The Greatness of the Gospel
and other
Ministry by F. S. Marsh

In the days of the prophet Samuel, the state of the people was very distressing. There had been a serious departure from God, and the people were seeking a king.

• In 1 Samuel 10: 3, the Spirit of God draws aside the curtain and discloses that in such dark days there were three men "going up to God", with Bethel, the house of God, as their objective. There were found, in such a day, those on the upward path –

WORSHIPPERS

who had God's glory, His interests, and service at heart. Saul, whom we may regard as representing a young believer needing stimulation and encouragement, was directed by Samuel to them.

• How many believers have been spiritually developed as the result of being put in touch with those who are "going up to God" – even if there are only three of them; such a gathering of "true worshippers", though small, has a great spiritual influence. It is excellent soil in which the tender plants of the Father's planting may grow.

• Let us not regard this "day of small things" as though it must necessarily be a day of weak things, for this is not so.

• If God has ordered our path in a place where there are but few of His people available, let us not be discouraged; for He will use this experience to develop His work in our souls, and if He has put us in touch with even three worshippers, great wealth can be acquired thereby.

Each one of he three was carrying something; there were various measures and diversity in that which was carried. Not one was a mere onlooker; each was a contributor to the service of God.

• So many Christians are content to be ministered to, but the divine thought is that God's service is supported by contributors; none appearing before God empty.
• One of these was carrying three kids. He had somewhat to offer! He was mindful that in drawing near to God sacrifice was necessary; for it is only in the spirit of sacrifice that we can approach Him rightly.
  • What a valuable lesson this is, that each one should carry an appreciation of the sacrificial worth of Christ, and thus draw near to worship.

• The second was carrying three loaves of bread. He represents one who is concerned about feeding the people of God, and is therefore a contributor to the abundance of God's house.
  • Samuel said to Saul, "they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands". The need of food was recognized and the supply was there, even in that small gathering.

• The third man was carrying a bottle of wine, which typifies spiritual joy. What an asset such a one is to any gathering! How poor is any company that is devoid of joy!
  • In this world of burden and tears, the children of God are to be possessors and dispensers of deep, true joy. Persons who are possessors of such joy are contributors to the spiritual happiness of the company.

Then Samuel added, "thou shalt come to the hill of God". What a favour to be one of a company, even three in number, who find their place in God's holy hill – spiritual elevation, where God is worshipped "in spirit and in truth".

The three mighty men who broke through the host of the Philistines, 1 Chronicles 11: 18, also depict a little gathering. They were devoted

WARRIORS

prepared to jeopardize their lives to gratify the desire of their Leader. They were true lovers of David, as those who compose many a small company today are lovers of Christ.

• It is this spirit of devotedness which is so gratifying to the Lord – triumphing over all the efforts of the enemy to prevent Him having His heart's desire. This is not loving in word, but "in deed and in truth".

• This well-known scripture appeals to every true heart, and raises the challenge, Have I overcome, that I may contribute joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus?

• It might involve putting our life in jeopardy, but nothing is to be allowed to hinder this earnest purpose to furnish the Lord with that which His heart values so much.

• They "brake through"! What encouraging words, indicating that there is no enemy powerful enough to hinder love from fulfilling its object!

It denotes, too, that there is a region which the enemy cannot invade. There is at this moment no town or village in this land which cannot be invaded,

• but there is a place of secret communion which is invulnerable; no foe can intrude into that region.

• The brethren may be hindered and harassed, but no enemy can interrupt the communications which are established between the Lord Jesus and the hearts of those who love Him.

• It was a small gathering, but large enough to gratify David's heart. Not that we would be content with three – we would ever desire increase but it is comforting that the Lord Jesus said "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them".

The three Hebrew children of Daniel 3 who had to face the great wave of idolatry may also be regarded as representative of a small gathering of

SUFFERERS

who were prepared to accept death rather than bow to the golden image.

• They had been "subject unto ... the powers that be"; they had bowed under the discipline of God in their circumstances, but now that Nebuchadnezzar had usurped the supreme place to which God alone has right, they were justified in saying, "we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image".

• Great as this test was, each one was comforted that he had not to stand alone, for he had two brethren supporting him, and he would greatly value their fellowship.

• While supporting one another, their God mightily supported them. He did not avert the persecution; He did not make the fire less fierce – indeed, it was intensified seven times – but He gave them His presence, and the victory!

• They came through in triumph, and became a world-wide testimony. Such faithful saints, yielding their bodies for the glory of God, become an encouragement to thousands of their brethren.

Another circle of three whom Jesus loved is mentioned in John 11. It was a household, but beautiful features of a local gathering were present, for it was composed of

FRIENDS

of Jesus, and He was given the supreme place in their affection.

• Then came the day of bereavement, when the only brother was taken. Would the Lord allow that circle to be broken up? Would He not come to them?

• They could not understand how it was that, after He knew of the death of Lazarus, "he abode two days still in the same place where he was". Yet it was all "for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby".

• In this day of apparent calamity, we would be assured that the sorrow and waiting time is to yield glory to God, and that the experience of the love and power of the Son of God will result in an outpouring of affection and worshipping adoration such as Mary bestowed upon Jesus in John 12.

• That lovely scene was the outcome of the experience of chapter 11. Had they not learned the sympathetic love of Jesus in their day of sorrow, there would not have been the responsive love expressed in the "pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly".

• May each small gathering of saints evidence "the odour of the ointment" – a deep appreciation of the glory of the Person of the Son of God, and reciprocation of His personal love!

Yet another distinguished three call for attention. In 2 Corinthians 1: 19, Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus are united in heart and testimony, as they preach the Son of God, Jesus Christ. They are His

WITNESSES

in the happy fellowship of service. However small the gathering, a living testimony is to be borne to Himself in the gospel. This is not limited to attendance at a weekly preaching, but by each one being a living contributor to the preaching of the Son of God.

• If all cannot preach publicly, each one can be an individual witness to the glory of Christ.

• It is still true that God is pleased "by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe", and there are many open doors for personal testimony in these days of peril and uncertainty, when there is a longing in many hearts for the rest and comfort that Christ alone can give.

• Thus, of each small company of saints may it be said, "from you sounded out the word of the Lord ... in every place your faith Godward is spread abroad".

Following does not mean having followed; it is not some incident in our past history: the normal present feature of the Christian is that he is following. By profession all believers are followers of Christ.

• If we, who have believed in Him, who are cleansed by His precious blood, and who love Him, were challenged by an unbeliever, we should have no hesitation in confessing that Jesus is our Lord and that we are His followers; yet that is not sufficient.

• It is not enough to be a professed follower, nor to have followed in the past; the great objective of the Spirit of God, especially in this gospel, is to ensure that we should each, at the present moment, be following;
  • that spiritual movement should be marking us now; so that instead of going back, or turning aside, we should be making steady forward progress, with Jesus, the Son of God, as our Object.

A follower is one who has come under the influence and attraction of another, having been so impressed that he has turned his back upon that which once held him, and is now definitely pursuing his object.

There is an outstanding instance in the Old Testament of such an one. Five times in the Holy Scriptures it is recorded that

• Caleb "wholly followed Jehovah", Numbers 32: 12; Deuteronomy 1: 36; Joshua 14: 8, 9, 14,

• and once Jehovah said of him that
  • "he hath another spirit in him and hath followed me fully", Numbers 14: 24.

How important it is in this day of great profession, and yet of sad departure from the truth, that this should be true of each one, that we are wholly following the Lord and that we should not be found in company with those of whom it was said,

• "From that time many of his disciples went away back and walked no more with him", John 6: 66.

How many spiritual shipwrecks are the result of not wholly following! Peter failed so seriously because

• he "followed afar off", Luke 22: 54.

• We may well exclaim, as the bride said in the Song of Songs,
  • "Draw me, we will run after thee", chapter 1: 4.

• This is not a spasmodic movement, but following steadily in a clear, straight, positive path – the path of the just which is
  • "as the shining light, going on and brightening until the day be fully come", Proverbs 4: 18

• – until the coming of the Lord.

Following is such a full word in the gospel of John. It may have been limited in some minds to the initial thought of discipleship, but this inspired writer does not do so; he develops it to its fulness.

• He speaks of following in the first chapter, and carries the thought, by the Spirit of God, to the close of his gospel, thus emphasising its importance, each mention having a distinctive significance.

This is so important for those who are young, who have not yet wholly committed themselves to the Lord. He would bring them under His influence, and draw them by His own personal attractiveness; for every heart must have an object, and every path must have an end!

• Persons are held by that which allures and attracts the heart. How encouraging to discover that while many are held by objects other than Christ, there is on earth today a vast number of people who are truly following Him.

Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians, speaking as a pattern Christian, says,

• "but I pursue, if also I may get possession of it, seeing that also I have been taken possession of by Christ Jesus", chapter 3: 12.

• He had been set in movement by the glory and attractiveness of Christ, to pursue with diligence and spiritual energy the path that leads to Christ in glory, so that he could say,
  • "I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord", chapter 3: 8.

• Thus many things that were once his objectives are now thrown aside and counted as filth that he migh
  • "gain Christ; and that I may be found in him, not having my righteousness, which would be on the principle of law, but that which is by faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God through faith", chapter 3: 9.

The instances of 'following' in the gospel according to John are progressive in soul history.

• The two followers of whom we read in chapter 1 were men who had already been attracted by
  • "a man sent from God, his name John", verse 6,

• truly one of God's prophets; indeed, the Lord Himself said that
  • "a greater prophet is no one than John the baptist", Luke 7: 28.

• He was a great man, and impressive, so that multitudes came to him, and under his influence many were baptised, confessing their sins; and a great spiritual movement had taken place.

• No doubt John the baptist, a young man – only thirty years of age – with a distinctive message from God on his lips, marked by devotedness and energy, was exceedingly attractive.

• These two men had come under his influence, they had followed him, and had become his disciples. Was that the end of the matter? Indeed it was not!

It may be that there are many who have been attracted by the servants of God, helped and impressed by them, and who have followed them, being glad of the spiritual help they have received, but the work of God has not this objective in view.

• The one who has been the most help to us is not intended to become our object. No, the Lord would Himself become everything to our hearts. So there comes a test, as every true believer is tested, and it does not harm any of us.

• The question arises: Are you prepared to go forward, and take a further step than you have yet taken? Have you reached your real objective?

• As they were in company with the one whom up to that moment they had been following, who held and commanded them, there came before their vision the Son of God, and they listened to John breathing the very language of his heart, entranced by the glory of this Person.

• It was but a short word – a most beautiful message –
  • "Behold the Lamb of God"!

• Here is a man who in the power of the Holy Spirit speaks five words with the understanding, with the result that his two disciples left John and followed Jesus. They were following in affection.

We know the history so well; but we must dwell on it for a moment, because it is the beginning of this great spiritual development which is to reach a point in our history when Christ fills the vision of our souls.

• The appreciation of Jesus as the Lamb of God is essential to us if we are to follow this path. We must tread it from the beginning; so these two disciples began their real spiritual history as followers of Jesus, by coming under His influence as the Lamb of God.
  • "Behold the Lamb of God",

• they heard John say. How attractive that would be!

Think of the thousands of lambs slain during the past dispensation, all pointing on to this Lamb! It is as though, in the power of the Holy Spirit of God, those five words gathered up the whole of the Old Testament, and centred all the light of its types and shadows on this glorious Person, Jesus!

• The suggestion is that the two disciples saw the whole of the Old Testament teaching in relation to the types, set forth in a Person – not that they understood the fulness of it, but they saw the Person who was Himself the Antitype – the Lamb of God!

• How often they had eaten the passover lamb, and had looked back to the experience of their forefathers in Egypt! They understood little of the import of it; but now they see the Lamb of God,
  • "as he walked".

• What an attractiveness there was about Jesus! Every step He took was filling heaven with delight and the heart of God with pleasure! And John the baptist, coming under the influence of Christ, enraptured by the glory of His Person, exclaimed out of the fulness of his heart,
  • "Behold the Lamb of God".

• That influence was so powerful that it transformed the lives of those two disciples: they followed Jesus! It meant leaving John, and going beyond him. It has to be so; often those who are used to the blessing of souls see them going further and following Jesus, and they rejoice in it.

Now these two disciples meet another test: the Lord Himself challenges them. It is a very interesting moment.

• Perhaps a fellowship meeting is an occasion for the Lord to challenge hearts. In the rush of life, the pressure of business, and of home life, it is so easy to get distracted; but in the quietude of such an hour, with nothing to occupy us save the immediate matter before us, the Lord Himself would take the opportunity to say,
  • "What seek ye?"

• Let every heart be prepared for the challenge! The Lord knows whether we are wholehearted. We must emphasise the seriousness of being half-hearted. 'Oh, he is a believer!' they say – but is he wholeheartedly following in the path? Is he going after Christ? If not, what will happen? Spiritual shipwreck.

• Persons cannot be held by mere outward belief. They may assent to the truth, they may even have a living faith in the Saviour, but that in itself will not hold them; it must be Himself they are following if they are to be held.

Dear christian friend, we appeal to you with the deepest affection, and urge you to be wholeheartedly for Christ, to be marked by wholly following the Lord.

• Is there anything standing between you and this wholehearted committal to Christ? Is there any object claiming your attention that would divert you from the path of true discipleship? If so, may the Lord attract you by the glory of His Person so that you can let nothing stand in the way of devotedly following Him!

• Let us remind you that the service of God in all its glory and greatness is being continued today on earth by wholehearted brothers and sisters; those who have come under the influence of Christ, who have yielded their bodies a living sacrifice, and who are prepared to devote all that they have to the highest and best interests of the service of God here.

• Those who are half-hearted retard progress, cause difficulties, present other objects, stumble in the path, and alas! often turn out of it to the discouragement of others.

• Those who are unreservedly committed to the path, experience the grace of Christ upholding them, the power of the Holy Spirit with them; and unquestionably the service of God is maintained in spiritual power by those who are marked by wholeheartedness.

These two disciples had to be challenged: "What seek ye?" Is it a matter of curiosity, or some personal gain, some ulterior motive? Let our hearts be challenged in the presence of Christ.

• "What seek ye?"

• That is a very searching word! Their answer is,
  • "Rabbi … where abidest thou?"

• They employed the choicest title they knew. They are now whole-heartedly under the influence of Christ. He may lead them where He will: wherever He leads them they will go. They have Christ before them: that is the secret.
  • He says, "Come and see".

• The Lord will always encourage those seeking Him. Never has there been a seeker who sought Him in vain when he has sought Him with all his heart. Solomon, Hezekiah and many others in the Old Testament demonstrate this beyond question.

What is presented to us in chapter 1 of John's gospel is a necessary preliminary to what is developed later. In chapter 10 the question arises of following with the flock. The Lord said,

• "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me", verse 27.

• In the first nine chapters of John the work of God is seen proceeding and developing. Individuals are brought forward to illustrate certain stages or developments of the work in souls.

• In our spiritual history it is intended that we should step into the blessing indicated in these individuals; in other words, that each should receive the blessing Nicodemus gained in his interview with Jesus;

• the living water which the woman of Samaria received;

• that each should be empowered to walk as the paralytic man in chapter 5;

• and that, as the man in chapter 9, each should have his eyes opened, and be developed until he becomes a worshipper of the Son of God.

• But in chapter 10 the Lord begins to speak of His own collectively, as a flock, or a company – not as individuals only, but the individuals now forming a flock; and He talks about leading them, and of their hearing His voice.

This brings us to this very interesting point: As a follower of the Lord Jesus, you will not be called upon to follow alone. The Shepherd will lead you to the flock. You will find He has His objective in mind, as well as you having yours. As the bride says in Song of Songs l: 7,

• "Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth,
  Where thou feedest thy flock,
  Where thou makest it to rest at noon;
  For why should I be as one veiled
  Beside the flocks of thy companions?"

• Ah! she was learning the lesson. She had just said, "Draw me, we will run after thee!" now she says, There is only one place in which I can be found – by the flock!

• A lonely sheep is a sick sheep, and resourceless. The only safe place for a sheep is to keep with the flock. We need to follow our Shepherd by the footsteps of His flock, not that of any other.

The Lord is opening our spiritual minds to see the importance of the assembly.

• An aged brother said recently, 'As I look back over more than sixty years which have elapsed since my conversion, how I thank God that soon after I was converted the light of Christ and the assembly dawned upon my soul, and I was brought to see that the christian path is not an individual but a collective one'.

• We are to walk together. The Lord would open your soul to this wonderful thought, that it is not an individual path in which the Lord would lead you as the Shepherd. Each has his own personal path to tread, we know; but what is involved in this thought of following is that, under His leading, you find yourself with the flock.

• Has everyone here experienced what it is to come in this way under the leading and the shepherding and the feeding of Christ, under the care which He exercises towards the flock? Have you enjoyed the bounty of the Shepherd's provision for the flock, those pastures of tender grass? Are you following where He leads?

• How we need His Shepherd care! We are not wise enough either individually, or collectively, to get on without the ministry of the Shepherd. How He is serving us collectively today! But the whole secret of getting the gain of His shepherd care lies in following.

We should appreciate this much better if we understood the conditions in the East where the sheep are absolutely dependent upon the shepherd's leading to find their food, in a land where there are no fields, only patches of grass here and there.

• We do well, dear brethren, to recognise that despite all the wealth of ministry which is being given, with the Scriptures in our hands, and all the privileges which are available to us, we still need to come under the shepherd care of Christ, to find the pastures of tender grass, and to be kept together. What power there is with Him to hold us together!
  • He says, "I have other sheep which are not of this fold: those also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, one shepherd", verse 16

• – "one flock", not 'one fold'. There is no need for a fold now because the Shepherd is there, and He is the point of attraction: He holds the sheep together.

The fold is an artificial means of holding the sheep together, encircling them with a wall.

• The power of the Shepherd to hold the sheep individually and collectively makes unnecessary the appointment of religious leaders, organisations, committees, and such humanly devised means to hold together persons who are following Jesus in the path where He leads.

• The Lord has raised up leaders certainly; and we thank God for them! We should remember our leaders and follow their faith; but the Lord Jesus Himself is the Shepherd of the sheep, and He is the One we follow.

• So He takes us in chapter 10 from the individual into the collective thought. He says not only, 'I know my sheep', but He speaks of the one flock that we might each know consciously our part in it, proving all that the Shepherd can be to that flock collectively.

May we raise this important question? Is everyone here definitely following the Shepherd? Have you found the place where He feeds His flock, making it to rest at noon? The Lord would lead you there.

• Do you ask, What am I to do? Where am I to go? Tell me where to find it? We would rather tell you to follow Him: He will lead you to it. Say to the Lord, 'I want to follow Thee!' He will surely lead you to where He has a place for you in this one flock.

• You may say, I know the Lord Jesus has prepared a place for us in the Father's house! Yes; but He has a place for you in His assembly today! Have you thought of that? And, if so, have you found it? Have you followed Him to where He says, This is your place?

• If He has assigned a place to you, no one else but you can fill it; it will be empty till you do so; and the Shepherd is leading you to it. The assembly is composed of persons like that who have been led by the Shepherd to find their place in the flock.

In chapter 12 it is a matter of following in service.

• "If any one serve me, let him follow me".

• It is important not to divorce these two great thoughts of serving and following. This verse is the Lord's own words
  • "If any one serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall be my servant".

• Precious as service is, it is of no value to Christ, or to His own, unless the service is rendered in relation to following; that is to say, the servant must be characteristically a follower. He is himself progressing. He is near the Lord, and is himself under the Lord's leading.

• Let us dismiss from our minds the limited use of the word servant as applying only to those who serve publicly. One recognises that the Lord has entrusted to some the holy responsibility and privilege of serving publicly; but in this verse the Lord is not limiting the application of His words to such.

• We credit every true child of God with possessing in his own heart a longing desire to serve. You cannot love without desiring to serve, and becoming characteristically a servant. It is so even in relation to human love.

• A little child of four years heard for the first time the story of the cross and the love of Jesus. She came to her mother the next day and said, 'Is there anything I can do for Jesus? I do love Him!' That is the spirit of service; it is what the work of God produces in the soul.

• We recognise that every true lover of Christ has that spirit. But that has to be worked out according to God. You cannot serve at your own dictation; it is too holy, too dignified, too magnificent, for anyone to take up of their own volition, and according to their own ideas.

• Remember, dear fellow believers, you are servants. We may have to say we are unprofitable ones – we all have to say that! – or perhaps we have not done much, but we are all servants who belong to Him.

The Lord's service is being carried forward by those who love Him; and everyone who loves Him has the spirit of service implanted in his heart, and thus we become servants, but then, if we are to serve we must follow.

• How often we have to lament the poverty of our service, and when the matter has been faced it is seen to be because we were not following closely enough to the One who alone can make that service effectual. The Lord sets out the principle here: we do well to heed it.
  • "If any one serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall be my servant".

• And then the Lord gives a further word of encouragement:
  • "If any one serve me, him shall the Father honour".

• What a cheer that is! How it would encourage the dear young brothers and sisters who may have felt how little opportunity they have to serve the Lord. It may be the Lord leads them to take up some apparently insignificant service – though, really, there is no service which is insignificant – every detail is dignified, and out of true love for Christ they take it up and pursue it in devotedness. The Father will honour them.

• The Lord is disclosing to us the wonderful secret that the Father's heart is gratified by everyone who is pursuing service for Christ's sake.
  • "Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me", Matthew 25: 40.

• Oh! to think of spending the few days that may be left to us, rendering no service. What a serious thing! We believe the Lord is pleased to develop greatly the souls of His people as they pursue with diligence and devotedness the dependent path of service.

Perhaps you say, I would love to serve the Lord, but I do not know what to do! The Lord Himself is the only One who can answer that question for you. What did Saul of Tarsus say?

• "What shall I do, Lord?" The Lord said,

• "Rise up, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which it is appointed thee to do", Acts 22: 10.

• The Lord may use those who are His to indicate to you and to encourage you as to service for Him, and to support you in it, but you have to go to the Lord first of all for the answer to that question.

• Think of the Father honouring the one who follows and serves Christ! What a dignity attaches to that service! It will involve reproach, sacrifice, and oftentimes putting our own matters on one side, but
  • "him shall the Father honour"!

• So it is worthwhile. The Lord would lead us until, qualified, equipped and filled spiritually, we can take our intelligent part in the service of God.

Now along with this service is the reproach of Christ. In chapter 19 this is in evidence. Jesus goes on His way to the cross. Now the test comes! Who will be with Him as the rejected One, the crucified One? Nailed to the cross, between two malefactors, scorned, hated, and spit upon; the object of man's derision, who will follow Him there?

• "And by the cross of Jesus stood his mother, and the sister of his mother, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala … and the disciple standing by, whom he loved".

• These sisters and the brother are following in reproach. How encouraging this is, especially to those who are in small gatherings, where the fewness of numbers and outward feebleness of the position is realised! Yet it is the reproach of Christ!

• Think of that little gathering at the cross! There were but few: the multitudes had cried, "Take him away, take him away, crucify him", verse 15! but these were a few lovers of Christ, in the minority indeed, yet prepared to stand by the cross in the darkest hour!

• What it must have meant to them to be there, but what must it have meant to the Lord's heart to see them there: prepared, if needs be, to suffer the same indignities as were heaped upon their Master.

• No doubt, but for the ordering of God, the enemies would have treated every follower of Jesus as they treated Him, but those devoted hearts said in effect – If to follow Him means going the whole way, we will go with Him!

Surely, when He will review the paths of His own, those who stood by the cross so devotedly will stand out then in a holy dignity before the vast company of the saints to hear the Lord express His great appreciation of their loyalty. Can we do likewise?

• Let us remember our brethren who are in reproach today – following our rejected Lord, turning away from formal religion and from all that exalts the man after the flesh, to stand true to the cross with all its deep meaning and import!

• It was the same devoted love that led Mary Magdalene to remain at the sepulchre – still following Him as her heart said – I cannot leave Him. She was speaking in the language of Psalm 73: 25,
  • "Whom have I in the heavens? and there is none upon earth I desire beside thee".

It is important that we should be prepared to suffer the reproach of Christ. Up to the present time many of us have not been called upon to suffer much in this land; some of our younger brethren are being tested more than hitherto, but the Lord would have us all follow Him with such true and deep affection that we may all be able to rejoice to be

• "counted worthy to be dishonoured for the name", Acts 5: 41.

The last reference to following in the gospel is in chapter 21, where the Lord Jesus in resurrection-life is heard saying to Peter,

• "Follow thou me"!

• He would have us following in testimony. We are left here awaiting His coming, and the one important matter is for each one to be in the path of testimony, in affectionate loyalty to Him.
  • Peter had said, "Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death", Luke 22: 33,

• but he had proved his inability to do so: now, humbled and restored the Lord enjoins him, "Follow thou me"!

• as we follow Him, will He not delight to lead us even now into the deep joys that are His – the Son of the Father: will He not lead our hearts into the Father's realm, into the enjoyment of the Father's love, until at last we are found with Him in the Father's house – having followed Him there?

May the Lord be pleased to bring each heart under His influence, and allure us after Himself, and as He says to each of us, "Follow thou me", may our sincere response be –

• 'Saviour, we long to follow Thee,
  Do Thou our hearts prepare
  To count all else, whate'er it be,
  Unworthy of our care' (Hymn 278).

The first scripture has rightly been referred to as indicating that wonderful operation of God by which the Holy Spirit is given to those who have trusted in Christ.

• For the moment, however, let us apply it as suggestive of the Lord's present movements; for He has His own way of dealing with each one of us, and we freely acknowledge that each one needs a further touch from Him.

• The Lord has touched us, but He has not yet finished His work in us. He has some-thing more to do with each, and we need to be prepared to own that we have not reached this until we receive the second touch, and see "all things clearly".

Perhaps some of us need a further touch of grace and delivering power from the hand of Jesus to enable us to be preserved from seeing men as trees walking. We greatly desire that the Lord would touch each of us now, that we might see all things clearly.

• Do we not often feel that we have not that clarity of vision which we should have? things are not always as clear to us as we should like them to be. Sometimes we long for One to put His hand on us and make us see all things clearly.

• We need to be honest before the Lord, and if He asks us if we see anything, to own it, if we see men as trees walking. We may have an abnormal vision, perhaps an extravagant idea of man, and we may attach importance to ourselves that the Lord could never support.

• We need a further touch from the Lord, and to come under His power, that we may look up; for when the Lord touched the man the second time, he looked up and
  • "was restored and saw all things clearly".

• He would not then have a distorted view, for he would see a man as a man, and not as a tree walking.

• Think what it must have been for that blind man who desired Jesus to touch him! He had longings – typical of soul desires – but he could not see; he needed One to put His hand upon him that he might see.

• The Lord Jesus would never turn away from a longing like that. Every spiritual desire in any heart has been implanted there by the Lord Himself; every desire to please God, or movement in the direction of God's glory, is a product of the work of God.

• The Lord, as the perfect Servant in this gospel of Mark, recognised this man as one who had longings, and He put Himself at his disposal. Let us visualise it for a moment.

• Think of the Lord Himself taking him by the hand, and leading him out of the town! What a movement of grace by God's Servant! God had said,
  • "Behold my servant", Matthew 12: 18,

• and we would adoringly behold Him! We would desire to have the skill to take by the hand those who have soul longings, but who are blind and have no true perception of God or of Christ, and we would bring them to Christ.

• We would lead them out of the town, where man's glory is recognised, to the seclusion outside, where, alone in the presence of the Son of God, they may receive that heavenly touch.

How frequently we find in the gospel of Mark that the hand or the touch of Jesus is referred to. The evangelist seems to magnify the grace of this perfect Servant, who not only did such wonderful things, but did them in such a beautiful way.

• That blind man would never forget the grace of the touch of Jesus. Nor will you ever forget the grace of Jesus that touched and led you out of all the confusion in which you were found, into seclusion with Himself.

• You never get clear spiritual eyesight in the town. In man's world we shall never get the right vision. When the touch of that hand leads us out of the town, then we shall be on the highroad for spiritual vision.

When the Lord first touched him, there were evidences of the work, for he had sight; but he could not see clearly. The first touch had taken place, but as yet he saw men as trees walking. Now He who has begun this good work in him will complete it.

• The Lord would touch each one of us, to deliver us from any distorted vision, He would adjust us, so that anything we may not have seen clearly before, we might see now, and not by the working of the human mind, but by the living touch of Jesus the Son of God, for
  • 'How all things shine in light divine,
    For those who've seen His face'. (Hymn 12)

Do not let us assume that we have seen all that there is to apprehend. It is possible to have some measure of sight, and yet not have the right proportion. Do we not all need our vision to be clarified?

• Some may attach too much importance to their homes, others to their business, and all these things need adjustment. The same living, powerful, skilful hand that touched us the first time would make us see all things clearly.

• While we value one another's counsel, and are thankful to the Lord for the mutual help we are to one another, it is only the living touch of Jesus that can give that clear vision.
  • "Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man's heart, which God has prepared for them that love him, but God has revealed to us by his Spirit", 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10.

The next advancement is on our part, and is suggested in the second mile. This is a practical question, for it is a true mark of the spirit of subjection to the Lord.

• In Matthew, the Lord is teaching His disciples, and in the course of His instruction He makes use of this very remarkable expression,
  • "whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain", Authorised Version.

This second mile is very testing. You may say, 'I did not even wish to go the first mile, and yet I was compelled to go' – but this second mile is a greater test.

• There may be a compelling influence to which we have reluctantly submitted, but when we reach the end of the first mile we should naturally say, I am going back now!

There is, however, a principle in that exhortation which will have its own effect upon our lives if we will bow to it.

• May we reverently say that the Lord Himself was compelled to go the first mile when He was taken by wicked hands. But He voluntarily went the second mile, right down into death itself. What a journey that was! They compelled Him to go the first mile, though He said,
  • "thinkest thou that I cannot now call upon my Father, and he will furnish me more than twelve legions of angels?", Matthew 26: 53.

• He could have gone back to the glory without dying, but His was the grace that would show to men the movements of divine love. He went the second mile, right down into death and judgment; yet before He died, He prayed,
  • "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do", Luke 23: 34.

• No one compelled Him; it was grace that caused Him to go the second mile.

A Christian is normally a subject person, who does not put his own mind and thoughts forward, but is submissive:

• when compelling power is exerted, instead of reluctantly bowing, he says, I will go further, for he desires to show that he belongs to the One who surrendered everything for God's glory and man's blessing.

• He would go a mile under compulsion, but He was ready to go yet another mile to express the goodness of God to men. If you are a follower of Jesus, there will not be much time in your life to gratify yourself.

• Under compelling influence your own will must be surrendered, but then you will gladly go further in that path to give expression to the love of Jesus.

This principle may be applied practically to many circumstances, for it may be that it will cut right across a cherished plan.

• If we are ready to bow to the ordering of God, and to let our plans be altered, we should not only accept His ordering, but be prepared to go that second mile.

• It may be that some things are not yet clear to me which are clear to others. Then this principle would cause me to sacrifice my own personal thoughts, to show the spirit of yieldingness, and to manifest that spirit which would give glory to God.

• We might inquire why that perfect One should go to the cross, but it was the will of God, and thus He became
  • "obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross", Philippians 2: 8.

May the Lord give each one of us a deep concern about this second mile, and wisdom as to its practical application. It is a question for our prayerful consideration as to how far we have the super-abundance of grace which the Lord Jesus indicated when He said,

• "whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain".

The third scripture introduces the thought of the second prayer.

We are doubtless familiar with the eighteenth chapter of the first book of Kings, to which the apostle James referred. He spoke of Elijah, who was a man of like passions as we, and had similar difficulties to our own.

• It must have cost him a great deal to stand single-handed against Ahab, feeling that he alone was God's prophet. The one thing which always marked Elijah, however, was that he prayed.

• The first prayer was that it might not rain. He felt that the low spiritual state of the people could only be corrected by an intervention on the part of God.

• But the thought that the Lord would impress upon every heart is that having prayed, and having received the answer to the first prayer, Elijah prayed again. Have we ever prayed that second prayer?

We have seen a brother miss his way, having been turned aside, and suffering in discipline. But have we prayed that second prayer concerning him?

• We should like to have heard Elijah's second prayer. It was when he went up to the top of Carmel and
  • "he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees", verse 42,

• and prayed. That was a wonderful prayer! He sent his servant seven times to look for the answer, and at the seventh time he saw rise out of the sea a little cloud like a man's hand. It reminds us of the hand of Jesus coming in with power, grace, and blessing.

Elijah prayed "again … and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to spring forth".

• There had been at that time a wholehearted turning back to God. We often look out on the state of the people of God and have thoughts of hopeless failure, but the Lord would not have us accept that.

• We have to bow to the fact that discipline and government must take place, but, like Elijah, we can pray again. May we commend this spirit that would cause us to pray this second prayer.

• Do not let us give up those who have missed their way, but let us be prepared to get before God and pray again, and look out to see the Lord Jesus come in in healing grace. If we knew what it was to pray again we should see recovery. We may have prayed the first prayer, but it will not do to stop there; the blessing came in answer to the second.

In the epistle of James this is preceded by a remarkable exhortation,

• "Confess therefore your offences to one another".

• This needs no explanation. Many of us are quite sure that, having become conscious of a fault, we should confess it to God.

• But this goes a step further, for the apostle James is essentially practical. He deals with things as they are in everyday life, and he sees a company of brethren in a place walking together, and inevitably there are faults, for the flesh is here; but he says,
  • "Confess therefore your faults to one another".

• It does not matter whether you are the "one" or the "other"; the one confesses to the other. How much we should gain if we were prepared to accept Scripture just as it stands, for we shall never improve upon the divine way of recovery, which is,
  • "Confess therefore your offences to one another, and pray one for another".

• This is mutual. We desire to consider this together in the fear of the Lord, that we might help one another towards healing. There are many wounded spirits: we would desire to have an increase of the spirit of Jesus, prepared to go down in order to effect their healing; for if there are the right conditions, healing will take place.

In the experiences of life, where brethren have to move and live together, how much need there is for the balm of Gilead. We should all like to have Luke,

• "the beloved physician", Colossians 4: 14,

• in our own locality, should we not? Yet, is there any reason why each one, young or old, should not be able to effect healing even as Luke?

In those few words we read in John 9 there is recorded the second interview that Jesus, the Son of God, had with the man who had been blind.

• In the first interview the question of his need was prominent. No one but the Son of God could open the eyes of one that had been born blind. He obeyed the word of Jesus, went to the pool of Siloam, washed, and came seeing.

• He received light from God, and as he acted upon it, simply and faithfully, step by step, his apprehension of Jesus grew. One thing he knew, that whereas he was blind, now he saw, but there was one thing he had not, and that was the knowledge of Jesus as Son of God.

• He was even prepared to be excommunicated, which was a very serious matter for a Jew, but the Lord had not finished His work in him.

May I say to each young believer, The Lord has not finished with you yet; He has only just commenced His work in you, and He would give you a second interview!

• Many an advanced believer realises that he has only just begun to touch the fringe of Christianity. Yet God, who has begun a good work in us, will finish it.

This man found himself outside; and how great a test it was for him to be forsaken of father and mother, cast out by his fellow-countrymen, and deprived of all means of livelihood. But Jesus found him.

• Jesus will find you, and if you have answered to the measure of light He has given you, He will lead you to know Himself as the Son of God.

Men will not want you if you make much of Jesus, but the Lord has a circle where there is room for Him and for you. Jesus came to him and said,

• "dost thou believe on the Son of God?"

• He was not able to answer intelligently, so he replied,
  • "who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?"

• There was with him the willing desire, but not the spiritual intelligence. The answer is,
  • "Thou hast both seen him, and he that speaks with thee is he".

• This was the Lord's second interview for this man's blessing.

The incident is one of the seven signs in this gospel, for

• "many other signs therefore also Jesus did before his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name", chapter 20: 30-31.

• What a wonderful day it is in our history when the Lord Jesus draws near to us, and reveals Himself, so that we become worshippers of Him as the Son of God.

May He be pleased to leave the impression upon us, that whatever stage we may have reached in our soul history, we have not yet attained the end which He has in His heart for us; He has something better still for each one!

• We earnestly desire that we may see all things clearly; that we might have the spirit of Christ that would make surrenders for the sake of the brethren, in order that we might walk together in peace. Then shall we earnestly pray for recovery and healing, and enjoy the experience that the Son of God alone can give, of further blessing from Himself.

Under the Mosaic law the standard weights, measures, and units of value were preserved in the tabernacle, and therefore questions which arose as to weight or value could be referred to the sanctuary of God, and a judgment obtained according to the divine standard, for

• "The just balance and scales are Jehovah's", Proverbs 16: 11.

The divine principle that "A false balance is an abomination to Jehovah: but a just weight is his delight", Proverbs 11: 1, was thus confirmed in the daily life of God's people.

• Spiritual balance is essential to spiritual prosperity. We are prone to extremes, but the Lord's present priestly service of grace is to adjust us, so that an even balance may be preserved.

It may be profitable to consider scriptural instances of men who were marked by spiritual balance – who in the light of God's presence obtained a true estimation according to the balances of the sanctuary.

Moses arrived at a judgment concerning his pathway and associations which evidences that he had formed his estimation according to the sanctuary.

• The natural mind would attach great weight to the extraordinary opportunities which Moses had of a princely position, abundant prosperity, great power and every facility to enjoy the pleasures of sin. He was doubtless greatly envied as having the world in all its greatness open before him.

• But weighed in God's balances these prospects were all abandoned, for Moses esteemed
  • "the reproach of the Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect to the recompense", Hebrews 11: 26.

• Their true weight came to light in the sanctuary, and Moses
  • chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to have the temporary pleasure of sin", verse 25.

• Moses furnishes a striking illustration of the effect of early influence. Cradled in the fear of God and trained by godly parents, he had received impressions which were never effaced, so that when he came to years he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and he referred the whole question of his life's pathway to God.

How tenderly the Lord appeals today to each one who has reached a similar crisis in his history!

• The rest of our life – 1 Peter 4: 2 – is a matter of the greatest importance, and only in the light of the sanctuary can we get a true judgment that will enable us to spend it for the will of God – with Christ as our Object and the people of God as our companions.

• Two paths are open before us. On the one hand – the pleasures of sin; on the other – the reproach of Christ.

• The Lord would have us weigh these paths, alone with Himself, in the light of the fact that we have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ and that we owe everything to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Daniel standing before Belshazzar bore witness to the fact that he had been in the sanctuary. All the promises made by that profane monarch were refused by him. He had seen Babylon and its king

• "weighed in the balances", Daniel 5: 27.

• He alone could read the writing on the wall. Can we do that? Can we look upon the world in all its greatness and feasting – even profaning the holy vessels of God's house to seek to add to its glory – and can we judge of it as it is in the sight of God?

• With the light of the sanctuary in our souls we should be able to refuse its offers, for we should see, written across the wall of this world-system, God's judgment of it.
  • "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it … Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting".

• Think of the spiritual dignity of Daniel as he said,
  • "Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another", chapter 5: 17.

• He was independent of the world's patronage. God has found it wanting, and we should arrive at the same judgment.

How delightful to speak of Christ and to testify that He has never been found wanting. He has perfectly glorified God and He has never disappointed any one who has come to Him.

• The life He has opened out before us, and the joy that He gives, far exceed anything that we could have anticipated. Thus would He make His own independent of this world, for
  • He "gave himself for our sins, so that he should deliver us out of this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father", Galatians 1: 4.

Asaph, too, was one who found the solution of his difficulties in the light of the sanctuary. Psalm 73.

• He faced the very real problem at which so many stumble today. He saw godless and wicked men prospering in this world – even more than the godly and upright. He became so discouraged that he said,
  • "my steps had well nigh slipped", verse 2.

• This question of prosperity is the cause of much anxiety, when the wicked abound in affluence while the children of God are tried, tested and oftentimes under great pressure; but there is a perfect answer to this difficulty, as Asaph found when he went into the sanctuary of God.
  • "Then", he said, "understood I their end", verse 17.

• Weighed in the balances, the prosperity of the wicked gave him no reason to be envious of them, for God had set them "in slippery places, thou castest them down in ruins", verse 18.

• Consider their end! May God preserve us from being envious of the prosperity of the wicked, but that we may seek true spiritual prosperity.

Paul, too, furnishes us in Philippians 3 with the most blessed result of weighing according to the sanctuary.

• In those scales he had seen the true weight of all that he was according to the flesh. All that he had previously prided himself in and boasted of are found to be worthless. Now he can say,
  • "what things were gain to me these I counted, on account of Christ, loss", verse 7.

• But he learned in the secret of the sanctuary the preciousness of Christ. His heart was won! The worth and beauty of His blessed Person eclipsed all else.
  • "The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord", verse 8,

• commanded his heart and life. Henceforth his one desire is "to know him", verse 10.

May we each be found learning in the sanctuary true values, that all our estimations may be according to the divine standard.

Many of the tasks in the Lord's service might be esteemed as commonplace, but it is stimulating to have in mind, in every detail, that

• "ye serve the Lord Christ", Colossians 3: 24,

• which implies the dignity of service – a dignity which, if realised, would stir deeply the spirit of the servant.

• The title 'Lord' implies His authority over, and His affection for, His servants, involving our subjection to Him in every detail of the work;

• the title 'Christ' tells of the anointed Head of the glorious service of God, all of which is to be rendered in the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God.

The task may be menial in the eyes of men, but it is glorified by its being a part of that system of glory and it is to be carried through as being rendered to Christ.

• Elisha, was content to pour water upon the hands of Elijah, 2 Kings 3: 11, but the manner in which he carried out that lowly service – usually the task of a menial slave – secured such promotion for him that it could be said of him that
  • "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha", 2 Kings 2: 15.

THE SPRING OF SERVICE

There is also the word, "By love serve one another", Galatians 5: 13, and this is the spring of service.

• What can be acceptable if it does not spring from love? The Lord Jesus Himself was the Antitype of the Hebrew servant who said "I love", Exodus 21: 5, and this is the secret of every true sacrificial service.
  • "Beloved, if God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another", 1 John 4: 11.

• Love finds expression in service. How the Lord Jesus has served His assembly in love!

• The voluntary character of any service expresses that you are prepared by love to serve your brethren. Let this encourage you that even if you are called upon to "serve tables" the word says,
  • "he that in this serves the Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men", Romans 14: 18.

THE HOLINESS OF SERVICE

There is, however, a spiritual condition essential for acceptable service. Hence the prophet Isaiah says,

• "be ye clean, that bear the vessels of Jehovah", chapter 52: 11.

It is holy hands that are lifted up and serve. It is sanctified vessels that are needed,

• "serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work", 2 Timothy 2: 21.

The vessels are holy and it requires holiness on the part of those who are called to serve the "holy brethren".

• It is the service of God who is holy; sustained by the Lord Jesus, the Holy One empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, and guided by the precepts of the Holy Scriptures.

• It is the holiness of service which makes it so great, and yet so solemn, to have even the smallest part in such a service. May the Lord help us to be consistent with it!

THE ENERGY OF SERVICE

One thought more, prompted by the word

• "Whatsoever ye do, labour at it heartily, as doing it to the Lord, and not to men", Colossians 3: 23.

• This urges the energy of service. You will be called upon to expend much energy if you go forth to serve the Lord, but the exhortation is:
  • "take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ", 2 Timothy 2: 3.

• Not only is willing obedience necessary, but an alacrity, a readiness of mind, a spirit of sacrifice, that the one who serves
  • may not "faint in well-doing", 2 Thessalonians 3: 13.

• Thus will every service go up to God as a sweet savour of Christ – God's perfect Servant.

To the elders of the assembly in Ephesus he disclosed that the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus was to testify

THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD,

Acts 20: 24, for that is its character. The first impression the gospel would convey to man is that God is approaching him in grace!

• With what joy the evangelist Luke presents the Lord Jesus as God's Anointed, the holy Vessel of divine grace!
  • "And all … wondered at the words of grace which were coming out of his mouth", Luke 4: 22;

• and His constant ministry of compassion is recorded that
  • "the God of all grace", 1 Peter 5: 10,

    might be known; for God was

  • "in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their offences", 2 Corinthians 5: 19.

• One of the most striking unfoldings of the grace of God fell from the lips of Jesus when He described the return of the prodigal, thus:
  • "But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses", Luke 15: 20.

When the same apostle wrote that profound, yet simple, treatise on the glad tidings – the epistle to the Romans – it is

THE GOSPEL OF GOD,

• That epistle treats of the power of God, the righteousness of God, the wrath of God, the goodness of God, and the love of God.

• The object of the gospel, as unfolded in that epistle, is to bring a man into such blessing in the knowledge of God that he can be set up on earth in triumph and eternal life, for the glory of God, and that he should finally be
  • "conformed to the image of his Son", chapter 8: 29.

In writing to the Corinthians the apostle presents the gospel in relation to Christ, for he is prepared to suffer all things, lest we should hinder

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

• 1 Corinthians 9: 12. Christ is its Theme. The same expression occurs in the epistle to the Galatians, when Paul wrote,
  • "I wonder that ye thus quickly change, from him that called you in Christ's grace, to a different gospel, which is not another one", chapter 1: 6-7,

• for there is only one gospel – that which exalts the Person of Christ and presents the value of His atoning work.

So, too, the Philippians were exhorted

• "Only conduct yourselves worthily of the glad tidings of the Christ", chapter 1: 27.

• It is as its transforming power is manifested in the lives of believers that Christ is magnified and the gospel confirmed.

Another distinctive title of the gospel is given by the apostle, in his second epistle to the Corinthians, as he tells of

• "the radiancy of the glad tidings of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God", chapter 4: 4,

• or, as this may be alternatively translated

THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF THE CHRIST,

• for that is its dignity. The perfect life of Jesus, His atoning death, His triumphant resurrection, have consummated in His glory at the right hand of God.

• The radiancy of that glory shines in His face today; for
  • "God, who spoke that out of darkness light should shine who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ", verse 6.

• What dignity there is in such a gospel! How worthy to be proclaimed far and wide, for it is the glad tidings of the glory of His Person.

Additional glories are indicated in the epistle to the Ephesians. In the first chapter it is described as the word of truth,

THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION,

• for its power has been proved. What mighty results have been achieved by this gospel! As the people of old were instructed to
  • "Fear not: stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah", Exodus 14: 13,

• so the Christian exults in a triumphant salvation. The complete victory has been gained, every enemy has been defeated, and the apostle can address the believer as
  • "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise", Ephesians 1: 13.

In the same epistle the inspired writer enlarges upon the untold resources of God unfolded by the gospel in the preaching among the Gentiles of the glad tidings of

THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST,

• which are expressive of the wealth of the gospel. These riches are brought within the reach of those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and though "unsearchable" can be enjoyed, by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, by the simplest believer in Jesus.

Finally, when writing to his child in the faith, Timothy, the apostle, with his heart moved by its magnificence, refers to

THE GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF THE BLESSED GOD

• which was committed to his trust. 1 Timothy 1: 11.

• This is surely its fulness, for the glory of the blessed God is the perfect revelation of Himself in the removal of the distance between God and man, from His own side.

• Thus God's great glory will witness to the greatness of the gospel when surrounded by the myriads of the redeemed – each one of whom has been reached and blessed by the gospel,
  • He will "rest in his love; he will exult over thee with singing", Zephaniah 3: 17.

The apostle Peter confirms this thought of obedience in connection with the gospel, for he asks,

• "what shall the end be of those who obey not the glad tidings of God?", 1 Peter 4: 17.

• While to the Thessalonians the apostle Paul writes of
  • "vengeance on those who know not God, and those who do not obey the glad tidings of our Lord Jesus Christ", 2 Thessalonians 1: 8,

• he also writes with sadness in Romans 10
  • "they have not all obeyed the gospel", verse 16.

The first evidence of obedience is that the gospel is believed, for it is only effective in those who receive it in faith. On the day of Pentecost there were three thousand who

• "gladly received his word" and "were baptised", Acts 2: 41, AV.

The gospel of the grace of God, great and glorious though it is, avails none but those who receive it in

• "repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ", Acts 20: 21.

• It was said of those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness,
  • "the word of the report did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard", Hebrews 4: 2.

It is the pleasure of God that the gospel, having been believed, should be enjoyed by those who have obeyed it, for it is intimately bound up with joy.

• There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth; joy in the Shepherd's heart when, having found the lost sheep, He says, "Rejoice with me", Luke 15, and there is joy in the heart of the believer in Jesus, when as the result of the gospel he is filled
  • "with all joy and peace in believing … by the power of the Holy Spirit", Romans 15: 13.

By the Holy Spirit alone is the believer filled with joy, for

• "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace", Galatians 5: 22.

• The secret of joy is thus beautifully told in Ephesians 1: 12, 13, in which the apostle, writing of those who have "pre-trusted in the Christ", adds,
  • "in whom ye also have trusted, having heard the word of the truth, the glad tidings of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, ye have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise".

It is by the Spirit's power that the promises of God are so faithfully fulfilled and the truths of the gospel are proved by those who obey it. That assuring promise of God that

• "their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more", Hebrews 10: 17,

• is proved by the believer in the conscious knowledge of the forgiveness of sins.

• The promised gift of the Holy Spirit is proved as
  • "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God", Romans 8: 16,

  • and as "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us", Romans 5: 5.

But the gospel is not given that it may remain hidden in the hearts of Christians, but that it might be testifired, not by angels, but by those who have obeyed it and are enjoying and proving its reality and power.

• The commission given to Saul of Tarsus, after he had obeyed the gospel, was
  • "to testify the glad tidings of the grace of God", Acts 20: 24,

• while the other apostles were told to
  • "Go ye and stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life", Acts 5: 20.

The personal testimony of individuals to individuals, though more testing, both as to heart and ability, is oftentimes more effective than even public preaching, and this means is being greatly used of God today to awaken many to the realisation of their need of the gospel.

To all who obey the gospel the public proclamation is of great interest, for it is divinely ordained that the gospel should be preached, and

• "God has been pleased by the foolishness of the preaching to save those that believe", 1 Corinthians 1: 21.