It was a beautiful Saturday for the Barnwell’s get-together at the farm. Freddie Barnwell, affectionately referred to as Farmer Barnwell, with his wife Jessie, along with their daughter, granddaughter, and little great-granddaughter Emily, were getting ready, baking their “almost heaven” cookies. Freddie’s fresh-from the-farm-apple cider, homegrown mint tea, and fresh churned butter popcorn made it a treat for everyone that came! “Time at the Farm” included lots of games for the kids and adults, along with horseback riding. After lots of good music and singing came sharing-time, followed by everyone’s favorite part of the day, story time!
Carmella Barclay was the first to speak during sharing time. She saw a girl about five years old trying to get her mother’s attention in the store yesterday. The mother, who was talking on her cell phone, completely ignored her daughter who was so frustrated that she began to cry. She said how often she had seen a child say “look what I drew, made, or wrote,” or have something they feel is important to them, just wanting and needing a little attention, regardless of their age, only to receive a half hearted response or be totally ignored. It’s like throwing cold water on someone, totally dampening their enthusiasm and sense of self-worth. The burden of discouragement, one of Satan’s favorite tools, is like a hundred pound bag of rocks on a person’s back. Farmer Barnwell said Carmella, “You have the most wonderful sensitive and caring heart. You are the type of encourager through whom the light of Christ shines bright.” He then said, “I will tell you a story my uncle used to tell when I was younger. It might seem frivolous to some people, but it makes a good point.”
Thomas Edison, when working on the development of the light bulb, said each failed experiment was one step closer to success. Feeling confident this was the day it would finally work, he told his wife to go on to bed without him. It was almost 2:30 in the morning when the light lit up. He was elated beyond words as he picked up the two-foot-square board he had his light-bulb project on. He ran out of his lab behind his house, across the yard into the house and up the stairs, yelling with excitement every step of the way. He burst into the bedroom. “Martha, look Martha, I’ve done it, I’ve done it.” His wife, half asleep, with one eye open, sat up, looked at the clock and said, “For goodness sake, Thomas, its two-thirty in the morning, turn off the light and come to bed!” When the laughter quieted down, Saydie Graden asked if that was really a true story. Jessie looked at her and winked, as if to say, “at least for the moment, as it perfectly illustrates the idea of throwing cold water on someone’s enthusiasm like Carmella mentioned as if we are asleep, not considering the needs of others. Giving someone your time wrapped in love is a great way to let the light of Christ shine. Even though some people might misunderstand your motives and make false assumptions, remember Jesus performed miracle-working wonders without a word of thanks!”
Royce MacFadyen and his wife Shelia said, “After what you just said about letting your light shine makes us think of a couple we met at a volleyball tournament our daughter and their daughter were playing in. The man was a Judge. They said all the judicial activism and lawfare in our country currently made them think of the Judge and how he told them most politicians he knew put election and re-election ahead of doing what was good or right. He talked about how a Judge’s bench should be a workbench where the Judge is a referee and not a throne where a Judge’s bias overrules the U.S. Constitution, upon which justice and fairness depend. Shelia said, “Everything the Judge expressed concern about has certainly proven true!” Royce then added, “The Judge said he and everyone will have to stand before God someday and be judged. We need to judge ourselves to make sure our faith is secure in the Lord and we persevere until He comes!”
Farmer Barnwell said, “I hope all of what we just heard touched your heart as much as it did mine,” to which everyone responded enthusiastically. He then said how Jonathan and his wife Samantha’s work with foster care programs led them to Levi Ramsay, who was about to enter a dark and scary world when he left foster care at age eighteen. He was well aware that over seventy percent of youth that exit foster care as legal adults are arrested at least once, if not more, by their mid twenties. The chances of former foster care students being in jail, on drugs, or having committed suicide by age twenty-five is fifty percent. Everything he owned was in a tattered suitcase and a tote bag the day he had to leave foster care and go out into the world on his own. He said he could never describe the elation he felt when, by the grace of God, a ministry focused on helping foster care students make the transition, selected him. Now at age twenty-four, Levi and his lovely wife Tamera are serving the Lord helping others make the transition. Tonight they are going to show you how you can make a lamp for less than a dollar that will provide an economical source of light, but also serves as a little stove during an emergency. More importantly, you can use this lamp as a conversation piece in proclaiming the light of Christ. It will replace costly battery flashlights, candles, and toxic kerosene lamps during long periods without electricity. In addition, if this lamp is tipped over, the fuel will actually put the flame out.” William Ian said, “you have to be kidding, whoever heard of such a thing. What kind of new fuel is this?”
Levi replied, “William, this fuel is actually the oldest fuel for lamps ever recorded as it goes back thousands of years to ancient Israel. This fuel burns slowly and is a clean-burning fuel. Just a couple of ounces can burn for several hours, giving off light brighter than a candle. The fuel we are talking about is olive oil. Levi held up the type of olive oil lamp he and Tamera made in a pottery class that looked like the ones archaeologists discovered in Israel and believed to be over seven thousand years old. Tamara then showed the simple lamp she made at home. She said the olive oil lamp presents a unique opportunity to share the love of Christ using one of these lamps as a conversation piece. Levi then added, “You can show people how all the current news regarding olive oil was known thousands of years ago using your Bible. Even the oldest living tree is said to be a four thousand-year-old olive tree still producing olives.”
The oldest reference we find in the Bible to an olive oil lamp is in Exodus chapter 27, where God commands the Israelites to bring clear oil of pressed olives to keep the lamps burning in the temple. In Exodus 19 we find where God told the Israelites that if they obeyed His voice and kept His commandments, they would be a peculiar treasure unto Him above all people, for all the earth is His and they would be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. I believe I am right in thinking there is a connection here, in that the Israelites were to be a light to the nations which would be symbolized by the olive oil lamps in the temple. Moses mixed spices together with olive oil in anointing Aaron and his sons as well as it was used in anointing kings, priests, and prophets both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Jackie Harnell said she just read that King David referred to himself in Psalms as a green olive tree in the house of God and Hosea 14 in which God says He will heal Israel’s backsliding, will love them freely, and its beauty will be like the olive tree.
Tamara then read Zechariah chapter four, where it says God chose Zerubbabel to complete the rebuilding of the temple. When the angel asked him what he saw, he said, “A lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top with seven lamps, seven pipes and two olive trees, one on the right and one on the left. The angel then spoke and said the two olive trees were the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.” Levi read from Revelation chapter 11 about the two prophets that will testify of the Lord for three and a half years during the Tribulation period, identified as two olive trees and two lampstands. “What do you think they represent?” Levi asked. Layla McKelvey said she felt “they represented the Holy Spirit and His continuous flow of anointing oil on these two messengers of God.” “Yes, I believe you are right Layla,” he replied, “and it is this continuous indwelling of the Holy Spirit that will enable us to faithfully witness for Christ in the face of adversity and the challenges that are headed our way.”
They concluded with the parable from Matthew chapter 13 where Jesus talked about the ten virgins and their oil lamps as they await the bridegroom’s arrival, which is symbolic of the Lord Jesus coming for His church, the believers in Christ. Five were wise, having brought extra olive oil for their lamps. The five that felt they had enough oil but didn’t, left to go buy more. They were not present when the bridegroom came. The wise virgin’s lamps continued to burn bright as in sharing the light of the world, Christ Jesus, by their faith and good works. When the bridegroom came they were prepared and rewarded for their faithfulness. Hebrews 11:6 indicates the faithful believer that keeps their “spiritual light” shining can expect a future reward. “When God makes a promise, be assured it will be more than we can begin to imagine,” Levi assured everyone.
He then continued. “In Matthew chapter 5 Jesus says we are not to hide our lamp under a bushel basket but let our light shine. Families that could not afford a lampstand would turn their baskets over and set their lamp on top of the basket to get the lamp up off the floor to shine more light in the room, thus they understood exactly what Jesus was saying by not hiding their light under the basket.”
Tamara said,”Now we could see the significance of how olive oil and the olive trees represent the Holy Spirit. People that feel timid, or feel you have to be a Bible scholar to share your faith, can use this knowledge and olive oil lamps as a way to share the love of Christ with the world. In addition, by using this opening, you can mention how everything Jesus and Bible prophecy said would happen in the last days, for the first time ever, has converged.”
After prayer time, Farmer Barnwell said,”I know Timmy Farlie is anxious to grab his fishing pole and get down to the pond. The rest of you, feel free to a walk around the farm enjoying the rest of this day the Lord has made.” Then everyone started to sing, This Little Light Of Mine!
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