SPIRITUAL DELUSION -2
In our previous issue we saw two marks of those who fear God; they do not doubt God's love, and they
honour God by offering sacrifices which are pure and righteous, sacrifices of contrite hearts, and living
sacrifices of bodies offered to Him.
They also offer the sacrifices of praise. To God continually, that is, the fruit of their lips giving thanks to
God (Heb.13: 15). We should bring such offerings to the Lord day after day and week after week. But
many people despise the time of worship on the Lord's Day, and come late saying they do not have time.
They have time for everything; they work over-time in their offices, but have no time for the House of
God. Our Lord is a great King. Those who offer Him blind and lame offerings and that which cost them
nothing, are in spiritual delusion.
In Matt.5:23,24 the Lord Jesus said, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest
that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar. and go thy way; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift". If you are not in talking terms with your
brother, if you have hatred in your heart for him and yet you offer worship with your lips, it will be only
like dung. The Lord will not accept it because God wants offerings, which are offered with pure hearts.
The Lord did not say, "If you bring your offering and remember that your brother has something against
you, just claim My blood and go and offer". No, He said, "First go and make peace and then you come
and offer sacrifices". God will not accept an offering, which comes out of a defiled heart.
The third mark of those who fear God is, they are faithful to their marriage vows. "Yet ye say,
Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom
thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant" (Mal.2:14). Such
people are in spiritual delusion. These days many men put away their wives and want to marry some one
else, and yet they. cover the altar with tears. They have no proper fellowship at home. Yet they come to
God's House and bring their offering. God will never accept such worship. In God's sight husband and
wife are one. What God has joined man should not put asunder. Many homes are breaking these days
because fathers - in -law and mothers -in -law live under the same roof and cause much confusion. If you
do not have the right relationship with your wife or husband you are in delusion.
Fourthly, those who fear God, give God His portion regularly. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed
me. But ye say, where in have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings" (Mal.3:8). They never realized
that by not giving the Lord's portion, they had become robbers. If you do not give your tithe to the Lord,
you are not going to make God pauper, you yourself will become poor.
HOW WE CAN HAVE THE FEAR OF GOD
The key to get back the fear of God is found in Mal.3: 7. "...Return unto me, and I will return unto you,
saith the LORD of hosts". When we return to the Lord, He will put His fear in our hearts as we read in
Jer.32: 40, "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to
do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me". Our personal
revival starts when we turn to God whole -heartedly, not rending our garments but our hearts (Joel
2:12,13). True repentance means we see our sins and turn away from them whole - heartedly; then the
Lord will turn to us.
When Paul saw sin among the Corinthians, he wrote a letter to them. When they read that letter, they
were filled with sorrow and turned towards God. Such a repentance brought several things in their lives.
"For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you,
yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea,
what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter"(2 Cor.
7:11). In true repentance these seven things are seen. Firstly, it brought about carefulness in their lives.
Then there was clearing of themselves. They did not want to continue in that sin. Thirdly, they had
indignation, that means they had holy anger, and they wanted to do away with that sin.
Fourthly, they had
fear, because of which they trembled at God's Word. Fifthly, with vehement desire, they wanted to
possess what God wanted to give them. previously they had a desire for sin, but now a desire for
righteousness. Sixthly, they had great zeal for holiness. Seventhly, God put His fire in their hearts for
righteous revenge. When we turn to the Lord with such a repentance, He writes His laws in our hearts, so
that we may fear Him and escape spiritual delusion.
REWARDS FOR THOSE WHO FEAR GOD
"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and
a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his
name" (Mal.3:16}. The Lord delights to hear what such people talk. From other people He hears only
blasphemy, foolish and evil words. When those who fear the Lord speak one to another, it is delightful to
Him. So He says, "Let me hear their words". That is the meaning of the word hearken. Then He writes
their names in the book of remembrance. Not only that, He makes them His jewels (v.17).
The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come again. "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings" (Mal.4:2). When He first came to this world, He loved us
and shed His blood to redeem us. Now He is going to come again for His jewels, that is, His Bride. Then
they will b~ with Him for ever and ever.
SECRET OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY -3
BAKHT SINGH
God wanted Moses to be His partner and co -worker for two great purposes. He wanted to deliver His
people from the bondage of the Egyptians and to bring them to the land flowing with milk and honey.
God saw that His people were in great affliction and bondage under cruel taskmasters. They were
working hard the whole day and received no pay. The Lord saw the affliction of His people, heard their
cry and wanted to deliver them from the bondage. He wanted Moses to be His co -worker for that great
deliverance to .be wrought through Him. Secondly, God wanted Moses to bring His people into Canaan.
"I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land
unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exo.3:8).
Even though God may not call us like Moses for a very big task like that, yet He does call everyone of us
for some task. Whatever work He gives us, it is equally precious in His sight. To everyone of us our job
looks very big like a huge mountain. Zerubbabel felt the same way. If you want to grow spiritually, you
must be willing to hear God's call and obey Him. You can pray, "0 Lord, please show me which way I
can serve Thee, obey Thee and be of some use to Thee". Then He will guide you and help you day by
day. But you must be conscious of the call of God that He wants to use you for His glory , for the
deliverance of those who are in bondage and lead them to their inheritance. Those who are in bondage
should be delivered through us, and after being delivered they must come into the possession to enjoy
their salvation. We find that more than seventy-five percent of believers do not enjoy their salvation.
They live just an ordinary life, coming for the meetings and going away. They do not have any
understanding of the deeper truths of salvation. If we understand God's purposes, then through love and
fellowship we can help such believers.
When God was calling Moses to be the great deliverer of His people, he was saying, "Lord, who am I?
What am I? I am nothing. I know my weaknesses, and my failures, my shortcomings and my limitations.
How can such a man be useful unto Thee?" By knowing our nothingness, and by understanding God's
purpose in saving us, we become unto God more useful.
Now in Exo. 3:6 and 14, God gave His four names to Moses to prepare him for his great task. "...1 am the
God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob...And God said unto
Moses. I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. I AM hath sent
me unto you". God called Himself the God of Abraham, God of Isaac. God of Jacob and I am that I am.
Through these four great names God was preparing Moses for a very effective service.
The first name is "The God of Abraham". That has a double meaning. First of all, Abraham began to see
the true meaning of righteousness. Here you have the true meaning of the Name. The God of Abraham.
God appeared to Abraham twice in Genesis 12 and then in chapter 13. In chapter 14 He appeared to him.
in the form of Melchisedec. Then He appeared to him in chapter 15 and then in chapter 17 by which time
he was 99 years old. Only at that age, he began to believe in God's wonder- working power to give him a
child. Before that he was hoping to have a child in his own strength, but when he became very old, that
is, when he was a hundred years old, when both he and Sarah passed the age of child -bearing, when they
had the least hope of having a child, then God opened his eyes. God provided a new power, a death
-conquering power, to be poured into him to make him righteous and that is the power of resurrection.
Only with that power he became righteous and it was imputed to him for righteousness.