March 30th, 1963 “Abiding In Him” Late Mr. N .Daniel

Psalm 24: 3 “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?”

Christianity is a mystic religion. When we see Abraham offering his son, we simply look at his action, but we do not see the height of his faith. The faith of Abraham is a mystery to me. How Abraham grew to this faith is not understandable. There was no one with Abraham in this scene. Only Isaac was there. Even faithful Eliezer was not there. Abraham did not take his servants to the place of sacrifice. He had no companion in faith. They went up the hill of God alone.

Who can ascend such a hill? Vs.3 It is not easy to reach the height Abraham reached. Abraham looks at the world and generations to come from a great height. We look at him from a lower level. How could he reach such a great height where God could ask him to give up his son? God cannot ask anybody such a thing. Abraham, Daniel, Elijah and Moses rose to great heights. They steadily applied themselves to the truth of God and revelation came in degrees. They appropriated that knowledge and pursued it. It is not easy. First they obtained a pure heart. Vanity, that constantly creeps into our life is a great hindrance to sanctity and faith. It does not seem so serious; yet it is there. Abraham had great promises from God and when he was to be the recipient of God's great blessings, the devil wanted to hinder.

God gave great promises to this fellowship but they are not yet fulfilled. I carefully examine myself. Isaiah 45:3 "And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." What a great promise! Hidden riches! God says there is untold wealth for the ministry. God gave us Isaiah 44:3 also. "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." What a promise! Floods! John Wesley and Finney saw such floods. No Bishop or Government could stand against them. God has given us these great promises. Acts 18:10 "For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city." In the beginning we had no friends but all looked at me in a strange way. Troubles were brewing but God said, 'No one will hurt you. Stay on here.' These are very great promises. Do we deserve them? What is required of us is that we may be claimants of these promises.

To Abraham God said, 'I will bless the whole world through you!' Abraham had to grow steadily. When you get a promise, God and the devil know it. The devil will fight against your possessing that promise. When God had given Abraham great promises, he was tempted to go to Egypt and his wife was in Pharaoh's harem. His own wife forced him to take another wife. All these were hindrances. God was patient with him and helped him to grow in faith and finally asked the sacrifice of his own son. I am bewildered at it.

Once God said, 'Abraham be thou perfect.' God expects us to be perfect. God's promises are there. Nobody could have understood what Abraham did. His son did not prevent it. What an example to the whole world! What a triumph of faith! Remember that the devil does not want you to possess the promises and he wants to throw you into some sin. Samson was permanently disqualified. David was almost gone but he repented very deeply: But he got his punishment. David's whole personality was in that prayer, 'Restore to me thy joy! Take not away Thy Holy Spirit from me.' It is extra-ordinary that David came back. When I see Elijah, on Carmel I wonder, is he a God or a man? How Elijah fought out shows that he received such a measure of faith! He rescued Israel from the great pitfall of Baal worship. We need such people today. Are you prepared? Can you shoulder responsibility for God?

The devil does not want our growth in faith. He does not want to see you possess the land. Are we growing in faith? There are mystic heights. Who can ascend God's hill? Thank God. Abraham ascended there. Only angels could understand him. Daniel fought his battle alone and rose to those heights. Shadrach, Meshak and Abednego were there only for some time. Later Daniel fought singly until he got the promise of the return of the captivity. We are not allowed to see some mystic scenes because our faith is not up to the mark.

In spiritual life there should not be an imitation: "Oh C.T.STUDD did like this. I too will do like that." Do not allow any diversion or vanity into your life. What we have achieved and received is mediocre. I am greatly encouraged when I see Elijah, Moses and Daniel.