Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 51

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of the result of living by "Convictions from Above" continues:

They [Those who are led by God] are Reasonable. As the spirit of God leads men through their reasoning power, those thus led are always ready to give a reason for every position they take and every act they do. The life and work of George Muller, of Bristol Orphanage fame, is a remarkable illustration of this principle. His "Life of Trust "is one of the most exhilarating faith tonics of which we know. He states first that he was led to found his work on Scriptural principles. Then he mentions six solid reasons explaining why he took the course he did.

Dr. Watson, in his unique sermon on "The Two Veils," says:

"Dr. Steele, one of the most polished men in the world, prayed for sanctification for three weeks, and the thought kept coming up: 'Now, if God sanctifies you, He'll make you act oddly; and he was afraid he might have to shout in the street cars, or do some other singular thing.' At length the Spirit said to him: 'Don't you think that God has as good sense of what is right as you have? Don't you think that God knows as much about good behavior as you do? Do you think God will do anything foolish?' He saw that it was only a temptation, let loose of everything, and God baptized him with the Holy Ghost so wonderfully, that he could hardly eat or sleep for several days. And let me tell you, he has been one of the best behaved men you ever saw since that time, and has not done anything at all foolish."

They Meet with Opposition. The Holy Spirit often leads contrary to carnal inclinations and the opinions and protests of friends and relatives, and always counter to the world and the devil. Hence, opposition is inevitable. He takes up and carries on the work of Jesus, which is "to destroy the works of the devil," and they of course resist Him. Hence, all who fancy that they can be led by the Spirit and please everyone, are doomed to disappointment. As well might an army expect to do its duty, and at the same time please the enemy.

Depravity and the devil no more agree with the leading of the Holy Ghost than fire can mix with water.

They are Victorious. God is their leader. He always gives the victory to all who fully follow Him.

"From victory unto victory,
His armies He shall lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed."

They Rule Their Own Spirits. Appetites and passions bow beneath the mandates of their Divine Master, and led of God they feel that they "can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth." They love to follow their Leader, and expect soon to see the day when all enemies shall be put beneath His feet; earth, the old battlefield, burnt up and replaced by another wherein dwelleth righteousness and their King "crowned Lord of all."

They are Courteous. As the Holy Spirit leads none to be selfish, all who follow Him will be saved from selfish acts, and thus from all the discourteous ways which selfishness prompts.

A true Christian is in the best sense of that word a true gentleman. Rudeness, coarseness and selfishness being eliminated; gentleness, refinement and love are crowned in their stead, and though the outer garb may be coarse and language lame, yet the good breeding of heavenly parentage will appear in all who follow closely their unseen Guide.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Salvation acrostic

Sin: separates us from God, and hurts us and others. It is something we have all done, but can’t pay the penalty for. Romans 3:23, 6:23.

Atonement: Christ’s death paid the price for my sin. Romans5:6-15.

Love: God loved us so much that He sacrificed Himself for our sin. Luke 19:10.

Victory: With the help of God the Holy Spirit, it is possible to live a holy life, victorious over temptation, including the temptation to take credit for our own salvation. Psalm 13:5-6; John 17:6-26, Romans 6:1-2, 1Thessalonians 5:5-11.

Attractiveness: A victorious life should be attractive to other people. John 7:37-39, Acts 16:25-34.

Teaching: Jesus told his disciples to teach all nations, and to make disciples of converts. Converts should learn from the Bible on their own, and be part of a teaching church. Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke24:45-49, 2 Peter 3:17-18.

Immortality: Believers, whose sins have been paid for, are promised immortality with Christ. Ephesians 1:11-14, Romans 6:23

Overcoming: The church, and individual Christians, seem to be weak, at times. But Christ has promised that the true church – composed of actual believers, not necessarily church members – will endure. Matthew 16:18, Revelation 2:8-11.

New life, with purpose, and with fruit: Those who have experienced salvation should manifest the Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians5:22-23) They will also participate, often with others, in attracting new believers, especially by serving, giving, testifying and praying. John 15:8, Acts 6:7, 11:27-29, Romans 12:4-8, Matthew 25:31-46. They will have intimacy with God. Matthew 10:16-20, John 14:16-16:15.

I have probably left out important concepts, and important scripture passages. Let me know if you think of such, in a comment, if you can. Thanks for reading. 

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On September 5, 2016, the links to scripture -- ESV -- were added.

All good stories are like the Gospel - George MacDonald

Every tragedy of higher order, constructed in Christian times, will correspond more or less to the grand drama of the Bible; wherein the first act opens with a brilliant sunset vision of Paradise, in which childish sense and need are served with all the profusion of the indulgent nurse. But the glory fades off into grey and black, and night settles down upon the heart which, rightly uncontent with the childish, and not having yet learned the childlike, seeks knowledge and manhood as a thing denied by the Maker, and yet to be gained by the creature; so sets forth alone to climb the heavens, and instead of climbing, falls into the abyss. Then follows the long dismal night of feverish efforts and delirious visions, or, it may be, helpless despair; till at length a deeper stratum of the soul is heaved to the surface; and amid the first dawn of morning, the youth says within him, "I have sinned against my Maker—I will arise and go to my Father." More or less, I say, will Christian tragedy correspond to this—a fall and a rising again; not a rising only, but a victory; not a victory merely, but a triumph.

- George MacDonald, Adela Cathcart, Second Volume, Chapter VI, “The Broken Swords.” - public domain.

Are there any nations you need to conquer? David and Psalm 18

Psalm 18:29 For by you, I advance through a troop.
By my God, I leap over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect.
Yahweh’s word is tried.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God, except Yahweh?
Who is a rock, besides our God,
32 the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?
33 He makes my feet like deer’s feet,
and sets me on my high places.
34 He teaches my hands to war,
so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand sustains me.
Your gentleness has made me great.
36 You have enlarged my steps under me,
My feet have not slipped.
37 I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them.
I won’t turn away until they are consumed.
38 I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise.
They shall fall under my feet.
39 For you have armed me with strength to the battle.
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
that I might cut off those who hate me.
41 They cried, but there was no one to save;
even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
42 Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind.
I cast them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strivings of the people.
You have made me the head of the nations.
A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me.
The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.
45 The foreigners shall fade away,
and shall come trembling out of their strongholds.
46 Yahweh lives; and blessed be my rock.
Exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 even the God who executes vengeance for me,
and subdues peoples under me.
48 He rescues me from my enemies.
Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.
You deliver me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations,
and will sing praises to your name.
50 He gives great deliverance to his king,
and shows loving kindness to his anointed,
to David and to his offspring, forever more. (World English Bible, public domain)

According to the Bible, Psalm 18 is "By David the servant of Yahweh, who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul."

I'm not exactly sure when, in his life, David wrote this Psalm. Perhaps he was a fugitive, leading an army of a few hundred loyal followers, while King Saul was trying to capture and kill him. Perhaps he had, as King David, captured some enemy country, and was reflecting on what God had done for him over a longer period of time. We don't know, and we don't need to know, because, in either case, the lessons are the same.

David mentions two related themes, over and over.
1) God has helped me be victorious and
2) I have been victorious.

Although it's pretty clear that some of this Psalm is poetic exaggeration -- David never really ground up his enemies so that they blew away as dust (verse 42), so far as we know, and perhaps he didn't literally leap over a wall or run through a troop (verse 29) -- it is also pretty clear that David is thanking God that he has been victorious over his enemies. And he should have thanked God for this. Some of his battles were won in miraculous ways, starting with his victory over Goliath, the well-armored champion of the Philistines.

So what does this have to do with you and me? I'm not fighting anyone. I don't expect to conquer any enemies, in a literal sense. You probably aren't and don't, either. But still ... 

If God could help David defeat his heathen enemies in battle, and escape King Saul, then God can help us. Raising our children, acting Christ-like on the job and in the neighborhood, standing up for the right, or those who are oppressed, defeating the temptations that beset us, all of these are battles that most of us are fighting, in the 21st century. And, in their way, they are just as difficult, and require just as much miraculous help, as David needed to escape Saul or kill Goliath.

I didn't quote the first part of the Psalm, but will now. It establishes conditions for victory: 
20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness.
According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me.
I didn’t put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also blameless with him.
I kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 

God helped David because He was pleased with David, and David knew it, and gave God credit. None of us are without sin -- we probably would think of ourselves, or our fellow believers, as unduly proud, if we called ourselves "blameless," and we realize that our salvation is not paid for "according to my righteousness." But God's grace gives us believers the power to take care of that sick relative, to work at a hard job with patience and humility, to minister, through the Holy Spirit, to those around us, to grow spiritually, to develop good habits and stop bad ones, to find God's will for our lives. These are our cities to conquer, our enemies to defeat. And, like David, by God's help, we can do this.

Thanks for reading. I thank my church Small Group leader for having us examine this Psalm, recently.