Exo 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
Pharaoh has a people, and the LORD has a people. These may dwell
together and seem to fare alike...
But there is a division between them,...
And the LORD will make it apparent. Not forever shall one event happen
alike to all...
But there shall be great difference between the men of the
world and the people of Jehovah's choice. This may happen in the time
of judgments, when the LORD becomes the sanctuary of His saints. It is
very conspicuous in the conversion of believers when their sin is put
away, while unbelievers remain under condemnation. From that moment they
become a distinct race, come under a new discipline, and enjoy new
blessings. Their homes, henceforth, are free from the grievous swarms of
evils which defile and torment the Egyptians. They are kept from the
pollution of lust, the bite of care, the corruption of falsehood, and
the cruel torment of hatred, which devour many families. Rest assured,
tried believer, that though you have your troubles you are saved from
swarms of worse ones, which infest the homes and hearts of the servants
of the world's prince. The LORD has put a division; see to it that you
keep up the division in Spirit, aim, character, and company. ~Charles Spurgeon~
For the sake of His elect the LORD withholds many judgments and
shortens others. In great tribulations the fire would devour all were it
not that Out of regard to His elect the LORD damps the flame. Thus,
while He saves His elect for the sake of Jesus, He also preserves the
race for the sake of His chosen. What an honor is thus put upon saints! How diligently they ought to use their influence with their LORD! He
will hear their prayers for sinners and bless their efforts for their salvation. He blesses believers that they may be a blessing to those who are in
unbelief. Many a sinner lives because of the prayers of a mother, or
wife, or daughter to whom the LORD has respect. Have we used aright the
singular power with which the LORD entrusts us? Do we pray for our
country, for other lands, and for the age? Do we, in times of war,
famine, pestilence, stand out as intercessors, pleading that the days
may be shortened? Do we lament before God the outbursts of infidelity,
error, and licentiousness? Do we beseech our LORD Jesus to shorten the
reign of sin by hastening His own glorious appearing? Let us get to our
knees and never rest till Christ appeareth. ~Charles Spurgeon~
Num 10:33 And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. God
does give us impressions, but not that we should act on them as
impressions. If the impression be from God, He will Himself give
sufficient evidence to establish it beyond the possibility of a doubt. How
beautiful is the story of Jeremiah, of the impression that came to him
respecting the purchase of the field of Anathoth. But Jeremiah did not
act upon this impression until after the following day, when his uncle's
son came to him and brought him external evidence by making a proposal
for the purchase. Then Jeremiah said: "I knew this was the word of the
Lord." He waited until God seconded the impression by
a providence, and then he acted in full view of the open facts, which
could bring conviction unto others as well as to himself. God wants us
to act according to His mind. We are not to ignore the Shepherd's
personal voice but, like Paul and his companions at Troas, we are to
listen to all the voices that speak and "gather" from all the
circumstances, as they did, the full mind of the Lord. ~Dr. Simpson~ Where God's finger points, there God's hand will make the way. Do
not say in thine heart what thou wilt or wilt not do, but wait upon God
until He makes known His way. So long as that way is hidden it is clear
that there is no need of action... And that He accounts Himself
responsible for all the results of keeping thee where thou art. ~Selected~ For God through ways we have not known, Will lead His own. ~Charles Spurgeon~
Rom 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
One of the first things that makes for social peace is a watchful and a charitable silence.
No man or woman can ever be a peacemaker who has not learned to put a bridle on his lips.
Every student of Christ must have observed the tremendous emphasis He puts on words. Of every idle word, He tells us, in the day of judgment we are to give account.
And if you want to understand aright the passion and the depth of that, you will remember the beatitude, "Blessed are the peacemakers."
Think of the infinite harm that can be wrought by a malicious or a thoughtless tongue;
Think of the countless hearts it lacerates; think of the happy friendships which it chills.
And sometimes there is not even malice in it- only the foolish desire to be speaking...
For evil is wrought by want of thought as well as want of heart.
There is no more difficult task in life than to repeat exactly what someone else has said.
Alter the playful tone, you alter everything.
Subtract the smile, and you subtract the spirit.
And yet how often do we all repeat things that are almost incapable of repetition and so give pain that never was intended.
You can say good-bye in such a tone that it will carry the breaking of a heart.
You can say it in such a tone that it is a dismissal of contempt.
And yet how seldom do we think of tone, of voice, of eye, of smile, of personality when we pass on the word which we have heard.
There are times that call for all outspokenness.
No man ever denounced like Christ. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees." "Go, tell that fox."
All that I know, and yet the fact remains that as we move along life's common ways, one of the mightiest things that makes for social peace is a wise and charitable silence.
Not to believe everything we hear...
Not to repeat everything we hear...
Or else believing it to bury it unless we are called by conscience to proclaim it.
That is a thing that makes for social peace... A thing within our power today...
And it may be along that silent road lies our "Blessed are the peacemakers."
In the very first chapter of the book of Daniel, he and his brethren
determined that they would not defile themselves with the king’s
dainties, nor with the wine from the king’s table...
And that is how they
spoke of it when they went to Arioch, the king’s representative, to
plead their case.
They asked...you would think hardly tactfully or diplomatically! – ‘that they might not defile themselves’.
It is hardly
complimentary, at any rate, to speak so of food from the king’s table.
They pressed this matter of defilement.
They had seen the principle that
by this means they and their testimony would in some way be
compromised.
It was a link with this world and with Satan’s kingdom as
in this world...
And the effect of it would be – oh, how inclusive and
comprehensive this is! – that they would be denying in their very
persons the all sufficiency of the Lord.
If they were to go the way of
the world and look like the people of the world, where would be the
testimony of the Lord?
If they did not go the way of the world and were
to refuse to have any kind of compromise with the world, there would be
great opportunity for the Lord to prove that He can go one better than
the world, and is more than all the world put together.
This is the challenge.
On various grounds and by various arguments,
young people especially are tempted to compromise on this point.
They
think they will gain influence with people of the world by coming down
to their level and doing as they do, thus getting on an even footing
with the world;
But they do not recognize that such a course so often
involves compromise.
More rarely still do they recognize that when God’s
people are going to the world for their sustenance and nourishment and
pleasure and gratification and so on, it results in a question being
cast upon the ability of the Lord to prove how far greater He is than
this world.
The bad spiritual state of the people in Daniel’s day was
wholly due to their being in bondage to the world.
Daniel and his
brethren would have none of it.
They stood apart in complete separation
from the world, its standards, its ideas and all its resources, to give
God the opportunity of proving that He is better than the world, and His
servants, by His grace, better than the men of the world.
That is the
testimony, and until that is true, we have no authority, no ascendency,
no real testimony.
Separation therefore, unpleasant and hard as the word
may sound, is a very fundamental matter if we mean by it that we are
separated unto the Lord, that He may show by means of us that this world
is a poor thing compared with what we have in Him.
1Ki 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. A woman who had made rapid progress in her understanding of the Lord was once asked the secret of her seemingly easy growth.
Her brief response was, “Mind the checks.”
The reason many of us do not know and understand God better is that we do not heed His gentle “checks”...
His delicate restraints and constraints...
His voice is “a gentle whisper.”
A whisper can hardly be heard...
So it must be felt as a faint and steady pressure upon the heart and mind...
Like the touch of a morning breeze calmly moving across the soul.
And when it is heeded, it quietly grows clearer in the inner ear of the heart.
God’s voice is directed to the ear of love...
And true love is intent upon hearing even the faintest whisper.
Yet there comes a time when His love ceases to speak, when we do not respond to or believe His message.
God is love, and if you want to know Him and His voice...
You must continually listen to His gentle touches.
So when you are about to say something in conversation with others...
And you sense a gentle restraint from His quiet whisper...
Heed the restraint and refrain from speaking.
And when you are about to pursue some course of action that seems perfectly clear and right...
Yet you sense in your spirit another path being suggested with the force of quiet conviction, heed that conviction.
Follow the alternate course, even if the change of plans appears to be absolute folly from the perspective of human wisdom.
Also learn to wait on God until He unfolds His will before you.
Allow Him to develop all the plans of your heart and mind, and then let Him accomplish them.
Do not possess any wisdom of your own...
For often His performance will appear to contradict the plan He gave you.
God will seem to work against Himself...
So simply listen...
Obey...
And trust Him...
Even when it appears to be the greatest absurdity to do so...
Ultimately, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him”...
But many times, in the initial stages of the performance of His plans: In His own world He is content To play a losing game.
Therefore if you desire to know God’s voice, never consider the final outcome or the possible results.
Obey Him even when He asks you to move while you still see only darkness...
For He Himself will be a glorious light within you.
Then there will quickly spring up within your heart a knowledge of God and a fellowship with Him...
Which will be overpowering enough in themselves to hold you and Him together...
Even in the most severe tests and under the strongest pressures of life.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Those people God uses most to bring glory to Himself are those who are completely broken...
For the sacrifice He accepts is a “broken and contrite heart.”
It was not until Jacob’s natural strength was broken, when “his hip was wrenched” (Gen.32:25) at Peniel, that he came to the point where God could clothe him with spiritual power.
And it was not until Moses struck the rock at Horeb, breaking its surface, that cool “water [came] out of it for the people to drink” (Ex. 17:6).
It was not until Gideon’s three hundred specially chosen soldier “broke the jars that were in their hands” (Judg.7:19),which symbolized brokenness in their lives, that the hidden light of the torches shone forth,bringing terror to their enemies.
It was once the poor widow broke the seal on her only remaining jar of oil and began to pour it that God miraculously multiplied it to pay her debts and thereby supplied her means of support.(See 2 Kings 4:1–7.)
It was not until Esther risked her life and broke through the strict laws of a heathen king’s court that she obtained favor to rescue her people from death. (See Est. 4:16.)
It was once Jesus took “the five loaves . . . and broke them” (Luke 9:16) that the bread was multiplied to feed the five thousand.
Through the very process of the loaves being broken, the miracle occurred.
It was when Mary broke her beautiful “alabaster jar of very expensive perfume” (Matt. 26:7), destroying its future usefulness and value, that the wonderful fragrance filled the house.
And it was when Jesus allowed His precious body to be broken by thorns, nails, and a spear that His inner life was poured out like an ocean of crystal-clear water, for thirsty sinners to drink and then live.
It is not until a beautiful kernel of corn is buried and broken in the earth by DEATH that its inner heart sprouts, producing hundreds of other seeds or kernels.
And so it has always been,down through the history of plants,people, and all of spiritual life...
God uses BROKEN THINGS.
Those who have been gripped by the power of the Holy Spirit and are used for God’s glory are those who have been broken...
Broken their finances...
Broken in their self-will...
Broken in their ambitions...
Broken in their lofty ideals...
Broken in their worldly reputation...
Broken in their desires...
And often broken in their health...
Yes, He uses those who are despised by the world and who seem totally hopeless and helpless, just as Isaiah said: “The lame will carry off plunder” (Isa. 33:23).
Oh, break my heart; but break it as a field Is plowed and broken for the seeds of corn;
Oh, break it as the buds, by green leaf sealed, Are, to unloose the golden blossom, torn;
Love would I offer unto Love’s great Master, Set free the fragrance, break the alabaster.
Oh, break my heart; break it, victorious God, That life’s eternal well may flow abroad;
Oh, let it break as when the captive trees, Breaking cold bonds, regain their liberties;
And as thought’s sacred grove to life is springing, Be joys, like birds, their hope,Your victory singing.
