Morning Star Testimony - Sermon Notes
The Testimony and Its Vessel unto the Time of the End - by T. Austin-Sparks
by John Mark on 02/28/24
Chapter 2 -
Hell's Hatred of the Vessel of Testimony
Dear Saints,
This
message originally posted in December 17, 2014. This was the second session for
that day – and I have to say you are in for a real treat! Please forgive me for
not being brief in my notes… I definitely got carried away.
My
notes:
If
you were thinking our individual Christian lives don't really amount to much in
the 'big picture' of eternity, think again. Brother Sparks encourages us with
an alternative: "Do you realize and recognize that you in all the
weakness, the feebleness, the poverty, the insignificance of your own personal
life, your own human constitution, your position, if vitally, truly spiritually
linked in with God's eternal purpose in and concerning His Son Jesus Christ,
chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, called by grace and having
responded to that call, a partaker of the heavenly calling, you are moving with
God in the Holy Ghost, if that is true of you then you are a part of that
vessel through which the government of the heavens is being made manifest in
the unseen, and vitally related to the course of this world's history, giving
significance to all the happenings of the course of this world; that you are
spiritually what Daniel and his three companions were in Babylon." Adding
to this, he says, "That is no small calling for you or for me."
Brother
Sparks continues to enlighten us as to our significant calling and what it
requires: "There has got to be something in our relationship to heaven and
God's specified purpose which makes possible the manifestation of that mighty,
devil-conquering life in us. We have got to know the power of His resurrection.
That is essential to the vessel of the testimony at the end time, unto the end,
to get through to the end: it means that we must be that in which the power of
His resurrection is manifested. That is not merely an obligation, that is a
privilege. It is a costly privilege, but that is what the Lord needs."
As
for the end of the church age - that which we certainly are in - Brother Sparks
speaks of a testimony to be, manifested in the church, the body of Christ,
where death is swallowed up in life - resurrection life: "You and I are
called to be a part of that vessel in which the power of His resurrection is
manifested, that the murderous plottings of hell are eluded, are overcome, and
that the murderer who comes out to destroy before the Lord's purposes are
accomplished shall be baffled by the power of His resurrection in us. When we
ought to have been dead a dozen times we are still alive. Yes, the Lord wants
an adequate vessel for that..."
So
what is keeping us from becoming such an 'adequate' vessel? The longer we
remain spiritual babies feeding on mothers' milk (1 Cor. 3:1-3; Heb. 5:12-13),
the longer it will take for the church to "attain to the unity of the
faith, and of the [full] knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the
measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." (Eph.
4:13) Remember, all who are born again are children of God; but not all
children are adult sons capable of carrying on the Father's business.
When
the three refused to obey the law requiring them to serve the gods of the
Babylonians nor bow down to its image, did God deliver them FROM the seeming
certainty of a very painful death? "Not that they are delivered from the
fiery furnace - keep that in mind - not that God comes in and opens a way of
escape for them, but the Son of God associates Himself with them in the fire,
and the result is that everything goes down before them morally and they come
out as kings, they reign morally." God delivered them THROUGH it, not from
it. "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you
are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that
you will be able to endure it." Such 'escape' isn't from it, but through
it. "Because you (Philadelphia) have kept the word of My perseverance, I
also will keep you from the hour of testing..." (Revelation 3:10) -
["from" = ?? (ek) i.e.: from the midst of - not apo (i.e.:
from without)]
"The distinction is largely seen in this,
that apo suggests a starting point from without, ek from within; this meaning
is often involved in apo, but apo does not give prominence to the
"within-ness," as ek usually does." [Vine's Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words]
Later
in the message, Brother Sparks adds, "The sovereignty of the heavens does
not always work by delivering us out of the trouble. It comes in through the
trouble. It is through the trouble that the heavens come in. God gets more by
it than by delivering us from it."
God
is seeking Daniel companies - those who will take "a strong, though costly
stand ... at great cost, which may involve you in a good deal of
suffering", "men and women who will take a personal stand, at any
cost, upon what they know to be according to the mind of God." This is not
easy when we worry about what others will think, what others will say, or how
we might be persecuted. "Will the Lord require that? If so, that is the
only ground for me to act upon." And when we take such a stand, we just
might discover that others around us are influenced to join with us when they
see our willingness to be obedient at such cost.
I was
struck with this warning from Brother Sparks and recognize this is not just
something by the way, but is essential to having authority and power in our
lives: "Any professing child of God who has some compromising thing in
their life, something that forms a link, be it ever so small, between them and
the spiritual system back of this world, they are robbed of power with God and
with men and it is not until that thing is dealt with and thoroughly put away
that they have any kind of spiritual or moral ascendancy. Until that thing is
repudiated from the heart God cannot come in and communicate Himself to
them."
"Now
what is the dominion of the Son of man over the antichrist in the Church, the
vessel? It is the absolute distinctiveness of that vessel, separation,
holiness; its complete break with the whole system of the Evil One at every
point, and not allowing one touch of defilement with that system." Even
though the church will not be here to face the one Antichrist, as the Apostle
John tells us there are many antichrists - and the spirit of this age is
antichrist. Did you notice Brother Sparks identifying "the antichrist in
the church"?
Speaking
of our need to walk in holiness and moral ascendancy, Brother Sparks lays out
some very practical advice as to what to do when the enemy seeks to draw us
out: "He will put a temptation in your way, he will put a suggestion into
your mind, he will make suggestions to you, put thoughts into you. In thousands
of different ways he puts out a gangway, and he wants you to cross that
gangway, to accept that gangway, a link between you and his system. There is no
wrong in temptation, beloved, most believers know what it is to have evil
thoughts suggested to their minds. It does not mean they have sinned because an
evil thought has been suggested, but at the point where they entertain that,
respond to that, allow that, they have sinned and made a link with the enemy,
and before long that very link is the means of their undoing, their weakness,
breakdown, and not until they get back to the Lord and say: 'I allowed that to
linger, I added another to it.' or in some way the enemy put out, and we took
on, and that has been completely dealt with, wiped out by the Blood, we do not
get back our position. The rule of the heavens through the instrument in
overthrowing the power of evil demands no defilement, no contact." As he
speaks of a 'gangway', we should remember Ephesians 4:26: "do not give the
devil an opportunity" (i.e.: ground; a place; power; license).
Brother
Sparks continues: "the basic principle of spiritual and moral ascendancy,
of dominion, of overthrowing the power of the enemy, of having authority over
all the power of the Devil is not in our language, our phraseology, is not the
volume of our voice, the forcefulness of our effort, our manner, it is the
moral purity of our lives."
He
nears the end of this message with this word of encouragement: "The
testimony means that up to the hilt there must be no compromise on moral
principles; you may stand to suffer, it may be a den of lions. Ah yes, but
stand, and in the end you will stand and the other things will have gone, but
you will be there. Heaven is on your side; you may lose for the time being, but
heaven is on your side and the kingdoms of this world will pass, but the
kingdom of the God of heavens is an everlasting kingdom, and it is a kingdom to
be given to you if you will stand." Four times we read in the Book of
Daniel that "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to
whomever He chooses", and once adds, "and sets over it the lowest of
men". Wow!
Of
this message, Doug says, "That's as hefty as it gets! That's pure
gold!" I definitely agree!
Recommended
Resource:
T. Austin-Sparks: The Supreme
Vocation
https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/000529.html
Eric Ludy: The Two Trees
https://vimeo.com/109009388
Link
to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/12-17-14+Wednesday+Assembly+-+2.mp3
The Testimony and Its Vessel unto the Time of the End by T. Austin-Sparks
by John Mark on 02/25/24
Chapter 1 -
The Abiding Message of the Book of Daniel
Dear Saints,
This
message originally posted in December 17, 2014. Doug mentioned his desire to
move from the last series of messages, The Fight of the Faith, on to
this series. I’m certain you won’t be disappointed he selected this as next.
My
notes:
As we
take this journey into the prophecies of the Book of Daniel, Doug answers the
question, Why are we here? "We're being prepared for that final release of
divine power for the destruction of the kingdoms of this world so the Lord and
His Christ can take the helm of world history."
Though
the church and the age of grace (i.e.: the church age) is hidden as a mystery
throughout the Old Testament (the 'sacred secret' - we heard that message in
the last post), once we came to the time where the mystery is revealed, we can
now see the bigger picture of what the Old Testament reveals. They didn't know
what all this meant back then - but since the revelation of the mystery was
entrusted to the Apostle Paul, we can now be in the good of such great
revelation when we read and study the Old Testament.
As
the church should expect tribulation and persecution (John 16:33; Romans 5:3;
12:12), Brother Sparks further defines its source, "If you come by the
Holy Spirit into God's immediate age-purpose spiritually, livingly, and range
yourself with Christ as Lord, to be a witness unto Him and His Lordship in this
earth, you range yourself against hell and hell at once takes account of you
and you become an object of significance and importance."
Are
we are willing to be a 'Daniel instrument' in these last days? - a company of
believers that gather on a regular basis as a prayer ministry to the Lord and
be brought "into a living and experimental (experiential) relationship to
Himself" as the One who will consummate this age? "Since all these
things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in
holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of
God..." (2 Peter 3:11-12). As we can see from this passage, we have the
opportunity to hasten the coming of the Lord by our conduct and testimony.
Though the destiny of Israel was foreknown and foretold, it took a Daniel to
pray three times a day for 69 years. Beginning in 1727, the Moravians prayed
24/7 for 110 years* and the result was the reformation - the age of
Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7-13).
“God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” John Wesley
“It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfilment, the Kingdom waits for its coming, and the glory of God waits for its full revelation.” Andrew Murray (With Christ in the School of Prayer)
*https://www.revivalandreformation.org/resources/all/the-moravian-100-year-prayer-movement#:~:text=The%20Moravians%20filled%20all%20168,went%20on%20for%20110%20years!
The Fight of the Faith by T. Austin-Sparks - Chapter 5 - The Mystery of the Gospel
by John Mark on 02/21/24
The Fight of the Faith
by T. Austin-Sparks
Chapter 5 - The Mystery of the Gospel
Dear Saints,
This message was originally posted on December 14, 2014. As I was editing it and preparing for this post, I have to say I was blown away both by what Brother Sparks presented as well as what Doug shared. I can say this is one of the most intense, comprehensive, confrontational and challenging of all of Doug’s expositions.
My notes:
For those who might not yet know what 'mystery' means in the New Testament, and what it doesn't mean, we might want to take a step back before proceeding. As we see in the scriptures, it has several applications: 'the mystery of the kingdom of God' (Mark 4:11); 'the mystery' (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:3; Colossians 1:26); 'this mystery' (Romans 11:25; Colossians 1:27); 'a mystery' (1 Corinthians 2:7); 'a great mystery' (Ephesians 5:32); 'the mystery of His will' (Ephesians 1:9); 'the mystery of [the] Christ' (Ephesians 3:4; Colossians 4:3); 'the mystery of the gospel' (Ephesians 6:19); 'the mystery of God' (Colossians 2:2; Revelation 10:7); 'the mystery of iniquity' (2 Thessalonians 2:7); 'the mystery of the faith' (1 Timothy 3:9); 'the mystery of godliness' (1 Titus 3:16); 'the mystery of the seven stars' (Revelation 1:20); 'the mystery of the woman and of the beast' (Revelation 11:25).
Better understood, 'mystery' means a sacred secret kept until a time revealed by the Holy Spirit, and it is available for all to come to know, not limited to an elite class. 'Mystery' is not something kept secret for only a few to come to know. Though we cannot explore each instance noted above where the word 'mystery' is used, we will focus on that pertaining to Brother Sparks' message. When it comes to 'the mystery of the Christ' (i.e. ‘mystery of the church’; ‘mystery of the gospel’), it doesn't come to us merely from an intellectual pursuit, but a 'spirit of revelation' as Paul prays in Ephesians 1, an illumination of the eyes of our heart. Though we are to diligently study the word of God so as to handle it accurately (2 Timothy 2:15), we need spiritual revelation and illumination to not only know it mentally, but to know it experientially. The Apostle Paul, after exhausting the Greek language and failing to describe the unsearchable riches of Christ, resorts to prayer, that "God ... may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation (unveiling) in the [full, mature] knowledge of Him, the eyes of our heart having been illuminated, so that you may know...". Understanding 'the mystery' requires 'full knowledge' (epi-gnosis). This is what Doug taught us years ago, as I noted in my Bible:
Epignosis (?????????) = absolute obedience and response of the whole person, volition, as well as the mind to the personal will of God. It is the apprehension of the revelation of the Person of God in Jesus Christ and becomes a matter of personal relationship and fellowship with God, not merely an abject intellectual assent to God. Epignosis is both the condition and result of growing conformity into the derived image and manifestation of Jesus Christ.
In the introduction prior to the reading of the message by Brother Sparks, after reading the relevant scriptures, Doug explains aspects of "the mystery" and its revelation and realization being the very foundation and reason for establishing Morning Star Testimony Church.
As Brother Sparks addresses the poor, unsatisfactory, inadequate and shallow condition of the church in 1943 when he gave this message, Doug takes it further as he sees a very real issue is the lack of assemblies having a weekly corporate prayer gathering to deal with the condition of the church. "Without a corporate prayer meeting, everything you're doing (pastor) may be right and may be something according to the word of God, but it will lack any power and effectiveness. There'll be no testimony of Jesus there. - I mean NO testimony of Jesus." Doug picks that up again with "Every prayer meeting is a hastening of the coming day of God in its functional representation of the heart and mind of God or it's a failure. No prayer meeting that does not accelerate history forward as an instrument in God's hand for the consummation is a complete failure - utterly a failure."
Brother Sparks challenges the emphasis on evangelism at the cost of discipleship and spiritual growth that results in sonship. "Today, and for a long time, evangelical leaders have put all the emphasis, or the main emphasis, upon getting people saved. They are interested in that more than anything else, and that is the direction of their main occupation. With what result? That we see a most unsatisfactory state among Christians, and that too in the face of the fact that the very existence of the New Testament itself is the evidence that to bring converted people to full spiritual growth is as important as bringing them to new birth."
I am only scratching the surface of this power-packed message. You will miss much listening only once through. Pray for a spirit of wisdom and revelation before you listen to this message – and every time you listen to it. I am convinced it is one of the most vital and important messages we are so privileged to receive from these two brothers now in glory.
At the conclusion of Doug's commentary on this message, he shares his deep respect and appreciation of Brother Sparks' as his spiritual father, one whose ministry is apostolic and so rare.
In the Discussion, Doug challenges us to take inventory as to who it is we're wanting to please; ourselves? ... or God. "There's not an effort to please God and to be pleasing to God if we're abiding in the One who pleased Him. And if we're not abiding in Him, then 'Lord, what work of the cross do you need to do in me so that I get out of Adam - out of what I am - into Christ, the One who's already pleased You. And if I'm walking in fellowship and abiding in the One who pleased You, I'm going to share in Your pleasure. My fulfillment will come when You obtain the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in me." "When Christ has adequately been formed in my life, then I will experience the Father's pleasure."
Doug shared a couple times along with a few in the assembly - definitely worth listening to. However, the audio recorded was not easy to listen to as the microphone was not near enough to each speaker, but I did what I could to help make it a bit better.
Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/12-14-14+Sunday+Assembly.mp3
Discussion Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/12-14-14+Sunday+Discussion+-edited.mp3
Recommended
Resources:
The Day of Visitation series (see the Video Page)
T. Austin-Sparks: Vocational Fellowship
https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/vocational_fellowship.html
The Fight of the Faith by T. Austin-Sparks - Chapter 4 - Revelation in Relation to Sonship
by John Mark on 02/18/24
The
Fight of the Faith
by T. Austin-Sparks
Chapter 4 - Revelation in Relation to Sonship
Dear Saints,
This
message originally posted December 11, 2014.
My
notes:
Brother
Sparks defines sonship from many perspectives, and in this message helps us
understand that it is a very personal thing, not about what others are
experiencing. "'In our hearts' - that is where sonship begins, and it is
that which is sonship from beginning to end; an initial thing where we leap
clear of everything that is second-hand and the thing becomes first-hand, and
where it grows and grows and never stops growing as a first-hand thing. That is
sonship. If you understand and can grasp what that means, then you know what
sonship is."
As he
describes fresh revelation as that also which is very personal, "as though
the thing revealed had never been before, and no one else in all God's universe
had ever heard or seen it", I very clearly recall in my earlier Christian
life driving down Lewis Ave. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and spotting a large truck
with a sign, "JESUS IS LORD". It was a sudden reality I somehow had
missed up to that point. Had you asked me if I believed in the deity of Christ,
I'd have quickly said Yes - but this was different. It became a fresh new
spiritual understanding that was all mine - as if I was the first person on
Earth to have realized it.
This
experience happened again before Morning Star Testimony Church was born.
Attending another assembly where Doug and Lori went, at that time I thought he
was a heretic and needed to be exposed. As I sat in a bible study led by him
right there in my living room, ready to jot down everything he said was in
error, he began his message with "Then there will be two men in the field;
one will be taken and one will be left." When he said the one taken is the
one taken into judgment and the other left to enter into the Millennial
kingdom, the exact opposite I had to that point believed, I instantly knew I
was hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd. I knew it was true. It was such as
Brother Sparks is speaking of - a new revelation spoken right into my heart. That's
when I discovered Doug was no heretic - and not long thereafter he became God's
gift to me as my pastor-teacher who would shepherd me for forty years.
In
this message, Brother Sparks speaks of "fresh revelation". It might
help to point out that he is not speaking of the error prevalent in some of the
churches in our day who receive what they call 'revelation from God' that is
additional to the written word of God and what they consider to be on the same
level of truth as the Bible. As the Apostle Paul prays that God "may give
to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the [full] knowledge of
Him" (Ephesians 1:17), this would be that "fresh revelation" of
what is written, not some new God-breathed, inspired word of/from God.
"Let us be very careful that we do not give the impression that we think
that we are constituted by a special revelation which none of the Lord's people
elsewhere have had or have. That is not the case, nor is that our idea at all.
What we do seek to stand and live for is that the full revelation of the Lord
Jesus shall come in our case in such a living way as to remove us altogether
from merely traditional ground, and put us on to living ground. That is what it
means, that the thing is living." Doug refers to it as "the act of
the Holy Spirit bringing specific spiritual illumination... causing the eyes of
our heart to be illuminated" (Ephesians 1:18).
In
Doug's commentary following this message, he referred to the next series of
messages he planned on going through, The Testimony and Its Vessel unto the
Time of the End by T. Austin-Sparks. That may be next I edit and re-post after
the upcoming last chapter in this series - Chapter 5 - The Mystery of the
Gospel.
Audio:
https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/12-11-14+Wednesday+Assembly.mp3
Recommended
Resources:
Erich
Sauer: In the Arena of Faith
https://amzn.to/3T3IGMx
F.B.
Meyer: Moses: The Servant of God
https://amzn.to/48cbneb
The Fight of the Faith by T. Austin-Sparks - Chapter 3 - The Liberty of Sons
by John Mark on 02/17/24
The Fight of the Faith
by T. Austin-Sparks
Chapter 3 - The Liberty of Sons
Dear Saints,
This message originally posted in December 7, 2014.
My notes:
Sonship has everything to do with the coming of the Lord for His bride. She must be ready ("having made herself ready" Revelation 19:7) without spot (sin) or wrinkle (that 'old man') (Ephesians 5:27). Sonship is going to corporately be expressed in the manifestation of the sons of God (not the 'children' of God) of which the creation awaits eagerly (Romans 8:19). Sonship is us individually and corporately where Christ is fully formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and we are conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), as we, the church, the body of Christ, "attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). Sonship is when "the morning star arises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19).
But what is required for children of God to attain this sonship? A circumcised heart - coming into the reality of our death 2,000 years ago when we died in Christ as our representative. Jesus not only took the sin-filled humanity of Adam's race into death, He also took the very best Adam has to offer. It's only that which comes to life in resurrection that qualifies for sonship, the out-resurrection from among those who are dead (Philippians 3:11). Doug explains this in his introduction to Chapter 3, and later in the reading mentions that which will finally bring the church, actually only a remnant, to ultimate and final sonship, the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:12).
"Sonship, with all that God means by sonship, is what is in view, and over against it there is this breaking in continually of things religious, subtle, beautiful, with all the argument that God is in them; but, nevertheless, breaking in with one object, all hidden from sight, namely, to cut right across the path of the believer in his going right on to God's fullest thought in sonship; and it sets up a warfare."
Pertaining to what Brother Sparks addresses as the greatest enemy of sonship, Doug shares what his former pastor taught, "Religion is God's greatest enemy; religion is Satan's ace trump against the purpose and plan of God." Doug continues to expound on this: religion - not Satanism - is this greatest enemy. "Where do you find Satanism? In a church that's religious. Where does the Illuminati meet? It meets in the body of Christ. It doesn't have to meet in hidden placed, although it does. But when it does, who's there? Members of the body of Christ. Do you want to find where Satan is hidden? You'll find him hidden in the church."
You'll recall I recently re-published Doug's series on the Weaponization of the Body of Christ. That goes well with this chapter.
In the Discussion, Doug brings up Hebrews 13:13, "let us go out to Him outside the camp". "What is 'the camp' in Hebrews 13? It's the camp of established religion. In that day it was Judaism; today it's Christianity."
Doug takes on the false teaching of 'Calvinists' that don't understand the entire Book of Hebrews was written to Christians (i.e.: “brethren”). "And if you don't get that, it's because you don't understand the difference between salvation and the inheritance." After challenging the Calvinists, Doug takes on the Arminian false doctrine that teaches that those who are saved, those who have eternal life, can at some point lose their salvation. Doug was never shy about confronting false teaching (and false teachers).
"Where are we today? God's going to shake that which can be shaken. What is that? Christianity as it's known today... What do you think He's going to consume when He shakes the church? That which is of created things - created by man; that which is still anchored in the soul; that which hasn't transitioned experientially from Adam to Christ. It's coming. It's coming globally to the entire body of Christ."
In addition to Brother Sparks repeating the warning in Hebrews to Christians wanting to go back to the Torah and Jewish rituals and practice, Doug presses the point during the reading portion of the message and even more assertively in the Discussion. "People today saying we need to go back to the Torah; you're going to die if you believe that! You're going to fall into the hands of the living God and you're going to find out that the Torah was given for one purpose, Galatians Chapter 4, as a school-master to bring you to Christ."
There is so much in both the reading & commentary on Brother Sparks' message and the Discussion. It's one of many of the audio recordings we need to go back to from time to time to be able to digest what's there. I feel like apologizing for not being able to even closely provide adequate notes - but as you listen, I believe you'll know why.
Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.
Discussion: https://dougriggs.s3.
Recommended Resources:
Eric Ludy: The Koine Jesus
T. Austin-Sparks: The Gold of the Sanctuary
That Which Cannot be Shaken (Doug probably is referring to