The “carrier business” is big business in our 2011 world. We have Fed Ex carriers, UPS carriers, commercial carriers, aircraft carriers, rail carriers, and even carrier pigeons. Webster’s dictionary gives us one definition of a carrier as “a container for carrying.” Another definition that Webster lists for a carrier is “a catalyst by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another.” Brothers and sisters, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are “containers” with the most precious cargo. We are catalysts empowered by the Holy Spirit to transfer the message of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to others.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7, we read, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:7-18, NKJV).
There is a wealth of spiritual truth in these verses. For now let’s focus on verse 10—we are carriers of the mystery! In Colossians 1:26, we read about this mystery that we carry, “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints, to them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Carriers of Christ
Within our bodies, these earthen vessels, we carry the greatest treasure in the universe—Christ in us the hope of glory. Our spiritual DNA in the family of God is marked and shaped by the living Christ within us. Jesus told his disciples in Mark 4:11, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.” The Greek word here is musterion (moos-tay-ree-on) meaning something hidden requiring special revelation. God by His Spirit has given us the special revelation.
This word, mystery, in the New Testament means something that people could never know by their own understanding and that demands a revelation from God. The secret thoughts and plans of God remain hidden from unbelievers, but they are revealed to believers. To the secular Greeks of Jesus’ time, the word mystery meant knowledge that is withheld, concealed or silenced. To the saints in New Testament times, the biblical Greek meaning of mystery is truth revealed. Thus we conclude that “mystery” means something formerly hidden, but now revealed—that people cannot understand except by divine revelation. The mystery focuses on Christ’s sinless life, atoning death, powerful resurrection, and dynamic ascension! The kingdom of God came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, in His words and works, a kingdom which began to penetrate the earth in a new way—in and through His ministry. Today this kingdom continues to penetrate the world through us, the Church, as carriers of the mystery. The kingdom awaits ultimate consummation at the end of the age. Only by faith can one recognize in the lowly figure of Jesus of Nazareth, the manifestation of God’s rule and reign.
As believers we continue to grow in understanding the fullness of this mystery and sharing this mystery with others—having faith in our risen Savior, praying for healing, believing God for miracles, and reaching our generation with the supernatural power of God. We are part of the DNA of this mystery. We are carriers only because our Savior Jesus carried the cross! Isaiah 53:4-6, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
We are carriers of this mystery because He carried our sorrows and our sin to the cross: this unparalleled truth causes us to worship! One contemporary song writer expresses the mystery this way, “You stretched your arms out wide; I lift my hands up high to my Savior!” Because He carried our sins, when we receive the life-changing gift of salvation, we immediately become carriers of the mystery. It seems to me that our right response to this life-changing gift can only be, “Here I am, Lord—this earthen vessel carrying the greatest mystery of all time, Christ came, gave His life to pay for my sins, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, sent the Holy Spirit to live in me to express through my earthen vessel the life of the Messiah! Wow, this is the mystery we carry! This mystery is the same mystery that the first century believers carried as they witnessed for Christ in the midst of a fallen world.
Moses
The mystery was hidden from the Old Testament patriarchs, but somehow I believe those Old Testament giants of the faith were also carriers of the mystery that they could only see/understand through a glass darkly—by faith! When I think of Moses, I see his mother as a carrier of the mystery by faith. (You know the devil doesn’t care much about us when we are just going along “being nice.” But, when we choose to believe in faith and act on that faith, we are carriers of this great mystery; then the evil one will give us trouble.) He was giving the people of Israel trouble, but Moses’ mother as a carrier of the mystery by faith hid Moses in the basket in the water. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s court. Moses met the Source of the mystery in the burning bush when our Lord identified himself as “I am that I am.” After the burning bush experience, then Moses, himself a carrier of the mystery, boldly walked into the Egyptian Pharaoh’s palace and declared, “Let my people go!” Moses, carrier of the mystery, covered his door posts with the lamb’s blood and ate the Passover lamb. Moses, carrier of the mystery, lifted up his rod and stretched out his hand over the Red sea; the sea divided and the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. Moses carrier of the mystery climbed Mt Sinai where God gave him the Ten Commandments. Moses carrier of the mystery, pled with God, “If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”
Moses carrier of the mystery talked with God face to face as a man speaks to his friend in the tent of meeting. Moses carrier of the mystery in anger struck the rock instead of just speaking to it. (Even as carriers of the mystery, we can lapse into disobedience and experience its awful consequences.) Moses, carrier of the mystery, in Deut. 34:1-8, climbed Mount Nebo to the Pisgah summit of the ridge of mountains—he was 120 years old, his eyes were not dim and his natural vigor was not diminished. Moses, carrier of the mystery, on the Mt Nebo summit, scanned the horizon—Gilead, Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, the land of Judah, the Western Sea (Mediterranean Sea), the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees. He saw it all but would not cross over! Moses, carrier of the mystery, by faith laid his hands on Joshua who was full of the spirit of wisdom, so the children of Israel heeded Joshua and did as the Lord had commanded Moses (Deut. 34:9). He passed the mystery on to the new, young carrier!
The Faith Component
In the Book of Hebrews 11:23 – 29, we read this about Moses, carrier of the mystery, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”
The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that “All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. God provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Heb 11:38-39, NKJV). Part of “that something better” is that we receive by faith the mystery and we are carriers of the mystery—carriers by faith!
Storms
Sometimes, as carriers of the mystery, things don’t turn out the way we think they should. We may start out strong as a carrier of the mystery. Then storms come, stuff happens over which we have no control. Our hearts break, our emotions shatter, our souls are pierced, our spirits can dry up. Our God-given dreams die. Recently within one week’s time span, the godly, gifted guitar mentor of our oldest grandson passed away of a terrible disease. Within the same week, a lovely 17 year old, godly friend and peer of our grandson’s family developed a blood clot in her brain and suddenly died, and then a dear friend of ours of many years was diagnosed with cancer and had a double mastectomy. For several days as I cried out to the Lord on behalf of these dear families, God directed me to a Psalm written by Moses—carrier of the mystery, Psalm 90. I began to read.
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God . . . So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. . . Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Remembering the Start
As carriers of the mystery, sometimes we need to stop and sit before the Lord and perhaps go back to the place (spiritually and maybe even literally) when God first gave us His dreams and purpose for our lives—to again receive the fresh, supernatural anointing that brings about supernatural miracles so we can live today with the sense that our heavenly Father is the God of the impossible. What are we doing as a carrier? How am I carrying the mystery—like Moses carried the mystery and passed it on to Joshua by the laying on of hands? Like Moses who wrote in Psalm 90, “Lord you are God from everlasting to everlasting . . . let Your glory appear to the children of your servants. Lord, You, establish the work of our hands (as carriers of the mystery!)? Brothers and sisters, there is a mighty calling upon every one of our lives!
The Rest of The Story
On a cold, blustery day in February in the late 19th century, a young woman was hired by a very proper Victorian family to be a nanny. She was put in charge of a sickly, little two months premature infant who probably never really bonded with his mother who largely ignored him. The boy grew up kicking, screaming, hiding, bullying and defiantly yelling at his nanny that, before he would do his math lesson, he would “bow down and worship graven images!” His parents and other adults around him termed him “a monster.” Undaunted, this nanny, who was incidentally a carrier of the mystery, knew that the boy’s unruly behavior masked a hurting child, desperately longing for love and nurture.
The nanny began to discipline the unruly boy; she doctored his banged-up knees. She cradled his head when he was sick. She told him Bible stories. She taught him to pray. Although the married nanny bore no children of her own, she diligently carried the mystery into her daily work. She taught this monster-troubled-boy the principles of the Christian faith. He memorized passages of Scripture. Together they sang the hymns of the faith, talked of the heroes in the Bible and imagined aloud what Jesus might look like or what heaven would be like. As a devoted intercessor, the nanny prayed over the sleeping boy.
However, as a young man, this nanny’s boy immersed himself in anti-Christian rationalism. He became a journalist. On a trip to South Africa during the Boer Way, he was captured and landed in the stench of a South African prison. There in that prison he returned to the faith he had learned at his nanny’s knee, and, in a daring attempt, he escaped from prison and hopped a train to Portuguese East Africa. His actions made him a hero back in his home country, but more importantly, from that moment on, his faith, taught to him by his nanny, defined his life. He (the defiant bully) became a carrier of the mystery!
One writer described the nanny who carried the mystery and nurtured this boy in his solitary childhood and unhappy school days, “His nanny was his comforter, his strength and stay, his one source of unfailing human understanding, the fireside where he dried his tears and warmed his heart, the night-light by his bed, his security.” This nanny carried the mystery to the monster boy! A few years later the young man, now a maturing leader, addressed the world over the radio airwaves during the dark days of World War II. His voice was the voice of security to people everywhere—the light of Christ shining in a world threatened by unspeakable evil from Hitler and the Nazi’s. Because his nanny had taken seriously God’s call to be a carrier of the mystery, when it was time to lead the world, this monster-boy, Winston Churchill, stood ready with a strong, unyielding faith—a carrier of the mystery!
The nanny, Elizabeth Anne Everest’s influence on Churchill undoubtedly affected the future of every person in the Western world. Her words, the Scriptures she read to him, rang in his ears as he stood against Hitler’s evil. Behind this great man of vision and fortitude, lay the simple teachings of a devoted nanny, a carrier of the mystery who poured herself into the life and destiny of a little boy. She is a model for each of us as carriers of the mystery.
Churchill spoke these words in an address to a British school,
Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. . . Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these Islands, though we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer. . . Do not let us speak of darker days: let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days; these are great days—the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.
One nanny, Elizabeth Anne Everest, whose date of birth appears unknown, and who died in 1895 before she saw the fullness of the fruit in Winston Churchill’s life, choose to be a carrier of the mystery. She impacted the entire Western World! We, too, are carriers of this great mystery! It is time to stand up, to live out what God has called us to, to operate our lives in the power that God has placed within us. It is time to believe. It is time to be a people flowing with God-given faith, anointing, and power that the devil fears because we are living out the Holy Spirit’s mandate to be supernatural people in a fallen world—carriers of the mystery, seeing God’s purposes flow forth in each of our lives.
Conclusion
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. From everlasting to everlasting, You are God! Walk amidst us by Your Spirit, Lord. Let Your work appear to Your servants here. Let Your glory appear to each and every one of us and to our children and to our grandchildren. Let Your beauty, Lord our God, be upon us. We ask you to establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands as carriers of Your great mystery—Christ in us the hope of glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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