Invitation To Pray

Jer 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

God encourages us to pray. 

They tell us that prayer is a pious exercise which has no influence except upon the mind engaged in it. 

We know better. 

Our experience gives the lie a thousand times over to this infidel assertion. 

Here Jehovah, the Living GOD, distinctly promises to Answer the prayer of His servant. 

Let us Call Upon Him again and Admit No Doubt upon the question of His Hearing us and Answering us. 

He that Made The Ear, shall He not Hear? 

He that gave parents a love to their children, will He not listen to the Cries of His Own Sons and Daughters!

God will Answer His pleading people in their anguish. 

He has Wonders in store for them. 

What they have Never seen, Heard of, or Dreamed of, He Will Do for them. 

He will invent New blessings if needful. 

He will ransack sea and land to Feed them: 

He will send every angel out of heaven To Succor them if their distress requires it. 

He will Astound us with His Grace and make us feel that it was never before done in this fashion.

All He asks of us is that we will Call Upon Him. 

He cannot ask less of us. 

Let us cheerfully Render Him Our Prayers At Once. 

~Charles Spurgeon

JESUS Will ALWAYS Be The Dragons FOE!

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

War always will rage between the two great sovereignties until one or other be crushed.

Peace between good and evil is an Impossibility; the very pretense of it would, in fact, be the triumph of the powers of darkness.

Michael will always fight; his holy soul is vexed with sin, and will not endure it.

Jesus will Always be the dragon’s foe, and that not in a quiet sense, but Actively, Vigorously, with Full Determination to Exterminate Evil.

All his servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight;

They are born to be Warriors - at the cross they enter into covenant Never to make truce with evil;

They are a warlike company, Firm in defense and Fierce in attack.

The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is daily, with all his heart, and soul, and strength, to fight against the dragon.

The dragon and his angels will not decline the affray; they are incessant in their onslaughts, sparing no weapon, fair or foul.

We are Foolish to expect to serve God without opposition:

The more zealous we are, the more sure are we to be assailed by the myrmidons of hell.

The church may become slothful, but not so her Great Antagonist;

His restless spirit never suffers the war to pause; he Hates the woman’s seed, and would fain devour the church if he could.

The servants of Satan partake much of the old dragon’s energy, and are usually an active race.

War rages all around, and to dream of peace is dangerous and futile.

Glory be to God, we know the end of the war.

The great dragon shall be Cast out and Forever Destroyed, while Jesus and they who are with him shall receive the crown.

Let us sharpen our swords tonight, and pray the Holy Spirit to nerve our arms for the conflict.

Never battle so important, never crown so glorious.

Every man to his Post, ye Warriors of the cross, and may the Lord tread Satan under your feet shortly!

~Charles Spurgeon~

Abundantly Able

Rom 4:21  And being Fully Persuaded that, what he had Promised, he was Able also to Perform.

We are told that Abraham could look at his own body and consider it as good as dead Without Being Discouraged, because he was not looking at himself but at the Almighty One.

He did not stagger at the promise, but Stood Straight Up Unbending beneath his mighty load of blessing; 

And instead of growing weak he waxed Strong in the Faith, grew more robust, the more difficulties became apparent, glorifying God through His very sufficiency.

And being "Fully Persuaded" (as the Greek expresses it) "that he who had promised was," not merely able, but as it literally means "Abundantly Able," Munificently Able, Able with an Infinite Surplus Of Resources, Infinitely Able "To Perform."

He is the GOD Of Boundless Resources. 

The Only Limit Is In Us. 

Our asking, our thinking, our praying are Too Small; our Expectations are Too Limited. 

He is trying to Lift Us Up to a Higher Conception, and lure us on to a Mightier Expectation and Appropriation. 

Oh, shall we put Him in derision? 

There is No Limit to what we may Ask and Expect of our glorious El-Shaddai; 

And there is but One measure here given for His blessing, and that is According to the Power That Worketh In Us.

A. B. Simpson
 
Climb to the treasure house of blessing on the ladder made of Divine Promises. 

By a promise as by a Key to Open the Door to the Riches of God's Grace and Favor.

The Evil Of Fear!

Not many of us need to be informed that one of Satan's most successful and powerful weapons against the children of God is fear. 

He drives, he harasses, he torments, he worries; yes, he does many things for the undoing of God's people by means of this weapon of fear. 

How many of the Lord's people are found in a state of weakness, impotence, and paralysis, because of fear! 

They are afraid, they fear. 

How many are found in a state of indecision, incapable of taking any definite, deliberate, strong step, because of fear. 

They are all the time moving so cautiously, so uncertainly, because they are afraid, because of fear, and multitudes of the Lord's people are in a state of positive spiritual defeat because of fear working in some way - foreboding, dread, apprehension. 

Fear, John rightly says, has torment, and it is possible to get into such a state that you are almost afraid to leave your home for half an hour lest you might come back and find that something has gone wrong, to take a journey without all the time wanting to keep in touch with things. 

You are afraid. 

It is a terrible thing, this fear, and in countless ways the enemy lashes the children of God by this rod, this whip, of fear.

The Word of God is very strong about this matter. "God has not given us a spirit of fear", and let us once and for all get this kind of fear defined and disentangled from the other fear of which we have to speak, the right kind of fear. 

I think that failure to discriminate in this matter is perhaps at the root of a very great deal of the defeat. 

We, somewhere in the back of our minds, in an undefined way, have got muddled up and confused. 

Fear - yes, but we are commanded to fear, the fear of the Lord. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 

We must fear lest we make mistakes, lest we go wrong, lest we grieve the Lord; we must fear this and that. 

Oh, but let us drive the wedge clean in between the devil's fear and the fear of the Lord! 

They are two different things, and let us settle it once and for all that this kind of harassing, driving fear comes straight from the pit; it is born in hell, a weapon forged there by the devil himself against the children of God. 

Let it be settled in your heart forever that this kind of fear is Not from God. 

This fear Is from Satan. 

Oh, I do feel that it is so important that the people of God should nail this matter of fear. When you find yourself in this state because of fear, you say, "This is not from God!" 

Fear is a master weapon of Satan, and you have got to free yourself in the Name of the Lord from his awful drive by this means.

What is he after? 

It is always good to ask ourselves what is the effect of a thing in our lives. 

I can very well discover where it comes from if I recognize what the effect is. 

If a thing paralyzes me, if it takes all certainty and confidence and assurance out of my heart, if it takes the steady firmness out of my walk, my tread, if it holds me up in weakness and paralyzes so that I am afraid to move, then that is not of God. 

God wants His people to go forward with assurance and confidence, with a firm and steady tread, not to have in their hearts everlastingly a paralyzing doubt. 

So what is the effect? 

Recognize that and you know where it comes from.

What is Satan after? You say, to paralyze me, to destroy me, to hold up. Oh yes, but that is only secondary! 

He is after dishonouring God, and God is dishonored in His people. 

It has ever been that Satan has aimed at the work of God's hands, aimed his blow to dishonor God, and God is dishonored when His people are, in the wrong sense, fearful. 

What is fear, after all? 

Well, it is mistrust, it is lack of faith. 

John says that it is the opposite of love. 

There is no fear in love. 

Perfect love casts out all fear, and he that fears is not made perfect in love. 

Fear is the opposite of love, and what is love if it is not trust? 

None of us would agree that we were loved if we were not trusted. 

We demand absolute confidence as the hallmark of professed love. 

It is only feigned love which has reservations about an object which it professes to love.

It is mere empty sentiment and pretense which says, "I love you but I am not sure of you". 

Oh no! That is the only kind of love that we really, in our hearts, can accept and believe in. 

A lot of people tell me they love me, but I know all the time they have got big questions about me and they are suspicious. 

I say that kind of love is not much good, it does not help me very much. 

It does not get us anywhere just to keep that shadow all the time in between. 

But carry that into the divine realm. 

Can that be tolerated in relation to God? 

I love God, but I do not trust Him, I am not sure of Him. 

I am afraid to go out tomorrow lest something should go wrong, lest the Lord should let me down. 

You see, it is very practical. 

Perfect love casts out all fear. 

It is by this fear and fearfulness that Satan is seeking to dishonor God in us by keeping us in a state of uncertainty about God, a reservation of confidence and trust. 

Fear is the opposite of trust. 

If we trust, we are not afraid. 

It is put quite simply: "I will trust and not be afraid" (Is. 12:2). 

Isa 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

These two things cannot live together - trust and fear. 

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Oh, the gain to the enemy against the Lord along the line of fear!

But, of course, this is a very real thing, this fear, and although the Word of God may not use the phrase, we have reason to believe that amongst the hosts of evil spirits, there are definitely the spirits of fear. 

For very often this thing is something extra to ourselves; it comes upon us. 

It is something that happens to us at times. 

We find ourselves afraid. 

The enemy wants to make us afraid and his spirits of fear are sent forth to do that. 

There needs to be a very definite and strong attitude taken in spirit before the Lord to resist the devil in this form. 

When we say the devil, we mean all his hosts as well; however he may come - to resist fear. It is a resolution - "I WILL trust, and not be afraid - for the Lord...".

Well, that is all I am going to say for the moment about the evil of fear. 

I want you to take that word and keep it in your heart; dwell much upon it, because I am convinced that the enemy is pressing very much along this line. 

Do you notice what Nehemiah said? Oh, it was a significant thing! 

Nehemiah said something more than he knew he was saying, I am quite sure of that! 

He said a thing which embraces a great deal of the New Testament. 

He said, "For this purpose were they hired that they might make me afraid, and do so, and sin".

Yes, but that is only half. 

And then what? "That they might have an evil report, a case, against me". 

What the enemy is after all the time is, first of all, to make afraid, and then to get us to take some step, to do something out of fear, and then to come right round on us and accuse us before God. 

How cruel, how subtle, how wicked! - but that is of no consequence to him. 

What he is after is to cast the saints down by accusation, and if he can only get them either to do or to refrain from doing through fear, he has got a case, and it will not be long before he comes back on that very ground and makes accusation, condemnation, and distress.

T. Austin Sparks

A Soothing Seduction!

                                                                       
Let me show you what happens to every child of God who enters into a relationship with a bitter, unrighteous, rebellious person. 

There are awful consequences.

The fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat 2 Chronicles 17:10. 

Jehoshaphat’s kingdom, Judah, was blessed and prospered abundantly, and nobody dared come against them.

But after Jehoshaphat entered into a relationship with Ahab, Scripture says, "Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead. And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war" 2 Chronicles 18:2-3. 

Jehoshaphat willingly got sucked into a hopeless war, one that God had no part in.

The Hebrew word for persuaded in this passage means "a soothing seduction."Jehoshaphat allowed himself to be seduced into war by Ahab, answering, "I am as you are." 

In other words, I'm your friend, so I'm with you all the way. I won't let you down. You can count on me!

Is your close friend full of bitterness, hatred, anger and pursuing a war of some kind? 

Is he involved in a marriage war, a family war, a personal war? 

And are you like a Jehoshaphat to him, offering help and encouragement? 

If so, look out, because you are about to be seduced into it all.

That's right, very soon you will find yourself smack in the middle of your friend's mess and you will be asked to take a stand. 

If your friend is in a troubled marriage, for example, you are going to be forced to take a side. 

And you will end up sympathizing with him...all the way through his divorce!

Beware, Christian, because whenever you extend comfort or encouragement to someone who is in rebellion, you take sides against the Holy Spirit. 

And that makes you a partaker in that person's sin. 

Tragically, when Jehoshaphat joined Ahab's war, he only hastened his friend along the path of destruction!

~David Wilkerson~

Don't Rush!

Isa 50:10  Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. 

What shall the believer do in times of darkness-the darkness of perplexity and confusion, not of heart but of mind? 

Times of darkness come to the faithful and believing disciple who is walking obediently in the will of God; seasons when he does not know what to do, nor which way to turn. 

The sky is overcast with clouds. The clear light of Heaven does not shine upon his pathway. 

One feels as if he were groping his way in darkness.

Beloved, is this you? 

What shall the believer do in times of darkness? 

Listen! 

Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely upon his God."

The first thing to do is do nothing. This is hard for poor human nature to do.

In the West there is a saying that runs thus, "When you're rattled, don't rush"; in other words, "When you don't know what to do, don't do it."

When you run into a spiritual fog bank, don't tear ahead; slow down the machinery of your life. 

If necessary, anchor your bark or let it swing at its moorings. 

We are to simply trust God. While we trust, God can work. 

Worry prevents Him from doing anything for us. 

If our minds. are distracted and our hearts distressed; if the darkness that overshadows us strikes terror to us; if we run hither and yon in a vain effort to find some way of escape out of a dark place of trial, where Divine providence has put us, the Lord can do nothing for us.

The peace of God must quiet our minds and rest our hearts. 

We must put our hand in the hand of God like a little child, and let Him lead us out into the bright sunshine of His love.

He knows the way out of the woods. 

Let us climb up into His arms, and trust Him to take us out by the shortest and surest road.

~Dr. Pardington

Remember we are never without a pilot when we know not how to steer!

Hold on, my heart, in thy believing-The steadfast only wins the crown...

He who, when stormy winds are heaving, Parts with its anchor, shall go down...

But he who Jesus holds through all, Shall stand, though Heaven and earth should fall.

Hold out! There comes an end to sorrow; Hope from the dust shall conquering rise...

The storm foretells a summer's morrow; The Cross points on to Paradise...

The Father reigneth! cease all doubt...

Hold on, my heart, hold on, hold out.

Let Nothing Be Done Through Strife Or Vainglory!

What do we Expect when we go on with God, when we come right out for God?

What have we in view?

Well, the answer to that question will decide whether, in relation to God, we have Ambitions for Something on the earth.

Do you Get the point?

You see, it is so possible to swing over your natural ambitions to spiritual aims.

It is the same thing still at work, and the only difference is the direction or sphere.

You can be as Ambitious in the work of God as you can be in the world, and it is the Same Natural Ambition.

It is the Ambitiousness of Nature.

You desire – What do you desire?

To See something, to Have something, to Be in something?

Ambition for success; yes, once it was in the world – now the Same Ambition transferred to other things....

It is a Mark of going on when we can Come To The Place where it is True before God that we have Let Go all the prosperity and success even of Christian work and Christian ministry as men would count it.

To be able to Let Go the great opportunities and the great advantages that may be had amongst Christian people, and the prizes that can be grasped, and to say, “It is all right, the Lord knows; it is for Him to give or withhold.

I am NOT going to make a line for those prizes.

I am NOT going to ALLOW those things to INFLUENCE my walk with God.

Ambition is NOT Going to DICTATE my course, This is a SURE Sign of Growth.

It may not seem here on earth to mean very big things; wide open doors and all that...

But somehow you may take it that there is Life there, Spiritual Influence there, Something that is Counting there.

In the end It Will Have Counted.

But this does sometimes first of all Necessitate that Conflict with Ambition where all those suggestions and influences have to be laid low...

And we come to the place where we see that the Way Of Life is to go on with God Though It Costs Us Everything.

The law of the Spirit of Life works in that way....

The way of Life demands that we shall get before the Lord again, and say, “Lord, though all my earthly prospects fade, though all my ambitions are disappointed, it is YOU I Want.

YOU Are My Ambition, My Goal.

If I have YOU, these other things will count for much less.

I believe that, As We Can Get There and not many of us have got a long way on that road ...

But As We Can Get There, We Find the Secret of Life, of Joy, of Release.

~T. Austin Sparks