The Balm in Gilead

The old spiritual goes like this. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work's in vain, but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again. What does the Bible say about the balm in Gilead? Let's turn to Jeremiah 8 and verse 22, where Jeremiah uses this term here, balm in Gilead. Some call Jeremiah the weeping prophet. Jeremiah stood in the face of great persecution because he told, or God told him to tell Judah that they should not resist the Babylonians. Eventually, of course, Jeremiah was cast into a pit and probably would have died unless God had intervened. In Jeremiah 8 and verse 22, there's much material in the Bible for us that comes from the book of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 8 and 22, is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Let's read the context of that. Let's start in verse 13. I will surely consume them, says the Eternal. There should be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree. The leaf shall fade, and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves and let us enter into the defense cities, and let us be silent there. For the Eternal, our God, has put us to silence and given us water of gall to drink because we have sinned against the Eternal. So Jeremiah brought a powerful message to the nation of Judah at that particular time, and many of the conditions that existed at that time in the nation of Judah are extant in the Western world, and especially the United States today. And continuing, we look for peace, but no good come, and for a time of health and behold trouble. The snorting of the horses was heard from Dan way up north. The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of the strong ones, for they are come, have destroyed the land, and all that is in it, the city and those that dwell therein. For behold, I will send serpents. In some cases, these serpents were flying serpents as the fiery serpents. If you look at the word fiery serpents, looking strong, or any Bible concordance, you'll find out that the word for fiery serpents is sareph, or sa-raa, as they pronounce it in Hebrew, which means flying angels, the fallen ones. In some cases, the serpents were good angels, in some cases, bad. For behold, I will send serpents, cockatresses among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the eternal. This is quite amazing. Well, maybe I should pursue this for just a moment. I didn't know I'd get myself into this so quickly, that is in trouble. Oh, treading where angels fear to tread. But let's go to Numbers. As long as we stay in the Bible, we're probably all right. But let's go to Numbers 21. In Numbers 21, I meant to get to this last Sabbath, when we were talking about the day of the Lord. In Numbers 21, Israel is journeying in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.

Verse 4, and they journeyed from Mount Hor, by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way in the people spoke against God and against Moses. Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no bread. Neither is there any water in our soul loaves this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents, S-E-R-A-P-H, singular. And you look in the concordance, it'll say, Seraph means the flying. It can be a good angel, it can be a bad. Among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died. Of course, Moses was told eventually to build a brazen serpent, put it on a pole, lift it up, and when Israel looked on it, they would be healed. Must have been quite the thing that really tormented them severely. We're going to pursue that just a little more in just a moment. But look now at Isaiah chapter 6. In Isaiah chapter 6, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord, I saw Yahweh sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim, which is plural of sarah, or what we might say seraph, S-E-R-A-P-H, and I-M in Hebrew makes it plural. Above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And that's the same word, sarah, that is used in Numbers 21.6. You can look it up. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the eternal of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved to the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said, I woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Imagine that. And I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne. Then flew one of the seraphims, unto me, see, one flew, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongues from off the altar. So this is a good good angel. And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this had touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. And I heard the voice of the Eternal saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then he said, Here am I, send me. And of course, that is the response that God wants from us when he calls us to duty. Here am I, send me. Now notice Isaiah 1429. Isaiah 1429.

Rejoish not you, rejoice not you, whole Palestinian, because the rod of him that smote you is broken, for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. So there's demon activity. Now look at this. In John, we're coming back to Jeremiah 8 in just a moment. I didn't know I was going to get sidetracked here, but that's all right. In John chapter, I sidetracked myself. In John chapter 3, in John chapter 3, we talk about the first part, that which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of spirit is spirit, and all of that. And then the famous John 3 16, but sandwiched in between that part about being born from above in the John 3 16. Look at verse 13, John 3 and verse 13.

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven. Like Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, that no man hath ascended into heavens, that David is buried, and his sepulchre is with us here. To this day, David has not ascended into the heavens. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. If you want protect... the only way to be protected from the fiery flying serpents, from the devil, of course, is through God and Christ. So as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, and they looked on that and were healed, even so must Jesus Christ be lifted up. And then, verse 15, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. And then the famous John 3.16. So that gives you a little background to this what Jeremiah is saying here in chapter 8. So let's go back to that in verse 17. verse 17, For behold, I will send serpents, cockatresses among you which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the Eternal, when I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold the voice of the cry of the daughters of my people, because of them that dwell in a far country. Is not the Eternal in Zion? Remember Zion symbolizes the church, Hebrews 12.22. You have come to the Mount of the Living God, to the Jerusalem above, to the Mount Zion. Is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images and with strange vanities? The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, and we're not saved. For the herd of the daughter of my people, am I hurt? I am black. Astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead? In view of the desperate state of God's chosen people, Jeremiah cries out, Is there no balm in Gilead? Is the case hopeless? Must the patient die of his or her disease? Must the poor sinner sink under his or her sins? Is there no hope for him or her? Like the prodigal's son, he or she has wandered far away from God. Has God forgotten him or her? He has neglected his relationship with God. He has repaid God's favors with base ingratitude. He has trampled on God's bounties and mercies with carnality and folly. Is there no remedy? Must he perish under the load of iniquities and crimes? Is there no balm in Gilead? Is the supply exhausted or has its value ceased?

As we look at the news each week and each day, as we hear world leaders speak, we know and we know that we know the world is in desperate need of the balm of Gilead. Who will bring the balm of Gilead?

The people of the world are in desperate need of the balm of Gilead as they grieve over the senseless slaughter like the people in Syria. A million displaced, over 100,000 killed. There's no end in sight and many of what's going on in surrounding countries. Suicide bombers in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now it seems that Turkey is turning toward the east into the arms of Iran.

They grieve over the senseless slaughter. Suicide bombers, mass murderers are commonplace in this sick and dying world. Every person on the face of the earth and every person who is sitting here this afternoon, all of us are in desperate need of the balm of Gilead. The President of the United States gave his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. And in the midst of the greatest crisis the world has ever known, in one sense, because of the potentiality. You could say, well, it was worse in World War II, but it was only at the end of World War II that the atomic bomb was developed and dropped. Now there are so many ways that humanity can be destroyed. And of course, you know, Matthew 24 says, unless those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved alive but for the elect sake the days will be cut short. So he gave the State of the Union address in the midst of this crisis. He danced around the great issues that plague our generation. His address inspired no great vision, no great cry for action. Politics, politics, politics. It makes us sick. Politics, politics, coupled with propaganda and misinformation. Our problems are moral and hence spiritual. He praises homosexuality and he defends abortion. Sitting in the box, the first lady of the land was the first NBA player to come out and announce openly that he's gay. Oh, this is so great! We got a professional player in the NBA who announces that he is gay. Then one day this week, a college player comes out and announces openly he's bisexual and it just goes on and on. He talked about freedom, liberty, and peace. But the way of peace, they know not. How will the greatest nation on earth bring freedom and liberty to the peoples of the world? You know, there are different kinds of freedom and liberty. There is political freedom. You might say there's economic freedom. But freedom of mind requires the only education that's really worth anything when all is said and done, and that is the truth of God. The truth of God will set you free from fear, ignorance, superstition, and the dogmas of man. Will the peoples of the world be set free through political correctness, crying toleration for all lifestyles as the archbishop of Canterbury cries out that we should love and support same-sex marriages? The president surely did not offer the biblical balm of Gilead to a lost and dying world. Who will? In effect, he whitewashed a lost and dying world by crying peace when there is no peace. Let's look at Ezekiel 13. I think we read this last week, but we could read it every week. In Ezekiel 13, and I'm sure we read this, in verse 3, Thus says the Lord God, Adonai El, woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. O Israel, your prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge. For the house of Israel to stand in the battle of the day of the Lord. Who will do that? If it is to be done, it will be the church of God. And if you want to say, churches of God, I just say the church of God, those who know the truth, who have God's Spirit in them. And you know the scripture in Matthew 24 that says, And you shall be hated of all nations, for my name's sake. Why? Because you will strip off the whitewash, and you will tell it like it is. Notice here, verse 10, So what is the balm of Gilead? First, let's locate where Gilead is.

According to the Bible account in the book of Joshua, Gilead is apparently the region from the middle of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon, up the north part of Israel, with the Jabuk River being the middle of the territory. So it has a river running through it. This included the domain of the Ammonites, Amorites, as well as the region known as Beshan, when Israel, of course, came into the land to possess it, having been led out of Egypt by Moses. Gilead was a portion to the half-tribe of Manasseh. The other half remained west of the Jordan River, in what is now modern-day Jordan, along with Reuben and Gad. Although a small area in terms of square miles, Gilead is a diverse area stretching from the margins of the Jordan Valley, and the peaks along the Rift Valley to the edge of the Badia Steeps. So it's quite an area region with vast differences in the topography of it. Gilead is covered with pine forests that provide a covering for a variety of smaller shrubs and plants. One of the most notable shrubs is the Cystis plant, spelled C-I-S-T-U-S, Cystis plant.

The Cystis plant exudes a fragrant rosin used for millennia to produce an incense. Even today, the rosin is collected in parts of Greece. It can be harvested in a variety of ways, one ancient method was to comb the hair of goats who graze where the Cystis plant is growing. As they go through the Cystis plant, some of the rosin rubs off on the hair of the goat, and then you harvest that, you comb it off. Another is by dragging a rake with long leather tines through the shrubs at the hottest time of day and then removing the rosin when it's dry.

Then the rosin can be made into a balm and used for medicinal purposes that soothes the skin and reduces inflammation. Perhaps this is the physical balm of Gilead. Let's go back to Jeremiah now, chapter 46, Jeremiah 46, verse 11, where once again he uses this term balm. In Jeremiah 46, verse 11, go up into Gilead, take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt, in vain shall you use many medicines, for you shall not be cured.

Of course, no matter how much physical balm you put on, unless your heart is right with God, you obviously cannot be cured spiritually. You multiply remedies in vain, is what Jeremiah's saying, there's no healing in you. But this does imply that Gilead was a special source for the balm. If so, why was Gilead chosen as a site for harvesting the balm rather than similar areas west of the Jordan?

Well, I don't guess anybody knows that for sure, but Jeremiah was, to a large degree, speaking strictly in the figurative sense, go up and get the balm. There's really nothing going to heal you because you won't turn to God. Now, let's look at the word balm. The word balm is derived from balsam, which originated from the word pronounced balsamon, which was adopted to represent the words Baal Shemin, meaning Lord of Oils. So balm, meaning Lord of Oils. The embalming took its name from the use of balm as opposed it was a preservative in earlier times.

Both Jacob and Joseph were embalmed by the Egyptian method. Let's go to Genesis chapter 50. Here we'll see about Jacob and Joseph being embalmed. It was like a sealer or a preservative of types. So embalming took its name from the use of balm and was used as a preservative in earlier times. In Genesis 50 verse 1, Joseph fell upon his father's face and wept upon him and kissed him.

Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel or Jacob. Remember that his name was changed from Jacob to Israel after he wrestled with, we say angel, but you have to read the account to get the true identity. And 40 days were fulfilled for him, for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him 60 and 10 days, 70 days. Now also you look at verse 24.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die, and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land of the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you and shall carry up my bones from here.

So Joseph died being 110 years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. So we know that oil represents the Holy Spirit. And remember the word here balm coming from balsamon, which is adopted to represent the words beil shemin, meaning Lord of oils. We also know that the Holy Spirit is a very life essence of God and Christ. Look at John chapter 4, the account John 4, where Jesus meets the woman at the well, and he tells her about her background.

And they get into a discussion. She says, I perceive that you are a prophet. It talks about her fathers said we should worship in this mountain. The Samaritans had built a rival temple of that in Jerusalem on Mount Gerizim. Jesus tells her about true worship. She says in verse 20, our fathers worship in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is a place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour comes when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.

You worship, you know not what we worship, what we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour come and now is when the true worshiper shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him. Of course, there are other places in the Bible to talk about that God does not dwell in buildings made by hands. And today, of course, he dwells in his spiritual temple, you and I, the Church of God.

God is spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit imparts spiritual life, and it also serves as a preservative to seal us for safekeeping and sanctification if you do not quench it. Now, we look at 2 Corinthians chapter 2, 2 Corinthians chapter 2. It's actually chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

The Holy Spirit, in one sense, to use a somewhat crude analogy, is like an embalmer, a preserver. We're sanctified. We're set apart by the Holy Spirit. The true balm of Gilead, that precious oil. The Apostle John writes in 1 John that we have an unction of the Holy Spirit. This word, unction, it has to do with a rubbing in. It's like you might take an oil that you use for your skin or whatever and you rub it in, and it penetrates into the skin. We have an unction of the Holy Spirit, a rubbing in.

2 Corinthians 1, 22, who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Notice Ephesians chapter 1. Forward a little bit now to Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13. Ephesians 1 and verse 13. Ephesians 1, 13, In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also that you believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

It's like God does set a seal upon our minds and hearts, and he sets us apart, and he tells us, Be you holy, for I am holy.

Notice Ephesians 4 verse 30. Ephesians 4 and verse 30.

Ephesians 4 and verse 30. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. See, we grieve that Holy Spirit. We do damage to this embalming oil, to use the analogy. When we quench the Spirit, when we do not follow what the Spirit reveals to us through the Word of God. See, there are two convicting agents, the Spirit of God, which opens our minds and hearts to receive the truth and the actual content, the substance, the Word of God.

Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day of redemption. That redemption he's talking about is the redemption of your body to wit, that is the transformation at resurrection into a glorious radiant Spirit being. See, this word seal means to set a seal upon, marked with a seal for security, since things sealed up are concealed as the contents of a letter to hide, to keep in silence, to keep secret, to set a mark upon by the impress of a seal or a stamp.

So this sealing is like a preservative agent, and God through his Spirit will preserve us. He will keep us if we grieve not, if we quench not the Spirit. How do you quench the Spirit? How do you grieve the Spirit? Well, it's very simple. It's when you do not follow the mind of God and Christ as revealed in the Bible.

We're sanctified, that is set apart by the Holy Spirit. Look now at Romans chapter 15. So we have a sanctifying and a sealing through the Holy Spirit. And we're using this by analogy to the balm in Gilead. In Romans chapter 15 and verse 16, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, to the nations, to the ethnos, ministering the gospel of God, that the offspring of the Gentiles might be acceptable being sanctified, set apart by the Holy Spirit.

Sanctify means to separate from profane things, to dedicate something, to consecrate something. In this case, it is to dedicate, to consecrate to God. We're sanctified for service to Him. It also has the connotation of being without blemish, to the point, just like a sacrificial offering under the terms of the Old Covenant was without blemish. God expects us to be spiritually that way and to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

The wise virgins have oil in their lamps. The foolish virgins, the lamps, are going out. Let's go to Matthew chapter 25. The Olivet Prophecy includes Matthew 24 and 25. A lot of people just think, well, the Olivet Prophecy ends at the end of 24, but it includes 25 and a verse or so I think in 26.

Let's pick it up in 24 and read into 25. In Matthew 24 and 45, Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over his household, to give him meat in due season? Remember, this prophecy is in response to two questions that the apostles asked Jesus Christ. He said, what shall be the sign of your coming and the end of this age? Two questions. And does Matthew 24 and 25 is in response to those two questions? And of course, we're breaking in here. Who then is a faithful, wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over his household, to give him meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. And there are people and people who leave and form their own group and say, well, the work's been done. All we got to do is hold on. That's not what the Bible says. Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But, and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delays his coming, they don't say it orally, it is by actions.

You know, if I knew that today was the last day of my life, I might have lived it differently. A lot of people fall into that, the old country song that says, live each day like you're dying. In other words, live it like this is my last day on earth. And if that is the case, how am I going to live my life?

And shall begin, my Lord delays his coming is verse 49, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with a drunken. How much smiting of fellow servants has been done in the churches of God through the decades. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he's not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then, when that's going on, then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And in essence, what this is saying is they're all giving the appearance that they are with it, that they're all going to church, they all have their lamps. But some have oil, some have the balm of Gelliat, and some don't. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. They're all, oh, we're going to meet the bridegroom. Jesus Christ is coming! And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. And they that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. So they all fell down on the job, sort of like when after Jesus Christ was betrayed, you know, he went out to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. And I forget where the betrayal took place before or after. It doesn't matter the point I'm trying to make here, that anyhow, I went, took with him Peter and John, some of the disciples, to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. He says, wait here while I go yonder and pray. And when he came back, they were asleep. And he said, couldn't you just tarry with me for one hour? And he was in this great anguish in his prayer. He was sweating drops of blood. His passion was so great knowing what he was facing. So they all slumbered and slept.

Verse 6, and at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish center of the wise give us of your oil, for our lamps were going out. But the wise answered and said, not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go you rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. And the answered said, verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man comes. The wise virgins have oil in their lamps. The foolish virgins' lamps are going out because the oil is just about gone. The balm of Gilead. We know that the balm of Gilead was in a rather remote area, quite difficult to access, combing the hair of goats, running rake through the shrubs, get a little rosin on the tines. You couldn't just go get the oil any old day in any old way. Obtaining the balm involves several steps. Although the shrub from which the rosin exuded grew wild and was not cultivated by human hands, great effort had to be exerted in order to harvest the rosin and then to make it into the soothing balm. So there are many parallels between the balm of Gilead and the biblical balm of Gilead, but there is one great difference. The physical balm of Gilead could be bought, but the true balm of Gilead cannot be bought with silver or gold, no matter how rich you are. The true balm of Gilead must be sought and obtained in the arena of life and your relationship with God, as you heard in the sermonette. We note that the foolish virgins tried to buy the oil from the wise virgins, but to no avail. Look at Revelation 3. Revelation 3, Laodicea, verse 14. In Revelation chapter 3, the message to the seven churches, and verse 14.

Revelation chapter 3, verse 14. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodicea is right, these things says, the AMIA of the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, I know your works, that you are neither cold or hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold or hot, I will spew you out of my mouth, because you said, I am rich and increased with goods. Have need of nothing. These are the self-righteous who think that they are above everybody else.

I mean, if you really have the balm of Gilead, you would be wanting to share it, and to have relationships with people, and try to bring them into the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that they may go and receive the balm of Gilead. Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods. Have need of nothing, and know not that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel you to buy of me gold, tried in the fire. Of course, as we have said, you cannot literally buy. If Gilead represents the character that God is creating within us, of course, you can't buy that.

It is through active participation in the arena of life, as God, the Master Potter works with each one of us to mold us, make us shape us, that you may be rich in white rhema, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness do not appear and anoint your eyes with eyesab that you may see. Now, the city of Laodicea was a very rich city. It was said in the great earthquake that occurred there that they didn't have to receive outside help from Rome, because there were a lot of rich Jews there with a lot of gold, and so they were physically rich. But, of course, Christ is speaking here spiritually. It was also the seed of a famous medical school that produced this eye powder salve to treat the eyes. And, of course, Christ is talking about spiritual eyesight, and also they produced a fine wool. And so he says that your nakedness do not appear, so it plays off of those things that were there in Laodicea. But the thing that Laodicea was lacking, they were rich, they had the gold, they had the wool, they had the medical school, but they did not have a fresh water supply. They had to, through conduits, carry the water down to the city or up whichever way it went. And by the time it got there, it was lukewarm. Of course, with us, we don't want anybody else carrying our balm of Gilead. The Holy Spirit, of course, nobody else can carry it. Nobody else can give it to us.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sut with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my father in his throne. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The good news is that the precious balm of Gilead can be obtained from the only source of the true healing balm. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, according to John 15.26, and it is shed on us through Christ, according to Titus 3.4-5.

The only source of the Holy Spirit, the balm of Gilead, no man can give it to you. There is no way that you can buy it. There are three basic ways, and it is so simple. It is that which you have heard from the beginning. Three ways to obtain the balm of Gilead. Look at Luke 11. It is as simple and complex as these three ways. You don't have to comb the hair of goats. You don't have to run rakes through the shrub. You don't have to go into a difficult, treacherous place.

You have to go to the source. In Luke 11, verse 11, If a man shall ask bread of any of you, that is a father, will he give him a stone, or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more should your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Now, this asking here in Greek, this word is a heteo. A heteo. It means to desire, to beg, to require, to crave. It is not just any old asking. It has to do with fervent, zealous, hot prayer, as in James, where it says, the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeeth much.

If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more should your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? So, that is one of the main ways. You've heard it? Over and over. Now, to Matthew 4 and verse 4.

This is a little less direct, I guess you might say. Matthew 4 for everybody here can quote Matthew 4 for.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And so, we notice now, we go to our John 6.63 turn there, and John 6.63. This Word of God is equated with the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of God is equated with the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Word. Jesus Christ is the living Word. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, the living Word. And what is that Word? John 6 and verse 63. It is the Spirit that quickens. The flesh profits nothing, the words that I speak unto you. They are spirit, and they are life. And then, we have to do what we know to do. Acts 5 verse 32. Probably half of the people here could quote Acts 5.32, I would hope.

In Acts 5, of course, in the early chapters of the book of Acts, the apostles were undergoing great tribulation and persecution by the religious leaders of that day, the Pharisees, especially, the religious leaders. They were beaten at times. In Acts 5 verse 30, well, let's read 29. Then Peter and other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses to these things, and so also the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them, that obey him. And then the famous words of Peter go back to Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given, when the balm of Gilead in the figurative sets was poured out on the day of Pentecost. And Peter preached the inspired sermon, and in verse 37 says, he pricked in their hearts and said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said, Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for your mission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So obtaining the balm of Gilead is as simple and as complex as what we have just read from the Bible. Perhaps the reason why we are oftentimes waited on every front is because we have not personally sought the balm of Gilead from the right source in the right way. As we have already noted, God is the source of the Holy Spirit, John 15.26. The Holy Spirit cannot be purchased with silver or gold. It is a free gift, but there are prerequisites to receiving it as we have seen from the Bible. So let us rededicate ourselves to filling our lamps with a precious, soothing oil. In the Spirit of God, let us bask in the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Figuratively, let's bathe in the balm of Gilead.