Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
Remember!
Also, I just realized that "take delight" or "delight yourself" is an imperative. So think about this: Wesley tells us that God's commands are covered promises. In other words, if God commands us to do something, he'll make it happen. If you're struggling to delight yourself in God, ask God to do it!
I don't know if you know this, but God is doing some stuff. And I mean stuff.
There are some stories about this stuff that are not mine to tell. One is, but now isn't the time and this might not be the place, but rest assured that at the right time I'm going to tell you about the goodness of God moving in the life of a person and the whole thought of it is GLORY. It's heavy in a good way.
And it's got me thinking: if any of y'all are going to New Room in September and want to pray for entire sanctification, shoot me an email and we'll meet up and pray. I was emailing with a guy just last week and I've been praying for him already in preparation for praying in person. I can't wait to get down on our knees at New Room and see what God does. Maybe it'll look like what hit Jacob Byers!
Byers was a Brethren turned Church of God (Anderson) evangelist who was an early adopter of a movement to come out of denominations and seek sanctification in the late 19th century. His testimony is fire!
My sufferings increased until I began to feel that death would be a relief. At that time God sent a brother to us who preached a sermon from the text, 1 Peter 4:1-2, with emphasis upon the clause, “For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” The Holy Spirit applied this to me and revealed to my soul the utter necessity of death to gain sanctification. The end came, I let go my death grip of the rope and said as I never said before, “Yes, Lord, Thy will be done!” I knew that it reached the uttermost depth of my soul. God knew it, and I am certain that Satan knew it. At the close of that meeting I said, “I am now offered up.” There was no conscious change only I knew my will was yielded, and I am certain that not an atom of earth existed between God and me. We went home late in the evening, and as I was retiring I knelt once more before God and simply told Him that now after these months of struggle it was all ended and I was so thankful to Him that I could say so sweetly, “Thy will be done.” My hold upon the rope had become so weary. How sweet and blessed now to rest so securely in that infinite will. The great chasm was deep and dark, but I was so glad that I had let go and dropped into it; for I was so conscious now that even in the darkness and depths I was in His will. As I dropped, loving arms of Jesus had caught me and I was glad to be in death with Him. I felt within me that something wonderful was about to take place, I arose from my knees and scarcely had time to lie down when truly I experienced a taste of death. Wholly unconscious of my earthly surroundings, but knowing I was in the presence of Jesus, I believe a death was wrought within me, after which the baptism of pentecostal fire and the Holy Ghost came upon me. The refining fire went through my very body and the effect seemed terrible. The sublime consciousness of the presence of heaven and the majesty of God was such as mortal tongue can never describe. Then following the distinct baptism of fire the floodgates of heaven’s glory were opened upon me, and, oh, the heavenly deluge that followed can be realized only by those who have experienced the same.
|
