Greetings from True Hope!
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Greetings!
John and Lisa Redd are precious friends, saints of God in Christ and fellow ministers - - and during the Thanksgiving weekend John's dad left this life and into the arms of Jesus!
While we rejoice and celebrate the life of John's dad, we also pray for the continued grace and joy of God's love and care during this time of transition in their lives, for when a loved one departs this life they leave us behind and for all our joy at their gain, we still have a sense of loss!
John and Lisa, we love you and pray God's richest blessings of grace and comfort during this time of transition in your lives!
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When John informed me of his dad's passing, it reminded me of the fact that regardless of any and everything else we may try or do accomplish in this life, being faithful to minister the message of the Gospel to others, especially our loved ones, is the most important work of all!
While salvation is not the only thing that being a Christian is all about, it is BOTH - - the beginning and conclusion of our Christianity! We cannot truly claim to be Christians without salvation and the assurance of everlasting life in Christ, this is the beginning of our Christianity.
At the same time, the conclusion of our journey is going to heaven at our earthly death!
The balance of being a Christian is everything else in between our becoming a saint of God by faith in Christ Jesus as Lord and taking our last earthly breath as a saint of God by faith in Christ Jesus as Lord!
It all matters, but nothing matters more than calling Jesus Christ to be OUR Lord!
MANY BLESSINGS!
Dr. Timothy
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From Dr. Timothy D.TH
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REVIVAL!
continued
There is a real problem concerning the condition of the Church for which Jesus is returning: THERE IS NOT ENOUGH GENUINE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "RELIGIOUS CHURCHES" AND THE TRUE CHURCH FOR THE WORLD TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TWO!
I submit that Jesus is returning for His Church THAT IS RECOGNIZED AS HIS CHURCH by the people of the world! Recognized because the collective works of The Church are literal extensions of the works that Jesus did while in His earthly ministry - - things seen and recognized by the world as things which the world is totally unable to do and cannot be explained away!
Recognized by the world as a people that are so devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ that they are not only willing to die for Jesus but willing to live for Jesus when being stripped of all worldly accouterments and adornments that the world holds in high regard!
Recognized by the world because the Church is being supplied by the Lord in spite of the world’s best efforts and attempt to commit seizure against the Church and perpetrate siege warfare against the Church and its members! A people whose normality is what the world sees as the miraculous. Not a people always pleading with God for a miracle, but a people who live miraculously in spite of the world’s best efforts to eliminate the Church and every bit of evidence about its reality!
What the world sees of the Church today is a religious class of people who believe that they are entitled to special benefits and treatment simply because they claim to be “a church” or “churches”! The world is not routinely seeing a people who are living apart from the benefits of the world’s system of Mammon but rather are endeavoring to be quite like the world in nearly every way with the name “Christian” nailed over their doorways!
The world sees masses of people claiming to be the Church yet are “sold out” - - to wealth, materialism, carnality and sensuality!
Therefore a revival must take place!
In fact, for all those who have been anticipating, desiring and expecting a “great end-time revival” - - get ready for it is fast approaching - - in fact it is already underway! BUT it will not be a revival as the traditional, religious minded establishment has indoctrinated people to expect - - it will not be a great, global sweeping soul-winning event that will take the world by storm, marking the advent of the great second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!
THIS revival will be a TRUE revival of God’s own people who have been mis-directed, seduced, deceived or otherwise spiritually derailed into false works of ministry or supporting false theologies but who are in fact God’s own people with a willing – even a desiring heart for true godliness and spiritual power to break free of the religious bondage they have been led into!
In the early 1990-91 the Lord gave me certain insights and visions about His Church and the “carnal church” that were both warnings and explanations as to what was soon coming regarding those calling themselves Christians.
The main vision that I was given showed three concentric realms that appeared as circles: The outer most realm was the world system and extended to the horizon; the middle realm was the “church community” composed mainly of corporation churches or churches of man and this realm was huge; the inner realm was not so big at all compared to the middle realm and in this realm was room only for the Body of Christ.
As I watched this vision, I saw the outer realm being totally dark, the middle realm was gray or twilight and the inner realm was bright white. As we came increasingly nearer to the Lord’s Time, His second coming – there were little lights begin moved from the middle realm into the inner realm and as the inner realm became brighter and brighter, the realm of the world began pushing in on the middle realm putting enormous pressure on the “carnal church” to do two things: First, to compromise and become increasingly similar to the way the world system works and second - - to force the “little lights” to stop shining, to extinguish them so they would stop what they were doing! Over time, the middle realm of “gray light” became the instrument of the world to bring persecution against the “little lights” among them and then to turn with all its might against the inner realm!
As this continued, the “little lights” were drawn more and more into the inner realm - - but the second realm, the “carnal church” realm did not diminish in size - - it just became increasingly darker and darker! No matter how many “little lights” were draw out of the middle realm into the inner realm, the middle realm continued to be the size it was and it continued to try to shrink the inner realm of bright white light – which it could not do!
Then, an amazing thing began to happen: Those “little lights” in the inner realm were compressed together with one another because of the pressure of the “carnal church” doing the world’s bidding against them and the pressure from the “carnal church” became quite enormous as it tried to press the inner realm trying to make it go away! But instead of making the inner realm disappear, it did not shrink in size compared to the other two realms, but as the pressure mounted the lights in the inner realm began to rise - - because of the pressure of persecution brought to bear by the “carnal church”! The more pressure and persecution the world demanded the “carnal church” to bring the more compacted and bright the inner realm became and as it grew in brightness it grew in height - - becoming a bright white shaft of light that had become raised above the “carnal church” and into full view of the world’s realm!
This continued until there were no more lights to come to the inner realm and then the inner realm, which had become a brilliant shaft of light, was taken away and all that was left was the two realms of darkness with a gaping abscess where the inner realm had been! The Lord had collected His Church and the carnal church and the world was left without that light!
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Initially I had just a basic understanding of what this vision meant, but over these last 20+ years I have prayerfully sought its more complete meaning.
As time progresses, I see more clearly that the Church for which Christ is returning is one that is clearly defined and recognized by the world, that the Church will be making a dramatic impact leading up to the Lord’s return but that the Church will be in a totally different dimension than traditionally understood and the dynamic of the Church will be increasingly in conflict with the man-made carnal church that has been so dominant as what is perceived to be the “normal” church!
First and most importantly, God has showed that those people who are truly born again, those who are genuinely His children, will be removed from the shadowy confines of the religious carnal church of man. That these, being devoted to and drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ, are no longer held in restraint by the mainstream religious system that calls itself Christianity!
What will the “end time” revival be? I believe that it will be the answer of God’s children - - those men and women who are truly born again - - to God’s call found in 2 Corinthians 6 …
- Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Those who have, are and will be hearing God’s call to do just this are those “little lights” being drawn into the inner realm that I saw in the vision!
Many saints will recognize that they have been “boxed in” by the trappings of religious tradition and seeking God’s Truth will break out of the box to walk in the way the Lord directs. Then there will be others who initially return with their whole hearts to God’s Truth but still try to serve the ministry of Christ in those religious trappings - - these will be forced or pressured to remove themselves from the sphere of religion by the religious people who reject God’s Truth and will not tolerate those who are living in God’s Truth!
The revival that is needed and will sweep the earth will not be as those of past generations, where a few key leaders will be in the limelight, center stage and leading souls to Jesus by the thousands; rather this revival will be led by multitudes of saints who have chosen God’s Truth over those carnally controlled religious systems and will help others to do likewise!
No longer will it be a few celebrity ministry leaders in the spotlight on center stage but the whole Body of Christ will be in the spotlight on center stage and the very world system that wants to silence us will be the very thing that brings the focus of the world to bear on the Truth of the Body of Christ’s ministry!
While the world system will be “spotlighting” the Body of Christ to make us a target of their persecution, there will be those people of the world who will see the Truth of Christ Jesus and be drawn to Him because we are being elevated by pressure and persecution! The more the world “squeezes” us the more we shall be raised up shedding the light of God’s Truth and Love abroad into the world around us!
Entire congregations experiencing revival will not be the norm but many saints within church congregations will choose revival and repent from their wicked ways that they have adopted as permissible but discovering God’s great displeasure with those choices! Congregations will become divided within themselves because of some experiencing and being faithful to the great revival that is cleansing their very hearts and souls and bringing them out of their state of being “spiritual comatose” while the others, sadly the majority of them, will only witness this revival taking place and it will make them so uncomfortable, especially the leaders, that they will force the saints of God to leave “their churches” - - and the saints will leave because they will finally recognize that these are indeed man’s churches and not God’s Church!
Many blessings!
Dr. Timothy
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Is Egypt's President Fulfilling Biblical Prophecy?
From: http://www.wnd.com
On Feb. 11, 2011, addressing the success of Egypt’s revolution, which he himself enthusiastically supported, President Barack Obama stood in the Grand Foyer of the White House and triumphantly declared, “The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.”
But the fruit of this change quickly became bitter to the Egyptian people. It is now becoming clear that the Egyptian people have traded a more secular autocrat for an Islamist dictator.
As Americans everywhere stopped to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, Egyptian President Morsi appeared on Egyptian television and shocked the nation, issuing a presidential decree effectively banning all challenges to his decrees, laws and decisions. The decree stated:
“The president can issue any decision or measure to protect the revolution. … The constitutional declarations, decisions and laws issued by the president are final and not subject to appeal.”
The decree also stated that the courts have no authority to dissolve the country’s Constituent Assembly, which is now rewriting the constitution.
Disparate groups within and outside of Egypt have expressed their alarm.
Within Egypt’s Constituent Assembly, various secularist opponents to Morsi have quit, including Coptic Christians and representatives of the April 6 Youth Movement, the very group that initiated the revolution in Egypt.
Mohamed El Baradei, another opponent of Morsi, accused the president of establishing himself as “a new pharaoh.”
In a typically toothless statement released Friday, the European Union “urged” Morsi to “respect the democratic process.”
In Tahrir Square thousands have gathered to protest what they are referring to as a “coup” carried out by Morsi. Thousands of others are counter-protesting. Violent clashes have broken out in a few cities.
Of course, seizing an ever-increasing level of power under the guise of democracy would be the most natural path for Morsi, with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the north having already demonstrated how it’s done. In fact, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in many ways has modeled itself after Turkey’s Islamist political party.
Get Joel Richardson’s newest blockbuster book: “Mideast Beast: The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist”
Playing off the title of Turkey’s ruling Islamist political party, “The Justice and Development Party,” the Muslim Brotherhood ironically named its political party “The Freedom and Justice Party.”
Over the past 10 years, Turkey’s Erdogan has systematically dismantled the most well-established secular form of government in the Middle East, while establishing and guaranteeing his own power for many more years to come – all in the name of “democracy.”
The next significant step in Erdogan’s plan to ensconce himself as Turkey’s absolute ruler will come in 2014, when his present term as prime minister will come to an end.
Already in the works are Erdogan’s plans to radically alter Turkey’s present parliamentary system to a presidential system, while placing himself on the ticket to be the next president. Beyond this, the present five-year term for president will expand to a seven-year term. If successful, this will guarantee that Erdogan will be able to maintain power until at least 2021.
But Erdogan’s ambitions have caused many to believe that he is seeking a leadership role beyond Turkey, throughout the whole region.
In a recent interview with Russia Today, Syrian President Basshar al-Assad said of Erdogan, “He personally thinks that he is the new sultan of the Ottoman and he can control the region as it was during the Ottoman Empire under a new umbrella. In his heart he thinks he is a caliph.”
But if Muhammad Morsi’s recent actions in seizing greater power are an indicator of things to come, Erdogan may have competition for the title of regional caliph.
With the ascendancy of Turkey in the north and Egypt’s new role as an emerging player, could we see two competing caliphates in the region? And as politically significant as all these events are, might they have have deeper significance as they relate to the fulfillment of biblical prophecy? There are two significant passages some students of the Bible are now considering.
The King of the North & The King of the South
The first passage is Daniel 11:21-45. In this prophecy, the Bible addresses the historical conflict between the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Kingdom, referred to as “the King of the North,” and Ptolemy VI, king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, referred to as “the King of the South.”
Antiochus ruled the region of modern-day Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran, while Ptolemy ruled the region of modern-day Egypt, Libya and north Sudan.
In verse 40, we are informed that the various conflicts that took place historically between these two kings would be repeated in the last days, immediately before the coming of the Messiah:
“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through. He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. …
Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Cushites will follow at his heels.” (Daniel 11:40-43)
The result of this last-days conflict between the northern “king” and his counterpart in the south will include massive regional wars, the defeat of Egypt, Libya and northern Sudan, and ultimately, the invasion and occupation of the nation of Israel.
While numerous scholars and expositors throughout history have wrestled over the precise meaning of this passage, some are asking if it is possible that we are now witnessing the emergence of the last-days kingdoms of the North and South. Could Erdogan and Morsi be the last-days kings of the North and South, or are they merely precursors to the actual fulfillment of Daniel 11?
Of course, we should be extremely cautious in considering these questions, but students of the Scriptures would certainly do well to remain watchful and in a sober spirit of prayer concerning the momentous evens we are now seeing unfold throughout the Middle East.
Isaiah 19
Another significant passage many are also now looking to is Isaiah 19, a profound prophecy concerning the state of Egypt in the days and years immediately preceding the return of the Messiah.
As massive demonstrations rock Egypt, some are protesting against Morsi, while many others are protesting in support of him. As violent clashes between the two groups erupt, it is clear that Egypt is a deeply divided nation. How far will it all go? Could Isaiah’s prophecy of an Egyptian civil war be seen in our day?
“So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; and they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.” (Isaiah 19:2)
And if Isaiah’s prophecy is beginning to unfold before us in Egypt, what would this mean with regard to the return of Jesus? Certainly, there are some “signs of the Messiah” the Bible indicates the wise would be able to discern and identify prior to his coming. Some of the more prominent of these signs include the following:
•The return of the Jewish people to their homeland.
•The emergence of the kings of the North and the South.
•A regional security alliance between Israel and her surrounding neighbors.
•The re-establishment of the biblical sacrificial system on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Over the past 65 years, we have already witnessed the return of the Jewish people to their homeland in Israel. What might we witness next? One thing is clear: The world is changing rapidly before us, and watchful students of the Bible today must remain sober, alert and in a constant state of prayer as we all together eagerly await the return of Jesus.
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CASTING ASIDE the CROSS!
-extracts by David Wilkerson.
A new idolatry is sweeping across our world right now. No, we don’t see people kneeling down before carved images anymore; instead, this modern idolatry seduces multitudes by its subtlety and cleverness…
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but
there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of
Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).
This “other gospel” that Paul mentions is a message of salvation
without the cross. The great idolatry of our day is the casting aside
of the message of the cross of Jesus Christ.
The cross — including its demands and hopes — is the very heart
of the gospel. Any worship, any fellowship, anything calling itself
church is blatant idolatry if the cross is not at its center. Such
worship is of another spirit entirely and God will have nothing to
do with it. Without the cross, all that is left is chaff — a perverted
gospel, something from the pit of hell. It is more insulting to the
Lord than the idolatry of Israel.
-READ THE FULL ARTICLE-
http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/19199
© 2012 World Challenge – a registered trademark of David Wilkerson.
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TIME WITH TRUE HOPE TEACHERS . . .
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POLYTHEISTIC CHRISTIANITY
Conclusion
By Pastor James Kelm
True Hope Church of Duluth
www.thcduluth.org
As monotheistic Christians, our response must be "And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods". Joshua 24:16
While this is what we too, might say, what about our actions? Do we serve Jehovah, or do we adopt polytheistic actions of serving other gods? Before you answer too quickly, what about the modern god, which I will call the "god of emotional involvement"?
While Jehovah has given clear instructions concerning what involvement we as Christians should have with non-Christians, many of us ignore the commands of the Biblical God in order to serve the "god of emotional involvement". We form close friendships with non-Christians, we develop intimate relationships with non-Christians, and even cultivate romantic connections with non-Christians. And we do this in the name of "emotional involvement", or "our feelings".
Rather than following the commands of Jehovah, we make statements such as "but he/she is such a good friend", and "I feel sorry for him/her". "I couldn't help myself, because I love him/her", and "I am really attracted to him/her". To experience any of these feelings/emotions are understandable and perfectly normal. The polytheism comes in, when our emotions and feelings become the authority on which we base our actions and behavior.
Although we know what Jehovah has commanded, many times we place the "commandments of the god of human emotion" at a higher priority. We pursue friendships with those whom we know are not Christians, because our feelings are our primary motivational force. We become romantically involved with non-Christians, because we are servants to our emotions. I have heard of a new trend among Christians, where some will actually attempt to justify their actions by saying that they are dating non-Christians as a form of evangelism, proclaiming that through their romantic involvement they hope to bring the non-believer to Christ.
This is a motivation that is so ridiculous in its logic, that it is a wonder to me that anyone can actually believe it. But still, many Christians use this type of justification to explain why they are rejecting the commands of Jehovah, in favor of the commandments of the "god of human emotion".
The God of the Bible says "Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:21
Yet many Christians reject the commands of Jehovah, in favor of the commands of the "god of pleasure and enjoyment". Statistics show us the amount of drinking and drugging is little different among students of Christian colleges, than those who are enrolled in secular educational institutions. How many Christians now days frequently go out drinking on the weekend, and how many partake in recreational drug use, all in the name of the "god of "pleasure and enjoyment". As Christians who hold our God Jehovah as our highest priority, we should be proclaiming "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying". Romans 13:13 Instead, we are ignoring the commands of the God whom we say that we want to serve, in favor of the gods that we actually serve.
The Bible tells Christians "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication". 1 Thessalonians 4:3 This would appear to be rather clearly written and without ambiguity, but still so many modern Christians can justify their rejection of God's words, in favor of the "god of sexual attraction". We proclaim that we follow the one and only God of the Bible, but yet so many Christians are willingly involved in sexual immorality, and even cohabitation with members of the opposite sex.
Rather than following Jehovah, they have given them selves over to the gods of "sexual attraction", "human emotion", "pleasure and enjoyment", etc. If you are now attempting to make the argument that all of these other things are not truly gods, then I will respond to your argument by asking you to examine who and what it is that you truly serve! Are you a slave to the commands of Jehovah, or are you a slave of physical pleasure, human emotion, or any of the other things that are contrary to 'God? Abstinence among "Christians" is at an all-time low, and virginity is almost unheard of among "Christians" who are above the age of puberty.
Then there are the gods of "tolerance", "acceptance", and "non-judgmental". The worship of these gods has lead to Christians embracing everything from profanity to homosexuality. God has made Himself clear to us through scripture, but yet we have so often in modern times dismissed Him in favor of our modern gods.
Monotheism states that one recognizes the validity of only one God, while polytheism accepts the practice of serving multiple gods. When we examine our own life as Christians, it is absolutely mandatory that we truthfully reflect on which category of belief system governs our own life! It is easy for us to point our finger in the direction of non-Christians and proclaim that they are living as slaves to sin. But it is even more important to honestly evaluate whether or not those non-Christians are justified in pointing a finger directly back at us! God's word tells us that we cannot serve two masters.
After reading this article, I pray that we all will look deeply within our selves, in order to determine what masters we are serving! "And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish."
Deuteronomy 8:19
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Ministry Leadership Conferences are growing!
We were blessed by new members this month but the growth we are the most excited about is the growth of dynamics that is taking place within each conference team!
The conferences this month were awesome in fellowship and the building of spiritual bonds, but more than this, the members are already helping one another to answer the needs each have in their particular ministries! Praise God!
IF YOU ARE A MINISTRY LEADER - - WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN THE Ministry Leaders Cooperative Network!
What do members receive?
For a one time enrollment fee and voluntary monthly support to the Network, members are entitled to take advantage of all of the benefits provided in the Resource Center!
Learn more by clicking here.
Unlike many fellowships that give you precious little for your membership fees and dues, the Ministry Leaders Network offers both spiritual and earthly benefits that serve your ministry needs and are all designed to help your ministry grow and thrive!
MLCN is focused on bringing together Godly ministers to build a spiritual infrastructure for the mutual benefit and success of all concerned!
Our focus is to help one another to do what God has asked us to do!
Draw from one another's experience and lessons - - be a part of a core group of ministers who understand and are faithful to pray for one another's needs - - enjoy the fellowship and encouragement of others who appreciate the challenges of leading others in ministry!
In addition to the many member benefits and resources, joining now makes you a charter member and you will receive a free copy of "Faith in Focus"! Full of "faith lessons" that will help you in life and in ministering to others!
More information - - click here
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20% DISCOUNT CONTINUES!
The publisher continues to offer a 20% discount for the upcoming Holiday Seasons!
Click on the Book image to the left, or on the link below, enter the code: Discount20 for the coupon code and your copy will be on its way direct from the publisher!
Royalties from Faith in Focus are being invested in True Hope Churches & Ministries so when you buy your copy, you are also helping True Hope!
Click Here!
Thank You & God Bless!
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The Forgotten One
The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.
(John 14:26)
In neglecting or denying the deity of Christ the liberals have committed a tragic blunder, for it leaves them nothing but an imperfect Christ whose death was a mere martyrdom and whose resurrection is a myth. They who follow a merely human savior follow no savior at all, but an ideal only, and one furthermore that can do no more than mock their weaknesses and sins. If Mary's Son was not the Son of God in a sense no other man is, then there can be no more hope for the human race. If He who called Himself the Light of the World was only a flickering torch, then the darkness that enshrouds the earth is here to stay. So-called Christian leaders shrug this off, but their responsibility toward the souls of their flocks cannot be dismissed with a shrug. God will yet bring them to account for the injury they have done to the plain people who trusted them as spiritual guides.
But however culpable the act of the liberal in denying the Godhood of Christ, we who pride ourselves on our orthodoxy must not allow our indignation to blind us to our own shortcomings. Certainly this is no time for self-congratulations, for we too have in recent years committed a costly blunder in religion, a blunder paralleling closely that of the liberal. Our blunder (or shall we frankly say our sin?) has been to neglect the doctrine of the Spirit to a point where we virtually deny Him His place in the Godhead. This denial has not been by open doctrinal statement, for we have clung closely enough to the biblical position wherever our credal pronouncements are concerned. Our formal creed is sound;
the breakdown is in our working creed.
This is not a trifling distinction. A doctrine has practical value only as far as it is prominent in our thoughts and makes a difference in our lives. By this test the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as held by evangelical Christians today has almost no practical value at all. In most Christian churches the Spirit is quite entirely overlooked. Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone. Brief reference is made to Him in the doxology and the benediction. Further than that He might as well not exist. So completely do we ignore Him that it is only by courtesy that we can be called Trinitarian. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity boldly declares the equality of the Three Persons and the right of the Holy Spirit to be worshiped and glorified. Anything less than this is something less than Trinitarianism.
Our neglect of the doctrine of the blessed Third Person has had and is having serious consequences. For doctrine is dynamite. It must have emphasis sufficiently sharp to detonate it before its power is released. Failing this it may lie quiescent in the back of our minds for the whole of our lives without effect. The doctrine of the Spirit is buried dynamite. Its power awaits discovery and use by the Church. The power of the Spirit will not be given to any mincing asset to pneumatological truth. The Holy Spirit cares not at all whether we write Him into our creeds in the back of our hymnals; He awaits our
emphasis. When He gets into the thinking of the teachers He will get into the expectation of the hearers. When the Holy Spirit ceases to be incidental and again becomes fundamental, the power of the Spirit will be asserted once more among the people called Christians.
The idea of the Spirit held by the average church member is so vague as to be nearly non-existent. When he thinks of the matter at all he is likely to try to imagine a nebulous substance like a wisp of invisible smoke which is said to be present in churches and to hover over good people when they are dying. Frankly he does not believe in any such thing, but he wants to believe something, and not feeling up to the task of examining the whole truth in the light of Scripture he compromises by holding belief in the Spirit as far out from the center of his life as possible, letting it make no difference in anything that touches him practically. This describes a surprisingly large number of earnest persons who are sincerely trying to be Christians.
Now, how should we think of the Spirit? A full answer might well run to a dozen volumes. We can at best only point to the "gracious unction from above" and hope that the reader's own desire may provide the necessary stimulus to urge him on to know the blessed Third Person for himself.
If I read aright the record of Christian experience through the years, those who most enjoyed the power of the Spirit have had the least to say about Him by way of attempted definition. The Bible saints who walked in the Spirit never tried to explain Him. In post-biblical times many who were filled and possessed by the Spirit were by the limitations of their literary gifts prevented from telling us much about Him. They had no gifts for self-analysis but lived from within in uncritical simplicity. To them the Spirit was One to be loved and fellowshiped the same as the Lord Jesus Himself. They would have been lost completely in any metaphysical discussion of the nature of the Spirit, but they had no trouble in claiming the power of the Spirit for holy living and fruitful service.
This is as it should be. Personal experience must always be first in real life. The most important thing is that we experience reality by the shortest and most direct method. A child may eat nutritious food without knowing anything about the chemistry or dietetics. A country boy may know the delights of pure love while never having heard of Sigmund Freud or Havelock Ellis. Knowledge by acquaintance is always better than mere knowledge by description, and the first does not presuppose the second nor require it.
CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE
God's Pursuit of Man. A.W. Tozer
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TRUE HOPE BIBLE INSTITUTE
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For All Saints
"Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed." (Psalm 25:3)
Let us now, in our meditation of today, each one forget himself, to think of the great company of God, saints throughout the world, who are all with us waiting on Him. And let us all join in the fervent prayer for each other, "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed."
Just think for a moment of the multitude of waiting ones who need that prayer; how many there are, sick and weary and solitary, to whom it is as if their prayers are not answered, and who sometimes begin to fear that their hope will be put to shame. And then, how many servants of God, ministers or missionaries, teachers or workers, of various name, whose hopes in their work have been disappointed, and whose longing for power and blessing remains unsatisfied. And then, too, how many, who have heard of a life of rest and perfect peace, of abiding light and fellowship, of strength and victory, and who cannot find the path.
With all these, it is nothing but that they have not yet learned the secret of full waiting upon God. They just need, what we all need, the living assurance that Waiting on God can never be in vain. Let us remember all who are in danger of fainting or being weary, and all unite in the cry, "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed!"
If this intercession for all who wait on God becomes part of our waiting on Him for ourselves, we shall help to bear each other's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. There will be introduced into our Waiting on God that element of unselfishness and love, which is the path to the highest blessing, and the fullest communion with God.
Love to the brethren and love to God are inseparably linked. In God, the love to His Son
and to us are one: "That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be in them." In Christ, the love of the Father to Him, and His love to us, are one: "As the Father loved me, so have I loved you." In us, He asks that
His love to us shall be ours to the brethren: "As I have loved you, that ye love one another." All the love of God, and of Christ, are inseparably linked with love to the brethren. And how can we, day by day, prove and cultivate this love otherwise than by daily praying for each other? Christ did not seek to enjoy the Father's love for Himself; He passed it all on to us. All true seeking of God and His love for ourselves, will be inseparably linked with the thought and the love of our brethren in prayer for them.
'Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed.' Twice in the psalm David speaks of his Waiting on God for himself; here he thinks of
all who wait on Him. Let this page take the message to all God's tried and weary ones, that there are more praying for them than they know. Let it stir them and us in our waiting to make a point of at times forgetting ourselves, and to enlarge our hearts, and say to the Father, "
These all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season."
Let it inspire us all with new courage—for who is there who is not at times ready to faint and be weary? "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed" is a promise in a prayer, "They that wait on Thee shall not be ashamed!" From many and many a witness the cry comes to every one who needs the help, brother, sister, tried one, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that wait on the Lord."
Blessed Father! We humbly beseech Thee, Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed; no, not one. Some are weary, and the time of waiting appears long. And some are feeble, and scarcely know how to wait. And some are so entangled in the effort of their prayers and their work, they think that they can find no time to wait continually. Father, teach us all how to wait. Teach us to think of each other, and pray for each other. Teach us to think of Thee, the God of all waiting ones. Father! Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed. For Jesus' sake. Amen.
"My soul, wait thou only upon God!"
Waiting on God.
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