"Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known" (Psalm 77:19)
I have seen the Sea of Galilee on which the Lord Jesus walked, but you cannot see His footsteps. When a boat goes through the ocean, it doesn't leave a trail does it? When a wagon goes across land, it leaves a trail, but a boat doesn't.
In today's passage in Psalms, God is saying that we will never know Him by studying history - by simply studying what he has done. His ways are mysterious. You can try to make sense of God with all your ingenuity, creativity, and intelligence, but God says we will never know Him that way.
We have to lay our intellect in the dust and say to God, "Show me the way, cause me to fall in love with You all over again."
When was the last time you wrote a love letter? When was the last time you received one? Spend some time today and write a love letter to the Lord.
~Adrian Rogers~
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"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day" (Deuteronomy 11:26-27).
God is setting before you this day a blessing and a curse. What determines whether you receive the blessing? If you obey. What determines whether or not you are going to receive the curse? If you disobey.
There are six blessings God wants to give you today in exchange for you obedience: plenty (Isaiah 1:19-20), peace (Jeremiah 26:13), protection (Exodus 23:22), power (Acts 5:32), purity (1 Peter 1:22), and perception (Psalm 119:100).
Do you want Jesus to be real to you so that He's not just someone that you know or read about? Maybe you want to do more than "pray" to Him, you want to talk to Him, and you want to relate to Him.
Read John 14:25. What does Jesus say is a result of your love for Him? And what does God promise He will do as a result of your action?
~Adrian Rogers~
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Abiding Meaning of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-36; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 16:28; Acts 2:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25
Acts is preeminently a book of principles; and it is just here we so often go wrong in looking for the repetition of the form by which those principles were expressed; forms of expression change, but the principles abide.
Though the Lord may do a fresh thing, He will not necessarily use the same form, but He will do it on the same principles; these principles are eternal, changeless; they abide for ever.
We are so often wanting a repetition of Pentecost in the form it took then, of manifestations and demonstrations on the outside. The Lord will do a new thing; and things basic to His activity then will be basic to His activity always. Principles, and not forms, are the things for which we are to look.
The basis of everything at Pentecost centered in and related to one thing, the enthronement of the Lord Jesus in heaven in the full virtue of His universal triumph. So far His universal triumph has not reached its full end: "Sit Thou on My right hand, until ...". (Psalm 110:1). He sits there in virtue of His universal triumph; and that triumph in this age is working out to its full issue, "until ..."
First Corinthians 15:25, 26 and 57: "For He must reign, till He hath put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." "But thanks be to God, Who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." He must reign until - His reign has now begun!
Everything that took place at Pentecost centered in that and related to that enthronement of the Son of Man.
Acts 2:22, 32-36: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God ... this Jesus did God raise up ... being therefore by the right hand o God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear ... let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified." That is the center, pivot and heart of all that took place at Pentecost.
Too often our attitude suggests that the Lord Jesus is hardly equal to the situation, and that principalities and powers, and the devil have the dominion and authority, or that it is a very big fight with an almost doubtful issue!
Pentecost represents the beginning of the heavenly sovereignty of the Lord Jesus, and some of them saw the Son of Man coming into His kingdom ere they tasted of death. Jesus said unto them, "Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 9:1).
Pentecost presents a crisis and a climax, connected with which are quite a number of things. In Acts 2 see the different connections with the Old Testament Scriptures and the climax to them; link Acts 2 with Ephesians 3:9-11. "To make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God ... to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord".
Let us trace the connection and the climaxes: 1. As to the Old Testament Scriptures; 2. As to the Lord's Person and work; 3. As to the training and preparing of His instrument - the Church.
First, the climax in relation to the Old Testament. Notice how it is taken up in this record in Acts 2, and read Luke 24:26, 27, 44: "Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ... and He said unto them, "These are My words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, concerning Me".
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 2 - "Pentecost Linked with all the Old Testament Scriptures")
Acts is preeminently a book of principles; and it is just here we so often go wrong in looking for the repetition of the form by which those principles were expressed; forms of expression change, but the principles abide.
Though the Lord may do a fresh thing, He will not necessarily use the same form, but He will do it on the same principles; these principles are eternal, changeless; they abide for ever.
We are so often wanting a repetition of Pentecost in the form it took then, of manifestations and demonstrations on the outside. The Lord will do a new thing; and things basic to His activity then will be basic to His activity always. Principles, and not forms, are the things for which we are to look.
The basis of everything at Pentecost centered in and related to one thing, the enthronement of the Lord Jesus in heaven in the full virtue of His universal triumph. So far His universal triumph has not reached its full end: "Sit Thou on My right hand, until ...". (Psalm 110:1). He sits there in virtue of His universal triumph; and that triumph in this age is working out to its full issue, "until ..."
First Corinthians 15:25, 26 and 57: "For He must reign, till He hath put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." "But thanks be to God, Who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." He must reign until - His reign has now begun!
Everything that took place at Pentecost centered in that and related to that enthronement of the Son of Man.
Acts 2:22, 32-36: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God ... this Jesus did God raise up ... being therefore by the right hand o God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear ... let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified." That is the center, pivot and heart of all that took place at Pentecost.
Too often our attitude suggests that the Lord Jesus is hardly equal to the situation, and that principalities and powers, and the devil have the dominion and authority, or that it is a very big fight with an almost doubtful issue!
Pentecost represents the beginning of the heavenly sovereignty of the Lord Jesus, and some of them saw the Son of Man coming into His kingdom ere they tasted of death. Jesus said unto them, "Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 9:1).
Pentecost presents a crisis and a climax, connected with which are quite a number of things. In Acts 2 see the different connections with the Old Testament Scriptures and the climax to them; link Acts 2 with Ephesians 3:9-11. "To make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God ... to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord".
Let us trace the connection and the climaxes: 1. As to the Old Testament Scriptures; 2. As to the Lord's Person and work; 3. As to the training and preparing of His instrument - the Church.
First, the climax in relation to the Old Testament. Notice how it is taken up in this record in Acts 2, and read Luke 24:26, 27, 44: "Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ... and He said unto them, "These are My words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, concerning Me".
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 2 - "Pentecost Linked with all the Old Testament Scriptures")
The Blood of Christ
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)
Christian doctrine features several terms that are essential in comprehending the importance of the blood of Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary:
Redemption: Believers have been redeemed and forgiven. Our salvation has been purchased through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God who died for our sins and took upon Himself our guilt and penalty for those sins (Ephesians 1:7).
Justification: God has justified us, or declared us not guilty, because by the gift of faith we have accepted Christ as Saviour. He also has declared us righteous in His sight, applying the righteousness of Christ to our accounts (Romans 5:9, 17).
Reconciliation: Jesus' blood makes it possible for God to bring us back into a right relationship with Him. The Bible says we were enemies of God until we accepted Christ. Christ's blood is the bridge, the peace offering, that reconciles us to God (Colossians 1:19-22).
Sanctification: Sanctification is God's cleansing and setting us apart unto Himself for His purposes and His will. He sanctified us when we were saved, and He continues to sanctify us to make us clean vessels properly prepared for His good works (Hebrews 12:14).
Access: Finally, we would not have access to God's throne of grace without the shedding of Christ's blood. The reason we can cry out and be heart by God is Christ's sacrificial death.
Praise the Lord for the glory of the blood (Hebrews 10:19).
Heavenly Father, thank You that I am redeemed, justified, reconciled, sanctified, and that through the blood, I have access to You. Amen
~Charles Stanley~
Christian doctrine features several terms that are essential in comprehending the importance of the blood of Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary:
Redemption: Believers have been redeemed and forgiven. Our salvation has been purchased through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God who died for our sins and took upon Himself our guilt and penalty for those sins (Ephesians 1:7).
Justification: God has justified us, or declared us not guilty, because by the gift of faith we have accepted Christ as Saviour. He also has declared us righteous in His sight, applying the righteousness of Christ to our accounts (Romans 5:9, 17).
Reconciliation: Jesus' blood makes it possible for God to bring us back into a right relationship with Him. The Bible says we were enemies of God until we accepted Christ. Christ's blood is the bridge, the peace offering, that reconciles us to God (Colossians 1:19-22).
Sanctification: Sanctification is God's cleansing and setting us apart unto Himself for His purposes and His will. He sanctified us when we were saved, and He continues to sanctify us to make us clean vessels properly prepared for His good works (Hebrews 12:14).
Access: Finally, we would not have access to God's throne of grace without the shedding of Christ's blood. The reason we can cry out and be heart by God is Christ's sacrificial death.
Praise the Lord for the glory of the blood (Hebrews 10:19).
Heavenly Father, thank You that I am redeemed, justified, reconciled, sanctified, and that through the blood, I have access to You. Amen
~Charles Stanley~
Monday, September 17, 2012
God's Spiritual House # 35
I simply draw from Ephesians this. When the Apostle has told us of all the armor that we are to put on in this spiritual warfare against the wiles of the devil, he says, Now above all take the shield of faith. Our English language is poor in expressing what Paul said. Paul did not say "above all" in the sense in which we should mean it. He said, Now over all take the big shield of faith. As you know, the Roman legions had more than one kind of shield. They had the little round shield, which was only for the protection of the face and head against arrows and darts. But then they had the big shield, which could shield them completely, and often an army marched into battle with it over them. As they put the big shields side by side, it was like forming a solid mail roof. They marched under it, the big shield being over everything, covering everything.
All else requires this one thing. All else may yield, prove insufficient. With everything, over and above everything - faith! It requires the militant faith of the Church to bring about here what Christ has brought about in Heaven, namely, the overthrow of the evil one. It is by faith now that satan is overthrown, so far as the Church is concerned, and so far as things here are concerned. But of course, out faith is not in something which is going to be, it is in something which already is, namely, Christ's victory.
Present Testimony to the Coming Day of Glory
Now I come to the last thing, which has not been mentioned. The final feature of this spiritual house, which comes up with the passages we have read, is that the spiritual house, the Church, is here in the light of the coming day of the fullness of Glory, to stand in the light of that, to receive upon itself the light of that, and to reflect the light of that day is coming.
In Ezekiel's Temple, you notice how we read that, after all those goings in and out and round about and through and up and down, at last the man led him by the way of the gate which is toward the east and toward the glory. The east is the sunrise, the new day, and it is by that way that the fullness of the glory comes in. The house, you see, stands right in the way of the coming glory. It is there with its face toward the sunrise, toward the glory. That is the type in Ezekiel, but we have many other passages.
"We should be unto the praise of his glory". That is the Church in Ephesians. But there is this passage in Hebrews 10:37-38; 11:1. Here, you see, is a standing by faith in the light of that glorious hope, that blessed hope, and knowing in the heart the assurance of that unseen glory. We are here as the Lord's house to be a present testimony to the coming day of glory. But that is not testimony in word, in doctrine; it is to be in life, in reality. We have to apprehend the day of the Lord in a spiritual way.
I used to study prophecy a good deal, and the Book of the Revelation had a very prominent place in it. But the more I studied it, the more confused I got, the more difficulties I found. It did not get me through very far to glory. But then the Lord gave me a clue, and showed me the spiritual principles lying behind the Book of the Revelation, and I was able to apprehend that book in a spiritual way. I do not mean that I spiritualized everything, but I was able to apprehend it in a spiritual way. The cloud was lifted and there was life.
Take the matter of the coming of the Lord, and, of course, that is the coming of the Lord in glory, when He shall come in the clouds of glory, when He shall come to be glorified in His saints - the coming in by the east of the glory of the Lord. Have you noticed that in any time in the dispensation, when spiritual people have been gathered together, and in their gathering together have been speaking or singing of the coming of the Lord, how spontaneously the glory of the coming of the Lord, how spontaneously the glory rises and comes in? Have you noticed that? We have lived long enough, most of us, to know many people who believed fervently and said with emphasis that the Lord was coming in their lifetime and they would be raptured, and they have been in their graves for years. That is enough to turn you away from the whole subject and say, We have heard that before! It is enough to put you among those scoffers of whom Peter writes, who say, "Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (2 Peter 3:4).
You may take that attitude, if you like; but it is in spite of all that that, when you contemplate the coming of the Lord, something gets the better of your mentality, your arguments, and all that bad history, and you find the glory rising. It is so, in spite of it all. Why is it? It was so at the beginning of the Church dispensation, and it has been so in every age; yet the Holy Spirit knew at the beginning that the Lord's coming would not be for a couple of thousand years, at any rate. But nevertheless there has been this spontaneous breaking out of real joy and glory at any moment when spiritual people have been dwelling upon the coming of the Lord. Why is it?
Because the Holy Spirit does not live in time at all. He does not belong to time. The Holy Spirit is outside of time and He already has the end with Him and He is the Spirit of the end, and when we really get into the Spirit we are in the Holy Spirit's end. If we dwell in the mind - oh, this reasoning line of things! - out of the Spirit, there is no joy. But when we let go and we are in the Spirit, we find ourselves with the Holy Spirit right at the end. We are outside of time, we are in the glory already in foreshadowing. The Holy Spirit is timeless and you get outside of time and you have everything; you have your finality, your fullness. Thus when John was in the Spirit in the isle of Patmos, he got right through to the end of things very quickly, the thing which we in time have not reached yet. That is what I mean by apprehending this matter spiritually. Beware of apprehending prophecy as a mental thing. The Holy Spirit in you in a living way will bring you into the good of things. Thus by the Spirit today we should stand with the light of the glorious fullness of the day of the Lord.
What is the end to which God has been working right through the centuries, the one thing upon which His heart is set, in which He has His satisfaction, His glory, His praise, His fullness, and the Holy Spirit is always there to make good something of that when we dwell upon it. He is there to be to us, "the earnest of our inheritance," and to make us know it is a matter of faith, after all.
"Yet a very little while, he that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry. But my righteous one shall live by faith."
The Lord then strengthen our faith and keep our hearts in faith. Amen
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(the end)
All else requires this one thing. All else may yield, prove insufficient. With everything, over and above everything - faith! It requires the militant faith of the Church to bring about here what Christ has brought about in Heaven, namely, the overthrow of the evil one. It is by faith now that satan is overthrown, so far as the Church is concerned, and so far as things here are concerned. But of course, out faith is not in something which is going to be, it is in something which already is, namely, Christ's victory.
Present Testimony to the Coming Day of Glory
Now I come to the last thing, which has not been mentioned. The final feature of this spiritual house, which comes up with the passages we have read, is that the spiritual house, the Church, is here in the light of the coming day of the fullness of Glory, to stand in the light of that, to receive upon itself the light of that, and to reflect the light of that day is coming.
In Ezekiel's Temple, you notice how we read that, after all those goings in and out and round about and through and up and down, at last the man led him by the way of the gate which is toward the east and toward the glory. The east is the sunrise, the new day, and it is by that way that the fullness of the glory comes in. The house, you see, stands right in the way of the coming glory. It is there with its face toward the sunrise, toward the glory. That is the type in Ezekiel, but we have many other passages.
"We should be unto the praise of his glory". That is the Church in Ephesians. But there is this passage in Hebrews 10:37-38; 11:1. Here, you see, is a standing by faith in the light of that glorious hope, that blessed hope, and knowing in the heart the assurance of that unseen glory. We are here as the Lord's house to be a present testimony to the coming day of glory. But that is not testimony in word, in doctrine; it is to be in life, in reality. We have to apprehend the day of the Lord in a spiritual way.
I used to study prophecy a good deal, and the Book of the Revelation had a very prominent place in it. But the more I studied it, the more confused I got, the more difficulties I found. It did not get me through very far to glory. But then the Lord gave me a clue, and showed me the spiritual principles lying behind the Book of the Revelation, and I was able to apprehend that book in a spiritual way. I do not mean that I spiritualized everything, but I was able to apprehend it in a spiritual way. The cloud was lifted and there was life.
Take the matter of the coming of the Lord, and, of course, that is the coming of the Lord in glory, when He shall come in the clouds of glory, when He shall come to be glorified in His saints - the coming in by the east of the glory of the Lord. Have you noticed that in any time in the dispensation, when spiritual people have been gathered together, and in their gathering together have been speaking or singing of the coming of the Lord, how spontaneously the glory of the coming of the Lord, how spontaneously the glory rises and comes in? Have you noticed that? We have lived long enough, most of us, to know many people who believed fervently and said with emphasis that the Lord was coming in their lifetime and they would be raptured, and they have been in their graves for years. That is enough to turn you away from the whole subject and say, We have heard that before! It is enough to put you among those scoffers of whom Peter writes, who say, "Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (2 Peter 3:4).
You may take that attitude, if you like; but it is in spite of all that that, when you contemplate the coming of the Lord, something gets the better of your mentality, your arguments, and all that bad history, and you find the glory rising. It is so, in spite of it all. Why is it? It was so at the beginning of the Church dispensation, and it has been so in every age; yet the Holy Spirit knew at the beginning that the Lord's coming would not be for a couple of thousand years, at any rate. But nevertheless there has been this spontaneous breaking out of real joy and glory at any moment when spiritual people have been dwelling upon the coming of the Lord. Why is it?
Because the Holy Spirit does not live in time at all. He does not belong to time. The Holy Spirit is outside of time and He already has the end with Him and He is the Spirit of the end, and when we really get into the Spirit we are in the Holy Spirit's end. If we dwell in the mind - oh, this reasoning line of things! - out of the Spirit, there is no joy. But when we let go and we are in the Spirit, we find ourselves with the Holy Spirit right at the end. We are outside of time, we are in the glory already in foreshadowing. The Holy Spirit is timeless and you get outside of time and you have everything; you have your finality, your fullness. Thus when John was in the Spirit in the isle of Patmos, he got right through to the end of things very quickly, the thing which we in time have not reached yet. That is what I mean by apprehending this matter spiritually. Beware of apprehending prophecy as a mental thing. The Holy Spirit in you in a living way will bring you into the good of things. Thus by the Spirit today we should stand with the light of the glorious fullness of the day of the Lord.
What is the end to which God has been working right through the centuries, the one thing upon which His heart is set, in which He has His satisfaction, His glory, His praise, His fullness, and the Holy Spirit is always there to make good something of that when we dwell upon it. He is there to be to us, "the earnest of our inheritance," and to make us know it is a matter of faith, after all.
"Yet a very little while, he that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry. But my righteous one shall live by faith."
The Lord then strengthen our faith and keep our hearts in faith. Amen
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(the end)
The Holiness of God
"Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me. Sanctify them. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:11, 17, 19)
Christ ever liveth to pray this great prayer. Expect and appropriate God's answer.
Hear the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians: "Night and day praying exceedingly that the Lord may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God" (3:10-13).
"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (5:23).
"Who also will do it" (5:24).
Ponder deeply these words as you read them and use them as a prayer to God: "Blessed Lord, strengthen my heart to be unblameable in holiness. God Himself sanctify me wholly, God is faithful, who also will do it."
What a privilege to commune with God in secret to speak these words in prayer, and then to wait upon Him until through the working of the Spirit, they live in our hearts, and we begin to know something of the holiness of God.
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints" (1 Cor. 1:2).
God's holiness has been revealed in the Old Testament. In the New, we find the holiness of God's people in Christ through the sanctification of the Spirit. Oh that we understood the blessedness of saying: "Be ye holy, for I am holy".
"With you, O my children, as with Me, holiness should be the chief thing." For this purpose the Thrice Holy One has revealed Himself to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us use the word "holy" with great reverence of God and then, with holy desire for ourselves. Worship the God who says: "I am the Lord which hallow you."
~Andrew Murray~
Christ ever liveth to pray this great prayer. Expect and appropriate God's answer.
Hear the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians: "Night and day praying exceedingly that the Lord may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God" (3:10-13).
"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (5:23).
"Who also will do it" (5:24).
Ponder deeply these words as you read them and use them as a prayer to God: "Blessed Lord, strengthen my heart to be unblameable in holiness. God Himself sanctify me wholly, God is faithful, who also will do it."
What a privilege to commune with God in secret to speak these words in prayer, and then to wait upon Him until through the working of the Spirit, they live in our hearts, and we begin to know something of the holiness of God.
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints" (1 Cor. 1:2).
God's holiness has been revealed in the Old Testament. In the New, we find the holiness of God's people in Christ through the sanctification of the Spirit. Oh that we understood the blessedness of saying: "Be ye holy, for I am holy".
"With you, O my children, as with Me, holiness should be the chief thing." For this purpose the Thrice Holy One has revealed Himself to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us use the word "holy" with great reverence of God and then, with holy desire for ourselves. Worship the God who says: "I am the Lord which hallow you."
~Andrew Murray~
Sunday, September 16, 2012
God's Spiritual House # 34
Ministering to the Life of Others
Then the third thing we spoke about was that the Church is here as a spiritual house for the purpose of ministering to the life of others, of the Lord's people, and here the same principle holds good. It is such a good idea, it is such a fine thought: ministering to the life of others, that is splendid! If only that can be, well, it is a great thing to minister to the life of others, and the very suggestion makes us rise up and feel better. But you remember what the Apostle Paul said: "Death worketh in us, but life in you (2 Corinthians 4:12). You see, it is Gideon's fleece all over again, wrung out, dried, and all around wet, and our ministering to the life of others is like that very often. We are just as dry as dry bones, wrung out. We are not conscious of being full of life and ministering life to others, and yet it is often just then that others do receive something, and that is to the glory of God. Oh, we said, we never thought there could be any blessing in it! Well, the Lord was not letting our flesh glory in the giving of life to others, but they were getting it.
You see, it is again a matter of faith. Do not think that this ministering to the life of others is always going to be something of which we are conscious, that we are just full and overflowing with life, and people are getting it. I think more often than not it is the other way round. For us it is a grim holding on to God in faith and others are getting the blessing and we are amazed. It can be so. Have faith then; fulfill your ministry in faith. "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6).
A Local Corporate Representation of Christ
Then our fourth feature of the spiritual house was that it is here to be a local corporate representation of the Lord Jesus. We meditated upon that word of His, "Were two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20), and dwelt upon it as a statement pointing on to the great truth of the Body of Christ, that, wherever there are two or three members of His Body, that is a representation and expression of Christ in that place.
But I again see that so often this is only made good by faith "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst" - but faith has to rise up very strongly and very deliberately and lay hold of that. You see, you may be two or three gathered somewhere, but there may be nothing whatever of an expression and manifestation of the presence of Christ. You have to come together in faith. You have to stand together in faith. You have to put your feet squarely upon His assurance and declare yourself as resting upon that assurance, and as we take hold of the truth that where the Body of the Lord is, it is then that the thing becomes a reality. We do not make it a reality by faith, but we bring out the reality by faith. The Lord looks for a definite standing upon these things and an assertion of faith. We are here; yes, but we are not here just as two or three gathered in the name of Jesus in a passive way. There will be no expression of the Lord's presence when things are like that. We come together in faith and we stand in faith that there is going to be an expression of the Lord by our very being here; and, unless we come together like that, it will be but a congregation, a service, a coming and going.
When we come together in a living way with a living faith, it is not an address we have come to listen to, but we have come definitely to meet with the Lord, and the Lord has assured us hat, as we are gathered together in His name, we shall meet Him. If that is our spirit, our attitude, there will be something of a living expression of the Lord. Faith is a great factor in the matter of corporate life to make its values real. I cannot go further than that.
Testimony to the Overthrow of satan
The fifth feature was that this spiritual house is here to testify in a living way to the overthrow of satan. Well, that is a fact; satan has been overthrown by Christ. So far as the Lord Jesus is concerned, and on the day of Pentecost there were no difficulty in their believing it, enjoying it and proclaiming it. Bu they lived to see other days when it was not just like that. They lived to see days when it seemed that satan was anything but overthrown, anything but disposed. They saw him apparently doing just s he wanted to do, having it all his own way. They saw him bringing to death their fellow-believers and colleagues in ministry. They saw the ravages of the devil on the right hand and on the left. Does this mean that the thing they once said so strongly and with such conviction is no longer true and they were mistaken even then? Not at all! This matter has to become a matter of the faith of the Lord's people. The overthrow of satan, so far as this world is concerned, is a matter of the militant faith of the Church.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 35)
Then the third thing we spoke about was that the Church is here as a spiritual house for the purpose of ministering to the life of others, of the Lord's people, and here the same principle holds good. It is such a good idea, it is such a fine thought: ministering to the life of others, that is splendid! If only that can be, well, it is a great thing to minister to the life of others, and the very suggestion makes us rise up and feel better. But you remember what the Apostle Paul said: "Death worketh in us, but life in you (2 Corinthians 4:12). You see, it is Gideon's fleece all over again, wrung out, dried, and all around wet, and our ministering to the life of others is like that very often. We are just as dry as dry bones, wrung out. We are not conscious of being full of life and ministering life to others, and yet it is often just then that others do receive something, and that is to the glory of God. Oh, we said, we never thought there could be any blessing in it! Well, the Lord was not letting our flesh glory in the giving of life to others, but they were getting it.
You see, it is again a matter of faith. Do not think that this ministering to the life of others is always going to be something of which we are conscious, that we are just full and overflowing with life, and people are getting it. I think more often than not it is the other way round. For us it is a grim holding on to God in faith and others are getting the blessing and we are amazed. It can be so. Have faith then; fulfill your ministry in faith. "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6).
A Local Corporate Representation of Christ
Then our fourth feature of the spiritual house was that it is here to be a local corporate representation of the Lord Jesus. We meditated upon that word of His, "Were two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20), and dwelt upon it as a statement pointing on to the great truth of the Body of Christ, that, wherever there are two or three members of His Body, that is a representation and expression of Christ in that place.
But I again see that so often this is only made good by faith "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst" - but faith has to rise up very strongly and very deliberately and lay hold of that. You see, you may be two or three gathered somewhere, but there may be nothing whatever of an expression and manifestation of the presence of Christ. You have to come together in faith. You have to stand together in faith. You have to put your feet squarely upon His assurance and declare yourself as resting upon that assurance, and as we take hold of the truth that where the Body of the Lord is, it is then that the thing becomes a reality. We do not make it a reality by faith, but we bring out the reality by faith. The Lord looks for a definite standing upon these things and an assertion of faith. We are here; yes, but we are not here just as two or three gathered in the name of Jesus in a passive way. There will be no expression of the Lord's presence when things are like that. We come together in faith and we stand in faith that there is going to be an expression of the Lord by our very being here; and, unless we come together like that, it will be but a congregation, a service, a coming and going.
When we come together in a living way with a living faith, it is not an address we have come to listen to, but we have come definitely to meet with the Lord, and the Lord has assured us hat, as we are gathered together in His name, we shall meet Him. If that is our spirit, our attitude, there will be something of a living expression of the Lord. Faith is a great factor in the matter of corporate life to make its values real. I cannot go further than that.
Testimony to the Overthrow of satan
The fifth feature was that this spiritual house is here to testify in a living way to the overthrow of satan. Well, that is a fact; satan has been overthrown by Christ. So far as the Lord Jesus is concerned, and on the day of Pentecost there were no difficulty in their believing it, enjoying it and proclaiming it. Bu they lived to see other days when it was not just like that. They lived to see days when it seemed that satan was anything but overthrown, anything but disposed. They saw him apparently doing just s he wanted to do, having it all his own way. They saw him bringing to death their fellow-believers and colleagues in ministry. They saw the ravages of the devil on the right hand and on the left. Does this mean that the thing they once said so strongly and with such conviction is no longer true and they were mistaken even then? Not at all! This matter has to become a matter of the faith of the Lord's people. The overthrow of satan, so far as this world is concerned, is a matter of the militant faith of the Church.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 35)
Helpful or Heartless Toward Others?
"It is Christ ... who also makes intercession for us ... the Spirit ... makes intercession for the saints ..." (Romans 8:34, 27)
Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors - that Christ "always lives to make intercession" (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit "makes intercession for the saints"? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look as our current circumstances. Do crises affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained though the work of intercession, where God works miracles.
Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming to burdened with people and problems that we don't worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief t our Lord.
Ar you lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?
~Oswald Chambers~
Do we need any more arguments than these to become intercessors - that Christ "always lives to make intercession" (Hebrews 7:25), and that the Holy Spirit "makes intercession for the saints"? Are we living in such a relationship with others that we do the work of intercession as a result of being the children of God who are taught by His Spirit? We should take a look as our current circumstances. Do crises affect us or others in our home, business, country, or elsewhere, seem to be crushing in on us? Are we being pushed out of the presence of God and left with no time for worship? If so, we must put a stop to such distractions and get into such a living relationship with God that our relationship with others is maintained though the work of intercession, where God works miracles.
Beware of getting ahead of God by your very desire to do His will. We run ahead of Him in a thousand and one activities, becoming to burdened with people and problems that we don't worship God, and we fail to intercede. If a burden and its resulting pressure come upon us while we are not in an attitude of worship, it will only produce a hardness toward God and despair in our own souls. God continually introduces us to people in whom we have no interest, and unless we are worshiping God the natural tendency is to be heartless toward them. We give them a quick verse of Scripture, like jabbing them with a spear, or leave them with a hurried uncaring word of counsel before we go. A heartless Christian must be a terrible grief t our Lord.
Ar you lives in the proper place so that we may participate in the intercession of our Lord and the Holy Spirit?
~Oswald Chambers~
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