In Christ his creation is made brand-new

"If any man (one) be in Christ, he is a new creature (there is a new creation to him); old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17
It is usual to make this affirmation of the apostle refer merely to the change of nature which takes place in conversion. For then the renewal of man's whole being is effected; the "inner man" undergoes a total transformation; the old man passes away, and the new man comes in his place. In all parts of being we experience a change, save in these "vile bodies," whose renewal is not to be looked for until the appearing of the Lord.

That the words include and imply all this there can be no doubt. For all that is excellent in the matter of restoration must begin with the individual man, and must begin, too, with the innermost region of the individual man. Hence it is written, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," intimating that all true connection with the coming kingdom must begin with personal renewal.

"In Christ," "a new creature," how much do these words imply! How complete the inward transformation which they describe! What condemnation do they pronounce upon the shallow, meager religion so common among us, making us feel that hardly any description of its professors could be more exaggerated or unreal than that of being "in Christ," and "new creatures." Take yon member of the Church. He wears the garb and bears the name of Christ. He is a fair average specimen of a large class. He has the reputation of being a Christian; yet he is fond of the world; he grasps at its gold; he loves its fashionable gaiety; he reads its novels; he frequents its haunts of amusement; he enjoys its company; he relishes its foolish talking and jesting—is he "a new creature," is he "in Christ Jesus?" Is it possible that, with so much worldliness, so much selfishness, so much self-indulgence, so much pleasing of the flesh, he can have been "begotten again," whatever his profession may be?

"In Christ!" How mighty the expression! How singular, yet how exact the description! "In Christ," then, out of the world. "In Christ," then, out of self! "In Christ," then, no more in the flesh, no more in sin, no more in vanity, no more in darkness, no more in the crooked paths of the god of this world.
"A new creature!"—then, from the very root of being, upward throughout all its branches, a marvelous change has taken place, a change which nothing can fitly describe, save the creating of all things out of nothing at the beginning, or the new-creating of this corrupted world into a glorious earth and heaven, when the Lord returns to take possession of it as his kingdom forever.
"A new creature!"—then old feelings, old habits, old tastes, old hopes, old joys, old sorrows, old haunts, old companionships—all are gone! Old things have passed away, all things have become new. Christ in us, and we in Christ—how thorough and profound, the change must have been! "Christ formed in us," no, "in us the hope of glory;" and we created in Christ unto good works after the very likeness of incarnate Godhead—how inconceivably glorious the renewal—the transfiguration wrought in us—for nothing short of transfiguration is it, considered even in its general and most common aspect.
But the expression is a peculiar one, and worthy of our careful notice. It is not, "If any man be a new creature, he is in Christ Jesus;" as if the being in Christ were merely a result of his being a new creature; but it is, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;" implying that it is his indwelling in Christ that makes him a new creature, and that this newness of being springs from his being in Christ. It is the soil of paradise alone, that can produce the trees of righteousness, so it is our being "rooted in Christ" that gives birth and growth to the new creation. It is not the tree that makes the soil—but the soil the tree. What would even the vine, or the fig, or the pomegranate, be, if planted on the bare rock, or the salt, grey sand? Let us then mark the words—"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." It is his grafting into Christ that has made him what he is. Christ himself is the soil in which the Holy Spirit plants, with his own hand, the trees that grow up and flourish in the courts of our God.
But the words are even more peculiar than our translation shows. Literally rendered, they give this sense, "If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation,"—that is, a new creation is the result; a creation not less perfect or majestic than that which the prophet announces, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;" or than that which Christ himself proclaims, when it is said, "He who sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Thus, then, in the case of the man who is in Christ Jesus, there is "a new creation,"—a new creation within, a new creation without—a new creation already in part accomplished—but waiting its blessed consummation when the great Creator returns in glory to complete his handiwork within and without, in soul and in body, in heaven and in earth.
Let us look, then, at this new creation, first, as it is within us; and secondly, as it is without us.

I. The new creation within us. This I do not confine to the mere renewing of our moral nature. It seems to take a wider range.
(1.) First of all, it points to our new standing before God. If I am a new creature in Christ, then I stand before God, not in myself—but in Christ. He sees no longer me—but only him in whom I am—him who represents me, Christ Jesus, my substitute and surety. In believing, I have become so identified with the Son of his love, that the favor with which he regards him passes over to me, and rests, like the sunshine of the new heavens, upon me. In Christ, and through Christ, I have acquired a new standing before the Father. I am "accepted in the beloved." My old standing, that is, that of distance, and disfavor, and condemnation, is wholly removed, and I am brought into one of nearness, and acceptance, and pardon—I am made to occupy a new footing, just as if my old one had never been. Old guilt, heavy as the mountain, vanishes; old dread, gloomy as midnight, passes off; old fear, dark as hell, gives place to the joyful confidence arising from forgiveness and reconciliation, and the complete blotting out of sin. All things are made new. I have changed my standing before God; and that simply in consequence of that oneness between me and Christ, which has been established, through my believing the record given concerning him. I come to him on a new footing, for I am "in Christ," and in me there has been a new creation.
(2.) It points to our new relationship to God. If I am a new creature, then I no longer bear the same relationship to God. My old connection has been dissolved, and a new one established. I was an alien once, I am now a son; and as a son, have the privilege of closest fellowship. Every vestige of estrangement between us is gone. At every point, instead of barriers rising up to separate and repel; there are links, knitting us together in happiest, closest union. Enmity is gone on my part, displeasure on his. He calls me son, I call him Father. Paternal love comes down on his part, filial love goes up on mine. The most entire mutual confidence has been established between us. No more a stranger and a foreigner, I am become a fellow-citizen with the saints, and of the household of God, every cloud being withdrawn that could cast a single shadow upon the simple gladness of our happy communion. There has been truly a new creation; "old things have passed away, all things have become new." Our new relationship is for eternity. He is eternally my Father; and I am eternally his son.

(3.) It points to the spiritual renewal of the whole inner man. In this respect the new creation has done wonders indeed. It has not only broken my chains, and given me the liberty of the heavenly adoption—but it has altered the whole frame and bent of my being, so that, as formerly, by the law of my old nature, I sought the things of this world, so now, by the necessity of my new nature, I seek the things above. Sin has become hateful, holiness supremely attractive. The flesh has lost its power, the Spirit has gotten dominion. The vision has been purged, so that now I see everything as with a new eye; the evil, with an eye that loathes it; the good, with an eye that loves it. I approach everything with new feelings, new tastes, new sympathies and antipathies. I behold everything in a new light, and from a new position and point of view. Myself, this world, the world to come, God and Christ, and the everlasting joys—all these are to me now what they have never been before. My whole inner man has changed respecting them. There has been a new creation.

Oh, the unimaginable blessedness of those on whom this new creation has taken place! Oh, the unutterable, the endless misery of those on whom no change has passed, in whom old things still remain, and who shall be left forever to the dominion of that old nature, in which there is the love of sin and the hatred of Christ, and the enmity to God—and all that can fill the soul with woe and darkness; all that can create a hell to man or devil—a hell within and a hell without; a hell, with its consuming fire and its everlasting curse; a hell, with its despair and darkness, and incurable remorse; a hell, with all the memories of quickened conscience, and the stings of its undying worm; a hell, with its separation from heaven and all holy beings; a hell, with its weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!
II. The new creation without. What we have already said regarding the new creation is certainly contained in the apostle's words; but it does not exhaust them. There is more behind; and in reading the passage in its whole connection, we are made to feel as if its special reference were to the new creation without—the new creation which we look for at the coming of the Lord. In this, the words find their complete fulfillment. This only exhausts or fills up the expression, "There is a new creation." This only rightly satisfies the description, "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
And this is truly the manner of Scripture. It makes use of an expression whose vast compass includes a great range of kindred objects. It takes up a figure which will apply to the whole of a particular process, or series of steps, and which, according to the circumstances, we may use to denote the beginning or the end, the first small unfolding or the perfect consummation, of which that first unfolding was the germ, or root, or seed.
Thus the word "redemption" is used; sometimes referring to the first step of that process—the plucking us out of the prison of the strong one—and sometimes to the glorious summing-up, in the resurrection of the body and the installation into the kingdom. In like manner "salvation" is used, so that in one place we are said to be already saved, in believing; at another time, we are said to be waiting for a salvation which the mighty Savior is to bestow on us when he "appears the second time, without sin, unto salvation."
Thus the new creation comprehends everything which that word can denote—the renewal of the inner man at conversion, the restoration of the outer man at the resurrection of the just, the introduction into that kingdom of glory which is to consist of "new heavens and a new earth." The apostle's words would thus signify, not merely that if any man be in Christ he is made new within—but if any man be in Christ he is made an inheritor of the new creation, an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ Jesus. There has been a new creation within, and its counterpart, the new creation without, is as certainly his inheritance. The one is the beginning and pledge of the other. The indwelling Spirit, who is the author of the new creation, is the pledge of the inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, and by him we are sealed unto the day of redemption.
But how is it, then, that the apostle speaks of this new creation as past already, whereas it is yet to come? For the same reason, and in the same way, that he speaks of our "having received a kingdom," whereas the kingdom is yet future; of our being made kings and priests, whereas our kingship and priesthood are not yet realized; of our having "come to mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem," whereas we are only on our way to these; of our being seated with Christ in heavenly places, whereas we are still sojourners on earth. In these passages we are represented as actually having that, which will, before long, be ours; we are spoken of as actually in the midst of scenes, which are shortly to compass us about. We are said and supposed to be where faith places us—faith, which "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." So powerful and so intense is the anticipation of faith, that what is future becomes present, no, past; what is invisible becomes visible, what is far off becomes near.
In the passage before us, then, the apostle at once carries us forward into the midst of promised glory. If we are in Christ, then are we not only where he is just now, at the Father's right hand—but where he shall be hereafter, when he comes to make all things new. To be in Christ is to be in the midst of that new creation, which is to come forth from the ruins of these old heavens and this worn-out earth. If any be in Christ, then to him the new creation has come—"Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." He is not so much one dwelling in this valley of tears, or even one looking from the hills of Moab, to survey the land of his inheritance; he is like one who has already reached his glorious home—who sees around him the perfections of the new creation—to whom old things have passed away, and all things have been made new, and who is looking back upon this land of the storm and the curse, as one who has escaped its evils, and on the wings of a dove has found his way to the city of peace, and laid himself down upon the banks of the pure river, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Thus faith is taught to anticipate the glory, and to dwell in the midst of it, as if it had actually arrived; so that if any man be in Christ, to him the new creation has already come; "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
If these things be so, then how differently, from what we too often do, should we read such chapters as the two closing ones of Revelation. It is not imagination, dwelling upon pictures, as some speak; it is faith conducting us into the very midst of the reality. It is not a prying curiosity, craving after excitement, that incites us to conjecture or speculation as to what we shall be hereafter; it is faith leading us into the many mansions, and bidding us dwell there even now. It is not visions or dreams, giving us pictures of the unreal; it is faith transporting us at once into the midst of the real, so that in reading God's revelation respecting the new creation, we feel as if we were more truly and sensibly surrounded by its unseen glories than by all that we here touch, and taste, and hear, and see.
If these things are so, then what manner of people ought we to be in all holy living and godliness? For our dwellings are not now outside the courts of God, or merely within view of a far-off glory. They are within the sanctuary, no, within the holy of holies. Beside the mercy-seat, within the veil, under the very brightness of Jehovah's presence—there faith places us; there we pitch our tents; there we spend our days. And surely, by beholding this glory, not afar off—but near, we ought to be changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
To be in Christ Jesus! How much may be expected from us, in all holiness, and truth, and conformity to the will of God. To be seated with him in heavenly places, partakers of his love and throne—what ought this elevation to do for us, in bringing us into the resemblance of him at whose side we are seated! To see and feel ourselves so surrounded with the purity and glory of the new creation, as that the new heavens and earth seem nearer us, and more closely in contact with us, than this present evil world—what a purifying influence ought such a thought to exert upon us! What manner of people ought we to be in all holy living and godliness? How entire should be the separation between us and a world such as this—a world whose influences are all unholy, whose tendencies are all downward, and whose friendship is enmity with God. If we be in Christ, then its old things have passed away, passed out of sight, and are to us among the things that were—but now are not. If we be in Christ, then the new things of "the world to come" have taken their room, and are to us the great realities which occupy both eye and ear. What, then, have we to do with sin, with the flesh, with the vanities of so vain a life as the men of earth are leading? Our life, our "citizenship," is in heaven. How consistent, then, ought we to be, how watchful, how circumspect in word and deed—that men may know how completely we have broken our connection with this present evil world. Our relationship to the new creation, "the inheritance of the saints in light," is close and sure! How thoroughly conformed to this "world to come" ought we to be!
Again, if these things be so, how little ought we to be moved by the tribulations which attend us. Offences will come, sorrows will come, burdens, cares, annoyances, thorns in the flesh, will come. We shall be tempted; we shall suffer; we shall be shot at by the archers; we shall groan, being burdened; we shall be weary and faint, and sometimes heavy-hearted. But let us not be shaken. Let none of these things move us, or occasion anything of dismay and darkness, as if all were going wrong with us. Let us call to mind the new creation into which we have been introduced. Let us look on its glories, and go upon our way rejoicing. Why should we be cast down with the changes of the changing earth, seeing the unchangeable is already ours? Why should we be fretted, and vexed, and tossed too and fro, when old things have passed away, and all things have become new? Why should we sigh, and weep, and bow down the head, seeing the lines have fallen unto us in such pleasant places—and so goodly a heritage is ours?

The Right Arm of God

With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 136:12
In Ex 6:6 and Duet 5:15: God told Moses ONLY HIS ARM saved the Hebrews, they DID NOT save themselves.And in Job 40, God himself states:* NO ONE has an ARM like God.* Your right ARM can NOT save you. Now notice, God has stated VERY PLAINLY that YOU canNOT save yourself, only HIS ARM can. So when readingthe Isaiah 53 verse set, you have to realize thatthe ARM OF GOD can not be the Hebrews (God's ARMsaved them, they did not), and it can't be some simpleman (no man's ARM can save himself, let alone others).It's fairly obvious that the ARM OF GOD in Isaiah 53, MUST BE the actual ARM OF GOD, especially since that ARM OF GOD is expected to save MANY in the world from their sins (those that accept him). Further, the name for the ARM OF GOD was given inthe Isaiah 53:1, Job 40:9, Ex 6:6, and Duet 5:15 versesets as "zeroah", all being the same ARM OF GOD. Yetin Job 40:14, where God is talking about YOUR own armNOT being able to save you, God uses the word "yamiyn" and NOT "zeroah".It's clear that God is being VERY SPECIFIC about howONLY his ARM is able to save and YOUR arm can NOT save you.The New Testament account shows a direct correlationbetween the ARM OF GOD in Isaiah 53 and the HAND ofGod (Jesus) in the New Testament. Both accounts showmuch the same character of events and the same ARM OFGOD showing up as a man, being despised and rejected by those he came to save, etc... But as both say, Jesus showed up to save us from our sins.Why?Isa 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.God is saying here that HIS HAND can save AND hecould hear us pray to him, EXCEPT our SINS have separatedus from him and turned him from us such that hewon't hear.Yet if anyone wanted to return to God there wasno way set up for it, hence no INCENTIVE to for usto return to God:Isa 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. 16 And he saw that there was NO MAN, and wondered that there was NO INTERCESSOR: therefore HIS ARM brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. By God sending HIS OWN ARM as a man to die for oursins, he's in effect paid the price for sin of those whowould believe him. With the sin paid for, God couldthen turn back to us and listen to our prayers.The only one capable of saving is God himself, God'sown ARM, sent as a man as described in Isaiah 53.That man would have to CONFIRM himself being the ARM OF GOD and as such, a part of God himself. And Jesus did just that.Jesus gave a set of statements that LOCK him to beingAT LEAST God's HAND: (Jesus speaking) Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:(Jesus is also described as the good shepherd, not running when danger arises, but laying down his life for his sheep, much like Isaiah 53 where the "man" or "servant" lays down his life for the sins of the world.) 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and my Father are one.* Sheep or followers are given into Jesus's hand by the Father.* No one is able to pluck them out of Jesus's hand.* No one is able to pluck them out of the Father's hand.* Jesus and the Father are one.Jesus has plainly admitted to being AT LEAST God's HAND.Hence Jesus is the ARM OF GOD, or God's hand. As such, there isn't any split up of God and therenever was. God is still the same God he's always been. He simply sent his own ARM to save the world similar to when he saved the Hebrews long ago "through a mightyHAND and by a stretched out ARM".God made it all, Jesus died for our sins.

Cross references

Exodus 6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land."
Exodus 6:6 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
Exodus 13:9 "And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 4:34 "Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Deuteronomy 5:15 'You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
Deuteronomy 7:19 the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
Deuteronomy 9:29 'Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.'
Deuteronomy 11:2 "Know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the LORD your God-- His greatness, His mighty hand and His outstretched arm,
1 Kings 8:42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house,
2 Kings 17:36 "But the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice.
2 Chronicles 6:32 "Also concerning the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your great name's sake and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house,
Nehemiah 1:10 "They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand.
Psalm 44:3 For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.
Jeremiah 32:17 'Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,
Jeremiah 32:21 'You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror;

Behold my hands—: Luk24:39

The Hand—A Symbol of the Active Life
The Bible is signally distinguished for this, that with a message from God it reaches the human heart, but not less remarkable is the attention which it directs to the human hands. In our Western speech, with its leaning toward abstraction, we speak of character and its outflow in conduct; but in the Eastern speech, which has always been pictorial, men spoke of the heart and its witness in the hands. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ....? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart." "If thy hand offend thee, cut it off." "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." And Pilate, wishing to assert his innocence in a manner which the Jews could comprehend, did not cry, "My conduct is reproachless," but in the presence of them all he washed his hands. That is the symbolism of the hand in Scripture. It is conduct incarnate, the sign of the active life. It is the organ through which is sketched, as on a screen, the thought that is singing or surging in the heart.

Behold My Hands
Now if that be true of every human hand, it will be very specially true of the hands of Christ. He is always saying to us "Behold My heart": but in the same voice He says, "Behold My hands." Could any meditation, then, be more appropriate for some quiet evening of communion on a Sabbath? Try to conceive that Christ is in your midst, that Christ on whose body and blood mystical you fed today. Try to conceive that He is standing there and saying to everyone of you, "Behold My hands." What are these hands? What do they signify? We shall run through the Gospel story that we may see.

Hands of Brotherhood
Behold His hands, then, for they are hands of brotherhood. When Jesus came into Peter's house, we read, He saw his wife's mother sick of a fever. And what did He do? He put out His hand and touched her, and she arose and ministered to them. When He was in Bethsaida they brought a blind man to Him, beseeching Him that He would heal him. And what did He do? He took the blind man by the hand, and hand in hand they left the town together. And the world will never forget that scene at Nain, when Jesus met the sad procession to the grave, and moved with compassion He put forth His hand, and touched the bier. In all these cases, and in a hundred others, what men recognized in the touch was brotherhood. Here was no cold pity, no condescension, no distance of heart from heart. Christ came alongside of suffering and sorrow, brought Himself into living and actual touch with it; and the men who were standing by, and who saw it all, said, "Behold His hands, they are the hands of brotherhood."
And always, where the Gospel is at work, it stretches out its hands in the same way. Is not this the glory of the Christian spirit that it pulsates with the sweet sense of brotherhood. The poet Crabee, talking about charity, says:
A common bounty may relieve distress,
But whom the vulgar succor they oppress.
But the Christian never lowers when he helps, for with everything he gives, he gives his hand. It is not the way of the Gospel to isolate itself, and to give cold advice and help as from a distance. It bears men's burdens, understands their need, calls the poorest, brother, and the fallen, sister. Until men feel that the hands stretched out today are the very hands that touched the bier at Nain, and they know that the hands of Christ are hands of brotherhood.

Hands of Power
Again, behold His hands, for they are hands of power. When Jesus went back the second time to Nazareth, do you remember what the villagers said about Him? What they could not fathom was how this carpenter's Son was endued with His unquestionable power. "What wisdom is this that is given Him," they said, "that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands." They had seen these hands busy at carpentering once, but now there was a power in their touch that baffled them. And then I turn to the Gospel of St. John, where our Savior Himself is speaking of His sheep; and He says, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Behold His hands, then, for they are hands of power; they are powerful to do and powerful to keep. There have never been hands on earth like those of Jesus, so mighty in action and in guardianship.
I read the other day in some book about China a remark that had been made by a young Chinese convert. He belonged to the literary class, and had studied Confucius, and the remark he made was something of this kind. He said, "The difference between Confucius and Christ is not so much a question of morality: for I find the golden rule in the sacred books of the East, and a great deal more that Jesus might have uttered; but the difference is that once I was told what to do, but left quite helpless and powerless to do it; but now with the ideal comes the power." The hand of Confucius was a cold, dead hand; it had written the maxim—it could not inspire the man. There was no power in its touch to kindle the dark heart, to animate the will, to change the life. But in contact with Jesus it was very different—that was the meaning of this Chinese student—there was healing and there was power in His touch. What is the power that has abolished slavery? What is the power that has given us a free Scotland? What is the power that has changed ten million lives, inspired the missionary, and made the social worker? The power is the power of the touch of Jesus; it is the impress and the impact of His hand. Behold His hands, then, in the advance of Christendom. Behold His hands in the change of countless lives. Behold them in the new ideals of the multitude; in the graces and perseverance of the saint. They are not only hands of brotherhood, for their very touch has been an inspiration. Behold His hands, for they are hands of power.

Lessons From the Story of Moses

This article will be an extension off of the article I just did titled "The Story of Moses." As I said in that article, I believe this man has one of the most powerful and dramatic stories in all of the Old Testament. There are major lessons to be learned from this man’s story and adventure in God.
For all aspiring eagles in God, I believe that Moses and King David are two excellent role models for us to learn from. They were both true heroes of the faith and there is much to learn from both of their stories in the Lord. This article will be on what we can learn from the story of Moses and what we can each take with us on our own individual journeys with the Lord.
1. Personal Relationship With God
As I have stated numerous times in many of our other articles, the #1 thing God wants to do with each one of us is to establish an intimate personal relationship. Moses definitely accomplished this with God the Father! The Bible may have given Moses two of the finest and highest compliments that any human could ever hope to receive from God Himself.
Here are the two verses giving Moses these two incredible compliments direct from the Lord Himself:
· "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11)
· "But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." (Deuteronomy 34:10)
The second verse is one of the last verses that are at the end of this man’s story. It is a very fitting statement and compliment in which to end his story in God. These verses are obviously referring to Moses’ face-to-face encounters with God in the burning bush and on top of Mount Sinai when he received the 10 commandments from God the Father.
However, the thing to really grab a hold of is that even though God initiated making this kind of direct contact with Moses, Moses entered in and was not afraid to meet God face to face and one on one! The Bible says that when God first manifested His presence on top of Mount Sinai, all of the other Israelites were scared to death of God.
They told Moses that he should go up there and talk with God for them lest they should die from coming into direct contact with the Lord. Here are the exact words out of Scripture of the fear that they had with their own God:
Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." (Exodus 20:19)
Their fear of God is the exact same fear that many Christians still have today. They know that the Bible tells them that God wants to establish this individual personal relationship with each one of us, but they are to afraid to approach God to establish this kind of intimate personal relationship with Him.
I won’t go into all the different reasons people are afraid to establish a personal relationship with the Lord. But suffice to say, this is what God really wants, and if you would be willing enter in without any fear like Moses did, this will then be the beginning of a new and adventurous life with the Lord.
Just look at the story of Moses and what happened to his mundane life out in the desert once he made direct contact with the Lord and then proceeded to follow God’s call on his life! His whole life changed for the better - and what an incredible adventure he had with God in the last 40 years of his life!
Moses was 80 years old when God first made contact with Him and called him out for the mission that He had in store for him. Everything that Moses experienced in the Lord all occurred in the last 40 years of his life. It is never too late to turn your life over to God the Father and enter into His perfect will for your life. You just never know what God may do with the rest of what time you still have left down here on this earth!
Moses did two powerful things that dramatically changed the course and quality of his life:
1. He entered into and followed God’s personal call on his life.
2. He entered into a dynamic personal relationship with God the Father.
Look at these two things as a 1-2 punch. Totally surrender your life over to God the Father, ask Him to place you in His perfect will for your life, find out what your call and purpose is going to be for Him, and then do not be afraid to enter into a dynamic, powerful, personal relationship with Him. If each Christian would be willing do both of these things, I believe that God would then take them into heights and adventures that could possibly be beyond their wildest dreams.I’m not saying we are all going to have the same kind of story Moses had, but many of you can definitely testify that all of your lives have been changed for the better and that your lives are very exciting in the Lord. He constantly keeps us guessing and wondering what He is going to do next.
To those of you who have not either done one or both of the above, just imagine and visualize the story of Moses as I described in my last article.
God is no respecter of persons. Look what happened to this man's mundane life out in the desert once he fully surrendered his life over to God’s call for his life and then had enough courage and faith to enter into a very powerful personal relationship with God the Father.
Dare to let God do the same for you. God will work with anyone who is willing to enter into this realm with Him.

2. Moses Was Not Afraid of the Manifest Presence of God
Not only was Moses not afraid to enter into a close, intimate, personal relationship with the Lord, but he also was not afraid of the manifest presence of God.
Some of you may have had some incredible manifestation activity with the Lord - with most of it being with the Holy Spirit. However, what we have found out is that this kind of supernatural activity can freak many people out - just like it did with the Israelites when God first appeared on Mount Sinai.
It’s one thing to know that God and Jesus are up in heaven at a safe distance from all of us - but it’s quite another thing once anyone starts to receive direct manifestation activity from the Lord.
People seem to really be afraid of any kind of direct contact with God. But for those of you who have had some kind of direct supernatural activity from the Lord, I'm sure you can testify that there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of in reference to the manifestations that we have all received. I won’t go any further on this subject in this article, as this would be an entire article all in itself.
However, for those of you who are very comfortable and very appreciative of these manifestations when they do occur, just remember the story of Moses and what an incredible thing it really is whenever God does decide to manifest Himself to you in any way that He should choose to do so. It really is an incredible blessing, and it makes our walk in the Lord that much more fun and exciting to be in!

3. Moses Was an Excellent Representative for God
The Bible says we are to be ambassadors for Christ. We are His representatives. One of the most amazing things about the story of Moses is that Moses stayed true, loyal and faithful to God the Father during the entire 40 year journey in the wilderness. The Bible says that the Israelites were constantly complaining, moaning and bellyaching about their lot. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough this, not enough that.
The Bible says that they lacked for nothing. God made sure they had enough manna raining down from heaven on a daily basis to keep them properly fed. They also had no problems with God providing adequate shelter and protection for them. Still this was not enough. And remember, every one of the Israelite men 20 years and older did not make it into the Promised Land due to their lack of faith and failing to follow God fully.
Thus Moses was constantly surrounded by negativity and pessimism with all of these people surrounding him. And yet Moses never tired of talking about God, teaching about God and His ways, and making sure that all of God's laws and commandments were enforced among the people.
Moses was the perfect representative for God in a sea of negativity. Negativity and pessimism can be contagious - but it never affected Moses. He stayed true, loyal and faithful to the Lord during these trying times and he never once strayed from God as His loyal representative.
Moses should serve as a powerful role model for any Christian who finds himself in an environment of negativity and pessimism - either at home or in the workplace. God can still use you and your testimony in a mighty way when the time is right.

4. Standing in the Gap
Moses personally did one of the most amazing things in all of the Old Testament - he got God to change His mind!
When Moses was up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights with God the Father getting the 10 commandments and many of the other basic laws and commandments that God was wanting His people to live by, the Israelites were down at the bottom of the mountain making a false idol by way of a golden calf.
When God sees this, He becomes so furious that He literally wanted to consume the Israelites right there on the spot. However, when Moses sees how mad God is getting and what God is wanting to do to these people, Moses immediately "steps into the gap" for his people and begins trying to reason and plead with God as to why He should change His mind and not kill them.
Here is the verse that tells you word for word what Moses said to God to get Him to change His mind:
Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: "Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, "He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?’
Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever." "So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people." (Exodus 32:11-14)
This part of Moses' story shows you the power of intercessory prayer and what prayer can accomplish if God is properly approached. God can be moved to answer prayer, especially prayers that come from the heart. Standing in the gap means you personally stand in the gap for someone else. You are praying to God for someone else.
Sometimes people may be to weak to pray for themselves. Other times some people are either not saved or they have no real personal relationship established with God and are not confident enough to get God to answer their personal prayers. There could be many different reasons as to why you would have to stand in the gap for someone else and go to God and ask God to do something specific on that other person’s behalf.
Moses gives a perfect example on how to step into the gap to intercede for someone else. If Moses can do this, so can any other Christian who has established a good working relationship with the Lord.
This type of prayer can save lives, transform lives and alter the course of natural events. There are other Scripture verses that say that we can approach God to reason with Him - to state our case with Him. This means God can be talked to, reasoned with, pleaded with, and sometimes persuaded to change His mind on something.
Moses is a very good role model and example on how to go into intercessory prayer with God the Father for someone else.

5. The Anointing
When God first makes contact with Moses, He tells Moses that He has chosen him to go into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel from out of their bondage and slavery to the Egyptians. Moses then starts to argue with God that who is he to accomplish such a mission, that he is slow of speech and tongue, and for God to consider asking someone else to do this.
God then replies back to Moses that he has nothing to worry about, that God will be with him, and that God will be with his mouth and teach him what to say. In other words, God was telling Moses that His anointing would be on him to accomplish this incredible task.
All Christians need to realize that if God calls you to do anything on His behalf, He will also anoint you with His power to get the job done. All Christians have the Holy Spirit living and dwelling on the inside of them. The Anointing of God is really the presence and power of the Holy Spirit operating through you to accomplish whatever God has sent you out to do.
The story of Moses is a dramatic example of the "anointing in action" operating through an individual to accomplish what appeared to be an impossible mission. But look at what happened when Moses stepped out and entered into God’s power and anointing! He literally accomplished the impossible through the power of God and changed the entire course of Jewish history!
The odds were totally against Moses accomplishing such a deliverance! However, the Bible says that nothing is impossible with God the Father. There is nothing He cannot do! This story proves, without any shadow of a doubt, that God’s power can overcome any situation - no matter how hopeless it may look to you in the natural.
For those of you who are ever faced with what appears to be an impossible mission or task to perform, just remember this man’s story and what happened when he was willing to step out with enough belief and faith in God to let God’s power operate and flow through him. He literally changed the entire course of Jewish history with the deliverance of the Israelites from their slavery to the Egyptians.
If God did all of this for Moses - what can He do for you?

6. The Tabernacle - God Will Lead You on a Daily Basis
One of the most amazing things that occurred in the Israelites 40 year journey into the wilderness was the building of a tabernacle to house the manifest presence of God. Once this tabernacle had been built, God’s manifest presence came down in the form of a cloud during the day and fire by night. During the day, the cloud would lift off and the Israelites would then follow the cloud to wherever God was going to lead them to that day.
God thus led them on an everyday basis through this 40-year journey in the wilderness. The lesson to be learned from this is that not only will God anoint you with His power to get the job done, but He will also guide and lead you every step of the way to get the job done. God will lead you on a daily basis as to what needs to be accomplished for that day. All you have to do is be willing to step into God’s leadings for your life, and He will then start to take control and lead you down the path that He will want you to travel on.
The Bible says that we are to be led by the Holy Spirit. God perfectly led Moses every step of the way the minute he decided to accept God’s call on his life. Again, if God did all of this for Moses, He will do it for each and every Christian who will fully surrender their lives over to Him and are willing to be led by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
God will anoint and empower you and perfectly lead you every step of the way if you are willing to take this journey with Him. It really is that simple!
What more can any Christian ask for? God's "power" and God's "leadings" are ready and waiting for each and every Christian who will fully surrender their lives over to Him.
This man's story proves that God can and will take each Christian on their own unique, individual and exciting journey with Him if they would only be willing to take that leap of faith and fully surrender their entire lives over to Him.

7. God Will Fight Battles For You When Needed
This story is a perfect example showing the extreme lengths and intensity to which God will go for you if He is forced to fight and engage with an enemy standing in your way.
God was wanting His people delivered from their slavery to the Egyptians and He was not going to take no for an answer. God threw 10 powerful judgments at the Pharaoh in order to break him so that he would let His people go. Finally, after breaking on the last judgment, the Pharaoh agrees to let God’s people go.
However, after initially letting them go, the Pharaoh all of a sudden changes his mind and starts back after them. The Israelites then get caught before the Red Sea. God then parts the Red Sea with a dry ground mass so they can safely cross over to the other side.
At this point, all the Egyptians had to do was to let these people go. They had just been hit by 10 powerful judgments from God - but they just couldn’t leave well enough alone.
They then start to cross over onto the dry ground mass that the Israelites had just crossed over on. At this point, God’s wrath comes into full manifestation. He causes the waters of the Red Sea to return back to normal.
When this happens, the Egyptians get caught on the dry ground mass and the sea waters completely drown and kill each and every one of them that tried to chase down God’s people. All of their dead bodies ended up being washed up on the shore for all of God’s people to see!
I have over 95 powerful battle verses in my index card system that show that God can fight and engage with your enemies if he has to. This story is a perfect example of what God can do on your behalf if He should choose to do so. God will protect His own if He has to. So not only do you get God’s power, anointing and leadings operating for you if you are willing come into a full surrender with Him, but you will also get His full protection as well!

8. Parting of the Red Sea
The actual parting of the Red Sea as described above has to be one of the most dramatic and powerful miracles in all of the Old Testament. This part of Moses’ story really has major significance for all Christians.
How many of you, or how many of you have known someone who has been at the end of their cliff or at the end of their rope with absolutely nowhere else to go. If God doesn’t come through with some kind of major miracle, they are either going to die, have to file bankruptcy, lose their entire business, lose their marriage, etc. We have all heard of these types of stories.
In the natural realm, they have nowhere else to go or turn to. The situation appears completely hopeless. The only thing that will save them is a major miracle from God. And then it happens - God comes through with some type of major miracle to either save their lives, keep them afloat, save the day, turn the tide or stop some kind of impending disaster from hitting them.
For those of you who have never been at the end of a rope or the end of a cliff needing a major miracle from God to save you, it is not something that you should ever want to experience. It is scary, nerve wracking and it will test your patience and faith in God to its absolute limits like it did with Moses and the Israelites.The Israelites started complaining once they got caught in this situation. But Moses, whose faith and confidence in God had been built up during the time God was manifesting His 10 judgments on the Pharaoh, stepped forward and boldly proclaimed that God was going to save the day for them and that God would deliver them from the predicament that they now found themselves in. And sure enough God did - just like Moses proclaimed and believed he would!
If any of you should ever find yourself before your own personal red sea with nowhere else to go - just remember what God did for Moses. No matter how bleak or hopeless the situation may appear to you in the natural, remember that nothing is impossible with our God!
If God can literally part the Red Sea like He did in this story with Moses, then God can part and take care of your red sea if you are willing to press in, request that He help you out, and be willing to believe and have faith that He will take care of the situation!
For those of you who have had this type of miracle with God in your own lives, or for those of you who may experience something like this in the future, the one thing I can tell you is that it will increase your faith tenfold once you see God come in at the last minute to save you. It is an experience you will never, ever forget - and it will draw you that much closer to this awesome God of ours!

9. The Wilderness Experience
The 40-year wilderness experience that God put the Israelites through is something that He does to some of His own. In the story of Moses, the main reason He did it was to test the Israelites - to see if they would hold fast to Him, to see if they would follow Him fully, and to see if they would follow all of His laws and commandments.
As I said in the story of Moses, every one of the Israelites 20 years and older flunked this test. As a result, they were not allowed to enter into the Promised Land. Every one of them died out in the desert.
Some of you have had your wilderness experience with the Lord and some of you have not. There is a definite and specific reason that God will have some of His people undergo this type of experience. Here are some of the reasons.
a) TO TEST YOU - to see if you have what it takes to make the grade, to make the call that He has set up for your life. Just like professional sport teams have try-outs to see who is going to be good enough to make the team - God will arrange to have some of you tested out to see if you will have enough faith in Him and have the fortitude, the patience, the resolve, the courage and the stamina to make it all the way through.
The Bible says that "Many are called, but few are chosen." I believe this verse is referring to the ones that God has put a call on. He has something specific that He wants them to do in this life. He has a mission and a purpose for their lives. I don’t believe this verse is referring to salvation. If it did, it would indicate that the majority of people are not going to get saved and make it into heaven.
This is also a price-paying period. As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve that is still in full operation in this world - there is a price to pay for anything good that we will want in this life. If you want God’s call on your life - if you want God’s best for your life - then there is going to be some type of price you are going to have to pay to receive this call. Many of the times this price is actually paid in some type of wilderness experience.
Some people don’t want to pay a price for anything. They want everything handed to them free of charge. These types of people will never make it with God in reference to the call that He would like to put on their lives.
b) It is in the wilderness experience that you will really draw close to God. He’ll strip out many of the normal things in your life. You feel like your out in the desert all by yourself and that it is only you and God going through all of this. Your social life may wane during this time.
He also may strip your finances down during this period to just enough to get you by. The reason He is doing this is to see if you will stay faithful and loyal to Him. It’s easy to have faith and belief in God when everything is going good and great, but when things start to go bad, and you start to lose some of your material possessions, then the real test will come into play.Will you stay true, loyal and faithful to God during these lean and dry times or will you bail out on Him because the going is getting too tough? Many people don’t make it through this time of testing, and they thus end up missing out on their calls with God. Had they made it all the through, God would have blessed them beyond their wildest dreams once they entered into their true calls with Him.
By going through these lean and dry times, it will also cause you to really start leaning and depending upon God more than you ever have before. It goes back to the vine and branch analogy. Jesus is the vine - we are the branches. The branches totally depend and lean on the vine for their life and support.
God wants the same thing from each of us. The wilderness experience will really cause this kind of grafting to take place with the Lord. This kind of an experience will usually make or break you in your personal relationship with God. If you make it all the way through and allow this grafting to occur, you will then become much more close to God in your own personal relationship with Him.
c) This is also a time where a lot of knowledge will be worked into you regarding your specific call. Since much of your social time has been decreased, God will arrange for you to have more time to gain knowledge on whatever your call is going to be in Him. For many, the wilderness is where they make their greatest strides in spiritual growth.
I will be doing an article just on this one topic alone in the near future due to the importance of it. Again, this is not something that He puts everyone through. God alone will decide who goes through this type of testing and who will not. I will leave you with one last thought for those of you who either may be in some type of wilderness experience at this time or who may be brought into one sometime in the future.
If God wants to arrange this type of experience for your own spiritual growth and development in Him - rest assured that you have what it takes to make it through.
If God is going to call you to do something specific for Him in this life, then you can full faith and assurance that God knows exactly what He is doing with you, that you can trust Him to see you all the way through and that you will make the team and the call that He has set up for your life once you have passed all of your tests.
Remember one last thing. All of the Israelites 20 years and older in the story of Moses all flunked their test in the wilderness. And look what they missed out on - entry into the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb led the younger generation into this Promised Land and they all received the abundant blessings that God had in store for them in this land.
Your promised land is God’s call on your life. Stay the course with God, hold fast to Him, let Him complete whatever He wants to do with you in this wilderness experience and you will then be rewarded - possibly beyond your wildest dreams or expectations!

10. Don’t Always Be Questioning God
There is a time to question God - to press in and seek after answers from Him. The Bible says to ask - and you shall receive. Seek - and you will find. However, there is also a time not to question God and to accept whatever He is telling you!
When God first makes contact with Moses through the burning bush, He tells Moses exactly what He wants from him. He tells Moses that He will use him to deliver the children of Israel out from under their Egyptian bondage.
During this initial conversation with God, Moses questions God’s wisdom of choosing him for the job! Moses says that who is he to accomplish such a task. He says he is too slow of speech and tongue and then he finally tells God to consider calling someone else for the job.
The Bible says that Moses ended up kindling the anger of God with the pessimism that he was showing to God. God finally gives in at this point and tells Moses that He will also anoint his brother Aaron for the job, that He will be with the both of them, and that Aaron will be his mouthpiece to the people since Moses had no faith in God’s anointing to enable him to speak effectively to the people and to the Pharaoh.
I believe God’s original plan was just to anoint Moses for the job. However, when he showed God three times that he had no confidence in his own abilities to do this, God then goes to Plan B and anoints and sends his brother Aaron to go with him.
You can really feel as you study the conversation that was occurring between God and Moses - that Moses should have never questioned God’s decision to call him out for this job. And look at what happened. God’s anointing came onto both Moses and Aaron and they both were able to fully accomplish the mission.
The lesson to be learned from this is that if God does call you and ask you to do something specific - do not question His wisdom on the matter. God’s knowledge and ways are absolutely perfect. Even if you do not think you have what it takes to accomplish what He is asking you to do, remember that His anointing and His power will be on you to enable you to accomplish that task or mission!
Moses and Aaron had absolutely no problems in accomplishing this impossible mission because God’s anointing and power got the job done for them. All they had to do was to do exactly what God was telling them to do on a step-by-step basis. God then did the rest.
If any of you are ever asked by God to do something that is out of your comfort zone, out of your own natural abilities - remember this part of the story of Moses. Just as God’s power and anointing was more than enough to get the job done through Moses - His power flowing through you will be more than enough to successfully accomplish whatever He is asking you to do.
If there is nothing impossible with God - then there is nothing that God cannot do through you - just like the story of Moses perfectly illustrates!
The story of Moses is a perfect, dramatic, and powerful example of just how far someone can go with God if they are willing to follow God fully and not be afraid to walk with His anointing.
Burn this man’s story into your memory banks - it is one of the most ultimate power stories in God that the world has ever seen!

11. Do Not Disobey a Direct Order From God
The saddest part of this man’s story is that he was not allowed to go into the Promised Land because of one act of disobedience. God had given him a direct order to speak out to a rock and God would then cause water to flow out from this rock.
For some strange reason, Moses ends up striking the rock twice with his rod instead of speaking out to it as God had specifically commanded him to do. Moses had disobeyed a direct order from God on how to perform this miracle. As a result, God kept him from going into the Promised Land and he then died out in the wilderness.
Some people may wonder why God was so harsh with Moses on this particular matter. Moses had done just about everything else right in God - so why would God hold this one thing against him? I believe the main reason is that God was holding Moses to a much higher standard. The Bible says that to whom much is given - much more will be expected!
Moses was also dealing with a miracle that God wanted to perform. When you get into this level with God where He is manifesting miracles through you - you have to be operating in perfect obedience to God. There is no negotiating with God in this level.
If God wants to manifest a particular miracle through you - then you better do exactly what God says as to how He wants to bring the miracle or manifestation about. This is one area where you cannot question God or attempt to try and do it your own way.
If you do, you could seriously jeopardize anything else that God may want to do through you. You could lose your call, your ministry, your anointing and any other blessings that God may have had in store for you.
For those of you who ever receive any type of direct order or command from God on any issue - do not disobey the order or try to do it your way like Moses did. If you do, the consequences could be severe. In some cases, it could be a matter of your own life and death. Remember - God always knows best - you don't.
Conclusion
Though the story of Moses ends up on a rather sad note with him not being able to enter into the Promised Land, just remember all of the good things that he did right in God. In one lifetime - in a 40 year period - Moses was able to:
Speak direct to God through a burning bush.
Be used by God to change the course of Jewish history by delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians.
Watch God throw 10 powerful judgments against Egypt.
Watch God part the Red Sea.
Personally receive 10 commandments from God the Father.
Talk a second time again with God the Father up on Mt. Sinai.
Be able to see the manifest presence of God - with God showing him His back side up on Mt. Sinai.
Watch God’s manifest presence come down on the tabernacle that they had built and lead them on a daily basis.
And then be directly responsible for the teaching of God and all of His ways to the younger generation of Israelites who eventually would be the ones to enter into the Promised Land.

Saul Transformation to ST. PAUL

The historic records bearing on St. Paul are fuller than those for any Scriptural saint. We have Paul's own wonderful writings, the fourteen letters included in the New Testament, which outline his missionary journeys, exhort and admonish the various Christian congregations, discuss ethics and doctrinal matters; and in the midst of all this we get a revelation of the man himself, his inner character, his problems and fears. St. Luke's Acts of the Apostles and certain apocryphal books are other sources of our knowledge of St. Paul. Of all the founders of the Church, Paul was perhaps the most brilliant and many-sided, the broadest in outlook, and therefore the best endowed to carry Christianity to alien lands and peoples.
Born into a well-to-do Jewish family of Tarsus, the son of a Roman citizen, Saul (as we shall call him until after his conversion) was sent to Jerusalem to be trained in the famous rabbinical school headed by Gamaliel. Here, in addition to studying the Law and the Prophets, he learned a trade, as was the custom. Young Saul chose the trade of tent-making. Although his upbringing was orthodox, while still at home in Tarsus he had come under the liberalizing Hellenic influences which at this time had permeated all levels of urban society in Asia Minor. Thus the Judaic, Roman, and Greek traditions and cultures all had a part in shaping this great Apostle, who was so different in status and temperament from the humble fishermen of Jesus' initial band of disciples. His missionary journeys were to give him the flexibility and the deep sympathy that made him the ideal human instrument for preaching Christ's Gospel of world brotherhood.
In the year 35 Saul appears as a self-righteous young Pharisee, almost fanatically anti-Christian. He believed that the trouble-making new sect should be stamped out, its adherents punished. We are told in Acts vii that he was present, although not a participator in the stoning, when Stephen, the first martyr, met his death. It was very soon afterwards that Paul experienced the revelation which was to transform his life. On the road to the Syrian city of Damascus, where he was going to continue his persecutions against the Christians, he was struck blind. On arriving in Damascus, there followed in dramatic sequence his sudden conversion, the cure of his blindness by the disciple Ananias, and his baptism. Paul accepted eagerly the commission to preach the Gospel of Christ, but like many another called to a great task he felt his unworthiness and withdrew from the world to spend three years in "Arabia" in meditation and prayer before beginning his apostolate. From the moment of his return, Paul—for he had now assumed this Roman name—never paused in his labors. It proved to be the most extraordinary career of preaching, writing, and church-founding of which we have record. The extensive travels by land and sea, so replete with adventure, are to be traced by anyone who reads carefully the New Testament letters. We cannot be sure, however, that the letters and records now extant reveal the full and complete chronicle of Paul's activities. He himself tells us he was stoned, thrice scourged, thrice shipwrecked, endured hunger and thirst, sleepless nights, perils and hardships; besides these physical trials, he suffered many disappointments and almost constant anxieties over the weak and widely-scattered communities of Christians.
Paul began his preaching in Damascus. Here the anger of the orthodox Jews against this renegade was so great that he had to make his escape by having himself let down from the city wall in a basket. Going down to Jerusalem, he was there looked on with suspicion by the Jewish Christians, for they could not at first believe that he who had so lately been their persecutor had turned advocate. Back in his native city of Tarsus once more, he was joined by Barnabas, and together they journeyed to Syrian Antioch,[1] where they were so successful in finding followers that a church, later to become famous in the annals of early Christianity, was founded. It was here that the disciples of Jesus were first given the name of Christians (from the Greek , anointed). After again returning to Jerusalem to bring aid to members of the sect who were suffering from famine, these two missionaries went back to Antioch, then sailed to the island of Cyprus; while there they converted the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Once more on the mainland of Asia Minor, they crossed the Taurus Mountains and visited many towns of the interior, particularly those having Jewish settlements. It was Paul's general practice in such places first to visit the synagogues and preach to the Jews; if rejected by them, he would then preach to the Gentiles. At Antioch in Pisidia Paul delivered a memorable discourse to the Jews, concluding with these words (Acts xiii, 46-47): "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord commanded us, I have set thee for a light to the Gentiles, to be a means of salvation to the very ends of the earth." After this, the Jews drove Paul and Barnabas out from their midst, and a little later the missionaries were back in Jerusalem, where the elders were debating the attitude of the Christian Church, still predominantly Jewish in membership, towards Gentile converts. The question of circumcision proved troublesome, for most Jews thought it important that Gentiles should submit to this requirement of Jewish law; Paul's side, the more liberal, standing against circumcision, won out eventually.
The second missionary journey, which lasted from 49 to 52, took Paul and Silas, his new assistant, to Phrygia and Galatia, to Troas, and across to the mainland of Europe, to Philippi in Macedonia. The physician Luke was now a member of the party, and in the book of Acts he gives us the record. They made their way to Thessalonica, then down to Athens and Corinth. At Athens Paul preached in the Areopagus, and we know that some of the Stoics and Epicureans heard him and debated with him informally, attracted by his vigorous intellect, his magnetic personality, and the ethical teachings which, in many respects, were not unlike their own. Passing over to Corinth, he found himself in the very heart of the Graeco-Roman world, and his letters of this period show that he is aware of the great odds against him, of the ceaseless struggle to be waged in overcoming pagan skepticism and indifference. He nevertheless stayed at Corinth for eighteen months, and met with considerable success. Two valuable workers there, Aquila and Priscilla, husband and wife, returned with him to Asia. It was during his first winter at Corinth that Paul wrote the earliest extant missionary letters. They show his supreme concern for conduct and his belief in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which gives men power for good.
The third missionary journey covered the period of 52 to 56. At Ephesus, an important city of Lydia, where the cult of the Greek-Ionic goddess Diana was very popular, Paul raised a disturbance against the cult and the trade in silver images of the goddess which flourished there. Later, in Jerusalem, he caused a commotion by visiting the temple; he was arrested, roughly handled, and bound with chains; but when he was brought before the tribune, he defended himself in a way that impressed his captors. He was taken to Caesarea, for it was rumored that some Jews at Jerusalem, who falsely accused him of having admitted Gentiles to the temple, were plotting to kill him. He was kept in prison at Caesarea awaiting trial for about two years, under the proconsuls Felix and Festus. The Roman governors apparently wished to avoid trouble with both Jews and Christians and so postponed judgment from month to month. Paul at last appealed to the Emperor, demanding the legal right of a Roman citizen to have his case heard by Nero himself. He was placed in the custody of a centurion, who took him to Rome. The Acts of the Apostles leave him in the imperial city, awaiting his hearing.
It would appear that Paul's appeal was successful, for there is some evidence of another missionary journey, probably to Macedonia. On this last visit to the various Christian communities, it is believed that he appointed Titus bishop in Crete and Timothy at Ephesus. Returning to Rome, he was once more arrested, and after two years in chains suffered martyrdom, presumably at about the same time as the Apostle Peter, bishop of the Roman Church. Inscriptions of the second and third century in the catacombs give evidence of a cult of SS. Peter and Paul. This devotion has never diminished in popularity. In Christian art St. Paul is usually depicted as a bald man with a black beard, rather stocky, but vigorous and intense. His relics are venerated in the basilica of St. Paul and in the Lateran Church at Rome.
Because of the pressure of his work, Paul usually dictated his letters, writing the salutation in his own hand. The most quoted of New Testament writers, Paul has given us a wealth of counsel, aphorisms, and ethical teachings; he had the power of expressing spiritual truths in the simplest of words, and this, rather than the building up of a systematic theology, was his contribution to the early Church. A man of action, Paul reveals the dynamic of his whole career when he writes, "I press on towards the goal, to the prize of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus." Although he himself was forever pressing onwards, his letters often invoked a spirit of quiet meditation, as when he ends his epistle to the Philippians with the beautiful lines: "Whatever things are true, whatever honorable, whatever just, whatever holy, whatever lovable, whatever of good repute, if there be any virtue, if anything worthy of praise, think upon these things."

PETER'S TRANSFORMATION!

One of the most illustrious personalities of the entire Bible is Simon Bar-Jona, commonly known today as Saint Peter, the Apostle. A very colorful character, a rough and rugged fisherman, he was always bursting with energy and action.
During his first years under Christ's personal leadership and teaching, Peter often bulldozed his way around like the proverbial bull in a china shop, and whatever he thought was right or should be done, that's what he did, with little regard for the consequences. By far the most outspoken of the 12 Apostles, Peter always said whatever was on his mind. However, quite often he seemed to contradict himself, and although a strong personality, his own wisdom, strength and self-confidence often hindered him and caused him to make mistakes.
But after Peter had followed Jesus for three full years, he underwent a tremendous and dramatic change.--And this transformation is what our story is all about. We begin at the closing hours of Jesus' ministry on Earth, at the last supper that He ate with His disciples, only a few hours before His arrest and eventual crucifixion.
Knowing that He would soon be crucified and suffer death for the sins of the World, Jesus looked around on His disciples, and sadly but firmly said, "You shall all be offended and shall leave Me this night: For it is written, 'I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.'" (Matthew 26:31)
Upon hearing this, and overestimating his own faith and strength, Peter boldly proclaimed, "Though all men desert You, yet I will not!" But Jesus, knowing what was to come, answered quietly, "I say to you that before the cock crows, you will have denied Me three times!" (Matthew 26:31-35) Peter was shocked at such a prediction and even MORE adamantly insisted, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both into PRISON and to DEATH!" (Luke 22:31-33)
But Jesus' prophecy was soon fulfilled! That very night, as Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying with His disciples, a band of soldiers sent by the chief priests and elders came with a multitude carrying swords and clubs and torches! They seized Jesus, and all His disciples, filled with fear, fled for their lives into the night!
As Jesus was taken away to the palace of the high priest, Peter, trying to gather his courage "followed Him AFAR OFF!" Arriving at the palace, Peter stood by the door, hoping to see the court proceedings from a distance. A woman gatekeeper at the the palace door noticed the nervous and distraught figure, & looking suspiciously at Peter, asked, "Aren't you one of this man's disciples?" "NO! I'm NOT!" Peter exclaimed.
Moments later, as Peter stood warming himself by the fire which the night guards had made, another woman said to the men who stood by, "This fellow ALSO was with Jesus of Nazareth! HE is ONE of them!" But Peter swore before them, "I do NOT know the man!"
As the situation became more and more tense, Peter felt more and more uncomfortable! Suddenly a man who had been present when Jesus was captured, pointed out Peter and loudly questioned him, "Didn't I see you in the Garden of Gethsemane with Him?" Again Peter denied it. But others who stood in the crowd joined in the accusation, saying, "Surely you ARE one of them! We can tell by your ACCENT that you're a GALILAEAN!" Desperately, Peter began to curse and to swear, vehemently insisting, "I don't know what you're talking about!--I know NOTHING about this man!" (Mark 14:70,71)
No sooner had he finished his denial than the cock began to crow. And the Lord, as He was being led by His captors to another part of the palace, turned and looked directly at Peter. Immediately Peter recalled Jesus' Words, "Before the cock crows, you will have denied Me three times!" When he realised what he'd done, Peter could barely control his grief. As tears began to well up in his eyes, he stumbled for the door, then ran blindly into the night. Finally in a deserted alley beneath the walls of Jerusalem, he sank to the ground and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:59-62)
Then, only three days after His trial and brutal crucifixion, Jesus victoriously arose from the dead! His disciples, meanwhile, were huddled in a small room, hidden away "for fear of the Jews". But knowing their hiding place, Jesus boldly appeared to them. It was then that the transformation of their lives began!
For the next 40 days, after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus walked among His disciples, encouraging their hearts and explaining details of their mission now that He would be leaving them. And on the fortieth day, just before ascending into Heaven, He told the disciples to return to Jerusalem, saying, "Wait for the promise of the Father, until you are strengthened with POWER from on High! For you shall receive POWER after the HOLY GHOST comes upon you, and you shall be My WITNESSES!" (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8)
The Apostles returned to Jerusalem, and with well over 120 other disciples and their women and children, stayed all together in an upper room praying and waiting in obedience to Jesus' last and final command before His departure. Ten days later an awesome manifestation of God's power occurred: "A sound like the rushing of a mighty wind filled the whole house where they were, and they saw the appearance of many tongues of fire that rested upon every one of them. And they all were FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:2-4)
This was it!--This was what they'd been waiting for, that supernatural strength from the Lord to enable them to continue His work now that He had departed! And another amazing thing happened! Peter, his entire heart and life transformed by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit of God, led the disciples in one of the most phenomenal wit nessing adventures of all times!
There was a great religious festival going on in the streets of Jerusalem at that time, and visitors from many foreign nations had come for the annual celebration of the Jew's Feast of the Harvest. When Peter stepped into the streets with all those 120 disciples--now filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit--they all supernaturally began to speak in the languages of the multitudes visiting Jerusalem that day, yet none of the disciples had ever known before how to speak those languages! And the disciples boldly witnessed to all of the crowds about the wonderful news of God's Love in Jesus and His message of Salvation.
Then Peter leaped up on the steps of a nearby building, raised his hands and shouted to the enormous crowd, bringing a hush over them all! He began to speak to them with such AUTHORITY and CONVICTION that an astounding 3000 people were not only saved, but committed themselves that very day to serve the Lord as fulltime disciples!
Peter had CHANGED! Here was a man who had acted so cowardly after the arrest of Jesus that he had denied Him three times! But now he stood before THOUSANDS--in the very city where Jesus had been crucified--boldly, unashamedly proclaiming God's Message to all! What caused this sudden transformation?--The white-hot power and might of the HOLY SPIRIT! As the Lord had promised, they had received POWER after the HOLY SPIRIT had come upon them.
Peter had gone through the most severe testings and trials of his life only a few short weeks before, but no longer did he remember the pain and the agony that he'd felt. There was no time for remorse. A tremendous explosion of witnessing and winning others into God's kingdom was underway, and the Lord was using him in ways that Peter had never dreamed would be possible. BEFORE he'd been so impulsive, always seeming to say the wrong things at the wrong times. But now he was "strengthening his brethren", just as the Lord had prayed he would! (Luke 22:32)
Not only was PETER encouraged, but ALL the disciples were overjoyed to see the Lord working so many miracles! Even though they had all forsaken the Lord in His most desperate hour, they knew that Jesus still loved them, and now they experienced a strength of faith that even SURPASSED those days when Jesus had walked right among them!
It seemed that Jesus was no longer gone, but was even CLOSER than ever before! They remembered the Words He'd spoken to them before, "It is necessary that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, will not come unto you. Right now the Spirit lives WITH you, but then He shall be IN you! And he that believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also. And GREATER works than these shall you do, because I go to My Father!" (John 14:12,16,17; 16:7)
Not long after that incredible day of winning over 3,000 new converts to their movement, there came another day in which a man who was lame from birth was instantly healed by Peter and John, right before the astounded multitudes! And when Peter spoke to the huge crowd that gathered to see the miracle, 5,000 more joined ranks with the disciples, increasing their number to over 8,000 men, not counting women and children! Truly these were the "greater works" Jesus had spoken of! Why? Because Jesus was no longer merely WITH them--but He was IN them by way of the Holy Ghost!
In the days that followed, Peter and John faced a wave of persecution from the same wicked religious leaders who had crucified their Saviour. But there was no fear, no cowardice this time, no denial! Peter stood before their councils testifying with such unflinching courage and authority of the Spirit that the Bible says, "When they saw the BOLDNESS of Peter and John and perceived that they were UNEDUCATED and IGNORANT men, they MARVELLED at them and knew that they had been with JESUS!" (Acts 4:13) Why did they marvel? Because they saw that same power IN them that Jesus had when He walked the Earth!
And the WONDERFUL thing about this story is that YOU can have this Power TOO by simply receiving Jesus into your heart, and then being FILLED with the Power of the Holy Spirit of God! "And you shall receive POWER after the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be My WITNESSES!" (Acts 1:8) "If you know how to give good gifts unto your children, then how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit unto YOU, if you ASK Him!" (Luke 11:9-13)

Zacchaeus

And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was…And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him— Luk_19:2-4

Jesus and Modern Man
The eighteenth chapter of Luke closed with Jesus giving sight to a blind man; Luk_19:1-48 opens with the priceless story of Zacchaeus. And that swift passage from the blind beggar to this high official well illustrates the rapid changes that meet us in the life of Jesus Christ. We are prone sometimes to think of the lot of Jesus as a very limited and circumscribed one. We think there was little in it of that movement and variety that characterize our life in modern times. And so (almost unconsciously) many have grown to feel that Jesus is standing far away from them. As a matter of fact, I question if there ever was a life so rich in its variety as Christ's. It is amazing how swiftly the scenes change; how constantly the environment is shifting. This rapid transition from the roadside pauper to the home of one of the richest men in Jericho is typical of the experience of Jesus.
There Is an Interest in Christ in Most Unlikely Quarters
If there was one man who might have seemed deadened to religion, it was this receiver-general of Jericho. He had had such treatment from the priests of Jericho (and Jericho was a very priestly city), as might have thoroughly disgusted him with religion. He had grown rich, too, in very questionable ways—and had not this Jesus spoken tremendous words about the perils even of clean riches? And yet Zacchaeus was aflame with eagerness to get into close touch with Jesus Christ. Why he was so, maybe we cannot tell. We do not know what he had heard from his collectors. We cannot tell what his home was in his childhood. We have no hint of the ministries of God in keeping his conscience alive through all the years. Ail we can say is that this was the most unlikely of all quarters, yet here was a hidden interest in Christ. Now I wish all parents and teachers to remember that. It will give them new heart and hope for certain children. Who knows what little boy may not be interested, when we recall the interest of this little man?
Where There's a Will There's a Way
Jesus was at the height of His popularity. Wherever He moved the narrow streets were crowded. It would have taken a Saul to have seen Him well; there seemed no hope for a small man like Zacchaeus; and had Zacchaeus had a small heart in his bosom, he would have gone home and said it was impossible. But Zacchaeus had had a great will to grow rich, and he had found there was a way to that. And now he had a great will to see Jesus, and he was not the sort of person to be stopped. He quite forgot himself, says Matthew Henry. He climbed the sycamore like a schoolboy. Perhaps he had heard that except we become as children we cannot see the kingdom of heaven—or the King. At any rate he was earnestly bent on seeing Jesus, and as a result he saw Him and was seen. All of which has been written down to teach us that the whole-hearted search for God is always crowned. What texts lay stress on that? "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." "Those that seek me early shall find me."
It Often Calls for Courage to Be Kind
Did you ever think how brave it was of Jesus to speak in this frank and friendly way to Zacchaeus? Had Jesus been intent on being popular, He would never have cast His eyes upon the sycamore. No class was more hated in Jewry than these tax-gatherers, and the richer they were the more they were detested. Yet Jesus, in the strength of His great purpose, deliberately set that hatred at defiance; He made no effort to conceal from the crowd that the man they loathed was going to be His friend. Immediately they began to murmur at Him (Luk_19:7)—it was the hoarse cry of a deep-seated anger. It was the breaking of the waves upon Him, which were soon, in floods, to go over His head. But calmly and very sweetly Jesus prosecuted the friendship; it called for wonderful courage to be kind. Would you have dared to act so, do you think? Have you ever tried it in your own small way? Zacchaeus forgot himself, says Matthew Henry. But that was nothing to the self-forgetfulness of Jesus.
The Moral Influence of Gospel Joy
We are told that Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully; you can picture the tides of gladness in his heart. He had only hoped to get a glimpse of Jesus, and now he was going to be His host. And it was just the joy of it ail, I take it, filling his poor soul, and sweeping up into the empty creeks, that inspired him to the noble sacrifices of verse eight. I dare say the priests had often preached at him to go and give half his fortune to the poor. But somehow that had only closed his heart; they had never touched the spring of sacrifice. Now comes Jesus and fills him with great joy, and he cannot do enough for such a Lord—the joy of the Lord had indeed become his strength. Do you see the moral power of Gospel joy? Do you recognize the ethical worth of it? Even Jesus for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame.
How Various are the Tokens of the New Life
How did it show itself in the Philippian jailer? It showed itself first by his faith. And how in the woman who anointed Christ's feet. First, by her much love. And what were its clearest tokens in Zacchaeus? Repentance and earnest effort to amend. One life, yet showing itself in diverse fruits. One spirit, yet working outward in various ways. In which way is the hidden life of Christ revealing itself in those who read this page?

Once More on God's Ability and His Promises

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think . . . . (Eph_3:20)
These opening words from one of the most well-known benedictions in all of the New Testament offers a unique opportunity to consider God's ability, as related to His promises. How able is God? He is "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. " Could we possibly ask for more than God has already promised? Could we properly think greater things than God has promised? Well, let's reflect upon some of the promises of God that we have already considered.
We have seen that God promised to make a mighty nation with world-wide blessings from one man, Abraham. "I will make you a great nation . . . and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen_12:2-3). God also promised to deliver His people from bondage into an abundant land. "I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt . . . to a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exo_3:17). He also promised to fight for His people. "The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you" (Deu_1:30). Additionally, God promised an eternal kingdom for his people, through the line of David. "And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever" (2Sa_7:16). Further, God promised that His Messiah would sit on that eternal throne. "A Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him" (Isa_11:1-2). Moreover, God promised that Messiah would be a unique King. "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench" (Isa_42:3). Ultimately, the Father promised that the Messiah Himself (Jesus) would be the new covenant of grace. "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will . . . give You as a covenant to the people" (Isa_42:6). Correspondingly, the Lord promised that this covenant of grace would provide forgiveness of sins ("I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more" — Jer_31:34), intimacy with God ("They all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — Jer_31:34), and an inner work of God to change us from the inside out ("I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts" — Jer_31:33).
Certainly, we could not ask or think beyond these promises. Yet, our God is able to do far beyond these extraordinary matters. What confidence this gives us regarding God's promises, as well as every prayer we offer based on these promises!

"Trust ye in the Lord for ever"

"Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." - Isa_26:4

Seeing that we have such a God to trust to, let us rest upon him with all our weight; let us resolutely drive out all unbelief, and endeavour to get rid of doubts and fears, which so much mar our comfort; since there is no excuse for fear where God is the foundation of our trust. A loving parent would be sorely grieved if his child could not trust him; and how ungenerous, how unkind is our conduct when we put so little confidence in our heavenly Father who has never failed us, and who never will. It were well if doubting were banished from the household of God; but it is to be feared that old Unbelief is as nimble nowadays as when the psalmist asked, "Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Will he be favourable no more?" David had not made any very lengthy trial of the mighty sword of the giant Goliath, and yet he said, "There is none like it." He had tried it once in the hour of his youthful victory, and it had proved itself to be of the right metal, and therefore he praised it ever afterwards; even so should we speak well of our God, there is none like unto him in the heaven above or the earth beneath; "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One." There is no rock like unto the rock of Jacob, our enemies themselves being judges. So far from suffering doubts to live in our hearts, we will take the whole detestable crew, as Elijah did the prophets of Baal, and slay them over the brook; and for a stream to kill them at, we will select the sacred torrent which wells forth from our Saviour’s wounded side. We have been in many trials, but we have never yet been cast where we could not find in our God all that we needed. Let us then be encouraged to trust in the Lord for ever, assured that his ever lasting strength will be, as it has been, our succour and stay.

Refusing to Go In (An Inexhaustible Parable)

Refusing to Go In
And he was angry, and would not go in— Luk_15:28

I have often spoken on this beautiful parable, and I hope often to speak on it again. It is so full of teaching and so full of hope that in a lifetime one could not exhaust it. I think I have even spoken on this verse when discussing our duties to our equals. But now I choose it for a different purpose, and I want to put it in a different setting. I want to look at this brother in the parable as the type of the man who will not enter into a love that is too big for earth, and into a household that is home indeed. "And he was angry, and would not go in. "Are there not multitudes in that condition? They see the gleaming of the lights of home, and there is the sound of music in their ears. And yet though they know that they would have a welcome, and add to the gladness of it all by entering, somehow or other, like the brother here, they stand in the cold night outside the door. I am not speaking to those who have accepted Christ, and know His fellowship, I am speaking to those so near to door and window that they see the light and hear the sound of music. And yet though the night is over them and round them, and they are hungry and the feast is there, somehow or other they will not go in. Let me ask you in passing to lay this to heart, that no one will ever force you in. God is too careful of our human freedom to drag us against our will into His home. You must go willingly or not at all. You must make up your mind to go, and do it. And probably there is no hour so fit for that as just this hour which you have reached.
There are two things about which I want to speak in connection with the conduct of this brother. First, I want to look at the reasons which kept him from entering the home that night. Second, I want to find out what he missed because he thus refused to enter.
He Could Not Understand His Father's Ways
First, then, looking at the man, why was it that he refused to enter? I think to begin with, that this was in his heart, that he could not understand his father's ways. Doubtless he had always loved his father. Doubtless he had always honored him. He had never before questioned his sagacity, or dreamed of thinking of him as unjust. But now, in the hour of the prodigal's return, when the house was ablaze with light and loud with merriment, all he had cherished of his father's justice seemed to be scattered to the winds of heaven. Was this the way to receive back a prodigal? Was not this to put a premium on folly? Was it fair to him, so faithful and so patient, that a reckless ne'er-do-well should have this welcome? He could not understand his father's ways. Is this the only man who has stood without because of irritating thoughts like that? Are there none here who will not enter because they cannot understand the Father's dealings? They cannot fathom the mysteries of providence. They cannot understand the cruelties of nature. They cannot grasp the meaning of the cross, or see the power of the death of Jesus. Am I speaking to anyone who feels like that—who cannot understand the Father's dealings? I want to say to you that the one way to learn them is to come at once into the home. For the ways of God are like cathedral windows which to those outside are dim and meaningless, and only reveal their beauty and their story to those who are within.
He Was Indignant with His Brother
I think again this man refused to enter because he was indignant with his brother. He was indignant that one with such a character should have a place at all within the house. It is not likely that he ever loved his brother, and perhaps his brother had never much loved him. There was such a difference between their natures that they could hardly have been the best of comrades. For the one was always generous to a fault, and always getting into trouble somewhere; and the other was a pattern of sobriety, and as cautious as he was laborious. Such Jacobs, and they are found in every region, are always a little contemptuous of Esaus. Secretly they despise them and their singing, and they cannot understand why people love them. And when they find that they are home again, and that all the household is in revelry, then are they angry and will not go in. So was it with this person in the parable. He was not only angry with his father; he was deeply indignant that in the house of gladness a man should be tolerated such as his brother was. And I know many who are standing outside—who are angry and will not go in—for a reason precisely similar to that. I remember a young man coming to me in Dundee to tell me why he would never join the church. It seemed that in the place of business where he worked there was a young woman who made a great profession. And all the time that she was busy in attending meetings and acting as a monitor, she was engaged in pilfering the till. "And he was angry, and would not go in." He was very indignant with his sister. He said, "If these are the kind of people who are in, then it is better that I should be without." And I tell you there are many just like that, who would come in and get their welcome, if it were not for what they have seen in you—if it were not for what they have seen in me. My brother, standing in the darkness there, there is a great deal to justify your attitude. But why do you leave the happiness to us when we are such prodigals and so unworthy of it? Come in yourself tonight out of the cold. Bring your enthusiasm and your courage with you. And not only will you receive a blessing, but you will be a blessing to us all.
He Trusted the Reports of Others
I think again this man refused to enter because he trusted the reports of others. He did what is always a foolish thing to do—he went on the information of the servants. Had he gone right in and seen things for himself, the night for him would have had a different issue. One look at his brother might have softened him, there were such traces of hell about his face. But instead of that he went to the stable door, where the ostler was loafing and listening to the music, and he, the first-born of his father's family, was content to get his information there. Now of course we know that he was told the truth. "Thy brother is come, and they are making merry." But might not the truth be told in such a way as would irritate and rankle just a little? It is always the prodigals whom the servants love. It is always the prodigals they like to serve. And there would be just a touch of pleasing malice in it, when they told the elder brother what had happened. "And he was angry, and would not go in." It was partly the servants' tone that made him angry. He took his report of that most glorious night from men who knew nothing of its inner mystery. And what I say is that it is often so, and that there are multitudes outside today because they have taken the report of others who are incapable of judging rightly. Are you quite sure that your reports of Jesus are taken from those who know Him and who love Him? Are you quite sure that in your thoughts of Christ there is no travesty of what is true? You must especially beware of that, young man, in an age like this when everyone is talking, and when a thousand judgments are passed on Jesus Christ by men who have never touched His garment's hem. I beg of you to believe that in the Gospel there is something that lies beyond the reach of intellect. There is something which is never understood except by those who have experienced it. And therefore if you are in earnest and are wise you will take no verdict upon the cross of Christ, except the verdict of the man or woman who has experienced its saving power.
He Missed What He Most Needed
So far then on the older brother's reasons. Now will you let me show you what he missed? Well, to begin with, you must all agree with me that the man missed just what he most needed. Think of it, his day's work was over. He was coming home in the evening from the field. Like a faithful servant he had been hard at work, driving the furrow or building up the fences. I honor him for that quiet and steady toil, and for being not above the servant's duty. There would be more prosperous farms and prosperous businesses, if sons today would follow his example. Now the labors of the day were over. "The ploughman homewards wends his weary way." And he was hungry and he needed food. He was weary and he needed rest. He was soiled and stained with his day's work, and he wanted a change of raiment in the evening—and all that he needed in that evening hour was stored and treasured in his father's house. "And he was angry, and would not go in. "He missed the very things that he was needing. All that would freshen him and make him strong again, he lost because he stayed outside the door. He was a soiled, weary, and hungry man, and everything was ready for the taking, yet no one forced him to the taking of it when he deliberately stood without. Is not that always the pity of it, when a man refuses the love of Jesus Christ? Is he not missing just what he most needs, and needs the more, the more he has been faithful? For all of us are soiled and we need cleansing; and all of us are weak and we need strength, and all of us are hungering and thirsting, and Christ alone can satisfy that hunger. My brother and sister, I want you to come in not to please me, but for your own sake first. I want you to come in, because just what you need now is waiting you in Christ. I want you to come in because that heart of yours is restless and unsatisfied and hungry; because when you were tempted last you fell, and you are missing the very thing you need.
He Missed the Joy
But not only did the man miss what he needed; he also missed the merriment and gladness. He missed what some folk would not miss for worlds—he missed an excellent dance and a good supper. Think of him, standing out under the stars, a man alone and out of touch with everybody. Have not you felt it when there was some fine gathering, and you were not one of the invited? And then, to make it worse to bear, the sound of the music floated through the yard, and he could see how happy they all were, as the figures passed beyond the lighted window. The man was bitten by the fiercest jealousy. He was hurt; he was offended; he was miserable. Everyone was joyous except him. Everyone was in the light but he. And the strange thing is that in all the countryside there was not a man who would have been more welcome, nor one who had a better right and title to the gladness and the feasting of the night. Ah! what a right some of you have to know the joy and feasting of the Lord! How you have been prayed for since you were little children! How hearts at home have yearned for you in tears! And yet today you are the very one—you who have had an upbringing like that—who stand without, and will not enter in, and miss the gladness of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to come right in tonight. You are far more lonely than some people think. I want you to have the gladness of religion, instead of your little petty evanescent gladness. I want you to feel that in the love of Christ, with all its strengthening and all its saving, there is just that deep strong joy that you are missing, and always will miss till you pass the door. "I am the door," said Jesus. "By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (Joh_10:9).
He Missed a Chance to Serve
Then tell me, did he not miss one thing more? Did he not miss his chance of making others happy? Although I daresay he never thought it so, his absence was the one shadow on that feast. He was not, I take it, a very lovable person, and for that matter perhaps you are not that either. He was not at all the kind of man we know, who is the life and soul of any gathering. And yet that night—that night and that alone—his presence would have been the crowning gladness; his absence was the one dark shadow upon a happiness which was like that of heaven. Do you think the prodigal could be at peace until his brother had come in and welcomed him? Could the father be happy when there was one wanting, one whom he loved and honored for his toil? And all the time, bitter and angry-hearted, the man outside was missing his great chance, a chance that it is worth living years to win—the chance of making other people happy. Have you ever thought, young men and women, of the happiness you would give by coming in? If you have never thought of it before, I want you to think of it today. What of your mother, who has toiled and prayed for you? What of your father, though he never says much? What of that friend whose eyes would be so different if you were but a faithful soul in Christ? What of the angels in their ranks and choirs who are waiting to rejoice when you are saved? What of Jesus Christ, the Lover of mankind, who would see of the travail of His soul and would be satisfied? I beg of you not to miss your opportunity. It is a great vocation to make others glad. I would call you to it even if it were hard, and meant the sacrifice of what was dearest. But the wonderful thing about our Lord is this, that when you trust Him, and make others glad, in that very hour you become glad yourself, and win what you have craved for all along.