What Is the Nature of the Controversy?

The nature of the battle?

What was the nature of the battle with Israel, centered and represented by Zion-Jerusalem?
  
It was the battle in relation to a calling and a vocation. 

They were called by God, they were chosen by God, they were an elect race [you see why we came to Romans eight], an elect race, a chosen people, in history on the earth they were the elect of God.

Chosen and called and separated, what for? Just to be saved? Just to be different? Just to be that? 

No! for a vocation, a calling, a testimony in the world, a testimony among the nations.

They were called for a mighty, heavenly vocation on the earth, to reveal God! what God is like! the reality of God! the glory of God! the holiness of God! the power of God! 

A vessel of testimony among the nations, to the nations—to the world. 

Zion, as we have been saying, is that which represents God’s full thought for mankind. 

The fulness of God’s thought is vested in, centered in, Zion, “the city of the Living God.” And because of that, the battle starts.
 
In history, Zion was the city of David, God’s anointed king. And do you notice the history of David? Up from birth... up? 

It looks like down and out... but, no, steadily, steadily up. Let all the forces of Saul and his malice, his devil-driven soul, be concentrated against this young man and what that young man suffered! 

You know the story. He seems to be a marked man, [as we say, I do not know whether you have the phrase in this country] “a speckled bird.”

He seems just right from the beginning to be a marked man. The devil had put a mark on that man and was watching him, pursuing him.

Poor David cries: “I am like a pelican of the wilderness... a sparrow upon the housetop.”

Oh yes, he is the object of a fierce and furious, relentless malice, meant for his undoing.

But he holds on his way, steadily; not because he is so strong, for there were times when David broke down: “I shall now perish,” I shall now be killed.

He resorted to some subterfuges, was a man of like-passions with us, very human; nevertheless, through it all, whether it is in the land of the Philistines by compromise (a mistake from which God sovereignly delivered him).

Or wherever it is—in the cave of Adullam, in the wilderness driven hither and thither for his very life—wherever it is, his spiritual course is on and up, spiritually.

It does not look like it outwardly, but on and up until eventually anointed, David comes to the place of the anointing, the throne; and Zion is the place of the consummation of that history of Divine election, Divine choice, Divine [dare I use the word in these days] foreordination.

He is there, on the throne. He is in the place of the full thought of God, and that is centered in him.

Zion is the place of the absolute sovereignty and Lordship of God’s anointed.

That is Zion, and we are come to Zion. We have been saying this: there is Another Greater than David that is here, and there is another Zion greater than that is here.

But it is on that point, dear friends, just focused upon that one inclusive and consummate point of the Absolute Sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ that all the conflict rages and is centered.

~T. Austin Sparks~

The Kingdom Established Within by the Tests of Faith

 

Why is He treating us as He does?

Why does He lead us through the experiences that we go through? 

Do you ever have the slightest sense that the Lord has left you?

In spite of what we have said about Christ bearing all for us, do we not from time to time feel the Lord is far away? Why? Oh, we have puzzled over that! 

He has said, "Lo, I AM with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20); I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5).

Then, where art Thou, Lord, today? Thou dost seem to be a thousand miles away today, I have no sense of Thy presence.

Why? Just this; God's fact is that He is not far away. 

What about your faith in God's fact? Are you living on facts or feelings? by faith or by sight? - for everything has to be established by faith.

Faith must rise up and say, 'Lord, Thou dost seem to be a thousand miles away today, but Thou art not. Thou art here, according to Thy promise. 

I repudiate the devil's suggestion that Thou hast left, and that I have grieved the Holy Spirit and Thou hast forsaken me; I repudiate it on the ground of all that Thou has done to bridge that gap by the Cross.' When faith thus asserts its position things are restored, the trouble is cleared up.

And as it is with that matter, so it is with all others. We are in the school, where we are to learn that we are not just living on the Bible in an objective way, and that there is a sense in which the Bible merely as a book cannot help us or do us any good. Somehow or other, there has to be something done between us and that which God has said, in order to make it real, and that is done through testing and trial; and thus the spiritual reality - the Kingdom - is established within us, and we learn to reign over that other kingdom.

THE LORD HELP US.

~T. Austin Sparks

Ye Cannot Serve GOD and Mammon

Jesus does not say you cannot very well serve God and mammon. 

Rather, He says you cannot serve two masters at all. 

If you try, you will surely end up serving only one. The person who thinks he or she is serving God a little is deceived.

He or she is not serving God. God will not have that service. The devil will monopolize the person before long. 

A divided heart loses both worlds. Saul tried it. Balaam tried it. Judas tried it. Their efforts ended in desperate failure. 

For Mary there was but one choice. Paul said: This one thing I do, and For me to live is Christ. 

Of such a life God says: Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name (Psalm 91:14).

God takes a peculiar pride in revealing His love to the heart that wholly chooses Him. 

Heaven and earth will fade away before its trust can be disappointed. 

Have we chosen Him only and given Him all our hearts? 

Say, is it all for Jesus, As you so often sing? Is He your Royal Master? Is He your heart's dear King?
 
~A.B. Simpson~

The LORD Is Watching From His Dwelling Place

Isa 18:4  For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.

In this passage, Assyria is marching against Ethiopia, whose
people are described as “tall and smooth-skinned” (v. 2). As the
army advances,God makes no effort to stop them, and it appears
as though they will be allowed to do as they wish.

The Lord is watching from His “dwelling place” while the sun continues to shine on them,yet “before the harvest” (v. 5) the entire proud army is defeated as easily as new growth is pruned from a vine.
 
Isn’t this a beautiful picture of God—remaining quiet and
watching?Yet His silence is not to be confused with passive agreement or consent. He is simply biding His time and will arise at the most opportune moment, just when the plans of the wicked are on the verge of success, in order to overwhelm the enemy with disaster.

And as we see the evil of this world, as we watch the apparent success of wrongdoers, and as we suffer the oppression of those who hate us, let us remember those miraculous words of God—“I will remain quiet and will look on.”
 
Yes, God does have another point of view, and there is wisdom
behind His words.Why did Jesus watch His disciples straining
at the oars through the stormy night? Why did He, though
unseen by others, watch the sequence of anguishing events unfold in Bethany as Lazarus slowly passed through the stages
of his terminal illness, succumbed to death, and was finally buried in a rocky tomb? Jesus was simply waiting for the perfect
moment when He could intercede most effectively.
 
Is the Lord being quiet with you? Nevertheless, He is attentive and still sees everything. He has His finger on your pulse and is extremely sensitive to even the slightest change. And He will come to save you when the perfect moment has arrived.

Whatever the Lord may ask of us or however slow He may
seem to work, we can be absolutely sure He is never a confused
or fearful Savior.

O troubled soul, beneath the rod,
Your Father speaks, be still, be still;
Learn to be silent unto God,
And let Him mold you to His will.
O praying soul, be still, be still,
He cannot break His promised Word;
Sink down into His blessed will,
And wait in patience on the Lord.
O waiting soul, be still, be strong,
And though He tarry, trust and wait;
Doubt not, He will not wait too long,
Fear not, He will not come too late.

IDLE WORDS AND FOOLISH TALKING

Nothing more quickly and thoroughly reveals the lack of real spirituality than does foolish talking, jesting, and IDLE WORDS. 

There is nothing that will more surely label the shallow Christian as one who has no concern for others, nor any burden for the lost and suffering than his perpetual flow of foolish talking, and nonsensical joking.

Although in the eyes of many, this seems to be a small matter, there are few spiritual diseases more devastating, nor more contagious.

God classes foolish talking along with some very unattractive companions, -- "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints: neither filthiness, nor FOOLISH TALKING, nor JESTING, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks."
Eph. 5:3,4.

Jesus himself declared, "Evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, FOOLISHNESS: all these EVIL THINGS come from within, and DEFILE the man.
Mark 7:21-23. 

Foolishness, then will defile a man, the same as fornication!

There are many who would never kill nor steal, but will even enter the pulpit, and publicly and unashamed, reveal through their words that they are defiled within.

I have never yet found a man whom the Lord is using mightily for the deliverance of the sick and sinful whose mouth is filled with foolishness.

They may entertain the people, and get a few hearty laughs in response to their jokes and nonsense, but when it comes to really being able to bring deliverance, or to bring a help and blessing when a real need arises, THEY HAVEN'T GOT THE GOODS! 

Many who are guilty of the sin of foolish, excessive, and unprofitable talking will at first be tempted to brand me a fanatic, and to rise to the defense of their pet sin. 

They will declare that it is a mistake to take things too seriously. For this, they can find no scriptural defense. 

The rescuing of the lost, and deliverance of the suffering, is a serious matter, requiring the whole heart and mind of the one who is consecrated to the task. 

Many have reserved the right to talk as much, and in whatever manner, they choose. They would rather have their jokes, foolish jesting and nonsense than to have the power of God in their lives. If this is your case, God will have to go on without YOU.

God has chosen to work through the spoken word of representatives in the world. 

When Jesus was here, he said to his disciples, The WORDS that I speak unto you, THEY ARE SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE LIFE. John 6:63.

What are your words? James compares the speech coming out of our mouths to water coming from a fountain. (James 3:10,11.) 

He insists that a fountain should give forth the same kind of water all the time -- not sweet water part of the time, and bitter water part of the time. Then he adds, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good CONVERSATION his works with meekness of wisdom."
James 3:13.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, BUT THAT WHICH IS GOOD TO THE USE OF EDIFYING.
Eph. 4:29.

Words which are not good to the use of edifying are IDLE (vain, empty, or unprofitable) words. They are WASTED words. God has given to the believer's WORD an authority and power which makes it precious. Precious things should not be wasted.

Jesus said, "Whosoever (that means you!) shall SAY unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he SAITH shall come to pass, he shall have WHATSOEVER HE SAITH." Mark 11:23. This gives to US the power to speak with authority, even to the extent of controlling inanimate things. This is the same power which Jesus used when he spoke to the wind and the sea, and the storm was gone.
Mark 4:39.

It is the same power which Moses used when he spoke to the rock in the desert, and water gushed forth. (Num. 20:8.) Joshua used the same power when he commanded the sun and the moon to stand still. (Joshua 10:12, 13.) Jesus demonstrated the use of this power when he spoke to the fig tree, saying, "No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever." (Mark 11:14.) He told the tree to die, AND it died! It was on this occasion that he expressly delegated this same power and authority to ANY who BELIEVE.

Those who insist upon having their foolishness at any cost, are so like the group of young ladies seen in a vision by a consecrated saint of God, who were too busy making daisy chains to warn the people who were hurrying by... that their steps were leading to an awful precipice, where they would quickly fall over, and be dashed to death upon the rocks below. This is far from the spirit of Christ, who HAD COMPASSION UPON THE MULTITUDES.

I do not intend to infer that there is no place for humor in the conversation of the Christian, or even in the preaching of the Word. Many times, our speech or preaching can be humorous, and yet sanctified. Often, a bit of humor, especially when used to illustrate a point, can be very profitable, in arousing the attention and interest of the hearers, and in driving home the message of the gospel, so that souls are aroused and turned to God. So used, it is NOT idle, nor unprofitable.

The reason so many Christians speak so many idle words, is that they speak SO MANY WORDS! They talk so much that they have no time to think, and no time to listen to the voice of God. 

Foolish words come so easily. We do not even have to think of them. We can listen to any conversation, anywhere, and come away with a large supply of them which can be produced by repetition.

The spirit of the age is an ever increasing spirit of levity, which makes serious thinking difficult for both sinner and saint. It is typified by the oft repeated saying, "Don't take life too seriously. After all you'll never get out of it alive." In such an age it takes real effort and consecration to "Study to be quiet", and to wait before God long enough to have words to speak which are the words of God, and which can have power. But the wise man will do it. "He that hath knowlege, spareth his words." Prov. 17:27. 

But the mouth of fools FEEDETH ON FOOLISHNESS. Prov. 15:14.

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin. Prov. 10:19.

A fool's voice is known BY MULTITUDE OF WORDS. Eccl. 5:3.

Holiness is necessary for Power.

And holiness is not complete until it has also taken possession of the tongue. "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy IN ALL MANNER OF CONVERSATION." I Pet. 1:15.

Consecrate yourself to God afresh. Present to him YOUR BODY, a living sacrifice, AND DO NOT FORGET NOR NEGLECT TO INCLUDE YOUR TONGUE, YOUR LIPS, YOUR VOICE!"

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.
Col. 4:6.

Keep that which is committed to thy trust (the power to speak in God's stead, and bring deliverance), avoiding profane (not holy) and vain (empty, worthless) babblings." I Tim. 6:20.

It is my prayer that all who read this will put all on the altar, and get in a place where they can carry a burden for the lost and suffering: that they will cast aside ALL those things which hinder the power of God in their lives.

God can go on without you. But if YOU go on with God, you must go His way. Put foolishness aside NOW! Get out of the eddy and into the stream of God's power.

The PROMISES are for you, if you will only believe them, meet God's conditions, and PAY THE PRICE. 

~A. A. Allen~

Faith Grows During Storms

                                       

He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

Faith grows during storms. 

These are just four little words, but what significance they have to someone who has endured life-threatening storms!
 
Faith is that God-given ability that, when exercised, brings the unseen into plain view. It deals with the supernatural and makes impossible things possible. And yes, it grows during storms—that is, it grows through disturbances in the spiritual atmosphere. 

Storms are caused by conflicts between the physical elements, and the storms of the spiritual world are conflicts with supernatural, hostile elements. And it is in this atmosphere of conflict that faith finds its most fertile soil and grows most rapidly to maturity.

The strongest trees are found not in the thick shelter of the forest but out in the open, where winds from every direction bear down upon them.The fierce winds bend and twist them until they become giant in stature. These are the trees that toolmakers seek for handles for their tools, because of the wood’s  great strength.
 
It is the same in the spiritual world.

Remember, when you see a person of great spiritual stature, the road you must travel to walk with him is not one where the sun always shines and wildflowers always bloom.

Instead, the way is a steep, rocky, and narrow path, where the winds of hell will try to knock you off your feet, and where sharp rocks will cut you, prickly thorns will scratch your face, and poisonous snakes will slither and hiss all around you. 

The path of faith is one of sorrow and joy, suffering and healing,comfort, tears and smiles, trials and victories, conflicts and triumphs, and also hardships, dangers, beatings, persecutions,
misunderstanding, trouble, and distress. 

Yet “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”
Rom. 8:37.
 
Yes, “in all these”—even during storms, when the winds are the most intense—“we are more than conquerors.”

You may be tempted to run from the ordeal of a fierce storm of testing, but head straight for it!

God is there to meet you in the center of each trial. 

And He will whisper to you His secrets, which will bring you out with a radiant face and such an invincible faith that all the demons of hell will never be able to shake it.

~E.A. Kilbourne~ 

Dying To Ambition

What do we expect when we go on with God, when we come right out for God? What have we in view?

Well, the answer to that question will decide whether, in relation to God, we have ambitions for something on the earth.

Do you get the point?

You see, it is so possible to swing over your natural ambitions to spiritual aims. It is the same thing still at work, and the only difference is the direction or sphere. 

You can be as ambitious in the work of God as you can be in the world, and it is the same natural ambition. It is the ambitiousness of nature.

You desire – what do you desire? To see something, to have something, to be in something? Ambition for success… yes, once it was in the world – now the same ambition transferred to other things.
 
You see, it is very often to the children – the kindergarten the elementary stages of faith, where there is not the capacity to take very much strain, that God has to give quick results and manifest signs. 

The marks of maturity are equally the withdrawing of outward manifestations and signs – the demand to walk with God alone for God’s own sake.

It is a mark of graduation in the school of God that He can withdraw outward things. 

It shows that we have passed the test as to whether we are ambitious in this life.
 
It is a mark of going on when we can come to the place where it is true before God that we have let go all the prosperity and success even of Christian work and Christian ministry (as men would count).

It is a sure sign of growth to be able to let go the great opportunities and the great advantages that may be had amongst Christian people… and the prizes that can be grasped… and to say: It is all right, the Lord knows; it is for Him to give or withhold. I am not going to make a line for those prizes.

I am not going to allow those things to influence my walk with God.

Ambition is not going to dictate my course.
 
It may not seem here on earth to mean very big things – wide open doors and all that, but somehow you may take it that there is Life there – spiritual influence there – something that is counting there. In the end it will have counted. 

But this does sometimes first of all necessitate that conflict with ambition where all those suggestions and influences have to be laid low and we come to the place where we see that the way of Life is to go on with God though it costs us everything.

The law of the Spirit of Life works in that way.
 
The way of Life demands that we shall get before the Lord and say, “Lord, though all my earthly prospects fade, though all my ambitions are disappointed, it is You I want.

You are my ambition – my goal. If I have You, these other things will count for much less.”
 
I believe that as we can get there… and not many of us have gotten a long way on that road… but as we can get there, we find the secret of Life, of joy, of release.

I am not so sure that we shall not find that God is able to give back the prizes here. He withdraws them that we may turn from them to Himself.

And when He has us for Himself, He may give something here; He may give blessing here on this earth.
 
But let us remember that His desire is to have us for Himself for His own sake; and as we fall into line, Life is found there. 

It is the way of Life. The law of Life demands that everything should be for the Lord…without any other influence or consideration… the Lord Himself.

~T. Austin Sparks~

The CRY Of A REPENTANT Heart

                                                                                 
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in" (Luke 15:25-28).

The older brother of the prodigal grew angrier by the moment. After all, he had served his father diligently for years, never transgressing any commandment. He was upright according to the law, and he had kept himself scrupulously clean.

Yet, peering through that window, this older son saw the greatest vision of grace ever given to humankind: The father was embracing a repentant, lost son. He didn't ask any questions or lecture; instead, he clothed him in a new garment and restored him to his former position of full favor and blessing. And then he brought him into the feast!

The vision this older son saw was that a person can repent, no matter how low he sinks, if he simply gives up running his own life and comes back to the father. Yet the older brother protested it all and refused to go in to the feast. Why? He wanted no part in what he saw as an easy grace!

It is typical of the legalistic mindset to protest a generous outpouring of grace on a returning backslider. Many Christians, sitting next to some drug addict or alcoholic in church, think, "Thank God that I never sinned that way. He could fall again tomorrow."

Scripture says this kind of pride is more deadly than any addiction: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" 

1 Corinthians 10:12

The truth is, when the prodigal saw his older brother frowning at him through the window, he probably thought, "Oh, my brother, if you only knew how I admire you! You never went out and sinned as I did. You have the better testimony. And all my life I'll have to live with the memory of bringing shame on our family's good name. I know I don't deserve any of this. In fact, you should be here in my place. How I wish I could have fellowship with you!"

That is the cry of a truly repentant and humbled heart!

~David Wilkerson~