Spiritual Growth
Now Playing: Is there continual spiritual growth in our life ?
Topic: Growth
Two of the most valuable books in my library are little books called Meditations on Joshua and Meditations on Judges, both by Dr H L Rossier, co-laborer with JND in France and Francophone Switzerland.

In one of those books he commented, The strength in the book of Joshua was, 12 tribes were acting as one man; the weakness of the book of Judges was, 1 man was acting for 12 tribes.
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EZRA 3:

1-"...the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

2: Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

3: And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

4: They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

5: And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD."

It is always to me a very unhappy circumstance, beloved brethren, to see God's children merely putting in an appearance on the Lord's Day morning the mere keeping up an outward link with the Lord and with His people. I admit that there may be circumstances where it cannot but be so: extreme sickness, or there may be positive duties of the most peremptory kind.

I am not alluding to them, and we ought to be slow, therefore, to judge in any individual case until we know the facts; but I do say as a general rule now, that the same faith which makes us value the coming together to meet the Lord at His own table ought to make us rejoice to meet the Lord on every occasion, and further, to provide by every means for growing in the truth.

For that is one great source of our weakness in worship? It is because we are not growing in spiritual intelligence. If we were using the truth of God and growing up unto Christ in all things there would be a greater fullness in worship and, allow me to add, greater simplicity.

There would not be merely the continual use of the same thing, but we should have fresh thoughts without even thinking about them without an effort, because our hearts would be filled day by day with His truth, and, therefore, it is of so much importance to avail ourselves of every hour.

W.KELLY-EZRA 3

(selected from R.K.G.)