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But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (Romans 3:21) |
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A tremendous misunderstanding permeates Christian thinking. It is that the new covenant provides an alternative to righteous behavior. This misunderstanding has arisen because we do not understand where Paul was coming from when he wrote the first five chapters of the Book of Romans. |
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Paul was what we would call today an Orthodox. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, carefully trained in and carefully observant of every minute detail of the Law of Moses. |
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This is the man God picked to explain the transition from Moses to Christ. God could have chosen a less strict Jew! |
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God explained to Paul, and to Paul alone, apparently, the difference between the two covenants. Paul then had to stand by himself and attempt to convince the Jews, and the Gentiles influenced by the Jews, that righteousness no longer comes through the observance of the Law of Moses but through faith in Jesus Christ. |
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Remember, the first Christian church comprised observant Jews who knew little or nothing of the grace of the new covenant. They just added Jesus to the Law of Moses. |
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But Paul has been grievously misunderstood! |
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Whenever Paul is arguing about faith and grace he is not contrasting faith and grace with righteous, godly behavior. He is contrasting faith and grace with the Law of Moses! You may notice this particularly in Romans and Galatians. |
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We Gentiles have interpreted Paul to mean that God no longer requires righteous behavior but a statement of faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. If Paul were here today he would behave worse than Nehemiah. He would be absolutely outraged that we have interpreted him to mean that grace and faith are an alternative to righteous, holy, and obedient behavior. |
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The truth is, the new covenant, if correctly applied, produces righteous behavior. There is no such thing as faith and Divine grace apart from a new creation of righteous behavior. |
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In fact, God gave us the new covenant because the Israelites on the whole were not living righteous lives. (There were notable exceptions.) |
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We Gentiles have done a magnificent job of totally misunderstanding the new covenant. |
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You don't accept Jesus in order to evade God's commandments. You accept Jesus so you will have the grace, that is, Divine wisdom and strength to enable you to keep God's commandments. What a different thought! |
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"How do you get eternal life?" |
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By keeping God's commandments. |
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"How do you keep God's commandments?" |
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By abiding in Christ and receiving moral strength for the day. |
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"What happens when a Christian does not keep God's commandments?" |
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God will chasten him or her, or something worse may happen. |
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"Is it really this simple and straightforward?" |
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Yes. |
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"How come nobody seems to understand it?" |
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You got me! Maybe the next generation will get the message. |
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The "Christian" nations of today are going to catch it proper if God's people do not seek God and repent of their wicked ways! |
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The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:50,51) |
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We Christians have many traditions concerning what happens to us when we die, and concerning the nature of Heaven, that are based in part on the visions of the saints. The writer does not discredit these visions but regards them as inspiring. |
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We always must keep in mind, however, that the bulk of our traditions concerning Heaven and what happens to us after we die, stem from the unfortunate use of the term "mansions" in the King James translation of John 14:2—a usage that cannot be defended lexically, contextually, or by any other principle of Scripture interpretation. Our traditions concerning "dying and going to Heaven to live in a mansion" are not based solidly on the Scriptures. |
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The Apostle Paul speaks of some who are "saved; yet so as by fire" (I Corinthians 3:15). |
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Have we ever stopped to consider what it may mean to be saved, yet so as by fire? Saved by fire? |
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If this expression is referring to Lot being dragged out of Sodom, we are speaking here of a massive loss of inheritance. Lot, a wealthy man, entered Sodom with much livestock. He left a widower and a pauper. |
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The incestuous relationship of Lot's two daughters with him produced Moab and Ammon. God said, "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter the congregation of the Lord for ever" (Deuteronomy 23:3). |
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The Moabites and the Ammonites were a thorn in the side of the people of Israel. It was the king of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel and who seduced the Israelite warriors to sin. |
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Is this what we want, to be saved as was Lot with no inheritance, our fruit causing anger on the part of the Lord? Compare the inheritance of Lot with the inheritance of Abraham. |
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The reason so many Christians use the concept of being saved by fire as proof that once having professed Jesus they never can be lost, is they do not understand the diversity of destinies possible in the Kingdom of God. Their assumption is that if they are "saved" their troubles are over. When the Lord comes they will be transformed into a spiritual giant, will sit in the throne with Jesus, and will govern the nations with a rod of iron. (How they will do this and live in a mansion at the same time I do not know.) |
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If it is true, as we are maintaining, that being saved as by fire indicates the loss of our birthright as sons of God so we enter blind, deaf, and naked into the spirit realm, there to await the scathing rebuke of the Lord in the Day of Judgment, then being saved as by fire is not such a blessed prospect. |
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The believers of today who expect a "rapture" to take place momentarily have no conception of what it would be like to be brought into the Presence of the Lord in their sins, foolishness, and disobedience to God. |
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The Lord Jesus warned us clearly in the Gospels that when He returns He will hold His servants to strict account for their behavior. This is the teaching of the Scripture and it ought to be emphasized. |
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"Oh, Brother Thompson, this couldn't apply to me. I'm saved by grace." |
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It means you! Aren't you one of the Lord's servants? (from It Is Time for a Reformation of Christian Thinking) |
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Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant? (Isaiah 42:19) |
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If we would be perfect, if we would be the Lord's servant, we must be blind and deaf. |
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The Lord Jesus was blind and deaf to the sights and sounds of this world. He saw what the Father was doing. He heard what the Father was saying. |
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When the disciples proudly showed Him the magnificent temple of Herod the Lord saw a pile of rubble. When the Pharisees and Sadducees attempted to deceive Him He heard the warning voice and wisdom of God. |
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The mark of the perfect Christian is blindness and deafness to the flesh but sight and hearing in the Spirit of God. |
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How often we hear part of a story and jump to conclusions. Have you ever done that? Instead of waiting until we hear the voice of God we make a number of decisions based on our natural sight and hearing. What mistakes we make! |
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If we would be the servant of the Lord we must cultivate the Presence of God until we can hear what He is saying and see what He is doing. Then our judgment is just. |
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I think this is the meaning of Revelation 20:4. There we find the wonderful destiny of those who are beheaded for the testimony of Jesus. But if the first resurrection is restricted to those who have been martyred by physical decapitation many victorious saints will be excluded. |
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There is another "decapitation." It takes place when we forsake the reasoning of our natural mind and look to God for wisdom and direction in all matters. Here is the very core of Christianity, the linchpin. The Kingdom of God cannot possibly be established by those who are acting in the flesh. |
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So many voices in the land today! Come here! Go there! Do this! Do that! Which is the voice of God? Hard to tell sometimes. |
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There's only one solution. Get alone with God. Wait, wait, wait until you hear from God. Wait until you have the assurance He has heard you. |
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Are you tired of grinding at the mill of religious building programs? |
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I think each Christian, each church, each denomination should take stock every year. Set aside a time and ask God if He is still in the thing we are doing. Maybe we are propping up a dead program with more and more money. |
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How long has it been since you really have heard from the Lord? |
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I am writing this on New Year's day, 1997. You probably won't read it until March or April, possibly later. But there may be someone to whom the exhortation will come with power. God's timing will be perfect. |
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That's the problem with seeing and hearing in the world. We then don't have a sense of God's timing. |
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If we don't know what we are doing we are the blind leading the blind. |
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God is moving today. Are you moving with Him or are you on your own? |
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Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (II Corinthians 12:10) |
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God could have left that verse out of the Bible for the life of me. It makes great preaching but tough living. A person has to be a pretty mature Christian if he or she is to take pleasure in pains and problems! |
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The substitution of God's wisdom and strength for our wisdom and strength? Adam has a better idea than this! |
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We try to go forward and are knocked backward. Our "wisest" plans turn out to be foolishness. Our attempts to do good are viewed as having evil motives. We are sick and weak, and sometimes old. We don't have quite enough money to do what we want. Is it this way with you? Good! This may mean the Lord loves you. Right? |
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What are you going to do about it? You can become mean and bitter, blaming people and circumstances—and sometimes God. This happens to people, believe me. |
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Or you can go to the Lord Jesus about every tiny detail of your discomfiture. This is what you are supposed to do. |
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Maybe your plans still don't work. Maybe you're still being slandered. Maybe you are still sick, weak, and old. Maybe you still don't have quite enough money to waltz around like you want to. |
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But when you call on the Lord something happens. You get peace, for one thing. And in each and every area of concern you will find a touch of grace! All of this that is taking place will finally be seen to be the best that could have happened. No kidding! |
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What is God doing to you? He is teaching you to look to Him instead of to yourself. |
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"But I want to be me!" So do a lot of other babies. |
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You were not created to be alone. You were created to be the dwelling place of God. In order to make you the happy dwelling place of God, God has to keep on frustrating your ability to be alone, to do things by yourself. |
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Maybe you don't like the idea of being part of God. Someone said (I think it was C. S. Lewis) that people would rather rule in the cardboard shacks of Hell than serve in the courts of Heaven. Is this really what you want? I don't think so. |
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We were made to be His dwelling place. Until we are, our life is grossly incomplete. We end up disillusioned and incontinent, no eternal life, vanishing protoplasm. |
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The scientists are right. We are only intelligent animals. |
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That is, until Christ breathes eternal life into us. Then the heights of glory and fruitfulness we can attain are limited only by our willingness to be pruned. |
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What can we do for you? |
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"Open up the grave so you may rest in peace?" |
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Or will you open up the everlasting doors of your heart and let the King of Glory come in? |
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You may be nine or ninety. It's not too early or too late. BE WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO BE! |
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And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (II Thessalonians 2:10,11) |
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Perhaps the main reason why believers become deceived is they are trying to find some way around their personal cross. They just cannot believe that the Lord would deny them something they desire so fervently. Not realizing mankind and the earth are still under the Divine curse, they attempt to make a paradise of their present circumstances instead of looking for the Kingdom of God to come in the future. They are not willing to look past the grave for the fulfillment of their dreams. |
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The Lord Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him. He said that no man can be His disciple apart from forsaking the world and all he holds dear. |
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The Christian must, of course, diligently fulfill all his family obligations. The believer who in a fit of religious fanaticism hides himself from his own flesh and blood, not fulfilling his obligations to his family, will not be blessed by the Lord. |
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The Lord Jesus was speaking rather of the individual who does not in faithfulness follow after Him in self-denial. He or she is not worthy of the Lord and cannot be His disciple. |
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We see instances in the churches where a woman will leave her family and run off with a new husband who is "more spiritual." Sometimes a man who is a believer will take up with a woman, also a believer, being under the delusion that he no longer loves his wife but is willing to support her and the children. He thinks he can still serve the Lord after betraying those who trusted him. |
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There is a lot of this today. The believers have not always been taught that the Lord Jesus is not willing to bear the cross alone. There is a cross for you and there is a cross for me. If we are unwilling to carry it, we cannot possibly avoid being deceived. |
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The personal cross of the believer is his strongest defense against deception. |
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How many Christians do you know who are carrying their cross behind the Master? They and they alone are the true Christians. The remainder are susceptible to deception because they do not receive the love of the truth. In fact, God Himself shall deceive them. |
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If we would know the truth we must do what Christ has said. We must present our physical body a living sacrifice to the Lord, waiting on His will each day of our life. When we do not present our body a living sacrifice we make ourselves vulnerable to the deceptions of the enemy and God Himself sends delusion on us because of our turning away from the truth. |
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The way of deception is warm, inviting, beautiful, presenting all sorts of fleeces to assure you that you are doing the Lord's will. But it leads to the house of death. |
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The way of the cross is bleak, forbidding, ugly, tearing at the soul. But it leads through gates of splendor. |
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Which way will you take? (from Buying the Truth) |
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And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with {them}, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:20) |
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How can the Lord work with us unless we are doing what He desires? And how can we do what He desires unless we are hearing from Him? |
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There are times during our discipleship when we are to wait until we hear from the Lord. |
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We may observe that from the days of the Protestant Reformers there have been several major moves of the Spirit of God. Each move has been characterized by a return to godliness on the part of the believers, by worldwide evangelism, and by an increase in our understanding of the doctrine of the Apostles. |
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The twentieth century has witnessed the Pentecostal revival. There has been a renewal of interest in godly behavior, worldwide evangelism, and an increase in our understanding of the doctrine of the Apostles. |
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In the present hour we are being prepared for the greatest of all renewals—the climax of the latter-rain revival. There will be a revival of interest in godly behavior, worldwide evangelism, and an increase in our understanding of the doctrine of the Apostles as a result of this unprecedented outpouring. |
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There is a time to listen and then a time to work. To work during the hour of listening may produce some good, but there will not be the accompanying interest in righteousness; the work of evangelism will turn into that of proselyting; and there will be little unveiling of scriptural truth. |
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Today is an hour of listening. This does not mean we are not to continue in normal, necessary business but it does indicate we are to cease from planning endless programs and listen! listen! listen to what the Spirit is saying! It is a time for much prayer! |
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God is ready to move us past Pentecost to the last three feasts of the Lord: Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles. We are to be listening. God is going to fulfill these convocations in His own manner. We are not to go out and attempt to stick the bones together. We are to prophesy the Word of the Lord to the bones. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this! |
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To wait on the Lord and listen for His voice is one of the most joyful, peaceful experiences of all. But to grind at the mill of kingdom building is to bring oneself to weariness, frustration, and discouragement. |
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What is God saying today? Do you know? |
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We open ourselves to the deceptions of the enemy when we are working for the Lord instead of abiding in the Lord and waiting on Him. |
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Is our church a sepulcher that is working for the Lord before it listens to Him? More to the point, is our personal ministry a sepulcher instead of a life-giving flow of water from the Throne of God? |
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If we would buy the truth we must pause frequently and listen to what God is saying. It is best to take nothing for granted. Remember Joshua and the Gibeonites! (from Buying the Truth) |
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Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (Joshua 1:3) |
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The above verse can be construed to mean we should go out and "do great things for God." But when we look at the next verse, and then think about how spies were sent out, about the placing of stones in certain positions, how the captain of the Lord's army appeared to Joshua, about the time of circumcision, about the ceasing of the manna, about the specific directions concerning Jericho, we begin to realize that it is not just a case of rushing out and trying to take land for God. |
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God has a specific plan for all we are to do. We are to walk as He directs, not according to our own wisdom and desires. |
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If one is looking for a verse to verify that we are to go out and do something for the Lord, Joshua 1:3 would be hard to equal. It takes its stand along with "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"; "go into all the world and make disciples of all nations"; "you shall say to this mountain, be cast into the sea, and it shall obey you." |
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These invitations to action are found in the holy Scriptures. All are of the Holy Spirit. All serve as a scriptural "support" for the individual who wishes to "do great things for God." |
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But there is another way! Instead of using such promises and commands we can go to the Lord to find out what He wants us to do; how He desires that we fulfill His Scriptures. |
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Are we to read the Scriptures and attempt to work for the Lord, or are we to look to the Lord and wait on Him for direction? Which is the best way to please and serve the Lord? |
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When we first are saved there is much we are to do that is practical and straightforward, such as reading our Bible, praying, attending the assembling of the saints, giving, and serving as we have opportunity. |
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When we receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit we are to covet earnestly the best gifts, seeking to excel to the building up of the Body of Christ. |
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Now God is calling us to a further step toward the rest of God. We are to learn how to work with the Lord instead of for Him. It requires faith to enter the rest of God—faith that God is in control and knows what He is doing. God is building His Church. God is reaching out and saving people from all walks of life. Our task as we enter the rest of God, into our inheritance in the Lord, is to be obedient to what God is telling us. |
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When we take our position on the cross, waiting on the Lord, refusing to jump off the roof of the temple, there are many voices that will challenge us to come down and do something. "Get busy and work for the Lord. The King's business requires haste." |
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Now we have a choice to make. Do we refer to verses such as Joshua 1:3 and set out to see how much land we are able to possess, or do we turn to the Lord and seek to find His will, even though many years of waiting may be required before we hear? |
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How do you feel about this? What decision will you make? (from Buying the Truth) |
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