November 2nd, 1957                                      "You Are the Apple of His Eye"                                  Late Mr. N. Daniel

I Corinthians 12: 4-31

This is a very enlightening chapter to guard against false teaching. I Corinthian 12:3, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." You cannot call Him Lord with your heart but by the Holy Spirit. If you say it with your heart, He will be Lord and you will be His servant. He will take charge of you--of your whole personality, in such a way that your services are on a high plane and of far reaching consequences. A certain teacher was seeking God with repentance after a series of revival meetings. At midnight she suddenly found herself calling Him Lord with her heart. It gave her great joy. You may say "Lord" with your lips. It will not bring you any joy. If He is truly "Lord", your life will be superhuman. You will be filled with a new spirit of love, which will make you spend yourself for your creator.

When you do not cling to your money, or education or relatives, as your own, a new grace will come into you. God will entrust you with His gifts. You are entitled to all His gifts but it is rather dangerous to have all. To show that you are His chosen servant He gives you some gift. Let God choose for you the gift that is good. It is not good to ask for any particular gift. The greatest gift is Jesus. You must desire Him. When God gives you a gift, it will be such that God can keep you from being spoilt by it. Isaiah 42:8, "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." Isaiah 48:11, "For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another." It is dangerous for us to have God’s glory. He is not jealous if we have His glory. But it is dangerous for us. Ann Preston wanted to honour a hen which God used to give her eggs when she was ill. But she could not recognize the hen. She prayed that God should help her to recognise it. Then God said, "I created that hen. I will not give my glory to another." When a child in your home is ill, God can use you in healing even though healing is not the pronounced gift in you. All the gifts are within the power of the Holy Spirit. Philip had the boldness to talk to the big officer of Ethiopia. He could run and overtake a chariot. The versatile genius of St. Paul was given to him by God. If you are thrown in to a desert place where you need extraordinary spiritual strength, He will give you that strength.

A fully yielded life is a fully guided life. Your life is highly valuable to God. There will be no competition among us or rivalry because each one has her own or his own part to do and each will be like Jesus. Each will excel in her own part. Each star has its own glory. God will honour us also. But we must not work for honour. We must always seek to be in His will. If God tells to give up this work and take up another, we must be willing. You must all pray for me. I am always praying that I may not be accursed by neglecting the work He has given me. God has given you a privileged place of responsibility in the Fellowship. You do not know where God will place you later and use you. You have a very honourable place in Him. You are the body of Christ. Let each one of us so function in our places that people who look at us may see Christ in all of us. As you take responsibility in His work, you will see that He will involve Himself fully in your affairs. The deeper you are interested in His work, the more your life will be effective to win your relatives whom you love. When you sorrow for a perishing relative, God takes note of it. Serve the Lord with all you heart. This is the secret of happiness Joshua found. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." God has an all-round interest in you. Zechariah 2:8, "For thus saith the LORD;... for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." What an emphatic and expressive statement of His LOVE and CONCERN.