It is the Eleventh Hour

I am going to speak frankly about some searching internal things of God, and my soul I experienced years ago.

For years I had gone along, (a Church goer, Sunday School Teacher). But over a series of months, I was “forced” (by the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment) to admit to myself and God, the lack of permanent spiritual fruit in my own life.
I would be peaceful and joyful, at times; then angry and bitter, at other times.

I began to doubt the reality of my conversion.
My obedience I knew was partial, so I sought to be obedient in all things; to be more diligent.

Yet I longed with a greater and greater yearning to hear some Word from the Lord about it all.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

I started to pray that He would search me, hoping that it would lead to an experience.
A once accomplished setting in order, if you will. Then my life would be under the control of the Holy Spirit. No problems.

But time and time again, the Lord lead me to discover the times I simply did not deny myself in this attitude, or in that reaction.
Our reactions to people and things tells God, as well as others, a lot about our true spirituality.

To “deny myself” (Matthew 16:24); this was not what I wanted to hear.
I do that; I’ve done that.
But time and time again, I came face to face with the fact that I had started to do it, but my “reasons” for putting up with myself, seemed too good.
Or I had denied myself in the action.   I did not do what was wrong.
But I sure wanted to.
Was that really “denying myself”?

So then the Lord showed me that I was born again, but I was not walking with Him.
I was following my own way.   A way which was not producing fruit for Him, or true life for me.
He showed me, that time is important. I had made choices in things I could not change: consequences I must bear.

So, what could I do? How can I do for the time I have left?

Matthew 20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.”

The Kingdom of Heaven,  if it is to be gained, is by One man. The householder here; our Lord Jesus Christ;   and His call to us.

God’s call is always to Himself: it may be to Salvation, or it may be to a work, or it may be to more knowledge of Himself.
But His Call is always to Himself.

Christ calls those who would be part of the Kingdom of Heaven, not to sit around, but to labor in His Work in this World.

The Lord showed me, through this parable, my life; and how I had served Him.
Will you see yourself here?

Now, within every believer, there is a “clock”, so to speak.
This clock begins to tick the moment we are born again.   It is like a time clock for our work , for the Lord.

When Christ calls to the Work:
Some respond early, and go to work for Christ.
Matthew 20:1-2 “…a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.
And when he had agree with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”
(Back then, there were twelve hour days, and a penny was a good days wage.)

Some respond later, but still go.
Matthew 20:3-5 “And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.”

But some, stand idle all the day; inactive, and barren.
Matthew 20:6-7 “About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that ye shall receive.”

How can religious people be idle?
Because they have been brought into the Christian faith without any confrontation of the total commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord.
Without any instruction that real Christian Victory, means complete abandonment of our self and person to Jesus Christ.

So when the householder said, “Go into my vineyard”; Jesus was giving us the opportunity of doing that. How many times in my life had He done so?

Now where were these “idle” ones during the times He came before?
He accuses them of standing idle “all the day”, so they must have been there.
Yet they did not heed His call to go and work.

What about you? Has the Lord Jesus called for laborers, and you stood idle?
When others went, you were relieved that you did not “have to” go?
Yet the time (remember each of us have a clock, ticking) goes by, and the emptiness with us seems to weigh us down.
Now the day is almost gone.
Oh, if He would just call again; for the Kingdom of Heaven is wrapped up in the laborers He has called.

Then He does, rebuking you for your laziness, for your attitude of letting someone else do the work.

What will you do now?
Let this last opportunity go by again? For it is the eleventh hour.   I did not.  What will you do?

Matthew 20:9-10 “And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they received every man a penny.”

Here is the wages of these workers. (Not the wages of sin; Christ took those upon Himself)
But in Him we receive the “wages” of our Obedience to His call; and our faithfulness (even after we were unfaithful).
Some labored longer; some a very short time.
Yet the householder, Jesus Christ, pays out the same wages to all.

Those wages are the reward for the faithful following of His call. The faithful putting of yourself aside for Christ’s sake, and for the faithful love which (finally) follows Him.

In that day of receiving, we will enter into His Joy and into His courts with praise.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

 

 

Light

Genesis 1:3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

The first thing God said to His re-creation, was: Let there be light.
God did not need it. But it was to be in opposition to the darkness prevailing, at that point.

When He created the Sun, the moon, and the stars; He did it so that their light (even the reflected light of the moon) would “rule” the day and the night.

Genesis 1:16 “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”

When light comes, darkness has to flee. They can not exist together. One rules the other. Even in the dusk of day, when shadows come on, it is still light enough to see.
The night comes, and God still has a witness in the moon and stars; but then the dawn breaks. It is grey at first, but light comes, and darkness goes.

Darkness is a terrible curse. When the last judgement has sounded; God will cast all those who have refused His Blessed Son into great torment, and darkness.

(Jude 12-13 “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

Most think of the Lake of Fire as light. No, the fire of torment will burn forever, but the darkness will be thicker and blacker than being down in a cave with out light. You can not even see the person standing next to you.)

1 John 1:5 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

God is light. He is the author of it and the maintainer of it.
He came as Light, to a world darkened with sin, to save all who come to Him, that He might give us light.

John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

Psalm 36:9 “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”

He shines the light into our hearts (Notice, it is our hearts, not our heads. We are to love Him, not just know about Him.):
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus was the perfect example of God: His Will and His Goodness. God’s Will was that Christ manifest God to the world. (Which shows how far the thoughts of God were from Reality, at that time, and now.)

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”
But He does not just call us; He enables us, for all He has for us.

Colossians 1:12 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:”

 

And then He calls us to walk in the Light, so we will not stumble and fall; either by the wiles of the devil or the influence of others:
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?”

To do this we need to protect ourselves with the armor of light:
Romans 13:12 “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

Christ is that light, and His Word gives us light:
Psalm 119:105, 130 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The entrance of they words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
When we are obedient to the light we get by the Holy Spirit, we receive more light.
His light enables as well as reveals.

As we are covered with His Light as armor, we become lights in this world:
Matthew 5:14,16 “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is city that is set on a hill can not be hide.
Let your lights so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Micah 7:8 “Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.”

God is Light, He enlightens us by His Holy Spirit when we are born again, and He enables, guides, reveals, and encourages us by the light.
As we walk in His light, we become lights ourselves; as the moon is light, by reflecting the sun.

And when His light comes, darkness flees.

Keep yourselves in the Love of God

Jude 21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

In other words: Walk in the sunlight of His love.

There is a lot of talk about God’s love today, which is just not so.

Would a loving parent let his child do something which would hurt them, just because he “loved” them?
Sin is the ultimate hurt. Through sin, Adam fell; which means that he left the state of innocency he was in, to know evil. (Good he knew, for he knew God; after he rebelled, he knew evil. Genesis 3:6-7)

So when it says that God loves us; you need to look beyond the sentimental affection we think is love; to the Will of God.
There is nothing more powerful in the universe than God’s Will; therefore if He wills to love us: He will provide for us, hold us up, protect us, and correct us; that we might stay in the bright and warm light of His love.

To measure His love is impossible; for the measuring line would have to stretch across the immense expanse of when God sent His Beloved Son to die on the cross. And this was because He willed to love us. (John 3:16)

When we are born again, we are receivers of His Love. (It was always there, we just had our backs to it.)

The only thing we are told to do, is walk in it.

This walk signifies that you are obeying His Word to you.
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
If they are “grievous” or burdensome, then you are not walking in His love. You might be walking in anger, as Jonah. (Jonah 4:1-4)

Or you might be walking in fear, as when the disciples were at sea. (Mark 4:37-38)

But when you walk in love; His commandments are the lightest things. To sin or turn away from Him, at this time, would be the hardest thing. For love gives songs in the darkest night, and makes work, joyful.

This walk in the Love of God is also shared:
1 John 4:7, 11 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

This tells us that the love of God is to be shed abroad through us to other Christians, and to those in the world, to show forth God’s love.
(Remember, God’s love is willed love. There is nothing in us to draw out God’s love, but He willed to love us.
So we should love others. Often there is nothing in them that merits our love. No, love is never merited; either God’s to us, or ours to others. That is called respect and honor)
But God commands us to love others, so we will, to do so; and walk in His love.

John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
The Precious Presence of God within us, comes with His love.
This Presence is felt.
To walk in the love of God, is to appropriate the joy found in the statement:
1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

This reaches down into the depth of our being, if we receive it.
What a Savior, that saves with love!

(You will notice I have quoted a lot from John’s books. John and Paul were the authors that spoke most of the love of God, either for their own selves, or for the Church.
1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Ephesians 3:17-19 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is that breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Though Peter was restored with the famous question, “lovest thou me?”, which the Lord Jesus asked him, yet it is not Peter, but John and Paul that bring forward again and again, the Love of God to His own.)

Let us walk in the love of God.

 

Behold, I am at the Door

Revelation 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

What door is He at?

He is at the Church door. In the second and third chapters of Revelation, we have the letters Jesus Christ wrote through John to the churches.
They were a cross section of the church of that period; and of all the church ages.

He speaks very personally with each: telling each age what needs to be changed, what He praises them for, and what He promises those that overcome through these changes.

When He comes to the Laodicean Church, it is not their actions that He corrects; but their seeing and hearing.
They don’t see what they truly are, and they are not hearing Him as they should; for He stands outside the door, knocking.

He is calling to those who will hear inside.

But what are they? They are lukewarm Christians.

First, let me say, that though it is the church door Jesus is standing and knocking at; it is to “any man” (man or woman, boy or girl), that He speaks to. For it is His Voice which is heard, within.

This fact, that we are within the Church, is important.
He is not calling, in this way, to the lost in the world.
He is calling to those in the Church; to those who should recognize His Voice. (John 10:4)

What should they do to open the door?

To “open the door”, or to answer His call, in this Laodicean Age, is not an answer of words (even at some altar, though it may start there), but an answer of a life open to and receptive to Him.

In this age, we have mostly forgotten Christ as Lord.(As A Lord, yes. But as our Lord, no.)
For the Lordship of Christ is mostly thought of as: One day He will be Lord of All.
Of course that is true, because He is Lord of all, now. (Matthew 28:18)

But when we speak of Christ as Lord, we mean that He is our Lord. That He commands and we will do, that He can do what He will with His own; meaning me.
It is a surrender of the whole man, active, to Christ. All our faculties are brought into subjection to Him.

So to open to Christ is to give our life to Him, a once done act. And live our lives to Him, receiving every word He says, because we receive Him.
(Tell yourself honestly, have you received Christ? Has He a place in your life? You may say, He is in my heart. How much of your heart does He have? For your heart signifies your life: your thoughts, feelings and affections, and actions.)

He is standing; therefore He is ready to do for that individual who will hear Him, and open the door.

Ready to come in and impart power, power within us and power through us; and to have that fellowship which is the backbone of power.
Daniel 11:32b “…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

We can do nothing without Him. The real power of life is Christ’s life within our lives.
His fellowship, then is paramount.
It is the “sup with” us, that speaks of the kind of fellowship. For in Bible times, you could never eat with an enemy. If they were brought into your house, and fed, they were worthy of your best, both in food and conversation.

If we are not fellowshipping with Him, we are lukewarm.
Not hot, so He can bless us.
Not cold, so He could forget us.
Just lukewarm. And those lukewarm Laodiceans, He promises to vomit out.

We think we are just hot enough to get by, He can’t possibly refuse our prayers, our service, our activities.
We are warm. We are O.K.

But that is not the way God sees it. (Revelation 3:15-17)

And He sees everything.
(There used to be a children’s song “Be careful little eyes, what you see. Be careful little feet, where you go. Be careful little mouth, what you say….For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes, feet, mouth”

Children were trained to know God saw them every where, what they did, what they said, what they saw; and that He loved them, so they should stay close to Him.

It has been stressed of late, that we might be scaring our children, by such language.
No, no, no.
Where love is, there is no fear.
1 John 4:16-18 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in God; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Caution is a good thing. A little preparation, is better that a lot of sorrow, especially where our children are concerned.
To know they are being seen, yes, if they are going to get themselves into trouble, is good.
But to know they are being seen when ANYTHING is going on. God loves them. He knows, He sees.
If they are Christians, this is powerful stuff, for God is powerful for them, as well as in them.)

He is standing at the door of the Church, and His voice is calling us to “open to Me”.
If any person will:
First, hear His Voice.
Second, Open your life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You might say you did this when you were born again.
Yes, you should have received Him then (John 1:12). But have you somewhere shut the door to part of your life?

For those who realize they are lukewarm; His call to come is for you.
Come, and open your life to Him, completely.
Think of the doors in your life you have shut to Him, and bring them to Him, and open them to Him.
Remember His love to you, and talk to Him about it. And keep talking.
He is Standing ; Ready to do, for you.

 

 

The Brazen Laver
It is the maintaining of fellowship with Christ, that we wish to speak of.
And one of the examples of this, is:

Exodus 30:18-20 “Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
For Aaron and his sons shall wash there hands and there feet thereat:
When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:”

The brazen Laver was made for cleansing. It was set just outside the door of the Holy Place, in the court of the tabernacle. This was in the natural sunlight. The priests, and people offering, could be in this court; but the people could not minister at the altar or the laver.

When Aaron and his sons were given for the service of the priesthood, they were brought to the laver and given a bath by Moses; once.
Exodus 29:4, 9 “And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall wash them with water.
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.”

This pictures our regeneration; when we are born again. It was never repeated.
They were priests from then on.
So with us. When we are born again, we are forever His children.

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”

But as priests, they would minister, by sacrifice, at the brazen altar. There, the sacrifices for sin and peace would be given.
Their hands would be bloody, and their feet would be dirty from walking on the bare ground.
So, they were commanded to come to the Laver to wash both their hands and feet, before they went into the Holy Place to burn incense at the golden altar, or light the lamp (M’nourah).
This they were to do every time they went into the Holy Place.

The Holy Place signified fellowship with God:
the golden altar and the burning incense showed the prayer which ascends to God (the fire to burn came from the brazen altar everyday, tying Christ sacrifice and our prayers together)
the table of shewbread showed forth the sufficiency of God for our needs;
and the lampstand showed forth God as the only light for our work.

All showed forth fellowship with God.
But before they could go in and have this fellowship, they must wash at the brazen laver.

As Christians, we need daily cleansing from the defilements of the way, if we are to maintain fellowship with God.
In our walk, we constantly have dealings with those who are dead in trespasses and sins; and their very influence defiles us.

In honesty, we are also aware of the blemishes of our service (which speak of our hands), and the failures of our walk (our feet).
We do; but we hesitate, and mar our words.(as though we were ashamed of Christ)
We don’t do what God wants us to do. (We have good reasons, we think. How good will they seem before God?)

These do not interfere with our standing as Christians. We are still born again.
But it does interfere with our communion with God.

Ephesians 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

James 4:8 “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Laver, like everything else in the Tabernacle speaks of Christ’s sufficiency to meet our every need.

The example from the New Testament is Peter:

John 13:8-10 “Peter saith unto him (Jesus), Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

At the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the disciples feet, Peter protested; “You will never wash my feet!” Peter knew He was Lord, and it did not seem right for Him to do this.
But Jesus made it clear, “If I don’t wash your feet, you will have no part WITH Me.”

Jesus didn’t say, “If I don’t wash you, you will have no part in Me.”
But He said, “you will have no part with me”.

Jesus told Peter he was clean “every whit”, except for the cleansing of his feet.
“In Christ”, speaks of our being born again.
“With Christ”, speaks of our fellowship with Him.

And if we are to have fellowship with Christ (and the strength that comes from it), we must be cleansed, daily from our sins, and defilements.
(Defilement comes from the things we hear; we may not agree with the awful stuff; but we have heard it, and it defiles us.
It comes from the things we see. Though we may not desire to have them (a new car, or the jackpot of the lottery; as well as the other lusts), still we have been brought into their influence.
These, defile us.)

The Laver of Brass shows God judgement on these defilements; for the priests could not enter the Holy Place, without washing.

But it also shows that He has met the need of that judgement, by the water, which removes the very things that condemn.

The Laver was there, but they had to wash in the water that it provided.
Christ Jesus has made a way for us to come and wash in His word.

They were tested, by the Laver. Would they wash and have all that the Holy Place meant?

We, too, are tested by the Son of God. Do we want that fellowship and communion which enlivens us? Will we go to the Word of God and judge our ways before Him?

1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”

Water is also to invigorate. And the Word of God gives us comfort and a refreshing feeling. It revives us. It makes us feel whole, and clean again. Ready for the next moment, the next day.

Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

 

 

The means of Deliverance

Matthew 5:21-22 “Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever will kill shall be in danger of the judgement:
But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement: and whosoever will say unto his brother, Raca (silly person), shall be in danger of the counsel: but whosoever will say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Sin, self, and the World are connected. They are our “enemies”. For they work to lead us away from Christ and His Will.

Sin is wrong doing (we all agree here, although we may not agree with what “wrong doing” consists of).
But it is also wrong being, which includes all the inward sins of resentment, a flash of anger which never leaves the mind, and wrong attitudes.
Jesus set this forth in the verses above.

And so sin always involves self.

Self is the term for the old nature. The old nature is our fallen man from Adam. It is the nature which claims your right to rule yourself: your right to decide and lead yourself (morally or not), your right to feel what you want, your right to think what you want.
It is you, as your own lord.
1 Corinthians 3:3 “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (The natural man)”

And so we see, the old nature is always open to the influence of the World around us: and the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

The World’s influence comes, as we walk in it everyday.
(When the Bible speaks of the World, it is talking of the “spirit of the times”. It does not mean the birds, trees, etc. But the attitudes, and the rage, of the times we live in)

As Christians, we are to be in the World, but not of it.
John 17:14-16 “I have given them thy word: and the world hath hated them; because they are not of the world; even as I am not of the world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ”

The World’s system wants no part of Jesus Christ as Lord.
They may accept or praise Him as a holy man, a great teacher, or a good guy; but they will not submit and yield to Him as Lord.

1 John 2:15-17 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

These are formidable foes. But we are not left to ourselves, thank God, but are enabled to live and work in the World, as it is, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit within.

1 John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

To overcome is to still be standing with God, when the battle against the influence of the World for today, is over. (How many of us hear horrible swearing, filthy suggestions, dirty jokes, hatred filled speeches).
It is to still be hanging on to God’s Word. To still be looking to Christ for everything.

It is deliverance in the situation, as well as out of it.
It is to be energized within, given strength and comfort.
It is to know what to do, here and now. (not just for next week, or next year)

1 John 5:4-5 “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

And how does faith give us victory?
Faith centers our life around Christ Jesus. And if He is the center, all other things must take their rightful place.

Faith receives the Word of God, and by the Holy Spirit places within us the power to do it. (Grace is the unmerited favor of power)
Faith makes us aware that we are not alone in this fight; on the contrary, we are made to know His presence in a real way. (Remember the servant’s eyes being opened to see who was for them, 2 Kings 6:12-17)
We have a much more powerful friend.

Romans 8:37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
God’s grace is provided through the Holy Spirit, that we may do the task at hand.
It is power we receive in our spirits, our souls (our mind, heart, and will), and our bodies.
It comes as light for our walk, so we will not stumble, or be tripped up.

Overcoming should be our everyday experience.
It usually isn’t. We fail to hear. Or we give in to self.
But Christ Jesus has supplied all we need to overcome; we must yield to Him in the situation we are in.
1 John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.”

1 Corinthians 10:13-14 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above which ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Wherefore my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

The means of deliverance for any Christian is yielding to the Holy Spirit within.
Receiving and using the grace given, in the situation.
Reading His Word, letting it give us all He has for us in it. ( all the promises, and commandments)
Overcoming by faith in Him.
Walking in His Light.

 

The Widow’s Mites

Mark 12:41-42 “And Jesus set over against the treasury, and beheld how people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites which make a farthing.”

Jesus had been preaching in the temple to the people, and had warned them about the those who love to be religious (and look religious), but whose main goal was to have men think well of them, while sinning against their fellow man.

Then He watches as the people bring offerings to God.

Mark 12:43-44 “And he called to him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, then all they that have cast into the treasury;
For they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want, did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

For an Israelite, there were certain things which must be given: tithes, and certain offerings at certain times.
But the offerings to the treasury, were to be, because you loved the Lord.

This she did, and it was recognized by Jesus, for it.

For this widow, it did not matter if she had anything. It did matter if the Lord’s house was lacking. (This is what they took the money for. For the upkeep of the house of God.)

We often think, “If we could do some great thing for God.”

But the Lord wants us. Two mites are not great. Hardly anything in the world’s estimation.
But the Lord Jesus said she had put in more than they all did.

Because she put in her living.

What are we giving to God?
No, I don’t ask about your money.

I am asking about your love. How much love are you showing to God?

Do you love Him? And how much time do you spend with Him?
Morning prayers (and they don’t have to be long)
Evening prayers, to set everything from the day in order before Him. (So you don’t wake up carrying the same burdens you went to bed with)

The widow’s mites were cast to the Lord’s treasury. In among the rich and affluent; she came.
Placing at God’s disposal, all she had.

Again I ask, How much of ourselves are we giving God?
Are you doing, for admiration from others?
Or are you giving God your life?

May we all get the same praise from Jesus, she had.

 

 

Their Rest and Our Rest
Hebrews 4:9,11 “There remained therefore a rest to the people of God.
Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

What is this rest?
It is rest concerning the things which are promised us, as Christians.
Paul had been speaking concerning the Israelites which had not entered into the Promised Land, because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:17-18 “But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?
And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?”

The land of Canaan, was their rest. But they refused it.(Numbers 13:25-14:11)
Numbers 14:22-24 “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereunto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”

And what is our rest?
Hebrews 4:1-2 “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

Our rest is the promises of God to us: Of His Spirit, and the fruit of His Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Of Peace as a Stronghold (Philippians 4:7, it says “keep”, or garrison in the original)
Of forgiveness and Cleansing (1 John 1:9)
That He would hear us, if we ask in His Name (John 14:13)
Light, or guidance (John 8:12)
Grace, or the unmerited favor of power. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Our rest has to do with us, actually possessing these promises in our lives. Each promise the Lord gives us: actually obtaining them.
How many are we “entering into rest” about?

And how do we enter into this rest? By “laboring” to believe and obey Him through everything.

I’ll give an example: Caleb.
Caleb was of the tribe of Judah. And he, along with one man from every tribe was sent into the land to “spy it out”.
It was to show the people how great the land was!
And it was beautiful, and productive. Everything the Lord had said!

But, the people of the land were fighters, some giants were there.
So when the spy’s came back to camp, they showed the good things of the land; but emphasized the giants.

The people became disheartened, because they refused God.
How many things had God brought them through?
Yet, now, they would not believe Him, in order to gain all that He had promised?

How strong UNBELIEF is. We are sometimes unaware of our own unbelief, until we are told to do something, we feel we can’t. Then, do we trust God? And how far?

But Caleb and Joshua believed the Lord, and tried to persuade the people to trust in Him; and go into the land. Again, they refused, crying in dismay.

When the people looked for someone to take them back to Egypt; God spoke: and those people were shut out of their “rest” in the land of promise.

Their children went in, and took the land, divided it into tribes. And Caleb, still alive, and still following the Lord; came for his inheritance, his “rest”:

Joshua 14:6, 9, 12 “Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Juphunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-Barnes.
And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s forever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord thy God.
Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakaim were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.”

Caleb had a very beautiful, and hard inheritance: for the Anakaim were giants.
But he took that mountain. And had all that the Lord promised.

To enter into the Lord’s rest for us, is to get the promises that the Lord has given us, into our lives. To prove that He was right. That He is all we need, and will give us all His help.
We do this by believing obedience. By “wholly following the Lord”.

Our Adversary, the devil, would remind us of all the obstacles to obtaining these promises.
Are their obstacles? Of course, that is why we are told to “labor” to enter into rest.

We “labor” to keep hold of faith in the day of trial, fear, or even boredom.
If faith will hold on to Jesus Christ, He will lead us into all the promises He has given us.
Hebrews 10:35-36 “Cast not away therefore your confidence (in Christ), which hath great recompense of reward.
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

The Centurion’s Faith

Matthew 8:5-7 “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.”

(In Luke, it says that he sent the elders of the city, and then friends, which represented him to Jesus. Luke 7:1-10. He thought himself unworthy of the Lord coming to his house, for he was a gentile.
This representation was, as if he came himself)

Jesus has said he would come and heal the centurion’s servant.
And this draws a statement of faith from him, which marveled, or pleased the Lord a lot. So much so; that He speaks of it to the crowd.

Matthew 8:8-10 “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith took hold in this centurion’s heart, when he heard of all that Jesus was doing, both in Capernaum, and other places.
(Capernaum was the place Jesus lived, after leaving Nazareth. It was the place he did many miracles.
Luke 4:31-32 “And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.”
Luke 4:36-37 “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commanded the unclean spirits, and they come out.
And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”)

When this centurion heard of these things, he must have thought they were wonderful, for he loved Israel. BUT, until he needed Jesus’ power for himself (for his sick servant, who was dear to him), it was just information.
Good news, but it had not touched him.

Then, his servant got sick, grievously tormented, and ready to die.

Suddenly, those things he had heard about Jesus, were for him.

(How many times we are the same: we have heard Bible lessons for years, even, and they are good news, but then something happens that affects us, and “Wham”, that good news hits us where we live.
We can have this! This is real! This is for me.)

Faith has made the information real from the first. We believe it.
Then faith evidences that information within us, because we have a need that is only met by this. (By Christ Jesus)

The centurion also knew, by faith, that if Jesus heard of the need, He could meet it.
Faith reached out, through the elders, and friends, to Jesus; and stated the need.

When Jesus said He would come, the centurion’s faith reached out further by the evidence of Jesus’ coming; and said:
“Speak the word, only”
Why? Was he testing Jesus?
No. But he felt unworthy that Jesus should come into his house.

And why did he feel Jesus could do this? Was it just because of what he had heard?
No.
It was from his own experience. He was a voice of Rome, as a centurion (he had one hundred men under him).
Under all the authority of Rome, he spoke and told men what to do. And they did it.

So he knew that Jesus, was the voice of God, and had the authority to speak, and make things happen, because He spoke.
He could heal, because He was the Son of God.
This was the centurion’s faith. Wow!

Matthew 8:13 “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

Believe is the action of faith. And as he believed Jesus could heal by his word, only; so it was.

What of us? We say we have faith in God. We say we believe what Jesus has said, and done for us.
Are we using this faith with God, and evidencing His authority and power in our lives, first; and in the lives of people we pray for?

The Lord honors true faith in Himself. (Not presumption, or to ask of Him, what we know is not His will). But real faith, reaches out to Him, that He will do what He wills.

Jesus’ will was to heal the sick; both sin-sick and many illnesses, while He was here on earth; as He preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
He did this to meet the need of the people, that the chief priests and scribes had discounted; and for the most part, had abandoned.

But God never abandon’s His people. Those that come unto Him, He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)
But it takes humbling of our hearts, to come. (As this centurion did)

John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.”
The centurion’s faith was real. He had heard. And he came, humbly to Jesus; and honored Him.
What is our faith doing?

 

 

The Garden of our Souls

Song of Solomon 4:12 “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”

It is in the garden of our souls, that we have the personal relationship to Jesus. He considers us:
“My sister”, Because in Him, we are of the family of God.
“My spouse”, Because He wants that love relationship with us.

In the beginning, after being born again, a believer is like a piece of undeveloped land;  formerly hard and unyielding; which has now been dedicated to the Lord.

We begin to allow Him to transform us into a beautiful garden.
This is something that is the same for each believer, as to the final results; but very different for each as to the means God uses.

In a garden, you do not plant things at random. There is order, although the order may differ in your garden, then in mine.

For some gardens, the beautiful flowers, and bushes may take center stage; whereas in another, berries, or trees of nuts and fruits. In another, vegetables are top priority.

But each is a garden producing fruit for the Gardener.

This is to come to the place where we are willing, whole heartedly working for the pleasure and Will of God.
When we have determined this (it is the will, willing with the Holy Spirit within), we begin to see Him build a “wall” around us; for we are become a “garden enclosed”, which includes in it a spring shut up, a fountain sealed for use in the garden.

The “spring shut up”, is the Holy Spirit within.
(Isaiah 58:11 “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”)
He is not given to us, so we can “show off” to others. But He is “shut up” to us, so we can experience His power in our lives, to bring us into subjection to Christ; and so we can have His peace in the world we walk in.

The “fountain sealed”, is the precious blood of Christ, whereby we are forgiven and cleansed. (Zechariah 13:1 “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanliness.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”)

We are for the Lord’s pleasure. Our beauty of character, and faithful works, are for His joy.

Song of Solomon 4:16 “Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”

The north wind can be chilling, and frosty.
The south wind is mild, and warm.

We can come to see, in our learning with Christ, that He has worked in us the fruit of the Spirit; and taught us to use His grace.

So, no matter the circumstances: favorable or not, we will learn that we do not have to be influenced by them.
Instead, we can simply use them to the Lord’s advantage.

We can come to the place, where real prosperity, Spiritual Prosperity, does not rest upon external circumstances.
No, it rests upon the internal life of Christ within us. The inner man of the heart; the relationship with Christ.

We can grow in any situation, when we come to this.
We are totally dependent upon God, and being filled with His grace in each situation.
We are looking, in a special way, to the Holy Spirit, to accomplish His purpose in everything.

There is no difficulty in adjusting to any circumstance. This is pretty amazing, since most of us do not like change. (Some say they do, IF they make the change. But if it is thrust upon them, that is different.)

Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know how to be abased, (very hard, without the Holy Spirit’s help) and I know how to abound (not if we let it go to our heads): every where in all things I am instructed (not just told, but empowered so we can learn) both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

It is “through Christ”. He saves, He makes me His own, He teaches by the Holy Spirit, He furnishes all the grace, and holds me up in His own hand.

We are His garden. We are “in Christ”, and it is “through Christ” that we live.

The Christian life is not easy; not so much because of the circumstances we are in; but because we do not have in our experience the lessons we need.

Is it because we will not go through them?
Or is it because you do not know all that Christ has for you?

Christ’s invitation to “learn of Me” still holds true.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls:
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”