A Pure Heart

“The sincere man stumbles as any traveler might do, but he gets up and resumes his journey with more caution and speed than before.

Sincerity does not guarantee we will not ever fall but it helps us up again when we do. The hypocrite, however, lies where he falls until he dies. Thus he is said to "fall into mischief" Proverbs 24:16.  The sincere man stumbles as any traveler might do, but he gets up and resumes his journey with more caution and speed than before. But the hypocrite plunges as a man from the top of a mast who is engulfed past any hope of recovery in the devouring sea.

We see this principle in King Saul's life. When his false heart discovered itself, he tumbled down the hill and did not stop, but went from one sin to another. In just a few years he had plummeted far from the place where he first left God. Once he had been so ready to worship God that he could not wait for the prophet Samuel to arrive-- but later he was so far from seeking God that he went to a witch for counsel. And in the last act of his bloody tragedy, Saul desperately threw his life into the devil's mouth by self-murder.

The reason Saul's sin crushed him to death was that his heart was never right with God in the first place. Samuel hinted at this truth when he told Saul: "The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart" 1 Samuel 13:14.Of course David himself fell into a sin far worse than Saul's wickedness-- for which God rejected that first king-- but the difference was that in David's life sincerity was "the root of the matter" Job 19:28.

There is a double reason for the recovering strength of sincerity. One stems from the nature of sincerity itself and the other proceeds from God's promise which settles into the sincere Christian's soul.

The restoring nature of sincerity itself kindles the soul. Sincerity is to the soul as the soul is to the body, a spark of divine life kindled in the man's heart by the Spirit of God. It is the seed of God remaining in the saint”. 


Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

FASTENING THE BELT OF TRUTH

“We have seen why sincerity is compared to the soldier's girdle or belt. Now we proceed to the other use of this girdle, which is to strengthen his loins and to fasten his armor close to him. In Scripture, girding implies strength: "Thou hast girded me with strength unto battle" Psalm 18:39. He "weakens the strength of the mighty" Job 12:21.; in this passage the Hebrew meaning is "He loosens their girdle." It is a grace, which establishes and strengthens the Christian in his whole walk; on the contrary, hypocrisy weakens and unsettles the heart: "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" James 1:8.

A soul has as much of heaven's purity and incorruption as it has sincerity. "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity" Ephesians 6:24. So, then, the strength of every grace lies in its measure of sincerity. But not only does sincerity cover all infirmities but strengthens the soul for Christian warfare.

"The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them" Proverbs 11:3. Despite all his clever strategies to save himself the hypocrite eventually sinks into his own instability; but sincerity holds the Christian safe above all dangers.

Israel's hypocrisy was "a generation that set not their heart aright"; they had a spirit, which "was not steadfast with God" Psalm 78:8. Stones which were not set right on the foundation cannot stand strong nor long.

We see more of this bitter fruit from the hypocrite's branches in the same Psalm: they "turned back, and dealt unfaithfully... they were turned aside like a deceitful bow" (v. 57). Before a defective bow is bent, you cannot see anything wrong with it. But when you draw the arrow to the head it flies to pieces. This is exactly what happens to a false heart when it is put under stress.

Sincerity, however, keeps the soul pure in the face of temptation. "He that walketh uprightly walketh surely" Proverbs 10:9.

Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

WAIT ON GOD

“You might search all over the field and still not discover the treasure hidden there. The only way we can "know the things that are freely given to us of God" is by God's Spirit 1 Corinthians 2:12. He lives in God's ordinances as a governor works in his graces-- evidences for heaven-- sealed to our consciences.

Go to God's Spirit and wait. The fact that you are at the right door is comforting in itself. Even if you knock for a long time but do not hear anyone coming, you should not feel ashamed. Eglon's servants waited for a dead Judges 3:25., but you are waiting for the living God, who hears from heaven every knock you have ever given on earth. He is a loving God who hears your prayers and sees your tears. And even if He seems like a stranger, as Joseph appeared to his brothers, He is so big with mercy that He will soon fall on your neck and ease His heart by acknowledging and accepting you, and His grace in you.

Lift up your head, then-- but remember, you cannot set times for God Almighty. The sun rises at its own hour, no matter what time you decide it should come up. Sometimes God comes to you in an ordinance and His heavenly light radiates into your innermost being while He quickens His Word to you. But have you not spent other nights on your face wrestling with God, wondering why He did not satisfy your soul? When someone brings a candle into the dark room we stir around and look for the thing we have lost and soon find what we had groped for in the darkness for hours. We can gauge more of our spiritual condition in a moment of His revelation than in days or weeks of His withdrawal.”

Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

The Secret Place

On our Journey the place I have come to love is the one reserved for us by God in His presence. Psalm 91:1 and in His fortress, 2 Samuel 22:2, in your presence is fullness of Joy, Psalm 16:11. His presence, my fortress, joy and source of Life have kept this journey from being one of wilderness wanderings and a course of many trials, because at each turn He alone has been our rock and steady hand, providing for our spirit, soul and body.
I would be lacking in gratefulness if I did not mention all of those who moved by God's goodness have come as messengers of the most High to bring a portion of their provision to us that we would not stumble and lack in the necessities of life. God’s creative nature is on display as He continues to provide with infinite diversity in the manner and messengers of His provision.
I thank God for His faithfulness to us directly and through His willing servants.

EVIDENCE OF YOUR CALLING

“Look for evidence of your sincerity. This is the "white stone" with the "new name" in it, "which no man knows except he that receives it" Revelation 2:17. Paul had this white stone sparkling in his conscience more gloriously than all the precious gems in Aaron's breastplate: "Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity... we have had our conversation in the world" 2 Corinthians 1:12.   

And Job was not without this evidence either when he appealed to the very thoughts of God while He was ransacking every corner of his heart by His heavy hand-- "Thou knows that I am not wicked" Job 10:7.. He did not say he was without sin-- this we hear confessed again and again-- but he knew he was not a rotten-hearted hypocrite. The Lord gave way to let him be searched and brought to trial to stop Satan's mouth and to shame him for laying a spiritual felony charge against one of God's elect.

Paul and Job were saints of the highest form, it is true; but the weakest Christian in God's family has the identical witness in him which they had: "He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself" 1 John 5:10. Christ and the Holy Spirit live in your heart just as they abide in the most holy saint on earth. And you have the same blood of Jesus and the water of the Word to wash you. These will testify for your grace and sincerity as they did for Job's and Paul's. But witnesses in a court of law must wait to give testimony until the judge calls them to the bench. And you can be certain God will call up the right witnesses at the right time. But now let us examine three ways to find the evidence of a true heart.” 


Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

The Undiscovered Country

In July of 2005 we set out to the "Undiscovered Country"
That is, we set out on what has turned out to be an amazing Journey of God's Grace. Next week we will publish our 1,200 article. 
These have included teaching series, sermons, devotionals and prophetic words.
In the next few days we will tell you more about this Journey and what we see God doing NEXT! http://www.facebook.com/AGILife

COMFORT FOR THE SINCERE ONE WHO DOUBTS

“You may be genuinely sincere but doubt persuades you otherwise. To you I have a few words of counsel, and I trust God to give His blessings to each one.

Do not conclude you are a hypocrite because you cannot now see evidence of your sincerity. The patriarchs had money bundled up in their sacks and traveled all the way to the inn, not knowing what they had until they opened them. There is a treasure of sincerity hidden in many souls, but the time has not come for them to open the sack and know their true riches. Thousands of saints whose voyage were marked by fears about whether or not God's grace was truly in them have crossed the gulf and safely landed in heaven. Faith unfeigned puts a believer into the ark with Christ and shuts the door; but it does not necessarily keep him from getting seasick in the ship.

It is the work of Christ, which demonstrates itself in such a way that we can see and own it, whereas the truth of our grace may not so clearly show itself. God has put the Holy Spirit beside the truth of grace to lead the soul into the light and show His children that truth. He alone is the great messenger who is able "to show unto man his uprightness Job 33:23.

But even as the eye, which cannot see anything in complete darkness, is still a seeing eye where there is light, so there may be truth of grace where there is not a sense of that truth present. So the person may hunt passionately from one church service to another to get the sincerity he already has, as one who looks frantically throughout the house to find his hat, when all the time it has been on his head.

Mark this down as real truth: "I may be upright even if I am not able to see it clearly." Although this insight will not furnish full comfort, it can be support until assurance comes.” 


Remember we are upright by His grace and shed blood, not by our own works.

Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

THE LOVE AND FEAR OF THE WORLD

“Get above the love of the world. This is a stubborn root for hypocrisy to grow on.”

“A Christian's sincerity is not eclipsed without the intervening of the earth between God and his soul. Get above the love of the world. This is a stubborn root for hypocrisy to grow on. If your heart becomes attached to something else in the world, and chooses it above everything else, you will be sick with longing for it and vulnerable to take the first advice Satan offers for getting what you want most. Hunters do not care how they get in-- over hedges and ditches and through marshes-- just so long as they catch the rabbit.

It is a mystery how a saint, with the precious ointment of Christ poured upon his heart, could still have such a strong scent after the world. It would seem that the sweet perfume which comes to those beds of spices-- God's promises would spoil the Christian's desire for hunting earthly game. The breath from Christ in them should so fill the saint's senses that gross earthly enjoyments would no longer be pleasing to him.

This is true as long as the Christian's spiritual senses are open, but as a head cold stops up the nose from doing its job, so a Christian's negligence obstructs his heavenly graces. And when a saint cannot enjoy Christ's divine savor, the devil takes advantage and immediately sets some soridly  (Degrading-Selfish) attraction before him. Soon the flesh picks up the scent and takes the Christian into a chase, which dead-ends in sorrow and shame. Get above the fear of the world.

Fear of man brings a snare. A coward will run into any hole, no matter how filthy, to save himself. And when the holiest saints are tempted, they are like all other men. When Peter's reputation seemed to be in a little danger, he did not "walk uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" Galatians 2:14. Instead he took one step forward and another back again-- sometimes he was willing to eat with Gentiles, but at other times he was not. Why? Because he feared "them which were of the circumcision Galatians 2:12.”

Become a person who lives a life of saturation with God’s Word, His presence and ways and let your roots go deep in Him. Psa. 1:1 (AMP) BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.  2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.† 3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].


Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617