Devil Proof!

                                                      
God allows your trial because He wants to make you “devil-proof”! That does not mean you will not be attacked again but you will be trained to stand! It is all part of His preparing you for greater service, greater anointing and expanded usefulness in His kingdom.

Furthermore, the Lord is trying to strengthen you against the devil’s wiles. He is raising up a body of believers who have faced the devil, who have been strengthened against him, and who know his devices and are not afraid of him! 

God is saying, “Once you understand why you are going through this, you will have taken back all the ground you lost. You will be in control again—by the power of the Holy Spirit!”

Once Elijah’s trial was over (see 1 Kings 19) he would never run again. He now had a sense of direction and he was reassured in his spirit. You see, God was about to send him to nations to raise up kings, leaders and prophets!

God told Elijah: “Go, return on your way...anoint Hazael as king over Syria...anoint Jehu...as king over Israel. And Elisha...you shall anoint as prophet in your place” (1 Kings 19:15-16). Elijah had been given fresh anointing power. He was in control again!

“So he departed from there” (verse 19). Elijah came out of the cave to do God’s will! He did not have to shed a river of tears. No, he simply had heard the Word of the Lord!

Beloved, the only hold the devil can have on you is fear. And you must shake it off in faith!  

You have to say, “I am Not going down. God is going to give me a fresh anointing from heaven—He is going to use me!”

Do you believe that God is not finished with you—that He is teaching and training you for better things? He wants to speak to you in your cave of despondency. He wants to tell you what to do and where to go—and He wants to bring you out!

So get up out of your despair and shake off the bondage of fear and depression! Depart from your cave. 

You will discover that the moment you get up and walk out, the anointing will flow!

~David Wilkerson~

A ROD Of IRON

                                              
The apostle Paul writes of Christ's ascension into heaven: "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15).  

THAT'S RIGHT! Staggering behind our Lord's triumphant procession was the prince of darkness himself, Bound In Chains.

And behind the DEFEATED devil underneath the wheels of the heavenly hosts were all the powers of darkness, bound and vanquished. 

They were being put to an open shame before all those who had died in faith before the cross.

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall  they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father (Revelation2:27). Jesus entered the gates carrying in His hand a scepter of righteousness, His "rod of iron" with which He rules all nations.

Then, after His triumphant entrance, He took His Rightful Place on the Throne in FULL possession of ALL Power, Authority and Dominion.

What a glorious picture!  

Satan is NOT in control! Communism is NOT in control! Atheism is NOT in control!

No, the enemies of Christ exist ONLY by HIS PERMISSION!!!

And right now they only continue to FILL UP their cups of iniquity.

Jesus is in Control of all things and One Day, when He is Ready, He will "Break Them with a Rod of Iron; [He] shalt Dash them in Pieces like a Potter's Vessel"
(Psalm 2:9).

Beloved, our understanding of Christ's Victory over Satan and the dominion of  sin CANNOT be a vague, confused theology. 

We must KNOW and UNDERSTAND that Satan is TOTALLY DEFEATED!!! He cannot hold us prisoner!

And Christ has freed us by His blood from every bondage. 

Now He sits on His throne with ALL Power and Authority, offering us peace, joy and freedom.

~David Wilkerson~

Experience Is Of Greater Importance Than Being Delivered From Tribulation

                            

May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love... that you may really come to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience. (Ephesians 3:17,19 AMP)

The Holy Spirit, with all that the gift of the Spirit means of enduement and endowment and instruction and strengthening, is not a substitute for experience.

We are very often found asking that certain things shall be done for us by the Holy Spirit which the Holy Spirit will never do. He has to lead us into experience. It is the only way in which He can answer our prayers.

Many prayers are answered through experience. You ask the Lord to do something, and He takes you through experience, and you arrive at the answer in that way.

You had not meant that, of course: you wanted the Lord to do the thing there and then as a gift, as an act; but that would have been merely objective, something given, whereas He wants to make it a part of yourself, and so He answers prayer by some experience.

Steadfastness worketh experience, and if there is no experience, what is the good of anybody or anything?

So then, experience is of greater importance than being delivered from tribulation. 

Tribulation worketh experience.

Oh, how often we have asked the Lord why He allowed this and that, or why He did not do this or that. Why did He not hinder Adam from sinning? Why has He not stopped the world in so many things that have had most terrible results? Experience is very largely the answer. 

Experience is very important because, after all, it is the very quality of service.

When we come to real life, and we are really up against things and the issues are of the greatest consequence, we do not want just information, we want experience, and we go where experience can help us. Is that not so? Thus experience is the very body and quality of service and usefulness to the Lord.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Die To Live

    

Jesus answered them saying - The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.

He is speaking of Himself first of all as laying down His soul, but now He extends that principle to those who shall share with Him this life, this life of ascension in God, this life which is Spirit.

We must follow the same principle that He followed, not only for our salvation, but for our identification with Him. 

We do not save ourselves in any way by trying to follow Jesus. I hope you recognize the meaning of that. We do not save ourselves in any way by trying to follow Jesus, because we cannot. 

The one who endeavored best to follow Jesus in the flesh was Peter. He tried hard; and he did all kinds of desperately courageous things, and there was no man so resolute, and determined as he. He was the one who stepped out on the sea in that dark and stormy night.

If ever there was a dare-devil it was Peter in the realm of his flesh. You must not minimize Peter's attributes of heart and mind as a man in the natural.

He was the man who took out his sword and was prepared to fight single-handed the armed forces that came to arrest the Saviour.

Just two swords they had, and Peter unsheathed one and was prepared to defend the Lord Jesus Christ against the world. That speaks for his courage; but he knew nothing about this other thing. He knew nothing about the impact of hell; he knew nothing about the impact of principalities and powers.

You remember the Lord (ch. 13) says - "Whither I go thou canst not follow me now," 

And Peter says: "I will lay down my soul for thy sake." But he did not know what it is to lay down the soul. He thought it was to die in the mortal body. That is not laying down the soul. 

There are plenty of men with dare-devil courage who will face that, but that is not laying down the soul. And the Lord tells him: "Wilt thou lay down thy soul for my sake?

Verily, verily, I say unto thee the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice." As much as to say, You do not know the impact of Satan, and the weakness of your own moral fiber.

You will crumple up as I take My sheltering hand from over you; but I have prayed the Father that thy faith fail not, and when thou art turned again at last, and hast seen thine own weakness, then strengthen the brethren.

And it is only the brethren who have had this crash who can strengthen others, because they know the weakness of the flesh, the impossibility of any man or woman fighting their way through. 

Thou shalt follow Me hereafter. That means following Him in the way of laying down your life; but we are only able to lay down that life through the operation of the Cross. 

It is only as the Holy Spirit makes possible the laying down constantly of the natural life into that death which Jesus has already died for us that we can follow Him through into the Godhead, have access unto the Father in Fellowship of one Spirit in Him.

We only live in the Spirit as we are crucified in the flesh.

We only live in God as we die in ourselves.

~T. Austin Sparks~

PRESSED Out Of Measure

2Co 1:8  For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: 

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God allowed the crisis to close around Jacob on the night when he bowed at Peniel in supplication, to bring him to the place where he could take hold of God as he never would have done; and from that narrow pass of peril, Jacob became enlarged in his faith and knowledge of God, and in the power of a new and victorious life.

God had to compel David, by a long and painful discipline of years, to learn the almighty power and faithfulness discipline of years, to learn the Almighty Power and Faithfulness of his GOD, and grow up into the established principles of faith and godliness, which were indispensable for his glorious career as the king of Israel.

Nothing but the extremities in which Paul was constantly placed could ever have taught him, and taught the Church through him, the full meaning of the great promise he so learned to claim, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

And nothing but our trials and perils would ever have led some of us to know Him as we do, to trust Him as we have, and to draw from Him the measures of grace which our very extremities made indispensable.

Difficulties and obstacles are God's challenges to faith. When hindrances confront us in the path of duty, we are to recognize them as vessels for faith to fill with the fullness and all-sufficiency of Jesus; and as we go forward, simply and fully trusting Him, we may be tested, we may have to wait and let patience have her perfect work; but we shall surely find at last the stone rolled away, and the LORD waiting to render unto us double for our time of testing

~A. B. Simpson~

LET IT GO

                            

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

You have a life, and that Life is a Great Trust, a Great Responsibility. It can stay in its Own Ambitions, its Own Interests, its Own Worldly Concerns and Considerations, it can Stay By Itself.

Will you give your life to God, will you let it go to Him, will you put it on the altar and let the knife be taken that God may have it utterly?

If you will, God will multiply your life, God will extend your life, God will make much more of it than ever it would have been if you had kept it in your own hands. 

Have you got something in your life that you are holding on to as a Christian? 

You are not letting that go to the Lord?

You know what it is.

I should miss it if I tried to catalog the things it might be.

You know you have something where you are not letting go to the Lord. 

The Lord has put His finger on something, and you are holding on. 

You have an argument which you think is a very good argument. 

You have a reason you think perfectly good, so you are holding on. 

Deep down the truth is you are not prepared to let that go....

There are times when, in recognition that a certain course is the Lord’s way, we have to wait for the Lord’s time and see to it that our strength of will coming into alliance with some purpose of God is not jeopardizing the fruitfulness of that thing, and doing other people harm and making other people suffer.

There are times when we have to come back to the Lord and say, "Lord, You have shown me that is Your way for me, but I can see that it is going to involve others in a great deal of suffering.

I do want to be sure of Your time in this, and that I am not taking hold of it; it is not my strength of will to do Your will. I want to do this thing in self-sacrificing love, so that the least loss shall be suffered by others."

We have seen people who are right as to their objective, right as to what the Lord wants, but the way in which they do it often spoils the whole thing.

They take hold of Divine things, and while the thing is right, they are spoiling it by bringing their own strength of will into alliance with it.

This applies in many ways. We must be circumcised in heart to do the will of God, ready to let go and let God determine the way to accomplish it. May the Lord interpret His Word and make it fruitful.

I know it is challenging. It searches us all; we shall all come up against it. But oh, see what happened in heaven, and see that He desires that as it is in heaven, so it shall be on earth.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Forsake YOUR Ground

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 

In this dispensation God is not meeting Jews as Jews, and Gentiles as Gentiles, and a great many are making the mistake of thinking that He is.

His Word to the Jew is: "You must leave your Jewish ground, and stand before God, not as a Jew, but as a man, and until you take that ground God has nothing to say to you; you will not have any light whilst you persist in coming before God on your own ground."

The same has to be said to everyone else. We have to leave our own ground in every way. As that applies in these directions nationally, it applies in every other thing. Are you going to answer the Lord back: But I am this or that, or something else; or, But I am not this or that. It is not what you are, but what the Son is, that is of account.

Come on to His ground. The Lord will not meet you on the ground of what you are, whether it be good or bad; He will meet you on the ground of the Heavenly Man. Do you answer back, "I am so weak!" The Lord is not going to meet you on that ground; He will meet you on the ground of His Son.

That is what the Holy Spirit means by such words as He speaks through Paul: “...be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1). God hears us exclaim, "But I am so weak, Lord!" but He does not pay any heed to what we mean to indicate by that confession, which is: "Come down on to the ground of my weakness and pick me up!" He says, "You forsake that ground, and come on to the ground of My Son, and you will find strength there." "I am so foolish, Lord!" The Lord says: "You will remain foolish until you get on to the ground of My Son, Who is made unto you wisdom."

That applies all the way along. We take our own ground before the Lord and are surprised that the Lord does not lift us right out of our own ground and put us into a better position, but He never does. We shall stay there forever, if that is our attitude.

The Lord’s word to us is: "Forsake your own ground and come on to My ground. I have provided a Heavenly Man Who is full of all that you need; now come on to that ground." It does not matter what you are, or what you are not. There everything is adjusted and made good.

~T. Austin Sparks~

REVIVING THE HEART

                                                                                 
Did you first come to the Lord only because you wanted something from Him? Did you turn to God in order to kick a drug habit, to have your marriage restored, to be delivered from financial trouble?

The truth is, Christ will work miracles for you. He will do the impossible in  your life. But if you come to Him only to get something from Him only to be delivered from your problems you will never grow an inch in maturity. On the contrary, you will only grow hard.

Think back to the time of your conversion. Did it happen after some locust had  eaten everything away? Was your health debilitated? Was one of your children in trouble? Did you end up in devastation, with death and ruin hovering over you?

Please do not misunderstand me. Of course, God loves to save people who end up  in ruin. When all is lost, He is always near and faithful to deliver. But, beloved, you cannot come to Jesus just to get relief. You must come to Him because He is God and because He deserves your life, your worship, your obedience.

Right now you may be saying, "Yes, I admit I've been neglecting God's Word and  I'm still bound by a besetting sin. Am I too far gone to receive the Lord's healing touch?"

No, not at all! If you will begin to call on the Lord today, in the midst of  your need, He will bring you times of refreshing. Whenever you bring a truly repentant heart to Him, He will act as your mediator and intercessor, not as your judge.

Do you want to grow into maturity in Christ? Do you want the Lord to keep  reproving you in love and guiding you toward godliness? Then call on Him today. Nothing will keep you on His intended path for you more than a broken and contrite heart!

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name  is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).

~David Wilkerson~



 

THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION

                                                                                 
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Christ said, "I came into this world for one reason — to reach and save lost souls." Yet this was not only the mission of Jesus, He made it our mission also: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).

Jesus was speaking here to a small band of believers, about 120 people who had  gathered in the upper room. And what an impossible task He laid before them!

Go to foreign nations, live with the people and study their languages. Lay hands on the sick, cast out devils, proclaim the good news. Go to the very seat of Satan and preach the power and victory of the risen Savior."

We must realize that Jesus was talking to ordinary, insignificant, uneducated  men and women. He was placing the very future of His Church on their shoulders. They must have been overwhelmed.

Can you imagine the conversation that must have taken place once their Master  ascended to heaven? "Did I hear Him right? How could we start a worldwide revolution? We're penniless and the Romans are beating and killing us. If we are treated this way here in Jerusalem, how will we be treated when we witness and preach in Rome?”

Another might have said, "How does our Lord expect us to go into all the world  with the gospel when we don't even have enough money to go to Jericho? How are we to learn languages when we haven't been educated? This is all impossible."

It was indeed an impossible mission. Yet our challenge today is just as  daunting!

If all who read this message would allow the Holy Spirit to make this word real  to them to seek Him for His burden and guidance — there is no telling what kind of harvest the Spirit might reap. The truth is, the greatest works for eternity are done not in mass crusades, but with one saint reaching one lost soul.


~David Wilkerson~