Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

ARCHERS OF MALICIOUS FALSE ACCUSATION

Joseph had other host of archers assailing him; these were the archers of  MALICIOUS False Accusation. 

Seeing that he would not yield to temptation, his mistress falsely accused him to her husband, and his lord, believing the voice of his wife, cast Joseph into prison.

It was a marvelous providence that he did not put him to death; for Potiphar, his master, was the chief of the slaughtermen; he had only to call in a soldier, who would have cut him in pieces on the spot. 

But he cast him into prison. There was poor Joseph. His character ruined in the eyes of man, and very likely looked upon with scorn even in the prison-house; base criminals went away from him as if they thought him viler than themselves, as if they were angels in comparison with him. 

Oh! it is no easy thing to feel your character gone, to think that you are slandered, that things are said of you that are untrue

Many a man's heart has been broken by this, when nothing else could make him yield.  

The archers sorely grieved him when he was so maligned—so slandered

O child of God, dost thou expect to escape these archers?

Wilt thou never be slandered? Shalt thou never be falsely accused? 

It is the lot of God's servants, in proportion to their zeal, to be evil spoken of.

Remember the noble Whitefield, how he stood and was the butt of all the jeers and scoffs of half an age; while his only answer was a blameless life.

And he who forged, and he who threw the dart, Had each a brother's interest in his heart.

They reviled him and imputed to him crimes that Sodom never knew. 


So shall it be always with those who preach God's truth, and all the followers of Christ—they must all expect it; but, blessed be God, they have not said worse things of us than they said of our Master.  

Ah! friends, some now present know this verse by heart, "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him." Expect it; do not think it a strange thing; all God's people must have it. 

There are no royal roads to heaven—they are paths of trial and trouble.

The archers will shoot at you as long as you are on this side the flood.

 ~Charles Spurgeon~

Sunday, July 27, 2014

HARNESS OF THE LORD

There is a terrific operation of the Spirit going on today to bring the Sons of God into an absolute confinement to the perfect will of God. 

This is the Day of His Preparation the day in which He is preparing the channel through which He shall pour forth His Glory for all the world to see. 

This channel is His Body in the earth that glorious company of people who are being conformed through much tribulation and fiery tests to the Image of the Son of God.

This is His "battle axe and weapons of war" with which He shall subdue kingdoms and overcome all His enemies. 

This is His "mighty and strong One" to whom He shall commit the work of judging this world. This is His Overcomer, His "great army" with which He shall bring the nations into submission.

The weapons of their warfare are not carnal, natural weapons but they are mighty weapons, mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. These are those who shall "be strong and do exploits."
 
But before God can commit this great and tremendous ministry into their hands they must submit themselves to the discipline of the Lord letting Him truly be the Lord of their entire lives. 

We have long since dealt with the question of open sin but now God is dealing with the inward rebellion of our own wills. 

Some good Christians are not now being so dealt with for they are not in this Firstfruits Company but nevertheless there is a real dealing of God going on within those who are called into the High Calling of God.

This is a very real thing and is the work of the Refiner's Fire. To those who are going through it some of its aspects are horrible but very necessary and the end result thereof is glorious as we are brought into absolute and complete submission to the will of our Lord.
 
It was in a minister's conference and convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma that God gave me a vision which I want to share with you concerning this harnessing of our own wills. 

There were more than 30 ministers present in this particular Thursday morning service and God, the Father of spirits, was present to deal with His sons, to correct them and discipline them to absolute obedience to His will. 

There was such a stern dealing in the Spirit that no one could go to the pulpit and minister, there was a reluctance among the ministers to say anything except that which was directly ordered by the Spirit.

And as those men of God sat there in the awesome presence of Almighty God, some of them having many years of ministry, some missionaries, all of them capable of getting up and preaching a powerful sermon, I was impressed by the way they responded to the discipline of the Spirit. 

And in the midst of this terrific dealing of God with our spirits, the Holy Ghost gave me a vision. 

I SAW THE KING'S CARRIAGE
 
On a dirt road in the middle of a wide field stood a beautiful carriage, something on the order of a stagecoach but all edged in gold and with beautiful carvings. 

It was pulled by six large chestnut horses: two in the lead, two in the middle and two in the rear. But they were not moving, they were not pulling the carriage, and I wondered why.

Then I saw the driver underneath the carriage on the ground on his back just behind the last two horses' heels working on something between the front wheels on the carriage. I thought, "My, he is in a dangerous place; for if one of those horses kicked or stepped back, they could kill him, or if they decided to go forward, or got frightened somehow, they would pull the carriage right over him." 

But he didn't seem afraid for he knew that those horses were disciplined and would not move till he told them to move.

The horses were not stamping their feet nor acting restless, and though there were bells on their feet, the bells were not tinkling. 

There were pom-poms on their harness over their heads but the pom-poms were not moving. 

They were simply standing still and quiet waiting for the voice of the Master.

THERE WERE TWO YOUNG COLTS IN THE FIELD 

As I watched the harnessed horses I noticed two young colts coming out of the open field and they approached the carriage and seemed to say to the horses: "Come and play with us, we have many fine games, we will race with you, come catch us." 

And with that the colts kicked up their heels flicked their tails and raced across the open field.

But when they looked back and saw the horses were not following they were puzzled. 

They knew nothing of the harnesses and could not understand why the horses did not want to play. 

So they called to them: "Why do you not race with us? Are you tired? Are you too weak? Do you not have strength to run? You are much too solemn, you need more joy in life."

But the horses answered not a word nor did they stamp their feet or toss their heads.. But they stood, quiet and still, waiting for the voice of the Master.
 
Again the colts called to them: "Why do you stand so in the hot sun? Come over here in the shade of this nice tree. See how green the grass is? You must be hungry, come and feed with us, it is so green and so good. You look thirsty, come drink of one of our many streams of cool clear water."

But the horses answered them not so much as a glance but stood still waiting for the command to go forward with the King.

COLTS IN THE MASTER'S CORRAL

 
And then the scene changed and I saw lariat nooses fall around the necks of the two colts and they were led off to the Master's corral for training and discipline. 

How sad they were as the lovely green fields disappeared and they were put into the confinement of the corral with its brown dirt and high fence. 

The colts ran from fence to fence seeking freedom but found that they were confined to this place of training.

And then the Trainer began to work on them with His whip and His bridle. 

What a death for those who had been all their lives accustomed to such a freedom! 

They could not understand the reason for this torture, this terrible discipline.

What crime had they done to deserve this? Little did they know of the responsibility that was to be theirs when they had submitted to the discipline, learned to perfectly obey the Master and finished their training. All they knew was that this processing was the most horrible thing they had ever known.

SUBMISSION AND REBELLION

 
One of the colts rebelled under the training and said, "This is not for me. I like my freedom, my green hills, my flowing streams of fresh water. I will not take any more of this confinement, this terrible training."

So he found a way out jumped the fence and ran happily back to the meadows of grass.

I was astonished that the Master let him go and went not after him. But He devoted His attention to the remaining colt.

This colt though he had the same opportunity to escape decided to submit his own will and learn the ways of the Master.

The training got harder than ever but he was rapidly learning more and more how to obey the slightest wish of the Master and to respond to even the quietness of His voice.

And I saw that had there been no training, no testing, there would have been neither submission nor rebellion from either of the colts. 

For in the field they did not have the choice to rebel or submit, they were sinless in their innocence. But when brought to the place of testing and training and discipline, then was made manifest the obedience of one and the rebellion of the other. 

And though it seemed safer not to come to the place of discipline because of the risk of being found rebellious, yet I saw that without this there could be no sharing of His glory, no Sonship.

INTO THE HARNESS

 
Finally this period of training was over. Was he now rewarded with his freedom and sent back to the fields? Oh no. But a greater confinement than ever now took place as a harness dropped about his shoulders.

Now he found there was not even the freedom to run about the small corral for in the harness he could only move where and when his Master spoke. And unless the Master spoke he stood still.
 
The scene changed and I saw the other colt standing on the side of a hill nibbling at some grass. 

Then across the fields, down the road came the King's carriage drawn by six horses. With amazement he saw that in the lead, on the right side, was his brother colt now made strong and mature on the good corn in the Master's stable.

He saw the lovely pom-poms shaking in the wind, noticed the glittering gold bordered harness about his brother, heard the beautiful tinkling of the bells on his feet -- and envy came into his heart. 

Thus he complained to himself: "Why has my brother been so honored, and I am neglected? They have not put bells on MY feet nor pom-poms on MY head. The Master has not given ME the wonderful responsibility of pulling His carriage, has not put about ME the gold harness. Why have they chosen my brother instead of me?"

And by the Spirit the answer came back to me as I watched: "Because one submitted to the will and discipline of the Master and one rebelled, thus has one been chosen and the other set aside."

A FAMINE IN THE LAND

 
Then I saw a great drought sweep across the countryside and the green grass became dead, dry, brown and brittle. The little streams of water dried up, stopped flowing, and there was only a small muddy puddle here and there.

I saw the little colt (I was amazed that it never seemed to grow or mature) as he ran here and there across the fields looking for fresh streams and green pastures finding none.

Still he ran, seemingly in circles, always looking for something to feed his famished spirit. 

But there was a famine in the land and the rich green pastures and flowing streams of yesterday were not to be had.

And one day the colt stood on the hillside on weak and wobbly legs wondering where to go next to find food and how to get strength to go. It seemed like there was no use, for good food and flowing streams were a thing of the past and all the efforts to find more only taxed his waning strength. 

Suddenly he saw the King's carriage coming down the road pulled by six great horses. And he saw his brother, fat and strong, muscles rippling, sleek and beautiful with much grooming. 

His heart was amazed and perplexed, and he cried out: "My brother where do you find the food to keep you strong and fat in these days of famine? I have run everywhere in my freedom, searching for food, and I find none. Where do you in your awful confinement find food in this time of drought? Tell me, please, for I must know!"

And then the answer came back from a voice filled with victory and praise: "In my Master's House there is a secret place in the confining limitations of His stables where He feeds me by His own hand and His granaries never run empty and His well never runs dry."

And with this the Lord made me to know that in the day when people are weak and famished in their spirits in the time of spiritual famine that those who have lost their own wills and have come into the secret place of the most High into the utter confinement of His perfect will shall have plenty of the corn of Heaven and a never ending flow of fresh streams of revelation by His Spirit. Thus the vision ended.

INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION

 
"Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it," (Habakkuk 2:2). "Harness the horses; and get up, ye horseman," (Jeremiah 46:4).

I am sure that many of you who can hear what the Spirit saith to the Church have already seen what God was showing in the vision. But let me make it plain.

Being born into the Family of God feeding in the green pastures and drinking of the many streams of the unfolding revelation of His purposes is fine and wonderful. But it is not enough. 

While we were children, young and undisciplined, limited only by the outer fence of the Law that ran around the limits of the pastures (that kept us from getting into the dark pastures of poison weeds) He was content to watch us develop and grow into young manhood, spiritually speaking. 

But the time came to those who fed in His pastures and drank at His streams, when they were to be brought into discipline or "child-training" for the purpose of making them mature Sons. 

Many of the children today cannot understand why some of those who have put on the harness of God cannot get excited by the many religious games and the playful antics of the immature. 

They wonder why the disciplined ones run not after every new revelation or feed on every opportunity to engage in seemingly "good and profitable" religious activities.

They wonder why some will not race with them in their frantic efforts to build great works and great and notable ministries. 

They cannot understand the simple fact that this Company of saints is waiting for the voice of the Master and they do not hear God in all this outward activity.

They will move in their time when the Master speaks. But not before, though many temptations come from the playful colts. 

And the colts cannot understand why those who seemingly appear to have great abilities and strength are not putting it to good use. 

"Get the carriage on the road," they say, but the disciplined ones, those in God's harness, know better than to move before they hear the voice of the Master. They will move in their time with purpose and great responsibility.
 
And the Lord made me to know that there were many whom He had brought into training who had rebelled against the discipline, the chastising of the Father. 

They could not be trusted with the great responsibility of mature Sonship so He let them go back to their freedom, back to their religious activities and revelations and gifts.

They are still His people, still feeding in His pastures, but He has set them aside from the great purposes for this end of the age. 

So they revel in their freedom feeling that they were the Chosen Ones with the many streams of living water not knowing that they have been set aside as unfit for His great work in this end of the age.
 
He showed me that though the chastising seemeth grievous for the time and the discipline hard to endure yet the result with all the glory of Sonship is worth it all and the glory to follow far exceeds the suffering we endure.

And though some lose even their lives in this training yet they will share alike in the glory of His eternal purposes.

So faint not saints of God for it is the Lord that doth bring thee into confinement and not thine enemy.

It is for thy good and for His glory so endure all things with praises and thanksgiving that He hath counted thee worthy to share His glory!

Fear thou not the whip in His hand for it is not to punish thee but to correct and train thee that thou mightest come into submission to His will and be found in His likeness in that hour. 

Rejoice thou in thy trials in all thy tribulations and glory thou in His cross and in the confining limitations of His harness for He hath chosen thee and He hath taken upon Himself the responsibility of keeping thee strong and well fed.

So lean thou upon Him and trust not in thine own ability and thine own understanding.

So shalt thou be fed and His hand shall be upon thee and His glory shall overshadow thee and shall flow through thee as it goes forth to cover the earth. 

Glory to God! Bless the Lord! He's wonderful! Let Him be Lord of your life, friends, and complain not at that which He bringeth to pass in your life.

PLENTY IN THE TIME OF FAMINE

 
For in the hour when famine sweeps the land He shall feed by His own hand those who are submitted to His perfect will and who dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

When terror stalks the land those in His harness shall not be afraid for they shall feel His bit and bridle and know the guidance of His Spirit.

When others are weak and frail and fearful there shall be those who shall be strong in the power of His might and shall lack for no good thing.

In the hour when the traditions of the religious systems have proven false and their streams have dried up, then His Chosen Ones shall speak forth with the true Word of the Lord. 

So rejoice, Sons of God, that you have been chosen by His grace for this great work in this last hour.
 
The fence which kept the colts in their own meadows and their own pastures mean nothing to the team in the harness for the gates open to them and they go forth pulling the King's carriage into many strange and wonderful places.

They do not stop to eat the poison weeds of sin for they feed only in the Master's stable.

These fields they trample under their feet as they go forth on the King's business.

Some have thought of themselves as being completely harnessed and submissive to Him only to find that in some avenue of their life there dwelled rebellion and self-will.

Let us wait before Him until He puts His noose around us and draws us to His place of training. And let us learn of the dealings of God and the moving of His Spirit until at last we feel His harness drop about us and hear His voice guiding us. 

Then there is safety from the traps and pitfalls of sin and then shall we abide in His House forever! 

~Bill Britton~

Friday, July 25, 2014

Nothing To Alarm Us

Dan 12:13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

We cannot understand all the prophecies, but yet we regard them with pleasure and not with dismay.


There can be nothing in the Father's decree which should justly alarm His child. 

Though the abomination of desolation be set up, yet the true believer shall not be defiled; rather shall he be purified, and made white, and tried

Though the earth be burned up, no smell of fire shall come upon the chosen.

Amid the crash of matter and the wreck of worlds, the LORD Jehovah will preserve His own.

Calmly resolute in duty, brave in conflict, patient in suffering, let us go our way, keeping to our road, and neither swerving from it nor loitering in it.


The end will come; let us go our way till it does.

Rest will be ours, All other things swing to and fro, but our foundation standeth sure. 


God rests in His love, and, therefore, we rest in it. 

Our peace is, and ever shall be, like a river. 

A lot in the heavenly Canaan is ours, and we shall stand in it, come what may.  

The God of Daniel will give a worthy portion to all who dare to be decided for truth and holiness as Daniel was.

No den of lions shall deprive us of our sure inheritance. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Absolutely No Remembrance

Heb 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 

According to this gracious covenant the LORD treats His people as if they had never sinned.

Practically, He forgets all their trespasses. Sins of all kinds He treats as if they had never been, as if they were quite erased from His memory. 

O miracle of grace! His mercy worketh miracles which far transcend all other miracles.
 

See! He puts us among the children; He accepts us as righteous; 

He takes delight in us as if we were perfectly holy. He even puts us into places of trust; makes us guardians of His honor, trustees of the crown jewels, stewards of the gospel.

He counts us worthy and gives us a ministry; this is the highest and most special proof that He does not remember our sins. 

Even when we forgive an enemy, we are very slow to trust him; we judge it to be imprudent so to do. 

But the LORD forgets our sins and treats us as if we had never erred. 

O my soul, what a promise is this! Believe it and be happy.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Monday, July 21, 2014

GOD'S Wounding And Healing


"I wound and I heal."--Deut. 32:39 

It is no little comfort to the afflicted child of God to be thus divinely assured that both the wounding and the healing flow from one Hand--that Hand a Father's.

The sword that wounds--"bathed in heaven"--bears upon its point the balm that heals. 

Meditate awhile, my soul, upon this wondrous truth; and should you, like the stricken deer, endure your wound in solitude, the assurance that He who smites is He who heals, may rouse you from your lonely sorrow, and draw you closer to the heart of Him "by whose stripes we are healed."

"I wound." What majesty in these words! How worthy of Him who is the sovereign disposer of sickness and health, of life and death, from whose belt hang the keys of the grave and of Hades. 

To His Hand, O my soul, trace the wound which now fills you with sore pain and grief. 

What is the sword? Is it the visitation of bereavement--the decay of health--the loss of wealth--the fickleness of friends--the unkindness of other believers--or the taunt and cruel slanders and reproaches of the world? 

Rise above the sword that has pierced you, and see only the Hand that holds and controls it.

"I wound." It is a loving Father's voice. O Lord, I lose more than half my sorrow when I hear Your voice, "It is I," and when faith responds--"He Himself has done it."

And whose Hand inflicts the spiritual wound?  

Who convinces of sin--gives the broken heart--imparts the humble, contrite spirit--and brings the soul to His feet with the prayer, "God be merciful to me the sinner." 

Still the language is--"I wound." Then, Lord, let the "sword of the Spirit" pierce me through and through, might it but penetrate the deep-seated evil of my heart, revealing to me more of my sinfulness, thus preparing me for the touch of that Hand that heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds.

"And I heal." Blessed Lord! who can heal the wounded spirit--who can bind up the broken heart but Yourself?

My wound is too fresh, my sore too tender, my sorrow too deep, for any hand but Yours to touch.

Lord, Your wounds are my healing--Your blood my balm--Your soul-sorrow my heart's joy. 

Keep me from a false healing. Let Your blood be the only balsam of my wounded conscience; let Your love be the only solace of my troubled spirit.

Precious Jesus! smite and bruise me as You will, may but the hand that bears in its palm the scar of the nail pour the wine and the oil of Your love into my bleeding, sorrowing heart. "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed."

But, perhaps, your wound is self-inflicted, and the consciousness of this keeps you back from Christ.

Your own hand has pierced you! You have sadly departed from God, have willfully sinned against conviction, against your own conscience; against so much divine love experienced, so much covenant mercy received, so many rich blessings given, so many sins pardoned and backslidings healed, and wanderings restored. 

Be it so. Still the language of God is--"And I said after she had done all these things, Turn unto Me." "I will heal their backslidings, I will love them freely--for my anger is turned away from him." 

Bring, then, these wounds to Jesus which your own or another's hand has inflicted; and with the balm that flows from His own pierced heart, He will heal you.

"O Israel, you have destroyed yourself, but in Me is your help found." 

Oh, remember that there can be no wound too deep or too desperate for Christ's healing, loving touch.

Octavius Winslow, 1872

Friday, July 18, 2014

Providential Overruling

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  

My soul! be still! You are in the hands of your Covenant God!

Were all the strange circumstances in your history the result of accident, or chance---you might well be overwhelmed!

But "all things," and this thing (be what it may) which may be now disquieting you---is one of these "all things" that are so working mysteriously for your good.

Trust your God! He will not deceive you---your interests are with Him in safe custody.

When sight says, "All these things are against me," let faith rebuke the hasty conclusion, and say, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

How often does God hedge up your way with thorns---to elicit simple trust! 

How seldom can we see all things so working for our good!

But it is better discipline to believe it.

Oh! for faith amid frowning providences, to say, "I know that Your judgments are good;" and, relying in the dark, to exclaim, "Though He slays me yet will I trust Him!"

Blessed Jesus! to You are committed the reins of this universal empire.

The same hand that was once nailed to the cross is now wielding the scepter on the throne, "all power in Heaven and in earth is given unto You."

How can I doubt the wisdom, and the faithfulness, and love, of the most mysterious earthly dealing when I know that the Scroll of Providence is thus in the hands of Him who has given the mightiest pledge Omnipotence could give of His tender interest in my soul's well-being, by giving Himself for me?

~John Macduff~

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Slanderer! The Backbiter!

The slanderer is not merely the idle gossip, he is more. 

He is the inventor, or, what is equally criminal, he is the propagator of untruth itself!

Envious of a rival, resolved upon shading the luster, or bent upon the total extinguishment of a star circling in a wider and brighter orbit than his own, he either coins, or propagates a lie injurious to the character of some public servant of God, or the reputation and happiness of some private individual moving in the quiet and unobtrusive walks of usefulness.
 

Is there not death in this unhallowed use of the tongue?

Is there not 'slaying power' in that false report, that base insinuation, that cruel surmise, that "Soft buzzing slander, that eats an honest name"? Most assuredly! 

The treacherous moth is not a more insidious and dangerous foe to the beautiful fabric it secretly and slowly destroys; nor the worm a more searching and wasting enemy of the costly vellum whose heart it pierces and devours, than he whose tongue is sharper than a sword, "Cutting honest throats by whispers."
 

It has been remarked that against slander there is no effectual armor of defense. Nothing is easier than to invent a slander, and nothing more difficult than to annihilate it. 

It generally selects for its victims the most good and worthy, as the birds peck at and destroy the best and loveliest fruit. 

I do not think that Tophet boasts of a darker fiend, or man can deplore a fouler foe than he who deals in it.

Like the Indian, it dips its arrows in deadly poison; like Judas, it betrays the innocent with the kiss of villainy.

Assassination is its employment, the guiltless its victims, ruin its sport, and the loud laugh of hell its reward!
 

It is a moral pestilence veiled in darkness; a thousand fall beside it and ten thousand at its right hand, so unmercifully and deeply wounded as often never to recover the anguish of heart it has occasioned. 

The backbiter is the destroyer of the absent one. Of all evil speaking this is, perhaps, the lowest, the most cruel and dastardly. 

Taking advantage of the defenseless position of his victim, asserting behind his back what he would not dare to utter before his face;

By dark insinuations, by mysterious innuendoes, by a tragic tone; the backbiter will give affected importance and authenticity to what all the while he knows to be unfounded in truth;

And by this despicable means do serious and, perhaps, irreparable injury to the character and good name of an innocent, and, it may be, useful servant of the Lord; who, by his absence, is precluded from either defending his innocence or confounding his calumniator.
 

How sad and unenviable the character of the slanderer, the whisperer, the backbiter, the talebearer, the gossip! 

What are all these but domestic pests; propagators of a social moral plague?
 

Psa 120:2  Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

 ~Octavius Winslow~

Saturday, July 12, 2014

If You Are At Home In The World

1Ch 29:15  For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.  

If you possess the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and, Jacob, you, like them, confess that you are a stranger; and your confession springs out of a believing heart and a sincere experience.

You feel yourself a stranger in this ungodly world. 

It is not your element. It is not your home.

You are in it during God's appointed time, but you wander up and down in this world-a stranger to its company, a stranger to its maxims, a stranger to its fashions, a stranger to its principles, a stranger to its motives, a stranger to its lusts, a stranger to its inclinations, and all in which this world moves as in its native element.

Grace has separated you by God's sovereign power, that though you are in the world, you are not of it.

I can tell you plainly—if you are at home in the world; if the things of time and sense are your element; if you feel one with the company of the world, the maxims of the world, the fashions of the world, and the principles of the world—grace has not reached your heart, the faith of God's elect does not dwell in your bosom.

The first effect of grace is to separate.

It was so in the case of Abraham. He was called by grace to leave the land of his fathers, and go out into a land that God would show him.

And so God's own word to His people is now, "Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

Separation, separation, separation from the world is the grand distinguishing mark of vital godliness.

There may be indeed separation of body where there is no separation of heart. 

But what I mean is . . .separation of heart, separation of principle, separation of affection, separation of spirit.

And if grace has touched your heart, and you are a partaker of the faith of God's elect, you are a stranger in the world, and will make it manifest by your life and conduct that you are such.

~J. C. Philpot~

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Tossed With Tempest And Not Comforted

Isa 54:11  O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. 

The Lord here compares his suffering Church to a ship at sea, laboring in a heavy storm, driven out of her course by contrary winds, as was Paul's case in the Adriatic, and doubtful whether she will ever reach the harbor; as the hymn says, "Half a wreck by tempests driven."

What a picture of a tempest-tossed soul! Sun and stars beclouded, compass lost, chart useless, pilot absent, and breakers ahead! 

Many, very many of the Lord's dear family are thus "tossed with tempest;" some with a tempest of doubts and fears; others with a tempest of lust and corruptions; some with a tempest of rebellion and fretfulness; others with a storm of guilt and despondency, or with gloomy forebodings and dismal apprehensions. 

Thus they are driven from their course, their sun and stars all obscured; no clear evidences, no bright manifestations; darkness above, and a raging sea beneath; no harbor in sight, and hope of reaching the desired haven almost gone.

But it is further said of Zion, that she is "not comforted;" that is, not comforted by, nor capable of comfort from, any other than God. 

This I look upon as a very decisive mark of a work of grace upon the soul. 

When a man is so distressed in his feelings, so cast down in his mind, and so troubled in his conscience, that none but God can comfort him, we seem to be at once on the footsteps of the Spirit. 

We do not find hypocrites on this ground. False professors can easily take comfort; they can steal what God does not give, and appropriate what he does not apply.

But Zion's special mark is that she is "not comforted," that her wounds are too deep for human balms, her sickness too sore for creature medicines. 

God has reserved her comfort in his own hands; from his lips alone can consolation be spoken into her soul.

~J. C. Philpot~

Monday, July 7, 2014

ENDURANCE OF CONTRADICTION

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 

Heb 12:3  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 

What endurance was this!

Perfect truth in the midst of error; perfect love in the midst of ingratitude and coldness; 

Perfect rectitude in the midst of perjury, violence, fraud; 

Perfect constancy in the midst of ridicule and desertion;

Perfect innocence confronting every debased form of depravity and guilt

Perfect patience-encountering every species of gross provocation! 

Oppressed and afflicted, He opened not His mouth! "For my love" (in return for my love,) "they are my adversaries; but" (see His endurance!---the only species of revenge of which His sinless nature was capable) "I give myself unto prayer!"
(Psalm 109:4.)

Reader! "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus!" The greatest test of an earthly soldier's courage is patient endurance! 

The noblest trait of the spiritual soldier is the same. "Having done all, to stand," "He endured, as seeing Him who is invisible!"

Beware of the angry recrimination, the hasty ebullition of temper.

Amid unkind insinuations when your motives are misrepresented, and reputation assailed; when your good deeds are ridiculed, kind intentions coldly thwarted and repulsed, chilling reproach manifested where you expected nothing but friendship---what a triumph over natural impulse to manifest a spirit of meek endurance! 

Like a rainbow, radiant with the hues of heaven, resting peacefully amid the storms of derision and "the floods of ungodly men.

What an opportunity of magnifying the sustaining grace of God! 

It is a small thing for me to be judged of you, or of man's judgment; He who judges me is the Lord.

The Lord is on my side. I will not fear what man can do unto me.

Blessed is the man who endures. "He who endures to the end, the same shall be saved." 

If faithful to our God, we must expect to encounter contradiction in the same form which Jesus did---"the contradiction of sinners."

It has been well said, "There is no cross of nails and wood erected now for the Christian but there is one of words and looks which is never taken down!"

If believers are set as lights in the earth, lamps in the "city of destruction," we know that "he who does evil hates the light."

Marvel not my brethren, if the world hates you!

Weary and faint ones, exposed to the shafts of calumny and scorn because of your fidelity to your God. 

Encountering, it may be, the coldness and estrangement of those dear to you, who cannot, perhaps, sympathize in the holiness of your walk and the loftiness of your aims.

Consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you be weary and faint in your minds!

What is your "contradiction" compared to His?  

Soon your cross, whatever it is, will have an end. 

The seat of the scorner has no place in yonder glorious heaven, where all will be peace-no jarring note to disturb its blissful harmonies! 

Look forward to the great coronation-day of the Church triumphant---the day of your divine Lord's appearing, when motives and aims, now misunderstood, will be vindicated; wrongs redressed, calumnies and aspersions wiped away.

Meanwhile, "rejoice that you are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name."

~John Macduff~

Saturday, July 5, 2014

You Have Been Long A-Gathering Rust

Oh! but my afflictions are greater than other men's afflictions are! Oh! there is no affliction like my affliction! How can I not murmur?

It may be your sins are greater than other men's sins. If you have sinned against . . .more light, more love, more mercies, more promises, than others--no wonder if your afflictions are greater than others! If this be your case, you have more cause to be mute than to murmur!

It may be that the Lord sees that it is very needful that your afflictions should be greater than others.

It may be your heart is harder than other men's hearts, and prouder and stouter than other men's hearts, it may be your heart is more impure than others, and more carnal than others, or else more selfish and more worldly than others, or else more deceitful and more hypocritical than others, or else more cold and careless than others, or more formal and lukewarm than others.

Now, if this is your case, certainly God sees it very necessary, for the breaking of your hard heart, and the humbling of your proud heart, and the cleansing of your foul heart, and the spiritualizing of your carnal heart, etc., that your afflictions should be greater than others; and therefore do not murmur!

Where the disease is strong, the remedy must be strong--else the cure will never be wrought!
 

God is a wise physician, and He would never give strong medicine--if a weaker one could effect the cure!

The more rusty the NAIL is, the oftener we put it into the fire to purify it; and the more crooked it is, the more blows and the harder blows we give to straighten it.

You have been long a-gathering rust; and therefore, if God deal thus with you, you have no cause to complain. 


Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

~Thomas Brooks~

Thursday, July 3, 2014

All Things

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

People often ask how there can be good in everything.

Here is the answer. "We know that to them that love God, all things will work together so as to bring good to us.

It may not seem that this or that particular experience can yield good. 


But God is able to combine this seemingly harmful thing with other things, and from the combination bring good. 

The selling of Joseph by his brothers was a black crime, and an observer would have said the evil never could be turned to good. Yet we know the sequel. "The Lord meant it for good."

A lady showed Mr. Ruskin a handkerchief on which some careless person had dropped a drop of ink. Mr. Ruskin took the handkerchief away and returned it in a few days with an India ink engraving on it, using the ugly blot as the basis of the design.

So God will take the blots in our lives and change them into beauty, if only we love Him and are faithful.


~J. R. Miller~

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

PRIDE

One of the strongest features of the self-will is pride

Lucifer said "I will be equal with the Most High" and the prophet is made to say, "Pride was found in thee". 

Pride takes many forms. Pride can be a most humble thing in its pose. Pride can be a very sorry-for-itself thing. Pride can be a very hurt thing, but it is still pride. 

We can be those who are feeling very broken, but it is not we who are broken, it is our pride which has been wounded. 

If we knew the history of every rupture of fellowship amongst God's people, of every dissemblance which has come into the things of God, of every advantage that the devil has gained, I believe we should find pride in some form or another someone having a personal interest, personally concerned, like or dislike, want or not want, a preference - somehow pride coming in through the "I". 

That is the thing the devil always uses to destroy; and it has to be smashed. 

Calvary sees the emptying right down to the last degree where there is nothing left of self and then there can be the lifting up, the exaltation into the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus.

The Lord has to break before He can elevate, empty before He can fill.  

The Cross must be applied to bring us to the absolute supremacy of the Lord Jesus.

What we need is the complete assurance that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We cannot serve in the gospel unless we are perfectly assured that the government is in His Hands. 

If we have any doubt about that, we are paralyzed and crippled in service and in life.  

We must strongly grasp the fact that all authority in heaven and in earth is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, not in the hands of Satan. 

If we do not rest in that, we shall be altogether spoilt, we shall not be able to go through. 

It is a fact. Oh, to come into spiritual enjoyment of that fact; we have now seen the way.

May the Lord make it very real to our hearts that the new creation, that which is born of the Spirit, is constituted now under the complete supremacy and sovereign Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

He is to be Lord over us in every detail. 

He is Lord by the appointment of the Father, and when we are subject to Christ, there is nothing impossible

His sovereignty operates. May we know more of it for His Name's sake

~T. Austin Sparks~