"…perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

2 Corinthians 7:1

By Oswald Chambers

God’s perspective is that through His promises I will come to recognize His claim of ownership on me. For example, do I realize that my “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,” or am I condoning some habit in my body which clearly could not withstand the light of God on it? (1 Corinthians 6:19). God formed His Son in me through sanctification, setting me apart from sin and making me holy in His sight (see Galatians 4:19). But I must begin to transform my natural life into spiritual life by obedience to Him. God instructs us even in the smallest details of life. And when He brings you conviction of sin, do not “confer with flesh and blood,” but cleanse yourself from it at once (Galatians 1:16). Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.

I must cleanse myself from all filthiness in my flesh and my spirit until both are in harmony with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I mentally rebellious and defiant? Am I allowing the mind of Christ to be formed in me? (see Philippians 2:5). Christ never spoke of His right to Himself, but always maintained an inner vigilance to submit His spirit continually to His Father. I also have the responsibility to keep my spirit in agreement with His Spirit. And when I do, Jesus gradually lifts me up to the level where He lived— a level of perfect submission to His Father’s will— where I pay no attention to anything else​.
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The Cedars of Lebannon - Charles Spurgeon

​Psalm 104:16 "The cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted."
 Lebanon's cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which He had Himself prepared for its reception. Every true heir of heaven owns the great Husbandman as his planter. Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not dependent upon man for their watering; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and yet our heavenly Father supplieth them. Thus it is with the Christian who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord his God, and to Him alone. The dew of heaven is his portion, and the God of heaven is his fountain. Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power. They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind and tempest. They are God's trees, kept and preserved by Him, and by Him alone. It is precisely the same with the Christian. He is not a hot-house plant, sheltered from temptation; he stands in the most exposed position; he has no shelter, no protection, except this, that the broad wings of the eternal God always cover the cedars which He Himself has planted. Like cedars, believers are full of sap having vitality enough to be ever green, even amid winter's snows. Lastly, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar is to the praise of God only. The Lord, even the Lord alone hath been everything unto the cedars, and, therefore David very sweetly puts it in one of the psalms, "Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars." In the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is planted, nourished, and protected by the Lord's own hand, and to Him let all the glory be ascribed.

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Nehemiah 3:8: "And they fortified Jerusalem: unto the broad wall."
 
Cities well fortified have broad walls, and so had Jerusalem in her glory. The New Jerusalem must, in like manner, be surrounded and preserved by a broad wall of nonconformity to the world, and separation from its customs and spirit. The tendency of these days break down the holy barrier, and make the distinction between the church and the world merely nominal.

Professors are no longer strict and Puritanical, questionable literature is read on all hands, frivolous pastimes are currently indulged, and a general laxity threatens to deprive the Lord's peculiar people of those sacred singularities which separate them from sinners. It will be an ill day for the church and the world when the proposed amalgamation shall be complete, and the sons of God and the daughters of men shall be as one: then shall another deluge of wrath be ushered in.

Beloved reader, be it your aim in heart, in word, in dress, in action to maintain the broad wall, remembering that the friendship of this world is enmity against God. The broad wall afforded a pleasant place of resort for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from which they could command prospects of the surrounding country. This reminds us of the Lord's exceeding broad commandments, in which we walk at liberty in communion with Jesus, overlooking the scenes of earth, and looking out towards the glories of heaven.

Separated from the world, and denying ourselves all ungodliness and fleshly lusts, we are nevertheless not in prison, nor restricted within narrow bounds; nay, we walk at liberty, because we keep His precepts. Come, reader, this evening walk with God in His statutes. As friend met friend upon the city wall, so meet thou thy God in the way of holy prayer and meditation. The bulwarks of salvation thou hast a right to traverse, for thou art a freeman of the royal burgh, a citizen of the metropolis of the universe. 

-Charles Spurgeon
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The Salvation of a Child – A Family of One
This is the first piece of scripture I ever read to my son. He was five at the time. I read it to him the morning after he was saved, October 17, 2012. It is who God is and who we are in Him – a family of one. The Lord loves unity with and amongst His children. It has become my life verse; maybe it always was.
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” John 14:23
My son’s salvation was one of the most powerful experiences of God’s presence that I have ever had. I have heard some people describe God’s presence, His Holy Spirit, descending upon them like a heavy blanket. That’s exactly how it was with my son and me that evening in our hotel room.
I had never planned, or even really thought that much about, my son being saved so young. Truly, the only thing I had ever thought about in that regard was that I wanted him to walk with the Lord and my hope that someday in the future when he was older he would make a free will decision to be born again and live God’s plan for his life. Because salvation must be a free will choice to be real and because of his very young age I never thought to be involved in any way other than to pray for him.
I had arrived from out of state for a visit with my son. I missed him terribly – we were very close. We were temporarily separated from each other due to circumstances beyond our control. Wickedness had been perpetrated against us, but God was using all that was meant for evil for our good and His purposes (only some of that was known to us at the time.) That evening my son and I had been discussing some sensitive and serious things that were very difficult for both of us to deal with. (My son had been exposed to some very bad things during my time away from him.) What those things were really doesn’t matter anymore. After struggling through about an hour long conversation that was very hard and stressful for us both, we ended up sitting in two chairs by the small dining table in our hotel room face to face about a foot apart. That’s when it happened; or rather that’s when He came.
My son just started talking about how the Lord works in our heart. The words were not the natural words of a five year old child. While he didn’t use the term indwelling, that’s what he was describing – how the Lord’s Spirit comes into our heart and lives there in us and through us (if we have truly surrendered to Him and been born again). He was speaking profound biblical truth about the Holy Spirit and how He works that no person ever taught him. He had the most amazingly beautiful, peaceful and joyful smile on his face while he was describing it to me. His face was literally shining truth, a look I didn’t really know at the time. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, it felt like a heavy blanket of energy and presence was dropped on us. I felt the Holy Spirit quickly and powerfully move in on us. The air in the atmosphere of the small space we were sharing felt charged with energy. God gave me a strong impression that my son was to be saved right then and there. It caught me off guard but I felt compelled to follow it. However, because of his young age, I was very concerned about whether he would have sufficient understanding to know what that meant. So I asked him a bunch of questions to try to gauge his level of understanding so that I could be comfortable he would be making a knowing, free will decision. He answered every question I posed accurately with spiritual truth. It was almost like I was taking his deposition, but he had all the right answers. It was amazing! I then led him through an extra-long salvation prayer just to make sure he knew what he was saying and doing.

When we finished, we started talking a little about what it means to eternally be with the Lord. My son began to sob this deep, deep loud sob that I never heard anything like coming from him before. It sounded like it came from deep down within his chest. It did not sound like the cry of a child. It was so incredible, powerful and beautiful. I will never forget it. He was filled and overflowing with the presence of the Lord and it blew me away. It still does – I can’t think, talk or write about it without weeping.
My son has said many things since that day that did not come from the natural mind of a young child. His walk with the Lord is miraculous and continues to astonish me and increase my faith. We are together now, all the way, after much tribulation and much prayer. God has truly saved me and my household in every way possible – but that’s just Him doing what He does, keeping His promises. Acts 16:31

​"He who is accepted of God shall wear white garments of joy and gladness, while he walks in sweet communion with the Lord Jesus. Whence so many doubts, so much misery, and mourning? It is because so many believers defile their garments with sin and error, and hence they lose the joy of their salvation, and the comfortable fellowship of the Lord Jesus, they do not here below walk in white. The promise also refers to walking in white before the throne of God. Those who have not defiled their garments here shall most certainly walk in white up yonder, where the white-robed hosts sing perpetual hallelujahs to the Most High."

​Charles Spurgeon

"Heaven and Christ are the same thing; to be with Christ is to be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be with Christ. All thou needest to make thee blessed, supremely blessed, is to be with Christ."

Charles Spurgeon

​"He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it-hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end."

​Charles Spurgeon

November 17, 2012 - Revelation Culmination

Unfathomable, overwhelming, pure goodness is the Lord, such that a mere glimpse into Him ought to bring one instantly to tears of truth, love, joy and appreciation – the Divine peace of being without fear.
Reckless (from a worldly perspective) surrender to and focus on the Lord solely is our charge, always, in all circumstances. He wants our full attention, free from all distractions, so that we are completely open and available to Him to effectively work in and conform to the image of our Model, His only begotten Son and our Brother, Jesus Christ - “the firstborn among many brethren”.  Jesus was not intended to be a lofty, theoretical example but rather a practical and achievable one. 
As the departure of the world from us and the death of the flesh in us frees up space for Him in which to work, He comes in more and more and increases His occupation of us, His hosts, thereby enlarging us spiritually from the inside out. When we are big enough spiritually on the inside, we begin to overflow onto others around us. We must be full in order to spill over blessings onto others. You cannot impart to others what you do not yourself possess. If you are truly full of Him, you are without fear, for He is the ultimate protector, provider and guide – the perfect Father who always keeps His promises. It is only when you are free from the world’s lies and fear that you can actually live His truth, embody and represent His salvation and be who He always intended you to be - His beloved faithful child and constant companion in whom He is well-pleased, a mirror made in and reflecting His image. The plan is and always has been perfect oneness with our Holy Father, and complete surrender is the only way to get there. Draw near to Him, seek Him and love and trust Him with all your heart and finally find your rest. Relinquish self and worldly ways, patiently let Him perfect His work in you, and experience peace, joy and abundant life in Him forevermore.  “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” always and in all ways.

​"Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, 'On the day that I make them My special treasure, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.' Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." Malachi 3:16-18

​""He (Jesus) defines eternal life as "to know God." (John 17:3) "Know" suggests a very close intimacy, just as a husband and wife are intimate in marriage (Genesis 4:1). It indicates experiential knowledge, not theoretical. In Amos 5:4, God exclaims, "Seek Me and live!" He is saying, "Turn to Me and My way of life; seek to know Me," not "Search for Me," because He has already revealed Himself to us. He is saying, "Seek to know Me by living the same way I do." That is how experiential knowledge of Him becomes an intimate knowing of Him. He will walk with such people (Amos 3:3).
Psalm 9:10 adds, "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Those living by faith do not trust in what He is called, for that would be mere superstition. Their faith is in what He is, His character and nature, which they have experienced by seeking to live His way."

John W. Ritenbaugh, theberean.org

​"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Matthew 7:21

Walking in the Light - True Fellowship - Salvation is a Process

1 John 1:7: (7) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

We know what walk means. It implies how we conduct our lives. 1st John is a letter written to a church congregation, and he is instructing church members that fellowship hinges on walking in the light. This is how we are to have fellowship with one another.

The context of this instruction is quite interesting. Protestantism focuses heavily on the initial forgiveness of sin that takes place upon belief at the beginning of salvation. Thus, their evangelists have altar calls. People come down before the altar and confess their sins and accept Christ as their Savior. Once they do this, these people are considered "saved" and "born again." Their doctrine—that of eternal salvation—continues in this vein, that is, once that occurs, salvation is basically assured. So a great deal of emphasis is put on the initial repentance and forgiveness of sin.

However, notice this verse in its context. John writes, "If we walk in the light. . . ." An individual cannot walk in the light until he is called and converted. This walking occurs after conversion. He continues, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship. . . ." The fellowship depends on what we do after the initial repentance. Amos writes, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3). It cannot be done. We do not have fellowship with people that we do not agree with. Agreement is shown by the way that we conduct our lives—by the way that we behave under our belief system.

". . . and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness." This phrase, in context, is the game-breaker. The apostle is teaching that further cleansing, further forgiveness, [further sanctification and transformation] hinges on our [repentance and] obedience to God after we are converted, for "walking in the light" is synonymous to being obedient and living righteously [-"walking as He walked" and "being holy as He is holy."]

Clearly, salvation is a process! What we must understand here is that forgiveness, cleansing, and even fellowship is not a once-for-all act; but it is a process—even as growing in the grace and knowledge is a process, even as the writing of God's law on our heart is a process. Cleansing is a process. The quality of the fellowship depends upon all of these things. So, if we walk in the light, we have fellowship and His blood cleanses us.

— John W. Ritenbaugh, theberean.org

"Where no oxen are, the manger is empty;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox." Proverbs 14:4

Don't be afraid, timid, anxious, shy or lazy about working the field and harvest! Instead plow (preach) and thresh (teach) daily and diligently with the strength, steadfastness and endurance of an ox. If you do so in faith as commanded in God's Word and led by His Spirit you can be sure that He will provide the increase, people will be saved and come into fullness, the enemy will be overcome, and God will be glorified and well pleased. Never forget: We are all to be His ambassadors, royal priests and kings and preach and teach the word in season and out of season. 2 Corinthians 5:22; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:2. "For the time will come [is here] when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 2 Timothy 4:3-5

​There are many Christians currently being turned farther and farther away from God's truth by false and deceiving teaching, teachers, ministers, preachers/pastors and other "leaders". Some is due to ignorance and error and some to deliberate falsity, deception and manipulation. True followers of Jesus have a responsibility to help others - according to the biblical ways set forth in Scripture (mostly in Paul's epistles) - come out of error and deception into true walks in Christ, according to His Word and Spirit. Their very lives - now and eternally - are at stake. Answer the call!

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