The Trial Of Your Faith

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

Trials and temptations are the means which God employs to manifest to the soul the reality and strength of the faith which he bestows upon it...

For there is in every trial and temptation opposition made to the faith that is in the heart; and every trial and temptation, so to speak, threaten the life of faith. 

And they threaten it in this way.... 

Under the trial God for the most part hides himself. 

He puts forth, indeed, a secret power whereby the soul is held up, or otherwise it would sink into utter despair, and be overcome and swallowed up by the power of unbelief. 

Hence comes the conflict between the trial that fights against the faith and the faith which fights against or rather under the trial. 

Now, when in this trial, in this sharp conflict, in this hot furnace, faith does not give way, is not burned up, is not destroyed...

But keeps its firm hold upon the promise and the faithfulness of him who has given it...

This trial of faith becomes very precious. 

It is precious to the soul when God again smiles upon it, and becomes thus manifest as genuine. 

It is precious in the sight of God's people, who see it and derive strength and comfort from what they witness in the experience of a saint thus tried and blessed...

And it is precious also in the sight of God himself, who crowns it with his own manifest approbation, and puts upon it the attesting seal of his own approving smile. 

But above all things, it will be found precious at the appearing of Jesus Christ...

And that not only in his various appearings in grace, but in his final appearance in glory...

For of that the Apostle mainly speaks when he says that "it may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

~J. C. Philpot

Who Can Wonder?

1Ti 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 

 

Look into some families of professors...

 

Follow them through the history of only one week, and see...
 

Their worldly-mindedness, their gaiety, their frivolity...
 

Their unsanctified tempers, their worldly reading, their amusements...
 

Their homage to talent, their low esteem of holiness...
 

Their negligence of family prayer, their neglect of godly instruction to their children...
 

And who can wonder that young people brought up amidst such scenes, do not become religiously devoted-but go off into the world or into sin?

Too often the children are like their parents, and bring into the church no higher or better kind of religion than what they have learned at home! 

 

And thus a low tone of reverence, a lukewarm Laodicean spirit-is extended and perpetuated.

There must be a revival of reverence in the parents! 

 

It is vain to expect that a worldly-minded father, whose spirituality, if he ever had any, has been utterly evaporated by the exclusiveness of concern about business and politics. 

 

Or a frivolous, pleasure-loving mother, who thinks far more about adorning the bodies of her children, than about saving their souls-should be at all concerned about the God Fearing education of their children.

Recollect what a solemn thing it is to be a parent! 

 

What a weighty responsibility attaches to those who have the immortal souls of their children committed to their care!

 

Eph 6:4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Satan's Baits!

Luke 18:24  And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Luke 18:25  For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Bring up your children with low notions of the importance of riches and worldly show, and of the power which these things have either to give respectability to the character, or to procure happiness.

Do not let them hear you magnify the value of wealth by your words-nor see you do it by your actions. 

Avoid a servile attention to the rich and great...

Do not point to them as the individuals most to be admired and envied. 

Do not have an undue solicitude about grandeur of abode or furniture. 

From the time that they are capable of receiving an idea or an impression, teach them that it is godly character that constitutes true respectability.

Remind them of the danger of riches, and that they are Satan's baits to tempt men to love the world and lose their souls!

Not that you should produce a cynical disposition towards either riches or the rich; much less repress industry, and foster indolence. No..., 

But encourage them to consider and seek wealth, rather as a means of usefulness, than a source of personal gratification.

1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

~John Angell James

Fret Not Over Evil-Doers!

Do not get into a perilous heat about things. 

If ever heat were justified, it was surely justified in the circumstances outlined in the Psalm. 

Evil-doers were moving about clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day.

"Workers of iniquity" were climbing into the supreme places of power, and were tyrannizing their less fortunate brethren. 

Sinful men and women were stalking through the land in the pride of life and basking in the light and comfort of great prosperity, and good men were becoming heated and fretful.

"Fret not thyself." Do not get unduly heated! Keep cool! 

Even in a good cause, fretfulness is not a wise help-meet. 

Fretting only heats the bearings; it does not generate the steam. 

It is no help to a train for the axles to get hot; their heat is only a hindrance. 

When the axles get heated, it is because of unnecessary friction; dry surfaces are grinding together, which ought to be kept in smooth co-operation by a delicate cushion of oil.

And is it not a suggestive fact that this word "fret" is closely akin to the word "friction," and is an indication of absence of the anointing oil of the grace of God?

In fretfulness, a little bit of grit gets into the bearings-some slight disappointment, some ingratitude, some discourtesy-and the smooth working of the life is checked. 

Friction begets heat; and with the heat, most dangerous conditions are created.

Do not let thy bearings get hot. 

Let the oil of the Lord keep thee cool, lest by reason of an unholy heat thou be reckoned among the evil-doers.

~The Silver Lining

Dear restless heart, be still; don't fret and worry so, God has a thousand ways His love and help to show...

Just trust, and trust, and trust, until His will you know.

Dear restless heart, be still, for peace is God's own smile, His love can every wrong and sorrow reconcile... 

Just love, and love, and love, and calmly wait awhile.

Dear restless heart, be brave; don't moan and sorrow so, He hath a meaning kind in chilly winds that blow...

Just hope, and hope, and hope, until you braver grow.

Dear restless heart, repose upon His breast this hour, His grace is strength and life, His love is bloom and flower...

Just rest, and rest, and rest, within His tender power.

Dear restless heart, be still! 

Don't struggle to be free; God's life is in your life, from Him you may not flee...

Just pray, and pray, and pray, till you have faith to see.

~Edith Willis Linn

A Test For Forsaking Selfishness

Another principle for the Death Of Selfishness is to seek in everything to be Child-like...

And extremely Simple in our manners, words, dress, tastes, and interior experiences. 

Self naturally Feeds on Complexity and things Grand and Large and Loud. 

Christ is the very embodiment of Divine and Eternal Simplicity. 

The more we become selfless...

The more we become Disappointing to the people. 

Our learning, or talents will not Show Off to such fine advantage. 

We talk less. 

We live more Quietly. 

Our labors are less designed to Impress or Attract notice.

We employ Prayer and Faith in God more than Showy methods. 

We love to live like God, a profound Hidden life, in which people think we don't amount to very much. 

This is one of the tests for forsaking selfishness. 

~G. D. Watson~

Rejoice In The Flood!

Psalm 66:6  He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

It is a striking assertion, "through the floods" (the place where we might have expected nothing but trembling and terror, anguish and dismay) "there," says the Psalmist, "did we rejoice in him!"

How many there are who can endorse this as their experience: that "there," in their very seasons of distress and sadness, they have been enabled, as they never did before, to triumph and rejoice.

How near their God in covenant is brought! 

How brightly shine His promises! 

In the day of our prosperity we cannot see the brilliancy of these. 

Like the sun at noon, hiding out the stars from sight, they are indiscernible...

But when night overtakes, the deep, dark night of sorrow, out come these clustering stars-blessed constellations of Bible hope and promise of consolation.

Like Jacob at Jabbok, it is when our earthly sun goes down that the Divine Angel comes forth, and we wrestle with Him and prevail.

It was at night, "in the evening," Aaron lit the sanctuary lamps. 

It is in the night of trouble the brightest lamps of the believer are often kindled.

It was in his loneliness and exile John had the glorious vision of his Redeemer. 

There is many a Patmos still in the world, whose brightest remembrances are those of God's presence and upholding grace and love in solitude and sadness.

How many pilgrims, still passing through these Red Seas and Jordans of earthly affliction, will be enabled in the retrospect of eternity to say-full of the memories of God's great goodness-We went through the flood on foot...

There-there, in these dark experiences, with the surging waves on every side, deep calling to deep, Jordan, as when Israel crossed it, in 'the time of the overflowing' (flood), yet, 'there did we rejoice in Him!

~Dr. Macduff

Hosea 2:15  And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

Regulated Chastisement

Jer 30:11  For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

To be left uncorrected would be a fatal sign...

It would prove that the LORD had said, "He is given unto idols, let him alone." 

God grant that such may never be our portion! 

Uninterrupted prosperity is a thing to cause fear and trembling. 

As many as God tenderly loves He rebukes and chastens...

Those for whom He has no esteem He allows to fatten themselves without fear, like bullocks for the slaughter. 

It is in love that our heavenly Father uses the rod upon His children. 

Yet see, the correction is in measure...

He gives us love without measure but chastisement "in measure." 

As under the old law no Israelite could receive more than the "forty stripes save one," which ensured careful counting and limited suffering...

So is it with each afflicted member of the household of faith-every stroke is counted. 

It is the measure of wisdom, the measure of sympathy, the measure of love, by which our chastisement is regulated. 

Far be it from us to rebel against appointments so divine. 

LORD, if Thou standest by to measure the bitter drops into my cup, it is for me cheerfully to take that cup from Thy hand and drink according to Thy directions, saying, "Thy will be done."

~Charles Spurgeon

Stumbling Blocks

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

There are weights which are not sins in themselves, but which become distractions and stumbling blocks in our Christian progress. 

One of the worst of these is despondency. 

The heavy heart is indeed a weight that will surely drag us down in our holiness and usefulness.

The failure of Israel to enter the land of promise began in murmuring, or, as the text in Numbers literally puts it, “as it were murmured.” 

 

Just a faint desire to complain and be discontented. 

 

This led on until it blossomed and ripened into rebellion and ruin.

 

Let us give ourselves no liberty ever to doubt God or His love and faithfulness to us in everything and forever.

 

We can set our will against doubt just as we do against any other sin...

 

And as we stand firm and refuse to doubt, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid and give us the faith of God and crown us with victory.

 

It is very easy to fall into the habit of doubting, fretting, and wondering if God has forsaken us and if after all our hopes are to end in failure. 

 

Let us refuse to be discouraged. 

 

Let us refuse to be unhappy. 

 

Let us “count it all joy” when we cannot feel one emotion of happiness. 

 

Let us rejoice by faith, by resolution, by reckoning, and we shall surely find that God will make the reckoning real.
 

~Selected

 

The devil has two master tricks. 

 

One is to get us discouraged; then for a time at least we can be of no service to others, and so are defeated. 

 

The other is to make us doubt, thus breaking the faith link by which we are bound to our Father. 

 

Lookout! Do not be tricked either way.
 

~G.E.M.

 

Gladness! I like to cultivate the spirit of gladness! 

 

It puts the soul so in tune again, and keeps it in tune, so that Satan is shy of touching it..

 

The chords of the soul become too warm, or too full of heavenly electricity, for his infernal fingers, and he goes off somewhere else! 

 

Satan is always very shy of meddling with me when my heart is full of gladness and joy in the Holy Ghost.

 

My plan is to shun the spirit of sadness as I would Satan; but, alas! 

 

I am not always successful. 

 

Like the devil himself it meets me on the highway of usefulness, looks me so fully in my face, till my poor soul changes color!

 

Sadness discolors everything...

 

It leaves all objects charmless...

 

It involves future prospects in darkness...

 

It deprives the soul of all its aspirations...

 

Enchains all its powers...

 

And produces a mental paralysis!

 

An old believer remarked, that cheerfulness in religion makes all its services come off with delight...

 

And that we are never carried forward so swiftly in the ways of duty as when borne on the wings of delight...

 

Adding, that Melancholy clips such wings...

 

Or, to alter the figure, takes off our chariot wheels in duty, and makes them, like those of the Egyptians, drag heavily.

Busy Here And There, And Life Is Gone.

1Ki 20:39  And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

1Ki 20:40  And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.

THIS was likely enough to happen on a battlefield. 

It would not be possible to hold your prisoner, and to busy yourself about other things at the same time. 

This man, in the prophet's parable, made a great mistake to concern himself about a number of trifles, when so serious a matter as his own life depended on giving all his attention to the custodianship of the prisoner entrusted to his care. 

But is it not thus that men miss the main end of life?

Many spend their days in mere trivialities. 

Like children they dig in the sand; like the butterfly, they flit from flower to flower. 

A round of visits, a few novels, a good many hours of light gaiety; vanity, fashion, and amusement these fill their hours, the days flash by, and life is gone. 

They Have Nothing To Show For It. 

Busy here and there, and the chance of saving others is gone. 

Lives touch lives, for the chief purpose that one should influence the other. 

But too often we deal only with superficiality, busying ourselves in the slightest interests, but not seeking the salvation of those with whom we associate. 

The dance, the game, the business relationship, monopolize our thought, and our friends are swept from us in the eddying whirl of life's battle, and are gone.

Busy here and there, and the knowledge of God is gone. 

Remember how the birds caught away the seed of the Kingdom; and be sure that, in the same way, the cares and riches of this world, and the lusts of other things may enter in, and destroy the impression made on the heart. 

The short lived interests of life press hard on its Real Interests. 

Like boys, we squander in trifling the hours given to Prepare for an Examination on which All The Future Must Turn.

~F. B. Meyer

When The LORD Gives A Command, OBEY It!

                                               

 

1Ki 13:21  And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,

1Ki 13:22  But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

WE are inclined at first sight to pity this unknown prophet, and to justify his return...

But...as we look closer into the story, we not only discover the reason for the severe penalty that overtook him, but we are warned lest we make a similar mistake. 

When we have received a direct command fresh from the lips of Christ, we must act on it...

And Not be turned aside by a different suggestion, made to us through the lips of professing Christians. 

God does not vacillate or alter in the thing which proceeds from his mouth. 

When we know we are in the line of his purpose, we must not allow ourselves to be diverted by any appeal or threat, from whomsoever it may emanate. 

Deal with God at first hand.

The rule for determining the true worth of the advice which our friends proffer us, is to ask, first, whether it conflicts with our own deep seated conviction of God's will...

And, secondly, whether it tends to the ease and satisfaction of the flesh, as the old prophet's suggestion certainly did. 

Beware of any one who allures you with the bread and water that are to break your fast. 

That bait is likely enough to disturb the balance of your judgment. 

When a voice says spare thyself, be on the Alert; it savours the things that be of man, not of those that be of God.

Learn to deal with God at first hand. 

Do not run hither and thither to human teachers, or to the Church. 

Be still before God, and what He says in the depths of thy soul, do. 

His Holy Spirit shall guide you into all truth...

And when once his way has been revealed to thee, go straight on, listening to no other voice, however much it professes Divine inspiration.

~F. B. Myer

The True Testimony And The False

And then we have this word which says there are those who "say they are Jews, and they are not", but are "of the synagogue of Satan" implying that there is something which seeks to simulate and represent what is of God, but which is not true and not pure. 

That is why the Lord introduces Himself as the One that is holy and the One that is true, in contrast to that which is false and impure, which is not transparent, which will not stand up to the scrutiny of those eyes of flame, with which He is presented to us at the beginning of these messages to the churches. 

He is looking through and exposing the false. 

But a true testimony will find it is based upon something that is true, as over against the seeming true which is false, savouring of that which is a lie - a synagogue of Satan, a legalistic system in antagonism to a pure, clear, full, free testimony of the Lord Jesus. 

That is how it may be in any expression in fullness of the Lord's mind towards the end. 

It is not going to be popular and have all the doors open in all directions, with everyone acclaiming and sponsoring. 

It is going to feel very much shut out and find many doors closed. 

Never mind, says the Lord; 'I know, I have the key. 

The issue is with Me. 

~T. Austin Sparks

To The Sufferer God Seems To Move So Slowly!

Luke 8:41  And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:

Luke 8:42  For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.

It was not far from the shore to Jairus house, but it never seemed so long to Jairus as that morning. 

The news soon spread up the street that Jesus was back...

At every turning the crowd gathered and grew, until at last, the way was almost blocked, and Jairus almost in despair. 

Then came an unexpected interruption. 

A poor sick woman had touched the tassel of Jesus' robe and had been healed...

And Jesus had to halt and call her forth, and teach her that there was no magic in the tassel, but that her faith had healed her. 

And all this took so long-or seemed to Jairus to take so long-that when he saw a movement in the crowd, and caught sight of his servant forcing his way through, he knew in a moment that his daughter was dead. 

How slow God often seems! 

How hard it often is to wait with Christ! 

I saw a little girl once playing on the seashore at building castles. 

She built her fort and dug her trenches, and then waited for the waves to fill them. 

But the waves were so long in coming that the little girl lost patience, and in a fit stamped down her battlements and went away. 

And all the time, ceaseless and irresistible, the ocean was creeping up. 

Invisible fingers were drawing the whole sea up to her moat. 

I think she would have waited had she been sure of that. 

So Jairus and you and I must wait. 

Things seem all wrong sometimes. 

We cannot understand why Christ delays. 

Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole.   

The Shaking Of The Earthly

Mat 24:1  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

How does that strike you? 

The disciples wanting to take the Lord Jesus on a sightseeing trip, and show Him the buildings of the temple! 

That is where their eyes are, that is what they are thinking to be important, that is their idea of impressiveness, importance, greatness and grandeur.... 

You know what follows through Matthew 24. 

We see that material and temporal things according to this world’s ideas and standards of greatness and even of the religious world’s standards, are the things which govern the mentality of these disciples after all this time. 

There is something there so deep-rooted, so inveterate, so persistent. 

We do not judge them, we are just like them. 

However spiritual we may think we are, the fact remains that we are tremendously influenced by temporal standards. 

It is a continuous battleground as to how things stand in this world before men, and even as to what the great religious leaders, and even evangelical leaders of our time regard as the important thing. 

It has a good deal of influence with us.

The Lord makes His pronouncement about that. 

The whole thing is going to be completely disintegrated. 

And it is on a mountain that He takes up this whole question, and you cannot get away from the fact-however it may be chopped up by those who are interested in these things-that at least the first part of this chapter relates to Jerusalem, and what comes out is that it is going to be broken up, shaken to its foundations and will totter to the ground. 

All that which they thought so great and so permanent is going. 

All that which they thought so established here will not have one stone left upon another. 

On the Mount He begins to show the disintegration of the one in order to make room for the other. 

On the Mount heaven touches earth and from there the heavenly dispensation is clearly in view.

~T. Austin Sparks

No Good Thing In Us EXCEPT Christ!

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

What does this mean? 

Not that I come before God saying, “I have had pure motives; I have been very honest, earnest and conscientious, and my intentions have all been of the best.” 

Let us stop talking nonsense. 

It is utter folly to talk like that. 

We do not know ourselves. 

Only God knows the truth about us, and none of that finds a place with Him or counts with Him for a moment. 

The point is, have I recognized that the Cross of the Lord Jesus was the smashing and ending of me, good and bad, so that I am not holding up before the Lord anything? 

I am as capable of the worst as any being in God’s creation is. 

For anybody to take the attitude that they are not capable of the worst is an attitude of the deepest deception. 

We do not know the power in our beings until we are put to it. 

If we have never committed the worst, it is because we have never been put to it in the mercy of God, but it is all there. 

The Lord puts His finger upon it in principle when He says, “He that hates his brother is a murderer.” 

It is the same spirit. 

You have only to extend that, provoke that anger enough, put that nature into certain circumstances, and you will discover that you are capable of things of which you would have stood in utmost horror at one time.

You and I have got to come down before God and admit that we are capable of the worst, not standing on the ground of our right. 

The only right one is Christ from God’s standpoint. 

The only safe one is Christ, and therefore the only one who stands in God’s eyes is Christ...

And it is as you and I, in all the brokenness, frailty, conscious weakness and humility of our own beings, by faith cling to Christ that we shall find the way out, the deliverance, the salvation. 

We must look behind God’s words to see bigger things than words on the surface indicate. 

To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at My word. 

That statement embodies all that we are saying. 

To what one will He look? 

To the one who never says, “I am right!”...

But to the one who says, “I may be as wrong as ever a man or woman was wrong, there is nothing of which I am not capable...

My only ground is Christ; so help me God, Christ is my ground!

To stand on Christ is to stand always in the consciousness and recognition that this other ground, ourselves at any point, is dangerous ground.  

He is so Other, and there is the great divide, there is no overlapping. 

Between Christ and us there is a gaping chasm. 

God never sees that bridged, but thank God He will put Christ into us by the Holy Spirit...

And while the two will ever remain apart, the old creation will go one day and that which is of Christ, as wrought into us, will abide.

~T. Austin Sparks