The Old Time Gospel

Scripture for 5/5/2010
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians 5:16-17)

We are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.
Romans 8:37

"The enemy is behind us.
The enemy is in front of us.
The enemy is to the right
and the left of us.
They can't get away this time!"

General Douglas McArthur

The School of Christ

By T. Austin Sparks

Acts 17:11
"...they received
the word
with all readiness
of mind,
and searched
the scriptures daily,
whether those things
were so."

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A true revival means nothing
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  Andrew Murray

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Abide in Christ
Andrew Murray

31 Days of Meditation on what it means to Abide in Christ.

John 15:1-12
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Table of Contents

Preface       - Preface
Abide in Christ

Day 1   - All you who have come to Him
Matthew 11:28, John 15:4

Day 2   - And you shall find rest unto your souls
Matthew 11:28-29

Day 3   - Trusting Him to keep you
Philippians 3:12

Day 4   - As the Branch in the Vine
John 15:5

Day 5   - As you came to Him, by Faith
Colossians 2:6-7

Day 6   - God Himself has united you to Him
I Corinthians 1:30, John 15:1

Day 7   - As your Wisdom
I Corinthians 1:30

Day 8   - As your Righteousness
I Corinthians 1:30

Day 9   - As your Sanctification
I Corinthians 1:30

Day 10   - As your Redemption
I Corinthians 1:30

Day 11   - The Crucified One
Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:5

Day 12   - God Himself will stablish you in Him
II Corinthians 1:21

Day 13   - Every Moment
Isaiah 27:2-3

Day 14   - Day by Day
Exodus 16:4

Day 15   - At this Moment
II Corinthians 6:2

Day 16   - Forsaking All for Him
Philippians 3:8-9

Day 17   - Through the Holy Spirit
I John 2:27

Day 18   - In Stillness of Soul
Isaiah 30:15, Psalms 37:7, Psalms 62:1

Day 19   - In Affliction and Trial
John 15:2

Day 20   - That you may bear much Fruit
John 15:5, 8

Day 21   - So will you have Power in Prayer
John 15:7

Day 22   - And in His Love
John 15:9

Day 23   - As Christ in the Father
John 15:9-10

Day 24   - Obeying His Commandments
John 15:10

Day 25   - That your Joy may be full
John 15:11

Day 26   - And in Love to the Brethren
John 15:12

Day 27   - That you may not sin
I John 3:5-6

Day 28   - As your Strength
Matthew 27:18, Ephesians 6:10, II Corinthians 12:9

Day 29   - And not in self
Romans 7:18

Day 30   - As the Surety of the Covenant
Hebrews 7:22

Day 31   - The Glorified One
Colossians 3:3-4

PREFACE

Abide In Christ

During the life of Jesus on earth, the word He chiefly used when speaking of the relations of the disciples to Himself was: ?Follow me.? When about to leave for heaven, He gave them a new word, in which their more intimate and spiritual union with Himself in glory should be expressed. That chosen word was: ?Abide in me.?

It is to be feared that there are many earnest followers of Jesus from whom the meaning of this word, with the blessed experience it promises, is very much hidden. While trusting in their Saviour for pardon and for help, and seeking to some extent to obey Him, they have hardly realized to what closeness of union, to what intimacy of fellowship, to what wondrous oneness of life and interest, He invited them when He said, ?Abide in me.? This is not only an unspeakable loss to themselves, but the Church and the world suffer in what they lose.

If we ask the reason why those who have indeed accepted the Saviour, and been made partakers of the renewing of the Holy Ghost, thus come short of the full salvation prepared for them, I am sure the answer will in very many cases be, that ignorance is the cause of the unbelief that fails of the inheritance. If, in our orthodox Churches, the abiding in Christ, the living union with Him, the experience of His daily and hourly presence and keeping, were preached with the same distinctness and urgency as His atonement and pardon through His blood, I am confident that many would be found to accept with gladness the invitation to such a life, and that its influence would be manifest in their experience of the purity and the power, the love and the joy, the fruit-bearing, and all the blessedness which the Saviour connected with the abiding in Him.

It is with the desire to help those who have not yet fully understood what the Saviour meant with His command, or who have feared that it was a life beyond their reach, that these meditations are now published. It is only by frequent repetition that a child learns its lessons. It is only by continuously fixing the mind for a time on some one of the lessons of faith, that the believer is gradually helped to take and thoroughly assimilate them. I have the hope that to some, especially young believers, it will be a help to come and for a month day after day spell over the precious words, ?Abide in me,? with the lessons connected with them in the parable of the Vine. Step by step we shall get to see how truly this promise-precept is meant for us, how surely grace is provided to enable us to obey it, how indispensable the experience of its blessing is to a healthy Christian life, and how unspeakable the blessings are that flow from it. As we listen, and meditate, and pray ? as we surrender ourselves, and accept in faith the whole Jesus as He offers Himself to us in it ? the Holy Spirit will make the word to be spirit and life; this word of Jesus, too, will become to us the power of God unto salvation, and through it will come the faith that grasps the long-desired blessing.

I pray earnestly that our gracious Lord may be pleased to bless this little book, to help those who seek to know Him fully, as He has already blessed it in its original issue in a different (the Dutch) language. I pray still more earnestly that He would, by whatever means, make the multitudes of His dear children who are still living divided lives, to see how He claims them wholly for Himself, and how the whole-hearted surrender to abide in Him alone brings the joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh, let each of us who has begun to taste the sweetness of this life, yield himself wholly to be a witness to the grace and power of our Lord to keep us united with Himself, and seek by word and walk to win others to follow Him fully. It is only in such fruitbearing that our own abiding can be maintained.

In conclusion, I ask to be permitted to give one word of advice to my reader. It is this. It needs time to grow into Jesus the Vine: do not expect to abide in Him unless you will give Him that time. It is not enough to read God?s Word, or meditations as here offered, and when we think we have hold of the thoughts, and have asked God for His blessing, to go out in the hope that the blessing will abide. No, it needs day by day time with Jesus and with God. We all know the need of time for our meals each day ? every workman claims his hour for dinner; the hurried eating of so much food is not enough. If we are to live through Jesus, we must feed on Him (John 6:57); we must thoroughly take in and assimilate that heavenly food the Father has given us in His life. Therefore, my brother, who would learn to abide in Jesus, take time each day, ere you read, and while you read, and after you read, to put yourself into living contact with the living Jesus, to yield yourself distinctly and consciously to His blessed influence; so will you give Him the opportunity of taking hold of you, of drawing you up and keeping you safe in His almighty life.

And now, to all God?s children whom He allows me the privilege of pointing to the Heavenly Vine, I offer my fraternal love and salutations, with the prayer that to each one of them may be given the rich and full experience of the blessedness of abiding in Christ. And may the grace of Jesus, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be their daily portion. Amen.

Andrew Murray

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"When to seek God has become life and to glorify God has become self, then you have truly found God." Wednesday, May 05, 2010