From Oswald Chamber’s, “Our Utmost for His Highest”….Page 334.
THE ABSOLUTENESS OF JESUS CHRIST
“He shall glorify me” John 16:14
“The pietistic movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them: there is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ, all that is required is a pious atmosphere, and prayer and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous, it did not cost the passion of God, it is not dyed in the blood of the Lamb, not stamped with the hallmark of the Holy Ghost. It has not that mark on it which makes men say, as they look with awe and wonder – “That is the work of God Almighty”. That and nothing else is what the New Testament talks about.
The type of Christian experience in the New Testament is that of personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other type of Christian experience, so called, is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration, no being born again into the Kingdom in which Christ lives, but only the idea that He is our Pattern. In the New Testament Jesus is Saviour long before He is Pattern. Today he is being dispatched as the Figurehead of a religion, a mere Example. He is that, but He is infinitely more; he is salvation itself. He is the gospel of God.
Jesus said – “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come…..he shall glorify Me.” When I commit myself to the revelation made in the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit Who begins to interpret to me what Jesus did and does in me subjectively what Jesus Christ did for me objectively.”
Thank you Maria for sharing this
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
'No More Striving - B. Keith Chadwell
We could all benefit from this insightful article.
Excerpt:
Wait......do not force fit what we think we know or get ahead of the “Head” of the body. Let's not let any man, by pretense of his sincerity, derail us from following Christ. Be wary of those who are so bold in proclaiming the things which they have not seen and have become so foolishly proud of their intellectual powers.
For only Jesus Christ is our Head and only by choosing to follow Christ will we be able to come to the maturity that God has purposed for us. Christ in us, is the only hope of this maturity which is, only, through the cross and the refining fire of the Holy Spirit.
Excerpt:
Wait......do not force fit what we think we know or get ahead of the “Head” of the body. Let's not let any man, by pretense of his sincerity, derail us from following Christ. Be wary of those who are so bold in proclaiming the things which they have not seen and have become so foolishly proud of their intellectual powers.
For only Jesus Christ is our Head and only by choosing to follow Christ will we be able to come to the maturity that God has purposed for us. Christ in us, is the only hope of this maturity which is, only, through the cross and the refining fire of the Holy Spirit.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Christ Is All
Christ is All: The Gospel in Leviticus
Henry Law
Ch. 8: “Holiness”
(This chapter contains the brief lines that God used to bring about the “Exchanged Life” that so transformed the experience of Hudson Taylor. )
HOLINESS “You must be holy because I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44 Holiness! There is sweet music in the very name. It tells of sin subdued-of boisterous passions lulled-of fiery lusts becalmed-of miry paths made clean. It sets before us a pure walk, where peace and joy go hand in hand, and scatter heaven-born fragrance round.
Reader, this grace for a few moments claims your view. God’s voice commends it to your love. May His might graft it in your heart.
Holiness! To cause this lovely plant to thrive-its roots to deepen-and its branches to bear fruit, is one grand purpose of the scheme of grace.
Fly back in spirit to the day, when sovereign love made its all-wise decrees, and life’s fair book received the blessed names. We find God choosing souls in Christ. What is the final cause? It is, that they should be holy and without blame before God in love. Eph. 1:4. A holy stone is laid, that thence a holy fabric may arise. The will to save wills Holiness in the saved.
God’s plan next draws the full chart of the believer’s course. The path is Holiness. “A highway shall be there, and a way; and it shall be called the way of Holiness.” Is. 35:8. The holy pilgrims may not walk in mire. They all show features of a heavenly birth. “Whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Rom. 8:29. The God-like travelers must tread a godly road.
When the due time is come, Jesus appears with full redemption in His hands. Doubtless the first note of the Gospel-trumpet is rescue by His death from sin’s tremendous woe-payment by His blood of sin’s immeasurable debt-endurance on His cross of the law’s curse-satisfaction through His sacrifice of all God’s claims. Wondrous achievement! Noble triumph! Worthy display of everlasting love and power!
But is this all? Are there not other waters in this well? Are there not other summits on this rock? Yes. Christ is redemption’s overflowing cup. Christ is the uttermost of man’s vast need. Hence He frees from the rule and sway of evil, as surely as from its endless pains. Holiness is the Redeemer’s essence; and the redemption’s end. Hark, the word loudly cries, “He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.” Tit. 2:14. “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.” Gal. 1:4. He sows the seeds of blood, that Holiness may bloom. He spares no price, that He may buy a holy treasure.
In the fair day of grace, the tender Shepherd seeks each straying sheep. Long they may wander in earth’s desert waste-exposed to cruel foes-and famished by the weeds of nature’s soil. But He well knows them, and they must know Him. So the sweet notes of His alluring call at last fall softly on their ears. They hear-they yield-they follow-they obey. The call is holy. 2 Tim. 1:9. 1 Thess. 4:7. Sin henceforth is avoided; abhorred; and a pure flock feeds in pure meadows.
Thus the whole Gospel-plan bears, as its mitre, “Holiness to the Lord.” Its every step is turned towards Holiness. Its every part subserves a holy end.
Reader, perhaps you now may say, show me some picture of this beauteous grace. A ready text points upwards. The Lord’s own voice proclaims, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Lev. 11:44. Our God is Holiness, and Holiness is likeness to our God. “The new man is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Col. 3:10. The new-born nature is similitude to God.
Let not man’s cavils shade the brightness of this truth. Take no inferior standard. True Holiness is divine. It loves, what God loves. It shuns, what God shuns. Holiness is God in the heart-the life-the lips-the ways-the walk. It is a stream, in which each drop is heavenly and heavenward. It is a sun, in which each ray is from God’s throne. God can propose no model but Himself. A lower thought would acquiesce in evil. Therefore the mandate is, “Be perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect.” Matt. 5:48. Holiness falls short, when it falls short of God.
But perhaps you say, such glorious luster is too bright for sight. The heavenly sunshine dims the dazzled eye. But still draw near. God’s Holiness, in human form, has visited and trod our earth. JESUS takes flesh and tabernacles here. His walk in our soiled paths is clean as on celestial pavement. Mark every act. Hear every word. They have one feature, Holiness. No trial spared Him. Hell’s every snare was laid. No circumstance, which ever won, or drove, to sin, failed to put forth its craftiest wiles. But all was vain. Each wave rebounded from the holy Rock. In childhood-in youth’s bloom-in riper age-to earthly parents, and to heavenly Father-to treacherous friends, and open foes-alone, abroad, in work, in rest, in ease, in agony, in life, in death. He showed one glorious front; He stood one glorious column-Holiness. There has been perfect Holiness on earth.
Reader, your eye can scan-your mind can grasp this pattern. Such is the Holiness of God.
But some may add, this righteousness was wrought out for the Church. Christ kept each edict of the law for them. He places this obedience in their hands, as key to heaven-as the right to eternal life-as a title-deed to bliss-as a beauteous robe to shine in heaven’s light. This is made over as the portion of His saints. Can they need more?
True, this righteousness is the wedding-dress, in which He decks His bride. It is her spotless beauty, and her coronet of gems. But it is more. The life of Jesus draws the clear portraiture of Zion’s citizens. Heaven’s courts, and atmosphere, and inhabitants, are all holy. None but the holy can there walk, and breathe, and taste delight. Heaven is no heaven to old sinful natures. To such, the sounding harps sound only discord. To such, the one employ is only misery. There is no pulse in common. Man must be Holiness-not to buy heaven-that is Christ’s work only; not to fill merit’s cup-that is Christ’s gift; but to gain fitness to associate; to win capacity for bliss. Without Christ’s righteousness, the gate cannot be passed. Without internal Holiness, the entrance is no gain. No Holiness, no heaven.
Mark next the SOIL, in which this flower has roots-the seed, from which it springs. Man’s pride must here lie low. It never thrives in nature’s field. Neither can hand of nature plant it. When sin came in, each gracious fiber died. The curse fell blightingly on earth, but most so on the human heart. The thorns and briers of the outward world are dismal emblems of the wilderness within. God’s likeness was effaced at once, and hideous enmity established its one rule. How then can Holiness revive? Until the waste becomes a garden-the plant cannot be set; until heaven gives the seed, it can nowhere be found. God must prepare the soil. God must infuse the seed. The work is wholly God’s.
But this is all arranged in the sure Covenant of Grace. The Holy Spirit lends His aid. By His Almightiness, He forms anew the texture of the soul. He takes away the barren rock. He brings down scions from the garden of the Lord. He graciously inserts them. And thus true Holiness again lifts up its fruitful and its fragrant head.Reader, be not deceived. Trust not to powers, which are powers none. You must gain help from God, or you can never be a holy man. The wish and the ability are both divine. Can darkness melt itself to light? Can rocky mountains flow in liquid streams? Can poison’s stem produce the luscious grape? Can hatred love? Can the dry bones reanimate themselves? These changes cannot be. Neither can dead souls burst their tombs, and clothe themselves in self-made life. The mighty agent is above, and until He works, no work is done.
Reader, next mark the renovating MEANS. The wondrous engine is the Gospel-truth. The Spirit wins by charming notes. He opens ears to hear new melody. He gives the eye to see new scenes. He reveals Christ-the beauty of all beauty. He shows the cleansing blood-the sympathizing heart-the perfect refuge-the all-sufficient aid. These sights wave a transforming wand. A new affection subjugates the man. Jesus and purer hopes now occupy the mind. Darkness is passed. The true light shines.
The grace of faith springs up. This is the chain, which binds the soul to Christ, and makes the Savior and the sinner one. A channel is now formed, by which Christ’s fullness plenteously flows down. The barren branch becomes a portion of the fruitful stem. Christ’s vital juices permeate the whole. The limbs receive close union with the head, and one life reigns throughout the total frame.
Reader, would you be holy? There is only one way. All other roads lead down to deeper mire. Christ must come in. All is dark death, except where Jesus lives. All is pure life and loveliness, where Jesus reigns. Draw near and nearer to the Gospel-page. There gaze on Christ, until the soul’s features melt into His likeness. The Gospel heard, and read, and loved, are the bright wings on which the Spirit flies. The Spirit’s presence brings the Savior near. The Savior welcomed, is all Holiness begun. The Savior cherished, is all Holiness advancing. The Savior never absent, is Holiness complete. Holiness complete, is heaven’s full blaze.
Believer, this subject has a warning voice. You mourn shortcomings. You find the hated monster sin still striving for the rule. Evil is present, when you would do good. Help is laid up for you in Christ. Seek clearer interest in Him. Faith sows the seeds. Assurance brings in golden sheaves. They, who most deeply feel, that they have died in Christ and paid in Him sin’s penalties, ascend to highest heights of godly life. He is most holy, who has most of Christ within, and relishes most fully in the finished work. It is defective faith, which clogs the feet, and causes many a fall.
We here discern why Gospel truth is so assailed with hate. It is the lever, which moves men’s minds from sin. It is the sweet attractive to the heaven-pure path. Hence the sin-loving world turns angrily away. Evil is more congenial to the taste. Evil is sweet. Corruption rejects Christ.
But evil’s sweets are a deceptive cup. The draught is poison. The drops prove only gall. Reader, delay not. Cast it from you. Peace with God only blooms beside the Gospel-road. There is no happiness, but on the Gospel-mount. True blessedness is holy oneness with the holy Savior. When He is near, what sorrow can distress? His smile dispels all gloom. His words of comfort make each burden light. Seek Holiness, and happiness in Christ. They are conjoined by God; and thus conjoined forever.
But if you madly turn to the false candle of this world’s show, too late this truth will bar heaven’s gate against you;-Oh! heed it now, before “too late” arrives. “Holiness-without which, no man shall see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14.
Henry Law
Ch. 8: “Holiness”
(This chapter contains the brief lines that God used to bring about the “Exchanged Life” that so transformed the experience of Hudson Taylor. )
HOLINESS “You must be holy because I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44 Holiness! There is sweet music in the very name. It tells of sin subdued-of boisterous passions lulled-of fiery lusts becalmed-of miry paths made clean. It sets before us a pure walk, where peace and joy go hand in hand, and scatter heaven-born fragrance round.
Reader, this grace for a few moments claims your view. God’s voice commends it to your love. May His might graft it in your heart.
Holiness! To cause this lovely plant to thrive-its roots to deepen-and its branches to bear fruit, is one grand purpose of the scheme of grace.
Fly back in spirit to the day, when sovereign love made its all-wise decrees, and life’s fair book received the blessed names. We find God choosing souls in Christ. What is the final cause? It is, that they should be holy and without blame before God in love. Eph. 1:4. A holy stone is laid, that thence a holy fabric may arise. The will to save wills Holiness in the saved.
God’s plan next draws the full chart of the believer’s course. The path is Holiness. “A highway shall be there, and a way; and it shall be called the way of Holiness.” Is. 35:8. The holy pilgrims may not walk in mire. They all show features of a heavenly birth. “Whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Rom. 8:29. The God-like travelers must tread a godly road.
When the due time is come, Jesus appears with full redemption in His hands. Doubtless the first note of the Gospel-trumpet is rescue by His death from sin’s tremendous woe-payment by His blood of sin’s immeasurable debt-endurance on His cross of the law’s curse-satisfaction through His sacrifice of all God’s claims. Wondrous achievement! Noble triumph! Worthy display of everlasting love and power!
But is this all? Are there not other waters in this well? Are there not other summits on this rock? Yes. Christ is redemption’s overflowing cup. Christ is the uttermost of man’s vast need. Hence He frees from the rule and sway of evil, as surely as from its endless pains. Holiness is the Redeemer’s essence; and the redemption’s end. Hark, the word loudly cries, “He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.” Tit. 2:14. “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.” Gal. 1:4. He sows the seeds of blood, that Holiness may bloom. He spares no price, that He may buy a holy treasure.
In the fair day of grace, the tender Shepherd seeks each straying sheep. Long they may wander in earth’s desert waste-exposed to cruel foes-and famished by the weeds of nature’s soil. But He well knows them, and they must know Him. So the sweet notes of His alluring call at last fall softly on their ears. They hear-they yield-they follow-they obey. The call is holy. 2 Tim. 1:9. 1 Thess. 4:7. Sin henceforth is avoided; abhorred; and a pure flock feeds in pure meadows.
Thus the whole Gospel-plan bears, as its mitre, “Holiness to the Lord.” Its every step is turned towards Holiness. Its every part subserves a holy end.
Reader, perhaps you now may say, show me some picture of this beauteous grace. A ready text points upwards. The Lord’s own voice proclaims, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Lev. 11:44. Our God is Holiness, and Holiness is likeness to our God. “The new man is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Col. 3:10. The new-born nature is similitude to God.
Let not man’s cavils shade the brightness of this truth. Take no inferior standard. True Holiness is divine. It loves, what God loves. It shuns, what God shuns. Holiness is God in the heart-the life-the lips-the ways-the walk. It is a stream, in which each drop is heavenly and heavenward. It is a sun, in which each ray is from God’s throne. God can propose no model but Himself. A lower thought would acquiesce in evil. Therefore the mandate is, “Be perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect.” Matt. 5:48. Holiness falls short, when it falls short of God.
But perhaps you say, such glorious luster is too bright for sight. The heavenly sunshine dims the dazzled eye. But still draw near. God’s Holiness, in human form, has visited and trod our earth. JESUS takes flesh and tabernacles here. His walk in our soiled paths is clean as on celestial pavement. Mark every act. Hear every word. They have one feature, Holiness. No trial spared Him. Hell’s every snare was laid. No circumstance, which ever won, or drove, to sin, failed to put forth its craftiest wiles. But all was vain. Each wave rebounded from the holy Rock. In childhood-in youth’s bloom-in riper age-to earthly parents, and to heavenly Father-to treacherous friends, and open foes-alone, abroad, in work, in rest, in ease, in agony, in life, in death. He showed one glorious front; He stood one glorious column-Holiness. There has been perfect Holiness on earth.
Reader, your eye can scan-your mind can grasp this pattern. Such is the Holiness of God.
But some may add, this righteousness was wrought out for the Church. Christ kept each edict of the law for them. He places this obedience in their hands, as key to heaven-as the right to eternal life-as a title-deed to bliss-as a beauteous robe to shine in heaven’s light. This is made over as the portion of His saints. Can they need more?
True, this righteousness is the wedding-dress, in which He decks His bride. It is her spotless beauty, and her coronet of gems. But it is more. The life of Jesus draws the clear portraiture of Zion’s citizens. Heaven’s courts, and atmosphere, and inhabitants, are all holy. None but the holy can there walk, and breathe, and taste delight. Heaven is no heaven to old sinful natures. To such, the sounding harps sound only discord. To such, the one employ is only misery. There is no pulse in common. Man must be Holiness-not to buy heaven-that is Christ’s work only; not to fill merit’s cup-that is Christ’s gift; but to gain fitness to associate; to win capacity for bliss. Without Christ’s righteousness, the gate cannot be passed. Without internal Holiness, the entrance is no gain. No Holiness, no heaven.
Mark next the SOIL, in which this flower has roots-the seed, from which it springs. Man’s pride must here lie low. It never thrives in nature’s field. Neither can hand of nature plant it. When sin came in, each gracious fiber died. The curse fell blightingly on earth, but most so on the human heart. The thorns and briers of the outward world are dismal emblems of the wilderness within. God’s likeness was effaced at once, and hideous enmity established its one rule. How then can Holiness revive? Until the waste becomes a garden-the plant cannot be set; until heaven gives the seed, it can nowhere be found. God must prepare the soil. God must infuse the seed. The work is wholly God’s.
But this is all arranged in the sure Covenant of Grace. The Holy Spirit lends His aid. By His Almightiness, He forms anew the texture of the soul. He takes away the barren rock. He brings down scions from the garden of the Lord. He graciously inserts them. And thus true Holiness again lifts up its fruitful and its fragrant head.Reader, be not deceived. Trust not to powers, which are powers none. You must gain help from God, or you can never be a holy man. The wish and the ability are both divine. Can darkness melt itself to light? Can rocky mountains flow in liquid streams? Can poison’s stem produce the luscious grape? Can hatred love? Can the dry bones reanimate themselves? These changes cannot be. Neither can dead souls burst their tombs, and clothe themselves in self-made life. The mighty agent is above, and until He works, no work is done.
Reader, next mark the renovating MEANS. The wondrous engine is the Gospel-truth. The Spirit wins by charming notes. He opens ears to hear new melody. He gives the eye to see new scenes. He reveals Christ-the beauty of all beauty. He shows the cleansing blood-the sympathizing heart-the perfect refuge-the all-sufficient aid. These sights wave a transforming wand. A new affection subjugates the man. Jesus and purer hopes now occupy the mind. Darkness is passed. The true light shines.
The grace of faith springs up. This is the chain, which binds the soul to Christ, and makes the Savior and the sinner one. A channel is now formed, by which Christ’s fullness plenteously flows down. The barren branch becomes a portion of the fruitful stem. Christ’s vital juices permeate the whole. The limbs receive close union with the head, and one life reigns throughout the total frame.
Reader, would you be holy? There is only one way. All other roads lead down to deeper mire. Christ must come in. All is dark death, except where Jesus lives. All is pure life and loveliness, where Jesus reigns. Draw near and nearer to the Gospel-page. There gaze on Christ, until the soul’s features melt into His likeness. The Gospel heard, and read, and loved, are the bright wings on which the Spirit flies. The Spirit’s presence brings the Savior near. The Savior welcomed, is all Holiness begun. The Savior cherished, is all Holiness advancing. The Savior never absent, is Holiness complete. Holiness complete, is heaven’s full blaze.
Believer, this subject has a warning voice. You mourn shortcomings. You find the hated monster sin still striving for the rule. Evil is present, when you would do good. Help is laid up for you in Christ. Seek clearer interest in Him. Faith sows the seeds. Assurance brings in golden sheaves. They, who most deeply feel, that they have died in Christ and paid in Him sin’s penalties, ascend to highest heights of godly life. He is most holy, who has most of Christ within, and relishes most fully in the finished work. It is defective faith, which clogs the feet, and causes many a fall.
We here discern why Gospel truth is so assailed with hate. It is the lever, which moves men’s minds from sin. It is the sweet attractive to the heaven-pure path. Hence the sin-loving world turns angrily away. Evil is more congenial to the taste. Evil is sweet. Corruption rejects Christ.
But evil’s sweets are a deceptive cup. The draught is poison. The drops prove only gall. Reader, delay not. Cast it from you. Peace with God only blooms beside the Gospel-road. There is no happiness, but on the Gospel-mount. True blessedness is holy oneness with the holy Savior. When He is near, what sorrow can distress? His smile dispels all gloom. His words of comfort make each burden light. Seek Holiness, and happiness in Christ. They are conjoined by God; and thus conjoined forever.
But if you madly turn to the false candle of this world’s show, too late this truth will bar heaven’s gate against you;-Oh! heed it now, before “too late” arrives. “Holiness-without which, no man shall see the Lord.” Heb. 12:14.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Warning Admonition - 1769
A WARNING ADMONITION AGAINST THE DANGERS AND TEMPTATIONS OF THE ENEMY OF SOULS.
"Watch and pray...."
I. Let us love, and esteem, and use the Holy Scriptures, or the Bible, according to the state and circumstances of our souls. It is undeniably the best and most divine book in the world, and a revelation or expression of the will of God to us; and it manifests an extremely reprehensible ingratitude and arrogance to neglect and despise it. We must not, however, forget, that the power and illumination of the Spirit of God are indispensably necessary to understand it aright, and to walk according to it.
II. Let us constantly set before us the pure and holy word, and self-denying life of Jesus Christ for our imitation. “He that saith he abideth in him, must also walk as he walked.” We ought not to look much about us, nor pay attention to others, except so far as they are in Christ, and follow his steps.
III. Let us never forget the doctrine of Jesus Christ, especially respecting the denial of self, and of all created things, as the primary and most necessary characteristic of his true disciples. He has said, “The way is narrow, and the gate is strait.” Let us therefore regard and reject everything, internally or externally, that would represent it to our corrupt arid carnal natures as a broad way.
IV. Let us watch and pray: watch over our deceitful hearts, thoughts, and affections, that we may not suffer them to wander thoughtlessly and at liberty to the creature; but continue near to God, yea, cleave unto him with our affections, desires, and inclinations. Let us also watch over our senses, our ears, eyes, mouth, and tongue. They are the port-holes, into which sin, confusion, and a thousand temptations will enter, if we open them too frequently, needlessly, and imprudently. Finally, let us also watch over our corrupt natures, that we may never give way to them, nor follow their will.
V. Let us also, at the same time, pray, and that more with the heart than the mouth, especially for the Spirit of Jesus, that he may rule and work in us. It is he who alone can lead us into all truth, and will do so; without him, it would be impossible for us to continue, or perform anything good.
VI. Above all things, let us love one another, and exercise filial intercourse with God in our hearts, and a reverential walk in his presence; because this simple exercise, if we are faithful and steadfast in it, introduces us, through the divine co-operation, into that true fellowship with God in spirit, on which all religion, and our eternal salvation depends.
VII. Let us seek, in serenity of mind, to be very faithful and attentive to the inward teachings and admonitions of the Spirit of grace. Although we may be delivered from the law, and no longer so conscious of its threatenings, reproofs, and the terror it excites in the conscience, yet we can never be disunited from the law of the vivifying Spirit of Jesus, whose gentle and internal attractive influences and directions we ought the better to attend to and follow, with so much the more ease and fidelity.
VIII. Let us avoid all unnecessary converse and hurtful association with the world and frivolous people, and likewise with those, who under the name of piety, live in false liberty, according to the impulse of the flesh, sense, and reason; because, by intimate intercourse with them, the minds of those that are unsettled, may easily and often unconsciously imbibe something of their disposition, and suffer from it; whilst those who are truly the children of God, and their society and conversation, ought to be so much the more dear and precious to us.
IX. Let us especially beware, in all our actions, words, and gestures, both in our outward and inward walk, of all subtle hypocrisy, dissimulation, and a self-assumed deportment, which is so displeasing to God; but seek, on the contrary, to do all things in simplicity, sincerity, and cordiality, without reference to man, but solely in order to please God.
X. Let us ever keep watch over our corrupt reason, in which the Old Serpent so gladly lurks, and endeavours under the most plausible pretexts, to allure us from simplicity of heart, into all kinds of useless speculations and injurious debates; so that the better part is often forgotten and neglected in consequence of it, and the man falls imperceptibly into all kinds of errors and mistakes, as painful experience daily confirms.
Finally. “Ye know, that the Son of God is manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no unrighteousness. He that abideth in him, sinneth not. He that sinneth, hath neither seen nor known him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous,” &c. (1 John, iii. 5. 7.)
GERHARD TERSTEEGEN
(1769)
"Watch and pray...."
I. Let us love, and esteem, and use the Holy Scriptures, or the Bible, according to the state and circumstances of our souls. It is undeniably the best and most divine book in the world, and a revelation or expression of the will of God to us; and it manifests an extremely reprehensible ingratitude and arrogance to neglect and despise it. We must not, however, forget, that the power and illumination of the Spirit of God are indispensably necessary to understand it aright, and to walk according to it.
II. Let us constantly set before us the pure and holy word, and self-denying life of Jesus Christ for our imitation. “He that saith he abideth in him, must also walk as he walked.” We ought not to look much about us, nor pay attention to others, except so far as they are in Christ, and follow his steps.
III. Let us never forget the doctrine of Jesus Christ, especially respecting the denial of self, and of all created things, as the primary and most necessary characteristic of his true disciples. He has said, “The way is narrow, and the gate is strait.” Let us therefore regard and reject everything, internally or externally, that would represent it to our corrupt arid carnal natures as a broad way.
IV. Let us watch and pray: watch over our deceitful hearts, thoughts, and affections, that we may not suffer them to wander thoughtlessly and at liberty to the creature; but continue near to God, yea, cleave unto him with our affections, desires, and inclinations. Let us also watch over our senses, our ears, eyes, mouth, and tongue. They are the port-holes, into which sin, confusion, and a thousand temptations will enter, if we open them too frequently, needlessly, and imprudently. Finally, let us also watch over our corrupt natures, that we may never give way to them, nor follow their will.
V. Let us also, at the same time, pray, and that more with the heart than the mouth, especially for the Spirit of Jesus, that he may rule and work in us. It is he who alone can lead us into all truth, and will do so; without him, it would be impossible for us to continue, or perform anything good.
VI. Above all things, let us love one another, and exercise filial intercourse with God in our hearts, and a reverential walk in his presence; because this simple exercise, if we are faithful and steadfast in it, introduces us, through the divine co-operation, into that true fellowship with God in spirit, on which all religion, and our eternal salvation depends.
VII. Let us seek, in serenity of mind, to be very faithful and attentive to the inward teachings and admonitions of the Spirit of grace. Although we may be delivered from the law, and no longer so conscious of its threatenings, reproofs, and the terror it excites in the conscience, yet we can never be disunited from the law of the vivifying Spirit of Jesus, whose gentle and internal attractive influences and directions we ought the better to attend to and follow, with so much the more ease and fidelity.
VIII. Let us avoid all unnecessary converse and hurtful association with the world and frivolous people, and likewise with those, who under the name of piety, live in false liberty, according to the impulse of the flesh, sense, and reason; because, by intimate intercourse with them, the minds of those that are unsettled, may easily and often unconsciously imbibe something of their disposition, and suffer from it; whilst those who are truly the children of God, and their society and conversation, ought to be so much the more dear and precious to us.
IX. Let us especially beware, in all our actions, words, and gestures, both in our outward and inward walk, of all subtle hypocrisy, dissimulation, and a self-assumed deportment, which is so displeasing to God; but seek, on the contrary, to do all things in simplicity, sincerity, and cordiality, without reference to man, but solely in order to please God.
X. Let us ever keep watch over our corrupt reason, in which the Old Serpent so gladly lurks, and endeavours under the most plausible pretexts, to allure us from simplicity of heart, into all kinds of useless speculations and injurious debates; so that the better part is often forgotten and neglected in consequence of it, and the man falls imperceptibly into all kinds of errors and mistakes, as painful experience daily confirms.
Finally. “Ye know, that the Son of God is manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no unrighteousness. He that abideth in him, sinneth not. He that sinneth, hath neither seen nor known him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous,” &c. (1 John, iii. 5. 7.)
GERHARD TERSTEEGEN
(1769)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Discerning the Hour
DISCERNING THE HOUR
John 12:20:27
All scriptures NKJV unless otherwise stated.
The setting is Jerusalem. Jesus has come with His disciples to celebrate Passover with them for the last time. Certain Greeks, possibly Greek gentiles (proselytes), have also travelled to Jerusalem to worship the God of the Jews, and they wish to have an audience with Jesus. They approach Philip who approaches Andrew and together the two disciples have come to Jesus on behalf of the Greeks. The potential for Jesus ministry to spread beyond Israel is, at that moment, enormous. His gospel and teachings could be about to be taken by these Greeks far beyond the boundaries of the small geographical area Jesus and His disciples have so far been able to cover. As they approached Jesus, Philip and Andrew must have at least had in mind the possibilities such a meeting between Jesus and the Greeks could bring about.
But Jesus’ response is unexpected to say the least. There will be no meeting with the Greeks. Jesus has something else on His mind that eliminates all previous assumptions about Him. Totally in touch with His Father, fully led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus has discerned a dramatic change in the spiritual hour.
“The hour has come”, He tells them, “that the Son of Man should be glorified.” On two previous occasions, according to John’s gospel, authorities could not lay hands on Jesus because “his hour had not yet come” (John 7:30, John 8:20), but in John 13:1 we suddenly read “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come.....”. He goes on to state “If anyone serves me let Him follow Me, and where I am, there My servant will be also” (John:12:26). Yesterday He had received people. Yesterday He had spoken privately with people. Yesterday He had patiently shared Who He was and why He had come. Today, however, He will not be doing such things. Today the hour has changed and the option to stand on the sidelines considering Jesus and His words has suddenly been removed. Today, in this new hour, the only option is to follow.
We see the same spiritual principle at work when we look into the lives of some of Jesus best known disciples. Mark 1:16-20 details the calling of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. We are told that when Jesus called them, Simon and Andrew ‘immediately left their nets and followed Him”. James and John also “immediately.... left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him.” Similarly, Levi, (also known as Matthew) “left all, rose up and followed Him” immediately Jesus passed by and called him (Mark 2:14). Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John had no doubt been trained as fishermen from when they were very young boys. The fishing business was not only their family’s lifestyle but also their livelihood. Levi was a wealthy tax collector with his own office and the support of both Herod and the Romans. Yet the Bible tells us each of them immediately “left all” to follow Jesus.
Yesterday they were a fisherman or a tax collector with a steady income, good reputation, a well established future and family support. But today they have ‘left all’ to follow an itinerant Jewish rabbi of disputable birth, questionable reputation and unknown future. It’s one thing to ‘leave all’ and follow when ordinary life is difficult and every day brings new uncertainties and serious challenges. It’s quite another thing to ‘leave all’ and follow when life is going smoothly and the future looks bright and certain. We don’t know how many people Jesus called to follow Him as He walked along the shores and through the towns of Galilee. We have assumed He only called those who are recorded, yet elsewhere He clearly stated “many are called, few are chosen.” One thing we can know for sure, these ones who left all to follow Him sensed a new hour was upon them.
There is , prophetically speaking, a deep sense within many in the Bride of Christ that the hour has changed. “What now Lord?” is a phrase I am hearing spoken more and more frequently in various forms. A growing spiritual restlessness is birthing within us a sense of anticipation for something we are not yet sure of. We are sensing change. A radical new hour is rising on us that will bring excitement and fulfillment, but also unexpected and unknown challenges. Like riding the rapids of a wild river never sure what’s going to be around the next bend, we have committed to the ride and there’s no turning back.
Is this changing in the spiritual hour merely a sign we are drawing close to the end of another year and entering a new decade? Can it be due to the immense historical and environmental upheavals we can see happening all around us in politics, weather and religion? Possibly inpart, but I believe these tremendous external changes are simply the manifestations on earth of a new hour already decreed in Heaven.
Interestingly, timepieces have taken on a new significance for me lately. I have a watch I purchased only two months ago but it keeps telling me the wrong time. A brand new battery has been inserted to no avail. Habitually I continue to put this watch on my wrist every morning, but half way through the day I will invariably look down at it and discover it’s giving me the wrong hour. If I want to know the real time I need to go look at our electric clock that will give me the precise hour and minute. I have another little clock that was a gift from my sister several years ago and I have always treasured it. Some time ago it stopped altogether and, again assuming the battery had run out, I inserted a new one. The clock still didn’t go. Two days ago my husband asked me what was wrong with my clock and I told him it no longer works even though it has a new battery. Deciding to investigate, he found I had simply inserted the battery the wrong way round. He fixed it and it now gives the right time. These stories may seem irrelevant and even humorous, but to me they prophetically illustrate how very easy it is for us to rely on things that have always worked for us in the past, when in reality God is moving in a totally new and different direction.
Are we aware of the hour we are entering? Are we discerning that great changes are at hand and are we prepared to make the life-changing decisions this new hour will demand of us? When the King says “no more business as usual”, who of us will see and hear? When the Spirit suddenly changes direction midstream, who will be wise enough to discern? And how many will be courageous enough to follow?
We read in Matthew 19:27 of a day when Simon Peter cried out to Jesus“See, we have left all and followed You! Therefore what shall we have?” History tells us Simon Peter was crucified in Rome. History also tells us the Apostle John was the only one of the twelve who did not suffer martyrdom but died a natural death. Each of them equally followed Jesus to the end. The outcome of our individual journeys cannot always be known to us. What is paramount is not the individual pathway we follow, but the following. But if we are not already following close enough to discern the shifting of the hour, how then will we follow further?
The hour is indeed changing.....rapidly. This is not a comfortable time. Nor is it a time to stand on the sidelines considering our options. If we have not yet decided to ‘leave all and follow’,whatever the cost, then perhaps we have made our decision. We are either of those who stand and watch or those who follow. There is no more middle ground.
Discerning the hour is no longer something to leave to the prophets;it is a vital responsibility of every disciple who has determined to follow Jesus sincerely and wholeheartedly. It is quite possible, likely even, that where we are going will not look like what we want or imagine it to look like. Any assumptions we are still carrying about our King, His Kingdom, or each other will most certainly be stripped from us along the way. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,today and forever, but methods, ministries and priorities change according to Heaven’s agenda and timetable. And surely that, for us, is the only agenda and timetable we dare trust as we continue this ever narrowing journey?
“Where I am there My servant will be also.”
Cheryl McGrath
Great South Land Ministries
http://www.greatsouthland.org/
This article may be freely copied or forwarded in full withoutomission or alteration. Copyright Great South Land Ministries, Australia
John 12:20:27
All scriptures NKJV unless otherwise stated.
The setting is Jerusalem. Jesus has come with His disciples to celebrate Passover with them for the last time. Certain Greeks, possibly Greek gentiles (proselytes), have also travelled to Jerusalem to worship the God of the Jews, and they wish to have an audience with Jesus. They approach Philip who approaches Andrew and together the two disciples have come to Jesus on behalf of the Greeks. The potential for Jesus ministry to spread beyond Israel is, at that moment, enormous. His gospel and teachings could be about to be taken by these Greeks far beyond the boundaries of the small geographical area Jesus and His disciples have so far been able to cover. As they approached Jesus, Philip and Andrew must have at least had in mind the possibilities such a meeting between Jesus and the Greeks could bring about.
But Jesus’ response is unexpected to say the least. There will be no meeting with the Greeks. Jesus has something else on His mind that eliminates all previous assumptions about Him. Totally in touch with His Father, fully led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus has discerned a dramatic change in the spiritual hour.
“The hour has come”, He tells them, “that the Son of Man should be glorified.” On two previous occasions, according to John’s gospel, authorities could not lay hands on Jesus because “his hour had not yet come” (John 7:30, John 8:20), but in John 13:1 we suddenly read “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come.....”. He goes on to state “If anyone serves me let Him follow Me, and where I am, there My servant will be also” (John:12:26). Yesterday He had received people. Yesterday He had spoken privately with people. Yesterday He had patiently shared Who He was and why He had come. Today, however, He will not be doing such things. Today the hour has changed and the option to stand on the sidelines considering Jesus and His words has suddenly been removed. Today, in this new hour, the only option is to follow.
We see the same spiritual principle at work when we look into the lives of some of Jesus best known disciples. Mark 1:16-20 details the calling of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. We are told that when Jesus called them, Simon and Andrew ‘immediately left their nets and followed Him”. James and John also “immediately.... left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him.” Similarly, Levi, (also known as Matthew) “left all, rose up and followed Him” immediately Jesus passed by and called him (Mark 2:14). Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John had no doubt been trained as fishermen from when they were very young boys. The fishing business was not only their family’s lifestyle but also their livelihood. Levi was a wealthy tax collector with his own office and the support of both Herod and the Romans. Yet the Bible tells us each of them immediately “left all” to follow Jesus.
Yesterday they were a fisherman or a tax collector with a steady income, good reputation, a well established future and family support. But today they have ‘left all’ to follow an itinerant Jewish rabbi of disputable birth, questionable reputation and unknown future. It’s one thing to ‘leave all’ and follow when ordinary life is difficult and every day brings new uncertainties and serious challenges. It’s quite another thing to ‘leave all’ and follow when life is going smoothly and the future looks bright and certain. We don’t know how many people Jesus called to follow Him as He walked along the shores and through the towns of Galilee. We have assumed He only called those who are recorded, yet elsewhere He clearly stated “many are called, few are chosen.” One thing we can know for sure, these ones who left all to follow Him sensed a new hour was upon them.
There is , prophetically speaking, a deep sense within many in the Bride of Christ that the hour has changed. “What now Lord?” is a phrase I am hearing spoken more and more frequently in various forms. A growing spiritual restlessness is birthing within us a sense of anticipation for something we are not yet sure of. We are sensing change. A radical new hour is rising on us that will bring excitement and fulfillment, but also unexpected and unknown challenges. Like riding the rapids of a wild river never sure what’s going to be around the next bend, we have committed to the ride and there’s no turning back.
Is this changing in the spiritual hour merely a sign we are drawing close to the end of another year and entering a new decade? Can it be due to the immense historical and environmental upheavals we can see happening all around us in politics, weather and religion? Possibly inpart, but I believe these tremendous external changes are simply the manifestations on earth of a new hour already decreed in Heaven.
Interestingly, timepieces have taken on a new significance for me lately. I have a watch I purchased only two months ago but it keeps telling me the wrong time. A brand new battery has been inserted to no avail. Habitually I continue to put this watch on my wrist every morning, but half way through the day I will invariably look down at it and discover it’s giving me the wrong hour. If I want to know the real time I need to go look at our electric clock that will give me the precise hour and minute. I have another little clock that was a gift from my sister several years ago and I have always treasured it. Some time ago it stopped altogether and, again assuming the battery had run out, I inserted a new one. The clock still didn’t go. Two days ago my husband asked me what was wrong with my clock and I told him it no longer works even though it has a new battery. Deciding to investigate, he found I had simply inserted the battery the wrong way round. He fixed it and it now gives the right time. These stories may seem irrelevant and even humorous, but to me they prophetically illustrate how very easy it is for us to rely on things that have always worked for us in the past, when in reality God is moving in a totally new and different direction.
Are we aware of the hour we are entering? Are we discerning that great changes are at hand and are we prepared to make the life-changing decisions this new hour will demand of us? When the King says “no more business as usual”, who of us will see and hear? When the Spirit suddenly changes direction midstream, who will be wise enough to discern? And how many will be courageous enough to follow?
We read in Matthew 19:27 of a day when Simon Peter cried out to Jesus“See, we have left all and followed You! Therefore what shall we have?” History tells us Simon Peter was crucified in Rome. History also tells us the Apostle John was the only one of the twelve who did not suffer martyrdom but died a natural death. Each of them equally followed Jesus to the end. The outcome of our individual journeys cannot always be known to us. What is paramount is not the individual pathway we follow, but the following. But if we are not already following close enough to discern the shifting of the hour, how then will we follow further?
The hour is indeed changing.....rapidly. This is not a comfortable time. Nor is it a time to stand on the sidelines considering our options. If we have not yet decided to ‘leave all and follow’,whatever the cost, then perhaps we have made our decision. We are either of those who stand and watch or those who follow. There is no more middle ground.
Discerning the hour is no longer something to leave to the prophets;it is a vital responsibility of every disciple who has determined to follow Jesus sincerely and wholeheartedly. It is quite possible, likely even, that where we are going will not look like what we want or imagine it to look like. Any assumptions we are still carrying about our King, His Kingdom, or each other will most certainly be stripped from us along the way. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,today and forever, but methods, ministries and priorities change according to Heaven’s agenda and timetable. And surely that, for us, is the only agenda and timetable we dare trust as we continue this ever narrowing journey?
“Where I am there My servant will be also.”
Cheryl McGrath
Great South Land Ministries
http://www.greatsouthland.org/
This article may be freely copied or forwarded in full withoutomission or alteration. Copyright Great South Land Ministries, Australia
Only One Tree
ONLY ONE TREE
Among the trees of the wood,
there is only One I've found -
O Christ, yoked to the children of men
you have chosen to be bound.
Entreat me not to leave You
nor this tree in folly pass by -
here on this ground You have placed me
here daily in You will I die.
As the tree then bears its cuts and wounds,
let Your brand marks on me be,
a testimony to the world
of Your great love for me.
The voices carried on the wind
may whisper - "all in vain" -
but what seems waste and loss
is in You, O Christ, my gain.
Lonely might the tree appear
with few bound at its side
but You have drawn in suffering Love
other seekers to be tied.
by
Sarah Maitland
Sarah Maitland
A Great People and a Strong
"A Great People and a Strong"
© B. Keith Chadwell, December, 2009
To the people of Israel who came out of Egyptian bondage, through the sea and into the wilderness, was God's promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, a "promised land". It was a promise which could not be appropriated without trusting in God's word and following God's directions.
With our modern "Google Earth" or a good map, it is easy for us to see that it's not that far from the North East borders of Egypt, across country and then on into modern day Israel. We can see, now, this would be a journey of just a few hundred miles and by a direct route, could be traversed fairly easily by such a company as the Children of Israel in a matter of days or at most, weeks. The Bible tells us, however, that, instead of weeks, it was a journey that lasted some forty years, with an entire generation of the Children of Israel dying in the wilderness along the way. Why?
Num 32:13 And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was consumed.
By the Holy Spirit, we may have been given to see something of the mysteries of the Kingdom that are hidden in the "Old Testament" in parables, types, metaphors, similitudes and dark sayings.
Look diligently for further revelation in these types and shadows in the Bible and especially in "the Prophets". Look for further revelation of what God has purposed to conceal from all but those with "eyes to see and ears to hear". We should also keep in mind what Peter has written for us:
"...not every prophetic writing is made clear in its own book". (2Peter 1:19-20)
To be open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit is humility before God. For "we know in part" and like an incomplete jig saw puzzle, we therefore can not yet see the totality of the completed picture. Beware, because our eschatology has been leavened. Force fit nothing. Traditions have bound us, in many ways, for a long time. Peter suffered from such binding traditions;
Continue Reading here
© B. Keith Chadwell, December, 2009
To the people of Israel who came out of Egyptian bondage, through the sea and into the wilderness, was God's promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, a "promised land". It was a promise which could not be appropriated without trusting in God's word and following God's directions.
With our modern "Google Earth" or a good map, it is easy for us to see that it's not that far from the North East borders of Egypt, across country and then on into modern day Israel. We can see, now, this would be a journey of just a few hundred miles and by a direct route, could be traversed fairly easily by such a company as the Children of Israel in a matter of days or at most, weeks. The Bible tells us, however, that, instead of weeks, it was a journey that lasted some forty years, with an entire generation of the Children of Israel dying in the wilderness along the way. Why?
Num 32:13 And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was consumed.
By the Holy Spirit, we may have been given to see something of the mysteries of the Kingdom that are hidden in the "Old Testament" in parables, types, metaphors, similitudes and dark sayings.
Look diligently for further revelation in these types and shadows in the Bible and especially in "the Prophets". Look for further revelation of what God has purposed to conceal from all but those with "eyes to see and ears to hear". We should also keep in mind what Peter has written for us:
"...not every prophetic writing is made clear in its own book". (2Peter 1:19-20)
To be open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit is humility before God. For "we know in part" and like an incomplete jig saw puzzle, we therefore can not yet see the totality of the completed picture. Beware, because our eschatology has been leavened. Force fit nothing. Traditions have bound us, in many ways, for a long time. Peter suffered from such binding traditions;
Continue Reading here
You Are Enough For Me
YOU ARE ENOUGH FOR ME
Give to your daughter a heart of content
that I might not long for more than is meant.
Longings, desires, laid at your feet -
in You alone my fulfillment meet.
This passing disappointment of the hour
with Yourself all aches devour.
You are my Portion, forever to be -
Blessed, Lord, You are enough for me.
by
Sarah Maitland
Sarah Maitland
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Army of The LORD
The Army of The LORD
3/11/03
As believers, it is of utmost importance that we are walking in close fellowship with Christ. As we grow in our relationship, we will experience many things. Many changes will transpire within; but the most exciting is our coming to a fuller, clearer knowledge of all that is Holy. As we submit to the purgings of the Spirit, our minds are renewed, our vision is expanded, and our walk is solidified. We no longer operate from our own limited strength or knowledge. We have learned to lean on the arm of our beloved, to trust implicitly in HIS wisdom, and to obey whatever HE tells us without question. We are more than happy to let God be God.
Many look at the spiritual darkness in the world, and feel discouraged and overwhelmed by the immense scope of restoration needed. Sometimes you may even relate to how Elijah felt when he went into the wilderness to die. He felt like he was the only one left. We know that the angel of the LORD came and fed him, and encouraged him to go on. God had more for him to do. He wasn’t the only one left… the Lord told him that he had 7000 who had not bowed their knees to Ba-al. Today is no different. All across the world, God has individuals that HE has been preparing to raise them up. They are nobody’s in the eyes of the world and the Church, but their hearts are for God and by the power of the Spirit they will do great exploits. The Lord is getting ready to muster HIS army.
The following verses from Joel and Isaiah pertain to this great purpose that God has purposed to do. This is from the Amplified Bible:
Joel 2:1 BLOW THE trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand.
Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.
Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].
Joel 2:4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses and horsemen, so do they run.
Joel 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap--like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array.
Joel 2:6 Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale.
Joel 2:7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks.
Joel 2:8 Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course.
Joel 2:9 They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
Joel 2:10 The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2:11 And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God's] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?
Isaiah 13:1 THE MOURNFUL, inspired prediction (a burden to be lifted up) concerning Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw [with prophetic insight]:
Isaiah 13:2 Raise up a signal banner upon the high and bare mountain, summon them with loud voice and beckoning hand that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
Isaiah 13:3 I Myself [says the Lord] have commanded My designated ones and have summoned My mighty men to execute My anger, even My proudly exulting ones those who are made to triumph for My honor.
Isaiah 13:4 Hark, the uproar of a multitude in the mountains, like that of a great people! The noise of the tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering the host for the battle.
Isaiah 13:5 They come from a distant country, from the uttermost part of the heavens even the Lord and the weapons of His indignation--to seize and destroy the whole land.
Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand; as destruction from the Almighty and Sufficient One [Shaddai] will it come!
Isaiah 13:7 Therefore will all hands be feeble, and every man's heart will melt.
Isaiah 13:8 And they shall be dismayed and terrified, pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in childbirth. They will gaze stupefied and aghast at one another, their faces will be aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming!--fierce, with wrath and raging anger--to make the land and the [whole] earth a desolation and to destroy out of it its sinners.
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened at its rising and the moon will not shed its light.
Isaiah 13:11 And I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their guilt and iniquity; I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible and the boasting of the violent and ruthless.
I would hope that the seriousness of these words have impacted you as you read. This army is the LORD’S. He hand picks each member. These individuals have answered the call to ‘follow Him’ all the way. The whole world will tremble before this army. They will move only as the Lord moves, being fully submitted to Christ, and walking in the Spirit and not their flesh. There are only two options open to mankind. We will either be part of this army, or we will tremble before them. The world and the Church are going to come to understanding… that God is Holy, and that ‘no flesh shall glory in His presence.’ The work is the Lord’s. Remember when Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” John 16:33.
Have no doubt... these prophecies will come to pass, and apparently in our lifetimes. The tribulations in our lives are what bring about the death of our flesh, (leaning on our own strengths and understanding). Everything of lasting worth is found only in HIM. We don’t have to overcome anything in our own strength… it is all God! He is the one who overcomes the world… ‘our world’… in us and in the world overall. Paul and Silas found it. Jailed and beaten, they were able to sing praises in the prison, because they knew in whom they believed. Do you?
Amen,
Cathy Morris
3/11/03
As believers, it is of utmost importance that we are walking in close fellowship with Christ. As we grow in our relationship, we will experience many things. Many changes will transpire within; but the most exciting is our coming to a fuller, clearer knowledge of all that is Holy. As we submit to the purgings of the Spirit, our minds are renewed, our vision is expanded, and our walk is solidified. We no longer operate from our own limited strength or knowledge. We have learned to lean on the arm of our beloved, to trust implicitly in HIS wisdom, and to obey whatever HE tells us without question. We are more than happy to let God be God.
Many look at the spiritual darkness in the world, and feel discouraged and overwhelmed by the immense scope of restoration needed. Sometimes you may even relate to how Elijah felt when he went into the wilderness to die. He felt like he was the only one left. We know that the angel of the LORD came and fed him, and encouraged him to go on. God had more for him to do. He wasn’t the only one left… the Lord told him that he had 7000 who had not bowed their knees to Ba-al. Today is no different. All across the world, God has individuals that HE has been preparing to raise them up. They are nobody’s in the eyes of the world and the Church, but their hearts are for God and by the power of the Spirit they will do great exploits. The Lord is getting ready to muster HIS army.
The following verses from Joel and Isaiah pertain to this great purpose that God has purposed to do. This is from the Amplified Bible:
Joel 2:1 BLOW THE trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand.
Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.
Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].
Joel 2:4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses and horsemen, so do they run.
Joel 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap--like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array.
Joel 2:6 Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale.
Joel 2:7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks.
Joel 2:8 Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course.
Joel 2:9 They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
Joel 2:10 The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2:11 And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God's] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?
Isaiah 13:1 THE MOURNFUL, inspired prediction (a burden to be lifted up) concerning Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz saw [with prophetic insight]:
Isaiah 13:2 Raise up a signal banner upon the high and bare mountain, summon them with loud voice and beckoning hand that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
Isaiah 13:3 I Myself [says the Lord] have commanded My designated ones and have summoned My mighty men to execute My anger, even My proudly exulting ones those who are made to triumph for My honor.
Isaiah 13:4 Hark, the uproar of a multitude in the mountains, like that of a great people! The noise of the tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathering together! The Lord of hosts is mustering the host for the battle.
Isaiah 13:5 They come from a distant country, from the uttermost part of the heavens even the Lord and the weapons of His indignation--to seize and destroy the whole land.
Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand; as destruction from the Almighty and Sufficient One [Shaddai] will it come!
Isaiah 13:7 Therefore will all hands be feeble, and every man's heart will melt.
Isaiah 13:8 And they shall be dismayed and terrified, pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in childbirth. They will gaze stupefied and aghast at one another, their faces will be aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming!--fierce, with wrath and raging anger--to make the land and the [whole] earth a desolation and to destroy out of it its sinners.
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened at its rising and the moon will not shed its light.
Isaiah 13:11 And I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their guilt and iniquity; I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible and the boasting of the violent and ruthless.
I would hope that the seriousness of these words have impacted you as you read. This army is the LORD’S. He hand picks each member. These individuals have answered the call to ‘follow Him’ all the way. The whole world will tremble before this army. They will move only as the Lord moves, being fully submitted to Christ, and walking in the Spirit and not their flesh. There are only two options open to mankind. We will either be part of this army, or we will tremble before them. The world and the Church are going to come to understanding… that God is Holy, and that ‘no flesh shall glory in His presence.’ The work is the Lord’s. Remember when Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” John 16:33.
Have no doubt... these prophecies will come to pass, and apparently in our lifetimes. The tribulations in our lives are what bring about the death of our flesh, (leaning on our own strengths and understanding). Everything of lasting worth is found only in HIM. We don’t have to overcome anything in our own strength… it is all God! He is the one who overcomes the world… ‘our world’… in us and in the world overall. Paul and Silas found it. Jailed and beaten, they were able to sing praises in the prison, because they knew in whom they believed. Do you?
Amen,
Cathy Morris
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