Tue, May 22nd - 9:42PM
Waiting Room
"They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength" (Is. 40:31 esv).
To wait upon God is entirely within the reach of all, whatever may be the age, condition, or environment. All may not be able to preach, teach, go as missionaries, or enter into public service; but any Christian can wait upon the Lord.
Silence
The Bible tells us much about waiting upon the Lord. The first meaning of the expression is silence. Prayer has been made and now the soul is hushed and, bowing in silence (in faith), it waits before God.
Our souls are too noisy. In prayer life alone we see how it hinders. Our hearts are much distressed and burdened, so we go to prayer and maybe spend much time pouring out our petitions before the throne. And too many times we get up immediately, rush out of His presence and often try to answer the prayer by some efforts of our own. We do the praying but not the waiting. Let us not be afraid to be silent before Him, thinking it is wasted time. He does not want us to be all the time talking–telling Him so many things about which He already knows more than we do. Time is needed today for proper adjustment to Him, our vision properly focused, our hearts hushed, and minds subdued. It is in the silent hour before Him, quietly waiting in His presence, that the miracle is wrought.
Expectation and Hope
The second meaning of the word carries the thought of expectation and hope.
"For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from Him" (Ps. 62:1, 5 esv).
To wait upon God means to expect from God. It implies dependence.
How necessary today that we wait upon God in the sense of expecting from Him. The natural man is so self-sufficient. He turns here and there and expects help from his natural ability, from friends, or from circumstances, But in the spiritual life we are taught to distrust self and to depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit.
Watching
The third meaning of wait is to watch, observe, take notice. This means that all our spiritual senses must be alive, alert, and expectant. To wait means that we are to be near to Him and still, that we may catch the slightest intimation on His part. Our hearts are to be sensitive enough to catch the faintest reflection and be able to discern quickly His voice. The meaning is clearly shown in;
Prov. 8:34: "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching
daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors."
Here we have a man, maybe a servant or soldier, waiting at a door or gate. He does not know the moment his master may open the door to require his service, or maybe to give him a gift. Be it one or the other, it matters not to the waiting man. His duty is to wait (to watch or take notice). It is not the waiting of an idler; it is not the waiting of a dreamer. It is the quiet waiting of one who is girt and ready.
We do not long watch or observe keenly the movements of God before He has some word for us. He bids us go or come on some mission, or speak, write, pray, visit, or sing for Him. Why? Because we were near enough to feel what is on His heart, and thus we were able to enter into fellowship with Him in service. Many today do not understand the movement of God in the world as He is speaking to us in present conditions because they are not near enough or still enough to observe Him. Such wonderful blessings, then, hang upon this one condition: to wait. And to wait upon God is to have the heart silent in an expectant attitude, to hear what He might say–that we might do His bidding. Wait means that we are to be near to Him and still, that we may catch the slightest intimation on His part.
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Thu, Apr 5th - 7:49AM
His Church His Kingdom
“And preaching the gospel to that city, and having made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, calling on them to continue in the faith, and that through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:21-22
It is through “tribulation” that we are prepared for the Kingdom of God. The word “tribulation” means “to put pressure on.”
Tribulation - G2347
θλίψις thlipsis
Thayer Definition:
1) a pressing, pressing together, pressure
2) metaphorically oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits
This is more than the many daily pressures (tribulations) that we face in our lives. There is a “great tribulation” in which an intense pressure from the enemy will come against us. If we are not presently feeling a measure of this pressure, then we may be less than fully committed to the Lord.
Therefore, there is a positive confession that each of us should make -
“Lord, no matter what you may allow, in order to perfect my life for
Your purposes, I totally submit myself to You, and to these things.”
It is very important that we understand that these pressures are not the result of the Lord being angry with us; nor are they punishment. Rather, He is seeking to produce a quality within us that will enable us to stand and endure, in that day.
There is a progression, a higher calling to His Church that His Kingdom is at hand.
Because the message that will bring us into the Kingdom is different from the message to the Churches, the Lord has repeatedly said,
“Who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:9).
The ministry of the Church is to “Whomsoever.”
The ministry of the Kingdom is to “He who overcomes.”
The message of the Church leads to “Heaven.”
The message of the Kingdom leads to “The Throne.”
The desire of the Church is “Jesus abiding within.”
The desire of the Kingdom is “Jesus taking His place as The Head of His body.
The testimony of the Church is “I have Jesus.”
The testimony of the Kingdom is “Jesus has me.”
The Church operates through “Grace.”
The Kingdom operates under “Government.”
To enter the Church, we need “A message of salvation.”
To enter the Kingdom, we need “A message of preparation.”
http://godsappointedtime.blogspot.com/
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Fri, Mar 9th - 8:29PM
The Greater Work
The "One lit match will make some light, but multiplied thousands of matches together will make a brilliant light. Though each one of us is insignificant within ourselves, there is a greater work, because now all that Jesus did during His time on earth will again be done corporately, through a people who satan thought he had defeated, but now have become the present day expression of the life of Jesus. "Greater work" then, is the corporate expression of His will being done. Jesus, "the light of the world," will increasingly light the entire atmosphere of the world as His resurrection glory begins to shine out through the corporate Body of Christ. 
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Tue, Feb 28th - 6:59PM
Spirit Soul Body
It is through the corporal body that man comes into contact with the material world. Hence we may label the body as that part which gives us world-consciousness. The soul comprises the intellect which aids us in the present state of existence and the emotions which proceed from the senses. Since the soul belongs to man’s own self and reveals his personality, it is termed the part of self-consciousness. The spirit is that part by which we commune with God and by which alone we are able to apprehend and worship Him. Because it tells us of our relationship with God, the spirit is called the element of God-consciousness. God dwells in the spirit, self dwells in the soul, while senses dwell in the body.
A) The Function of Conscience in Man’s Spirit
“The Lord your God hardened his spirit” Deut. 2.30
“Saves the crushed in spirit” Ps. 34.18
“Put a new and right spirit within me” Ps. 51.10
“When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit” John 13.21
“His spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” Acts 17.16
“It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God” Rom. 8.16
“I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment” 1 Cor. 5.3
“I had no rest in my spirit” 2 Cor. 2.13 AV
“For God did not give us the spirit of timidity” 2 Tim. 1.7
B) The Function of Intuition in Man’s Spirit
“The spirit indeed is willing” Matt. 26.41
“Jesus perceiving in his spirit” Mark 2.8
“He sighed deeply in his spirit” Mark 8.12
“He was deeply moved in spirit” John 11.33
“Paul was pressed in the spirit” Acts 18.5 AV
“Being fervent in spirit” Acts 18.25
“I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the spirit” Acts 20.22
“What person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him” 1 Cor. 2.11
“They refreshed my spirit as well as yours” 1 Cor. 16.18
“His spirit was refreshed by you all” 2 Cor. 7.13 AV
C) The Function o f Communion in Man’s Spirit
“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Luke 1.47
“The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” John 4.23
“Whom I serve with my spirit” Rom. 1.9
“We serve . . . in the new life of the spirit” Rom. 7.6
“You have received the spirit of sonship when we cry Abba Father” Rom. 8.15
“The Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit” Rom. 8.16
“He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” 1 Cor. 6.17
“I will sing with the spirit” 1 Cor. 14.15
“If you bless with the spirit” 1 Cor. 14.16
“In the spirit he carried me away” Rev 21.10
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Mon, Feb 27th - 9:50PM
Love Not the World
15. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. 17. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1John 2 15-17)
Every heresy, every neglect or denial of God’s truth, weakens the spiritual life. The rejection of the faith in the divinity of Christ, of the atonement through blood, or justification by faith, or regeneration by the Spirit, endangers the life of the church. But of all heresies the worst, the heresy of heresies is a worldly spirit. It disposesses the Spirit of God and makes every truth powerless. It brings the church into subjection to the god of this world. If there is one prayer we need it is this: Lord, show us what thou meanest: Not of the world! As we see what it is to have a supernatural life and calling, and what a shame to sacrifice this to a worldly spirit, and are able to judge how far this is done in the church, our whole heart will cry out for revival as the one only thing that can help the church.
(Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 32).
http://godsappointedtime.blogspot.com/
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Name: Chang Noi
