To be "more than conquerors" we must know how to conquer every paralysing fear. But how? First, by admitting the things of which we are afraid! I have talked a great deal in my ministry of the dangers of denial so I will mention just one more time that denial does not work -- and pass on.
Next, we must see that all fears are rooted in one thing -- inner division. The inwardly united soul, that is, the person whose will, emotions and mind are held in the grip of Christ, knows no paralysing fear. Two modern answers to fear have been presented to the world by two well-known personalities -- Walter Lippmann and Mahatma Ghandi. Lippmann said: "Restrict your desires; don't expect too much. Contract the area of your expectations and then life will not hit you on such a wide front. Thus your fears will be lessened." His remedy for fear was: pull in. Ghandi said: "Stand inwardly aloof, without desire for the fruit of action." His remedy for fear was: pull apart. The Christian answer lies in our third passage today, which in the Amplified Bible reads as follows: "There is no fear in love -- dread does not exist; but full grown, complete, perfect love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror" (1 John 4:18, AmV).
The answer, then, is not pull in, or pull apart, but pull out. Pull out all the stops! Expand your personality through perfect love so that love empowers the will, drives the emotions and clears the mind. This expansion drives out all fear. It turns it out of doors! The answer to the gospel is in line with its own nature -- it is positive, affirmative, revolutionary and expansive.
Today is 2 April -- we are at the beginning of the New Covenant Holy Week when we commemorate the end and the beginning -- the glorious death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and new birth. Here we are at the cross-roads of New Covenant Church history -- the cross-roads of opportunity or failure.
Last autumn we covenanted to importune the Lord to know where Kadesh was by 1 May. That is in one month's time. At that time I was your local apostle. Today I am an ordinary member like yourselves, but my challenge remains the same, since our authority to minister is based on truth and righteousness and not just on office. That seemingly impenetratable and unclimbable rock wall that faced us at the end of 1994 is still in front of us, blocking our way. How will we be risen above it? (see NC&C 354:1-9)
Firstly, let's assess our stewardship. Have we been active and diligent servants of the Lord? Have we put the Kingdom of God before anything else in our lives? If we haven't then "failure" is the turning we are about to take. Do we merit an answer to our prayers for Zion? Have our prayers been "red-hot", so to speak? Have we really desired Zion with all our hearts? Or have we been sidetracked by other concerns? Have temptations fallen before us to distract us? Have we been waylaid by economic problems, job problems, marriage problems, or the like? Has Satan take us off the main road? How has the Church changed in six months? Are we more productive in missionary work, spiritual education, and the like? Or is the Church exactly as it was last August when we set our targets? The egg of desire for Kadesh -- have we incubated it, or has it gone luke-warm or cold?
We shall know soon enough. We shall know whether we have been like those ancient Israelites complaining and murmuring along the way. Shall we panic at the last hour and suddenly try to conquer the Amorites of doubt and unbelief in our heart in the hope of penetrating the heavenly veil for a revelation on Zion? Or will it be too late? You must answer these questions for yourselves individually and as a congregation as a whole.
On 1 May we will be gathered here again. Our themes then will be: "Unafraid", "Listen to Him", and "The Greatest Pain." I wonder what the speakers will have to say? I wonder what message they, and our pastor, will have to bring? Will be a joyous announcement on the location of Zion? Or will that meeting the exactly the same as those we have had here since August?
I said this was a crossroads for the Church, but it is more than that: it is a personal crossroads for each of us. How we have acted over the past eight of so months will determine the course of the Church for a very long time ahead. Some doors will close and others will open. And once they have closed, there will be no turning back. As for the open doors -- we either go through them or perish.
I have had several shocks this last few months. The Lord told me that I would experience three unexpected surprises, both joyous and painful. Some of you will know the experiences I am referring to. I awoke one night and was surprised by three small balls of light, like meteors, flash one after the other into my room. Behind them were the numbers 333. Three events were to take place separated by three months each. The first occurred at the end of September, the second at the end of December, and the third at the end of March. In all three situations I had made misjudgments, so much that I had to totally reorientate my thinking in three important areas of my life.
In March I got a shock when the Lord revealed to me that my life here in this world would be a lot shorter than I had previously thought. Yet I was also able to feel peace knowing that I could now plan the rest of my life more carefully. The knowledge and reality of death have a sobering affect upon the soul. If only we were aware of how short this life is and its opportunities are -- we would be a lot more anxiously engaged in the Kingdom of God. Do not let youthfulness deceive you into thinking you have a lot of time -- you don't! Our souls will wander in this sphere of existence for only a very short time.
I am therefore anxious, brothers and sisters, that as little time is wasted as possible. It may well be that my time in this country will be at an end this summer -- it all depends on what happens in the Church in the next few months. Certainly I am prepared now for a new missionary field and, if necessary, a new calling.
Great changes lie before us and many new unknowns will present themselves. It is a time to live or die as to the Spirit of God. We will either remain as we are, or we will separate and go our separate ways, or we will gather together into Zion here in the north countries.
Next month you will be studying the twenty-third and last in the series of Foundational Studies of the Bible called "Come Unto Zion." I pray that the poignancy of this study will not be missed by you and that you will do a lot of soul-searching as you study it. For its time has come for us -- or will be missed by us altogether.
Will you come unto Zion? And if so, have you done all possible to qualify yourself for it? The choice is yours. Choose well, brethren and sisters, choose well. Amen.

This page was created on 16 May 1998 Updated on 16 May 1998

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