Many times we lose our peace because we worry about the future, not believing that God is able and willing to take care of it with its unknown problems and difficulties. Dr. Jowett tells of a time when he was in a most pitiable perplexity and consulted his friend, Dr. Berry.
"What would you do if you were in my place?" he intreated.
"I don't know, Jowett. I am not there, and you are not there yet. When do you have to act?"
"On Friday."
"Then you will find your way perfectly clear on Friday. The Lord will not fail you," answered Dr. Berry. And sure enough, on Friday all was plain.
You can have the peace of God amidst the most turbulent circumstances. Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the recognition of the presence of God. Kay translates Psalm 46:10, "Be at leisure and know that I am God." W. Y. Fullerton, one of Spurgeon's evangelists, tells this story:
"I remember once in China I came to a place where a little band had once been beleaguered by a howling mob, the marks of whose swords were on the door—the greatest indignity that can be given a house in China. The saints had gathered in an inner room staying their minds on Jehovah. Years later, when I returned, I talked to these same people gathered again in that room—those who had returned, after suffering worse than death. I noticed they had placed a motto on the end wall which said, "In this place will I give peace, saith the Lord" (Haggai 2:9b)."
Like a river glorious is God's Perfect peace,
Over all victorious in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day.
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.
Hidden in the hollow of His mighty hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry, touch the spirit there.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed;
Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
A long-suffering God must have a long-suffering people. The divine patience is that power of control which God exercises over Himself, causing Him to bear long with the wicked:
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy." (Psalm 103:8)
". . . despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)
Long-suffering means long patience. Long patience is one of the most needed flavors of the fruit of Love. Impatience is possibly the most prevalent of all the sins committed by believers today. Even on the mission field where the lonely sentinels of the Cross are holding forth in pagan darkness, this sin prevails. A leading pastor who visited many mission stations on different mission fields was amazed to discover after his messages, when he was dealing with the missionaries' problems, that "short patience" was one of the leading causes of defeat in their spiritual lives, and a real hindrance to revival blessing. These missionaries were easily upset and short-tempered with each other, not realizing that "Love can endure anything" (1 Corinthians 13:7). It can bear any insult, any injury, any disappointment.
There was a sister who used to testify that she never got angry until she was provoked. That is not victory. Provocation is sometimes used by God to test our spirituality.
In Kimberly, South Africa, when diamonds are being treated and polished, they sometimes break. Instead of throwing away these smashed diamonds, the workmen use them to polish other diamonds with! Many "smashed diamonds" which we encounter in our Christian lives are being used by God to polish us. It is a horrendous thought that we ourselves might "break" and our use be limited to polishing others through the friction we cause. May God deliver us from such a ministry!
Oh how we need this patience of the Spirit on the mission field, in the assembly of the Lord's people, and in the home! Hudson Taylor used to gather new missionaries around him when they arrived in China, so that he could have a personal talk with them, giving them instructions on orientation. On one occasion he took a new worker with him into a Chinese eating house. As they sat at a little table, Mr. Taylor filled a glass with water—right up to the brim. While they were talking, to the young recruit's astonishment, the senior missionary struck the table with a sharp blow and the water spilled out onto the table.
"Now " said Mr. Taylor, "You will get many a jolt and many a hard blow here in the work. Be prepared for that, for remember that when you get a jolt like that, there will spill out of you by that jolt, what is in you."
How true! In all the Lord's work you are going to receive slaps, slanders, slightings, and sarcasm, but the Lord will give you victory if you let him. Have you "spilled over" recently with a bad temper or an impatient, unkind remark against another brother or sister? If the Holy Spirit is in absolute control of your life, be sure that the jars and jolts of life will cause to spill out only supernatural grace; you will exercise "long patience" instead of "short patience." A free translation of I Corinthians, 13th chapter, vs. 4-5, comes with convicting force in connection with this thought:
"Love is patient, Love is kind; Love knows no envy; Love is no braggart; it is not inflated with its own importance; it does not behave gracelessly; it does not insist on its own rights; it never flies into a temper; it does not store up the memory of any wrong it has received."
We usually think of the bestowal of power as being for the one specific purpose of fitting us to perform mighty exploits in His name or conducting a powerful and gifted ministry. Yet, when Paul wrote to the saints of Colosse he said:
"We pray that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power, according to the might of His glory, to exercise every kind of endurance, patience, perseverance and forbearance with joy." (Colossians 1: 11)
According to the apostle Paul, the end of "power" is long suffering! And the exercise of long patience must be with joy—or as Moffatt translates, "with patient cheerfulness."
Patient love overcomes everything. The grace of patience has won many souls to Christ where all else has failed. I heard of a woman in my native city of Glasgow, Scotland, whose drunkard husband did everything in his power to hinder her in her Christian life. He would often bring his drunken friends to his house late at night and demand that his wife arise and prepare them a meal. This she did with cheerful countenance. Month after month, the Holy Spirit sustained her in her trial and provocation, giving her the fruit of patience and cheerfulness. The unconverted men who accompanied the husband to his home were so astonished at her long suffering with her husband that they became ashamed of themselves. "You are a wicked man!" they said, "You have one of the most wonderful wives in the world." But he continued to curse and abuse her and she continued to love and obey him with patience and cheerfulness. It is not surprising to note that after many months of living with such a wife, the husband repented of his sin and received Christ as his Savior. Afterwards, he was able to lead some of his companions also to know the Lord.
"Be patient—wait God's time—He knows the best,
Though plans are crossed—unanswered your request—
Even when you suffer from the stunning blow
When He to your petition answers "No,"
When all is dark around, just kneel in prayer,
Tell Him you're trusting—He will bless you there."
—Clara Simpson
Gentleness At a certain steelworks in England they have a powerful steam hammer. After displaying and explaining to visitors its exceptional power, the Demonstrator usually finishes with the use of this great hammer to crack a nut. And the nut is cracked as gently and as neatly as with a small pair of hand-crackers! That is true gentleness.
Gentleness must never be confused with weakness, for gentleness is power under perfect control. God is gentle. To manifest gentleness as the fruit of the Spirit is truly to be like God in one of the best-loved of His attributes.
"Ye shall be the children of the Highest; for He is kind." (Luke 6:35)
Perhaps the passage that gives us the greatest insight into divine gentleness is found in Isaiah 40:10-12. The central verse is full of strong exquisite beauty:
"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
Yet, the verses immediately before and after this priceless gem contain eloquent descriptions of the power of the Almighty Creator, thus showing the contrast. Here is a picture of true gentleness—power under control.
The apostle Paul speaks of the meekness and gentleness of Christ in 2 Corinthians 10:1; where the prophecy of Isaiah 32:3 is found fulfilled in Him.
"A bruised reed shall He not break, and a smoking (smoldering) flax shall He not quench."
All through the Four Gospels, we see the gentle Christ at work. All who were among life's "broken reeds" felt the power of His kindness.
Many believers desperately need the grace of gentleness. How often they are loud and harsh in their dealings with others. Many times they appear crude and cruel. The miracle of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is that God not only redeems a man from the power of Satan and translates him into the Kingdom of Christ, but He also transforms the man into the image of the Savior by His Spirit, when He is allowed to do so. Christians are meant to be like Christ. Many Christians explain that they are only expressing their own temperaments when they bluster. "I was born that way," they say. "That is only myself, and I can't help it." Anyone who says such things does not realize that it is the plan and purpose of God in Redemption to deliver him from himself and make him as kind and gentle as Christ, his Lord. I never cease to marvel at the mighty change which the Holy Spirit produces in the lives of many who, before their conversion, were rough and cruel. How gentle they have become! James Bryant, of the Open Air Mission in London, was one of the greatest illustrations of this that I ever knew. Before his conversion, it would take some three or four policemen to arrest him for being drunk and disorderly on a Saturday night! I used to tell him that there was no use of his reciting this, as nobody in the congregation would believe it, so beautifully was the gentleness of Christ revealed in him since his conversion!
Goodness Goodness is another characteristic of a person living under the control of the divine Paraclete. When I was asked to preach the funeral sermon of that great Bible expositor Dr. R. E. Neighbour, Sr., I could think of only one verse that fully characterized the man—the words found in Acts 11:24. The words were spoked of Barnabas: "For he was a good man, and filled with the Holy Ghost." Brother Neighbour was a good pastor, a good Bible expositor, a good husband, a good father, and a good brother to all who knew him, but the main thing was, because he was filled with the Holy Ghost, he was a good man.
It was this fruit of grace which shone so prominently in the life of the virgin-born Redeemer as He toiled here on earth as the perfect man. Peter tells us that He was anointed by the Spirit and He went about doing good. (Acts 10:38)
This old world needs, as never before, a real out-pouring of genuine goodness through us who profess to love the Son of God. Our evangelical preaching and personal witness is not enough. Now, I am as orthodox as anyone. For over forty-five years as I have preached the gospel, I have refused to compromise the Faith, but rather have earnestly contended for the old-time gospel. Yet, I insist that hand in hand with our gospel efforts must go shining deeds of goodness.
We do not exhibit shining deeds for self-praise, but for the love of the Savior which the Spirit has shed abroad in our hearts. Once, during mighty movements of the Spirit in Bergen, Norway, I was moved by the same Spirit to suggest to the thousands who attended the meetings that they flood the hospitals, Old Folks' Homes, Children's Homes, and homes of shut-ins with flowers. Blessed be God, there was an overwhelming response!
The world is lonely, frightened, depressed, and suffering. What a great opportunity you have to help meet this need. James 1:27 is often a missing verse in evangelical circles today. We must bring it back into focus:
"External religious worship, (religion, as it is expressed in outward acts) that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: To visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world."—Amplified New Testament
There are lonely elderly people who are desperately longing for someone to pay them a little attention in their boredom. What a difference it would make in their lives if you visited them at least once a week to perform some act of kindness for them! Some of these senior citizens also need financial help and it may be God would have you make it possible for them to have a vacation. Oh how many "shut-in" people there are who, because of ill health perhaps, are isolated from the main stream of life. You could take them flowers or fruit or a good book. You might even go a step further and make it possible for those of their loved ones who are under the heavy responsibility of their care to have a "day off" now and then.
There are widows and widowers who are recently bereft of their loved ones who need your strong comfort and friendship. And then, what about the people who are having a difficult time in the battle of life, who need not only your sympathy but your practical help in many ways? Pray, and God will lead you to them. A. B. Simpson once wrote, "Pentecost was followed by a spirit of overflowing liberality, and it is idle to talk about Pentecostal blessing and baptism unless our pocket books have been submerged and the grip of our fingers upon our money relaxed."
Let us live with such goodness that we will be missed when God calls us home.
I want to be missed when the journey is done,
And I pass from my friends out of sight;
I want them to talk of the victories won
In our battles for God and the right.I want to be missed for the words that I said
To those who by sorrow were bowed,
How I bade them take courage and look overhead
To the rainbow that circles the clouds.I want to be missed for the truth I made known
Of the Lord Who is coming again.
Of the rapture of saints when He comes for His own,
And His coming in glory to reign.—F. W. Pitt
Faith Faith is the first of the last trio and is related to our inner lives. The Greek word can better be translated "faithfulness," which gives the thought of trustworthiness. If you are filled with the divine Spirit, you will be a faithful man. You will be a man whose word can be trusted. You will keep your appointments. You will not make excuses for failing to appear when you are expected in some place. You will not be like the celebrated painter who sent a telegram to a friend to whose wedding he had been invited, saying: SORRY I CANNOT COME OWING TO A SUBSEQUENT ENGAGEMENT.
You will pay your accounts promptly. You will write letters of appreciation for gifts received and favors enjoyed.
You will be steadfast and faithful in the work of the Lord. Your pastor and your fellow-workers will be able to depend on you. If nobody else turns up at the weeknight prayer meeting, you will be there.
You will be faithful in keeping your vows to God, whether when seeking a deeper infilling of the Holy Spirit or when making a greater surrender to Christ, your Lord. If you have made a promise to give a certain sum of money each month for the missionary work, you will be faithful in regular payments. You will be bound by your word. A. W. Tozer once wrote:
"There are many religious tramps in the world who will not be bound by anything. They have turned the grace of God into personal license. But the great souls are the ones who have gone reverently to God with the understanding that in their flesh there dwells no good thing. And they know that, without God's enablement, any vows taken will be broken before sundown. Nevertheless, believing in God, reverently they took certain sacred vows. This is the way to spiritual power."
The man who is filled with the Spirit will be able to trust God to enable him to fulfill his vows, whether with needed strength, needed money, or whatever.
We must be faithful in earnestly contending for the Faith during a time of compromised evangelism today. We must be faithful to His Word even if all hell is against us. It is not our business to be successful; it is our business to be faithful.
"Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." (I Corinthians 4:2)
It is God's prerogative to make us successful if He so wills, but at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the commendation will not be "Well done, thou good and successful servant," but rather, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:21)
When the Queen Regent sought to reinstate Catholicism in Scotland and forbade Protestant preaching, Knox suddenly reappeared in Scotland at the risk of his life. A monk rushed into a council of Catholic Clergy and screamed, "John Knox! John Knox is come! He slept last night in Edinburgh!"
The Council broke up in confusion and panic. The Queen declared him an outlaw. But John Knox preached on, proclaiming his convictions and encouraging the Protestants. The Queen tried tears and threats, sarcasm and flattery, anger and entreaty upon him, all to no avail. John Knox was faithful to his stewardship.
Lilian Hamer in a prayer letter just before her death in Thailand at the hands of an opium addict, quoted the following poem. She had faced many obstacles in her work and had seen very little visible results; yet her confidence was in God and her desire was to plough out her furrow for God. Here are the words. Oh, may they sink right down into your heart and conscience as you read them!
My hand is on the plough, my faltering hand;
But all in front of me is untilled land.
The wilderness and the solitary place,
The lonely desert with its interspace.
What harvest have I but this paltry grain,
These dwindling husks, a handful of dry corn,
These poor lean stalks? My courage is outworn;
Keep me from turning back.
The handles of my plough with tears are wet;
The shears with rust are spoiled, and yet—and yet,
My God! My God! Keep me from turning back.