Gideon's Army GOD'S Illustration Of HIS Qualities

The story of Gideon is an illustration of how God seeks his qualities within us and is not concerned with us just as numbers or statistics.

Gideon was about to face the enemy and he had an army of 32,000 soldiers. But the Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many-let all who are afraid go back."

So Gideon gave the word to the troops, and 22,000 of those men turned back.

Then the Lord said to Gideon again, "There are still too many. I can see those among you who are not prepared for what we are going to do. You will never be able to make Israelite soldiers of them."
 
I presume that there are few preachers among us on the top side of this terrestrial ball who would have turned down those 22,000, but God was putting the emphasis on quality, on those who would cooperate in the performance of the will of God. 

Then Gideon took the 10,000 men to the river and tested them as God had directed and when this sifting was all done, Gideon had an army of 300 men.

God seeks out those who are willing that their lives should be fashioned according to His own grace and love.

He sifts out those who cannot see God's purpose and design for our blessing.

~A. W. Tozer~

GOD'S Hiding Of Himself

                                                                          

Now right in that setting come these words which we hardly need to dwell upon. Firstly, "He hideth himself."

I doubt whether there is one of us who does not know something of the poignancy that lies in that statement. "He hideth himself." 

That is one of our greatest occasions of suffering, the fact that the Lord hides Himself.

Our cry all the time is that He will show Himself, come out into the open, let us see Him and see what He is doing. But "He hideth himself."

He was enshrouded in the mystery of His ways with His beloved servant.

In all the values of this book, this is not one of the smallest, that God could say of a man that he is perfect and upright and there is none like him in all the earth, and then could hide Himself from that man. You see the point.

Oh, the misrepresentation of God and of Job which this book brings out! This is one of the things which God set Himself to destroy out of hand.

This misrepresentation came through Job's friends. They were pious men, in their way godly men, who said some very lovely things - and yet they were used by the Devil as instruments against this choice servant of God.

A problem arises here, which we make no attempt now to answer. Were the things spoken by these men Divinely inspired utterances?

Can we take them as Scripture? "Lay thou thy treasure in the dust... and the Almighty will be thy treasure" (Job 22:24-25) - is that an inspired utterance, can we take our stand on that? 

That is something to be fulfilled as the Word of God, and yet that - and many other equally lovely things - were uttered by men of whom God said in the end "Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right" (42:7).) 

Here is a man of whom God can say that he is perfect and upright.

NATURALLY  He can never say that about you and me, or about any one of us - though thank God He can say it of us IN CHRIST. 

Yet He could say it of Job naturally as to outward life. He could say finally of Job that he had said the thing which was right. "Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath."

God could speak so at the beginning and at the end about this man, and draw Satan's attention to him as the most perfect man on the earth, and then hide Himself from him in the time of his anguish.

I say the precious thing about that is that God's hiding does not always mean that God is against you; it does not mean what these men interpreted it to mean, that God had a controversy with Job and that there must be some deep, awful, secret sin in his life which he was hiding or to which he was blind but which the eyes of God could see. 

That is all false, says God: this man is perfect and upright; and yet under the accusation of pious men, under the assaults of the devil to this man's anguish, God hid Himself.

Have you had one boil? You know the misery and the pain. Job was a man covered from head to foot with these things. That was only one phase of his suffering. 

Children gone, flocks and herds gone, camels gone, his home gone, his friends gone, and his wife turned against him saying, "Renounce God, and die." Job was left like that.

And God, affirming this man's perfection and integrity, still hides Himself. "He hideth himself."

What is our case compared with Job's? The Lord deals with us in the same way; He hides Himself.

He must have an object which far outweighs all the dangers of the possibility of His being misunderstood and misinterpreted.

His servant was given plenty of occasion to say, God is unfaithful, unloving, unrighteous; He has turned against me; and so on.

But God ran the risk of it because He saw something of value which far outweighed all that. He knew that in the long run He would be justified and not condemned. "He hideth himself."

Do not think, my beloved, tried, pressed brother or sister, that the fact that Satan assails and things are so difficult and hard means of necessity that you are under judgment.

Even if you are standing on the ground in Christ of righteousness from God, and are not persisting in a known course of wrong over which the Lord has a controversy with you. 

Even if you are able to say, I stand not on any ground of my own, but on the ground of His righteousness through faith, and I repudiate all known, habitual sin.

Even then it does not mean that God is necessarily coming out to you to show Himself always very wonderful. He may hide Himself, and those who mean well may interpret that fact the other way. 

It is one of the most difficult things to bear when calamity falls; people will come along and say, The Lord must have some cause for judging you, you must lie under some condemnation for Him to allow that. "He hideth himself." 

~T. Austin Sparks~

You Can Trust The Man Who Died For You

Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness

One night I went to hear a sermon on consecration. Nothing
special came to me from the message, but as the preacher knelt to pray, he said, “O Lord,You know we can trust the Man who
died for us.” That was my message.

As I rose from my knees and walked down the street to catch the train,I deeply pondered all that consecration would mean to my life.

I was afraid as I considered the personal cost, and suddenly, above the noise of the street traffic, came this message:“You can trust the Man who died for you.”I boarded the train, and as I traveled toward home, I thought of the changes, sacrifices, and disappointments that consecration might mean in my life—and I was still afraid.
 
Upon arriving home, I went straight to my room, fell on my knees, and saw my life pass before my eyes. I was a Christian, an officer in the church, and a Sunday school superintendent, but I had never yielded my life to God with a definite act of my will.

Yet as I thought of my own “precious” plans that might be thwarted,my beloved hopes to be surrendered, and my chosen profession that I might have to abandon—I was afraid.
 
I completely failed to see the better things God had for me, so my soul was running from Him.

And then for the last time, with a swift force of convicting power to my inmost heart,came that searching message: “My child, you can trust the Man who died for you. If you cannot trust Him, then whom can you trust?”

Finally that settled it for me, for in a flash of light I realized that the Man who loved me enough to die for me could be absolutely
trusted with the total concerns of the life He had saved.
 
Dear friend, you can trust the Man who died for you.You can trust Him to thwart each plan that should be stopped and  to complete each one that results in His greatest glory and your highest good.

You can trust Him to lead you down the path that is the very best in this world for you.

~J. H. M.~
 
Just as I am,Thy love unknown, Has broken every barrier down,
Now to be Thine, yea,Thine ALONE, O Lamb of God, I come

Under Attack

                                                                             

                                                                        

When you are under attack from the enemy's spirit of discouragement, you will not feel like praying. But you still must go to the secret place and be in Jesus' presence. Do not worry about trying to pray your way out of despair. This is the time for God's Spirit to go to work in you to lift you out of the pit.

When you go to the Lord, be honest with Him about how weak and helpless you feel. Let Him know, "Jesus, I'm dry. I have no strength left. If I'm ever going to get out of this depression, You are going to have to make it happen."

In such low times, the Lord is very patient with us. He does not expect us to exert some intense, fervent effort in prayer. He knows our condition, and He sympathizes with us. Just sit in His presence and trust His Spirit to do in you what He was sent to do. It doesn't matter how cast down you are, He will never forsake you!

We have the notion that every time we fail the Lord, the Holy Spirit flits away like a bird because He is grieved. But how could God's Spirit abandon me when I need Him most? If He leaves me whenever I fail and fall deep into discouragement, how can He be my Comforter?

Jesus promised us, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever . . . I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:16, 18).

When the devil's heavy spirit of discouragement settles over your life, you may be so distraught you cannot even whisper a prayer. But even so, you can talk to Jesus in your spirit.

Just tell Him softly, "Lord, help me. This attack is too much for me. I can't do anything but sit here in faith. I am trusting your Spirit to drive it out of me.”

~David Wilkerson~

"It Is Through Dying We Live On"

2Co 6:9-10  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.  

Last summer I had a flower bed of asters that nearly covered my
garden in the country.They were planted late in the season, but how beautiful they were! While the outer portion of the plants were still producing fresh flowers, the tops had gone to seed,
and when an early frost came, I found that the radiant beauty of the blossoms had withered.

All I could say at this point was,“Oh well, I guess the season has been too much for them, and they have died.” So I wished them a fond farewell.
 
After this I no longer enjoyed looking at the flower bed, for it seemed to be only a graveyard of flowers. Yet several weeks ago one of the gardeners called my attention to the fact that across the entire garden, asters were now sprouting up in great abundance.

It appeared that every plant I thought the winter had destroyed had replanted fifty to take its place.

What had the frost and the fierce winter wind done?
 
They had taken my flowers and destroyed them, casting them to the ground.They had walked across them with their snowy feet and, once finished with their work, said, “This is the end of you.” And yet in the spring, for every one destroyed, fifty witnesses arose and said..."It is through dying we live on."

As it is in the plant world, so it is in God’s kingdom.Through
death came everlasting life.Through crucifixion and the tomb came the throne and the palace of the eternal God.Through apparent defeat came victory.
 
So do not be afraid of suffering or defeat. It is through being struck down,but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4:9) and through being broken to pieces, and those pieces being torn to shreds, that we become people of strength.

And it is the endurance of one believer that produces a multitude.
 
Others may yield to the appearance of things and follow the world. 

They may blossom quickly and find momentary prosperity, but their end will be one of eternal death.

~Henry Ward Beecher~
 
Measure your life by loss and not by gain,
Not by the wine drunk but by the wine poured forth.
For love’s strength is found in love’s sacrifice, 
And he who suffers most has most to give.

What Good Has Worrying Ever Accomplished?

Do not be anxious about anything. Phil.4:6

Quite a few Christians live in a terrible state of anxiety, constantly fretting over the concerns of life.

The secret of living in perfect peace amid the hectic pace of daily life is one well worth knowing.

 

What good has worrying ever accomplished?

 

It has never made anyone stronger, helped anyone do God’s will, or provided for anyone a way of escape out of their anxiety or confusion.

Worry only destroys the effectiveness of lives that would otherwise be useful and beautiful.

 

Being restless and having worries and cares are absolutely forbidden by our Lord, who said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or What shall we drink? or ‘What shall we wear?’” Matt. 6:31.

 

He does not mean that we are not to think ahead or that our life should never have a plan or pattern to it. He simply means that we are not to worry about these things.

 

People will know that you live in a constant state of anxiety by the lines on your face, the tone of your voice, your negative attitude, and the lack of joy in your spirit.

 

So scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, and your perspective will change to the point that you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet.

 

~Darlow Sargeant~

 

It is a sign of weakness to always worry and fret, question everything, and mistrust everyone.

 

Can anything be gained by it?

 

Don’t we only make ourselves unfit for action, and separate our minds from the ability to make wise decisions?

 

We simply sink in our struggles when we could float by faith.

 

Oh, for the grace to be silent! Oh, to “be still, and know that [Jehovah is] God” (Ps. 46:10)!

 

The Holy One of Israel (Ps. 89:18) will defend and deliver His own.

 

We can be sure that His every word will stand forever, even though the mountains may fall into the sea. He deserves our total confidence.

 

So come, my soul, return to your place of peace, and rest within the sweet embrace of the Lord Jesus.

 

~Selected~

 

Peace your inmost soul will fill When you’re still!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Our Darkest Hour He Will Deliver

Act 12:7  And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.  

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. . . .Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.
Acts 16:25–26
 
This is the way God works. 

In our darkest hour, He walks to us across the waves, just as an angel came to Peter’s cell when the day of Peter’s execution dawned.

And when the scaffold was completed for Mordecai’s execution, the king’s sleeplessness ultimately led to his action favoring God’s favored race. (See Esther 6.)
 
Dear soul,you may have to experience the very worst before you are delivered, but you will be delivered! 

God may keep you waiting, but He will always remember His promise and will appear in time to fulfill His sacred Word that cannot be broken.
 
~F. B. Meyer~
 
God has a simplicity about Him in working out His plans, and yet He possesses a resourcefulness equal to any difficulty.

His faithfulness to His trusting children is unwavering, and He is steadfast in holding to His purpose.

In Joseph’s life,we see God work through a fellow prisoner, later through a dream, and finally through lifting Joseph from a prison to the position of governor.
 
And the length of Joseph’s prison stay gave him the strength and steadiness he needed as governor.
 
It is always safe to trust God’s methods and to live by His clock.

~Samuel Dickey Gordon~
 
God in His providence has a thousand keys to open a thousand different doors in order to deliver His own, no matter how desperate the situation may have become. 

May we be faithful to do our part, which is simply to suffer for Him, and to place Christ’s part on Him and then leave it there.

~George MacDonald~

Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding a miracle, or a miracle in its initial stage.

Yet if it is to be a great miracle, the surrounding condition will be not simply a difficulty but an utter impossibility.

And it is the clinging hand of His child that makes a desperate situation a delight to God.

Mind the Checks

After the earthquake came a fire. . . .And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:12)

A woman who had made rapid progress in her understanding of the Lord was once asked the secret of her seemingly easy growth. Her brief response was, “Mind the checks.”
 
The reason many of us do not know and understand God better
is that we do not heed His gentle “checks”—His delicate
restraints and constraints. His voice is “a gentle whisper.”

A whisper can hardly be heard, so it must be felt as a faint and steady pressure upon the heart and mind, like the touch of a morning breeze calmly moving across the soul.

And when it is heeded, it quietly grows clearer in the inner ear of the heart.
 
God’s voice is directed to the ear of love, and true love is intent upon hearing even the faintest whisper.

Yet there comes a time when His love ceases to speak, when we do not respond to or believe His message.

God is love (1 John 4:8), and if you want to know Him and His voice, you must continually listen to His gentle touches.
 
So when you are about to say something in conversation with
others, and you sense a gentle restraint from His quiet whisper, heed the restraint and refrain from speaking.

And when you are about to pursue some course of action that seems perfectly clear and right, yet you sense in your spirit another path being suggested with the force of quiet conviction, heed that conviction.
 
Follow the alternate course, even if the change of plans appears to be absolute folly from the perspective of human wisdom.
 
Also learn to wait on God until He unfolds His will before you. 

Do not possess any wisdom of your own, for often His performance will appear to contradict the plan He gave you. 

God will seem to work against Himself, so simply listen, obey, and trust Him, even when it appears to be the greatest absurdity to do so.

Ultimately, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28), but many times, in the initial stages of the performance of His plans: In His own world He is content To play a losing game.
 
Therefore if you desire to know God’s voice, never consider the final outcome or the possible results.

Obey Him even when He asks you to move while you still see only darkness, for He Himself will be a glorious light within you.

Then there will quickly spring up within your heart a knowledge of God and a fellowship with Him, which will be overpowering enough in themselves to hold you and Him together, even in the most severe tests and under the strongest pressures of life.

The Works Of The Devil Destroyed

                                                                   

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15

This is the first gospel sermon that was ever delivered   upon the surface of this earth. It was a memorable discourse indeed, with Jehovah Himself for the preacher, and the whole human race and the prince of darkness for the audience. It is worthy of our heartiest attention.   

Is it not remarkable that this great gospel promise should have been delivered so soon after the transgression? As yet no sentence had been pronounced upon the offenders. Truly “mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” Let us rejoice, then, in the swift mercy of God, which in the early watches of the night of sin came with comfortable words unto us.

These words were not directly spoken to Adam and Eve, but they were directed distinctly to the serpent himself, by way of punishment to him for what he had done. It was a day of cruel triumph to him.

But now God comes in, takes up the quarrel personally, and causes him to be disgraced on the very battle-field upon which he had gained a temporary success. He tells the dragon that He will undertake to deal with him; this quarrel shall not between the serpent and man, but between God and the serpent.

Perhaps, however, by thus obliquely giving the promise, the Lord meant to say, “Not for your sakes do I this, O fallen man and woman; but for My own name and honor sake." 

All this would be very humbling but yet consolatory to our parents if they thought of it, seeing that mercy given for God’s sake is always to our troubled apprehension more sure than any favor which could be promised to us for our own sake.

Now we must note concerning this first gospel sermon that on it the earliest believers stayed themselves. [It] lit up the world to all believers until the Lord was pleased to give more light, and to renew and enlarge the revelation of His covenant. 

The conflict and the conquest are both in the compass of these few fruitful words. They may not have been fully understood by those who first heard them, but to us they are now full of light. The text at first looks like a flint, hard and cold; but sparks fly from it plentifully, for hidden fires of infinite love and grace lie concealed within.

There was enmity between Christ and Satan, for He came to destroy the works of the devil and to deliver those who are under bondage to him.

[In Gethsemane ] our Champion began the last fight of all and won it to the bruising of the serpent’s head. Nor did He end till He had spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly.

The conflict our glorious Lord continues in his seed. We preach Christ crucified, and every sermon shakes the gates of hell. We bring sinners to Jesus by the Spirit’s power, and every convert is a stone torn down from the wall of Satan’s mighty castle. 

The serpent’s head is broken in us. The chosen seed consent with their heart to the law of God that it is good, and they sigh and cry that they may be helped to obey it, for they are no longer under the slavery of sin; the serpent’s reigning power and dominion is broken in them.

It is broken next in this way, that the guilt of sin is gone. The great power of the serpent lies in unpardoned sin. 

We are delivered from the curse and are now blessed, for it is written, “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.”

Oftentimes the Lord also grants us to know what it is to overcome temptation, and so to break the head of the fiend.

Job conquered when he cried, “Though He slay me yet will I trust in Him.” A feeble man had vanquished a devil who could raise the wind and blow down an house, and destroy the family who were feasting in it.

Moreover, dear brethren, we have this hope that the very being of sin in us will be destroyed. The day will come when we shall stand before the throne of God, having suffered no injury whatever from the fall and from all the machinations of Satan, for “they are without fault before the throne of God.

Every time any one of us is made useful in saving souls we do as it were repeat the bruising of the serpent’s head.

Whenever in any way you are blessed to the aiding of truth and righteousness in the world, you, too, who were once beneath his power, and even now have sometimes to suffer from his nibbling at your heel, you tread upon his head.

Exercise faith in the promise and be comforted. The text evidently encouraged Adam very much. Adam acted in faith upon what God said, for we read, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve (or Life); because she was the mother of all living.”

As the life was to come through her by virtue of the promised seed, Adam marks his full conviction of the truth of the promise though at the time the woman had borne no children.

Exercise like faith, my brother, on the far wider revelation which God has given to you, and always extract the utmost comfort from it.

Make a point, whenever you receive a promise from God, to get all you can out of it: if you carry out that rule, it is wonderful what comfort you will gain. God’s word is to be understood at the maximum, for He will do exceeding abundantly above what you ask or even think.

Let us resist the devil always with this belief, that he has received a broken head. Let us do this bravely, and tell him to his teeth that we are not afraid of him.

Tell him to recollect his bruised head, which he tries to cover with a crown of pride.

We know him, and see the deadly wound he bears. His power is gone; he is fighting a lost battle; he is contending against omnipotence.

Therefore, brethren, be ye steadfast in resisting the evil one, being strong in faith, giving glory to God.

~Charles Spurgeon~
 

We Must Trust

It is for us to trust, to trust wholly in the Lord Jesus. This is the only way in which we can conquer fear and live in blessed victory.

I have had times in my life and ministry when the burdens and the pressures seemed to be too much. 

Sometimes physical weariness adds to our problems and our temptation to give in to discouragement and doubt. 

At these times it seems that even in prayer it is impossible to rise above the load.

More than once, by faith that seemed to have been imparted directly from heaven, the Word has enabled me to claim all that I needed for body, soul and spirit.
  
On my knees I have been given freedom and strength to pray, "Now, Lord, I have had enough of this - I refuse to take any more of this heaviness and oppression! This does not come from God?this comes from my enemy, the devil! Lord, in Jesus' name, I will not take it any longer - through Jesus Christ I am victor!"

At these times, great burdens have just melted and rolled away all at once!

Brethren, God never meant for us to be kicked around like a football. 

He wants us to be humble and let Him do the chastening when necessary. 

But when the devil starts tampering with you, dare to resist him!

I stand for believing in God and defying the devil - and our God loves that kind of courage among His people.

If you are still wrapped in grave clothes and great fears lie upon you, it is time for you to dare to rise and in sweet faith in the risen Jesus Christ declare: "I will not take this any longer. I am a child of God ?why should I go mourning all the day?"

Will God answer?

All right, My child He will answer as the burden rolls away, "I have waited long to hear you say that. Jesus is Victor and in Him you overcome!"

~A. W. Tozer~
                                                                                                    

We Must Get Free

I think we had better get free! We must face up to the issues and attitudes and doubts which constitute our fears, that keep us from being happy and victorious Christians with the true liberty of the children of God.

We seem to quake about many things. In the first place, are you still afraid of your past sins? God knows that sin is a terrible thing?and the devil knows it, too. So he follows us around and as long as we will permit it, he will taunt us about our past sins.

As for myself, I have learned to talk back to him on this score. I say, "Yes, Devil, sin is terrible-but I remind you that I got it from you! And I remind you, Devil, that everything good -forgiveness and cleansing and blessing-everything that is good I have freely received from Jesus Christ!" 

Everything that is bad and that is against me I got from the devil -so why should he have the effrontery and the brass to argue with me about it? Yet he will do it because he is the devil, and he is committed to keeping God's children shut up in a little cage, their wings clipped so that they can never fly!

In our churches we often sing, "Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears." But nothing happens and we keep our fears. 

Why do we claim on one hand that our sins are gone and on the other act just as though they are not gone? Brethren, we have been declared "Not Guilty!" by the highest court in all the universe.

Still there are honest Christians, earnestly seeking the face of God, who cannot seem to break loose and find real freedom. The grave clothes trip them up every time they try to move on a little faster. Satan uses their past sins to terrify them.
 
Now, on the basis of grace as taught in the Word of God, when God forgives a man, He trusts him as though he had never sinned. 

God did not have mental reservations about any of us when we became His children by faith. When God forgives a man, He doesn't think, I will have to watch this fellow because he has a bad record " No, He starts with him again as though he had just been created and as if there had been no past at all! That is the basis of our Christian assurance-and God wants us to be happy in it.

~A. W. Tozer~

The Church~DIFFERENT From The World

Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you."

The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the difference diminishes.

This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss it. But miss it we do, for we hear constantly that the Church must try to be as much like the world as possible, excepting, of course,  where the world is too, too sinful....

Let us plant ourselves on the hill of Zion and invite the world to come over to us, but never under any circumstances will we go over to them. 

The cross is the symbol of Christianity, and the cross speaks of death and separation, never of compromise.

No one ever compromised with a cross. The cross separated between the dead and the living. 

The timid and the fearful will cry "Extreme!" and they will be right. The cross is the essence of all that is extreme and final. 

The message of Christ is a call across a gulf from death to life, from sin to righteousness and from Satan to God. 

Lord, help me to be willing to be different. Forgive me for the sin of blending in. I pray that our neighbors would see something different in our church and our people and be drawn to the Savior. Amen.

~A. W. Tozer~