Just Keep The Oil

From The Desk of Pastor Toby Powers

Truth Baptist Church

Bremen, GA

JUST KEEP THE OIL

1 Chronicles 27:25-34

Intro: What we have in these verses is a list of the officers who served in David’s court along with the duties each carried out. It must have been a great honor to be chosen by the king for a place of service. Imagine if the President were to call on you to fulfill some office in his administration. Most folks would consider it a great honor. But, have you ever considered that the Lord chooses out men and women to serve Him? As a matter of fact, He has given every believer a place of service in the body of Christ, Eph. 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” It is a blessing beyond compare to be chosen, gifted and used by the Lord.

This list of officials from David’s kingdom can teach us some lessons about serving the Lord.

1. Each Person Had A Place Of Special Service. (God chooses what we do, where we do it and to what extent it is done. No one else can do the job you have been specially designed to do!)

2. Each Person Was Called By Name. (God knows each of us by name. He cares for and keeps up with His Own, Matt. 10:29-31, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”)

3. Each Person Served In Different Capacities. (God puts us where we are. We are to grow where He plants us!)

4. Each Person Was Placed Where They Were By The King. (Anywhere the Lord places us is a special place of service. He knows where He can best use our gifts for His glory and for the edification of the whole church, Eph. 4:11-13, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 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 fulness of Christ.” Eph. 4:16, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”)

We could spend time talking about each of these duties assigned in these verses, but I want to concentrate on verse 28. I want to look at the man named Joash, who was the keeper of the cellars of oil. Here is a man who was in a place of special service to the king. However, his job was not flashy or one that attracted a lot of attention. He served his king, but he did so in a dark, damp and deserted cellar. Let’s look in on Joash and the job he was called upon to fulfill.

Joash represents much of the church today. Like Joash, many Christians serve the Lord in obscurity. Yet, the service they provide is absolutely essential in the life of the church. I want to preach on: The Keeper Of The Oil.

I. The Duties of His Job

A. Keep The Oil

1. The Oil’s Societal Place- It was used: Religiously in the Offerings (Lev. 2:1), For Lamp Fuel (Ex. 27:20), As an Item of Commerce (1 Kings 5:11), As a Medicine (Luke 10:34), In Cooking and in Cosmetics. Oil was extremely important!

2. The Oil’s symbolism- It represents the Holy Spirit! We need some saints of God who will be keepers of the oil in our day! We need some who will keep old-fashioned preaching, praying, praising the Lord, and personal holiness alive in our day. In that day, the keeper of the oil literally kept the lights on in Israel. The keepers of the oil in the church today literally keep the lights on at the house of God! Eph. 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

B. Stay In Place- It must have been hard to stay in the cellar! If you want to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord, just be faithful to Him to serve Him where He has placed you- 1 Cor 4:2. If you want to always be in the will of the Lord, then keep on doing the last thing the Lord told you to do until He tells you to do something else. Keep the last orders you got from headquarters until God changes them!