FEEDING ON WHAT IS POSITIVE
A. R. Stevens
Hebrews 12: 1–3; Psalm 46: 1–7
God helped us in our first occasion to see that He has an order of things under His hand that is of Himself and that is going through. The thought of the assembly originated with God; He had it in His mind long before the world was. On Lord’s day we were reminded that God Himself said, “It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate, his like”, Genesis 2: 18. The thought originated with God that Christ should have a counterpart, one that would be able to answer to His feelings and His affections. So God made the woman—a figure of the assembly. Then, in process of time, Abraham’s servant was sent to seek a wife for Isaac, and he found Rebecca, one who was suited to be Isaac’s wife. She surprised the servant by the way she responded to the test he put to her. Then there was the journey that was taken to meet Isaac. She was adorned by the servant so that when she reached Isaac, who was walking in the fields to meet them, she was entirely suitable and could spring off her camel. And so it is, dear brethren, that God is working at the present time that there may be a concrete answer to the feelings of Christ in the assembly, according as He Himself has planned in purpose. We have said that, from the divine side, all will go through.
Already the assembly has been secured, in great part. How mysterious and how blessed that a scripture such as Ephesians 2: 6 is able to say that already we are there, seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! That is the divine side of the matter; as far as God is concerned the matter is complete, it cannot be altered.
It would help us to have the two sides before us. Sometimes we may get obsessed with the responsible side. What I have found, dear brethren, is that undue occupation with my state does not in anywise improve my state. If I use all my time to be engaged with my state it will never improve it. What will improve my state is to see things as they are in Christ; to see things from the divine side. And the more attractive things become from the divine side the more we will be helped to commit ourselves and to make a full surrender. So that we are in a time when, amidst all that is transpiring, the Spirit of God is keeping before us what is very positive and living. Thank God that, amidst all the difficulties, the ministry that we are getting is, in a general sense, very attractive and very positive. It is a line of things that is endearing divine Persons to our hearts, and the more we are engaged with that the more our state will improve.
The path that we are called into is one of faith. It begins with faith and it will end in faith.
Without faith, the scripture says, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11: 6). We may do a lot of things, but without faith it is impossible to please God. If we draw near to God we must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them who seek Him out. Thank God, the path has been set on in perfection by the One of whom we
have read in Hebrews 12, and without saying very much the point is that our eyes should be on that blessed One. Hebrews 11 mentions the worthies—persons who, though not as privileged as we are, not having the Spirit indwelling them, yet had to do with God and they justified God in their movements. Some of them, at God’s command, went out, not knowing where they were going, but they had faith in God. Abraham shines in relation to the path of faith. Moses—young people, think of Moses—responded to the training that he had as a youth; he was in Pharaoh’s house, but his mother had been his nurse and what she imparted to Moses was taken in by him and he was formed by it. He did not throw it off. It is sad to say that some of our children, as soon as they become of age, throw off what they have been taught. But we must count on God. He is able to work with them and bring them into things, even though it may be after we have left this scene. We may, of course, be taken up at the rapture amongst the living, and if they have not come into blessing before that, it will be too late. But Moses responded and we thank God for the young people who are seeking to respond. We have some young ones here who are coming on and they are a source of encouragement to us. May their eyes be kept in the right direction.
There may be much that is negative that can occupy you young ones, but do not get occupied with that. The enemy would keep you occupied with what is negative—difficulties amongst the brethren, possibly. I think that Timothy kept his eyes on what was very positive. He had it there in Paul and he had it supremely in Christ. His occupation was with what is positive. I would encourage my younger brethren to be on that line.
So we have Christ, the One who set on and completed this path of faith, and we are encouraged to run the race. “Let us also therefore, having so
great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us ...”. They are there—persons who have witnessed before us and have completed their course—faithful persons to whom what is of God has meant so much. Let us be encouraged by remembering them, and also faithful ones currently with us. It says, “Laying aside every weight, and sin which so easily entangles us, run with endurance ... “. It is a race of endurance; it is not a sprint; it is for those who endure. We want to run the race with endurance. Think of how Christ endured! We are to have Him before us, supremely, the One who endured so great contradiction from sinners against Himself. Then, before that, He is spoken of as “the leader and completer of faith”. He has given character to the path of faith, dear brethren; He has completed it. Let us keep our eyes on Him!
One thing which long has struck me is that even the Lord Jesus had before His heart that which would be a source of joy to Him; “Who, in view of the joy lying before him ...”. If we are to go on we must have a goal before us. We are not told what it was that the Lord Jesus had before Him, which is mentioned. It may have been the great thought of securing the many sons for the service of God. It could be the assembly—that which is so precious to His heart; but whatever it may be, He had something that was very positive and tangible which was the delight and pleasure of His heart. It was an incentive, as it were, if I might speak that way about the Lord Jesus, because it afforded Him the prospect of great joy. In view of that He would not be turned aside. In a lesser way Paul had a goal. It is said in Philippians that Paul stretched out to the things before him and pursued, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3: 13, 14). His one great desire was to have Christ as his gain.
So let us, dear brethren, be encouraged; let us keep our eyes on the blessed, glorious Man.
God’s centre, the One in whom all that is for God’s pleasure is treasured up. He is the Yea and the Amen of all that is for God. Let us go on with our eyes on Him. Do not be distracted, do not allow yourself to be over-engaged with what is negative. I will stress that again—do not let us always be thinking of difficulties. Whilst we are to be in godly exercise about matters, there is a brighter side and we want to see what God has before Him. Out of all our difficulties and troubles God is bringing about something that is very, very positive. He is helping us to know what it is to trust Him more, to develop in our experience with Himself.
He is so wise in what He allows. We never can fathom the ways of God. How can we? His ways are untraceable, but His ways are also perfect, just, and good, and out of all the difficulties God is getting a rich harvest. Persons are being formed in their experience with God through the exercise these troubles cause.
I read the passage from Psalm 46 because it is very comforting. It is a scripture that is intended to calm us. We are inclined to be troubled, but a scripture like this would calm our spirits. “God is our refuge and strength, a help in distresses, very readily found”. Can we say that of any man? With men sometimes they may be found and sometimes, when we need them most, we cannot find them. It has happened, even with parents and children; sometimes when you really need help you cannot get the help you need. But not so with God; He is a refuge. He is strength; He is “a help in distresses, very, readily found”. As you turn to Him, He is there; that is the God we have—very readily found. Then it goes on to say, “Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the heart of the seas; Though the waters
thereof roar and foam, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, Selah”. I understand Selah to mean that we stop, we pause and consider. It is a statement that is to get into our beings and help us to consider, dear brethren. And these scriptures are intended to strengthen us. We are in days when we need divine strength that we may end up in the path of God’s will. Some may turn aside, persons of whom we thought much. Persons may become contentious or get occupied with history here and there. Why do persons become so engaged with what is negative? We want to go on with what God has under His hand and finish up in the testimony, and in this we can count on God—who is very readily found.
In the meantime there is this river that is mentioned. We are thankful for the river—the Spirit’s unceasing service. “There is a river the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the sanctuary of the habitations of the Most High”. It is the Spirit’s unceasing service, dear brethren. How thankful we are for it! That river came into evidence when the Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost. He is that ‘river’. He brings in all that is from heaven to fill our hearts. Christianity is not an empty matter; it is not all difficulties; it is not all trials. Some may feel that it is just difficulty after difficulty, trials after trials, but, thank God, there is that which comes down from heaven which the Spirit of God brings in to refresh and fill our souls.
Then it says, “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved”. That is the vessel we have spoken of—the assembly. God is in the midst of her. In spite of all that is transpiring, God is in the midst of that which is His own concept, that which He has made for His own pleasure and for the heart of Christ. All that the enemy is doing will be unable to change the mind of God. God is
not controlled by what the enemy is doing; He is controlled by His own great thoughts of love those thoughts which found expression in Christ. So, dear brethren, let us be encouraged.
God is on our side—the unchanging God is with us. He is on our side. He would encourage our hearts to go on with what is under His hand; what is positive; what is living; what is glorious. In spite of how things might appear outwardly, He has what is positive and living and glorious under His hand and He is set to help us and to encourage our hearts. May it be so, for Christ’s sake.
Address in Brooklyn, New York
18 July 1981