A few days ago (see here), I blogged on an excerpt from Andrew Fuller's sermon "The Instances, the Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay, in the Concerns of Religion." Fuller's Bible text was Haggai 1:2 (KJV) "Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built."
Along with Zechariah, Haggai was one of God's prophets sent to rebuke God's people who'd returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon in 537 B.C. (Ezra 5:1ff). Though God's people continued to delay year after year in completing the building the temple of the Lord, God's house – they were able to find the time, energy and resources to build and furnish and decorate their own houses! Should not God's people be first and foremost concerned with God's house? Sadly, the house of the LORD remained in ruins and unbuilt for over twenty years; the temple building was finally completed in 516 B.C.
In contrast to that negative example of sluggish indifference about spiritual matters, we find the positive lively and engaged example of Abigail, a woman who made haste to obey the will of the LORD.
I Samuel 25:2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.
4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: ‘Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! 7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.
10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. 11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”
12 So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words. 13 Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.
14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them. 15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her servants, “Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. 22 May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light.”
23 Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. 24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. 25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. 29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”
32 Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. 34 For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!” 35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”
There's so much to this account (and you can read the conclusion of the story for yourself in your own Bible), but my main emphasis here is our need to be making haste when it comes to matters pertaining to Christ and His Kingdom. May God give each of us grace to examine ourselves rightly through His Holy Spirit in conjunction with His Word (Heb. 4:11-13, II Cor. 13:5, Psalm 139:24-25).
Can we rightly claim we love Christ and His Kingdom, and can we honestly say Jesus Christ is our first Love, if we continue to delay and procrastinate and not make haste regarding spiritual matters?
Let's look back and remember how the Lord's prayer begins:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Christianity is first and foremost not about us but about our God and about His glory and His will being done and His name being exalted. And until we line up our own priorities in that manner like Abigail did, we will show ourselves fools like Nabal ("Nabal" means fool), and we will not be happy. So long as we keep hastening to hallow our own names and to insist upon doing our own will, we will show ourselves to be fools like Nabal, and we will not be happy. So long as we are not single-eyed and whole-hearted toward our God, we will not be happy. In contrast, our Lord spoke these words to us: Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
If we're not unreservedly giving all we are and all we have to Christ's service, then are we really Christ's? The Lord knows those who are His.
10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. 11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?”
Can we say we are the Lord's if we are not walking in way of our Lord, if we are not seeking to be about our Father's business and delighting to do His will, and if we are not offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God and praying the way our Lord did at Gethsemane, "Not my will, but Yours, be done"?
In his sermon, "The Instances, the Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay, in the Concerns of Religion," Andrew Fuller doesn't mince words, but gives us this strong exhortation:
"To put off things to another time
implies a lurking dislike to the things themselves. We do not ordinarily do so, except in things wherein we have no delight. Whatever our hearts are set upon, we are for losing no time till it is accomplished. If the people of Judah had "had a mind to work," as is said of them on another occasion, they would not have pleaded that the time was not come. Sinful delay, therefore, arises from
alienation of heart from God; than which nothing can be more offensive in his sight.
"But, further, it is not only a sin, but a sin of dangerous tendency. This is manifest by the effects it produces. Precious time is thereby murdered, and valuable opportunities lost, and lost beyond recall!
"That there are opportunities possessed, both by saints and sinners, is plain from the Scriptures. The former might do abundantly more for God than they do, and might enjoy much more of God and heaven than they actually enjoy; and no doubt it would be so, were it not for that idle, delaying temper, of which we have spoken. Like the Israelites, we are slothful to go up to possess the good land. Many are the opportunities, both of doing and enjoying good, that have already passed by. Oh what Christians might they have been before now, had we but availed ourselves of all those advantages which the gospel dispensation and the free exercise of our religion afford us!"
In other words, if we do not love to be engaged in the work of God, if we do not make haste to do His will, how can we say we love the God who loved us and worked for us while we were powerless and helpless, the God who showed His love for us by sending His Son to die for us while we were yet sinners, the God who loved us first? Can we say our hearts are drawing close to God if we shrink back from doing the things that are near to His heart? How are we murdering precious time rather than redeeming precious time? Are we living like the strangers and pilgrims that we are in this world, or instead are we hastening to set our affections on the things of this temporal world, while having little affection and zeal for God Himself and devoting little to no attention to eternal matters?
Wise women make haste for the joy of others and for the blessing of God
In I Samuel 25, the Hebrew word used in verses 18, 23 and 34 (as well as 42) for made haste and hastened is mahar (pronounced maw-har'): a primitive root; properly, to be liquid or flow easily, i.e. (by implication); to hurry...make speed, speedily, straightway, suddenly, swift (from Strong's Concordance).
In contrast to Nabal who thought and acted like a fool, Abigail's showed herself wise, with her heart and mind being full of God's truth and God's wisdom, and that truth and wisdom bubbled up and swiftly overflowed! Her faith was a living faith, which produced good works, including good words to restore David's soul.
Proverbs 18:4
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
In this case, the words of one woman's mouth, the mouth of Abigail, were deep waters! The name Abigail means father (i.e. source) of joy. Can't we see how Abigail was a God-ordained wellspring of joy to David, a flowing brook which graciously streamed down to David through Abigail from the Father of lights in order to keep David from sin?
That picture of the wellspring brings to mind Jesus' words in John 7:
37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Also, these words from James 5:
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Abigail's zeal to make haste to obey the Lord kept David from sinning and suffering the ill consequences of a hasty, foolish reaction.
Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
What if Abigail had delayed? What if she hadn't hastened to obey the will of the LORD for her? What if she'd shrunk back from speaking these words of wisdom which David was so needing to hear? What if she'd not resolved to speak all the words of life God had given her? What if she bowed to her husband, instead of bowing to the will of the Lord? In that regard, let's remember that Jesus said He did not come to bring peace on earth but a sword (Matthew 10:34-39). Jesus Himself had a taste of such conflict within His only earthly family, for even own His brothers did not believe in Him for a time (see John 7:5).
(Now, don't get me wrong, and don't misunderstand me here –– as Christian wives, we are called to submit to our husbands, and all of us are submit to the authorities God has sovereignly ordained over us. However, at the end of the day, Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, and we must obey God rather than men. Each one of us must prayerfully seek God's leading and wisdom in her own particular family or work or government situation, and trust that God's commandments to us are not burdensome, and our God will never give us more than we can bear and He will supply our every need through the riches of Christ Jesus.)
Ah! David certainly loved the fruit of life that flowed from Abigail's tongue, did he not? Reread verses 32-35 and see how David himself overflowed with blessing for God, blessing for Abigail's advice, and blessing for Abigail herself!
Just as Abigail was sent by God to restore David and to bear fruit in his life, we as Christians are sent on a mission. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you... God's commandment to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Similarly, God's intent is for each of us as believers to bear fruit, fruit that will last and fruit to God's glory by the power of His Holy Spirit who works in us (John 15, Galatians 5). The Church is designed to be a fruitful vine, a fruitful field (e.g. - Isaiah 5, 27, & 32). The great commission has been given to the Church so the Gospel might be preached to the ends of the earth, so disciples might be made of all nations who will bow to and sing praise, honor, glory to the Lamb who was slain to the glory of God the Father. In II Corinthians 5, Paul reminds us that all Christians are God's ambassadors sent to all the nations with the message of reconciliation: that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the one Mediator between God and men, God, the Lamb of God who has come to redeem and rescue lost sinners and bring them back to God. God's intent is that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord is to fill the earth as the waters cover the seas (Hab. 2:14). How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!
Isaiah 55
5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,And nations who do not know you shall run to you,Because of the Lord your God,And the Holy One of Israel;For He has glorified you...
12 For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are God's means for His Word to run very swiftly to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Psalm 147:15 He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.
The Hebrew word for "very swiftly" is mherah, derived from the word maher, whose root is mahar, the same word meaning made haste and hastened in the account of Abigail! Just as Abigail made haste, we must be praying and doing all we can to see that God's Word would run swiftly and be glorified throughout the earth...
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.¹
The means of God's Word running swiftly is by God's people offering themselves and their praises and prayers and their substance be focused on given to Him to be used used as He wills.
Psalm 72
12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
And He shall live;
15 And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
Abigail is numbered along with Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna (Luke 8:1-3) among the countless other women throughout the ages who have been faithful to make sacrificial provision for the Lord's work out of their own substance. It is God's desire that His Word to run swiftly and to spread and to be glorified throughout all the earth –– and though we know God's people and God's Word will meet with opposition (He told us that in the world, we shall have tribulation – just as our Lord Himself faced tribulation), but in the end God's sovereign plan will not be thwarted for He works all things according to the counsel of His will.
Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
Psalm 72
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
(Isaac Watts)
Rise up ... you complacent daughters (and sons)!
There are too many women (as well as men) who are not making haste when it comes to seeking, savoring, and serving Christ and being about His business. How quickly we are seduced into preoccupation with self and with worldly matters rather than with God and with His eternal purposes!
Through Isaiah, God issued this stern warning and rebuke to the women in Isaiah's day who had been complacent for far too long about spiritual matters:
Isaiah 32
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10 In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12 People shall mourn upon their breastsFor the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.13 On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;14 Because the palaces will be forsaken,The bustling city will be deserted.The forts and towers will become lairs forever,A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
(See also Isaiah 3:16-26.)
Of course, such warnings weren't only given to the women, but also to the men:
Zephaniah 1
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are settled in complacency,
Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”
It's easy for us to look at others and to point fingers, but we each need to look at ourselves and how we spend our time, our resources, and our energy on any given day – or, as we look back over the past year, we need to ask ourselves: How much of all of that time have I been focused on Jesus Christ and the cause of Christ in the world? Have I been wasting my life, or have I been redeeming the time? I may worship God with my lips on Sunday morning, but where is my heart? My checkbook? My facebook? Has Christ been my best thought by day and by night? Does He fill my vision? How much time do I spend looking in the mirror? In contrast, how much time do I spend gazing upon Jesus Christ? Am I more concerned with external beauty than internal beauty? How much effort am I making to grow in grace so I might become more and more conformed into the image of Christ? Do I pant and long after the living God, or do I see any time spent with God in His Word and in prayer as only an obligatory chore? Do I ever become lost in wonder, love, and praise? Does my worship of God conclude after leaving church on Sunday morning, or does it extend throughout the entire week? Am I keeping my lamp burning? Am I seeking to purify myself as God is pure? Am I longing to be holy as he is holy? Am I delighting in His will for me? Like Abigail, am I making haste to obey in all God commands me, or am I picking and choosing and only doing what is comfortable and convenient for me?
If you have seen yourself as guilty of sinful complacency, will you confess and repent and ask for God's Spirit to strengthen you to answer Jesus' challenge to you, so you might you rise up and out of your complacency. Or, do you wish to continue to remain mired in your complacency and bring reproach to the name of Christ and continue to waste your life (and Christ's life which dwells in you).
Who will be valiant for truth? (Jeremiah 9:3)
It baffles me how out of all of David's 600 men, not one of them came to David with the advice he needed. Now it's true we don't know the hearts of these men, but we do know they had committed themselves to David at the risk of incurring King Saul's wrath. However, we do know this: Abigail was not complacent, and she did make haste. What a wonderful privilege God gave her: to make haste to serve God's anointed king, David, the man after God's own heart!
It grieves me that multitudes of MEN in the Church are sitting back today and are settled in their complacency. I say that I am particularly grieved over the men for this reason: in God's divine design, our Good Shepherd has entrusted the care, guarding, and feeding of His blood-bought flock to men (not women). And now we have witnessed generation after generation after generation of men who have not been valiant for the truth and men who have not spoken up when they saw false teachers and error beginning to slip in and infiltrate and grow like a cancer within the dear flock of God –– and today we are reaping what we have sown: denomination after denomination are falling one after the other dominoes! Denominations which were at one time sound have now tumbled headlong into blatant apostasy! The words of Jeremiah 6:15 and 8:12 are being played out in front of our eyes: They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Their lampstands are now being taken away! Sin is not only justified and excused away, but sin is now being glorified. Sexual promiscuity and perversions are now protected and boasted in. The authority of God's Word has been undermined, and everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Jesus Christ has been lowered to the status of just a good teacher rather than the only begotten Son of God and the propitiation God set forth for the salvation of sinners. Penal substitution is considered cosmic child abuse. The doctrine of hell has been discarded for deadly universalism. The sovereign right of God to be gracious and merciful to whom He wills is considered heretical teaching. The doctrines of the new birth and regeneration have been usurped and exchanged for so-called "decisional regeneration." What is counted as fellowship is all but starved of true spiritual conversation about the Bread of Life. We are in an age where we are rivaling the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu (Numbers 26) and the corrupt priesthood of Eli's sons (I Sam. 2).
In the Old Testament, God showed His merciful kindness to Judah, the Southern Kingdom, as He gave Judah a clear warning as she was able to watch Assyria carry away her sister Israel, the Northern Kingdom, into captivity due to their sinful idolatry. But tragically, in spite of that warning, Judah became even more corrupt than Israel (see Ezekiel 23). We find ourselves in a eerily similar situation today. Many of us who are in evangelical churches have witnessed the slide in other denominations, and we may have turned a blind eye for we have tended to think we are safe and such things wouldn't ever happen to us. And so we stand with our heads in the sand, and we sit smugly in our pews week after week. May God open our eyes to the dangers that are lurking. The devil will continue to prowl under Christ returns again and all things are put under His feet once and for all. We must make haste and not be foolish and complacent. We must be ever-diligent and on guard. We must keep watch and test all things. Sin lies at our door, and its desire is for us! Before we know it Ichabod may well be written over the doors of our own congregations and our own denominations!
Proverbs 1
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.
My friends, should we not be alarmed about these things and make haste? Where are the pastors and elders who are sounding the alarm and weeping between the porch and altar? Should it not grieve our hearts that many are now calling good evil, and evil good, putting darkness for light, and light for darkness, and putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20)? Should our eyes not be a fountain of waters (like Jeremiah)? Has not God has charged His shepherds to contend for the faith, guard the Gospel, and feed the flock of God with the truth of God? One day these men will stand before the Chief Shepherd to give an account.
And women, know this: you too will be held to account. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ! As women, we are not called to be pastors and elders, but there are opportunities given to us to speak truth, and we must not shrink back. Along with men, we must be studying to show ourselves approved. Do not turn your brains off and make the fatal mistake of thinking studying theology is only for men. Psalm 111:2 The works of the Lord are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. Press on to know the Lord. How can you love our God well if you do not make every effort to know Him well? We are to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength AND all our mind!
We are all commanded to speak the truth in love to one another; that's part of our calling within the Body of Christ. You may also have your own children and/or be entrusted with the care of other children, or you may be discipling those who are younger in the faith than you. Each lamb is precious to Christ and needs to be fed with the pure milk of God's Word.
You never know when God might put you into an Abigail situation. No, you won't be speaking to David, the anointed king of Israel, but you may be called upon to speak truth to a God-appointed pastor or leader of God's flock, and as you do so, you will be serving Christ, THE King of Israel! All the while, we must make haste to make every effort to equip ourselves and then to make haste to go when and where God calls, and to make haste speak what God commands. Consider how Abigail herself made haste, how she went boldly and quickly and without hesitation to speak with David because she feared, revered, and loved God and His servant David, the beloved of God (the name David means "beloved"), and she had a holy ambition to see David's kingdom prosper for she knew that would be for his joy as well as for her joy. Can we say we have such fear, reverence and love for THE Beloved of God, the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you have a holy ambition to see God's Christ and His Kingdom prosper and thrive and expand throughout the world for Christ's joy, for the joy of His elect, and for your joy?
"Of what great consequence will my services be?"
As we look at accounts such as Abigail's and other Biblical figures and then turn and look at ourselves in comparison, we're often tempted to ask the question, "Of what great consequence will my services be?"
Andrew Fuller addressed and answered that question in his Circular Letter from 1785, "Causes of Declension in Religion, and Means of Revival":
"If, when an army goes forth to engage the enemy, every soldier were to reason with himself thus — Of what great consequence will my services be? it is but little execution that I can do; it will make but very little difference, therefore, if I desert or stand neuter — there are enough to fight without me, — what would be the consequence? Would such reasoning be admitted? Was it admitted in the case of the
Reubenites, who cowardly abode by their sheep-folds while their brethren jeoparded their lives upon the high places in the field? Was not
Meraz cursed with a bitter curse because its inhabitants came not forth to the help of the Lord in the day of the mighty? Judg v. 15, 16, 23. If an army would hope to obtain the victory, every man should act as if the whole issue of the battle depended upon his conduct: so, if ever things go well in a religious view, it will be when everyone is concerned to act as if he were the only one that remained on God's side.
"We may think the efforts of an individual to be trifling; but, dear brethren, let not this atheistical spirit prevail over us. It is the same spawn with that cast forth in the days of Job, when they asked concerning the Almighty, "What profit shall we have if we pray unto him?" At this rate Abraham might have forborne interceding for Sodom, arid Daniel for his brethren of the captivity, James also must be mistaken in saying that the prayer of a single, individual righteous man availeth much. Ah, brethren, this spirit is not from above, but cometh of an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God! Have done with that bastard humility, that teaches you such a sort of thinking low of your own prayers and exertions for God as to make you decline them, or at least to be slack and indifferent in them! Great things frequently rise from small beginnings. Some of the greatest good that has ever been done in the world has been set a going by the efforts of an individual. — Witness the Christianizing of a great part of the heathen world by the labours of a Paul, and the glorious reformation from popery began by the struggles of a Luther.
"It is impossible to tell what good may result from one earnest wrestling with God, from one hearty exertion in his cause or from one instance of a meek and lowly spirit, overcoming evil with good. Though there is nothing in our doings from which we could look for such great things, yet God is pleased frequently to crown our poor services with infinite reward. Such conduct may be, and often has been, the means of the conversion and eternal salvation of souls; and who that has any Christianity in him would not reckon this reward enough? A realizing sense of these things would stir us all up; ministers to preach the gospel to every creature, private Christians, situated in this or that dark town or village, to use all means to have it preached, and both to recommend it to all around by a meek and unblemished conversation."
In addition to those Fuller cited, we could mention many, many others. Let's not forget Namaan's wife's servant girl or Queen Esther or Deborah. We never know when the scepter might be extended our way and what surprising good work God may have ordained to accomplish through us.
Leviticus 26:8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
I Samuel 14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”
We are the aroma of life leading to life to those who are being saved, and the aroma of death leading to death to those who are perishing (II Cor. 2). We're not ever guaranteed success (as we might be tempted to define it), and we may never come to see any great visible results of our labor, but God has promised us our labor in the Lord is not in vain (I Cor. 15:58), and, as we sow in tears today, the day will come that we will carry home sheaves with rejoicing (Psalm 126)! God has promised His Word will not return void, but will accomplish the purpose He has intended and it will prosper in the thing for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
Though we will not receive the world's commendation (and we should not seek it!), and though we may not get to enjoy the fruit of our labor in our lifetimes, we can be sure as we make haste to obey the Lord's will and to serve Him and His interests, Jesus Himself will say of us:
She has done what she could (Mark 14:8).
... for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
Like the sinful woman (in Luke 7:36-50), as our eyes are opened to the exceeding sinfulness of our sin in contrast to God's holiness, we are profoundly humbled as we see our unworthiness, and we begin to grasp the greatness of God's love for us and exult in and magnify the unmerited, unconditional, and undeserved love, mercy, and grace of God poured out for us on Calvary! And that's when our religion begins to transform from cold, heartless Pharisaical service to the realm of fiery, fervent, extravagant, and selfless devotion to Christ which was exhibited by the sinful woman and Abigail. O! the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of God for us in Christ Jesus! What wondrous love is this! And it is then that we begin to enter that point the apostle Paul wrote of in II Corinthians 5 – the love of Christ constrains us! Though we will have lapses, the love of God has truly captured and captivated our hearts, and Christ has become that love divine, all loves excelling! We become like the Shulamite woman who cries out for her Beloved, "I am sick of love!" We press on to know Him for we have now been given a glimpse of His all-surpassing worth! And we cry out with the Psalmists ~ O! Who is a God like unto Thee! To be near to You is for my good! Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere! We truly begin to know Jesus Christ as our all-satisfying portion and our great reward!
Luke 7:47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
because the king's business required haste...
The book of Hebrews was written to encourage the Jewish believers who were on the verge of becoming sluggish:
Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
In Revelation 2 and 3, our Lord stands in the midst of seven New Testament churches and gives them His assessment. In Revelation 3, we read these words which Jesus spoke to the churches at Sardis and Laodicea:
1 ... “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
..
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth..."
If we are not making haste regarding the things of God, are we really alive to God and to the things of God? If we are not making haste like Abigail, are we in fact lukewarm, and in real danger of having the Lord Jesus Christ vomit us out of His mouth? May God protect us against such deadness and lukewarmness, and by the grace of God at work in us, may we walk in the way of Abigail, and may this be our testimony:
I made haste, and did not delayTo keep Your commandments.... because the king’s business required haste.
(Psalm 119:60, I Samuel 21:8)
¹ HT: I was first made aware of that connection between II Thes. 3:1 & Psalm 147:15 in listening to Michael Haykin's message Expecting the Spirit. Afterwards, I found the same linkage in other Bible resources, e.g. - see http://bible.cc/2_thessalonians/3-1.htm.
Related:
The Dangerous Tendency of Delay (Andrew Fuller)
postcards from England: "The Burden for Revival" (ML-J)
Resurrection Day: Don't Waste Your Life (Lecrae) | Whose Life is it anyhow?
Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?
every brand snatched is a brand dispatched ~ Reflections on 9/11, Redemption & God's Mission
Is your ambition holy? / What are you living for? (Louis Paul Lehman) | The Christian's Aim
Are you robbing God? Where is God telling you to "Rise and go!" for the joy of others?
adopting God's purpose for the nations is for your joy & His glory
the infinite significance of the eternal Kingdom
Lent V. - You follow me! (Are we steadfastly setting our faces to His will?)
Lenten Reflections: "Is it not written...?" Mark 11:15 | the Biblical means of revival
Bible Reading-Mark 4: (6) Kingdom-Obsessed People persevere in scattering seed
They went everywhere gossiping the word; shouldn't we also? (Acts 8:4)
Advent #4 WHY HAS JESUS COME? "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"
My Mother's day posts
Romans 12:1-2 ~ Ann Hasseltine Judson: a willing sacrifice – Are you?
Thank you, Noël Piper (Thank you, pastor's wives)
Bible Reading: I Corinthians 15 & 16: Would we stand firm for 38 years?
What Is ... Making a Difference? Bible Reading: 2 Kings-Two Daughters of Eve Make a Difference
Father's Day ~ William Carey & his son | duty, risk & the obedient Son
my desire: "fearless and uncompromising" like Duncan Campbell, Moses, and Paul
God uses men with "no outstanding abilities"
by the grace of God you can be the greatest you that ever lived
Her Eyes Were Still Restrained ~ "When it looks like he is buried for good..."
As the Visible Disappoints
Beauty
Outcast vine, faithless bride ~ What beauty? What did you see?
Get gnawing, put your nose down in the Book to feed the white-hot flame of God's gift
"Garbage In" (Are you truly His disciple?)
Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God's love
Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please note: the current version online at Biblegateway.com differs from my version. If you notice on the website in the text for the I Samuel 25 passage, the words for haste in verses 18, 23, and 34 (also 42) are all different. As I cited above, it is the same Hebrew word in every instance as well, so the repeated words serve to emphasize more fully Abigail's hastening.
Image credits (All CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}):
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