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Be fervent in spirit

Rich Exhortation from T. Austin-Spark

The Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” (John 5:16-17 NLT)

A true knowledge of the Lord Jesus will reverse a good many of our ideas, and a good many of our procedures. A true knowledge of Christ and union with Christ, with all that that means, will make us go to work in entirely the opposite way from that in which we have been accustomed to go. We shall come to be governed by this one consideration, that it is not what we would do for the Lord, but what the Lord would do through us, that is alone to rule. It is a very testing way. You can hardly believe, unless you have been the same way, how often and intensely and bitterly the enemy fights and tempts you to come down on to a lower position, and to take up things again for God and launch big schemes, enter upon big undertakings, set up some thing on the earth that can be seen, because all those who are governed by that standard of things seen have said: “You see, you are doing nothing! Show us what you are doing! You cannot show us anything for it all!” Satan does work on that line. To the flesh that is not easy. To go on with God and have nothing to show for it, never to be able to have the work written up in the papers, to publish no reports, nor statistics, and yet to know in your heart of hearts that, although it is hidden, something is going on, and that you cannot do otherwise than you are doing, is far from being a path of ease to the flesh.

It is a testing way, but, blessed be God, if we do endure the testing and go on patiently with Him, in His time, when that flesh has been finally laid low; when the voice of natural ambition is no longer sounding and having influence, and we are now utterly at the place where if things are not going to be of the Lord then there is not going to be anything at all, the Lord has a free way, and He is able to indicate that all the time something has been going on. He shows how He has been at work, and how that in time there will be manifested a work of God, a work that shall have such a large percentage of spiritual value and meaning in it that you are very glad, after all, that you walked with God and not with men in the work of God.

Maranatha!

Soul Trade

It’s over 2,000 years since God came to the earth bodily to make His important purchase of the “souls” of men. The soul of man is the most important thing in the earth though it is darken, wrinkled and totally depraved —its preciousness cannot be valued by mortals. But, the fact that God was willing to pay the price with His own blood should speak volumes to all of mankind.

Since the time the blood of Christ dropped on the earth at the cross of Calvary, every soul coming into this evil world has been paid for. So, why are the souls of men still in the market place for purchase? Is your soul still in the market for sale? How much are you willing to sell it for? Who will you sell it to? The soul can be lost, it can be stolen—every soul that comes into this world can accept the price already paid for it or chose to illegally sell it for a lesser price. The reason any one will sell their soul for a lesser price is the blindfold of the devil which he achieves by appealing to the selfishness in the soul. The soul love to abuse the beautiful gift and privilege of choice from God. It will rather satisfy itself than submit to its maker but any soul that reject the price of Christ blood and illegally sell God’s rightful property will face the penalty of being put away in the prison of hell and eventually to the lake of fire for all eternity Ps 24:1, Titus 2:11, Luke 9:25.

Once Jesus had paid the price for the foundation of the church by spilling His blood, He went down to hell to preach and save all who entered this world before He came—to those who would believe in His atonement because, no soul had been saved before His sacrifice not even those who kept a great deal of God’s law Eph 4:9, 1 Pet 3:19, 4:6.

This mission of preaching the gospel to the souls who are still in the market place will remain the most important assignment God has for those who receive Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord. This commission produces the greatest miracle of regeneration ever known to man. It’s far superior to the miracle of the Sun standing still, the red sea parting, the poor becoming rich and the dead coming back to life.

The wise counsel I was given many years back is this, “Don’t plan to execute the commission, just know His presence daily and follow His word as it resonates in your heart and do as His voice says. You don’t need a table and a secretary–just use you together with others who have His commission at the place you find yourself”. If you do this, you’re fulfilling destiny not that you’ll fulfill destiny because, to fulfill destiny, is to know Christ and walk with Him”.

“To fulfill destiny is to know Christ and walk with Him” Selah.

Maranatha!