The Recovery of the Lord's Name In His People # 27

A Peculiar Vessel For A Peculiar Purpose (continued)

Now, that is a true story. The Lord presented a simple test and he said, "Is it necessary?" Rather, anything, anything that the Lord wants, I am for that. He did what the apostle Paul said he did not do, confer with flesh and blood instead of being obedient to the heavenly vision. And how much hangs upon it. The Lord may present something. Yes, it may not be this form or that form, it may be a water test. John the Baptist applied the water test, did he not? At the Jordan, "Bring forth fruit meet for repentance," he said, "and say not within yourselves we have Abraham for our father." Here, here is the test, as to whether you mean business with God.

And so it comes, I cannot tell you all the ways. God has such a variety of ways, but the point is this dear friends: God is always looking on the hearts to see if we really do mean business. He knows the disposition and He is seeking for a company of people who are not going to be influenced by anything, anything at all, associations, connections or anything else, which would in any way stand between them and all that the Lord wants. Oh, it is a Test that is a very thorough going one, and how often people have come up face to face with an issue, an issue which the Lord might not have pressed right through, you see. He does not always do that, but do not make that back door way out, will you!

Sometimes He brings us face to face with something. He is not going to press that right through. He did it with Abraham and Isaac: "Take thy son and offer him." Tested it right up to the last minute, the last instant, the split second of a raised knife and its failing, right up to then and then did not allow him to go through with it. He found his disposition. There was a young man who had great riches and had come to the Lord Jesus confessing that he wanted to know about eternal life. The Lord Jesus said, "Well, go sell all that thou hast and give to the poor and come, follow Me." I am not sure that the Lord would have required the carrying out of that utterly, but He was testing Disposition. We do not know how much time or space there is between the two things, the actual demand and its fulfillment. But it is just in that narrow space where we come to the point, that split second s to speak, where if the Lord dos not show otherwise, it is going through. The Lord wants to know whether we mean business with Him or not.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 28)