there had been ten righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord would have spared those cities for their sake. God made Potiphar’s house to prosper because of Joseph and made him a blessing to Egypt. The little captive girl brought again sunshine in the home of Naaman. How often unconverted children only realize the value of praying parents when the Lord has taken them away.
Every living member of the Church should be a pillar where the Lord has placed him. A pillar helps to support the building. Our Lord is not only our sin-bearer, but He longs to become also our burden-bearer.
“Casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.”
But if you are His follower, He expects you also to become a burden-bearer.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).
Will you pardon me if I ask you if you are a pillar? James, John and Peter were (Gal 2:9). Are you a burden-bearer in your church? Can others come to you with their troubles and be sure of a sympathetic hearing? I am quite sure Joses of Cyprus was a burden-bearer. The apostles gave him a new name; they called him Barnabas, the man who knew how to comfort others.
Forgive me, are you a burden or a burden-bearer in your family, in the office, or factory?
You say you are not gifted, you are shy, you have only one talent. I think that is the case with the majority of us. There are few talented people and, therefore, most work is done by the one-talent folks.
You know the Lord loves you; that is part of your talent. Use it by showing love to somebody else. The world is hungry for love. The Lord has given you His peace; that is part of your talent. Become a peace-maker. Pour oil on the troubled waters. The Lord has given you the joy of the Holy Ghost - part of your talent. Give a smile. It makes people happy. Give a smile and a handshake to a stranger; you will become a pillar in your church.
Are you a minister? I do not mean a prime-minister, but a minister in your church. A minister is a servant - a foot washer. I must confess I love the designation, Pastor - A pastor, is a shepherd. Our Lord was the real Shepherd; we are under-shepherds.
Paul was not only the greatest missionary, but he had the heart of a pastor. How he prayed for his converts; how great was his longing that Christ should be formed in them!
Paul was a burden-bearer - the burden of all the churches was upon him.
What a compassionate heart he had - the weak members of the body were his special concern. At no price was he a stumbling-block in their path. What are you doing with the weakness, with the failures of others? Do you bring them to the sanctuary or into the camp to add other sins to them?
May the Lord give you a priestly heart to leave the failures and sins of others in the sanctuary and not to spread them abroad.
A class-leader told Wesley that God had given him one special talent: he had sharp eyes to detect the failures of his members. Wesley was silent a moment and then said, “Brother, I do not think the Lord would mind your burying that talent.” A burden or burden-bearer - which are you?
Are you a pillar in the house of God? Of course I cannot tell whether you are a pillar or not. God knows; you know. In order to become a pillar you will have to become an overcomer and have victory in your daily life.
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall no more go out” (Rev 3:12).
We do not know for certain out of what material the pillars were made; we only know that the sockets were of brass and that their capitals were of silver. Some commentators hold that they were of acacia wood, others that they were at least partly overlaid with silver. To me this seems to be immaterial, for our God can make something out of poor material.
Jacob was certainly poor material to make a saint out of, but in God’s school he became an Israel. The firmness and strength of the pillars lies not in themselves but in the brass sockets. If you long to become a pillar you have to learn: I am good for nothing. “Apart from me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5), and the second lesson: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Php 4:13).
Why do pillars need brass sockets? Because in their own strength they could not bear the curtains of fine twined linen.
“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
But, Lord, do you not expect too much from us? How can we carry out such a tremendous undertaking? We poor fishermen, who never left our native country?
“All power is given unto me . . . Go ye.” Wherever you go I will go with you; “all power is given unto me.”
Does your church present more difficulties than any other? Pillar of acacia wood, do not forget your brass socket. Be stronger but not in your own strength. “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might” (Eph 6:10).
May I be allowed to make a very obvious remark? The capital of the pillar must be overlaid with silver. How can you show others the way of salvation if you have not entered the narrow gate yourself? - poor pillar that has no brass socket; poor church that has an unconverted pastor! “I believe, and therefore have I spoken” (2Co 4:13). “Ye shall be my witnesses.” That is all the Lord requires of us. A witness can only give testimony of what he has seen and heard - what he has personally experienced. Paul said: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God” (Rom 1:16). He had experienced that power in his own heart before he witnessed to others, and, therefore, there was power in his preaching.
When the capital is covered with silver, when the foundation is a socket of brass, when the heart is burning in love for Jesus and souls, when he have been endued with power from on high, the inevitable result is: “We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
~ end of chapter 2 ~