Fragments Gathered up

When God visits Israel in Egypt, He says nothing about wandering in the wilderness: only that He will bring them out of Egypt and into Canaan. The circumstances of the wilderness are used by grace to make us know Christ better, but they are not necessary to Gods plan — i.e., salvation and glory. Priesthood comes in to supply the need of a wilderness; it maintains the link between us and the heavenly places, redemption having set us so high, and we being actually so low. We have no need of priesthood to sit in heavenly places. Christ is there, and therefore we are there in Him. Being what we are, priesthood is requisite to sustain us in accordance with our heavenly position. Christ must fill all the distance between the throne and me as a poor failing saint.

Fighting is not the characteristic of the wilderness, but patience. It is in Canaan (i.e., the heavenly places now) that we get conflict.

Mediation consists, first, of God in the suffering Christ bringing us to God by faith; and, secondly, of sustaining the reconciled one in communion.

Power, the power of Christ practically, depends not upon revelations, knowledge of the glory, etc., but upon our feeling our own nothingness. (2 Cor. 12) Affection in unjudged flesh will not do — and we must look to that. Sentiment is worth nothing: you may have plenty of it with sincerity, but it will not carry a man through. That can only be in the power of the Holy Ghost.

There may be great confidence in devotedness, as with Peter, and yet a want of acquaintance with God's mind. Where affection is real, it is instinctively just. We have to see that our zeal for the Lord is not in the flesh.

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With the prayerful desire that the Lord Jesus Christ will use this God-given ministry in this form for His glory and the blessing of many in these last days before His coming. © Les Hodgett contact at stempublishing dot com .

Fragments Gathered up.