Friday, July 24, 2015

The Recovery of the Lord's Name In His People # 19

The Ground of His Presence and Power (continued)

The Lord Jesus always required such a basic reckoning didn't He? He never deceived anybody. When He called to discipleship and fellowship with himself He made it perfectly clear, you are in for a bad time, I tell you frankly. This way is going to be a very costly way don't you have any mistake about it, be quite clear on this. If a man is going to war, he sits down and counts up his resources, can I, can I, not only make a beginning, but go right through with it? Can I? Have I got resources to carry me through? A man is going to build a tower, he sits down, now have I the means not t lay a foundation or to make a beginning; but to complete this thing. Can I go through with it? In those ways the Lord Jesus was only saying what we are saying here now, Look here, you got to have a fundamental reckoning over this, this mind that was in Christ Jesus must be in you and you have got to settle something. This is a thing that has got to be settled.

It is a battle that seems to spring up again and again doesn't it? And yet, and yet something has got to be done about this. I do want to urge upon you my younger friends, that you are going to have a very difficult time, all hell is going to rage itself against you if you take a stand for the honor of the Name of the Lord. You will have a bad time, but you have got to reckon that. Is it worth it? Is that Name worth it, is that glory worth it? You have got to put the things in the balance and get that settled.

Paul, after the reckoning came the emptying. "He counted it not a prize to be grasped, to be on equality with God, but, emptied Himself." And although of course there is such a difference both in kind and degree, measure, between Christ and His servants. That is, we can never empty ourselves of that which He emptied Himself. We never had it, we have not got it, that is true. We have no glory that corresponds to His glory. Yet, although there is so great a difference between Him and ourselves, yet the principle is the same. There is, even with us, strange, thing, there is with us that which is our personal glory. Poor wretched things as we are and know ourselves to be, somehow or other it almost takes a lifetime to get us emptied of things which are in the Lord's way, to which we cling, which we do count a prize, which we do grasp, hold on to. "He emptied Himself." And if the principle were not the same with us as with Him, Paul would never say, "Let the same mind be in you." The kind may be different; ah, but the principle is the same, the Emptying.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 20)

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