NEWNESS IN OUR TIME

"Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." (Isa 42:9)

WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME that cries out for an outbreak of spiritual newness and freshness. Here and there awakenings are occurring, but we need one in our area, and among the people with whom we have been identified. A spirit of mediocrity has settled over the professed church, and a cloak of casualness and indifference is suffocating the lives of many. This is a time when some are longing for another fulfillment of the promise, "Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (Isa 43:19). There is a wilderness in the Christian world that can be turned into "a pool of water," and dry land that can receive "springs of water" (Isa 41:18). It is still possible for the desert to "blossom as the rose" (Isa 35:1), waters to break out in the wilderness, and "streams in the desert" (Isa 35:6).

HOW WILL IT HAPPEN? How can such refreshment and renewal occur? It will begin like all Divine workings, with a "small beginning." It will start with a seed, and grow into a tree. It will not be initiated with the wisdom of men. That is not how God works. He will begin with something that is "foolish" and "weak" in the eyes of the world (1 Cor 1:27).

THE WORK WILL BEGIN where there are faith and hope – where men are calling upon the name of the Lord. It will be preceded by a longing – a "looking for" the good working of the Lord (Lk 2:38). Valid beginnings include a hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6), and a determination to seek, ask, and knock (Matt 7:7-8). The "love of the truth" will be prominent (2 Thess 2:10), and a disdain will be held for lifeless religion (2 Tim 3:5).

THE EYES OF THE LORD CONTINUE TO "run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chron 16:9, NKJV). He is looking for someone He can use, someone with a cause He can undergird. He is looking for stewards who will be "faithful," handling the truth to His glory (1 Cor 4:2). Such individuals will be faithful custodians of that truth.

WE MUST MAKE IT OUR AIM to embrace the cause of Christ and the purpose of God. Our hearts are to be set on being laborers in His vineyard, with no competing interests. There is a Divine work to be done, and we can be part of it!

WHERE SUCH SOULS ARE FOUND, a Divine beginning is being revealed. That is precisely how God begins His works. He starts with an Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees who will do what He says. He finds a Moses in the wilderness who will investigate a burning bush, and obey the voice of the Lord. He will start with a Gideon who is faithfully threshing wheat at night, or a holy quartet (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) who will leave earthly interests to follow Jesus. He also stirs up the spirits of people to do His work.

BEFORE A WORK CAN SPREAD FOR GOD'S GLORY, it must be worthy of spreading. The seeds of Divinity must be in it, and the life of God must be in the people. If this is the case, look not on the appearance. The work may be small now, but it will not stay small! The Word of God can grow, increase, be multiplied, and prevail (Acts 12:24; 19:20).

SPEAKING FOR THE BRETHREN at the Word of Truth fellowship in Joplin, the kingdom realities with which we are becoming familiar in our refreshing gatherings are from God. We ourselves are being changed by them, and our views of God and His work expanded. We, and other kindred spirits, may presently be involved in a "small beginning," but we must not despise it as others. If God has given us a foundation to put in place, He will help us to finish the building that is to be placed upon it.

SMALL BEGINNINGS NEED Haggais and Zechariahs to encourage the workers (Ezra 5:1; 6:14). They need laborers whose hearts have been stirred up to put their hand to the work. Where such encouragements and devotion are found, the Lord will make men strong to finish the work!

IT ONLY REMAINS FOR US to be sure we have embraced the Lord's will – that we are working on His building. If we are, "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6). The work He has ordained will be completed! You can believe that!

CONCLUSION. As we embark on the second half of this year, it is possible for spiritual newness to be experienced by all of us. It will not be something that can be put into the lifeless molds of religious tradition. It is ever true, "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved" (Matt 9:17). The freshness of Divine life cannot be contained in old "church ways" and manners. Just as eight hour work days were abandoned in the building of the Temple, so "religion as usual" must be abandoned when fresh things from God are being received.

I ADMONISH YOU to put your hand on the plow, and live with a sense of holy expectancy. Do not be caught up in the spirit of the times, or give yourselves to lifeless religious forms and worldly analyses of the Scriptures. Get involved in the work of the Lord, like the builders of Nehemiah's time. Work with both the sword and the trowel for the glory of God (Neh 4:17).

– Given O. Blakely