Hungry Heart Daily Devotional Anthology -mjs

3-21. THE CROSS, THEN CONSECRATION

"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

The Cross is the altar upon which God sacrificed His Son. It is upon this same Cross (take up your Cross "daily"), this same altar (the place of death), that I am to be consecrated to God as "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). This eventuates in my intelligently yielding myself to Him as one who is "alive from the dead" (Romans 6:13).

"God asks us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him (Romans 12:1). Until we have done this, there is nothing else we can do. But notice that this exhortation comes after Romans Six. There is a reason for this order--crucifixion comes before consecration. Uncrucified self refuses to be consecrated (to say nothing of God's refusing to accept it). That is why so many people with all sincerity walk down the aisles again and again, consecrating uncrucified self to God." -H.D.

"We must learn to know Him and to love Him. Then we will not have to struggle to move into consecration. The heart will lead into it. A lover never thinks about giving himself to a loved one. He cannot do otherwise. He loves to do it. Is there not here a key to consecration? Why do we not yield? Because we do not love. Why do we have to fight the battle and vow and groan and struggle? Because we do not know Him." -C.A.C.

"That I may know Him...and the fellowship of His sufferings" (Philippians 3:10).
 
3-22. DEEPENED CHANNELS

"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9).

We want fellowship with the Lord Jesus in His peace and joy, and naturally fear and seek to avoid suffering. However, it is in the fellowship of His sufferings that we partake of His peace and joy.

"The Lord has a wonderful way of bringing us into the fellowship of His sufferings, even when everything outside looks prosperous. Sometimes the most apparently prosperous lives have the deepest sufferings at the back of them. The Lord must one way or another teach us fellowship with suffering, or we cannot be of much use. We dwell much upon the side of being filled with joy, but let us not forget there are broken hearts all round us, and if we are to be channels of divine comfort to them, we must learn something of the fellowship of His sufferings in our own experience."

"We shall err if we think that life in the Sanctuary, hidden with Christ in God, means freedom from suffering, sorrow, and trial. Rather will the soul be strengthened inwardly to be trusted more and more with the 'fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death' (Philippians 3:10)."

"Our Father can advance His children into conformity to the image of His Son, more by suffering in one day, than in many years of ease from trial."

"See how we call those who thus endured happy! You have heard how patiently Job endured and have seen how the Lord finally blessed him, because the Lord is tenderhearted and merciful" (James 5:11 Wms.).
 
3-23. CALVARY AND PENTECOST

"But now that you have been set free from the tyranny of Sin, and have become the bondservants of God, you have your reward in being made holy" (Romans 6:22, Wey.).

When the believer truly sees Calvary he says, "There, through the work of the Cross, I died with the Lord Jesus unto sin." When the believer truly sees Pentecost he says, "There, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I was baptized into the risen Lord Jesus." Here are the two mighty pillars of our freedom from the power and domination of sin.

"The believer is to rejoice in the double blessing of Calvary and Pentecost. He is freed from condemnation because of the Blood shed, and he is set free from the law of sin and death by the indwelling Spirit that he received when he came to the Lord Jesus. It is not only that there is no condemnation, but there is liberty.

"'The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:2). '...hath made me free....' Let me walk in it; let me enjoy it, and I am free. I am not struggling to get free; I have been set free in the Spirit, and I am bidden to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made me free (Galatians 5:1). I am not struggling for victory; I am standing in victory. I have not to struggle to get out of the horrible pit. He lifted me out; set my feet on the Rock and established my goings; and He bids me, 'Stand fast in the victory that I have gained for you.' Believe and rejoice in it, and you will know what it is to be free." -G.G.

"Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:4).
 
Regardless the insignificance something in our life may seem, God already knows all of which we will encounter in our thoughts and all we will do and uses these and everything “for our good” (Rom 8:28), which works towards continually increasing our conformance “to the image of His Son” (v 29).

The more we learn of God’s holiness, the more we learn of the decadence of our old nature which means our knowledge of this decadence will be commensurate with the knowledge of His holiness. The goal of it all is to completely depend on God for everything by avoiding self-dependence for anything. After all, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27).

We must realize holiness, righteousness, justification and sanctification is imputed to us and not imparted and remembering this will keep us “humble” (Jam 4:10; 1Pe 5:6) and “satisfied” (Psa 17:15, 90:14). It bears repeating that we will be disappointed when we confide in the arm of man instead of the arm of God because God never disappoints.
-NC




3-24. PATTERN OF MERCY -mjs / withchrist.org

"That He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory"(Romans 9:23).

Mercifully, day by day, He unfolds before our startled eyes the evil depths of the self-life. It is thus we come to know Him as the "God who is rich in mercy," and ourselves as "vessels of mercy."

"Today sinful men, not angels, are entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel, and before they can be used of God must first of all have plumbed the depths of their own sinfulness, and have, therefore, discovered the heights and glories of God's longsuffering. In this way they can become a pattern of His mercy, by means of which He can demonstrate His grace to others." -J.C.M.

"The power effectively to present Christ as Lord, is by means of revelation deep within us, bringing into being an unshakable knowledge of His authority and might, and making us content to accept our weakness and nothingness in order that we may see the pleasure of the Lord prosper in His hand (Isaiah 53:10)." -J.C.M.

"The more useful anyone is, the more he requires to be brought to an end of himself, and to find that his all is in the Lord Jesus. We find some of His servants deeply chastened at first, in order to prepare them for a useful course; and some after a useful period are brought low and afflicted in order that they might learn how truly and fully our Father is sovereign." -J.B.S.

"From Me is thy fruit found" (Hosea 14:8).
 
3-26. THE HAND OF GOD

"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (1 Peter 2:19, 20).

When self reacts correctly in a difficult situation, it can only result in the sin of self-righteousness. In order for Christ's righteousness to be manifested, the Holy Spirit must hold self inoperative by means of the Cross.

"Accustom yourself in everything that happens, to recognize the hand of the Father. Before you fix your thoughts on the person who did it, first be still, and remember, God allows me to come into this trouble to see if I shall glorify Him in it. This trial, be it the greatest or least, is allowed of God, and is His will concerning me. Let me first recognize and submit to God's will in it. Then in the rest of soul which this gives, I shall receive wisdom to know how to behave in it. With my eye turned from man to God, suffering wrong is not as hard as it seems.

"The Lord Jesus knew that His Father would care for His rights and honor. But he who lives in the visible, wants his honor to be vindicated at once here below. He who lives in the eternal, and as seeing the Invisible, is satisfied to leave the vindication of his rights and honor in God's hands; he knows that they are safe with Him. Giving one's all into God's keeping brings rest and peace." -A.M.

"When He suffered, He . . . committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23)
 
Concerning that which transpires in our lives, the significant issue isn’t what occurs as it is what we do about it. It’s comforting to realize God knows and already has resolved everything which occurs in the Christian’s life. Knowing this doesn’t remove the hardness but can enable us to properly “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim 2:3). “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God” (1 Pet 2:20 NKJV).

Patiently trusting God in the hard times yields the most concerning our “partaking of Christ's sufferings” (1 Pet 4:13) and it’s the only time of “the trying of your faith” (Jam 1:3), which I believe produces the highest worship and honors God the most: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:7).
-NC




3-27. SOFTENING SORROW

"Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us" (2 Corinthians 7:6).

All of us are going to have sorrow, and none of us should miss its spiritual benefits. "Godly sorrow worketh repentance...while the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

"God's purpose is to conform us to the image of the Lord Jesus. God had one Son, without sin, but not without sorrow." -A.S.

"Sorrow reveals unknown depths in the soul, and unknown capabilities of experience and service. God never uses anybody to a large degree, until after He breaks that one. It takes sorrow to widen the soul."

"We cannot do good to others save at a cost to ourselves, and our afflictions are the price we pay for our ability to sympathize. He who would be a helper must first be a sufferer. 'Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God' (2 Corinthians 1:4). We cannot have the highest happiness of life in succoring others without tasting the cup which our Lord Jesus drank. The school of suffering graduates rare scholars."

"Well, it is but a little while and He will appear to answer all inquiries and to wipe away all tears. I would not wish, then, to be of those who had none to wipe away, would you?" -J.H.T.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:17).
 
When we understand the known will of God (scripture) we can pray with increased expectations and our prayer life will be effective. James 5:16 writes, “. . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” I believe the significance of this passage is on righteousness, not necessarily on effectiveness and fervency because regardless the degree of the latter, there will be no production if the righteousness isn’t in proper prospective. To me, this passage is saying the prayer of the righteous is effectual and fervent.

It’s humbling (Jam 4:10) to understand that we cannot add to anything we have of God because it’s all vicarious. We work from what He has imputed to us, i.e., righteousness, but cannot contribute to that which is vicariously imputed. This means “your good works” (Mat 5:16; 1 Pet 2:12) and “your righteousness” (Mat 5:20; 2 Cor 9:10) is yours, but only vicariously because we are just the vessels it is being done by. We’re not to seek credit in anything, any more than a pen would seek credit for writing. Ours is but to be lovingly grateful for being partakers in it all, because God is doing it all--using us, “the vessels of mercy” (Rom 9:23).

Understanding it’s all God and that it’s not cooperation but co-operation, as in altruism, permits us to expect everything on the basis of what Christ has done and not on what we do. Our good works and righteousness is an effect, not a cause and is used by God to draw (John 6:44) others to Christ because “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).

Since our position is now with Christ in Heaven (Eph 2:6) we can pray to God, from Heaven to earth and not from earth to Heaven—looking down, not up!
-NC


3-28. DIRECTED PRAYER

"Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:17).

Prayer to God must come from God. There can be no prayer in the full assurance of faith apart from the known will of God in the matter. "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will" (Acts 22:14).

"I do not think that a petition that misses the mind of God will ever be answered (1 John 5:14). Personally, I feel the need of trusting Him to lead me in prayer as well as in other matters. I find it well to preface prayer not only by meditation but by the definite request that I may be directed into the channels of prayer to which the Holy Spirit is beckoning me (Romans 8:26, 27)." -J.O.F.

"When we once have the deep, calm assurance of His will in the matter, we put in our claim, just as a child before his father. A simple request and nothing more. No crying, no beseeching, no wrestling. No second asking, either." -J.O.F.

"The Lord may see it needful, for the trial (development) of faith, to seem for a season not to regard our supplications; yet, if we patiently and believingly continue to wait upon Him, it will be manifest in His own time, and way, that we did not call upon Him in vain." -G.M.

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him" (Psalm 62:5).
 
The suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus isn’t what saves us, it only made salvation provisional. It’s our spirit’s suffering, death and resurrection in the Lord that appropriates salvation.

The lost need deliverance from the curse of sin and the saved needs deliverance from the power of sin! Deliverance, not from the presence of sin but from its ruling power: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body . . . For sin shall not have dominion over you . . . .” (Rom 6:12, 14).

Our Father has allowed the source of sin (our human nature) to remain but not its ability to cause a believer to "sin willfully" (Heb 10:26; Num 15:25-30). Remorse, confession and a repentant heart abides in the wake of the sins of a true believer because the Holy Spirit makes it his constant desire not to displease God: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal 5:17).

The works of the Christian are non-effectual towards salvation but are fruitful because of salvation. Christ “finished” (John 19:30) the work of salvation on the Cross and therefore needs nothing added, so, we’re admonished to “. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). This means we’re to work out of, or from, our salvation; neither for its attainment, nor to retain it. One cannot keep himself saved any more then he can save himself because it’s God who will “. . . keep you from falling . . . .” (Jude 1:24).
-NC



3-29. TYRANNY OF SIN

"You were set free from the tyranny of sin" (Romans 6:18, Wey.).

The tyranny of sin over the lost necessitated the death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross. The tyranny of sin over the saved necessitated the death of the believer in the Lord Jesus on that same Cross. The dual truths of Calvary: His death for our sin, as payment; our death with Him unto sin, for deliverance.

"The believer sees that Christ by dying for him has completely delivered him from the penalty of sin. So it is his privilege to see that because he is identified with the Lord Jesus in that death, he is also delivered from sin as a ruling principle. Its power is broken. He is in that sense 'free from sin' (Romans 6:18, 22)." -E.H.

"Through my life-union with Christ in His death and resurrection, I have 'died to sin.' His death to sin is my death to sin. In my very humanity, Christ so took me up with Himself in death that, when He died unto sin, I too was executed and there died to sin's reign and power. Has Christ so dealt with sin that He has exhausted its every claim and dominion? And do I share with Him His death unto sin? With bold and explicit reckoning, then, let me count on my death-resurrection relationship to God through the Lord Jesus. In Christ crucified I have been discharged from sin's domination." -L.E.M.

"When victory does not tend to worship, we and God part company, so to speak, as soon as the victory is achieved. How sad to see victory often leading to mere joy, instead of still greater dependence on, and delight in, God!" -J.N.D.

"But now, being freed from the bondage of sin . . . your fruit is growth in holiness" (Romans 6:22, Cony.).
 
3-30. PREVIOUSLY PREPARED

"Let the same disposition be in you which was in Christ Jesus." "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh is at rest from sin" (Philippians 2:5, Wey; 1 Peter 4:1m).

Too late! Too late! If we seek to deal with sin by reckoning at the moment it becomes an issue. Our stand and attitude from the beginning of each day is to be a settled matter as we rest in our risen Lord Jesus: the death of the Cross separates me from the enslavement of sin and self, and I continually abide in my new life, Christ Jesus. My life is "hid with Christ in God"(Colossians 3:3).

"The reckoning believer is to meet every proposal of self-gratification armed with the mind to suffer in the flesh. Sin is the gratification of self, but 'he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from the domination of sin.'
"If you allow yourself to entertain a suggestion of self-gratification--if you consider it, and give it a place in your mind--you are defeated. You have laid aside your armor, and will fall an easy prey to the foe. But there will be no response to the suggestion or temptation if you stand armed with the mind to suffer in the flesh. That which is proposed to you is exactly opposite to what you are set for. It is suggested that you should be pleased and gratified in the very thing in which you are fully minded to suffer. You are now in conflict with sin--not going along with it; you suffer in the flesh, and have ceased from the practice of sin." -C.A.C.

"So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires but [he lives] for what God wills" (1 Peter 4:2, Amp.).

- MJS / WithChrist.org
 
3-31. NOW NO CONDEMNATION

"Ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (Romans 7:4).

Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law. Both must be counted upon if we are to abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, as set forth in Romans Eight.

"We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart--how we can say, 'This one thing I do'; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard. If I say, 'Here is a rule of conduct: follow it,' this cannot reach the heart, the affections. The ministration of the letter brings only failure, and condemnation; for it prescribes a rule which man, being a sinner, can never follow. It does not change a man; it proves him 'ungodly and without strength.'

"We may turn even Christ into that letter of condemnation; we may take His life, for instance, and make it our law. Nay, we may turn even the love of Christ into our law; we may say, 'He has loved me, and done all this for me, and I ought to love Him, and do so much for Him, in return for this love,' etc. Thus if we turn His love into a rule of life, it becomes the ministration of condemnation."

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1).
 
4-1. HIS HUNGER

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!".

Our Father gave us the hunger to be justified, and He gave us the hunger to be sanctified. This same principle applies to our service, our sharing. He never pushed us, but drew us in loving kindness--and He would treat others likewise, through us.

"If we are not living near the Lord Jesus and are not where we should be, we neither have an appetite for spiritual things, nor can we feed upon Him who is the living Bread. When God pours into you a hunger for your Beloved and begins to reveal your privileges in Him, rejoice with great joy and gratitude toward God. If He did not put into our hearts the longing to know Him better and to have His very best, we would be satisfied with the least we could have and be saved." -C.H.MacI.

"How wondrous are the working and drawings of God upon a human heart! How little do we behold Him or know that which He is doing, as day by day He works down in the depths of our beings. The most favored place a child of God can be in, is to continually feel the drawing of God urging and constraining him to a greater hunger for Him."

"God never gives anything till the soul is ready to receive it. When you are ready you will long and hunger for it."

"For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness".
 
4-2. CONSTANT CARE

"The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust" (Ruth 2:12).

The Lord Jesus not only died for every sin in our life, but He lives for every second of our life. We cannot rest in Him until we realize that there is never an instant that He is not caring for us. It is as though each of His own were His only one.

"So many saints are disturbed, so many are restless, because they are not living in the knowledge that they are under the care of the Lord; and then there is no power to walk. Why have you so little power in walk or service? It is because you are not yet clear that the Lord is caring for you, that He is in all watchfulness over you, that He has let down the strong pinions of His protecting care till they sweep the ground around you, and, if you are wise, you will creep up close under His wings, into the very down." -J.B.S.

"It belongs to the nature of our pilgrimage and life of faith, that we cannot see the land for which we are bound. If only thou hast bid farewell to thy past, have confidence in thy God; trust Him to bring thee into a better land than the one thou art leaving. Should we find that Divine things do not at present correspond with our hopes, we may be quite sure they will eventually exceed our expectations; we shall realize above all we ask or comprehend." -O.S.

"And a man shall be like an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; like rivers of water in a dry place, like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" (Isaiah 32:2).
 
4-3. GROWTH FOR SERVICE

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Galatians 4:19).

A ministry of life, whether it be at the kitchen sink, or from the First Church pulpit, must flow from the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. That life must be developed in and shared through the growing believer, by the Holy Spirit. We are to rest in Him for spiritual growth, and He will work through us for spiritual service.
"He, whom the Lord cannot trust with the faithful care of his own vineyard, will not be trusted with the tending of God's Vineyard of living, immortal souls. How shall we face the Owner of the Vineyard, if we have neglected our own lives; if we have not entered into that which God has shown us; if we must say, when He asks us about the lack of fruit and the neglect which is so sadly evident: 'Lord, I was so busy tending Thy Vineyard, that my own vineyard I have not kept' (S.S. 1:6)." -C.H.MacI.

"Our Lord is more concerned for a testimony than for a work. We need to get clear on that. A good deal of confusion comes in when you begin to think of things in the light of a work. When you get a lot of people leaving their employment to go into 'the work,' all kinds of complications arise. It is not that we aren't to serve the Lord, but in the first place it is not the work the Lord is after, it is a testimony, it is a light, a living flame."

"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10)
 
The significance in the lesson learned isn’t as valuable as the process of learning the lesson. Trusting that “all work all things together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28), esp. in the hardest of times is more faith building than arriving at the moment of obtaining that which is sought, because it teaches us to know our support is not in the need being fulfilled but in the Fulfiller.

“Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him” (John 6:26, 27).

Conformation (Rom 8:29) and not confirmation is where the work of the Spirit resides (2 Cor 3:18) and until a mature level in Christ’s image is attained (through accurate bible study) it will be expected of a Christian to seek more in the evidence of the Provider than in trusting Him to provide.
-NC

4-4. INTERNAL PRIORITY

"Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

Beware! The world, both secular and religious, is seeking to destroy your individuality by conforming you to the mass of faceless ones. But our heritage and destiny in the Lord Jesus Christ is to be conformed to His image--not at the loss of our individual personality, but by the gain of His nature and character. "I in you"; "Christ liveth in me" (John 15:4; Galatians 2:20).

"Something has got to be done in us as well as for us. We want to proceed on the line of having things done for us, heaven intervening for us, our difficulties removed for us, having a straight path made for us. Heaven may be ready to come in, the Lord may be prepared to work for us, but it is not sufficient for Him--and it would not prove good enough for us--if that were all. The very principle of spiritual growth and maturity demands that He keep the objective and the subjective balanced; that is, that something is done in us as well as for us." -T. A-S.

"We are apt to think that if and when the circumstances and conditions of our lives are changed and we are in another position than the one we now occupy, then something will happen, the purpose of God will begin to be fulfilled. But the Lord says, 'No, it is not circumstances, not conditions, at all; it is you.'"

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). - mjs/withchrist.org
 
I like recalling the story of the “Prince and the Pauper” because it reminds me more of whose (Christ) we are than what (saved) we are. It’s not a matter of doing as much as it is of being; just as Mary “hath chosen that good part” ()--to know Christ, more than to serve Him because our love for God is commensurate with our knowledge of Him. We serve God, not out of debt because salvation is free, but out of love and gratitude and our desire in our love for God will always exceed our practical love for Him until we learn His ways, which are revealed by His Spirit in His written Word.

Our place in the Lord has preeminence to our work in the Lord because it is our position which determines our production. To know our position in Christ is to realize our condition in this life—possessing sin (, ) but not in sin (). We possess sin by birth; we vicariously overcame sin by rebirth. If we are to know the depth of God’s holiness we must know the depth of our decadence (old man) and thus, we will realize more the depth of our freedom, which will enhance our continued growth in Christ’s image.
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4-5. RAGS TO RICHES

"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" ().

Self is the believer's indwelling enemy; its degrading bondage is his deepest heartache. However, the reign of self is overthrown by its own enmity, since it creates the needs that cause us to hunger for and appropriate Christ's life and liberty.

"A sense of spiritual poverty is necessary to spiritual growth. This awareness of failure becomes acute to the believer during those days when he is attempting to attain holiness of heart through self-effort. Knowing what he ought to be and do, he proceeds to try to reach those goals. He purposes, resolves, promises, struggles, weeps, and fails again. His testimony, with Paul, is, 'The things that I want to do, I do not do, and the things that I do not want to do, I do' ().

"What a delightful day it is for him when he realizes that 'in him, that is, in his flesh, dwelleth no good thing' ().Only then does he, in his failure, cry out, 'Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' 'I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord' (, ) comes back the reply. He begins to recognize that God expects only failure from the flesh, never success, but that 'in Christ' is his sanctification, his growth. Thus it is that freedom comes through bondage, life through death." -W.W.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" ().
 
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4-6. RELIANCE IN TOTO

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace" (2 Thessalonians 2:16).

It has been well said that "it takes a lifetime to learn real dependence upon God, and to accept practically our own inadequacy." We are going to learn this only through experience, and now is the time to settle down to this schooling--a day at a time.

"We are to understand that God loves us, and that He justifies us by the work of His Son. We have no longer conscience of sins before God, because He Himself has taken them away before His eyes; we know that being united to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has fully glorified God in that which concerns our sins, we have been made the righteousness of God in Him. So the heart is free to enjoy His love in the presence of the Father." -J.N.D.

"I no longer attempt to produce that which will satisfy God from myself as originator. I know that even if I try I shall only fail. But I do seek to please God by faith in the activity of Another. The Son of God who indwells me by His Spirit is able and willing to carry out in me 'those things that please Him'; and I count upon Him to do so. Consciously, day by day, I take the attitude that I trust Him to work the will of God in me, and in that attitude I go forward and serve Him. I do not trust myself. 'I live by faith in the Son of God.'" -A.I.K.

"Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work" (2 Thessalonians 2:17).
 
4-7. HAND HEWN
"Hearken unto Me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord; look unto the rock from which ye are hewn" (Isaiah 51:1).

If we care for His glory, we will want to serve. If we care for others, we will want to be well prepared for that service. And that care will enable us to hold still and trust Him through all that is entailed in the preparation.

"When a certain breaking down of self takes place in a believer's life, it produces a marked change in him; but afterwards he has to learn it all in detail." -J.N.D.

"This is a fact borne out in the case of every servant of God in history who has really come under the hand of God--that the real values of their lives for all time have been those which correspond to the wine of the grape, the thing trodden out in the winepress, the agony of heart; and you know that it is true in your case that if ever you have had anything at all which you knew to be worthwhile and which has helped someone else, it has been born out of some travail in your own experience."

"If we knew the heart of our Father we would never question any of His dealings with us, nor should we ever desire His hand lifted off us till we had learnt all He would teach us." -E.D.

"Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:19, 20).
 
When is victory over a trial present for the Christian? When it transpires? Is it in the midst of the trial or at the beginning? Even if we have yet to realize it, all of our victories are present prior to the beginning of all our trials!​
Kicking or screaming, hardly enduring or “patiently enduring” (Heb 6:15; 2 Pet 2:20; 2 Tim 2:3); how we respond to all our trials does not determine their outcome because God has already ensured they will eventuate to our benefit for the purpose of Christ-conformity (Rom 8:28, 29). Our response to all things is not a cause, but an effect which reveals the presence of a cause. “For it is God who works in you (cause) both to will and to do (effect) for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).​
If the strength of our faith in God is in our power and might (Zec 4:6), our trials will “trouble us” (John 14:1, 27) but God’s blessings will remain ours. The level of our position in Christ, mature or immature, does not determine the Father’s blessings to us because they were all foreordained (1 Pet 1:20) and cannot be withdrawn (Rom 11:29).​
It's better to go through a trial with God than to go around one without Him!​
We can needlessly labor with besetting weights​
And be troubled, harassed and assailed​
Or take pleasure in infirmities​
Either way you’re in the Lord and will not fail​
(Heb 12:1; 2 Cor 2:10; Jude 1:24)​
–NC​
4-8. TRIUMPH IN TRIAL​
"Always guarded by the power of God through faith.... In such a hope keep on rejoicing, although for a little while you must be sorrow-stricken with various trials" (1 Peter 1:5, 6, Wms.).​
There are testimonies, and there are testimonies. Some can testify as to how God cleared up adverse circumstances for the victory; but others can testify to the triumph God gave in the midst of difficult circumstances. The essential consideration is that our Father be glorified in all His dealings with and for us. How He brings it all about should be secondary to us.​
"If there is a great trial in your life today, do not own it as a defeat, but continue, by faith, to claim the victory through Him who is able to make you more than conqueror, and a glorious triumph will soon be apparent. Let us learn that in all the hard places our Father brings us into, He is making opportunities for us to exercise such faith in Him as will bring about blessed results and greatly glorify His Name."​
"God has put you in exactly the right crucible to burn up what He sees needs to be burnt up. Many think 'victory' means getting your circumstances put right. No! true triumph is within--when in the midst of your circumstances the Spirit of God can so energize you and strengthen you in spirit, that you can stand quiet in the thick of it all, and say, 'God is God,' and know that you are held by Him--which is infinitely better than all your trying to hold things steady."​
"Therefore, my brethren . . . stand fast in the Lord" (Philippians 4:1).​
-mjs/withchrist.org​
 
4-9. LlTTLE-KNOWN REQUISITE

"My beloved children, I am again bearing the pangs of travail for you, till Christ be fully formed within you" (Galatians 4:19, Cony.).

It is essential that we "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," for three reasons: (1) that our Father may be glorified; (2) that the Lord Jesus might be manifested in us; (3) that the Holy Spirit might have a suitable instrument through which to win and establish others.

"Paul had one great consuming purpose to be brought to birth by his sufferings for the Galatians, and that was the living expression of the Lord Jesus Christ in them. Nothing less could satisfy God, and nothing less than this should ever satisfy a servant of God. Numbers were still good in Galatia, activities well maintained and zeal unabated, but the Lord Jesus was being crowded out--and that is the greatest tragedy possible." -H.F.

"It is a marvellous grace that we should be conformed to the image of God's Son. I think it is very sad that the highest thought which God has about us, and that which His heart is set on, is that which is least known by Christians; for I know no truth that is so little realized as union with Christ." -J.B.S.

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9).
-mjs/withchrist.org
 
Is our sufficiency resting on experiences, as Israel, esp. in the wilderness, required signs and wonders (1 Cor 1:22) or in the “more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19)? Faith constructed by experience can be misleading because it accustoms the believer to that which is by sight (temporal) and not by faith (eternal) (2 Cor 5:7). Faith in God differs from faith about God. Can one know God exists (wilderness Israel) without trusting Him? “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Heb 3:19).

This always eventuates in disappointment because the expectation is not in Christ alone as much as it is in His physical confirmations. Faith and sight teeter in opposition to one another, so when physical evidence is up, faith is down. God uses that which is seen to confirm His existence (Rom 1:19, 20), not to confirm our faith, which requires no physical proof.

Faith is to be our substance (Heb 11:1) before God confirms anything in the physical. I believe proof is being reduced to its minimal form so that faith can be allowed to be at its greatest potential, because this life is the only opportunity for faith to be at its greatest activity. “Hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?” (Rom 8:24)?

We “will come to revelations of the Lord” (2 Cor 12:1) but they will come only through Scripture. It is commonly said that “it is to be Scripture which imparts credence to experiences and not the opposite”, so that faith has room to increase (Luke 17:5).

Let our joy already be sufficed in times of need by knowing “that all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28), regardless of our maturity status in Him.
-NC


4-10. TRUTH, THEN EXPERIENCE

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).

The Christian who relies mainly upon "experiences" for growth will manifest little spiritual discernment, dependability or maturity, whereas the believer who relies upon doctrinal truth will be found to manifest these aspects of a healthy walk. If we bypass truth, we fall short of spiritual reality.

"Many people today are seeking for a new religious experience and when the last grows old, they seek to get yet another experience. The actual need of most believers today is not an experience, but a true apprehension of what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross for us and of our present day union with Him.

"When a person begins to apprehend what it means to be united to the Son of God and what he has through this union, he will at once realize that his spiritual growth depends upon a clear understanding of truth rather than upon an experience. However, those who really appropriate this truth cannot fail to have daily experiences with the Lord." -L.L.L.

"Nowhere in Scripture is it taught that there is a sudden leap to be taken from carnality to spirituality, or from a life of comparative unconcern as to godliness to one of intense devotion to the Lord Jesus. On the contrary, increase in piety is ever presented as a growth, which should be as normal and natural as the orderly progression in human life from infancy to full stature." -H.A.I.

"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all" (1 Timothy 4:15).
-mjs/withchrist.org
 
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