No Condemnation

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment [or condemnation], but has passed from death into life.” - John 5:24

Although there is a huge difference between conviction and condemnation, they seem to be interchangeable in the Christian life at times. When Christians are convicted, often this leads them into feeling condemned. The thoughts and feelings associated with the word convicted suddenly become closely defined to the words "convict or a prisoner". When convicted, we act as if God wants us to wear prison clothes, eat prison food and wake up behind prison doors to remind us of how we have fallen short. God does not want that for us. Neither word: condemned nor convicted, applies to the believer negatively.

The Bible defines these words differently. Condemnation has to do with who  you are, either in Christ or not. Conviction has to do with what you do, to bring you closer to Christ. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if His blood does not cover your sins, you are condemned. You have not passed over from death to life and you remain in your sins. However, if you are a Christian, you will never be condemned because Jesus has given you eternal life. Thoughts of condemnation are not from the Lord, not ever. Condemnation is about your spiritual state for eternity, not your daily thoughts or actions.

For the Christian, there is a clear distinction between conviction and condemnation. Conviction leads us closer to Christ as we confess and repent to Him. Condemnation makes us feel as if we cannot come to God as we concentrate on our own shortcomings. Condemnation is a tactic of the enemy. Pray that you do not fall prey to his lies. Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

If you know Jesus, He is for you. He is always on your side and He wants you to succeed at everything you do. Stay on His team by thinking His thoughts about you. Work with Him to change. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ because He has come to give you life in abundance.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~

What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 54

The Victory of the Cross of Christ (continued)

In Revelation 13:1-8, the Lord is telling those of us who desire to be overcomers that the dragon, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, has given the beast, whose name is "blasphemy," the power "to make war with the saints, and to overcome them." This does not have reference to our salvation, for those whose names are in the Lamb's book of Life have eternal life. However, as we have calculated the number of this name of this blasphemous beast throughout the Word, we have seen that a Christian can be overcome when he allows his natural man to rule in his life. We have seen that when we, as Christians, allow the strength of our natural man to govern our lives, we give the devil the ground he needs to further his antichrist activities. "If anyone has an ear (a spiritual ear), let him hear." We are not to be overcome, we are to be overcomers!

The Word of God makes it clear that those redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb are to be overcomers, they are not to be overcome by satan and his antichrist tactics.

"And they overcame him [that old serpent, called the devil, and satan], because of the Blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death" (Revelation 12:11).

"And I saw ... them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand ... and sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb ..." (Revelation 15:2, 3).

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded because of the witness [the testimony] of Jesus, and because of the Word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4).

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be His God, and he shall be My Son" (Revelation 21:7).

So it is clear that we are supposed to be overcomers, and the key to our being, and continuing to be, overcomers is in the words which follow the Holy Spirit's declaration of satan's doom: "Here is the patience [the endurance] and the faith of the saints" (Revelation 13:10). And these  words lead us again to Revelation 1:9, where John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is writing these words to us: "I, John, your brother and companion - sharer and participator - with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patient endurance [which are] in Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9).

So in Revelation 13:10, we have "the patience [the endurance] and "the faith" of the saints; and in Revelation 1:9, we have "the tribulation" and "the kingdom" and "the patience" which are in Jesus. We have long contemplated these inspired words: I am your brother and companion in the Tribulation, in the Kingdom, and in the Patience which are in Jesus. We know that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, 14), but what  does it mean when the Word speaks of The Tribulation, The Kingdom and The Patience (Endurance) which are in Jesus?

Throughout the Word, the Holy Spirit intertwines "the patience" and "the faith" of the saints, with "the tribulation" and "the Kingdom" and "the Patience" which are in Jesus. In Acts 14:22, we are exhorted "to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God." Romans 8:17 declares that we are joint-heirs with Christ, "if we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him". First Peter 4:13 tells us: "but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing". Second Timothy 2:12 clearly states, "If we endure (with Him is implied), we shall also reign with Him". However, in order to find the fullest meaning of the statement made to the overcomers in Revelation 13:10, "Here is the patience [the endurance] and the faith of the saints," we have to consider Hebrews 12:1 and 2 -

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 55)

The King Comes Wherever We Are

These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work (1 Chron. 4:23).

Anywhere and everywhere we may dwell "with the king for his work." We may be in a very unlikely and unfavorable place for this; it may be in a literal country life, with little enough to be seen of the "goings" of the King around us; it may be among the hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; it may be furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of pottery for our daily task.

No matter! The King who placed us "there" will come and dwell there with us; the hedges are right, or He would soon do away with them. And it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way may not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, that is just exactly what He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it is, for the present, "His work."
--Frances Ridley Havergal

Go back to thy garden-plot, sweetheart!
Go back till the evening falls,
And bind thy lilies and train thy vines,
Till for thee the Master calls.

Go make thy garden fair as thou canst,
Thou workest never alone;
Perhaps he whose plot is next to thine
Will see it and mend his own.

The colored sunsets and starry heavens, the beautiful mountains and the shining seas, the fragrant woods and painted flowers, are not half so beautiful as a soul that is serving Jesus out of love, in the wear and tear of common, unpoetic life.
--Faber

The most saintly spirits are often existing in those who have never distinguished themselves as authors, or left any memorial of themselves to be the theme of the world's talk; but who have led an interior angelic life, having borne their sweet blossoms unseen like the young lily in a sequestered vale on the bank of a limpid stream.

~L. B. Cowman~

What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 53

"The Victory of the Cross of Christ"

Hannah's and Samuel's and David's weapons of warfare were not carnal, but they were mighty through God to the pulling down and destruction of strongholds - the strongholds of evil (2 Cor. 10:4). In the battle between David and Goliath, David did not move in his own strength and confidence; he did not wear the armor of Saul, which represented the corporate strength of the natural man, for this only made this uncircumcised giant stronger. No! David ran to meet this uncircumcised giant in the Name of the Lord, he ran to meet this giant not in his own strength, but in the strength of his Lord; thus, David slew the giant and took off the giant's head with the giant's own sword.

When David took off the head of this uncircumcised giant, the Philistines suffered a defeat from which they never fully recovered. But most important of all, satan lost the ground he had gained because David, moving in full dependence in his Lord, struck a death blow to the strength of the natural man. The Word of God says: "Now there was long war between the house of Saul (the strength of the natural man) and the house of David (the spiritual man); but David waxed (grew steadily) stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed (grew continually) weaker and weaker" (2 Samuel 3:1).

David's battle with the Philistines was not entirely finished when the giant was slain, but as David continued to allow the Lord to have His Way in his life- the way of the Cross - David's spiritual man steadily became stronger. As David's spiritual man became stronger, Saul, who represents the corporate strength of the natural man, became continually weaker and weaker. Therefore the place, the ground, that satan had gained when Saul was made king became smaller and smaller. But God is not willing to allow satan to have even a small place in His people's heart, because in His New Creation in Christ Jesus, Christ is all, and in all, and satan has no place at all.

Therefore, God continues to use the faithful in David's age, and in every age, to drive out the Philistines, to drive out that which is of the antichrist, from His people's inheritance. God is not willing that the enemy have one inch of ground! And in 2 Samuel 23:11 and 12, where we find the Holy Spirit's record of David's mighty men, we are told that the Philistines "were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles." And Shammah, who was one of David's mighty men, "stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory!"

God will not allow the enemy to have even a lentil patch, no! not even the smallest piece of ground, because there is no place for satan in the New Creation in which Christ is All, and in All. God has already prepared a place for satan and his evil host (Matt. 25:41); hence, in Revelation 13:10, we find these words: "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword." These two statements are Hebrews idioms for destiny, a destiny that cannot be escaped. And by carefully leaving these two idioms in the context of Revelation thirteen, we find the Holy Spirit is declaring that God-Ordained destiny of the beast - the destiny that was sealed through the Victory of the Cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit is declaring the God-Ordained destiny of every antichrist evil that satan has ever instigated, or ever will instigate. According to the Word of God, the final destiny of the beast, of that which is antichrist, is the same as the dragon's, that ancient serpent, called the devil, and satan: - "The lake of fire" is their God-Ordained end! (Revelation 20:10). It is the victory of the Cross that overcomes every antichrist evil that satan has ever instigated, or ever will instigate - The Lamb is in the midst of the Throne and He bears the wounds of the Cross in His Glorified Body - "And the Lamb shall overcome them [all that is antichrist]: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

Nevertheless, even though the doom of satan and all his works is sealed, we must realize that the warfare that began when satan fell (Isa. 14:12-15) will continue until "that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan," is cast into the lake of fire. This is why the Holy Spirit's declaration of satan's doom is prefaced and concluded with both a warning, and a challenge, to the overcomers of every age.

"If anyone has an ear let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience [the endurance] and the faith of the saints" (Revelation 13:9, 10).

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 54)

The King's Mowings

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass (Ps. 72:6).

Amos speaks of the king's mowings. Our King has many scythes, and is perpetually mowing His lawns. The musical tinkle of the whetstone on the scythe portends the cutting down of myriads of green blades, daisies and other flowers. Beautiful as they were in the morning, within an hour or two they lie in long, faded rows.

Thus in human life we make a brave show, before the scythe of pain, the shears of disappointment, the sickle of death. There is no method of obtaining a velvety lawn but by repeated mowings; and there is no way of developing tenderness, evenness, sympathy, but by the passing of God's scythes.

How constantly the Word of God compares man to grass, and His glory to its flower! But when grass is mown, and all the tender shoots are bleeding, and desolation reigns where flowers were bursting, it is the most acceptable time for showers of rain falling soft and warm.

O soul, thou hast been mown! Time after time the King has come to thee with His sharp scythe. Do not dread the scythe--it is sure to be followed by the shower.
--F. B. Meyer

When across the heart deep waves of sorrow
Break, as on a dry and barren shore;
When hope glistens with no bright tomorrow,
And the storm seems sweeping evermore;

When the cup of every earthly gladness
Bears no taste of the life-giving stream;
And high hopes, as though to mock our sadness,
Fade and die as in some fitful dream,

Who shall hush the weary spirit's chiding?
Who the aching void within shall fill?
Who shall whisper of a peace abiding,
And each surging billow calmly still?

Only He whose wounded heart was broken
With the bitter cross and thorny crown;
Whose dear love glad words of Joy had spoken,
Who His life for us laid meekly down.

Blessed Healer, all our burdens lighten;
Give us peace, Thine own sweet peace, we pray!
Keep us near Thee till the morn shall brighten,
And all the mists and shadows flee away!

~L. B. Cowman~

What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 52

The Natural Man Receiveth Not the Things of the Spirit (continued)

And, in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, we find the Holy Spirit sharing one of Hannah's prayers, a prayer which is the fruit of her long travail "in the Spirit." Hannah's prayer is a psalm of the Spirit, it is a psalm of praise, worship, devotion, instruction and warfare. It is a priestly prayer "in the Spirit" that delivers God's people out of the power of darkness, and transfers them into their full inheritance - "The Lord maketh ... them inherit the throne of Glory" (1 Samuel 2:7, 8). It is a prophetic prayer "in the Spirit" that proclaims the true King of kings, and Lord of lords - "And He shall give strength unto His King" (1 Samuel 2:10). It is a kingly prayer "in the Spirit" that exalts the Omnipotent Power of Christ, and declares His defeat of His enemies:

"The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; 
Against them will He thunder in Heaven.
The Lord will judge [all peoples] to the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His King,
And exalt the power of His anointed -
His Christ" (1 Samuel 2:10).

Dear ones, the prayers of Hannah, the prayers of this lowly handmaiden of the Lord, had in them the ministry of the Psalmist, the Prophet, the Priest, and the King. We do not have to be a Samuel, or a David, or an apostle like John, in order to serve the Lord in these ministries. No, we only have to be like Hannah. We have to be those who will not expend our prayers upon our own natural desires, but who will intercede "in the Spirit" until the Lord is satisfied.

Hannah's prayers were prayers "in the Spirit"; for Hannah, like the Apostle John in Revelation 1:9 and 10, was "in the Spirit" in the Lord's Day. Hannah was "in the Spirit" and it was the Sovereign Imperial Day of the Lord, fr God was working all things after the counsel of His Own Will. And we need to realize that Hannah's praying "in the Spirit" did as much to defeat Goliath as David did. For when David ran to meet Goliath, he cried through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "The Battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands" (1 Samuel 17:47). Notice, h said "into our hands!" Yes, David was moving in the good of Hannah's prayers, for Hannah's prayers were breaking down, and making a way through, the unseen forces of evil long before David met Goliath, the uncircumcised Philistine.

Beloved, we need the uncompromising Samuels and the courageous Davids today, but in order to have them, we must first of all have the Hannahs. We must have men and women who will not expend their prayers on their own natural desires, but who will pray, travail, intercede, and persevere "in the Spirit" on all occasions, in all seasons, until God has His End through His Way.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 53 -"The Victory of the Cross of Christ")

Down With a Shout

And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!” Joshua 6:16

The story surrounding the city of Jericho is amazing. The Bible tells us that the walls came down with a shout. Just imagine the fear that already existed within the people in the city. For six straight days, the Israelites arose early in the morning and marched around the city of Jericho. A regiment of armed guards in the front, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant in the middle, and another regiment bringing up the rear marched around the city, never saying a word, just blowing their trumpets. Then, on the seventh day, they did it again, but not once, but seven times! And on the seventh time, at Joshua’s command, they shouted with their voices…and the walls came down. What an awesome display of God’s power!

We learn a lot from this story and this verse. We learn that God is sovereign and has a plan for all things. We learn that God’s ways are not our ways and that His works seem mysterious at times. We learn to trust Him, obey Him and wait on His timing, despite what we think. We learn that the battle is His, not ours. We may want to use all of our weapons and all of our own strength, but God can strike the enemy with one word or one shout! We learn that we serve an awesome God, for He is God alone and there is none other. Let Him take down your walls today. Follow Him, trust Him and obey Him. Stop looking for worldly proof and evidence, just put your faith in His Word and start marching to the beat of His drum.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~