[For this says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones'] (Isa. 57:15).
The high and lofty One, the King of the universe, our Father says that as He abided in His Eldest Son Jesus, He will also abide with His little sons and daughters of today. What an amazing fact it is! How then does He abide in us? For [God is (not flesh but) Spirit] (John 4:24), so He abides in us through His Spirit. And He becomes a personal Friend and Father to each individual child of His. The Spirit of the Father, His Holy Spirit, can either revive or destroy all the children of earth.
[It is the Spirit who gives life] (John 6:63). Wherever the Spirit of our Father abides, the world and sinners can live, and wherever the Spirit is absent, neither the world nor sinners can survive. This is because the Spirit of our Father is life for all sinners and the world. In the Bible, we can see that it was not the flood but the withdrawal of the Father's Spirit from the world that caused this wicked world in the days of Noah to be destroyed completely.
The Lord said, [My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years] (Gen. 6:3).
Therefore He granted to the world His Spirit for a hundred and twenty years, and after that, He withdrew His Spirit and buried their lifeless flesh in the water. Oh how fearful and indispensable is the Spirit of our Father! Only this Spirit is our everlasting life.
Wherever the Spirit of our Father abides, there are found eternal life, everlasting liberty, everlasting love, joy, peace, and happiness. Moreover, when this Spirit of our Father comes to us, He becomes our personal Friend and a personal Father to us as He was with Enoch. And with Him we can eat, drink, work, talk, and walk in our daily lives. This is the kind of life that Enoch and Jesus lived, and this is how we must live as well. Only such children who abide with Him in every aspect of their daily lives will our Father take to His kingdom as His real children.
Jesus said, [And you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the (Holy) Spirit of your Father who speaks in you] (Matt. 10:18-20). The high and lofty One, the King of the whole universe, our heavenly Father, who is not less humbler than Jesus declares that He will abide with His lowly, sinful children, to share their trials, and as they are dragged before wicked governors and kings, He will follow them and reply on their behalf as a sinner though He Himself is sinless.
Oh, behold our heavenly Father, the King of the universe, giving answers yieldingly and being pronounced "guilty" before the mean, wicked kings and governors of the earth! Among all men and angels in the universe, who can find one humbler and tenderer than He? Now we see that the humble Jesus was exactly like His Father in character.
[The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory. He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love; He will exult over you with loud singing] (Zeph. 3:17).
[God, who made the world, and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth ... gives to all men life, breath and all things ... He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being ... We are also His offspring] (Acts 17:24-28).
And Jesus said, [Most assuredly, I say to you, He who believes in Me, the works that I do (and the life that I live with God as one) he will do (and live) also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father,] [for the Father Himself loves you] (John 14:12, 16:27).
Therefore, as Jesus our Eldest Brother was "one" with the heavenly Father while abiding in Him, we on earth are also to abide with Him and become one with our heavenly Father, who is the high and lofty One. This is what Jesus mentioned in His last prayer to His Father, [that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also my be one in Us,] [that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them] (John 17:21, 26).
Therefore, the call of the Visitor in Revelation: [Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me] (Rev. 3:20). This is not only the voice of Jesus our Lord but also of our heavenly Father who comes to us. This is the same merciful call our Father made to Adam, His first fallen son, after his transgression. [Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, 'where are you?'] (Gen. 3:9). He is seeking for us today with the same call.
I remember a story of President Eisenhower in America. He was reading the newspaper one morning when a certain article moved his heart. It appeared that there was a little boy named Henry who was about to die of lung cancer, and as people around him asked what his last wish was, he answered, "My last wish is to see my dear President Eisenhower just once." No sooner had the President read this article that he abandoned his busy official duties and ran out of the White House, driving through city streets and back streets, rushing toward Henry's home in order to fulfill this little boy's last desire. Finally upon arriving, he rang the doorbell. Henry's father, who was greatly distressed with his dying son, shouted impatiently, "Who is ringing my doorbell at such an early hour?" The President just rang the doorbell again. And Henry's father began to shout abusive words toward the door. But the President in a gentle voice simply said, "Would you please let me in?" Henry's dad who was dressed in his pajamas, angrily came downstairs and furiously opened the door, shouting,
"Don't you have any manners?"
"I am sorry. I came to see your son after reading the morning paper."
If a king of this cold, wicked world humbled himself to satisfy a little boy's desire, disregarding all his important business matters and receiving such insults, how much more will our heavenly Father, who has begotten and brought us up, come and knock earnestly at the heart's door of His perishing children?
Dear brothers and sisters! Let us not treat our loving heavenly Father, the merciful President of the universe as Henry's dad did, but run out with a joyful shout and welcome Him who has abandoned all of heaven to come down to this earth just to see us. Let us receive Him forever as our personal Father.
He alone is our everlasting life, joy, love, happiness, and our Friend.
Praise the Lord, and glory to our real Father who has come to abide and live with us!
No comments:
Post a Comment