January
29
Spiritual discernment, perception, understanding
and intelligence are all too rare. The causes are many. The engrossment with
the work and its multifarious concerns; the rush and hurry of life; the
restless spirit of the age; these, with an exhaustive provision of external
religious facilities, all tend to render the inner place of Divine speaking
inoperative or impossible of functioning. Perhaps we have forgotten that the
Bible is not only a revelation, but also contains a revelation, and that that
deeper spiritual content is only possible of recognition and realization by
such as have had their eyes and ears opened; in other words – who have been
awakened.
Some of the Lord's most faithful servants are
still only occupied with the letter of the Word, the contents of books, topics,
themes, subjects, outlines, analyses, etc., and in the deepest sense are not in
"revelation." (This is not meant as a criticism). The difference too
often is that of a ministry to the mind or head, and not one to the heart or
spirit. The former will sooner or later tire and weary both the minister and
those ministered to. The latter is a ministry of Life to both, and is
inexhaustible in freshness.
Whether it comes at the beginning or later, it is
the greatest day in our history of which we can say: "It pleased God to
reveal His Son in me." "I received it, not from men
but by revelation." That is the beginning of an inwardness of things which
may have many crisic issues. One of these is the one of which we are
particularly thinking now, namely, the awakening to see what is the thought and
desire of God at given and specific times. Such a revelation – through the
Scriptures – is nothing less than revolutionary, though usually costly.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Candlestick All of
Gold
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