DISCIPLE

from Assembly Testimony magazine, www.assemblytestimony.org Hallmarks of Revival As Seen In The Reign of Hezekiah by David McKinley (Canada) Paper 1 After the very evil reign of Ahaz we read of the commencement of Hezekiah’s reign with a sigh of relief and a spirit of thankfulness to God for granting revival to Judah after such a dark day. We shall consider some of the hallmarks of a true revival, while noting, with caution, the dangers that can ensue after a real movement of God’s grace, as seen in this king’s later years. ESTEEM FOR GOD’S HOUSE - "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD , and repaired them"   2 Chr. 29.3. The devil had triumphed in the reign of Ahaz in having the doors of God’s house closed up. The place where God’s honour dwelt was a cold, dark and silent monument to Israel’s sin of turning to other gods. The place of which God said: "For Mine house shall be...

Our Lord Still Demands  New Testament Standards “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Not the naked Word only but the character of the witness determines the quality of the Christian convert. The church can do no more than transplant herself. What she is in one land she will be in another. A crab apple does not become a Grimes Golden by being carried from one country to another.     God has written His law deep into all life; everything must bring forth after its kind!     It would appear logical that a subnormal, powerless church would not engage in missionary activity, but again the facts contradict the theory. Christian groups that have long ago lost every trace of moral fire nevertheless continue to grow at home and reproduce themselves in other lands.     There is a weakness too in world missio...

Lovingkindness and Mercy  Do Not Preclude Discipline     While the kindness of God to His congregation was past telling yet His discipline, to maintain the testimony in holiness, was very strict.  Transgressors were to be put out of the congregation for eating leaven (Ex. 12:15-19);  for eating blood (Lev. 7:27) ; for eating the peace offering while defiled, or after the second day (Lev. 7:20); for seeing a brother’s or sister’s nakedness (Lev. 20:13); for touching holy things while unclean (Lev. 22:3); for compounding holy oil (Ex. 30:33); for neglecting the Passover (Num. 9:13); for neglecting the water of purification (Num. 19:13); and for neglecting circumcision, etc.      They were to put to death the idolater (Deut. 13:9); the blasphemer; the false prophet (Deut. 13:5-11); the presumptuous sinner (Deut. 17:12); the Sabbath breaker (Ex. 31:14); the wizard (Lev. 20:27); the stranger who came nigh as a priest (Num. 18:7); murd...

“He who is altogether and only a Calvinist probably only knows half the truth, but he who is willing to take the other side, as far as it is true, and to believe all he finds in the Word, will get the whole pearl.” —C. H. Spurgeon – (1834-1892) at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, June 26th, 1870.

Going to the meeting? by Michael Penfold, Bicester, England It’s meeting time.‘Let’s see . . . keys, mobile phone, Bible. Let’s go’. If that’s all the ‘getting ready’ you do before the opening hymn, this article is for you! Though most believers know that assembly fellowship involves more than merely ‘turning up’ on time and filling a seat for an hour, truly ‘getting ready’ for the meeting is fast becoming a lost art. Yet the Bible outlines three obligatory pre-meeting activities. Three words will help the memory:     1. Preparation     2. Examination     3. Reconciliation      For preparation , consider the Lord’s words in Exodus 23:15, “None shall appear before me empty.” Worshippers at the annual ‘callings together’ of Israel had to come with an offering. None could simply arrive and feel they had done their duty.        Are there long gaps in the breaking of bread mee...

No one eases into Christianity. You cannot gradually become a Christian. A good solid conversion is the starting point of the real Christian life.  You can't become a Christian because your family or friends want you to. It isn't a matter of making up your mind to "go to church" or behave better. And none of this halfway stuff will do either – praying some prayer in an emotional moment at the end of a retreat, summer camp or after some gospel message, and then stumbling along trying to have one foot in the kingdom and the other in the world.  Scripture records those who “believed,” but the Lord didn’t believe in them (Jn. 2:23-25; 6:25-26; 8:30-32).  This may upset your “weak” or “carnal Christian” theology, but the Lord Jesus tells us that the lukewarm ones will get spewed out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16).  So here’s some good advice.  Take the Lord Jesus Christ and Christianity seriously, or not at all! Someone called it "all or nothing." Well said!   ...