INSIGHTS & NOTES FROM
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CHAPTER 63
"God was Israel's Saviour out of the hand of their oppressors; the Lord Jesus is ours; his name, Jesus, signifies a Saviour, for he saves his people from their sins." "He is mighty to save, able to bring about the promised redemption, whatever difficulties & oppositions may be in the way of it." "He gains the victory purely by his own strength; I have trodden the wine-press alone, v. 3." "God can help when all other helpers fail" "He undertakes the war purely out of his own zeal. It is in his anger, it is in his fury, that he treads down his enemies (v. 3)." "There is a day fixed for divine vengeance, which may be long deferred, but will come at last; & we may be content to wait for it" "Does Christ say, Surely I come quickly; let our hearts reply, Even so come; let the year of the redeemed come." "Let those that make themselves drunk with the cup of riot (& then they are in their fury) repent & reform lest God make them drunk with the cup of trembling, the cup of his fury." "...if we would count the fruits of his loving-kindness, they are more to number than the sand." "We must bless God for the mercies enjoyed by others as well as for those enjoyed by ourselves" "God does good because he is good" "...we should magnify God's goodness, & speak honourably of it" "The ungrateful rebellions of God's children against him are a vexation to his Holy Spirit." "See the folly of sinners; they willfully lose him for a friend who is the most desirable friend, & make him their enemy who is the most formidable enemy." "When the present days are dark & cloudy it is good to remember the days of old, to recollect our own & others' experiences of the divine power & goodness & make use of them, to look back upon the years of the right hand of the Most High (Psalms 77:5, 10), & remember that he is God, & changes not." "If God makes us a way, he will make it plain & level; the road he opens to his people he will lead them in." "God's people dread nothing more than his departures from them, & desire nothing more than his returns to them." "God has a zeal for his own glory, & for the comfort of his people; his name is Jealous; & he is a jealous God; & he has strength proportionable to secure his own glory & the interest of his people, in despite of all opposition." CHAPTER 64 "They desire that God would in his providence manifest himself both to them & for them. When God works some extraordinary deliverance for his people he is said to shine forth, to show himself strong" "Sooner or later God will make his name know to his adversaries & force those to tremble at his presence that would not come & worship in his presence. God's name, if it be not a stronghold for us, into which we may run & be safe, will be a strong-hold against us, out of the reach of which we cannot run & be safe. The day will come when nations shall be made to tremble at the presence of God, though they be ever so numerous & strong." "Men have not heard nor seen what God has prepared for those that wait for him." "God loves a cheerful giver, a cheerful worshipper. We must serve the Lord with gladness." "He meets his praying people with an answer of peace, while they are yet speaking." "It is well for us that our hopes of salvation are built not upon any merit or sufficiency of our own... but upon God's mercies & promises, for in those, we are sure, is continuance." "We have all by sin become not only obnoxious to God's justice, but odious to his holiness; for sin is that abominable thing which the Lord hates, & cannot endure to look upon." "Our performances, though they be ever so plausible, if we depend upon them as our righteousness & think to merit by them at God's hand, are as filthy rags - rags, & will not cover us - filthy rags, & will but defile us." "To pray is to take hold of God, by faith to take hold of the promises & the declarations God has made of his good-will to us & to plead them with him, - to take hold of him as of one who is about to depart from us, earnestly begging of him not to leave us" "Those that would take hold of God in prayer so as to prevail with him must stir up themselves to do it" "When we are under providential rebukes from God it is good to keep fast hold of our covenant-relation to him." "See what devastations sin brings upon a people" "If thus we interest God in all our concerns by devoting them to his service, & interest ourselves in all his concerns by laying them near our hearts, we may with satisfaction leave both with him, for he will perfect both." CHAPTER 65 "With what pleasure does the great God here speak of his being sought unto, & how does he glory in it" "...there is joy in heaven over great sinners who repent." "If our guide be our own thoughts, our way is not likely to be good; for every imagination of the thought of our hearts is only evil." "They forsook God's temple... for they liked not God's institutions... They forsook God's altar... They violated the laws of God" "Nothing in men is more odious & offensive to God than a proud conceit of themselves & contempt of others; for commonly those are most unholy of all that think themselves holier than any." "Good men are blessings to the places where the live; & sometimes God spares whole cities & nations for the sake of a few such in them." "God's faithful servants, however they are looked upon, are the best friends their country has; & those who serve him do therein serve their generation." "Those that seek God shall find him, & shall find him their bountiful rewarder." "It is not strange that those who will not be persuaded to choose that which is good persist in their choice & pursuit of that which is evil." "Many Christians serve after a fashion, but it cannot be said that it is always patient, faithful service. It is when the notion strikes them, or their conscience pricks them, or when nothing else interferes, that they manage to sandwich in some time for prayer or ministry to the sick & lost, or for help for other's needs, & so on."
"Total faith in God's Word & loyalty to it is the deciding factor that distinguishes true overcomers from nominal Christians." "There is no greater test or evidence of an overcomer than his total loyalty to God & His Word, at whatever the personal cost." I Timothy 4:1, 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 "...it will only be those who are firmly grounded in the Word of God & maintain absolute loyalty to the truth that will be safeguarded against possible deception." "(2) Those who enter the deeper life & come to the fulness of Christ will overcome through tribulation. Revelation 2:8-11" I Peter 2:21; cf. 4:12-16; John 15:18-21, Revelation 2:9-11 "Since the deeper life is the crucified life (Phil. 3:10), then those who allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to this place will be those who have overcome their fear of tribulations & remain faithful through them." "Tribulation, trial & testing are the means by which God prepares His disciples for greater blessings & a deeper walk with Him." "We are called to overcome through tribulation, not by avoiding it at all costs." "(3) Overcomers will hold fast to Jesus' Name & not deny His faith. Revelation 2:12-17" "The time is rapidly approaching when Satan once more will be allowed to sift the Church as wheat, separating thereby true overcomers from nominal followers of the Christian religion." Revelation 13:7, 15 - 17 "It means also not to deny the power of Jesus' Name to continue to save, heal, deliver, & to do His supernatural works today, as in the past." "No Christian work can prosper that neglects to respect & use the power & authority of His Name, or that attempts, on the other hand, to use it merely to promote the teachings or religious programs & institutions of men. But where it is spoken in faith, in harmony with the Word, Christ is pleased to demonstrate that He is still reigning on the throne of heaven." "(4) The 'last works' of overcomers will be greater than the first. Revelation 2:18-29" Joel 2:23f "It is an all too evident fact that the greater majority of Christians never progress much beyond their initial salvation experience with Christ." "It is only as we press on into the deeper life & exercise total faith in every area of our lives that our last works shall be more than the first." "Many will be saved 'as if by fire,' either from the lack of fruitful works in the Lord, or because their works were 'dead' religious works not approved by God. Sadly, many have not taken a step beyond Pentecost since receiving the Holy Spirit." "(5) Overcomers will be careful to watch lest they defile their garments. Revelation 3:1-6" "It is possible to bear the name 'Christian' & deny its life & power in actual practice." "One may have the 'form of godliness & deny the power thereof.' One may be busily engaged in various forms of religious activity & still have no sincere hunger & thirst for the deep things of the Spirit." "We are to overcome, Jesus tells us, in this realm in four ways." "a. Be watchful (vs. 2)." "b. Strengthen the weak areas in one's spiritual life (vs. 2)." "c. Remember the truth which has previously been received & hold fast to it (vs. 3)." "As we are shown in the Parable of the Sower, if we do not assimilate the Word & act on it when it is sown in our hearts, then the seed will die." James 1:22 "Remembering the Word & holding fast to it will also guard our minds & hearts against Satan's deceptions & perversion of doctrine (I Tim. 4:1)." "d. Repent (vs. 3)." "We are not merely to be hearers, but doers of the Word." "(6) Overcomers will keep Jesus' Word of endurance. Revelation 3:7-13" "God will not allow us to excuse our failures on the basis of weakness, for he has promised us that 'There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it' (1 Cor. 10:13)" "Overcomers are not promised a life free from trial, but grace to overcome through trial." "In this hour, God is not looking for those with great strength, talent & intellect, so that they might work independently of Him, & boast of their accomplishments; He is looking for the simple, the weak, the foolish, the base & despised (1 Cor. 1:26-29) who will be consecrated vessels, willing to yield themselves totally to Him, & who will keep His Word & endure." "(7) Overcomers will be those who are spiritually zealous, overcoming the temptation to lukewarmness & apathy. Revelation 3:14-22" "Vagueness & neutrality characterize everything from politics to religion. Nothing is really just black or white today; everything seems to be just a neutral gray." "'So then because thou art lukewarm, & neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth' (3:16)." "No one can be satisfied with the contemporary religious status quo & be an overcomer" "(8) Overcomers will be victorious concerning eight particular temptations & sins, which shall defeat many. Revelation 21:7-8" Deeper Life In The Spirit, by Hobart E. Freeman, pgs. 56 - 66. |
AuthorCross Preaching Pentecostal Pastor. Husband to Tonia, Father to 3 beautiful girls, Monica, Zoe & Briana, & Grandfather to Wesley & Elliott Archives
September 2023
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