GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY
By Miles Stanford





"That you may be filled with a clear knowledge of His will accompanied by thorough wisdom and discernment in spiritual things" (Col. 1:9, Wey.).

Service does not come first; neither does life! The proper sequence for the believer is death to the old, from which emerges newness of life and fruitful service.

"It is a sad thing when service interferes with soul-prosperity. It is possible to be so engrossed with service that one's meditations are colored by it, one's prayers are full of it, and the Word of God becomes simply a quarry out of which material for sermons can be dug up. This is a serious loss to the soul and many are thereby hindered from making spiritual progress.

"Very often new believers who have not even peace with God are encouraged to take up service, and they become so occupied with what they are doing that they are not at leisure to learn or to take their place in the favor of the Father. Hence, so long as the service prospers, and they get on pretty well with it, they are happy. The service is their life! But when there is no success, and the whole thing seems to be a failure, their joy collapses. They have to discover how little they have really got, and in many cases to find that they are perfect strangers to the liberty and joy of acceptance." -CA.C.

"There must be a profound and genuine experience of Divine things; a cultivation of the highest possibilities of godliness if the witness is to be really effective and fruitful. There must be a man behind the message - a saint behind the service. There must be the nameless effectiveness that comes from true fellowship with the Father." -A.T.P.

"So that your lives may be worthy of the Lord and perfectly pleasing to Him while you manifest the results of right action of every sort and grow into a fuller knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10, Wey.).

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NOW NO CONDEMNATION
By M. Stanford


"Ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God" (Rom. 7:4).

Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law. Both must be counted upon if we are to abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, as set forth in Romans Eight.

"We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart - how we can say, 'This one thing I do'; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard. If I say, 'Here is a rule of conduct: follow it,' this cannot reach the heart, the affections. The ministration of the letter brings only failure, and condemnation; for it prescribes a rule which man, being a sinner, can never follow. It does not change a man; it proves him 'ungodly and without strength.'

"We may turn even Christ into that letter of condemnation; we may take His life, for instance. and make it our law. Nay, we may turn even the love of Christ into our law; we may say, 'He has loved me, and done all this for me, and I ought to love Him, and do so much for Him, in return for this love,' etc. Thus if we turn His love into a rule of life, it becomes the ministration of condemnation."

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1).

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AVOID AMBUSH
BY Miles Stanford

"I find therefore the law of my nature to be that when I desire to do what is right, evil is lying in ambush for me" (Rom. 7:21, Wey.).

Struggle in yourself, and be trapped; rest in Him, and be free!

"Many Christians keep themselves in a perpetual foment through hoping they will get into a situation where they can enjoy a better (and easier) Christian life. They feel enclosed in a net of circumstances from which they cannot escape. They are so wearied and baffled and beaten by the continuous pressure about them that they wish and itch for things to be different, quite sure that if they were only different Christ would be more real. It has not dawned upon them that at the heart of these very circumstances they are to find the Lord Jesus, find His grace sufficient, find the life more abundant." -L.E.M.

"You might be secretly attempting to correct and improve yourself, and suffering a good deal of private vexation and disappointment on account of the futility of your struggles. It was at a moment when I was utterly discouraged, and ready to give up the whole thing in complete despair, that the Father showed me how I was attempting to work upon the old material which He could only condemn, and had, and that my disgust and despair as to myself were only a feeble echo of His.

"My Father was not looking for any good in me, and had the Lord Jesus Christ before Him, the perfect and infinitely acceptable Object of His heart. And I, in my nothingness, had ceased to look for good in myself, and began tasting the deep joy of being in Christ, and free to have Him as my Object; while as to life, I entered in some degree into the blessedness of knowing that it was 'not I, but Christ liveth in me.'" -C.A.C.

"For to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21).

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FAITH AND SIGHT
By Pastor P. Hume


Where would we be without that wonderful gift of eyesight? How paramount is this sense in our unique physical make-up. Yet there are many in life who have either lost the sight of one or both eyes, or who were born blind. The power of what goes through the eyegate is greater than most of us realize. Therefore we need, as believers in Christ, to guard what we look at. For like Achan of old (who 'saw', then 'coveted', and finally 'took' of the forbidden goods in Jericho), we can be built up or broken down by what we chose to look upon (not merely 'see').

But the Word of God refers us to another 'eyegate' -- that of the heart. (I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. (Ephesians 1:18a, New American Standard Bible) 'Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from thy law.' (Psalm 119:18, N.A.S.) 'So our eyes look to the Lord our God.' (Psalm 123:2, N.A.S.) Then the writer to the Hebrews, in concluding his great 'Hall of Faith' chapter,gave this timely word of exhortation:

'Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith .... '(Hebrews 12:1-2a, N.A.S.)

Several truths could be commented on here, but one we want to lift out and emphasize: ' ... fixing our eyes on Jesus ..... ' Certainly this cannot mean to look physically upon 'Jesus' or a picture of Him. This is the 'sight of the heart', or to put it as Dr. A.W. Tozer so uniquely expressed, 'the gaze of the soul upon a saving God.'

Is this not true faith which God gives to those who are His? Faith is not only 'the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.' (Heb. 11:1, lit.), but it is a posture of the redeemed soul. It is turning one's heart and mind unto 'Him who ever liveth'. It is comprehending our lovely, all-sufficient Savior-God through His written Word of Truth. It is to 'acknowledge Him' in all our ways. (Prov. 3:6)

'For we walk by faith, not by sight (or appearance)' (II Cor. 5:7; Does what we have written contradict this divine declaration? Not at all. For faith is the sight of the redeemed heart. How is your internal eyesight today? Or do you have 20-20 vision? Or do you need the sight that only He who can open the eyes of the blind can impart? God grant us a 'seeing faith'.
Grace, Peace and Love

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UNSEARCHABLE RICHES
By Pastor Joel Finck

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:8

As the Apostle Paul traveled on his missionary journeys, his procedure was to go fist into the synagogue of the Jews and reason with them out of the Scriptures, "Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ" (Acts 17:3). When the noble Bereans heard Paul's preaching, they "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). Of course, these were the Old Testament Scriptures, for the New Testament was not yet written at that time.

However, God was in the process of giving further revelation to Paul, and these new truths could not be traced back to the Old Testament. This is why Paul calls them "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8.). The word "unsearchable" is a hunting term meaning, "unable to be tracked or traced." This describes the nature of the great mystery revealed to Paul for the Gentiles. It was hidden from ages and generations (Col. 1:26; Eph. 3:5), but now has been made known for all to see in the epistles of Paul.

What are these unsearchable riches? They are too numerous to mention in this short article, but they include the catching away (rapture) of the Body of Christ (I Cor. 15:51), the joining of Jew and Gentile in one body (Eph. 3:6), the unique Gentile program of God during the time of Israel's blindness (Rom. 11:25) and many more blessed truths. These things were simply not revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures; search and see. But thank God they are now made known to the saints!

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FULNESS OF JOY
by C. R. Stam


    About 3,000 years ago David wrote in Psalm 16:11: "...In Thy presence is fulness of joy...."  He was right, for there is no greater joy than personal fellowship with God.  Yet David could not know the fulness of joy now spoken of in Paul's epistles, for he did not know Christ, who later came into the world as God, manifested in the flesh, to die for our sins.  He did not know that Christ would make full satisfaction for sin and be raised from the dead to confirm our justification. Nor did David know that believers would be given Christ's resurrection life, and a position, and "all spiritual blessings IN THE HEAVENLIES in Christ" (Eph. 2:4-6; 1:3).

When Paul wrote that God has called believers "unto the fellowship of His Son", he referred to a spiritual, heavenly fellowship, far more intimate and precious than any previously enjoyed by mortal man. This fellowship is to be enjoyed by faith, but it is faith based on fact, the fact that Christ indeed died our death and rose again from the dead that we might partake of His life and enjoy a position at God's right hand in Christ. This is why the Apostle Paul urges believers of this dispensation of grace to "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1).

Peter and John both came to know much of this fellowship through Paul, who was sent to Jerusalem "by revelation" to make known to the leaders there "THAT GOSPEL WHICH I PREACH AMONG THE GENTILES" (See Galatians 2:2-9; II Peter 3:15-18.). This is why John writes in I John 1:3,4: "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL".

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REST, AND REJOICE!
By Miles Stanford



"Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Phil. 4:4).


Exhaustive effort brings home the necessity of strengthening rest. The believer will not be ready to enter into his spiritual rest until he is utterly worn out by his unsuccessful efforts to conquer sin and the old man. There is no rest for the "wretched man" of Romans 7--that struggle must lead to the rest of Romans 8.

"Grace is sufficient for favorable circumstances, but they are by far the most trying (spiritually) to the believer. There is an easy way of going on in worldliness, and there is nothing more sad than the quiet comfortable Christian going on day by day, apart from dependence upon the Lord.

"It must be as with Israel and the manna; there must be the daily gathering and daily dependence upon God. If circumstances come between our hearts and God, we are powerless. If the Lord Jesus is nearer, circumstances will not hinder our joy in God."

"The heart of man naturally seeks rest, and seeks it here. Now, there is no rest to be found here for the believer; but it is written, 'There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God' (Heb. 4:9).

"To know this is both full of blessing and full of sorrow: sorrow to the flesh; because it is always seeking its rest here, it has always to be disappointed; blessing to the spirit, because the spirit, being born of God, can only rest in God's rest, as it is said, 'If they shall enter into My rest' (Heb. 4:5). What God desires for us is to bring us into the enjoyment of all that which He Himself enjoys."-J.N.D.

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Ps. 37:7).

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Quietness and Assurance
Part 1 of 2
By Ike T. Sidebottom

The world is in chaos and disturbance. Doubt and anxiety is manifested among the multitudes. Even the seasoned saints are not always confident and quiet before the Lord.

How can the human heart have "quietness and assurance" in the midst of worldwide disorder? God answers our question in the language of our text.

"And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever" (Isaiah 32:17).

Such righteousness must be imparted to us from God through His Son, Jesus Christ. "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6), but His righteousness is perfect, and brings to the trusting soul peace, quietness and assurance.

The heavenly Father wants us to have His peace and glorify His name through a quiet and confident life of faith.

Our Gentile Fathers
had their opportunity to know God and to glorify His name, but they refused to do so; and "their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:18-23). Wherefore:

"God gave them up to uncleanness" (Romans 1:24).

"God gave them up to vile affections" (Romans 1:26).

"God gave them over to a reprobate mind" (Romans 1:28.).

The moral and spiritual apostasy into which they drifted is pictured in Romans 1, verses 29 to 32, Read these verses and see the Gentile world "guilty before God."

What About the Jew?
He is no better. The Jews had the advantage in every way: "Chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles, of God" (Romans 3:1-2). However, "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, they are all under sin" (Romans 3:9).

"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).

The Gentile's mouth having been "stopped" by his guilt as revealed in Romans 1:18-32, and God's perfect law having "stopped" the mouth of the Jew, who was under the law, "every mouth" was stopped and "all the world" became "guilty before God."

"What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit" (Romans 8:3-4).

The law was never given that men should be made righteous by their own good works; on the other hand, God gave the law that man might have a scriptural "knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).

"As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse." Why is this true? Because "It is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:21-22).

God's perfect law demanded more than fallen man could deliver. That is why the "righteousness of God without the law is manifested, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Romans 3:21-22).

This very righteousness of God is imparted to every one who is really trusting in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. God the Father "made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

O blessed truth! Marvelous grace.
God's dear Son has taken my place.
In His own body He bore all my sin.
Now I am infinitely righteous in Him.

"Full Assurance"
is used three times over in the Word:

"The full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:22).

"The full assurance of understanding" (Colossians 2:2).

"The full assurance of hope" (Hebrews 6:11).

"Full assurance of faith" was exercised by Paul when he said, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). We cannot exercise faith without knowing it. If we have faith in the soundness of the bank in which we deposit our money, that faith gives us confidence concerning the safety of our deposit and we feel at ease about it.

The one reason why so many believers lack the "full assurance of faith" is due to their lack of knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. Once the believer thoroughly understands the revealed facts upon which his safety in Christ is resting, he becomes quiet and confident about his soul's salvation.

continued tomorrow

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Quietness and Assurance
Part 2 of 2
By Ike T. Sidebottom


"The full assurance of understanding" means a spiritual understanding of at least

Seven Outstanding Facts
upon which the believer's safety and security rests.


1.   The finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary for our sins. He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). On the day of His resurrection, "By His own blood He entered in once into the Holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12). See 1 John 5:11-13.

2.   The present work of Christ at the right hand of the Father in heaven. He is the believer's "Advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1). When we sin He represents us, pleading His own blood for our forgiveness.

3.   The Father's faithfulness to His Son in answer to His prayer. The Son prayed, "Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me" (John 17:11). We know that the Father heard this prayer (John 11:42); therefore, we know He must grant the petition (1 John 5:14-15).

4.   The specific promises of God have been made and He cannot lie. He has spoken concerning His own, saying, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (John 10:27-28.). See also Philippians 1:6 and Romans 8:31-39.

5.   The choice of God the Father could not have been a blunder on his part. We are told that all the saved people of this age were "chosen" in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-4). We were chosen to fit into that "holy temple" of Ephesians 2:19-22. Do you think He would build us into the structure and then have to tear us out?

6.   The sealing of the Holy Spirit was "until" a specified time; namely, the "redemption of the purchased possession" (Ephesians 1:13-14). The saint, or saved person, is sealed by the Holy Spirit the moment he is saved. That moment he becomes the purchased property of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The seal of the Spirit is God's mark of ownership upon the saint until he is redeemed or taken in body and soul into God's glory.

7.   The believer's union with Christ is such that could never be broken. God, Himself, adds each believer to the Lord (Acts 5:14 with I Cor. 12:13 and 27), and "whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, or anything taken from it" (Ecclesiastes 3:14)."The church, which is the body of Christ," is an organism, like a human body; and not an organization, like a legislative body (1 Corinthians 12:12). Each saved person has been baptized, by the Holy Spirit, into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13) and is an essential member of that organism (Ephesians 5:29-30).

God tells us how He adds His blood bought children to the church of the one body; but He doesn't say anything about taking a disobedient child out of that body. Just one missing member, in the day of our glorification, would violate the truth set forth in Ephesians 5:25-27.

"The full assurance of hope" can never be realized apart from faith and understanding. Hope has to do with the unseen future (Romans 8:24-25).

In Hebrews 6:10-12, the believer is admonished to minister diligently "unto the end," and follow "them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

In Colossians 1:24-27 the believers are reminded of Paul's "sufferings" for them and for "His body's sake, which is the church." He declared this dispensation to be a mystery, which had been "hid from ages and from generations." Then He makes it clear that God, who gave him the mystery was through him, making it "manifest to His saints." God wants the saints to know the "glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which, is Christ in you, the hope of glory." This hope will be realized when our Lord calls for the "church which is His body."

Let us not get our "hope" mixed with that of Israel or that of the Bride. Our hope is not resting upon the "promises made unto the fathers;" because this dispensation was hid from past ages and generations. We are not holding out to "the end." We are waiting for the glory. Keep looking up! He may come for us any moment.

Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for righteousness, the work of which is peace, and the effect of which is "quietness and assurance for ever."

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The Hope ...
Part 1 of 2
By John LaVier

The Hope of the Sinner

In Ephesians 2:12 the unregenerate man is described as "having no hope." However, though the unsaved man is hopeless, yet there is hope. But his hope of heaven and eternal life is not in some fancied worth or work of his, but is found alone in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many have a false hope. Some trust to their character, morality, honesty or good deeds, but none of these will suffice, for God says, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." The man who hopes to find favor in the sight of God because of any merit of his own is doomed to disappointment.

Others realize in some measure their sinful condition, but turn to some system of religion to afford them a standing before God. To Israel of old God said, "And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering." To all who trust in any religious effort, or put confidence in anything other than the blood of Christ, God still says, "Not sufficient." A man may perform a multitude of rites and ceremonies; he may be baptized, partake of the bread and wine, and observe holy days and Sabbath days; he may hope that any or all of these will save his guilty soul, but all is to no avail. The Word declares: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5).

There is only one hope for any sinner, and that is in the One who died on Calvary's cross for the sin of humanity, Who was buried and rose again, Who now lives as the one and only Saviour at God's right hand. If the sinner will trust in Jesus Christ and rely alone on His precious blood and finished work, then he will have a hope. The hope of the believing sinner is "the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due season." All that the sinner needs is Christ. Nothing more than Christ is needed, but nothing less than Christ will suffice. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for their is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

The Hope of Israel

We see Israel today as a people scattered and peeled, but is there yet hope for this once-favored nation? Romans 11:1 provides the answer. First comes the question, "Hath God cast away His people?" This question is followed by the divine answer, "God forbid." Then comes the statement of the following verse: "God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew." Though now for a season they have been blinded and forsaken of God, there is still for them a glorious future.

Israel's hope is expressed in the words of the Spirit-filled Zacharias, who prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David ... that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham" (Luke 1:68-73).

The above words of Zacharias were uttered by him at Christ's first coming. The nation, though, did not receive Christ. Therefore, the fulfillment of Israel's hope was postponed, and now awaits the second coming of the Christ. When He appears again the second time He will come as Israel's Deliverer, to save them from their enemies and from the hand of all that hate them. "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom. 11:26). All Israel will then be saved. They will be planted again in their own land, and Christ Himself will be in their midst on David's throne ruling and reigning in righteousness.

Continued tomorrow

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The Hope ...
Part 2 of 2
By John LaVier


The hope of Israel is the kingdom of the heavens established upon earth, with Israel in a place of supremacy. The nations today are in confusion because they are headless, but when the kingdom is here Israel will be at the head, and no longer the tail, and Israel's Messiah will be King over all the earth.

No fact is more clearly taught in the Scripture than that of Israel's regathering and restoration. "Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock" (Jer. 31:10). Just as surely as the scattering was literal, so surely will the gathering be literal. Israel will be gathered out of all the nations whither the Lord has scattered them, and will yet dwell in the land promised by God to Abraham and his seed after him.

Israel must first go through the awful time of great tribulation foretold by the Saviour, during which God will purge out their dross. Thus they will be prepared for the place of headship and responsibility which is to be theirs in the kingdom. They will be saved out of this time of Jacob's trouble when Christ returns as the Rider on the white horse. They will then look on Him whom they pierced and the nation will be converted. Israel's conversion will result in the conversion of the world. All nations will be blessed through Israel. "In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you" (Zech. 8:23). Then the fulfillment of the prophetic Word: "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee ... And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." This is Israel's hope.

The Hope of the Church

While Israel's hope awaits fulfillment, God is calling out the Church, the One Body of Christ. Israel has the hope of the coming kingdom, its center to be Jerusalem and its King the coming Messiah, and even beyond that they have the better hope of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, with the names of the twelve tribes on the gates thereof. There is, however, reserved for the Church an even more glorious hope. Already God sees us, as members of the One Body, seated in the heavenlies in His Son. "He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We are already there insofar as God is concerned. We are there positionally in Christ our Head, and some day we will be there actually. "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." We look for the Saviour, and to be conformed to His image; to have a glorious body like unto His, a body sinless, deathless, incorruptible, clothed with beauty and splendor. This is the hope of every saint of God: "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

In the opening verses of Colossians 3 we are told: "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Israel's hope is in things on the earth. The Church's hope is in things above. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, and these heavenly places are "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."

The Church is "looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, our Saviour Jesus Christ." We wait to hear His voice, to be caught up to meet Him, to be like Him, to be for ever with Him. When Christ our life thus appears, we shall appear with Him in glory. Who can tell what is in store for the Church, then all glorious, and without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing? Then we shall be with Christ far above, at God's right hand where there are pleasures for evermore. Then in the ages rushing toward us, and to worlds as yet unborn, God will show forth in us, the Church, the exceeding riches of His grace. We will have an eternity of bliss in which to magnify His Name and to be to the praise of His glory. Even now as we contemplate the realization of our hope, it should make us sing above all the trials of life, knowing that any sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Now blest in heavenly places,
In Christ at God's right hand;
And filled with all His fullness,
Complete in Him to stand.
Sing to the praise and glory,
Of Him who thus hath shown,
Such gracious love and mercy,
To call us for His own.

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FROM MILK TO MEAT
By M.Stanford




"By people who live on milk I mean those who are imperfectly acquainted with the teaching concerning righteousness. Such persons are mere babes" (Heb. 5:13, Wey.).

Promises and blessings have mainly to do with the milk of the Word. In order for a believer to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, he must fellowship with Him in the Word. There is general Bible study, and there is feeding upon the Lord Jesus in the Word of life. The former serves for foundation, the latter is needed for growth.

"People may receive 'blessings' and temporary 'deliverances' in answer to prayer, for God is merciful to His children and His Spirit refreshes and blesses us even apart from the real walk of faith. But it is of greater benefit finally to us, and much greater glory to God, if we simply accept His Word and learn to walk in the power of it by naked faith; which asks no longer certain ecstasies, but being sure of God's truth because it is His truth, maintains an attitude of faith therein; attitude --- a fixed heart.

"Faith, when once we see the truth, consists of a believing attitude of the will toward God. This involves a negative attitude toward all doubt of His promises or anything that would raise a doubt; and it also involves a continued refusal to rest upon appearances or feelings, even though these may come in great abundance. It is God's written Word that supplies strength to the heart of faith." - W.R.N.

"It is an easy thing to set sail and get fairly out into the ocean; but when many days have passed and no land is in sight, one is apt to weary. If the heart is not fully occupied with the Lord in the Word, something is taken on board to fill up the void."

"Nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine" (1 Tim. 4:6).

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A Source of True Joy

One of the first results of active participation in the work of the Lord is joy! When the people of Israel accepted David's challenge and gave generously toward the building of the Temple, the very first details the Scripture record are:

"Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy" (I Chron. 29:9).

And observe that the children of Israel rejoiced before they could possibly see any results. Their hearts were filled with rejoicing as soon as they had personally participated in the offering being gathered. It was the same with Philippian believers. It was in giving that they rejoiced, before seeing any of the fruits of their generosity.

This is a wonderful thing to know in "this present evil world," when often we must sow faithfully without reaping the fruit. The joy comes with the giving, with the knowledge that we are "workers together" with Him who gave His all.

Soon enough we shall see that our labors and sacrifices were "not in vain in the Lord. " What a day of rejoicing that will be! What joy to see others there with Christ because He used us to reach them with the wonderful message of His matchless grace! I Thessalonians 2:19,20 are verses we can-and should--take to heart!

"Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account."
--Phillipians 4:17
From Amazing Grace

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Are You Laboring In Vain?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth



“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58.).



What wonderful words of assurance! Who among us has not felt, at sometime or another, that our labor for the Lord is in vain? At such times,what a comfort it is to rest in this unconditional, unqualified, God-given guarantee that our labors for Him are not in vain!

But how could Paul say such a thing, in light of his words to the Galatians, where he said,

“I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (Gal. 4:11).

Here the apostle seems to fear that his labors to establish the Galatians in the doctrines of grace would be in vain if they continued to hanker after the Law.

And what about Philippians 2:16, where Paul exhorts the Philippians to be:

“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”

Here it sounds as if Paul’s labor would be in vain if the Philippians failed to hold forth the word of life, and follow his other instructions in this passage.

Then to top it off, there is also I Thessalonians 3:5 to consider, where Paul told the Thessalonians,

“…I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.”

Here again, Paul appears apprehensive that all of the labor he had bestowed upon God’s people might be in vain if the temptations of the tempter succeeded in luring the Thessalonians away from the faith.

In view of statements like these, how could Paul state so categorically that the labor of the Corinthians was not in vain? Did they do better work than he did? Surely not! We feel the answer lies in the assurance Paul gave them that their labor was not in vain “in the Lord.” While twas possible that the labor of even the great apostle Paul might be in vain in the Galatians, in the Philippians, and in the Thessalonians, it is not possible that any of our labors are in vain in the Lord.

Why is that? Well, remember that Paul says of the Judgment Seat of Christ that “every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour” (I Cor. 3:8.). Notice that we are going to be rewarded according to our labor, not according to the fruit of our labor. That is, God intends to reward us based upon our faithfulness, not on the faithfulness of those upon whom we bestow our labor. If this were not so, even Paul’s rewards would be few, for after all of the labor he extended in Asia, all in Asia turned away from him.

And so if the unfaithfulness of the ones upon whom you bestow your spiritual labor has you thinking that all of your efforts have gone for nought, remember that your labor might be in vain in them, but your labor is not in vain in the Lord. You have God’s Word on it!

Of course, if there isn’t going to be a Judgment Seat of Christ, then your labor for the Lord is in vain. If the reader is wondering why we might say something like that, remember that some among the Corinthians were insisting that there is no such thing as the resurrection of the dead (I Cor. 15:12). And if there is no resurrection,there will be no Judgment Seat to follow, and if there isn’t going to be a Judgment Seat, then our labor is in vain! This progressive faulty reasoning was threatening to bring all labor for the Lord in Corinth to a screeching halt! No wonder the apostle begins this resurrection chapter by first assuring the Corinthians that their faith was not “in vain” (15:2,14,17), then moved on to assure them that their labor was not in vain.

While some spiritual leaders avoid teaching doctrine because doctrine is, in their minds, not very practical, the apostle Paul was of another mind. Disbelief in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was threatening to put a stranglehold on the faith and labor of the saints at Corinth, but the airtight case Paul made for the resurrection in this blessed chapter explains why he could say we “therefore” have all the incentive we need to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

And so if sometimes it feels like you are just spinning your wheels and getting nowhere with people as you labor for the Lord, we close with yet another unconditional promise from the apostle of grace:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).

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RAGS TO RICHES
By Miles Stanford

"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Rom. 7:23).

Self is the believer's indwelling enemy; its degrading bondage is his deepest heartache. However, the reign of self is overthrown by its own enmity, since it creates the needs that cause us to hunger for and appropriate Christ's life and liberty.

"A sense of spiritual poverty is necessary to spiritual growth. This awareness of failure becomes acute to the believer during those days when he is attempting to attain holiness of heart through self-effort. Knowing what he ought to be and do, he proceeds to try to reach those goals. He purposes, resolves, promises, struggles, weeps, and fails again. His testimony, with Paul, is, 'The things that I want to do, I do not do, and the things that I do not want to do, I do' (Rom. 7:15).

"What a delightful day it is for him when he realizes that 'in him, that is, in his flesh, dwelleth no good thing' (Rom. 7:18.). Only then does he, in his failure, cry out, 'Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' 'I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. 7:24, 25) comes back the reply. He begins to recognize that God expects only failure from the flesh, never success, but that 'in Christ' is his sanctification, his growth. Thus it is that freedom comes through bondage, life through death." - W.W.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2).