Discerning Between Holy and Unholy # 1
Brethren, do we discern the difference between the holy things of God and those things that are unholy? This is a great matter before God. Consider that three times in the Old Testament God expressed great concern that His priest distinguish between the holy and the unholy.
"Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, not your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the clean and the useless, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses" (Lev. 10:8-11).
"Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean;and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths,so that I am profaned among them" (Ez. 22:26).
"No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court ... and they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ez. 44:21-23).
The first passage quoted above is from a portion of the law, where God gave instructions concerning the offerings and the service of the priesthood unto Him.
The second passage was written by Ezekiel while he is in exile in Babylon. Here God expresses one of the reasons for His judgment upon Judah that led to the fall of Jerusalem and the exile. The practise of the priests, in not distinguishing between the holy and the unholy, led to a shocking and unbelievable result - God Himself was profaned (made to appear unholy) among them. What could be more serious than this - the person of God being debased?
The third passage looks forward to a future temple in Israel, probably in the millennium.
Let us see what we might learn from these potent passages, including their application to us as New Testament believers.
A graphic Lesson From Leviticus Chapter Ten
The instructions for the priesthood noted in the first passage above were preceded by, and precipitated by, the dramatic story of God's judgment upon Nadab and Abihu. We see below how the story and the instructions are tied together.
Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So,fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, saying: "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people I must be glorified."
So Aaron held his peace. Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp". So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, "Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. You shall not go from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you." And they did according to the word of Moses.
Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, "Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a stature forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the unclean and the clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses." (Lev. 10:1-11).
It seems evident that Nadab and Abihu offered something unholy to a holy God - the profane fire. Because of that failure, the Lord set up a statute for the priests that they should not drink wine when they entered the tabernacle,so that they would have discernment while serving God. This discernment was to be between the holy things and the unholy, and also between the clean and unclean. The reference to holy and unholy things referred to the service in the tabernacle covered in Lev. 1:9, whereas the clean and the unclean referred to the instructions about personal cleanliness given in Lev. 11:15. Some Bible teachers feel there is a strong indication here that Nadab and Abihu were probably drunk when they offered the profane fire. I concur with this thought.
Just prior to Nadab's and Abihu's failure, fire had come out from God to consume the burnt offering on the altar (Lev. 9:24). That act of God with fire was a statement of His acceptance of the offering. The instructions concerning the offerings were given to Leviticus chapters one through seven. In chapter eight the priests were ordained and in chapter nine the priests began to offer sacrifices for the people. At this point, the Bible records: "Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar." (Lev. 9:23, 24). God was pleased with the offerings because they were performed in accordance with all that he had prescribed.
The fire from God was still burning on the altar after God consumed the burnt offering because the ordinance was that this fire was not to go out (Lev. 6:13). The fire from God was then available for all future offerings. However, Nadab and Abihu chose to procure fire from another source. This was not in accordance with God's command. "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them." (Lev. 10:1).
All of these details give us some strong indications for understanding the discernment between the holy and the unholy.
The Holy and the Unholy
An object, place, season or person was considered holy in the Old Testament if it was set apart from common use and dedicated to God. The tabernacle and all its furnishings and utensils were considered holy (Numbers 4:4-5). The offerings were holy (Lev. 2:3; 6:25; 7:1). All of the priests were consecrated in holiness (Ex. 39:30; Lev. 8:9, 30). The Sabbath day was holy (Ex. 20:8).
A key factor, however, was that only those things which God designated to be holy, according to His word, could indeed be holy. The Scripture notes that God commanded the laws of the various offerings (Lev. 9:7, 10, 16). Thus, they were holy, consecrated to God, because God so ordered them. Herein lies the problem with the profane fire offered by Nadah and Abihu. "Then Nadab and Abihu ... offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them." (Lev. 10:1). All of the tabernacle objects and the priests were holy because they were separated unto God in accordance with His command, which reflects His will. God's word, then, proved to be the validation of their holiness.
A second aspect of holiness in the Scriptures, seen especially clearly in the New Testament, has to do with the ethical quality of something, the quality of purity and godliness. As God alone is holy, so His very element must be involved in something in order for that thing to be holy. The items for service in the tabernacle were holy in being set apart for God, but they were also anointed with the anointing oil,symbolizing that God's spirit was upon them, constituting the vital holiness of the object (Lev. 8:10, 30).
In this regard, we should remember that the fire God wanted Nadab and Abihu to use had God as its source. The fire had fallen from God upon the altar in Lev. 9:24). The vital energy of the fire was of God Himself.
~Tom Finley~
(continued with # 2)
A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Monday, November 28, 2016
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Returning to God
Returning to God
Every evil, whether inward or outward, should only teach you one truth: man has unmistakably lost his first divine life in God, and no possible comfort or deliverance is to be expected except through Christ. Though man lost God, God became man so that man might again be alive in God, as he was in the beginning. All the misery and distress of human nature, whether of body or mind, comes about solely because God is not in man, nor man in God, as the condition of his nature requires. Man has lost the first life of God by turning his will, thoughts, and desires into a taste for the good and evil of this beastial world.
Now, there are two things that have taken the place of the life of God in man. First, "self", or selfishness, was brought forth by man's choosing to have a wisdom of his own, contrary to the will and instruction of his Creator. Secondly, an earthly, bestial, mortal life and body were brought forth when man ate the food that poisoned his paradisaical nature. Both of these must therefore be removed; that is, a man must first totally die to self, to all earthly desires, views, and intentions, before he can again be in God as his nature and first creation requires.
But now, as long as he is a selfish, earthly-minded creature, must be deprived of his true life - the life of God, the spirit of heaven, in his soul. In light of this truth, everything is changed! For then, there is no life that ought to be as dreaded as a life of worldly ease and prosperity. There is great misery, a great curse, in everything that gratifies and nourishes our self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking! On the other hand, there is great happiness in all spiritual and physical troubles when they force us to feel and to know the hell that is hidden within us and the vanity of everything around us. Our troubles turn all our self-love into self-abhorrence, and they force us to call upon God to save us from ourselves, to give us a new life, new light, and a new spirit in Christ Jesus.
The Spirit of Prayer
Your present and past distresses should bring you to acknowledge this twofold truth that I have stressed over and over again: first, you are nothing but darkness, vanity, and misery in and of yourself; secondly, you cannot help yourself to light and comfort by any effort of your own. I know that many people seem to assent to these two truths, but their belief has no depth or reality, and so it is of little or no use. However, some people, and perhaps you, have opened their hearts to a deep and full conviction of these truths. If you believe these two truths with as much certainty as you know that two plus two equals four, then you, like the prodigal son, have come to your senses, and more than half your work is done.
Now, if you fully possess these two truths, you will feel them in the dame degree of certainty as you feel your own existence. Under this awareness, you are to give up yourself absolutely and entirely to God in Christ Jesus, as if you were falling into the hands of infinite love. It is a great and infallible truth that God's will for you consists only of infinite love and an infinite desire to make you a partaker of His divine nature. It is absolutely impossible for the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to refuse to give you all the good and life and salvation that you need.
Drink deeply from this cup, for the precious water of eternal life is in it! Turn to God with this faith; cast yourself into this abyss of love; and then you will be in the state that the prodigal son was in when he said, "I will arise and go to my father,and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son" (Luke 15:18). And everything will be fulfilled in you that is recorded of the prodigal son.
Therefore, make this the twofold practise of your heart: first, bow yourself down before God in the deepest acknowledgment of our own nothingness and vileness; then, look up to God in faith and love, and consider Him as always extending the arms of His mercy toward you. God is full of an infinite desire to dwell in you as He dwells in the angels in heaven. Content yourself with this inward and simple exercise of your heart for a while, and seek the things that nourish and strengthen this state of your heart.
"Come unto me," said Jesus, "all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is more for you to rest upon - more light for your mind and more blessing for your heart than all the volumes of human instruction can provide. Take hold of the words of Jesus, and beg Him to be the light and life of your soul. Love the sound of His name, for Jesus is the love, the sweetness, and the compassionate goodness of the Deity, who became man so that man might have "power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12). Love every soul in the world; dwell in love, and then you will dwell in God; hate nothing but the evil that stirs in your own heart.
Teach your heart the following prayer, until you continually say it: "Holy Jesus, meek Lamb of God, Bread that came down from heaven, Light and Life of all holy souls, help me to have a true and living faith in You. Open Yourself within me, with Your holy nature, Spirit, and inclinations, so that I may be born again in You. Make me a new creature, revived, led, and governed by Your Holy Spirit." When you practise this prayer, it will become the life of your soul and the true food of eternity. Remain in this state of supplication to God, and then you will infallibly be raised out of the vanity of time into the riches of eternity.
Do not expect to have the same degree of fervor each and every time you pray. This is not where the heart of the matter lies. Your human body will have its share in the praying, but the ups and downs of that are to be overlooked. When your will is set in the right place, the changes of human fervor do not lessen your union with God.
The heart, which is an unfathomable depth of eternity within us, is as much above outward fervor as heaven is above the earth. It is the heart that works our way to God and unites us with heaven. This depth of the heart is the divine nature and power within us, which never calls upon God in vain. Whether assisted or deserted by outward fervor, the heart penetrates through the outward nature as easily and effectively as our thoughts can leave our bodies and reach into the regions of eternity.
The poverty of our fallen nature, the depraved workings of the flesh, the corrupt tendencies of our polluted birth into this world, do us no harm as long as the spirit of prayer works contrary to them and longs for the first birth of the light and Spirit of heaven. All our natural evil ceases to be our own evil as soon as our wills turn from it. Then it changes its nature, loses all its poison and death, and only becomes our holy cross on which we happily die to self and this world and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Do you want to be free of error, reservations, and delusion about where you stand with God? Consider the Deity to be the greatest love, the greatest meekness, the greatest sweetness. Consider His eternal, unchangeable will to be a blessing to every creature. Then recognize that all the misery, darkness, and death of fallen angels and fallen men came about because they lost their likeness to this divine nature. You and the entire fallen world have nothing to wish for except that rays and sparks of this divine, meek, loving, tender nature of God will be drawn into the life of your soul by the spirit of prayer. Consider Jesus as the gift of God to your soul, which begins and completes the birth of God and heaven within you, in spite of every spiritual or physical enemy. When you have heartily embraced these infallible truths and made them the nourishment of your soul, you way to heaven will be shortened and secured, and there will be no room for error, reservations, or delusion.
You can expect no life, light, strength, or comfort except from the Spirit of God dwelling and manifesting His own goodness in your soul. The best men and the best books can only do you good insofar as they turn you to seek and receive every kind of good from God alone - not a distant or an absent God, but a God living, moving, and always working in the spirit and heart of your being.
Those who seek God with their minds and their ideas will never find God, because God is the highest Spirit and the highest life, and only a similar spirit and life can unite with Him or know anything about Him. Therefore, faith, hope, and love, when they are turned toward God, are the only possible and infallible means of obtaining a true and living knowledge of Him. The reason for this is clear: trough the spiritual of life within us, we seek the God of life where He is; we call upon Him with His own voice; we draw near to Him by His own Spirit. For no physical body, no flesh and blood, can breathe forth faith and love and hope to God without having the Spirit and life that is of God.
The most infallible truth in the world is that neither reasoning nor learning can ever introduce a spark of heaven into our souls. Therefore, you have nothing to seek, and nothing to fear, from reason. Life and death are the things in question; although neither contributes to the growth of reasoning or learning, each is s state of the soul. Their only difference is that life is the enjoyment of the soul's highest good, and death is the lack thereof.
Therefore, reason and learning have no power here. Their attempts to keep the soul insensitive to life and death - one of which is always developing in the soul according to the will and the desires of the heart - are in vain. If you were to add intelligence to a vegetable, you would be adding nothing to its life or death. Its life and fruitfulness lie only in the soundness of its root, the goodness of the soil, and the riches it derives from air and light. It is the same for man.
This is how heaven and hell grow in the soul of every man. His heart is the root, and if the heart is turned away from all evil, it is then like a plant in good soil. When it hungers and thirsts after the divine life, it then infallibly draws the light and Spirit of God into it, which are infinitely ready and willing to live and bear fruit in the soul. For the soul has its breath, its being, and its life for no other purpose than that the triune God may manifest the riches and powers of His own life in it.
Giving Up All For God
Everything that lives partakes of life, every being hungers after the source of its existence, and every creature can only find its rest in the place from which it came. Dead as well as living things bear witness to this truth: the stones fall to the earth and "the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7) only because everything must go back to the place from which it came. If the souls of men were not breathed forth from God as real offspring of the divine nature, it would be as impossible for them to have any desire for God as for stones to go upward and the flame to go downward. The spirit of prayer is the one thing that proves that you came from God, and it is your certain way of returning to Him.
Therefore, when it is the never ceasing desire of our hearts that God may be the beginning and end, the reason and motive, the rule and measure, of all that we do, then we are offered up to the eternal Spirit of God. Our lives will be in Him and from Him, and we will be united to Him by the spirit of prayer that is the comfort, support, strength, and security of the soul. By the help of God, we will travel through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity.
In order to have this spirit of prayer, let us willingly give up all that we inherit from our fallen nature, so that we may hunger and thirst after God alone. Our only care ought to be how we can be wholly His devoted instruments, His adoring, joyful, and thankful servants in everything. We must be sure to shut our eyes and cover our ears to everything that is not a step in the ladder that reaches from earth to heaven.
Reading, listening, talking, and meditating are all good things, but they are only good at certain times and to a certain degree. They must be used with much caution, or they will bring forth in us the fruits of intemperance. But the spirit of prayer is for all times and all occasions; it is a lamp that is to be always burning, a light to be ever shining. Everything calls for it, and everything is to be done in it and governed by it. Indeed, the spirit of prayer is nothing else but the spirit of a man wholly and incessantly given up to God, to be all that He pleases.
This state of absolute yieldedness, naked faith, and pure love of God is the highest life of those who are born again from above and have become sons of God through the divine power. It is exactly what our blessed Redeemer called us to aspire to when He spoke these words: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). It is to be sought with the simplicity of a little child, without being captivated by any mysterious speculations. Everything about it should bring us nearer to God, should force us to forget and renounce everything for Him; should cause us to do everything in Him, with Him, and for Him; and should spur us to give every breath, movement, intention, and desire of our hearts, souls, spirits, and lives to Him.
Notice what our blessed Lord said of the place, the power,and the origin of truth. He did not refer us to the current doctrines of the times, or to the systems of men, but to His own name, His own nature, and His own divinity hidden in us. "My sheep," He said, "hear my voice" (John 10:27). Here, the whole matter is decisively determined, both where truth is and who can have any knowledge of it.
Heavenly truth is spoken only by the voice of Christ,and it is only heard by the power of Christ living in the hearer. He is the eternal Word of God, who speaks forth all the wisdom and wonders of God. He alone is the Word, who speaks forth all the life, wisdom, and goodness that can be in any creature. The soul can have no goodness or wisdom or life except what it has in Him and from Him. This is the one unchangeable boundary of truth, goodness, and every perfection of men on earth or angels in heaven.
Literary learning, from the beginning to the end of time, will always have very little of heavenly wisdom and very much of worldly foolishness. Its nature is one and the same through all ages; what it was in the Jew and the heathen, it is in the Christian, too. Its name and its nature are unalterable, for it is always foolishness in the eyes of God.
Recommendations to the Christian
Allow me to take a few more pages in this chapter in order to recommend the following actions to you.
First, willingly receive every spiritual and physical trouble, every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, darkness, and desolation. These are true opportunities and blessed occasions for dying to yourself and entering into a fuller fellowship with your self-denying, suffering Saviour. Do not look at spiritual or physical trouble in any light; reject every thought about it. Then, every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed day of your prosperity.
Secondly, be afraid of seeking or finding comfort in anything but God alone, for anything else that gives you comfort will take your heart away from God just a little bit more. What constitutes a pure heart? In a pure heart, God alone is totally and purely sufficient, and God alone gives delight.
Thirdly, when you have the highest faith in God and the fullest submission to Him, then you are in the best spiritual state. Strive to reach this state.
Fourthly, what do you need most, and what do you desire most? Is it not that God may be all in all in you? But how can this be, unless all human good and evil become nothing in you and mean nothing to you? You would do well to pray this prayer: "O my soul! Rid yourself of everything that is earthly and therefore changeable." While you are waiting for and expecting your Bridegroom, who is the Creator of all beings, let it be your one and only concern that He may find your heart free from all worldly things whenever it pleased Him to visit you.
Be assured of this: sooner or later, we will come to believe that everything in ourselves is evil by nature, and must be entirely given up. We will know for certain that nothing that is human or created can make us better than we are by nature. Therefore, all those spiritual or physical trials that being us to this conviction are a blessing to us. It is best that we may be driven to seek everything from God with the whole strength of our souls, without the least thought or hope of any other relief. When we have come to this point, we will be made true partakers of the Cross of Christ, and from the bottom of our hearts we will be able to say, with Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14).
Give yourself up to God without reservation. This implies a state of the heart that does nothing of itself, or from its own reason, will, or choice. Rather, it always stands in faith, hope, and absolute dependence upon God, being led by the Spirit into everything that is according to His will. The heart that is yielded to God will seek nothing by its own plans, thoughts, or reason. Instead, it will deal with everything that every day brings as something that comes from God and as something that is to be received and gone through just as Jesus would have done.
I consider this an attainable degree of perfection for all of us. By having Christ and His Spirit always in our view, and nothing else, we will never be left to ourselves, nor will we be without the full guidance of God.
~William Law~
(The End)
Every evil, whether inward or outward, should only teach you one truth: man has unmistakably lost his first divine life in God, and no possible comfort or deliverance is to be expected except through Christ. Though man lost God, God became man so that man might again be alive in God, as he was in the beginning. All the misery and distress of human nature, whether of body or mind, comes about solely because God is not in man, nor man in God, as the condition of his nature requires. Man has lost the first life of God by turning his will, thoughts, and desires into a taste for the good and evil of this beastial world.
Now, there are two things that have taken the place of the life of God in man. First, "self", or selfishness, was brought forth by man's choosing to have a wisdom of his own, contrary to the will and instruction of his Creator. Secondly, an earthly, bestial, mortal life and body were brought forth when man ate the food that poisoned his paradisaical nature. Both of these must therefore be removed; that is, a man must first totally die to self, to all earthly desires, views, and intentions, before he can again be in God as his nature and first creation requires.
But now, as long as he is a selfish, earthly-minded creature, must be deprived of his true life - the life of God, the spirit of heaven, in his soul. In light of this truth, everything is changed! For then, there is no life that ought to be as dreaded as a life of worldly ease and prosperity. There is great misery, a great curse, in everything that gratifies and nourishes our self-love, self-esteem, and self-seeking! On the other hand, there is great happiness in all spiritual and physical troubles when they force us to feel and to know the hell that is hidden within us and the vanity of everything around us. Our troubles turn all our self-love into self-abhorrence, and they force us to call upon God to save us from ourselves, to give us a new life, new light, and a new spirit in Christ Jesus.
The Spirit of Prayer
Your present and past distresses should bring you to acknowledge this twofold truth that I have stressed over and over again: first, you are nothing but darkness, vanity, and misery in and of yourself; secondly, you cannot help yourself to light and comfort by any effort of your own. I know that many people seem to assent to these two truths, but their belief has no depth or reality, and so it is of little or no use. However, some people, and perhaps you, have opened their hearts to a deep and full conviction of these truths. If you believe these two truths with as much certainty as you know that two plus two equals four, then you, like the prodigal son, have come to your senses, and more than half your work is done.
Now, if you fully possess these two truths, you will feel them in the dame degree of certainty as you feel your own existence. Under this awareness, you are to give up yourself absolutely and entirely to God in Christ Jesus, as if you were falling into the hands of infinite love. It is a great and infallible truth that God's will for you consists only of infinite love and an infinite desire to make you a partaker of His divine nature. It is absolutely impossible for the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to refuse to give you all the good and life and salvation that you need.
Drink deeply from this cup, for the precious water of eternal life is in it! Turn to God with this faith; cast yourself into this abyss of love; and then you will be in the state that the prodigal son was in when he said, "I will arise and go to my father,and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son" (Luke 15:18). And everything will be fulfilled in you that is recorded of the prodigal son.
Therefore, make this the twofold practise of your heart: first, bow yourself down before God in the deepest acknowledgment of our own nothingness and vileness; then, look up to God in faith and love, and consider Him as always extending the arms of His mercy toward you. God is full of an infinite desire to dwell in you as He dwells in the angels in heaven. Content yourself with this inward and simple exercise of your heart for a while, and seek the things that nourish and strengthen this state of your heart.
"Come unto me," said Jesus, "all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is more for you to rest upon - more light for your mind and more blessing for your heart than all the volumes of human instruction can provide. Take hold of the words of Jesus, and beg Him to be the light and life of your soul. Love the sound of His name, for Jesus is the love, the sweetness, and the compassionate goodness of the Deity, who became man so that man might have "power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12). Love every soul in the world; dwell in love, and then you will dwell in God; hate nothing but the evil that stirs in your own heart.
Teach your heart the following prayer, until you continually say it: "Holy Jesus, meek Lamb of God, Bread that came down from heaven, Light and Life of all holy souls, help me to have a true and living faith in You. Open Yourself within me, with Your holy nature, Spirit, and inclinations, so that I may be born again in You. Make me a new creature, revived, led, and governed by Your Holy Spirit." When you practise this prayer, it will become the life of your soul and the true food of eternity. Remain in this state of supplication to God, and then you will infallibly be raised out of the vanity of time into the riches of eternity.
Do not expect to have the same degree of fervor each and every time you pray. This is not where the heart of the matter lies. Your human body will have its share in the praying, but the ups and downs of that are to be overlooked. When your will is set in the right place, the changes of human fervor do not lessen your union with God.
The heart, which is an unfathomable depth of eternity within us, is as much above outward fervor as heaven is above the earth. It is the heart that works our way to God and unites us with heaven. This depth of the heart is the divine nature and power within us, which never calls upon God in vain. Whether assisted or deserted by outward fervor, the heart penetrates through the outward nature as easily and effectively as our thoughts can leave our bodies and reach into the regions of eternity.
The poverty of our fallen nature, the depraved workings of the flesh, the corrupt tendencies of our polluted birth into this world, do us no harm as long as the spirit of prayer works contrary to them and longs for the first birth of the light and Spirit of heaven. All our natural evil ceases to be our own evil as soon as our wills turn from it. Then it changes its nature, loses all its poison and death, and only becomes our holy cross on which we happily die to self and this world and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Do you want to be free of error, reservations, and delusion about where you stand with God? Consider the Deity to be the greatest love, the greatest meekness, the greatest sweetness. Consider His eternal, unchangeable will to be a blessing to every creature. Then recognize that all the misery, darkness, and death of fallen angels and fallen men came about because they lost their likeness to this divine nature. You and the entire fallen world have nothing to wish for except that rays and sparks of this divine, meek, loving, tender nature of God will be drawn into the life of your soul by the spirit of prayer. Consider Jesus as the gift of God to your soul, which begins and completes the birth of God and heaven within you, in spite of every spiritual or physical enemy. When you have heartily embraced these infallible truths and made them the nourishment of your soul, you way to heaven will be shortened and secured, and there will be no room for error, reservations, or delusion.
You can expect no life, light, strength, or comfort except from the Spirit of God dwelling and manifesting His own goodness in your soul. The best men and the best books can only do you good insofar as they turn you to seek and receive every kind of good from God alone - not a distant or an absent God, but a God living, moving, and always working in the spirit and heart of your being.
Those who seek God with their minds and their ideas will never find God, because God is the highest Spirit and the highest life, and only a similar spirit and life can unite with Him or know anything about Him. Therefore, faith, hope, and love, when they are turned toward God, are the only possible and infallible means of obtaining a true and living knowledge of Him. The reason for this is clear: trough the spiritual of life within us, we seek the God of life where He is; we call upon Him with His own voice; we draw near to Him by His own Spirit. For no physical body, no flesh and blood, can breathe forth faith and love and hope to God without having the Spirit and life that is of God.
The most infallible truth in the world is that neither reasoning nor learning can ever introduce a spark of heaven into our souls. Therefore, you have nothing to seek, and nothing to fear, from reason. Life and death are the things in question; although neither contributes to the growth of reasoning or learning, each is s state of the soul. Their only difference is that life is the enjoyment of the soul's highest good, and death is the lack thereof.
Therefore, reason and learning have no power here. Their attempts to keep the soul insensitive to life and death - one of which is always developing in the soul according to the will and the desires of the heart - are in vain. If you were to add intelligence to a vegetable, you would be adding nothing to its life or death. Its life and fruitfulness lie only in the soundness of its root, the goodness of the soil, and the riches it derives from air and light. It is the same for man.
This is how heaven and hell grow in the soul of every man. His heart is the root, and if the heart is turned away from all evil, it is then like a plant in good soil. When it hungers and thirsts after the divine life, it then infallibly draws the light and Spirit of God into it, which are infinitely ready and willing to live and bear fruit in the soul. For the soul has its breath, its being, and its life for no other purpose than that the triune God may manifest the riches and powers of His own life in it.
Giving Up All For God
Everything that lives partakes of life, every being hungers after the source of its existence, and every creature can only find its rest in the place from which it came. Dead as well as living things bear witness to this truth: the stones fall to the earth and "the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7) only because everything must go back to the place from which it came. If the souls of men were not breathed forth from God as real offspring of the divine nature, it would be as impossible for them to have any desire for God as for stones to go upward and the flame to go downward. The spirit of prayer is the one thing that proves that you came from God, and it is your certain way of returning to Him.
Therefore, when it is the never ceasing desire of our hearts that God may be the beginning and end, the reason and motive, the rule and measure, of all that we do, then we are offered up to the eternal Spirit of God. Our lives will be in Him and from Him, and we will be united to Him by the spirit of prayer that is the comfort, support, strength, and security of the soul. By the help of God, we will travel through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity.
In order to have this spirit of prayer, let us willingly give up all that we inherit from our fallen nature, so that we may hunger and thirst after God alone. Our only care ought to be how we can be wholly His devoted instruments, His adoring, joyful, and thankful servants in everything. We must be sure to shut our eyes and cover our ears to everything that is not a step in the ladder that reaches from earth to heaven.
Reading, listening, talking, and meditating are all good things, but they are only good at certain times and to a certain degree. They must be used with much caution, or they will bring forth in us the fruits of intemperance. But the spirit of prayer is for all times and all occasions; it is a lamp that is to be always burning, a light to be ever shining. Everything calls for it, and everything is to be done in it and governed by it. Indeed, the spirit of prayer is nothing else but the spirit of a man wholly and incessantly given up to God, to be all that He pleases.
This state of absolute yieldedness, naked faith, and pure love of God is the highest life of those who are born again from above and have become sons of God through the divine power. It is exactly what our blessed Redeemer called us to aspire to when He spoke these words: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). It is to be sought with the simplicity of a little child, without being captivated by any mysterious speculations. Everything about it should bring us nearer to God, should force us to forget and renounce everything for Him; should cause us to do everything in Him, with Him, and for Him; and should spur us to give every breath, movement, intention, and desire of our hearts, souls, spirits, and lives to Him.
Notice what our blessed Lord said of the place, the power,and the origin of truth. He did not refer us to the current doctrines of the times, or to the systems of men, but to His own name, His own nature, and His own divinity hidden in us. "My sheep," He said, "hear my voice" (John 10:27). Here, the whole matter is decisively determined, both where truth is and who can have any knowledge of it.
Heavenly truth is spoken only by the voice of Christ,and it is only heard by the power of Christ living in the hearer. He is the eternal Word of God, who speaks forth all the wisdom and wonders of God. He alone is the Word, who speaks forth all the life, wisdom, and goodness that can be in any creature. The soul can have no goodness or wisdom or life except what it has in Him and from Him. This is the one unchangeable boundary of truth, goodness, and every perfection of men on earth or angels in heaven.
Literary learning, from the beginning to the end of time, will always have very little of heavenly wisdom and very much of worldly foolishness. Its nature is one and the same through all ages; what it was in the Jew and the heathen, it is in the Christian, too. Its name and its nature are unalterable, for it is always foolishness in the eyes of God.
Recommendations to the Christian
Allow me to take a few more pages in this chapter in order to recommend the following actions to you.
First, willingly receive every spiritual and physical trouble, every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, darkness, and desolation. These are true opportunities and blessed occasions for dying to yourself and entering into a fuller fellowship with your self-denying, suffering Saviour. Do not look at spiritual or physical trouble in any light; reject every thought about it. Then, every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed day of your prosperity.
Secondly, be afraid of seeking or finding comfort in anything but God alone, for anything else that gives you comfort will take your heart away from God just a little bit more. What constitutes a pure heart? In a pure heart, God alone is totally and purely sufficient, and God alone gives delight.
Thirdly, when you have the highest faith in God and the fullest submission to Him, then you are in the best spiritual state. Strive to reach this state.
Fourthly, what do you need most, and what do you desire most? Is it not that God may be all in all in you? But how can this be, unless all human good and evil become nothing in you and mean nothing to you? You would do well to pray this prayer: "O my soul! Rid yourself of everything that is earthly and therefore changeable." While you are waiting for and expecting your Bridegroom, who is the Creator of all beings, let it be your one and only concern that He may find your heart free from all worldly things whenever it pleased Him to visit you.
Be assured of this: sooner or later, we will come to believe that everything in ourselves is evil by nature, and must be entirely given up. We will know for certain that nothing that is human or created can make us better than we are by nature. Therefore, all those spiritual or physical trials that being us to this conviction are a blessing to us. It is best that we may be driven to seek everything from God with the whole strength of our souls, without the least thought or hope of any other relief. When we have come to this point, we will be made true partakers of the Cross of Christ, and from the bottom of our hearts we will be able to say, with Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14).
Give yourself up to God without reservation. This implies a state of the heart that does nothing of itself, or from its own reason, will, or choice. Rather, it always stands in faith, hope, and absolute dependence upon God, being led by the Spirit into everything that is according to His will. The heart that is yielded to God will seek nothing by its own plans, thoughts, or reason. Instead, it will deal with everything that every day brings as something that comes from God and as something that is to be received and gone through just as Jesus would have done.
I consider this an attainable degree of perfection for all of us. By having Christ and His Spirit always in our view, and nothing else, we will never be left to ourselves, nor will we be without the full guidance of God.
~William Law~
(The End)
Friday, November 18, 2016
Quotes from Classic Christian Ministers
Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers
"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
~John Wesley~
___________________________
"What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God."
~Hans Urs von Balthasar~
_____________________________
"Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them."
~Elisabeth Elliot~
_________________________
"Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And He is more than enough for us."
~David Platt~
________________________
"The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same."
~C. S. Lewis~
__________________________
"True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His promises."
~Francis Chan~
_________________________
"Worrying is arrogant because God knows what He's doing."
~Barbara Cameron~
________________________
"If you are too busy to pray, you are busier than God wants you to be."
~Wanda Brunstetter~
_________________________
"satan is so much more in earnest than we are - he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost."
~Amy Carmichael~
______________________
"The Christians are right: it is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began."
~C. S. Lewis~
________________________
"We fail in the work of grace and love when there is too much of us and not enough of God."
~Suzanne Woods Fisher~
_________________________
"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength."
~Corrie Ten Boom~
______________________________
"I've read the last page of the Bible. It's all going to turn out all right."
~Billy Graham~
________________________
"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."
~Hudson Taylor~
"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
~John Wesley~
___________________________
"What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God."
~Hans Urs von Balthasar~
_____________________________
"Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them."
~Elisabeth Elliot~
_________________________
"Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And He is more than enough for us."
~David Platt~
________________________
"The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same."
~C. S. Lewis~
__________________________
"True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His promises."
~Francis Chan~
_________________________
"Worrying is arrogant because God knows what He's doing."
~Barbara Cameron~
________________________
"If you are too busy to pray, you are busier than God wants you to be."
~Wanda Brunstetter~
_________________________
"satan is so much more in earnest than we are - he buys up the opportunity while we are wondering how much it will cost."
~Amy Carmichael~
______________________
"The Christians are right: it is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began."
~C. S. Lewis~
________________________
"We fail in the work of grace and love when there is too much of us and not enough of God."
~Suzanne Woods Fisher~
_________________________
"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength."
~Corrie Ten Boom~
______________________________
"I've read the last page of the Bible. It's all going to turn out all right."
~Billy Graham~
________________________
"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."
~Hudson Taylor~
Monday, November 14, 2016
Arminianism vs CAlvinism
[A brief Comparative Study]
Arminianism vs Calvinism
Arminianism
Free-Will or Human Ability
Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is man's contribution to salvation.
_______________________________
Calvinism
Total Inability or Total Depravity
Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to being a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God.
_______________________________
Arminianism
Conditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe and therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
_______________________
Calvinism
Unconditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
_________________________
Arminianism
Universal Redemption or General Atonement
Christ's redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone's sins. Christ's redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.
_______________________
Calvinism
Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement
Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.
__________________________
Arminianism
The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted
The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's contribution) precedes and makes possible the new birth. Thus, man's free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ's saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God's grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
_________________________
Calvinism
The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace
In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
________________________
Arminianism
Falling From Grace
Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All Arminians have not been agreed on this point: some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ - that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.
_____________________________
Calvinism
Perseverance of the Saints
All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end.
_____________________________
According to Arminianism
Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.
_______________________________
According to Calvinism
Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.
Arminianism vs Calvinism
Arminianism
Free-Will or Human Ability
Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is man's contribution to salvation.
_______________________________
Calvinism
Total Inability or Total Depravity
Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to being a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God.
_______________________________
Arminianism
Conditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe and therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
_______________________
Calvinism
Unconditional Election
God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.
_________________________
Arminianism
Universal Redemption or General Atonement
Christ's redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone's sins. Christ's redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.
_______________________
Calvinism
Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement
Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.
__________________________
Arminianism
The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted
The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's contribution) precedes and makes possible the new birth. Thus, man's free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ's saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God's grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
_________________________
Calvinism
The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace
In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
________________________
Arminianism
Falling From Grace
Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All Arminians have not been agreed on this point: some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ - that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.
_____________________________
Calvinism
Perseverance of the Saints
All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end.
_____________________________
According to Arminianism
Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) - man's response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation.
_______________________________
According to Calvinism
Salvation is accomplished by the almighty power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ's death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.
Friday, November 11, 2016
The Spirit of True Religion # 2
The Spirit of True Religion # 2
God's Creatures Seek Him
We often hear it said that religion does a glorious work in the heart of man. But if the work is not begun, continued, and completed by the living operation of God in man, it can have no truth, goodness, or divine blessing in it. Why? Because nothing can truly seek God except that which comes from God. Nothing can truly find God as its good except that which has the nature of God living in it. Therefore, we cannot perform any religious service with any truth, goodness, or blessing in it unless we do so by the divine nature that lives and breathes in us.
All true religion is, or brings forth, an essential union and communion of the spirit of the creature with the Spirit of the Creator. God in us, and we in God - one life, one light, one love. The Spirit of God first sows the seed of divine union in the soul of a man. Then, afterward, faith revives the seed, raises it up, and brings it forth to a fullness of life in God.
Allow me to illustrate this further. The beginning of life for an animal must first come from the breath of this world. As long as the animal is alive, it maintains an essential union with the breath of this world. In a similar manner, divine faith, hope, love, and willing submission to God are the breath of the religious life. As long as they are genuine, they unite God and the creature in the same living and essential manner as the breath of an animal unites it with the breath of this world.
Now, no animal could begin to breathe with the breath of this world unless its breath came from the air of this world. Likewise, no creature - whether angel or man - could begin to be religious or breathe forth faith, love, and a desire for God, unless a living forth in him by the Spirit of God. Remember, a tree or plant can only grow and bear fruit by the same power that first gave birth to the seed. In the same way, faith, hope, and love for God can only grow and bear fruit by the power that first planted the seed of them in the soul.
The Holy Spirit plants the seeds of divine faith, hope, and love in the soul, but He also continually waters and cares for them. Such inspiration is vital to the continuance of a truly godly life. Therefore, divine inspiration is inseparable from true religion. If you were to take away inspiration, or if it were to cease, then no religious acts or feelings would give forth anything that is godly or divine. Created begins can offer nothing to God in return except what they have first received from Him. Therefore, if we are to offer to God all our divine inclinations and aspirations, we must have the divine and godly nature living and breathing in us.
Can anything reflect light before it has received light? Or can any other light be reflected than that which is received? Can any creature experience earthly emotions before it has an earthly nature? This is as likely as someone experiencing divine affections before partaking of the divine nature. It simply cannot be done!
Selfish and Vain Religion
A religious faith that is uninspired - a hope or love that does not proceed from the direct working of the divine nature within us - can do no more divine good to our souls and can no more unite them with the goodness of God, than a hunger after earthly food can feed us with the immortal Bread of Heaven. All that the natural or uninspired man does in the church has no more of the truth or power of divine worship in it than that which he does in the field or the shop through a desire for more money.
This is because all the acts of natural man, whether relating to matters of religion or to the world, are equally selfish, and there is no possibility of their being otherwise. Self-love, self-esteem, self-seeking, and living wholly to oneself are all that is or possibly can be in the natural man. Man cannot be any better, nor can he act any higher above this nature, than any beast. No creature can be in a better or higher state than this until something supernatural is found in it, and this supernatural something is called the Word or Spirit or Inspiration of God. This alone can give man the first good thought about God. The Holy Spirit of God is the only force that can cause man to have more heavenly desires than fleshly ones.
A religion that is not wholly built upon this supernatural ground, but instead stands solely upon the powers, reasonings, and conclusions of the natural, uninspired man,does not have even a hint of true religion in it. Instead, it is nothing, in the same sense that an idol is nothing because it has none of what it is alleged to have. Along the same lines, the work of religion has no divine good in it until it brings forth and keeps up an essential union of the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. This essential union cannot be formed unless there is love, but it is love that has the same divine nature on both sides.
Love Brought To Us By the Spirit
No one, therefore, can reach God with his love or have union with Him by it besides the person who is inspired by the one Spirit of love - the Spirit with which God loved Himself from all eternity, before there were any created beings. Infinite hosts of newly created heavenly beings could not begin any new kind of love for God, nor could they begin to love Him at all if His own Holy Spirit of love had not been brought to life in them.
This love, with which God loved Himself from all eternity and which was then in God alone, is the only love in us that can draw us to God. We can have no power to cleave to Him, to will what He wills, or to adore the divine nature, except by partaking of that eternal Spirit of love.
Therefore, the continual, direct inspiration or operation of the Holy Spirit is the only possible ground for our continual love for God. Concerning this inspired love, and no other, John said, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:16). If it were any other love, brought forth by any other thing but the Spirit of God breathing His own love in us, then John's words cannot be true. But we know that "every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5) and that His "word is truth" (John 17:17).
~William Law~
(The End)
God's Creatures Seek Him
We often hear it said that religion does a glorious work in the heart of man. But if the work is not begun, continued, and completed by the living operation of God in man, it can have no truth, goodness, or divine blessing in it. Why? Because nothing can truly seek God except that which comes from God. Nothing can truly find God as its good except that which has the nature of God living in it. Therefore, we cannot perform any religious service with any truth, goodness, or blessing in it unless we do so by the divine nature that lives and breathes in us.
All true religion is, or brings forth, an essential union and communion of the spirit of the creature with the Spirit of the Creator. God in us, and we in God - one life, one light, one love. The Spirit of God first sows the seed of divine union in the soul of a man. Then, afterward, faith revives the seed, raises it up, and brings it forth to a fullness of life in God.
Allow me to illustrate this further. The beginning of life for an animal must first come from the breath of this world. As long as the animal is alive, it maintains an essential union with the breath of this world. In a similar manner, divine faith, hope, love, and willing submission to God are the breath of the religious life. As long as they are genuine, they unite God and the creature in the same living and essential manner as the breath of an animal unites it with the breath of this world.
Now, no animal could begin to breathe with the breath of this world unless its breath came from the air of this world. Likewise, no creature - whether angel or man - could begin to be religious or breathe forth faith, love, and a desire for God, unless a living forth in him by the Spirit of God. Remember, a tree or plant can only grow and bear fruit by the same power that first gave birth to the seed. In the same way, faith, hope, and love for God can only grow and bear fruit by the power that first planted the seed of them in the soul.
The Holy Spirit plants the seeds of divine faith, hope, and love in the soul, but He also continually waters and cares for them. Such inspiration is vital to the continuance of a truly godly life. Therefore, divine inspiration is inseparable from true religion. If you were to take away inspiration, or if it were to cease, then no religious acts or feelings would give forth anything that is godly or divine. Created begins can offer nothing to God in return except what they have first received from Him. Therefore, if we are to offer to God all our divine inclinations and aspirations, we must have the divine and godly nature living and breathing in us.
Can anything reflect light before it has received light? Or can any other light be reflected than that which is received? Can any creature experience earthly emotions before it has an earthly nature? This is as likely as someone experiencing divine affections before partaking of the divine nature. It simply cannot be done!
Selfish and Vain Religion
A religious faith that is uninspired - a hope or love that does not proceed from the direct working of the divine nature within us - can do no more divine good to our souls and can no more unite them with the goodness of God, than a hunger after earthly food can feed us with the immortal Bread of Heaven. All that the natural or uninspired man does in the church has no more of the truth or power of divine worship in it than that which he does in the field or the shop through a desire for more money.
This is because all the acts of natural man, whether relating to matters of religion or to the world, are equally selfish, and there is no possibility of their being otherwise. Self-love, self-esteem, self-seeking, and living wholly to oneself are all that is or possibly can be in the natural man. Man cannot be any better, nor can he act any higher above this nature, than any beast. No creature can be in a better or higher state than this until something supernatural is found in it, and this supernatural something is called the Word or Spirit or Inspiration of God. This alone can give man the first good thought about God. The Holy Spirit of God is the only force that can cause man to have more heavenly desires than fleshly ones.
A religion that is not wholly built upon this supernatural ground, but instead stands solely upon the powers, reasonings, and conclusions of the natural, uninspired man,does not have even a hint of true religion in it. Instead, it is nothing, in the same sense that an idol is nothing because it has none of what it is alleged to have. Along the same lines, the work of religion has no divine good in it until it brings forth and keeps up an essential union of the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. This essential union cannot be formed unless there is love, but it is love that has the same divine nature on both sides.
Love Brought To Us By the Spirit
No one, therefore, can reach God with his love or have union with Him by it besides the person who is inspired by the one Spirit of love - the Spirit with which God loved Himself from all eternity, before there were any created beings. Infinite hosts of newly created heavenly beings could not begin any new kind of love for God, nor could they begin to love Him at all if His own Holy Spirit of love had not been brought to life in them.
This love, with which God loved Himself from all eternity and which was then in God alone, is the only love in us that can draw us to God. We can have no power to cleave to Him, to will what He wills, or to adore the divine nature, except by partaking of that eternal Spirit of love.
Therefore, the continual, direct inspiration or operation of the Holy Spirit is the only possible ground for our continual love for God. Concerning this inspired love, and no other, John said, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:16). If it were any other love, brought forth by any other thing but the Spirit of God breathing His own love in us, then John's words cannot be true. But we know that "every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5) and that His "word is truth" (John 17:17).
~William Law~
(The End)
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
The Spirit of True Religion # 1
The Spirit of True Religion # 1
I can think of one thing that is a common concern among all Christians and that should be carefully examined by them. I am sure that if it were either neglected, overlooked, or mistaken by them, there would be some sad consequences. This is something that is essential to Christian salvation. I use the words "essential to salvation" because I would not turn my own thoughts, or call attention of Christians, to anything but the one necessary and essential thing. It is only available as we rise out of our fallen state and become, as we were at our creation, the holy offspring of God and the real partakers of the divine nature.
What is this one thing? It is the renewal of the original life and power of the Spirit of God in us. Nothing else is needed by us, nothing else is intended for us, either by the law, the Prophets, or the Gospel. Nothing else can make sinful man become a godly creature again. Everything else, no matter what it is - however glorious and divine in outward appearance - is dead and helpless unless it has the Spirit of God breathing and living in it. All Scripture bears full witness to this truth. No angel, no person, no church, no reformation can do anything for us without the Spirit of God.
Everything written in the Bible was written only to call us back from the spirit of satan, the flesh, and the world, to be again fully dependent upon and obedient to the Spirit of God. Out of love and thirst for our souls, the Holy Spirit seeks to have His original power of life in us. When this is done, all that the Scriptures can do for us is also done.
Read whatever doctrine of Scripture you will, and it will leave you as poor and empty and unreformed as it found you, unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God. Delight in whatever passage of Scripture you can find, and your delight will be nothing unless it has strengthened your union with and dependence upon Him. For when delight in matters of Scripture is a delight that is merely human, it is only the self-love of fallen man. It can have no better nature than this until it proceeds from the inspiration of God, awakening His own life and nature within us, which alone can bring forth a godly love in us.
Because it is an immutable truth that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3), it must be an equally immutable truth that no one can have a Christlike mind or the power of goodness unless he is led and governed by the Holy Spirit. Allow me to explain what I mean by this.
Goodness Is in God Alone
All possible goodness, whether named or nameless, was in God from all eternity. Therefore, for all eternity it must be inseparable from Him; it can be nowhere but where God is. Before God created anything, there was only One who was good. Likewise, even after God created the innumerable hosts of blessed and holy and heavenly beings, there was and still is only One who is good, and He is God (Matthew 19:17).
All that can be called goodness, holiness, or heavenly inclinations in us in not our own, nor can it be considered the result of any of our own powers. Rather, all that is called divine goodness and virtue in us is nothing but the goodness of God manifesting itself according to how our created nature is able to receive it. This is the unalterable relationship between the Creator and the creature. Forever and ever, goodness can only belong to God. It is as essential to Him and inseparable from Him as His own unity.
God could not make the creature to be great and glorious in itself; this is as impossible as it would be for God to create beings who are not dependent upon Him. "The heavens," said David, "declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1), and no creature can declare any other glory but that of God. If we wish to say that a divine or heavenly creature shows forth its own natural power, it might as well be said that the earth shows forth its own handiwork. (Psalm 19:1).
True Religion Depends Upon God
However, all that is divine, great, and glorious in us is only a reflection of the greatness, glory, majesty, and blessedness of God dwelling in us and giving forth His own triune life, light, and love. As much as we are able to receive these things, we may infallibly see the true ground and nature of all true faith, including when and how we may fulfill all our duties to God. Man's true religion is in rendering to God all that is God's, and in continually acknowledging that everything he is, has, and enjoys is from God.
This is the one true religion of all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth, for they all have the same relationship to God. Although the various members of God's creation are different in many ways, the same standard of behavior toward God is required of them all. What is this one relationship that is the ground of all true religion and is the same between God and all intelligent creatures? It is a total and unalterable dependence upon God; it is continually receiving directly from God every kind and degree of goodness, blessing, and happiness that ever could be found.
The highest angel has nothing of its own that it can offer to God - no more light, love, purity, perfection, or glorious hallelujahs that spring from itself or its own powers, than the poorest creature upon earth. If this angel were to claim that a spark of wisdom, goodness, or excellence came from or belonged to itself, its place in heaven would be lost as surely as lucifer lost his!
But the angels are ever abiding flames of pure love, always ascending up to and uniting with God, because the wisdom, power, glory, majesty, love, and goodness of God alone are all that they see and know. Songs of praise to their heavenly Father are their ravishing delight, because they know and feel that the breath and Spirit of their heavenly Father sings and rejoices in them. Their adoration never ceases because they never cease to acknowledge the "all" of God - the entirety of God in the whole creation. This is the one religion of heaven, and nothing else is the truth of religion on earth.
The Power and Presence of God
The matter is really very simple. The benefit that we receive from faith is the power and presence of God living and working in our being. Because this is the unchangeable blessedness that may be gained from faith in God, we must receive all our religious goodness wholly and solely from God's direct operation in our hearts. No one can possibly have more of what is good and blessed in religion by any use of his own natural powers. This is because the creature cannot take God's blessings by its own power any more after its creation than it could before it was created.
If truth forces us to believe that the natural powers of created man could only come from the power of God, the same truth should surely force us to confess that we can only be comforted, enlightened, and blessed by the things in which God operates directly. Peace, joy, goodness, and rest can be had in no other way, nor by any other thing, than in and by God.
~William Law~
(continued with # 2 - God's Creatures Seek Him
I can think of one thing that is a common concern among all Christians and that should be carefully examined by them. I am sure that if it were either neglected, overlooked, or mistaken by them, there would be some sad consequences. This is something that is essential to Christian salvation. I use the words "essential to salvation" because I would not turn my own thoughts, or call attention of Christians, to anything but the one necessary and essential thing. It is only available as we rise out of our fallen state and become, as we were at our creation, the holy offspring of God and the real partakers of the divine nature.
What is this one thing? It is the renewal of the original life and power of the Spirit of God in us. Nothing else is needed by us, nothing else is intended for us, either by the law, the Prophets, or the Gospel. Nothing else can make sinful man become a godly creature again. Everything else, no matter what it is - however glorious and divine in outward appearance - is dead and helpless unless it has the Spirit of God breathing and living in it. All Scripture bears full witness to this truth. No angel, no person, no church, no reformation can do anything for us without the Spirit of God.
Everything written in the Bible was written only to call us back from the spirit of satan, the flesh, and the world, to be again fully dependent upon and obedient to the Spirit of God. Out of love and thirst for our souls, the Holy Spirit seeks to have His original power of life in us. When this is done, all that the Scriptures can do for us is also done.
Read whatever doctrine of Scripture you will, and it will leave you as poor and empty and unreformed as it found you, unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God. Delight in whatever passage of Scripture you can find, and your delight will be nothing unless it has strengthened your union with and dependence upon Him. For when delight in matters of Scripture is a delight that is merely human, it is only the self-love of fallen man. It can have no better nature than this until it proceeds from the inspiration of God, awakening His own life and nature within us, which alone can bring forth a godly love in us.
Because it is an immutable truth that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3), it must be an equally immutable truth that no one can have a Christlike mind or the power of goodness unless he is led and governed by the Holy Spirit. Allow me to explain what I mean by this.
Goodness Is in God Alone
All possible goodness, whether named or nameless, was in God from all eternity. Therefore, for all eternity it must be inseparable from Him; it can be nowhere but where God is. Before God created anything, there was only One who was good. Likewise, even after God created the innumerable hosts of blessed and holy and heavenly beings, there was and still is only One who is good, and He is God (Matthew 19:17).
All that can be called goodness, holiness, or heavenly inclinations in us in not our own, nor can it be considered the result of any of our own powers. Rather, all that is called divine goodness and virtue in us is nothing but the goodness of God manifesting itself according to how our created nature is able to receive it. This is the unalterable relationship between the Creator and the creature. Forever and ever, goodness can only belong to God. It is as essential to Him and inseparable from Him as His own unity.
God could not make the creature to be great and glorious in itself; this is as impossible as it would be for God to create beings who are not dependent upon Him. "The heavens," said David, "declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1), and no creature can declare any other glory but that of God. If we wish to say that a divine or heavenly creature shows forth its own natural power, it might as well be said that the earth shows forth its own handiwork. (Psalm 19:1).
True Religion Depends Upon God
However, all that is divine, great, and glorious in us is only a reflection of the greatness, glory, majesty, and blessedness of God dwelling in us and giving forth His own triune life, light, and love. As much as we are able to receive these things, we may infallibly see the true ground and nature of all true faith, including when and how we may fulfill all our duties to God. Man's true religion is in rendering to God all that is God's, and in continually acknowledging that everything he is, has, and enjoys is from God.
This is the one true religion of all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth, for they all have the same relationship to God. Although the various members of God's creation are different in many ways, the same standard of behavior toward God is required of them all. What is this one relationship that is the ground of all true religion and is the same between God and all intelligent creatures? It is a total and unalterable dependence upon God; it is continually receiving directly from God every kind and degree of goodness, blessing, and happiness that ever could be found.
The highest angel has nothing of its own that it can offer to God - no more light, love, purity, perfection, or glorious hallelujahs that spring from itself or its own powers, than the poorest creature upon earth. If this angel were to claim that a spark of wisdom, goodness, or excellence came from or belonged to itself, its place in heaven would be lost as surely as lucifer lost his!
But the angels are ever abiding flames of pure love, always ascending up to and uniting with God, because the wisdom, power, glory, majesty, love, and goodness of God alone are all that they see and know. Songs of praise to their heavenly Father are their ravishing delight, because they know and feel that the breath and Spirit of their heavenly Father sings and rejoices in them. Their adoration never ceases because they never cease to acknowledge the "all" of God - the entirety of God in the whole creation. This is the one religion of heaven, and nothing else is the truth of religion on earth.
The Power and Presence of God
The matter is really very simple. The benefit that we receive from faith is the power and presence of God living and working in our being. Because this is the unchangeable blessedness that may be gained from faith in God, we must receive all our religious goodness wholly and solely from God's direct operation in our hearts. No one can possibly have more of what is good and blessed in religion by any use of his own natural powers. This is because the creature cannot take God's blessings by its own power any more after its creation than it could before it was created.
If truth forces us to believe that the natural powers of created man could only come from the power of God, the same truth should surely force us to confess that we can only be comforted, enlightened, and blessed by the things in which God operates directly. Peace, joy, goodness, and rest can be had in no other way, nor by any other thing, than in and by God.
~William Law~
(continued with # 2 - God's Creatures Seek Him
Three Steps to Answered Prayer
Matthew 7:7-8
by Robert L. Cobb
| Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Mat. 7:7-8 |
Sadly, those song lyrics are true for many Christians. Something is wrong with our prayers. Please do not think that this message is like Bruce Wilkinson's book, The Prayer of Jabez, saying essentially that our prayers will unlock the vaults of Heaven and give us prosperity and health. Prayer is not a mystical gift which binds the hands of God to do as we wish. Prayer is the communication between a Father and His child. Jesus Himself prayed constantly as an illustration to us. And He taught on prayer to help us understand and answer our questions.We know these verses well; most of us can quote them. But, in our familiarity, we may overlook important concepts. I believe, in these verses, Christ revealed three elements to real prayer. Each of these elements must be active for the prayer to reach fruition.
I. THE PRINCIPLE OF ASKING Ask, and it shall be given you...
The principle of asking seems to be elementary. But there are many kinds of asking. We may ask for a glass of tea, knowing that our host will gladly supply it. We may ask our dentist, "will it hurt?" though we already know it probably will. We may ask the policeman, "Do you really have to give me a ticket?" knowing that he won't change his mind. The Greek word for "ask" is "aiteo" and it means to beg or to crave. This kind of asking is serious, humble and dependent. It is respectful and honoring to the one asked.
In verse 9 and 10 of our present passage we see the child's humble asking. He asks his father for bread and fish. The child knows his father can provide and has confidence that he will do so. Jeremiah 33:3 saysCall unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Psalm 2:8 says Ask of me, and I shall give thee... Psalm 145:18, The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
This is not the superficial asking of a customer in a store who would like to examine the merchandise. Prayer is not shopping for an answer, prayer is asking expectantly for an answer. Jesus taught us to ask, Give us this day our daily bread... The blind man called out to Jesus by the way, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. When Jesus asked him his need, he said, Lord, that I might receive my sight... Peter, when sinking beneath the waves, said Lord, save me.
One would think that this principle would be a simple one. But alas, ye have not, because ye ask not. (James 4:2) How many times have you heard someone say, "Why didn't you just say so?" Sometimes it's hard to get to the point. The rider who hails a cab must tell the driver where he wants to go! The lady who walks in the grocery store has a list. The Christian who would communicate with His Heavenly Father must ASK! Our prayers must not be like political speeches, with flowery language but saying nothing. They must not be like poetry, with rhythm, eloquence and beauty.
The first great principle of answered prayer is to ask.
II. THE PRINCIPLE OF ABIDING seek, and ye shall find
The second great principle of answered prayer is to seek. This word, "zete", means to seek in order to find out by thinking, meditating,and reasoning; to inquire into. God continually calls on His people to seek Him in His fullness.
| Mat. 6:33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Psa. 27:8; 8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; My heart said unto thee, Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek. Psa. 119:2; 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, That seek him with the whole heart. Pro. 8:17; 17 I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. Isa. 55:6; 6 Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near: Jer. 29:13; 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Heb. 11:6 ...that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. |
| John 15:4-7 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. |
III. THE PRINCIPLE OF ANTICIPATING knock, and it shall be opened unto you
Our last principle deals with "knocking." It means to literally knock on a door. It is the same word, krouo, used in Revelation 3:20 when Jesus says Behold, I stand at the door and knock... To knock on a door is to anticipate an answer. We knock because we seek entry; we have a desire to have dealings with someone inside. There is a sense of expectation, or anticipating, in knocking. Simply, there is faith. Jesus commanded us to have faith in God. He constantly chided the disciples,How is it that you have no faith?
| 1 Joh. 5:14, 15; 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. Joh. 14:13, 14; 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. Mar. 11:24; Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. |
We have let the devil has bound both our left hand and right hand in prayer. If we pray for the salvation of a loved one or that God might revive our church, he tells us that God is not willing, and so we lack faith in Him. If we do not abide in Christ, we ask amiss for things that are not pleasing to Him. Then we seem to have faith, and are disappointed when we do not receive the object of our lust. We have obscured the concept of Biblical prayer. James warns us in James 1, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
In Acts 12, Peter was in prison but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. (v. 5) In answer to their prayers, God sent an angel to release Peter. He went to the house where the prayers were being made and knocked on the door of the gate. A little girl came to the door to find Peter there. She went back and told the prayer meeting crowd that Peter was at the door. Thou are mad!, they told her. Meanwhile, Peter kept knocking. The Bible tells us that when they finally let him in, they were astonished. While the prayer meeting crowd is an example of how NOT to pray, Peter's patient knocking is an illustration of how to pray!
Hudson Taylor would become a great missionary to China. But before setting out for God, he had to learn some lessons of faith. He had read about George Muller, the great missionary to the orphans in England. He resolved to have this kind of faith. He was working for a doctor as a dispenser, a job not unlike our present day nurses. The doctor was sporadic in paying Taylor. He resolved that he would never ask the doctor for payment, he would pray to God only. Through much suffering and turmoil, his faith increased until he could trust God alone to meet his needs. It is then that God opened the door to China. While there, he prayed in hundreds of more missionaries to help him, praying for each of them that God would take care of them and meet every need.
Conclusion: I'm afraid that many times our attempts at prayer are no more real praying than a parakeet is akin to an eagle. We try everything before we ask God. Then we ask, but where is the seeking and knocking? Answered prayer comes from asking, abiding in Him and anticipating that God will answer our requests.
Quotes and Prayers from Christian Classic Ministers
"Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. I rejoice at thy word, at one that findeth great spoil" (Psalm 119:161-162)
As I have tried to figure out what revivals have been down through the years, I have come to this conclusion. Revivals have been a sudden bestowment of the spirit of worship, where people worship God and suddenly the spirit of worship comes on them. It is not something that is worked up, but rather something God bestows; and where His presence is, you will have a revival immediately. Worship always is a result of the presence of God.
What I can explain will never overawe me, will never fill me with astonishment, wonder or admiration. The presence of that most ancient mystery, that unspeakable majesty, which the philosophers have called a mysterium tremendum, but we who are God's children call, "Our Fathr which art in heaven," - this ought to be present in the church today. Without this, there can be no genuine worship.
Only worship that flows from the awesome manifest presence of God is acceptable to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Father hears Him pray,
His dear Anointed One;
He cannot turn away,
The presence of His Son.
(Charles Wesley)
I long, O Majesty on high, for Thy blessed presence to overwhelm me to the point of silent worship and awe. Thy precious Word leaves me speechless. In Jesus' name, Amen
~A. W. Tozer~
_____________________________
Oh, how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so little to any good purpose.
Ardent love or desire introduced, as passionately longing to please and glorify the Divine Being, to be in every respect conformed to Him, and in that way to enjoy Him.
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