Volume 2000/7

 

The Harvest Is Ripe!

"He will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner"

(Mat.3: 12)

 

 

 

 

 

(From a radio broadcast of Bro. Julius Adewumi)

There have been prophecies, and a very enlightened prophecy that made us know that it is divine love that will rapture the bride. It says the Lord Jesus will continue to delay his coming until the body of Christ, the Church, has come to that fullness of love.

Divine love, the love between brethren and brethren: The Lord prayed for it that "they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (Jn. 17:21 ). He wants us to be one in unity, in spirit, believing the same thing.

The Lord will continue to wait for this. He may have to pour forth anointing to accomplish it; it may also be by persecution that this will be enforced.

"The Lord will continue to delay his coming until perfect love is found in the body."

This is an extract from the writing of Jane Leade (1600's ).

The church is not there yet. What is divine love? Between brothers and brothers in the household of faith! Between husband and wife! Between church groups in the household of faith! Between the corporate body of believers, and finally between the body of Christ and the Lord himself!

Love has to start in individual house: husband and wife, children and parents, then brethren and brethren, then we can talk of churches to churches -- divine love!

God established the family unit like the embryo. Husband and wife must be joined together by love!

That is why the bible said, "ye husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church." Then we can talk of love between the body of Christ and Christ the bridegroom himself.

The Lord will continue to delay his coming until this perfect love is seen in the body. But the Lord will bring it to come to pass one way or the other, before the end comes.

How can this perfect love be manifested? I will like to read some instructions of the Lord Jesus Christ about love. We always talk about loving the believer, but the Lord went much further than that. Let's read Mathew chapter 5:43.

The Lord said we have to be perfect even as our father in heaven is perfect. And God is love.

"Ye have heard that it has been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy; but I say unto you, love your enemies."

The Lord made it much more serious. He said "love your enemies". This is where we should first start! It's very easy to love those who are not your enemies. The toughest ones to love are those who has declared to be our enemies.

"But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you, that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?

Be ye therefore perfect even as your father which is in heaven is perfect. (Mat. 5:43-48).

That is the word of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's talk about loving the enemies. The bible commanded it!

Solomon wrote the following: "If thy enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. By so doing, ye shall heap coals of fire over his head, and the Lord shall reward thee." (Prov. 25:21) (Romans 12:20)

The Lord is not asking you to love your enemy just so as to cast coals of fire over his/her head. The Lord wanted it to come from your heart.

Loving the enemy and loving those that hate us, is practiced in the new testament.

We have examples in the bible. Are we simply trying to put coals of fire on the enemy's head when we love them? No. The Lord said "vengeance is mine and I will avenge". When we love the enemies, we are letting the Lord do the battle for us. When someone is declared as our enemy, the Lord says, let God handle it. You commit your life into the hand of the Lord. Love the enemy, in obedience to the scriptures. When we do this, we are letting the Lord take charge of the situation.

If we don't allow the Lord to defend us, we are not obeying the scriptures.

For example, we see how prophet Daniel was made a president by Darius the king in Persia. But there were other presidents and Governors who didn't like him. Daniel knew about it. But he committed his case into the hand of the Lord.

God will fight for you, so don't try to do anything about those known or unknown enemies.

"Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him." (Daniel 6:4).

Now that is exactly what God wants us to be like. Like the example of Daniel--we should have no fault in the eyes of men and in the eyes of God, then God can do our battle for us. Many people, even in our generation have experienced that if you let God fight for you he knows how to fight that battle.

Verse 5 says:

"Then said these men, we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God."

When we are right and walking upright before God, the enemy can go to the extreme and bring up an accusation, like they did to Daniel, against your God, then we know they are not fighting us, but are fighting God. When it comes to loving the enemy, let the battle be the Lord's battle. Get out of the loop of wanting to avenge your self. If you get out of the way they will be falling upon the rock which is Jesus, but if you get in the way of the rock, then they will be falling upon you. So let the Lord do the battle.

"Bless those that persecute you."

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and by so doing, you are actually putting coals of fire upon his head. You know the story of Daniel, that they arrested him but God was there to rescue him.

Another example of love is in the book of Samuel when David was running away from Saul. David already knew that Saul had declared himself to be an enemy, but he refused to avenge himself. There were two occasions where David could have ended the whole trouble for himself, so to speak.

"And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.

Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; And Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.

And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.

And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.

And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of God.

So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave and went his way." (1 Samuel 24:1-7).

In verse 4 David's friends were reminding him of what God had said. Saul had just walked into their trap. David could kill him right there and none of Saul's soldiers would have known about it because Saul was alone. So David caught off the skirt, to prove that David could have killed him. That was the first example where David showed that he refused to avenge himself. There may be times that your spirit is raging for vengeance, because we are still human, but we must control our spirit. Like the bible says, "he that ruleth his spirit is greater than he who conquered cities."

 

(1Samuel 26:8-11)

"Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even into the earth at once, and I will not smite him a second time.

And David said unto Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth a hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?

And David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle and perish.

The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go."

David spared the life of Saul the second time, and to prove that he could have just killed him right there, he took the spear from his waist. So what are we trying to point out in all of these exhortations? The Lord said, love your enemy.

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man…"

"Ye have heard that it has been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; " (Matthew 5:43- 44 ).

Sometimes you see two people fighting. They may not be enemies, but they are taking their quarrel to an extreme. The bible even said, love your enemy. Why don't you do more than that since this brother (or sister) isn't really your enemy? Since the bible tells you to love, you should extend your patience. You should extend your long suffering instead of being at loggerheads with each other. You have been in good terms all along. Why don't you just extend your good terms and be a fool for Jesus? God has said, even if he is your declared enemy, show love.

Every word of God that I have mentioned here is very serious, and you should take it seriously. The Lord said, "I will liken you to a wise man if you are taking heed to all these sayings of mine". The rain will always come and the storm will always come, but if you do not base your faith on this word then you will not be like Christ anymore. Steven was stoned and when he was being stoned he said, "Father lay not this to their charge". That was the example shown to us. The Lord Jesus Christ did the same thing. The first church age believers, who were all killed by Rome, demonstrated the same love for the enemy. That is where the saints of these end times ought to be.

We know that if there is persecution now, at these end times, less than 10% of the Christians would be praying for their enemies. Most of them will call fire upon the enemy. We should ask ourselves, am I obeying these scriptures? Am I being like Christ? It is time to think of how we are holding our faith in Christ. We are not facing persecution yet, but believers cannot even live in harmony with one another! Christ is coming soon, folks!

 

 

…to be continued ..

 

THE LIFE WHICH IS ABOVE SENSE

DIALOGUES between a disciple and his Master

(Continuation of the exert from Jacob Boehme; 1600's)

Disciple: How shall I now be able to subsist in this Anxiety and Tribulation arising from the World, so as not to lose the Eternal Peace, or not enter into this Rest? And how may I recover myself in such a Temptation as this is, by not sinking under the World, but rising above it by a Life that is truly Heavenly or Supersensual?
Master: If thou dost once every Hour throw thyself by Faith beyond all Creatures, beyond and above all sensual Perception and Apprehension, yea, above Discourse and Reasoning into the abyssal Mercy of God, into the Sufferings of our Lord, and into the Fellowship of His Interceding, and yieldeth thySELF fully and absolutely thereinto; then thou shalt receive Power from above to rule over Death and the Devil, and so subdue Hell and the World under thee: And then thou mayest subsist in all Temptations, and be the brighter for them. Disciple: Blessed is the Man that arriveth to such a State as this. But alas! Poor Man that I am, how is this possible as to me? And what, O my Master, would become of me, if I should ever attain with my Mind to that, where no Creature is? Must I not cry out, I am undone!
Master: Son why art thou so dispirited? Be of good Heart still; for thou mayest certainly yet attain to it. Do but believe, and all Things are made possible to thee. If it were that thy Will, O thou of little Courage, could break off itself for one Hour, or even but for one half Hour, from all Creatures, and plunge itself into That where no Creature is, or can be; presently it would be penetrated and clothed upon with the supreme Splendor of the Divine Glory, would taste in itself the most sweet Love of Jesus, the Sweetness whereof no Tongue can express, and would find in itself the unspeakable Words of our Lord concerning His great Mercy. Thy Spirit would then feel in itself the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ to be very pleasing to it; and would thereupon love the Cross more than the Honors and Goods of the World.
Disciple:
This for the Soul would be exceeding well indeed: But what would then become of the Body seeing that it must of Necessity live in the Creature?
Master: The Body would by this Means be put into the Imitation of our Lord Christ, and of His Body: It would stand in the Communion of that most blessed Body, which was the true Temple of the Deity; and in the Participation of all its gracious Effects, Virtues and Influences. It would live in the Creature not of Choice, but only as it is made subject unto Vanity, and in the World, as it is placed therein by the Ordination of the Creator, for its Cultivation and the higher Advancement; and as groaning to be delivered out of it in God's Time and Manner, for its Perfection and Resuscitation in Eternal Liberty and Glory, like unto the Glorified Body of our Lord and His risen Saints.
Disciple: But the Body being in its present Constitution, so made subject to Vanity, and living in a vain Image and creaturely Shadow, according to the Life of the undergraduated Creatures or Brutes, whose Breath goeth downwards to the Earth; I am still very much afraid thereof, lest it should continue to depress the Mind which is lifted up to God, by hanging as dead Weight thereto; and go on to amuse and perplex the Same, as formerly, with Dreams and Trifles, by letting in the Objects from without, in order to draw me down into the World and the Hurry thereof; where I would fain maintain my Conversation in Heaven, even while I am living in the World. What therefore must I do with this Body, that I may be able to keep up so desirable a Conversation; and not to be under any Subjection to it any longer?
Master: There is no other Way for thee that I know, but to present the Body whereof thou complainest (which is the Beast to be sacrificed) "a living Sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God": And this shall be thy "rational Service", whereby this thy Body will be put, as thou desirest, into the Imitation of Jesus Christ, who said, His Kingdom was not of this World. Be not thou then "conformed to it, but be transformed by the Renewing of thy Mind"; which renewed Mind is to have Dominion over the Body, that so thou mayest prove, both in Body and Mind, what is the perfect Will of God, and accordingly perform the same with and by his Grace operating IN THEE. Whereupon the Body, or the Animal Life would, being thus offered up, begin to die, both from without and from within. From without, that is, from the Vanity and evil Customs and Fashions of the World. It would be an utter Enemy to all the Pomp thereof, and to all the Gaudery, Pageantry, Pride, Ambition, and Haughtiness therein. From within, it would die as to all the Lusts and Appetites of the Flesh, and would get a Mind and Will wholly new, for its Government and Management; being now made subject to the Spirit, which would continually be directed to God, as would all that is subject to thy Body. And thus thy very Body is become the Temple of God and of His Spirit, in Imitation of thy Lord's Body.

(To be continued …)

Bro. Julius Adewumi

Gospel Distribution Ministry

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