Waiting God's Time

Waiting God's Time 
by T. Austin-Sparks

"When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son..."

When the fullness of the time came! It is not difficult for us to see in the case of Abraham how his faith was brought into relation to God's time. The time factor with Abraham was a very real one, and was perhaps one of the keenest and most acute factors for his faith.

Now, that time factor in the case of Abraham affected many points in the significance of his life. Abraham received a very comprehensive representation of Divine truth and a very full revelation, and therefore by its significance his life affected many things, and again and again we come upon a test of Abraham's faith along the line of the timing of God. Indeed, from one standpoint, we may summarize the whole of his life and say that it headed up at last to the triumph of faith upon that particular factor. 

In the full Divine sense he never received the promises in his lifetime. At the end of his life he was still looking for the fulfilment of the promise, and if his faith had given way he would naturally have taken the attitude that, since the thing had not been fulfilled in so long a time and in his lifetime, it all represented perhaps a big mistake on his part, a false expectation, some misguidance, and so on. But right at the end, if the letter to the Hebrews is to be taken as revealing the actual position, he still believed. He believed, therefore, that God had His time for fulfilling His purpose, and that, although it might not come in his own lifetime, it nevertheless would come. But during his lifetime, within the compass of the whole range of Divine purpose, there were instances of testing on the time factor, and having been tested on that factor the promise was fulfilled.

It is the principle that we want to get hold of. We have it illustrated perhaps supremely in connection with the promise of Isaac. You remember how, in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis, the Lord came to Abram and gave the promise that in his seed there should be universal blessing, and how that the battle then commenced, and how Abram prepared a sacrifice, and himself, from his own side, entered into a covenant with God by faith. When he had made his side good, that is, the side of his faith, that he believed God, and ratified it with a covenant from his side by the sacrifice, then we are told, when all that was done, God made a covenant with Abram.

The incident seems to indicate a very thorough belief in the promise of God concerning the seed; that Abram took a position over it, and a position which was utter and which involved him in going all lengths by faith. It involved everything, and that is only understood and recognized when you see what God committed Himself to on that day; for God never made a covenant, only in relation to His own Son.

It is important to remember that God's covenants bear upon His Son. They are bound up with the Lord Jesus. When God that day made a covenant with Abram in blood by the altar, God on that day committed Himself to all that He had, all that He could give, all that He could do. He committed Himself to the extent of His only and well beloved Son, and that unto death; for that altar and that sacrifice foreshadowed God's fullest and uttermost gift in covenant. From his side Abram entered into that. Whether he knew what was coming or not we may not know, but he must have known that, from his side, the covenant involved him in being as utter as God was committing Himself to be that day.

That which followed some years afterward was the demand being made by God upon Abram to fulfill his part of the covenant. "Take now thy son, thine only son whom thou lovest..." Abram was really tested on that subsequent day concerning what had taken place on that particular day, and it is the one faith which receives the son and gives the son.

The Purpose of Delay

Now in chapter 15 you have the promise, and although it does not look like it, since the story is so quickly got over, it seems that it was at least fifteen years before the promise was fulfilled. It was fourteen or fifteen years at least, but how much more we cannot say as the Hebrew is very uncertain in this matter. You remember when the men came to Abram's tent and ratified the promise, their words in our translation are something like this: "at the time" or "about the time", or "in the season" (Gen. 18:14). The words are very indefinite. Some have translated it, "This time next year it shall be", but we cannot render it so with certainty. All we can say is that it was a definite ratification of the promise, that in God's appointed time it should be fulfilled. That ratification in the tent was some fourteen or fifteen years after the events of chapter 15 when the promise was given. Now, taking every other circumstance into consideration; promise, age, and so on, you can see that this was a real matter of faith, this time factor. The time is getting on. We are getting farther and farther away from any possibility of fulfilment. Abram was ninety and nine years old when this ratification of the promise was made. You see the time factor was a real test. 

Love Conquers Selfishness

By Andrew Murray


"The fruit of the Spirit is love." Why? Because nothing but love can expel and conquer our selfishness.

Self is the great curse, whether in its relation to God, or to our fellow-men in general, or to fellow-Christians, thinking of ourselves and seeking our own. Self is our greatest curse. But, praise God, Christ came to redeem us from self. We sometimes talk about deliverance from the self-life -- and thank God for every word that can be said about it to help us -- but I am afraid some people think deliverance from the self-life means that now they are going to have no longer any trouble in serving God; and they forget that deliverance from self-life means to be a vessel overflowing with love to everybody all the day.

And there you have the reason why many people pray for the power of the Holy Ghost, and they get something, but oh, so little! because they prayed for power for work, and power for blessing, but they have not prayed for power for full deliverance from self. That means not only the righteous self in intercourse with God, but the unloving self in intercourse with men. And there is deliverance. "The fruit of the Spirit is love." I bring you the glorious promise of Christ that He is able to fill our hearts with love.

This is My Meat and Drink

By E. Stanley Jones


A Hindu sadhu, "a holy man," pulled out a New Testament from his saffron robe and said, "This is my meat and drink."

Is humanity more and more pulling from the folds of its heart the New Testament out of sheer necessity? Are our deep down needs taking us by the hand and leading us to Him? Yes, increasingly so.

Jesus shut within a Book
Is hardly worth a passing look;
Jesus shut within a creed
Is a fruitless Lord indeed.
But Jesus in the hearts of men
Shows His tenderness again.
-- Gordon Grooms

"Jesus in the hearts of men? Yes, He is there in need -- increasingly there as the fulfillment of a need. What is man's greatest need? I have one unhesitating answer: Redemption!

This verse in Romans, the beginning letter of Paul, expresses that need: "They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (3:24.) "Redemption which is in Christ Jesus." What is redemption?" asked a modern girl wistfully. Literally it means "to buy back" -- picture a man, woman, or child about to be sold into slavery; then someone comes along, pays the ransom price, and sets the slave free. 

Someone objects that the situation of the slave market is gone, therefore the idea of redemption is gone with it. Is it? Outer slaveries are going, but inner slaveries are increasing. We speak of being tied up," "tied in knots," all balled up, mixed up," "confused" -- revealing a bondage, an inner slavery far worse than the outer slavery ever was or could be. An outer slave could be free inwardly -- he could escape within -- but one who is in bondage within has no escape. To try to escape into the without only increases his inner tangles. He is caught. He needs redemption. And Jesus is the only open door.

The Determination To Serve

The Determination To Serve

By Oswald Chambers


'The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.'
Matthew 20:28

Paul's idea of service is the same as Our Lord's: "I am among you as He that serveth;" "ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." We have the idea that a man called to the ministry is called to be a different kind of being from other men. According to Jesus Christ, he is called to be the "door-mat" of other men; their spiritual leader, but never their superior. "I know how to be abased," says Paul. This is Paul's idea of service - "I will spend myself to the last ebb for you; you may give me praise or give me blame, it will make no difference." So long as there is a human being who does not know Jesus Christ, I am his debtor to serve him until he does. The mainspring of Paul's service is not love for men, but love for Jesus Christ. If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men.

Paul's realization of how Jesus Christ had dealt with him is the secret of his determination to serve others. "I was before a perjurer, a blasphemer, an injurious person" - no matter how men may treat me, they will never treat me with the spite and hatred with which I treated Jesus Christ. When we realize that Jesus Christ has served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness, and sin, nothing that we meet with from others can exhaust our determination to serve men for His sake.

The Influence

By Tim Grissom


For eighteen years, three months, and one day, I was married to one of the godliest people I have ever known. My wife was beautiful, kind, hospitable, and fun. My heart still sags with the loss of her. She left us on December 13, 1999, after an eleven-month bout with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), and now lives in the presence of God.

You may be wondering if I am exaggerating my wife's character in my memory. I am well aware of the tendency to make things sound either better or worse when we speak of them in past tense. But the essence of what you are about to read about Janiece (Niecie), I first wrote seven months before we knew she was sick. And now, what a wonderful opportunity this husband has to "praise" his wife for the imprint of virtue that she left on her family and friends.

But this is not an article about death and dying, or about grief. It is an article about living--living in such a way that we may face joy, sorrow, victory, trial, and even mundaneness with grace, courage, and peace. That is how my wife died; that is also how she lived.

A friend sometimes teases me that I married "way over my head." I have to agree, and I admit to often wondering why God would bless me with such a wonderful soul-mate. Niecie's life radiates joy and contentment. Her spirit is settled, and her heart uncluttered. Above all, she walks intimately with God. But hers is not a heavenly stupor that keeps her detached from the needs and concerns of this life, or of the people around her. I only mean that Niecie walks in simple obedience to God. She listens to what He says, and then she does it.

I don't mean to imply that she never struggles. In fact, she readily admits to having a fearful disposition. But when she does battle fear, or some temptation, she doesn't blame her circumstances or become moody. She asks God to search her heart and she waits for His answer. Even in her battles I see no rage.

I, on the other hand, often resist God. I'm well acquainted with stubbornness. But I have learned something through my years of observing Niecie's life, and I'm beginning to feel some release from the grip of rebellion. I've picked up one of Niecie's habits, and that, I think, is the primary reason that my soul is on the mend. You see, in the 20+ years that I have known her, Niecie has never missed a single day of "quiet time." Not one! Spending time alone with God in Bible reading and prayer is as much a part of her day as getting out of bed; it is simply something she does.

Niecie's quiet time habit began when she was in junior high. During a week of summer camp, the speaker encouraged the students to commit to read their Bible every day for one year. Niecie made that commitment . . . and she kept it. One year led to another, and another, and another . . . .

I'm not saying these things to put my wife on a pedestal. My point is that faithfully taking a few minutes out of each and every day to meet alone with God in His Word and prayer has formed her into a godly woman. And . . . her life has "won" me (1 Pet. 3:1). If she had nagged me about certain things, or manipulated, or ridiculed, she would only have succeeded in driving me away from wanting to grow in Christ. Instead, she has lived a very real life of simple faith and devotion to Christ. And it has made me thirsty for what she has.

We now have four children. By God's grace they are growing up with an understanding that having personal devotions is a normal part of the daily routine. The older ones have already begun to have their own quiet time. We haven't required this of our children. They've simply seen Mommy and Daddy reading their Bibles and praying, and they want to do the same.

I've come to believe that of all the things we can teach our children, nothing could be more profitable in equipping them for life--whatever or wherever it sends them--than a commitment to meditate daily on God's Word.

I know that many people have gripping stories about a time when they experienced personal revival, and they can tell of dramatic circumstances and events involved in the process. It hasn't been like that for me. God got my attention over a period of time, but it has been just as real and life changing. In addition to using the example of my wife, God has also brought others across my path who have challenged and helped me. The key element, however, has been the regular intake of His Word, especially in my own personal devotions.

God's Word has been like a medicine to reduce my anger, worry, and impatience. It has acted as a map in helping our family make decisions or reroute our ill-advised plans. It has provided light to reveal snares that were sometimes hiding in the shadows. God's Word has become for us something we simply cannot do without.

I thank God for a youth speaker who encouraged a group of junior-high campers to read their Bibles. I thank God for a young lady who made that commitment and kept it (and who said "yes" when I asked her to marry me!). I thank God for His Word every day as I sit to read it and to listen to what He has to tell me about Himself. I thank God that He uses those daily appointments to draw me nearer to Him.

And now, looking back over our journey of these past months as we have grieved the death of this precious, virtuous woman who was my wife, I thank God that her legacy remains. Though my days often end with tears, those tears generally fall on the pages of an open Bible. And the darkness lifts a little.


Thank you, Niecie.

THE NEED FOR REVERENCE

By A.W. Tozer


Many persons who have been raised in our churches no longer think in terms of reverence, which seems to indicate that they doubt God's presence is there! Much of the blame must be placed on the growing acceptance of a worldly secularism that seems much more appealing than any real desire for the spiritual life that is pleasing to God. We secularize God; we secularize the gospel of Christ and we secularize worship! No great and spiritually minded men of God are going to come out of such churches, nor any great spiritual movement of believing prayer and revival.

 If God is to be honored and revered and truly worshiped, He may have to sweep us away and start somewhere else! Let us confess that there is a necessity for true worship among us. If God is who He says He is and if we are the believing people of God we claim to be, we must worship Him! In my own assessment, for men and women to lose the awareness of God in our midst is a loss too terrible ever to be appraised!

A god to himself?

A god to himself?

(adapted from Winslow's, "The Soul Before Conversion")

The unsaved man is a god to himself,
and he has many other gods as well.
Whether it be....
  self righteousness,
  self gratification,
  the world,
  wealth,
  family,
in whatever form it appears, "other lords
have dominion over him," to the exclusion
of the one true and living God.

The nature of the human mind is such that it
must love and worship some object supremely.
In his state of innocence, Jehovah was the one and
supreme object of the creature's love and adoration.
Seduced from that state of simple and supreme
affection by the tempter's promise that, if they
ate of the fruit of the tree forbidden by God,
"they should be as gods;" in one moment they
threw off their allegiance to Jehovah, renounced
him as the object of their supreme love, the
center of their holiest affections, and became
gods to themselves!

The temple was ruined,
the altar was thrown down,
the pure flame was extinguished,
God departed and "other lords"
entered and took possession of the soul.

But what a change does grace produce!
It repairs the temple,
rebuilds the altar,
rekindles the flame and
brings God back to man!

Christ is now the supreme object of...
   his love,
   his adoration and
   his worship.

The idol self has been cast down,
self righteousness renounced, and
self exaltation crucified.

The affections, released from their false
deity and renewed by the Spirit, now turn
to and take up their rest in God.
How glorious does Jesus now appear!
Truly it is a new God the soul is brought to know and love!

Never did it see in Him...
   such beauty,
   such excellence,
   such blessedness
as it now sees.

All other glory fades and dies
before the surpassing glory of...
   His character,
   His attributes,
   His government, and
   His law.
God says, "You are mine."

The soul responds, "You are my God! Other lords
have had dominion over me, but henceforth, You
only will I serve, You only will I love.  My soul
follows hard after You; Your right hand upholds me."

The regenerate soul possesses and acknowledges a new
Savior. How glorious, suitable and precious is Jesus to
him now! Not so formerly. Then he had his saviors, his
"refuges of lies," his many fatal confidences. Jesus was
to him as "a root out of a dry ground, having no form
nor loveliness." It may be that he denied His deity,
rejected His atonement, scorned His grace and slighted
His pardon and His love.

Christ is all to him now! He adores Him as the "mighty
 God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace."

Oh, how surpassingly glorious, inimitably lovely and
 unutterably precious is Jesus to a renewed soul!

Truly a new Savior!

"Other lords" he has renounced.
"Refuges of lies" he has turned his back upon.
"False Christs" he no longer follows.
  He has found another and a better Savior;
Jesus, the mighty God, the Redeemer of sinners!
All is 'new' to his recovered sight!
A new world of glory has floated before his mind!
Jesus the Lamb is the light and glory thereof.

Never did he suppose there was....
   such beauty in His person,
   such love in His heart,
   such perfection in His work,
   such power and
   such willingness to save.

That blood which was trampled under foot is now precious.
That righteousness which was scorned is now glorious.
That name which was reviled is now as music to
the soul, even "a name that is above every name."

Too choice a flower to grow in nature's garden!

Too choice a flower to grow in nature's garden!
(Charles Spurgeon)

"Godly sorrow works repentance." 2 Corinthians 7:10

Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature's garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters — but penitence never shows itself in sinners, unless divine grace works it in them. If you have one particle of real hatred for sin — then God must have given it you, for human nature's thorns never produced a single fig!"That which is born of the flesh is flesh!"

True repentance has a distinct reference to the Savior. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin, and another upon the cross. It will be better still, if we fix both our eyes upon Christ, and see our transgressions only in the light of His love.

True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally — just as a burnt child dreads the fire! We shall be as much afraid of sin, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway. And we shall shun sin, shun it in everything — not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great ones. 

True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest we should say a wrong word. We shall also be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend. 

Each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcomings — and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up, that we may not sin against Him.

Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This sorrow for sin is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time — but this dear sorrow grows with our growth. It is so sweet a bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy it until we enter our eternal rest!