The Altar of Incense
Reading: Exodus 30:1-10.
In reading through the book of Exodus you will be struck with the strange break of continuity, that, passing from the most holy place into the holy place where three vessels are found, the table of shewbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense, the account stops with the lampstand. Then there is the lapse in ...read
Article
The Amen
"These things saith the Amen" (Rev. 3:14).
The last message to the Church is from the One who selects for Himself from His many titles and designations the one that embodies everything that is affirmative, positive, and definite.
"Amen" is not only an ejaculation or form of assent, it is a Divine title, and in the title there is - as always - a ...read
Article
The Anointing: Light Within Our Dwellings
When will the Lord's people, who have the Scriptures and who know the Scriptures so well in the letter, when will they come to realize and to recognize that if truly they have been crucified with Christ, if they have died in His death and have been raised together with Him and have received the Spirit, they have light in their dwelling? "The anoint ...read
Book
The Arm of the Lord - Table of Contents
First published in "A Witness and A Testimony" magazines, 1958-1959.
Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12.
"Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
The word 'arm' is used symbolically many times in the Scriptures, to signify that upon which man relies for strength and support. The arm represents the person: ...read
Article
The Assault on Fellowship
There are few matters which go to the heart of the Lord's testimony more than the matter of fellowship between the Lord's people... and especially where there is particular responsibility for His testimony. The drive of the enemy and all his subtle and diabolical wit, as well as his pressure and his misrepresentations, will be directed toward destr ...read
Article
The Basis of Authority
Reading: Psalm 45:1-7; Hebrews 1:8,9.
"My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glor ...read
Book
The Battle For Life - Table of Contents
Reading: Revelation 1:1-20; 2:1.
By way of a brief introductory word let us focus your attention upon what we feel to be the Lord's concern with His people at this time.
In the second and third chapters of the Book of the Revelation we have the Lord's survey of the seven churches. As those eyes that are as a flame of fire peer into the inner sp ...read
Article
The Battle Which Is Not Yours
Reading: 2 Chron. 20:1--27.
"Then upon Jehaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the assembly; and He said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith the Lord unto you, ...read
Article
The Battleground of the Soul
Reading: Matt. 16:13-25; Luke 22:31-34.
"Blessed art thou, Simon... My Father (hath revealed it unto thee)" (Matt. 16:17).
"He... said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan" (Matt. 16:23).
"Simon... Satan asked to have you... but I made supplication for thee" (Luke 22:31-32; A.S.V.).
We have before us the spiritual history in the making of a ...read
Article
The Belovedness of Christ
Reading: Exodus 32:1-6, 15-29; Malachi 2:4-6; 3:1-3; Numbers 4:1-3; Luke 3:23.
The matter of the priestly service or ministry of the people of God, the service of God in terms of priestliness, is one which has been on my heart for a considerable time now. We will introduce the subject with a very simple consideration of what I am going to call t ...read
Article
The Blood, the Cross and the Name of the Lord Jesus
Readings: Series 1 - Luke 22:17,18,20. John 6:54,55. Col. 1:20. Heb. 9:12-14,20,22; 10:19; 11:29; 12:24. 1 Peter 1:2. 1 John 1:7. Rev. 5:9,10; 7:14,15. Series 2 - Acts 2:38: 3:6; 4:7,12,17,30; 8:12; 16:18; 19:13-15, 1 Cor. 5:4; 6:11. Eph. 1:21,22. Phil. 2:9-11. Rom. 6:3-8.
Beloved of God, we have read a good many passages of the Word and you wil ...read
Article
The Body of Christ: Its Heavenly Aspect
We are going, as the Lord enables us, to meditate afresh on the Body of Christ. We know, when we want to have the larger unfoldings of this "Mystery" where to turn; we instinctively turn to the Ephesian letter. In this letter we note, first of all, the simple preliminary fact, that the Church is designated 'The Body of Christ," it is "the Church wh ...read
Article
The Burden of the Valley of Vision
Reading: Isaiah 22:1
The word "burden" here just does mean a load or weight, as much as a man can carry. Thus the Prophets felt what the Lord had shown them to be something that weighed heavily upon them and often overwhelmed them.
The prophetic function is brought into operation at a time when things are not well with the people and work of Go ...read
Article
The Candlestick all of Gold
Zechariah 4
Features of the End-Time
The chapter which is now before us features in a remarkable way conditions and Divine aims in the "End-times." There are striking similarities in it to certain things mentioned in the first chapters of the Revelation. These we shall see as we go on. The chief value is in its reduction of all that is essent ...read
Article
The Centrality and Supremacy of Christ
"It pleased God... to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him" (Gal.1:15,16)
1. Everything Tested by Inwardness
Since Paul's day so very much of Christian activity has been the furthering of a movement, the propagating of a teaching, and the furthering of the interests of an institution. It is not a movement, nor to establish a movement ...read
Article
The Cleansing of the Temple
Reading: John 2:13-22.
It is doubtless known to you that on two occasions the Lord cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem. The first occasion was that of which we read in this passage in John's Gospel. The second, and the last occasion, is mentioned by the other writers of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. John does not repeat in his record that oc ...read
Article
The Coming of the Crowning Day
Peter, Paul, James and John all point us onward to the crowns which God offers to His servants. In each case the thought is related to an ordeal, whether it be a fight, a race or a trust. Three crowns are spoken of - the crown of righteousness, the crown of life and the crown of glory, and it seems that what is meant by crowning is the sealing of a ...read
Sermon
The Coming of the Kingdom in Power
Reading: Matt. 16:28; 17:1-7.
Though we are familiar with this incident of the transfiguration of Jesus, I have always had a feeling that we have not really grasped strongly enough the significance of it. We view it objectively as something that happened in the life of our Lord here, perhaps the most wonderful thing, and we leave it there and fa ...read
Article
The Continuance of Divine Instrumentalities
The question concerning every instrumentality raised up by God in relation to His purpose is: What justifies His maintaining it? There are evidently some things which do not justify His preserving such instrumentalities.
In the first place, because God originally raised up an instrumentality - it came from Him... it was His work initially in bring ...read
Article
The Continuing Need For Adjustment
From time to time, right through the ages, those who have stood in quite a definite relationship to the things of God have either been seduced, or have drifted, or have for some reason come to fixed and systematized positions as to the ways, works, and purposes of God - which fixed ideas have come to limit Him, bind them, and result in going round ...read
T. Austin-Sparks