1082, Golden Pipes
Golden Pipes
#1082
Study Given by W. D. Frazee—December 14, 1979
Those of you who were here last week remember that we studied about the
golden candlestick. Do you remember what the candlestick represents? Can
somebody tell me what the candlestick represents? Well, maybe I’ll have to preach
that one over again. [Laughter from the audience].
Turn to Revelation the 1st chapter and the 20th verse. The seven-branched
candlestick that Moses made, of course, was a miniature model of the seven lamps
of fire in the heavenly sanctuary. But the candlestick is a symbol of what, according
to Revelation 1:20? The church. You have it now, don’t you? You remember, don’t
you? How many of you remember we studied that last week? That’s right. Thank
you.
Now, let me ask an easier one. What’s the purpose of a candlestick? Give
light. If we didn’t know that, we’d find it in Matthew 5:14–16, where we read it last
Friday night.
And the candlestick, in order to give light, must have what in it? Oil. Brought
some along tonight, olive oil. Is that the kind they used in the candlestick? That’s
right. And what does that oil represent? The Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” Galatians 5:22.
And so:
“…The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us” Romans 5:5.
So, the oil represents the Holy Spirit, and it represents the fruit of the Spirit,
which is love.
I found an interesting statement here in the commentary, Book 4 of the
commentary, 1179:
“The golden oil represents the grace with which God
keeps the lamps of believers supplied”
SDA Bible Commentary, Volume 4, page 1179.
So, here is another way of putting it.
You know, Jesus never gives us anything without giving us Himself. That’s a
good example for us to follow in our giving.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights…” James 1:17.
I’m so glad that we have something back of every gift, and that’s the Giver
Himself. What do you say? It’s not only true that Jesus gives Himself in every gift.
We can never receive any gift without receiving Him. So, it’s only as we receive Him
that we can have love, or grace, or call it what you will.
And since the Holy Spirit came to reveal Christ, as Christ came to reveal the
Father, when we think of these precious gifts that are represented by the oil, we are
receiving God Himself in the appointed way that He has provided—the gift of the
Spirit.
For a few minutes at the beginning of our study this evening, I would like to
have us focus on what it cost. Now, this oil cost something. All kind of oil is
expensive today. The kind that runs motors is getting more expensive by the minute,
isn’t it? But friends, the oil that we’re studying tonight costs an infinite amount.
Turn to Matthew the 26th chapter and the 36th verse. The time is the eve of
the Passover, 31 A. D. Tomorrow, Jesus will hang upon the cross. But this evening,
He has met with His disciples in the upper room, given them the bread and the wine
to symbolize His sacrifice; now He leads them out of the city, down across the brook,
and into the garden called what? Gethsemane. Do you know what Gethsemane
means? It means oil press, oil press.
God’s ancient people had the winepress to press out the delicious wine from
the grapes. And they had the oil press where they placed the olives. In either case,
in each case, in both cases, what was necessary to bring out that which was of
value?
[Man from congregation] Extreme pressure.
[Elder Frazee] Extreme pressure, that’s right, extreme pressure. So, Jesus
went to Gethsemane, and there under the olive trees, His soul was pressed as no
one in all this universe had ever been pressed, pressed beneath the burden of sin.
For it is written in Isaiah 56:6:
“…The LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all”
Isaiah 53:6.
What a burden, my friend. None of us have ever felt that burden as Christ felt
it. We suffer some consequences of doing wrong. But the real penalty for sin no
human being in this world has ever yet experienced. That awaits down at the end of
the thousand years at the final judgment. But all of that for every human being was
laid upon the suffering soul of Jesus. He tasted death for every man, Paul tells us in
Hebrews 2:9.
Now, that pressure was so great that if He had been merely human, it would
have crushed His life out instantly. But while He was truly the Son of man, He was
truly the Son of God. He took our humanity that He might experience death. But He
brought with Him His divinity that He might experience that for every man.
A load a million, million, million, million times larger than anything that we can
comprehend was pressing down upon His soul. So, He was held at the point of
death, suffering the agony of separation from His Father, not dying but suffering
death.
And all this brought from His lips that cry, first in the 39th verse and then the
42nd. In each case, it’s a plea that the cup might pass. But in each case, mingled
with that request, there’s what? Submission, “Thy will be done.”
His soul was being pressed.
Now, turn over to Luke 22:44. I want you to see how His body literally was
put under a terrible pressure. What does Luke the physician say?
“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.
None of us have ever experienced anything like that, have we? But He did.
And so, from time to time dear ones, as we take the sacramental cup, as we
remember the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary, we thank God for the love that
prompted Him to go into that press, the winepress of wrath, the olive press, that
grace might be imparted to us.
Yes, these gifts cost something, friends. The oil and the wine are costly,
precious, infinitely expensive. God forbid that we should treat them lightly, that we
should miss their blessings.
Sister Hansen and Dona are going to bring us the song that will refresh our
memories with the scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary. And as they sing, let us
meditate on the cost of the oil, the cost of the wine.
“Go to dark Gethsemane, Ye that feel the tempter’s power;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see, Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from his griefs away; Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.
See Him at the judgment hall, Beaten, bound, reviled, arrayed;
See Him meekly bearing all, Love to man His soul sustained;
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss; Learn of Christ to bear the cross.
Calvary’s mournful mountain climb; There adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time, God’s own sacrifice complete;
‘It is finished!’ hear Him cry; Learn of Jesus Christ to die.”
Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, #157.
Now, this infinitely precious grace, this expensive gift, is dispensed to us by
God’s special arrangement. And this is the lesson of the candlestick.
Turn to Zechariah 4 again, the second verse, and let us note what the Bible
says:
“…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” Zechariah 4:2–3.
And then, the angel, as he asked questions and gives answers, shows that
this oil represents the Spirit, as we’ve noted in the sixth verse.
Then, coming down to the 11th verse:
“…What are these two olive trees…” Zechariah 4:11.
Twelfth verse:
“…What be these two olive branches which through the
two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of
themselves?” Zechariah 4:12.
Fourteenth verse:
“…These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the
Lord of the whole earth” Zechariah 4:14.
I want to ask you a question, dear friends. You think of these verses. Which
would you rather have, if you were trying to use this oil, the oil without the bottle, or
the bottle without the oil? Or do you need both?
Take our glass of grape juice, which will you have? The glass without the
wine, or the wine without the glass? Do you need both? That’s right.
And so, when we think of the blessings of God’s grace ministered to us by the
Holy Spirit, we must learn to respect the channels that He uses through which He
communicates these blessings.
If the church is the candlestick, which we read in Revelation 1:20, it’s very
important that I, as an individual member, am connected with those golden pipes
through which the oil is received, for no candlestick can give light without what?
Without oil. The seven branches may all be there in their golden beauty, but without
oil, no light, no light.
Usually, when we think of receiving the Holy Spirit, or the blessings of grace
or love, any of these fruits or results of the Spirit, we think of direct contact with God
on the part of the individual, and this is good, this is good. But that’s only part of the
story.
Take this very expression here:
“…These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the
Lord of the whole earth” Zechariah 4:14.
What are those? As I studied with you last week, those are the two highest
angels of glory. But angels are creatures. They’re the result of the creative work of
Jesus Christ. They are not God, but God uses them as His channels. And that’s
what this teaches.
So, I read in Object Lessons, page 408:
“From the two olive trees the golden oil was emptied
through the golden pipes into the bowl of the candlestick,
and thence into the golden lamps that gave light to the
sanctuary. So from the holy ones that stand in God’s
presence His Spirit is imparted to the human
instrumentalities who are consecrated to His service.
The mission of the two anointed ones is to communicate
to God’s people that heavenly grace which alone can
make His Word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path.
‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the
Lord of hosts’” Christ’s Object Lessons, page 408.
So, I’m thankful that the angels are:
“…All ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation” Hebrews 1:14.
Their only power, the only blessing they can bring us, is the blessing that God
gives them to impart to us. And so, through the golden pipes, the divine blessing is
conveyed. But it’s important that we be connected up, isn’t it? Yes, important that
we be connected up.
But the pipes are not merely angelic. They’re human as well. While the
church includes the heavenly bodies, the heavenly principalities and powers, the
church is very much on earth. Christ built His church upon the Rock, and He said:
“…The gates of hell will not prevail against it”
Matthew 16:18.
In Ephesians, the fourth chapter and the eighth verse, the apostle tells us that
when Jesus went back to heaven, He led a multitude of captives and gave gifts unto
men [a paraphrase of Ephesians 4:8]. This was in fulfillment of His promise when
He left that He would send the power of the Spirit upon His church. This was
received at Pentecost.
And notice how this was manifested in the 11th verse:
“And He gave some…” Ephesians 4:11.
What?
“…apostles…” Ephesians 4:11.
Golden pipes.
“…and some, prophets…” Ephesians 4:11.
Golden pipes.
“…and some, evangelists…” Ephesians 4:11.
Golden pipes.
“And some, pastors and teachers…” Ephesians 4:11.
Golden pipes. What for?
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying…” Ephesians 4:12.
The building up
“…of the body…” Ephesians 4:12.
Or the church.
“…of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and
of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”
Ephesians 4:12–13.
So, I’m thankful, dear friends, not only for the origin of the golden oil in the
sanctuary above. I’m thankful for the channels, both heavenly and earthly, both
angelic and human, through which God’s blessings are communicated. What do you
say?
Connection with Christ, then, involves a connection with His church.
I’ve been very much impressed with a marvelous statement in the book Acts
of the Apostles, pages 163–164. Before I read it, let me ask you again. What did we
read in the Bible that the candlestick represents? The church. And the purpose of
the candlestick is to do what? Give light. And the purpose of the church, then, is to
do what? Give light. But giving light is dependent upon having what? Oil. All right.
“God has made His church on the earth a channel of
light, and through it He communicates His purposes and
His will. He does not give to one of His servants an
experience independent of and contrary to the experience
of the church itself. Neither does He give one man a
knowledge of His will for the entire church while the
church—Christ’ body—is left in darkness. In His
providence He places His servants in close connection
with His church in order that they may have less
confidence in themselves and greater confidence in
others whom He is leading out to advance His work”
Acts of the Apostles, page 163.
Did any of you ever have a leaky gasket or a break in the gas line in an
automobile? What’s happening? Losing oil or losing gas. Too many leaking
gaskets in the church today; too many broken oil lines. We need to be sure that
we’re connected up with the golden pipes; that the gaskets are holding tight.
I read on:
“There have ever been in the church those who are
constantly inclined toward individual independence. They
seem unable to realize that independence of spirit is
liable to lead the human agent to have too much
confidence in himself and to trust in his own judgment
rather than to respect the counsel and highly esteem the
judgment of his brethren, especially of those in the offices
that God has appointed for the leadership of His people.
God has invested His church with special authority and
power which no one can be justified in disregarding and
despising, for he who does this despises the voice of
God” Ibid., pages 163–164.
Of course, my dear friends, it’s seldom that any individual is so isolated in his
views and in his attitude that he can find no one to sympathize with him. But keep in
mind that one of those angels that stood by the throne apostatized, and he circulated
his ideas, his new light, his new emphasis until he had how many sympathizing with
him? How many? One third. That proved that he was right, didn’t it? Did it? No.
When he did that, he disconnected from the supply of true oil. He’s been
walking in the sparks of his own kindling ever since. From Lucifer, the light bearer,
he passed to become Satan, the adversary, the Devil.
And again and again, it’s been repeated down through the history of the
church, my friends. Oh, I pray that we shall all learn from these experiences to
sense our need of keeping in touch, keeping in contact.
Somebody says, “Brother Frazee, don’t you believe God can guide people
individually?”
Certainly, yes, that’s very important, very important. But also, from what I’m
reading from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, it’s clear that one of the channels,
some of the channels that God uses are other human beings, is that right?
Otherwise, there’s no point in apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.
These are some of the golden pipes that God is using.
Let me read on, in Acts of the Apostles, 164:
“Those who are inclined to regard their individual
judgment as supreme are in grave peril. It is Satan’s
studied effort to separate such ones from those who are
channels of light…” Ibid., page 164.
So if I have a distorted, perverted, exaggerated idea of individual guidance, it
will lead me to separate from the golden pipes and miss the oil, which would make
me a channel of light.
“To neglect or despise those whom God has appointed to
bear the responsibilities of leadership in connection with
the advancement of the truth, is to reject the means that
He has ordained for the help, encouragement, and
strength of His people. For any worker…” Ibid.
“…any worker in the Lord’s cause to pass these by, and
to think that his light must come through no other channel
than directly from God, is to place himself in a position
where he is liable to be deceived by the enemy and
overthrown” Ibid.
I think of Canright. I think of dear Waggoner and Jones that God used so
gloriously when they were golden pipes. I think of John Harvey Kellogg. Oh, my
friends, what happened? They got disconnected, disconnected. And no one can
shine unless he’s connected. The light is dependent upon the oil. And receiving the
oil is dependent on being connected.
But now, I come to another application of this, and I pray that God will give the
spirit of understanding and appreciation. You know, the candlestick representing the
church also represents the church in the home. You find that beautiful expression in
the book Adventist Home, page 323, a little church in the home.
In the Garden of Eden, the first home was the first church. In Abraham’s day
the home and the church were very much connected. And God desires that every
home shall be a little church, a little candlestick so that it will give light. What do you
say? Do you want your home to be that?
All right. Let’s turn over to the book of Ephesians. We were in the fourth
chapter on the church. Now, in the fifth chapter, we go to the home. (Don’t miss this
next point.)
Just as it is impossible for the church to shine as God wants it to shine if each
individual thinks that he gets all his orders directly from Jesus and pays no attention
to church organization and leadership, so it is in the home.
And so, we read in Ephesians the fifth chapter beginning with the 21st verse:
“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God”
Ephesians 5:21.
What does “submit” mean? It’s what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane,
friends. It’s how the oil was pressed from His dear heart. The blood was pressed
from His forehead and fell down upon His beard, as in submission He yielded to the
Father’s will.
In the church, we’re to learn that lesson of submission, and in the home, we’re
to learn it. But just as in the church, there are independent spirits, so in the home,
there are independent spirits. And God in His mercy has arranged it that we shall
have opportunities to learn to submit.
I read on:
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own
husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is
the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of
the church: and He is the Savior 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. So ought
men to love their wives as their own bodies…”
Ephesians 5:22–28.
There’s the instruction, dear friends, and it’s just as relevant, just as up-to-
date, just as inspired as the day it was written. And we must be very careful lest we
lose the blessing of home organization, as well as church organization.
It won’t do for the husband and father to abdicate. God won’t let him do it,
friend. It won’t do for the wife to assume the leadership and take over. God won’t
recognize that. It leads to a similar attitude on the part of children. And one of the
signs of the last days is that children are disobedient and disrespectful.
I found a little gem in the book Adventist Home, page 198, that I want to share
with you. Do you know the best way for children to learn to respect and obey their
parents? Let me read it to you:
“The best way to educate children to respect their father
and mother is to give them the opportunity of seeing the
father offering kindly attentions to the mother and the
mother rendering respect and reverence to the father”
Adventist Home, page 198.
That’s the best way for children to learn to respect and obey their parents—if
they live in a home where the father is always offering kindly attentions to the
mother, using love in His leadership.
And then, notice the wording:
“…And the mother rendering respect and reverence to
the father” Ibid.
Not many homes left like that today, friend, not many. But every home that
gets the seal of the living God from Ezekiel 9 and Revelation 7 will be like this. I can
tell you that, friends. It isn’t only the Fourth Commandment that’s involved, the Fifth
Commandment and the Seventh Commandment, all ten of the commandments must
be written in our foreheads, in our hearts.
Shall I read this sentence again? It’s so beautiful.
“The best way to educate children to respect their father
and mother is to give them the opportunity of seeing the
father offering kindly attentions to the mother and the
mother rendering respect and reverence to the father.
It is by beholding love in their parents that children are led
to obey the Fifth Commandment and to heed the
injunction, ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for
this is right’” Ibid., pages 198–199.
And no mother (mark what I say) has any right to expect her children to obey
her unless she shows that respect and reverence toward the head of the house that
God has established in the husband and father.
So husbands, take your rightful place as the leaders in your home. Mothers,
take your place as the queen, not the king of the household. Recognize the
leadership that God has placed in your home. And then, fathers and mothers
together bring your children into that bond of love and law. And thus, your home,
your little home, can be a little candlestick, a little church within the great church
where the light of God’s love is shining all the while.
Remember friend, structure is not light. It takes oil as well as structure. But I
ask you, which will you have? The container without the oil, or the oil without the
container? Which will you have? You need what? Both.
Are the golden pipes necessary? Will the golden pipes themselves enable us
to shine? No, it takes oil to do that. But without the golden pipes, and without being
connected with them, the oil will spill, but there’ll be no light. Oh, let’s tighten up for
God. What do you say, friends? Let’s be willing to be different from the godless,
restless world around us.
Do you know what’s the matter with this world? They’ve cast aside the law of
God and turned to their own human inventions. The anarchy, the riots, the violence,
the crime that are filling the world today are due to rejecting the law of God. God
help us not to reject even one letter of it. What do you say?
And so, in our homes in our relationship to the order that God has
established, in the church in our relationship to the order which God has established,
we are revealing our response to the Word of God. And if we will connect up with
God’s golden pipes, we too can receive the oil and shine.
To us, it is written:
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the
LORD is risen upon thee” Isaiah 60:1.
Remember what it cost to provide this oil, friends. Remember that oil press in
Gethsemane, where the broken heart of Jesus suffered that sin might be taken out of
the way and that we might be brought back to harmony with God.
As we behold, something happens to these hard, independent, stubborn
hearts of ours. As we look upon the suffering of the Savior, we can’t help but be
impressed that what He died to make possible must be very important.
He longs to have us with Him in heaven. But the only ones that can be with
Him in heaven are those that have learned to be with Him on earth, who have
chosen to give up their selfish, stubborn, independent ways, they’ve chosen to fall on
the Rock and be broken, and let the Holy Spirit so change the heart that we shall
rejoice to be nothing that He may be everything, to give up our way that He may
have His way.
May we bow our heads?
Quietly, hear each one thinking, listening to the voice of the Spirit. If there’s
someone here tonight that the arrow of conviction from God’s quiver has reached its
mark in your heart, and you believe that God brought you to this meeting to hear this
message, and you want to seek God that He will give you the experience that He’s
promised to give you of being sorry for sin and selfishness and changing you to be
like Him. If there’s somebody like that, would you like to just kneel down where you
are and seek God for yourself?
Our precious Lord, we thank Thee for the wonderful gift that Thou hast
provided at infinite cost. We thank Thee for the bleeding heart of Christ. We thank
Thee for the suffering of Gethsemane and the agony of Calvary. We thank Thee that
our Lord was willing to go to the oil press that we might receive grace that we might
shine.
Tonight, our Father, we’re coming to give up our selfish, independent ways, to
let Thee have access to our hearts directly and through Thine appointed channels.
God grant that we shall appreciate as never before the structures Thou hast created
in the church and in the home that we shall respect the leadership that Thou hast
placed in the church and in the home. And that we shall individually enter into a
fellowship with Thee and with those that Thou hast appointed that the golden oil of
love may flow to us and through us, and shine to Thy glory.
Oh Lord, may we see it not as a way of bondage but as the liberty which love
brings. May we be happy in the assurance and the security that harmony with Thee
and fellowship with Thee and contact with Thee brings.
Just now, as we’re kneeling here, work the miracle of Thy grace. Let Thy
Holy Spirit accomplish in us the purpose of Thy providence, and send us out to share
with others the good news that the Gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth.
We thank Thee in Jesus’ name, amen.
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W. D. Frazee Sermons
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