​When the Spirit Shuts a Door – Streams in the Desert – September 24

When the Spirit Shuts a Door – Streams in the Desert – September 24
After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithyma: but the Spirit suffered them not (Acts 16:7).
What a strange prohibition! These men were going into Bithynia just to do Christ’s work, and the door is shut against them by Christ’s own Spirit.
I, too, have experienced this in certain moments. I have sometimes found myself interrupted in what seemed to me a career of usefulness. Opposition came and forced me to go back, or sickness came and compelled me to retire into a desert apart.
It was hard at such times to leave my work undone when I believed that work to be the service of the Spirit. But I came to remember that the Spirit has not only a service of work, but a service of waiting. I came to see that in the Kingdom of Christ there are not only times for action, but times in which to forbear acting. I came to learn that the desert place apart is often the most useful spot in the varied life of man–more rich in harvest than the seasons in which the corn and wine abounded. I have been taught to thank the blessed Spirit that many a darling Bithynia had to be left unvisited by me.
And so, Thou Divine Spirit, would I still be led by Thee. Still there come to me disappointed prospects of usefulness. Today the door seems to open into life and work for Thee; tomorrow it closes before me just as I am about to enter. Teach me to see another door in the very inaction of the hour. Help me to find in the very prohibition thus to serve Thee, a new opening into Thy service. Inspire me with the knowledge that a man may at times be called to do his duty by doing nothing, to work by keeping still, to serve by waiting. When I remember the power of the “still small voice,” I shall not murmur that sometimes the Spirit suffers me not to go.

–George Matheson
“When I cannot understand my Father’s leading,

And it seems to be but hard and cruel fate,

I Still I hear that gentle whisper ever

pleading,God is working, God is faithful, ONLY WAIT.”

Oswald Chambers

The “Go” of PreparationBy Oswald Chambers
If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. —Matthew 5:23-24 
It is easy for us to imagine that we will suddenly come to a point in our lives where we are fully prepared, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished. In fact, it is a process that must be steadily maintained. It is dangerous to become settled and complacent in our present level of experience. The Christian life requires preparation and more preparation.
The sense of sacrifice in the Christian life is readily appealing to a new Christian. From a human standpoint, the one thing that attracts us to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and a close examination of us by our Lord’s words suddenly puts this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “…go your way. First be reconciled to your brother….” The “go” of preparation is to allow the Word of God to examine you closely. Your sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit will detect in you is your nature that can never work in His service. And no one but God can detect that nature in you. Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it— confessit. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master, whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go. But behind that tiny thing lies the stronghold of obstinacy, and you say, “I will not give up my right to myself”— the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
   
share this devotional with a friend
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end.

Not Knowing Whithe

​Job 1:22

Job 1:22

22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Hold Everything Loosely Without realizing it, by worshiping God during his woes, Job is saying, “In your face, Lucifer! I never set my affections on these things in the first place. And when it came to the kids, I’ve understood from the day we had our first child until we had our last, they’re all God’s. He is the One who gave them, and He is the One who has the right to take them whenever He wants them back.”

That explains how Job could say in all sincerity, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” And why the biblical narrative adds, “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God” (Job 1:21–22). Since he never considered himself sole owner, Job had little struggle releasing the Lord’s property. When you understand that everything you have is on loan, you are better prepared to release it when the owner wants it back.

We enter the world with our tiny fists clenched, screaming, but we always leave the world with hands open on our silent chests. Naked in, naked out. And in the interlude, “Lord God, blessed be Your name for loaning me everything I’m able to enjoy.”

“Through all this Job did not sin.” Isn’t that wonderful? “Nor did he blame God.” Why blame God?

As one man has written, “God has given him a rehearsal for death. All things belong to God, absolutely, to be given as a gift, not a claim, to be taken back without wrong. There is no talk of human ‘rights.’ The Lord is the sovereign owner of all, and Job rejoices in this wonderful fact.”

With 20/20 perspective, Job lifted himself off the ground, looked around at all that had changed, then put his arm around his grieving wife, held her close, and whispered, “God gave, and for some unrevealed reason, He chose to take back. He owns it all, sweetheart.” This entire chapter could have been written in three words. I believe they represent the reason Job became a man of heroic endurance: hold everything loosely.

Are you doing that?

All that you have is on loan. Are you prepared to release it back to the Owner?

— Charles R. Swindoll

4 hr

God’s Full ArmourGLOBAL GRACE – September 2017

God’s Full Armour

GLOBAL GRACE – September 2017

Heaven Is Our Hope and Earth Israel’s Hope

24. Is “One Will Be Taken And One Will Be Left” the Rapture?

Matthew 24:37 and 40, “For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah. At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.”

Dispensational interpretation understands the difference between Israel and the church and also believe in the rapture. In most of the commentaries, we find that the verses above do not actually refer to the rapture. This was still Israel’s history. The church among all the nations had not yet begun. And if the church or Christians from any nation did not yet exist, then the end of the Christians could not be described here. Jesus spoke to Jewish believers and taught them about the Second Coming and the establishing of the Millennium kingdom.

I understand it this way too, but yet I would like to say that Jesus already knew that Israel would reject Him and that the body of Christ would come from among all nations. Most of the believers whom Jesus spoke to here would have become part of the body later. The body would consist of believers from Jews and Gentiles. Therefore, I believe that the words used in the verses are once again coloured with contents that actually fit into the rapture. The rapture becomes the hope of the body (which did not exist yet) and I believe Jesus began to teach how it will be in the rapture.

As in Noah’s time, the children of the Lord will be safeguarded before the judgments will begin. One will be taken away and another one will be left. I see this as a transition piece. The church did not exist yet, but the new truths for Christians have already begun.

Rapture

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Revelation 3:3 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

1But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be ready.

​Glad Tidings TabernacleTrue Strengthby David Wilkerson

Glad Tidings Tabernacle

True Strength

by David Wilkerson

As God’s people, we cannot go forward to fullness in Christ if we don’t increasingly separate ourselves from the spirit of this world. If we are not becoming more heavenly minded and less attached to worldly pleasures surrounding us, we will be drained of the joy of our salvation. The sad truth is, many believers are unable to enjoy their salvation because they neglect obeying God’s Word. Obedience to his Word is the place that blessing and joy begin!

Israel did not want to lose their great spirit of rejoicing so they assembled again to obey God on this matter: “Those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins” (Nehemiah 9:2).

Israel’s circumstances and trials didn’t change — God changed them. Nehemiah reminded a rejoicing Israel of how God had provided for their forefathers in the wilderness. The Lord had poured out manifold mercies on them. He had taught them by his Spirit and led them by the cloud and the pillar of fire. He had supernaturally provided them with manna and water. And, miraculously, he didn’t allow their clothes or shoes ever to wear out (see Nehemiah 9:19–21). Likewise today, God has promised to pour out these same mercies on his people. In the midst of our afflictions, we must quietly go to God’s Word and pray that the Holy Spirit will write it on our hearts. That is how we begin to enter into his rest and peace. How do we maintain the joy of the Lord? We do it the same way we obtained his joy in the beginning: We love, honor and hunger for his Word. And we continually walk in obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only the joy of the Lord supplies us with true strength!

2

​Otumala Peace AgbenyiBE IN TIME! BE IN TIME!

Otumala Peace Agbenyi

BE IN TIME! BE IN TIME!

Be in time! Be in time!

While the voice of Jesus calls you, Be in time!

If in sin you longer wait,

You may find no open gate, And your cry be just too late :Be in time!

Sinner, heed the warning voice,

Make the Lord your final choice,

Then all heaven will rejoice: Be in time!

Come from darkness into light; come let Jesus make you right

Come, and start for heaven today :Be in time!

Life at best is a brief, like the falling of a leaf.

Like the binding of a sheaf :Be in time!

Fleeting days are telling fast, That the die will soon be cast

And the fatal line be passed : Be in time!

Youth and beauty pass away,

Oh! You have not longer to stay :Be in time!

Time is swiftly passing by, Death and judgement draw nigh :Be in time!

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Oswald Chambers

The most beloved devotional of all time.By Oswald ChambersLEARN MORE
September 23 
The Missionary’s GoalBy Oswald Chambers
He…said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…” —Luke 18:31
   
In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are exactly the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him— “…till we all come…to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:13), not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary isuseful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In our Lord’s life, Jerusalem was the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will upon the cross, and unless we go there with Jesus we will have no friendship or fellowship with Him. Nothing ever diverted our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned our Lord even the slightest degree away from His purpose to go “up to Jerusalem.”
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10:24). In other words, the same things that happened to our Lord will happen to us on our way to our “Jerusalem.” There will be works of God exhibited through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude while the rest will show total ingratitude, but nothing must divert us from going “up to [our] Jerusalem.”
“…there they crucified Him…” (Luke 23:33). That is what happened when our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that event is the doorway to our salvation. The saints, however, do not end in crucifixion; by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword should be summed up by each of us saying, “I too go ‘up to Jerusalem.’ ”
   
share this devotional with a friend
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The Bible does not thrill; the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically. Disciples Indeed, 387 R

​Answers From the Book

Answers From the Book

QUESTION: Please, can you Explain Matthew 7:21?

ANSWER: In this portion of the Word, the Lord had warned in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” Today, even as then, there are those among us who profess to be Christians, some even become Christian leaders, yet they are FALSE. What is on the outside of them, is the opposite of what is on the inside. The Lord warned the hypocritical Pharisees of this in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” This is a perfect description of false prophets. They look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside there is only death. After all, a sepulcher (grave) is just for that…the storage of dead men’s bones.

Now let’s read Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” This is a description of those false prophets, false teachers, false professors, etc. when they stand before the Lord. These people may have been revered by others while living on the earth. Perhaps they did a lot of nice things for others. Perhaps they even taught others from the scriptures. However, the outside of them is just the opposite of what is on the inside. We are taught a very valuable lesson in 1 Samuel 16:7, “…the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but THE LORD LOOKETH ON THE HEART.” We have that same truth brought out in 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” The Apostle Peter said to the Lord Jesus in John 21:27, “Lord, thou knowest all things.” Indeed He does!

Although these false professors will point to all the good works they had done in their lives. They prophesied in the Lord’s name. They cast out demons. In the Lord’s name they did mighty works. YET, they did not know the Lord, and He did not know them (in the sense of having a relationship with them). They were STRANGERS to His grace! Notice, too, the specific works of the Lord to these men, “I NEVER KNEW YOU.” These men had NEVER had a relationship with the Lord. They NEVER had expressed “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21) They NEVER knew the intimacy, comfort, and assurance of a relationship with the Lord. STRANGERS!

The harsh sentence of the Lord to them was, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” GET AWAY FROM ME! Notice that they were not rejected because they were simply false professors. They were workers of iniquity, or sin! This is true of EVERY SINGLE PERSON that does not know Christ as their savior. All, who are without faith in Christ are workers of iniquity. What about you, dear reader? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, or do you fill your days trying to ACT like a believer? Remember…the LORD KNOWS YOUR HEART.

In Matthew 11:28, the Lord Jesus says to all, “COME unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The blessed word to all today is COME. The Lord is calling all to COME to Him for rest, eternal rest. PLEASE do not wait until it is too late to COME to the Lord. If you do, you will hear those awful words from the savior’s lips, “DEPART FROM ME.”