October 9, 2009
When a sudden revelation dawns on us, we are often inclined to view it as a "free burst" of the Spirit, having nothing to do with any prior influences. A small episode that occurred last Monday compelled me to reexamine that idea. When going through some old letters and papers that I had saved back in the seventies and early eighties, I came across a letter from a friend in which we were discussing a certain text from a daily reader called, "Daily Overcoming" by Ray Prinzing. The author may be termed an old-school Pentecostal holiness preacher, although I'm not sure if that is how he would have defined himself. Back in the beginning of my "walk", in 1973, his writings were a great encouragement to me, long before the days of understanding the two houses of Israel.
In order to find the above-mentioned text, I had to dig out an old worn out copy with half of its pages missing. But “alas”, the pages that I had made reference to, in that letter, were not in the book. I did, however, remember that at some point I had saved the loose leaves in a binder, and so I eventually found what I was looking for. Here is what I read from the March 2nd page, titled "Election of Race"…
"Walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations." (Genesis 17:1-4 KJV). This is solely done by God, He chose the man to become the father of a race – a race that He had purposed to use to bless all mankind. What a Testimony of this man who was so tested and tried, found worthy of his calling, to become the father of many nations, and through his seed all nations to be blessed. But as a nation, Israel was called while yet in the loins of Abraham, and not because of their own greatness, even as we read, "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers…" (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). How sovereignly God chose this people to become His own elect [ref. 1Peter 2:9].
“Having been so chosen, bringing this people out of Egypt and into a land of promise, God worked many processes of testing proving what was in their heart, but as a nation Israel failed to fully qualify. They turned to serve other gods of the heathen about them. So He had to severely punish and discipline them, scattering them among all nations. "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth" (Amos 9:9). But this is not the end, for God has fully used all the scattering, and has planned a time of gathering again, "what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" (Romans 11:15). Even now at present time He is drawing to Himself out of natural Israel those who become His Spiritual first fruits." End of quote.
Quite often we remain oblivious when a seed of the Word is sown into our hearts, where it may lay dormant until the mist of the Spirit causes it to germinate. I know now that even in the Lutheran Sunday School class, at the age of 6, when I was taught the Torah stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as about a young lad in a multi-colored coat, the impression that the Spirit made upon my soul at that tender age was already like the "deep calling to deep". May those scriptural seeds that have fallen into the ground of our hearts, and had begun to grow there, bear the fruit that Abba had intended for them. May we, like our father Abraham, be found faithful as we “daily overcome" in all our circumstances, giving glory to our heavenly Father through Messiah Yeshua.
Ephraim
When a sudden revelation dawns on us, we are often inclined to view it as a "free burst" of the Spirit, having nothing to do with any prior influences. A small episode that occurred last Monday compelled me to reexamine that idea. When going through some old letters and papers that I had saved back in the seventies and early eighties, I came across a letter from a friend in which we were discussing a certain text from a daily reader called, "Daily Overcoming" by Ray Prinzing. The author may be termed an old-school Pentecostal holiness preacher, although I'm not sure if that is how he would have defined himself. Back in the beginning of my "walk", in 1973, his writings were a great encouragement to me, long before the days of understanding the two houses of Israel.
In order to find the above-mentioned text, I had to dig out an old worn out copy with half of its pages missing. But “alas”, the pages that I had made reference to, in that letter, were not in the book. I did, however, remember that at some point I had saved the loose leaves in a binder, and so I eventually found what I was looking for. Here is what I read from the March 2nd page, titled "Election of Race"…
"Walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations." (Genesis 17:1-4 KJV). This is solely done by God, He chose the man to become the father of a race – a race that He had purposed to use to bless all mankind. What a Testimony of this man who was so tested and tried, found worthy of his calling, to become the father of many nations, and through his seed all nations to be blessed. But as a nation, Israel was called while yet in the loins of Abraham, and not because of their own greatness, even as we read, "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers…" (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). How sovereignly God chose this people to become His own elect [ref. 1Peter 2:9].
“Having been so chosen, bringing this people out of Egypt and into a land of promise, God worked many processes of testing proving what was in their heart, but as a nation Israel failed to fully qualify. They turned to serve other gods of the heathen about them. So He had to severely punish and discipline them, scattering them among all nations. "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth" (Amos 9:9). But this is not the end, for God has fully used all the scattering, and has planned a time of gathering again, "what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" (Romans 11:15). Even now at present time He is drawing to Himself out of natural Israel those who become His Spiritual first fruits." End of quote.
Quite often we remain oblivious when a seed of the Word is sown into our hearts, where it may lay dormant until the mist of the Spirit causes it to germinate. I know now that even in the Lutheran Sunday School class, at the age of 6, when I was taught the Torah stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as about a young lad in a multi-colored coat, the impression that the Spirit made upon my soul at that tender age was already like the "deep calling to deep". May those scriptural seeds that have fallen into the ground of our hearts, and had begun to grow there, bear the fruit that Abba had intended for them. May we, like our father Abraham, be found faithful as we “daily overcome" in all our circumstances, giving glory to our heavenly Father through Messiah Yeshua.
Ephraim
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