We Pray That The Seeds Of Truth Contained In This Blog Will Penetrate The Good Soil Of Your Heart And Bear Much Fruit.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Cain's Offering And God's Rejection

                                                             


Coming then to Cain, it was not a matter of God closing the door to Cain. The door was already closed. With Cain it was this question of recognizing or ignoring that fact, that the door was closed.

He just did not recognize the fact that the door was closed. In other words, he did not recognize the fact of death, for it is written that God had said before they were born to their parents concerning the truth of the knowledge of good and evil "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17).

And I believe that that means what it says, that in the day that they did eat, they did most surely die. 

It was not something potential and prospective.

They died. Death took place.
 

On what do we base that? Listen! This is from the New Testament: "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin..." (Rom. 5:12) - by one man.

That man was Adam. Sin entered, and death through sin, "so death passed unto all men." 

Now that is a long section in Romans 5 - read it. It runs from verse 12 to verse 19, a long section, and it is all focused upon this: that death passed upon all men - all are dead. 

Through one man death entered. Or again in that wonderful letter to the Corinthians, first letter, chapter 15, verses 21 and 22  "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die...".

Death was a fact; it had taken place and Cain did not recognize the fact, he did not accept the fact, he ignored the fact.

And this whole matter of whether the way is closed or open depends upon our recognition and acceptance of that fact, and there is no way through for us in our natural state.

And it is a matter also of putting our approach to God upon that basis. That is what arose here.
 

Let us look at the features, then, in Cain's case. It was not that Cain was a godless, irreligious man. He was not atheistic, ignoring or disputing or doubting or denying the existence of God. He came to the place of worship! 

There was evidently a place of worship where there was an altar. God had not been ruled out of his universe, He was still allowed a place in their thought and in their attention. Cain was not, in that sense, a godless man, irreligious. Cain had worked hard and worked well.

This fruit of the ground which he brought represented skill, energy, interest, and if the Lord's words still obtained "in the sweat of thy face" the Lord had said (Gen. 3:19) - this fruit was that, it represented all that where Cain was concerned.

It was the embodiment of his mind, the embodiment of his heart, the embodiment of his will.

He had put himself into that fruit.

We are going to give him as large a place as we can. We are not despising Cain in a certain realm. He had put himself into his fruit. That fruit was the expression of himself. It was all out from himself, and that was the deadlock and the impasse.
 

This is tremendously searching. A man's best and fullest consecration to his life's work, putting himself - mind, heart and will; intelligence, skill, devotion and labour - into producing something fine and good and bringing it to God and finding the door closed. That is searching.

That was the beginning of a long history, that long history of self-sufficiency and its brood, for the brood of Self is a very, very large one self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, and so on and on a long history.

It is the history of that which in a very large development focused upon Jesus, and murdered Him.  

This was the beginning of murder. 

You see, God knew Cain's heart even when he was at the altar with his fruit.

He knew what was in that man's heart which only needed certain conditions and circumstances and provocations to divulge it.

You do not have to divulge a thing for God to know.

It is there, and He knows all about it. He may draw it out, but He knows all about it beforehand.

This is the beginning of a history of what, in our time, has come to be called humanism: that man has it within himself, his own intelligence, his own power, his own will, his own resource, to find his way through, to get through, to save himself. It began here.
 

And do you not see that this was the beginning of that final development which is so far on the way to consummation now - Antichrist, the super-glory of man in his achievements, inventions, discoveries, and what not, by which he is going to save himself and his world - and it is nonsense!

The Cross makes nonsense of it all, and says: There is no way through! And if men are not capable of seeing that there is no way through to heaven by the hydrogen bomb or any other weapon, they are fools indeed.

The god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving" (2 Cor. 4:4). It began here.
 

See what it amounts to. You and I, by the best that we can do and produce, never can get through with God. 

All such ideas and thoughts are the ignoring or rejecting of this fact: that the door was shut long, long ago, and death took place, and we are born dead every one of us - a mighty active death.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Pruning The Branches



Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  

A CHILD of God was dazed by the variety of afflictions which seemed to make her their target. Walking past a vineyard in the rich autumnal glow she noticed the untrimmed appearance and the luxuriant wealth of leaves on the vines, that the ground was given over to a tangle of weeds and grass, and that the whole place looked utterly uncared for; and as she pondered, the Heavenly Gardener whispered so precious a message that she would fain pass it on:

My dear child, are you wondering at the sequence of trials in your life? Behold that vineyard and learn of it. The gardener ceases to prune, to trim, to harrow, or to pluck the ripe fruit only when he expects nothing more from the vine during that season. It is left to itself, because the season of fruit is past and further effort for the present would yield no profit.

Comparative uselessness is the condition of freedom from suffering. 

Do you then wish me to cease pruning your life? 

Shall I leave you alone?” And the comforted heart cried, “No!”

~Homera Homer-Dixon.~

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

REJECTING THE LORD'S COUNSEL

                                                                         

When the prophet Hosea described the terrible harvest reaped as a result of dethroning God from His lordship and turning to the arm of flesh, he addressed a people whom the Lord had carried in His arms for years.

God had blessed and prospered Israel, giving them houses they hadn't built and vineyards they hadn't planted. He had raised up godly men to speak as prophets and had given the people clear words of direction and for years the people had proven God faithful. They listened to His counsel, never turning to the flesh. When God spoke to them, they obeyed. And they were miraculously delivered from powerful enemies.

But now an apostasy had come over Israel and the Lord accused them of being guilty of a terrible wickedness: They have deeply corrupted themselves" (Hosea 9:9). "All their princes are revolters" (verse 15).
 

What was this awful sin they had committed? 

Was it drunkenness, sexual perversion, covetousness, adultery, murder? No, God said their wickedness was turning away from His counsel, ignoring His word and obeying man instead: "God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto Him" verse 17.

In God's eyes, the greatest wickedness a believer could commit is to no longer be dependent on Him.

The Lord was telling Israel 


You no longer put your trust in Me. 

I'm no longer your guide, your source of wisdom; now you're turning to the wisdom of man.

You are running back to Egypt for help, back to the very place from which I delivered you.

You have rejected My word and turned from Me.

A great Puritan prophet once wrote: "Pure power is never anxious for cooperating. It just demands." In other words, God does not say to us, "You do your part and I'll do mine. Just check in with Me occasionally." No! God is pure, raw power and He demands that we follow Him, first and foremost, in all we do. 


We are to be wholly dependent on Him and anything short of this maligns His kingship over our lives.

~David Wilkerson~

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Watchman On The Wall

                                                                               
The Old Testament closes with this amazing prophecy of Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6).

This prophecy was fulfilled in great measure in the ministry of John the Baptist. An angel appeared to John’s father and prophesied that his son would turn many in Israel to the Lord and that "he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17).

Jesus, speaking to His disciples about John the Baptist, said: And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come Matthew 11:14. He added, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (verse 15). I believe Jesus was asking them to see the spiritual significance of John's coming, as prophesied, in the spirit and power of Elijah.

John was anointed with the same fearless Spirit and power which was upon Elijah. He spoke openly about the sins of disobedient, pleasure-seeking people of his day. Christ was soon to appear and this mighty man of truth suddenly came on the scene to prepare a people for the Lord. This wilderness prophet was sent to turn the hearts of the people (which is the truest definition of repentance) to the Lord. John preached repentance, restitution, purity of heart, justice, and a practical walk of holiness to correspond with an open confession of sins.

I believe the prophet Malachi, as well as other Old Testament prophets, speaks of a company of holy people who will be raised up just prior to Christ's second coming. They will minister under the very same Spirit and power that rested upon Elijah and John the Baptist.

This last-day Elijah company of believers will heed the prophecy of Isaiah, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins" (Isaiah 58:1). These are the watchmen upon the walls, "which shall never hold their peace day nor night . . . and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isaiah 62:6-7).


~David Wilkerson~

Monday, March 18, 2013

Rooted In The Cross And Immovable

If we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.
Romans 6:5 KJV

Now note, you who know the conflict, you who know the fury of the oppressor, the bitterness of the animus of the devil, remember that the Lord allows him to go a long way in order that there might be this double issue. 

Firstly, an entering into the knowledge of the exceeding greatness of God’s power – but how exceeding great must be God’s power if against the mighty host of Assyria one angel alone is all that is necessary!

To discover the exceeding greatness of God’s power on the one hand, and on the other hand, through the work of the enemy himself, to drive the roots down.

The Lord uses the adversary in his own hatred and bitterness to get our roots in, and to make us impervious to the Devil.

He uses the adversary against himself in our trials.

Roots downward, fruit upward. I am sure that is what the Lord is doing.

We are passing through deep experiences, the enemy is doing it and the Lord is not preventing him, but we are coming to a fuller knowledge of the power of our God and a deeper rooting beyond all previous shakeableness.

And the Lord is seeking to have a people who cannot be shaken, against whom hell with all its demonstration of arrogance and pride, is impotent.

And the remnant… shall again take root downward. That is what the Lord needs.

May I remind you that the nature of this planting is just that with which we are so familiar. “Planted together in the likeness of His death.” That is the word of the Apostle, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.”

The enemy is the instrument so often, of planting us more deeply into the death of Christ. His assaults, his attacks, his accusations, everything – yes.

The Lord is not the source of evil, but the Lord allows it. So often our hearts cry out: “Why did the Lord ever allow that in our lives?” That thing which has meant such a deep, dark passage. Why did the Lord allow it? He could have prevented it.

Well, we were planted by it into the death of the Lord Jesus. We were brought more than ever to an end of ourselves. Yes, and therefore, to know the Lord in a larger measure than we have ever known Him, and to be brought to a place where it will not be so easy for the Devil to shake us next time.

That is the sovereign way of God in deeper death experiences. “Planted together in the likeness of His death.”

Have you been planted there initially? 

Have you been planted in Christ crucified? 

Or are you one of those attachments to something? 

Are you planted?

And when a deeper planting comes, remember it is the roots being driven downwards, and the issue is going to be most surely endurance, stability, and ability to stand; but, oh, there is going to be greater fruitfulness.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

STRENGTH TO STAND

                                                                          
The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Without it, we have no power to stand. Beloved, we must be on guard, because guilt and condemnation over sin absolutely destroys the joy of the Lord!

Many Christians are in this bondage right now. They fail to accept full and free pardon and believe they have no right to be joyful. Throughout Scripture, God pours out His oil of gladness on those who have learned to hate their sin and love His righteousness. That's what the Word says of Jesus: Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (Hebrews 1:9)

People who have laid down their sins and are walking with the Lord may have a struggle that is yet unsettled. But there is such a drawing toward the Lord in them, such a hunger, that the outcome is inevitable: they will have joy!

Suppose Jesus appears in the flesh, dressed as an ordinary man, and sits next to you. A wounded, defeated Christian, wearing a look of gloom, guilt, condemnation and fear, you fail to recognize Him as He begins to talk to you:
 

Do you really love the Lord? He asks. You probably would answer, "Very much so!" "You've sinned, haven't you?"
Y-y-yes, you answer. "Do you believe He forgives all who confess and turn from their sin?" "Yes, but . . . I'm sorry, sir. I believe I've hurt my Savior, truly wounded Him." "If you’ve confessed, why haven't you received His forgiveness??" "I've done it so many times!" "Do you believe He will forgive 499 times—each time you confess and repent?" "Yes." "Do you hate your sin? Do you still want Him?" "Oh, yes!" "Then why are you letting the devil rob you of the victory of the cross, the power of the blood of the Lamb? Why aren't you appropriating His joy and looking up?"

Beloved, don't quit and give up your joy in the Lord. You have a right to praise Him—to sing, shout and be happy in the Lord~because you have a Father who forgives!


~David Wilkerson~

Friday, March 8, 2013

Bringing The BEST To The LORD

                                                                            
In the Old Testament, people could not approach the altar with a lamb that was blemished or blind or lame. They had to bring their very best to the Lord.

What kind of time do you bring before the Lord in prayer? Is it your best time, your wide-awake time? Or, rather, do you come to God in the morning to pray about holy things with your mind full of what needs to be done that day? Or do you come to Him weary and tired after a busy day, dragging yourself into His presence?

Beloved, your mind and heart must be where your lips are!


Isaiah spoke of the kind of "burnt offerings and sacrifices . . . accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer" Isaiah 56:7. Those who bring acceptable sacrifices are those who "join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord" (verse 6).

This acceptable sacrifice made at God's altar is not a lame, halfhearted, sleepy-eyed sacrifice, a last-minute obligatory offering. Rather, it comes from a heart that is consumed with love for Jesus, one that constantly cries out, "God, I come to You today to know You. I want more of You!"

The Lord says of those who bring such sacrifices: I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer verse 7. He will hear our prayers and bring us to a place of holiness, joy and power!

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart Psalm 119:2.


Once you have established a prayer habit and have shut out all distractions, God desires that you seek Him with all your heart: But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul 

Deuteronomy 4:29.

~David Wilkerson~

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

TESTED By The WORD

In the temptation in the wilderness, it is clearly indicated to us that in the background of things, it was the Word of God that was governing the Lord. Every temptation was met with the Word of God: "It is written..." Life was contingent upon the Word of God: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).

In the Heavenly Man the life question is bound up with the Word of God. If you take the opposite of that, you know that the earthly man dies because he refuses the Word of God; his life depends upon the Word of God and his attitude toward it.

Here the last Adam is taken up on the same basis, and inasmuch as He met the three temptations with the Word of God, it is perfectly clear that His life was bound up with the Word of God. 

It was the Word of God that was governing this whole experience, and its issue. 

The Heavenly Man was being assailed with a view to tearing Him out of His heavenly life, as it were, by getting Him in some way to refuse, or violate, or ignore the Word of God.

He maintained His position as the Heavenly Man in life on the ground of the Word of God.

~T. Austin Sparks~

Sunday, March 3, 2013

CONVINCED AND CONVICTED

                                                    
We are not saved by the law but we are convinced and convicted of our sin by the law. "For by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).

The law was sent "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24).

The law is holy... and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceedingly sinful 

Romans 7:12-13

Paul was saying, "I couldn't really confess my sins until I knew they were sins. I couldn't seek after the holiness of God until I saw how far from Him I was. The law hit home to me, destroying my nonchalance about sin. When I saw God's holiness by His commandments, sin became utterly sinful to me."

That is the conviction that drives you straight to the arms of Christ, crying, "Mercy, Lord! I can't save myself, I can't fulfill Your law. I've seen the sin of my heart!"

Faith has been defined as "the flight of a convicted, repentant sinner unto the mercy of God in Christ Jesus." Only the person who has been convicted of his sins by the law of God will "flee to Christ" for refuge.

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood and offered the crowds the gospel of God's grace. But first he put them under the blazing light of the law. He pointed his finger and said, "Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain [Him]" Acts 2:23. The people were pricked in their hearts, so utterly convicted by the Word of God they cried out, "What shall we do?" verse 37

Adam was given the gospel of grace—after his "eyes were opened" (see Genesis3:7). It was only after he had seen his pitiful condition and the consequences of his sin that God  brought to him the message of mercy and hope!


~David Wilkerson~