ON NOT MAKING PROGRESS SPIRITUALLY

ON NOT MAKING PROGRESS SPIRITUALLY

A NOTE ON HEBREWS 12

John H. Paterson


THE work of God in the lives of His people is designed to make them "partakers of His holiness". He undertakes their training in His school with the intention that, however difficult in practice the course may be, it will yield "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" in the lives of those who undergo it. This evidently represents His norm -- no short-cuts and no exceptions. At least, He did not make an exception of Abraham, or Joseph, or Moses, or any of the other great men whose names are listed in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Their training lasted for decades and led them into painful situations and difficult places. But their lives, as a result, were incomparably fruitful.

So God makes it clear to His people that His methods of training, although often painful, are ultimately productive. But just because the way is difficult, and He does not conceal this fact, there are times when we wonder whether, frankly, it is all worthwhile. In particular, there are two mistakes we may make, and it is to warn against these that the twelfth chapter of Hebrews is written. Confronted by the purpose of God to make us holy like Himself we may either despise or refuse. Both are disastrous. The example of Esau illustrates the peril of taking the first way out. The example of Israel in the wilderness illustrates the second.

THE MISTAKE OF DESPISING

"My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him" (verse 5). But we must understand what in fact this danger is, if we are to avoid it. And the mention of Esau (vv.16-17) will help us. He made the mistake of despising (Genesis 25:34), and it was a mistake for which there was, ultimately, no amendment, even though Esau sought a solution tearfully and desperately.

Esau was the elder son of Isaac, and Isaac was the son of promise. God had committed Himself to Esau's grandfather in a quite unprecedented way and, what is more, He had committed Himself to Abraham's family: "... in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:18). All the tremendous promises of God passed down from Abraham to Isaac and would, in the ordinary course of events, pass from him to his eldest son. This was Esau's birthright. This was what he sold to Jacob. And this was the measure of his 'despising'.

A. W. Pink - The Wind Blows Where it Wishes (Christian devotional)

Some Principles of the House of God

By T. Austin-Sparks


Reading: Psalm 132


"Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite" 2 Chron 3:1


There is much related Scripture which we ought to read, but must only refer to as we proceed, because of our limited space.


It needs no arguing amongst us, I think, that the centre of God's presence among men, namely, the house of God, is a matter of first importance. I have said the centre of God's presence, for the house of God embraces and relates to every thing else which is of concern or interest to the Lord. The house of Lord is within a wider range of God's interests and concerns. Ultimately, there will be wide ranges to which it ministers, to which God manifests Himself through it. It is the centre of His presence.


From a consideration of its great type here in the Old Testament, the temple, we are able to learn something of the principles which constitute the foundation and basis of that central dwelling place of God. 

The Triumph of Faith and Obedience


The passage which we have just read is a key to so much, both historically and spiritually. I begin by pointing out again that the first principle of the house of God, the dwelling place of the Lord, is the triumph of faith and obedience when all else has been brought down to the dust. All Abraham's hopes and expectations, and the promises of God and the covenant of God with him, centred in Isaac. Beyond and apart from Isaac, Abraham had nothing. And then God said, "Take now thy son ... Isaac...and offer him...for a burnt offering" (Gen 22:2). In the words from Job: "Lay thou thy treasure in the dust" (Job 22:24) And the writer to the Hebrews makes a point of that - that he in whom all the covenant and promises were centred was being offered up by Abraham (Heb 11:17,18). Looked at from one side only, Abraham was severing the very arteries of life, parting with everything of hope, prospect, possibility; all was, from that stand point, brought to ashes. But for the intervention of God, Isaac would very soon have been reduced to ashes. In effect he was. So far as Abraham's heart attitude and obedience were concerned, Isaac was already in ashes. The wood was there for kindling, the altar and the knife were ready. But faith triumphed through obedience, and that very mount Moriah subsequently became the site of the temple, the house of God. The house of God is built on that sort of thing.


This foreshadows Calvary. From purely earthly standpoints Calvary was the end of all hope. It was a laying of treasure in the dust; it was ashes; it was an end. We know how it was for those around that Cross: it seemed the end of everything. But on the part of the one central figure of that great universal drama it was faith's obedience unto death, yea, the death of the Cross; and the house of God was and is built upon that. It is a principle. It is the great reality, the great doctrine of Christ. But it is of practical application, namely, that the house of God can only be grounded and founded and built as that sort of thing goes on. 

The Laying Down of Life


A related principle is the continuous laying down of its own soul by the Church, letting go of its own life in obedience and in faith, when all is dark, when all seems hopeless beyond. Some course of obedience is required, calling for us to do that which seems to be without prospect or hope, and which involves, therefore, the laying down of our lives, of our souls. It is the way of building. It has ever been like that.


When young men and women have given up all the prospects of this world and laid their treasures in the dust and gone forth at the command of the Lord, they have laid everything in ashes so far as this world's hopes and prospects are concerned. The Church has been built in that way. Even when it is not like that in great acts of life's vocation, it is a daily thing, a letting go of our own interests in obedience to the Lord, in faith in the Lord. It is thus the building goes on. I could work that down to very fine points and show how often the house of God is delayed and arrested in its progress by the withholding of something on which the Lord has laid his finger and said 'I want that'.


However there is the general principle, the triumph of faith through obedience when all is in the dust. Abraham believed God, and that great triumph provided God with the site for His temple, the great example and type of that spiritual house which is central to the fulfillment of all His purposes. God dwells in that sort of thing. But that central thing has to go through the depths. That which is the very heart of God's presence, to which He commits Himself, has to know stripping more than others. This involves a deep work where faith is brought to perfection through very deep testing.

Fellowship With God in His Sacrificial Love

Alongside of that (very deep testing) there is that factor of perfect fellowship with God in His sacrificial love. We have often made that point when speaking of Abraham's great step into the heart of the One who withheld not His Son, His Well-beloved, but freely gave Him up for us all. It was indeed a movement right into fellowship with the sacrificial nature, the giving unto cost, of the love of God. That is the only way in which the house of God is established. There has to be a giving unto cost because of love. It is quite evident that Abraham loved God more than he loved Isaac, dear and important though Isaac was. Abraham saw that to obey was of greater importance than even to keep this tremendous treasure; and that is love. That is what the Bible calls the fear of the Lord - that element of fear in love.

Psalm 132

132 Lord, remember David, and all his afflictions:

2 How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;

3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;

4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,

5 Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

6 Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.

7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.

8 Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.

10 For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.

11 The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.

12 If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.

13 For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

17 There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

18 His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

Ready to Move

By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman


"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor.5:1).

The owner of the tenement which I have occupied for many years has given notice that he will furnish but little or nothing more for repairs. I am advised to be ready to move.

At first this was not a very welcome notice. The surroundings here are in many respects very pleasant, and were it not for the evidence of decay, I should consider the house good enough. But even a light wind causes it to tremble and totter, and all the braces are not sufficient to make it secure. So I am getting ready to move.

It is strange how quickly one's interest is transferred to the prospective home. I have been consulting maps of the new country and reading descriptions of its inhabitants. One who visited it has returned, and from him I learn that it is beautiful beyond description; language breaks down in attempting to tell of what he heard while there. He says that, in order to make an investment there, he has suffered the loss of all things that he owned here, and even rejoices in what others would call making a sacrifice. Another, whose love to me has been proven by the greatest possible test, is now there. He has sent me several clusters of the most delicious fruits. After tasting them, all food here seems insipid.Two or three times I have been down by the border of the river that forms the boundary, and have wished myself among the company of those who were singing praises to the King on the other side. Many of my friends have moved there. Before leaving they spoke of my coming later. I have seen the smile upon their faces as they passed out of sight. Often I am asked to make some new investments here, but my answer in every case is, "I am getting ready to move." --Selected

The words often on Jesus' lips in His last days express vividly the idea, "going to the Father." We, too, who are Christ's people, have vision of something beyond the difficulties and disappointments of this life. We are journeying towards fulfillment, completion, expansion of life. We, too, are "going to the Father." Much is dim concerning our home-country, but two things are clear. It is home, "the Father's House." It is the nearer presence of the Lord. We are all wayfarers, but the believer knows it and accepts it. He is a traveller, not a settler. --R. C. Gillie

The little birds trust God, for they go singing
From northern woods where autumn winds have blown,
With joyous faith their trackless pathway winging
To summer-lands of song, afar, unknown.

Let us go singing, then, and not go sighing:
Since we are sure our times are in His hand,
Why should we weep, and fear, and call it dying?
'Tis only flitting to a Summer-land.
--Selected

"(He is Lord of all)" (Acts 10:36)

INSPIRED PARENTHESES (9)
"(He is Lord of all)" (Acts 10:36)

THIS particular parenthesis may not seem to warrant more than casual notice. In the setting of a Spirit-empowered proclamation of the great gospel truths of life, death and resurrection, it may almost appear that this is just a passing reference to Christ, as though Peter felt it right to add this little comment that of course Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

It was not in this spirit, though, that the apostle uttered the words. Right as it may have been for the transcriber to enclose them in brackets, they in fact present the very heart and core of Peter's ministry. To him the Lordship of Christ was much more than an essential matter of doctrine; it was a burning reality, brought right up-to-date in his own personal experience. "He is Lord of all."

Peter should know. Not long before, he had thrice voiced the biggest contradiction of all time. Our version renders it: "Not so, Lord", but this is much milder than Peter's refusal. "Never, Lord" was what he said, "By no means", "Surely not"! Sincerely believing in the theory of Christ's Lordship, he dared to take issue with Him, trying to assert that in this matter of sacred and profane he knew better than his Master. To him this distinction of the clean or common was a matter of natural instinct, of conscientious conviction and of scriptural regulation. "Never," he insisted, "no, not ever, will I accept this sweeping away of age-long barriers."

BUT he did! He went into the Gentile house. He took six witnesses to support him, but all the same he went. He went with his mind seething with problems about what was lawful, but he went. And God was with him. God gave him grace to set aside Jewish prejudices which still lingered even in a leading Christian, in favour of the over-riding fact that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

"Is Jesus Lord of the Gentiles, Peter? All right then, go and preach to them. Is He Lord of the Jerusalem judaizers? If so, then defy them and leave your case in His hands. Is He Lord of your life, Peter? Really your Lord, not only when it is agreeable and convenient, but when you are given an assignment which you dislike and fear? If He is Lord indeed, then you must go 'without gainsaying'."

Peter was making history, though he did not realise it. He was about to witness one of the greatest marvels of all time -- the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on the nations. Everything, however, seemed to hang on his willingness to stop arguing and yield to the sovereign government of Christ. He did so yield, and this very fact gave an awesome power to the words which he spoke in that Roman household. The terms of his message were simple, but the effect of it was a sensational break-through for God.

OF course Peter was challenged and criticised. His choice of no less than six companions revealed how keenly he anticipated such a reaction. His greatest vindication, however, was not by men but by the Holy Spirit of God, who made it perfectly clear that this was no mere sermonising by man but a divine utterance. He is Lord of all! When this is first experienced in life and then proclaimed in words, the ground is clear for heaven to give its own attestation to the glorious fact.

Peter was on sure ground when he challenged his accusers with the question: "Who was I, that I could withstand God?" Who indeed? It may be a painful experience but it is a most privileged one to have to yield to the sovereign command of the One who is Lord of all, and then to be used by Him to bring life and blessing to others. As believers we may argue. We may find God's ways difficult to understand, and pass through inward suffering as our own set ideas have to be abandoned. We may well have to meet criticism even from our fellow believers. Provided, however, that we capitulate to Christ as Lord of all we can leave the responsibility with Him and go forward to prove the power of the Spirit's working. We need to learn Peter's secret which was to obey "without gainsaying" (10:29).

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Psalm 129 PLOUGHING UP

Psalm 129

ON THE WAY UP (10)
Psalm 129    PLOUGHING UP

NOT every one loves Zion. There are those who hate her, and this song focuses its attention on them.

IT is expressed in terms of prayer that these enemies of God's people may be frustrated in every way. True, they will never suffer from a plough because they will be like rootless grass on the housetops, and as such will never come to any sort of harvest joys.

THIS is not the kind of prayer that we would care to pray, but it clearly depicts the inevitable destiny of those who oppose God's will. They are described as ploughers, but they will never be mowers or reapers, in spite of their persistent activities. Twice over the psalmist uses the phrase "Many a time" and he indicates that they begin in our time of youth and then go right on in unrelenting persecution.

POOR things! Can there be anything more futile than to go on ploughing and never reap any sort of harvest except shame and contempt? Yet that is what will happen in their case if the psalmist's prayer is answered. His prayer is a kind of prophecy -- they will finish unpraised and unblest. How pitiful are their efforts!

BUT there is another side to this picture, implied if not actually stated. The ploughmen who are making such deep furrows on the backs of God's pilgrims are the instruments in His hands to prepare for a rich harvest of blessing in the lives of their afflicted victims.

ALL through the year Israel can say that in spite of the long and bitter furrows of affliction, they have never been overcome. Indeed it is because of the painful ploughing that they have the happy prospect of an abundant harvest of righteousness.

THEY will be given the pleasure which comes to the mower who fills his hands with the gathered blessings and the reaper who joyfully binds the sheaves of fulfilment to his bosom. Those who pass by will bless them, and will give God blessing for them. In His sovereignty, the full harvest will have been made possible by the frequent and prolonged enmity of the ploughers.

SO this psalm, which began by promising to be a complaining dirge of descents and depression, turns out to have a worthy place among the Songs of Ascent. It reminds us that the more Satan afflicts God's people, the more fruitful they become. This was the case in Egypt under Pharaoh (Exodus 1:12); it is sung about in the days of the kingdom in our psalm; it is recorded in the experience of the early church (Acts 12:24); and it is as true as ever today.

Patience, my suffering brothers and sisters! We are on our way up! Let us join in the song of victory. The ploughing may be painful now, but however long and deep the furrows on our backs, we can lift our heads in praising triumph. They will not prevail against us. The ploughmen may be operating "many a time", but God's grace is such that this will only increase the joys and fruitfulness of the harvest that is to be. In that day all who pass by will observe the manifest blessing of God. They will bless us in the name of the Lord.

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