Is there anything God is asking of you...

"Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
from God? and ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in
your body" (1 Cor. 6:19,20).

A day must come in our lives, as definite as the day of our conversion, when we give up all right 
to ourselves and submit to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ. There may be a practical issue 
raised by God to test the reality of our consecration, but whether that be so or not, there must be 
a day when, without reservation, we surrender everything to Him -- ourselves, our families, our
possessions, our business and our time. All we are and have becomes His, to be held
henceforth entirely at His disposal. From that day we are no longer our own masters, but
only stewards. Not until the Lordship of Jesus Christ is a settled thing in our hearts can the
Spirit really operate effectively in us. He cannot direct our lives effectually until all control of
them is committed to Him. If we do not give Him absolute authority in our lives, He can be
present, but He cannot be powerful. The power of the Spirit is stayed.
Are you living for the Lord or for yourself? Perhaps that is too general a question, so let
me be more specific.  Is there anything God is asking of you that you are withholding from Him?
Is there any point of contention  between you and Him Not till every controversy is settled and the 
Holy Spirit is given full sway can He reproduce the life of Christ in the heart of any believer.

Spirit or Flesh??...

The kingdom of this world is not the kingdom of God. God had in His heart a world system
- a universe of His creating -- which should be headed up in Christ His Son (col.
1:16,17). But Satan, working through man's flesh, has set up instead a rival system known in
Scripture as "this world" -- a system in which we are involved and which he himself
dominates. He has in fact become "the prince of this world" (John 12:31).
Thus, in Satan's hands, the first creation has become the old creation, and God's primary
concern is now no longer with that but with a second and new creation. He is bringing in a
new creation, a new kingdom and a new world, and nothing of the old creation, the old
kingdom or the old world can be transferred to the new. It is a question now of these two rival
realms, and of which realm we belong to.
The apostle Paul, of course, leaves us in no doubt as to which of these two realms is now
in fact ours. He tells us that God, in redemption, "delivered us out of the power of darkness,
and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love" (Col. 1:12,13).
But in order to bring us into His new kingdom, God must do something new in us. He
must make of us new creatures. Unless we are created anew we can never fit into the new
realm. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh"; and, "flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:50).
However educated, however cultured, however improved it be, flesh is still flesh. Our fitness
for the new kingdom is determined by the creation to which we belong. Do we belong to the
old creation or the new? Are we born of the flesh or of the Spirit? Our ultimate suitability for
the new realm hinges on the question of origin. The question is not `good' or bad?' but `flesh
or Spirit?' "That which is born of the flesh is flesh", and it will never be anything else. That
which is of the old creation can never pass over into the new.

A Present Word...

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
“His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written, that no man
knew, but he himself.
“And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
“And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with
a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” 
(Revelations 19:11-16)

In this day of fear and anxiety, and distress among nations, how assuring to look into the scriptures and catch
a glimpse of God’s war plans, and to know that the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of Heaven is about to
break forth on the scene of human depravity and futility, riding upon a white horse of righteousness and power,
and leading His armies to battle and to total victory!
How assuring to know in this hour, when men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and kings and rulers and
presidents of nations are frustrated in their attempt to solve the nuclear arms crisis, and to lay a foundation for
peace... to know that there is One who has conquered, and who by God’s decree sits even now at God’s right
hand of power and authority, ruling and reigning “in the midst of His enemies”...but who simply awaits God’s
time-schedule, and the signal from the throne of the eternal Jehovah-God, to charge forth into battle against
the Enemy, and put an end to the reign of evil.
And to know also that we, if we are accounted to be ‘faithful and true’ shall be a part of that army that will follow
the Son of God as He goes forth to battle in the great Day of God Almighty. These are the people who not only
profess to have FAITH and TRUTH; but faithfulness and truthfulness have been wrought into their very being,
as they have learned obedience by the things they have suffered, and have followed the Lord in all His ways.

This Body Pt 2...

Picture, if you will, a group of people spread out across the world, sold out to Jesus, crying and travailing 
before God for the desperate need of the world. Suddenly, He appears! Not to everyone, but to those 
who are looking for Him. And He appears unto full salvation! Not to run away with us to hide from the 
battle in the day of the Lord, but to anoint us and fill us with His glory and power and the fullness of His Spirit! 
And the act of His appearance this group of people are made one body, separated by many miles in the flesh, 
but joined to One Head, and operating under the same divine command.

This Body...

This body of people, though made up of a multitude of saints throughout the world
and throughout the ages, yet is seen in the Bible as one Body, spoken of as God's Perfect Man, and the
Overcomer. How this Body comes into existence and what happens to it can be
learned by studying the Pattern, the Lord Jesus Christ. And although there will be unnumbered multitudes of
people saved by the Grace of God through the precious blood of Jesus, and we do thank God for these dear
ones, yet the real purposes of God are tied up in that group of saints who press their way to the mark for the
prize of the High calling of God in Christ Jesus. They are the Hundred-fold of the Harvest, the Principal Wheat,
the Precious fruit of the earth, brought forth by the latter rain. These are virgins who follow the Lamb
withersoever He goeth, who are not defiled with women (harlot churches under man's headship). These are
His Witnesses in the earth whom He has anointed by the Spirit without measure. They are the ones who put
Satan under their feet, and gain back the inheritance lost by Adam, and much more beyond that. They are part
of the Bride of Christ, the Holy City, New Jerusalem, but they are more than just part of the City which is known
as the Temple of the Living God, filled with the glory and presence of God. To be continued.....