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Service of the Lord

Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says. (Revelation 3:22 GW)

The man or woman who has no inner ear, no inner silence, no inner place for hearing the Lord is never going to be of much use in the service of the Lord, and mark you, it must be the Lord, and we must be very careful that we do not give even good men and good writers the place that the Lord ought to have. There is a time when we must sweep our books aside, when we must shut ourselves up from the voices of men, when we must get quiet with the Lord and listen, and more, we must seek to cultivate, by the grace of God, the ear that is always open to the Lord even when all the other sounds are around us. It is difficult, yet not impossible, that in the raging of the street and the rush of business life the Lord should say something; but He will only speak to those who recognize the value of listening to the Lord and who are giving Him His place of silence to speak when possible. The ear to hear the Lord when all other sounds and voices are around us is prepared and trained in these times of detachment which the Lord demands, and against which the devil is eternally active to capture the ear again.

Now, that is elementary (we are not seeking to be profound), but tremendously important. You and I know, never mind how spiritually mature we are the one object of the devil is to capture our ear from God, to make it impossible for us to have the silent hour and the silent ear for God. The pressing in, and all the things which happen just when you have decided to have a little quiet time; then it is you have to fight for the ear you know it is true. Do you see there is something bound up with that; the undoing of the work of the devil, the registration of God's mind upon this universe, everything which is meant by priestly ministry, which is bringing God in, is bound up with this: God having the ear.

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed . . . and that You would keep me from evil!” . . . So God granted him what he requested.

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. § When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him?

Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. § How great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! § I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. § The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

1 Chron. 4:10;  Prov. 10:22;  Job 34:29;  Ps. 3:8;  Ps. 31:19;  John 17:15;  Matt. 7:7,8;  Ps. 34:22

It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord forbringing them out of the land of Egypt.

The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

He knelt down and prayed … And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

It was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour … They took Jesus and led Him away … to a place called … Golgotha, where they crucified Him.

Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast.

Ex. 12:42;  1 Cor. 11:23;  1 Cor. 11:24  1 Cor. 11:25;  Luke 22:41,  Luke 22:44;  John 19:14,  John 19:16,18;  1 Cor. 5:7,8

Edifying Equilibrium

That ye may be blameless and harmless, children of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15).

There should be neither undergrowth, nor overgrowth, but balanced growth. Spiritual equilibrium alone will bring forth much fruit both in us and in others.

"A popular notion that the first obligation of the Church is to spread the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth is false. The first obligation is to be spiritually worthy to spread it. . . to spread an effete (worn out) and degenerate brand of Christianity to pagan lands is not to fulfill the Great Commission."

"We were created for more than our own spiritual development; reproduction, not mere development, is the goal to mature being - reproduction in other lives. There is a tendency in some characters, running parallel to the high cultivation that spends its whole energy on the production of bloom at the expense of seed.

"The flowers that are bent on perfecting themselves, by becoming double, end in barrenness, and a like barrenness comes to the soul whose interests are all concentrated upon its own spiritual well-being, heedless of the needs around. The true, ideal flower, is the one that uses its gifts as means to an end; the brightness and sweetness are not for its own glory; they are but to attract the bees and butterflies that will fertilize and make it fruitful." -L.T.

"Holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain" (Phil. 2:16).

God’s Divine Wisdom - Character and Attributes of God (2)

His Perfect Peace