Revealing the true spiritual state
Now Playing: Do our lives reflect spiritual weakness or spiritual power ?
Topic: Spiritual State
If, however, their souls had been in a good state, God would have manifested the hidden evil in their midst. The power of an ungrieved Spirit in the assembly brings to light all that dishonours Christ amongst His own.

The reason it was not so with Israel, was that there was something unjudged in the people and their leader. The hidden evil of Achan is the means of bringing out the hidden evil in the heart of the people.

When the assembly is in a good state, although always answerable for the sin of one of its members, it is made aware of it by the Holy Spirit, and finds itself in a position to put away the evil from its midst, and, as the case may be, to put out the wicked person.* It was thus in the early days of the church, in the case of the cutting off of Ananias and Sapphira; the power of the Spirit of God discovered and judged the evil immediately.

But here in Israel, hearts had to be brought by self-judgment to bear the sin of one as the sin of all before God. {*See Deut. 13: 6; Deut. 19: 19; Deut. 21: 18, 21; Deut. 24: 7; 1 Cor. 5: 13. It is well to observe that the cases where a man may be designated as a wicked person are not all specified in the word of God. No mention is made of a murderer, etc. The judgment being left to the spirituality of the assembly.}

Is it thus with us in these days of ruin? Do we feel the evil in the church? Do we recognise our responsibility as to all the corruption which has been introduced? Or are we self confident enough, in the presence of the rubbish, to think that we could do better than others, and that the ruin of the church is not our doing?

If our hearts are not habitually thus before God, we are sectarian; and, more than this, we may have to be reminded by a terrible defeat of the humility which becomes those who ought to have remained at Gilgal.

See how differently from our miserable hearts God judges. He says: "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; for they have even taken of the accursed thing; and have also stolen and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff." (v. 11)

Dr. H.L.Rossier

Proper Response
Now Playing: How do we respond to severe troubles ?
Topic: Spiritual State
Midian's Attacks and Our Proper Response

This morning, I was reading in Judges 6, and I was reminded of thoughts I believe the Lord gave me about this chapter some years ago in an "open" ministry meeting in a conference.

As we find a number of times in the book of Judges, Israel's sin resulted in the Lord delivering them into the hand of this or that enemy. In this case, it is Midian, that speaks of strife. It is the government of God on them for their sin. I was thinking how applicable that is to those of us gathered together to the Lord's name alone.

In the 50 years I have been among those thus gathered, I do not remember a time when there was more strife among the beloved saints.

What is the result when strife overcomes us? Sadly, we read that "Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian". No sustenance was left. What they sowed was destroyed. What a discouraging time!

Some made for themselves dens and caves to "get away from it all". Can we really blame them? Going off and isolating oneself from all the strife has an appeal to the sensative soul. And yet, it was not God's remedy.

Feeling their impoverishment, they cried to the Lord. Have we done that in earnest, beloved brothers and sisters? Conferences which have often provided nourishment for us and our young people are cancelled, but have we come together instead to humble ourselves in His presence and to hear the prophetic word from God Himself?

When they cry to the Lord, He faithfully sends a prophet to them, but have you noticed this prophet has no word of encouragement for them? He simply, as God's mouthpiece or spokesperson, delineates their sin for them, and ends his message with the solemn pronouncement, "ye have not hearkened to my voice."

But then, our attention is directed to a most interesting scene. The Angel of the Lord (a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God) comes and sits, unseen and unnoticed, observing Gideon threshing wheat (in type, getting for himself and perhaps for others something of Christ) in the winepress (the place of self-judgment), to secure it from the Midianites.

Gideon is not running to a cave or den or stronghold, but he is concerned that what he has gleaned be secured from the Midianites

At this point, the Angel of the Lord appears to him and assures him that the Lord is with him and calls him a "mighty man of valour." Gideon takes his place with the people of God and asks, "Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us?" He recognises the hand of the Lord in what has come upon Israel, and that becomes his strength and the basis on which the Lord uses him to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. "Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?"

But Gideon then confesses his natural inability and the poverty of his family (verse 15). The Lord's answer is so assuring: "Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." That is the ULTIMATE assurance, that He will be with Gideon.

Brave Gideon had three humdred men--

The Midianites had a host--

But Gideon had the LORD with him,

And so he had the most

(from Selections by R.K.G.)

Devotion to Him
Now Playing: How devoted are we to our Saviour ?
Topic: Spiritual State
"I Love Thee Still"

F. C. Blount

That there is a growing tendency to looseness and laxity must be apparent to any who are taking account of things, and especially does this take the form of worldliness in amusements, dress, furnishing of our homes, our affiliations and companionships.

The cross, in which we once gloried, as crucified with Christ, seeing on the one side a dead world and on the other a dead self, we view as the transaction in which our sins were put away, and there we pause, disinclined to accept it as the end of ourselves for the world and the end of the world for us (Gal. 6:14). "God forbid that I should glory" has ceased to be our prayer. We do not want the world rendered an object of contempt and shame to us, nor do we want to be rendered this to the world; and yet, this is where the cross leaves us.

We have lost CHRIST, maybe not as the object of faith, but as the object of affection. All declension begins here. With many of us it would seem to be enough to know Him as a Saviour. We are quite willing to use His sorrows and sufferings to separate us from our sins, but we do not want these to separate us from ourselves and our surroundings. With the individual as with the Assembly, we are under the charge of "Thou has left thy first love," and solemnly called to "Remember therefore from whence thou has fallen." There may be much in us that He can commend, but if He has lost His place in our hearts, if affections are alienated, we are "fallen." Searching and solemn indictment! And what is His word to us? "Repent!"

It is not enough to be "on the ground," and to "have the truth." We but repeat the sin of the Pharisees when we become content and complacent with externals. The truth must give us a state that comports and agrees with the place we are in. If this is effected, we will not "walk in the manners" of that world from which His cross has separated us.

Has the blessed Spirit been so grieved that He can no longer make good to us what is true of us in Christ? Have we lost the sense of His preciousness in our souls? (1 Peter 2:7)? What disposition or desire can be satisfied apart from CHRIST in whom every beauty, every charm and every glory meet? All must be disappointing, ephemeral, and empty. The joy we are looking for, we are leaving behind in turning away from HIM. Once its passions and pleasures, its gold and its glory, we counted but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus your Lord. "Where is then the blessedness we speak of?" Iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold.

But HE is the same, and our failure has not diminished His fullness; it is for us still. However chilled in heart or wayward in walk, I hear Him saying, "I love thee still." Is there not a message from the cross, where love's sweetest story was so fully told, where we became His at such awful cost, where He bought us so dearly?



"I gave it all for thee;

What has thou given for Me?"


How much we are missing by leaving Him out of our lives! And how much He is missing! The next thing to being with Him there is to have Him with us here, to have His conscious presence, and so have a part with Him. When everything was slipping, Paul wrote to Timothy, "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit."

Do we catch this? It is the first movement toward being already in heaven. He was given for us. Glory to His name! But have we lost Him as the One who gave Himself for us? Oh, what a loss, since, "Christ is all." He the exalted One, far above all heavens," and we, not only the object of His consideration, but of His love!

Do we begin to grasp that height to which HE has been carried; "far above all heavens?" HE has the pre-eminence in all things; and "I am His, and His desire is towards me." What a secret to be in; a secret angels cannot know. Wait before HIM until He fills us with His own fullness. For one look at HIM there, Paul, "counted all things but loss." No wonder he passed into an ecstasy, and was "beside himself." Stephen, occupied with Him and His glory, wore an angel's face. Look long and lingeringly in that face that streams with the light of His glory, and it will cast a shade on all below.

And are we passing it all by? It is our loss now, and eternally. Once in the secret of what CHRIST is, earth's joys will become stale, and as HIS COMING casts the light of the nearing glory across this "little while," it will take the burden from our cross, and the sharpness from the thorns as we "haste to meet Him with a bridal hymn."

Tone of Meetings
Now Playing: Are we in a right state of soul before the Lord ?
Topic: Spiritual State
Where the tone of things is felt to be low, and meetings to be unprofitable, and some things repeatedly out of place, let all who feel it wait on God continually, believing, and He will assuredly hear and answer. These very trials and exercises which are peculiar to the Assembly of God will have the happy effect of casting us more on Him, and thus the eater will yield meat and the strong sweetness.

These trials and difficulties can be expected in the assembly beause it is right and divine. The devil will put forth every effort to drive us from that true and holy ground. He will try our patience, hurt our feelings and cause offense in numberless ways: anything to make us forsake the assembly.

Divine ground can only be held by faith. This marks the assembly of God and distinguishes it from every human system.

C H Mackintosh

On What ?
Now Playing: What are we "On" in our daily walk?
Topic: Spiritual State
"How encouraging to trace the way in which Habakkuk is led from being on his face in anguish of soul before God because of the failure of His people (ch. 1); to take his stand on the watch-tower, to hear the words of the Lord, (ch. 2). Then, having learned the mind of the Lord, to see him on his knees in prayer, with the result that finally he walks on high places with joy in his heart and praise on his lips." (ch.3)
(excerpted from Hamilton Smith)