“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13
Dear Ones:
The concept of the ministry of the Spirit of God in the heart and life of the believer is essential to understand, if faith would lay hold upon Him for the full outworking of His will. With regard to the omnipresence of God, the Psalmist writes: “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” (Ps. 139:9-10) Not only is the presence of God in every place, but He is active, and working in every place where the believer is located. It is especially when the believer trusts Him specifically in that place, wherever it is, that God intervenes and reveals His working.
Jesus spoke of the knowledge of God, as revealed in “sparrows,” “…which do not fall to the ground without your Father.” (Matt. 10:29) He goes on to speak of the “…hairs of your head are all numbered.” (10:30) Perhaps one of the most extraordinary aspects of the knowledge of God is found again in Psalm 139: “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.” (v.4) It is one thing to know that God is present everywhere. It is quite another to realize and grasp the proximity of His presence, knowing what we shall speak before we speak. How is all this relate to the issue of discipleship?
In Matthew’s gospel, the Lord Jesus deals at length with His second coming. There is also the application of the point in time when the believer shall go and be with the Lord. In light of these two events, and the proof of discipleship, how does one know if one is ready to meet Him? The context of His coming is like “…the days of Noah.” Except for the iniquity and unbelief of that time, there was the normalcy of “…marrying and giving in marriage,” (Matt. 24:38) and “…women grinding at the mill.” (v.41) That which is revealed concerning the true believer at that time, and is applicable to discipleship in Jesus’ day, and this present day, concerns the attitude and action of readiness. Why is readiness an issue in discipleship? The God who is intimately acquainted with all of the ways of men, and in whose hearts He dwells if one truly believes in Christ, will know the “pull,” the “attraction,” and the conviction given by the Spirit with regard to time, opportunity, and eternity. The true disciple is that one in whose heart the Lord Jesus dwells by the Spirit. And since it is God who is at work to will and to do of His good pleasure in the life, He is certainly at work to create a consciousness of Christ’s coming, or the believer’s going to meet Him. It is an awakened realization that God gives, and a prayer for faithfulness and wisdom, realizing that all that the Lord Jesus has made the disciple to be a custodian of all things good and worthy. The illustration of this state of things is given by the Lord Jesus in two parables.
In the first parable, there are ten virgins, five of which have acquired oil for their lamps, as they want to be ready to meet the bridegroom. Why do they want to be ready? It is because they are right with God, and by His working in the heart, are committed to doing what is necessary to be ready to meet the Bridegroom. The second parable has to do with three servants, to whom the head of the household entrusts certain amounts of his financial resources to use. Two of these servants took the “talents,” setting about to use them to acquire an equal amount. Key to their attitude was faith, believing that they had been entrusted with their master’s wealth, in order to use it well, with wisdom. The third servant is living in selfish, unbelieving fear. He is not rightly related to his master.
Dear Father, Grant us Thy faithfulness and wisdom, ready to meet Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad