"Ye Are Come to Zion" - by T. Austin-Sparks
by John Mark on 03/31/24
Dear Saints,
This
message was originally recorded October 12, 2014.
My
notes:
In
his introduction to this message, Doug recounts the history leading up to David
conquering the last and most formidable Jebusite stronghold, which then became
Zion, the City of David. It required the unification of the kingdom. Jump over
to the end of the church age and its final campaign to defeat the spiritual
inhabitants - squatters, principalities and powers in heavenly places - of the
stronghold of Zion now in the church, we read in Jesus' prayer that we may be
one even as He is one with the Father. This corresponds with Ephesians 4:13,
"until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the [full, mature,
complete] knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the
stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." This unification of the
church will only happen after 'that which can be shaken' (i.e.: that which is
not according to Christ) 'will be shaken'. Doug taught us the scriptures that
refer to this as the day of visitation yet to be fulfilled in these last days
of the church age. (Wow!... see how all this fits together??)
In
this chapter, Brother Sparks clearly defines Zion as it relates to Israel, and
then makes the distinction of that which is mentioned in the New Testament as
relating to the church, "to another one: a superior, transcendent Zion,
the heavenly Jerusalem, the spiritual Zion. 'Ye are come to Zion'. And coming
to Zion, amongst all the other things that it means, means coming to that very
thing, coming to the eternal counterpart of the temporal, that Divine choosing,
that Divine electing, that Divine calling, that Divine, that heavenly,
destiny." As Israel's kingdom was prepared for her from the foundation of
the world (Matthew 25:34), the church was chosen in Christ from before the
foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
As
Brother Sparks speaks of "election, choosing and calling", I'm
reminded of something he said in a different message about predestination, a
word that unnecessarily begets arguments and ultimately formation of opposing
denominations. When he said that wherever you find that word in the New
Testament, it doesn't apply to individual people, but only to the corporate
church. Instead of getting sideways with arguing about whether or not God
predestines those who will be saved and predestines (i.e.: pre-determines)
those who will go to Hell, it's not about that at all. It's the church that has
a predetermined predestined destiny - and that's what this message is about.
"...we are called, we are chosen, we are related to some tremendous
destiny"; and Doug adds, "that is, an eternal vocation that will
define our faithfulness on earth in time in the ages to come... who we became
in Christ in time." Our individual destiny is ours in Christ (i.e.:
positional), but the reaching of that destiny is determined by what choices we
made and how much we were conformed to the image of Christ (experiential).
[Sparks]
"'Look here: walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called'. Make
this something that comes into your every day life, and it will redeem your
every day life from the ordinary, from the monotony, from the trivial; it will
lift you right up on to another level. You know that you are, as a child of
God, related to some tremendous purpose. And you've got to live on the basis of
a great purpose."
Brother
Sparks reminds us of the importance of corporate relatedness, that our
Christian life is not independent nor isolated from other members of the body
of Christ. "And it's in that relatedness that we shall come into our
purpose in God, and we shall come into this mighty sense that God is after
something. He's after something, and that we are related to that. It's
relatedness, you see, that is essential to this motive, to this purpose."
Brother
Sparks defines 'Zion' in many ways. Here are a few examples, "Zion is a
means to God's larger, greater ends." "Zion is the testimony, living
testimony to, and expression of, His Son in fulness." "Zion is that
which will be the occasion of the overthrow of the whole kingdom of
satan." "God must have a ground of argument with satan, Zion is
that." Doug adds, "It's where God's eyes are; it's where His heart
is; it's where His dwelling place is; where He is central and at home."
Recommended:
T.
Austin-Sparks' The Cross and
Higher Ground
Filled Unto All the
Fulness of God
Watchman
Nee's The Normal Christian Life
Link
to today's audio:
https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/10-12-14+Sunday+Assembly.mp3
Maranatha!
John Mark
...hereby committing this unto the
providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is
blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!
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