The Valley of Vision

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GOING THROUGH AFFLICTION SPIRIT LED

“Without [God] all within me is terror and dismay, in him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p158).

“Suffering brings discouragements, because of our impatience. But if God brings us into the trial he will be with us in the trial, and at length brings us out, more refined. We shall lose nothing but dross (Zech 13:9). From our own strength we cannot bear the least trouble, but by the Spirit’s assistance we can bear the greatest. The Spirit will add his shoulders to help us to bear our infirmities. The Lord will give his hand to heave us up (Ps 37:24)” Richard Sibbes (ref#311, p54-55).

“If we do a thing in order to overcome depression, we deepen the depression; but if the Spirit of God makes us feel intuitively that we must do the thing, and we do it, the depression is gone” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Feb 17th).

“You carry a hell around with you. Although you are regenerate, there is much of the old man in the new man. [O]ne reason why God has left original sin in us, so that it can be a thorn in our side to humble us. Under our silver wings of grace are black feet. Let the sense of this make us daily look up to heaven for help. Beg Christ’s blood to wash away the guilt of sin, and His Spirit to mortify the power of it. Beg further degrees of grace. [T]hough grace cannot make sin not to be, yet it makes it not to reign; though grace cannot expel sin it can repel it” Thomas Watson (ref#225, Aug 1st).

“”[T]he Spirit sanctifies the soul through the medium of God’s afflictive dispensations. They deepen the work of grace in the heart, awaken the soul from its spiritual drowsiness, empty it, humble it, and lay it low, and thus lead to prayer, to self-examination, and to the atoning blood once more. In this way, and by these means, the believer advances in holiness ‘through sanctification of the Spirit.’ [W]e are being made perfect through suffering. The heart has been emptied of its self-confidence. The affections that were seduced from God have returned to their rest; the ties that bound us to the vanities of a world, perishing in its very use, have become loosened; the engagements that absorbed our sympathies and secularized our minds have lost their fascination and their power; the beguiling and treacherous enjoyments that wove their spell around us have grown tasteless and insipid. And thus by all these blessed and hallowed results of our trial, the image of the earthly has become more entirely effaced and the image of the heavenly more deeply engraved and more distinctly legible” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Dec 8th).

“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too” (2 Cor 1:3-5 MSG).

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EVERLASTING JOY

“God richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Tim 6:17 ESV).

“Happiness is every man’s desire; and none will come to Christ, unless they believe that it tends to their happiness” Richard Baxter (ref#225, Jan 18th).

“[You] may be rich today and poor tomorrow; [you] may be sickly today and well tomorrow; [you] may be in happiness today and distressed tomorrow, but there is no change with regard to [your] relationship to God. If [GOD] loved me yesterday, He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Feb 27th AM).

“He is not working to give us that temporary situational emotional high; he is working to produce something much better—eternal joy” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Sept 7th).

“I can be calm and free from care

On any shore, since God is there.

While place we seek, or place we shun,

The soul finds happiness in none;

But with a God to guide our way,

‘Tis equal joy to go or stay.” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Mar 16th AM).

“What a privilege to possess God in all things while we have them, and all things in God when they are taken from us” John Newton (ref#322, p137).

“I have learned to be content (Phil 4:11). This statement implies that [the Apostle Paul] did not know how to be content at one time. Do not indulge the notion that you can be contented with learning, or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be exercised naturally, but a science to be acquired gradually” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Feb 16th AM).

“O LOVE BEYOND COMPARE, Thou art good when thou givest, when thou takest away, when the sun shines upon me, when night gathers over me” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p111).

“The Lord Jesus is a deep sea of joy: My soul shall dive in and shall be swallowed up in the delights of His company.” Charles Spurgeon

“The Holy Spirit gives us a new song of praise to the Lord” Charles F. Stanley (ref#230, p43).

“Sing aloud. Shout. Rejoice and exult with all your heart. The LORD your God is in your midst” (Zeph 3:14,17).

PRAYER

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A STATE OF UNBELIEF

“GLORIOUS GOD, I bless thee that I know thee, I once lived in the world, but was ignorant of its creator, was partaker of thy providences, but knew not the provider, was blind while enjoying the sunlight, was deaf to all things spiritual, with voices all around me, understood many things, but had no knowledge of thy ways, saw the world, but did not see Jesus only” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p62).

FATHER, increase my concern for Your yet-to-be regenerates for they are “ignorant and careless, and ready to perish for lack of vision” Matthew Henry’s Commentary of the Whole Bible (ref#18, [Matt 9:35-38]).  They are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36 ESV).

“Misery is the object of mercy; and the miseries of sinful, self-destroying souls, are the greatest miseries: Christ pities those most that pity themselves least; so should we” Matthew Henry’s Commentary of the Whole Bible (ref#18, [Matt 9:35-38]).

So many people are following shepherds that fill them with vain notions (1 Tim 1:6) and burden them with the “traditions of the elders.”  Like sheep they have gone astray and are lost.  They are “helpless, shiftless, and exposed, or more unapt to find the way home again (ref#18, [Matt 9:35-38]).

FATHER, help me help them.  I was once lost and unable to find my way home again.  I was lost seeking to gain happiness from myself and not seeking the things of CHRIST.  I needed the Good Shepherd; they need the Good Shepherd.

FATHER, as I recognize the presence of JESUS and routinely recall His life, it makes me own my rebellious selfishness.  Even as a believer, comparing myself to JESUS makes me realize I am no different than the vilest sinner.  Give me such a loving heart that I, like CHRIST, take on their distress and poverty—their guilt and perdition.  I plead to You for them.  My work is to do vicariously what they cannot do for themselves (ref#10, p149-150).

FATHER, may I bear what CHRIST produces as He lives His life again through me (ref#100, p140).  “I am His branch, a part of Him whose resources are limitless for the blessing of those who are around me” Roy and Revel Hession (ref#100, p141)!

Oh, that my loved ones “…Be having a change of mind regarding…[their]…life, and be putting [their] faith in the good news” Kenneth S. Wuest (ref#37, p80, [Mark 1:15], brackets mine).

HOLY SPIRIT

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THE SPIRIT’S SENSIBLE PRESENCE

FATHER, save me from being content with a little measure of the SPIRIT, thinking that is all I am expected to have.  So often I feel His absence and act using my own human spirit.  Grow in me a desire for the power of His presence all the time The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p29).

“The Holy Spirit is no temporary gift; He abides with the saints.  We have but to seek Him aright, and He will be found by us.  He is jealous, but He is compassionate.  If He leaves in anger, He returns in mercy.  Gracious and tender, He does not weary of us, but He waits to be merciful still” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Feb 12thPM).

Through sin and worldliness I lose the consciousness of the SPIRIT’s presence. I don’t lose You, SPIRIT, but You are behind my conscious awareness (ref#30, p115).  For instance, no matter how eager or clever I am in sharing the Gospel, it is insufficient without Your presence.  What I need is to experience continual power to be obedient to You, SPIRIT, Who alone truly teaches me (ref#33, p86).

“God is determined to have His child as pure and clean and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will prevent none of the working of His spirit” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, June 30th).

FATHER, sensitize me to watch for the SPIRIT.  In Him is the only way I can remain spiritual. (ref#101, p28).

CONFESSION

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REASONS FOR DISOBEDIENCE – A SPIRIT CHECK

…FATHER, out of my sin nature that wants only to act like JESUS comes pernicious reasonings and evil intentions (Matt 15:19). FATHER, point out my resistance toward You through the following questions:

  • Am I pleased or troubled about situations?       Does my countenance depend on my comfort in the situation or do I forget about assessing my feelings and simply obey CHRIST (ref#76, p89)?
  • Do I provide for myself instead of letting CHRIST supply my needs? Do I control, rule, serve and love myself and not turn to CHRIST for strength (ref#76, p91)?
  • Do I judge myself? Do I settle in despondency dwelling on my faults or believe I am doing well and become puffed up (ref#76, p85)?
  • Am I “an evangelical hypocrite who sins more safely because grace abounds, who tells his lusts that Christ’s blood cleanseth them, who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell, for he is saved, who loves evangelical preaching, churches, Christians, but lives unholily” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p72)?

O FATHER, my “every sense, member, faculty, affection is a snare to me”The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p74). Sin is my downfall (Ezek 18:30) and “my greatest snare is myself” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p74).

Thank You for revealing the rebellion lurking in my members. Thank You for cleansing me from these hidden faults as I admit to them. I don’t want sin to control me (Ps 19:12,13). Through this confession turn my face toward You once again so that I may express extravagant love to You.

ADORATION

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Chord Progression:  (Am  Fmaj  G  Em7)  (Em7  F  Dm7  E  Am)

COME SPIRIT

Come, O Creator Spirit blest,

and in my heart take up thy rest;

Spirit of grace, with heav’nly aid

come to my soul whom thou hast made (ref#59, p 218).

 

“Come as power, to expel every rebel lust,

to reign supreme and keep me thine;

Come as teacher, leading me into all truth,…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p28),

filling me with understanding for all time.

 

“Come as love, that I may adore the Father,

and love him as my all;

Come as joy, to dwell in me,…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p28),

and in me to enthrall.

 

Far from my soul the foe repel,

grant me in peace henceforth to dwell;

ill shall not come, nor harm betide,

if only thou wilt be my guide (ref#59, p219).

 

“Come as light, illuminating the Scripture,

moulding me in its laws;

Come as sanctifier,…wholly thine;…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p 28),

never giving me pause.

“Come as helper, with strength to bless and keep,

directing my every step;

Come…bringing order out of confusion,…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p 28)—

loveliness out of the depth.

 

Show me the Father, Holy One,

help me to know the eternal son;

Spirit divine, for evermore

Thee will I trust and thee adore (ref#59, p219).

 

ADORATION

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Chord Progression: (C C Am D) (G C Dsus G)

GOD ALL-SUFFICIENT

“KING, KING OF GLORY,

DIVINE, DIVINE MAJESTY,

every perfection adorns thy nature

and sustains thy throne;

 

“The heavens and earth are thine;

the world is thine and its fullness.

Thy power created the universe from nothing;

Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns….” The Valley of Vision (ref# 76, p 216).

 

Thy goodness, it is boundless;

All, yes, all creatures wait on thee—

and all are supplied by thee, O LORD,

and all are satisfied (ref# 76, p 216).

 

GLORIOUS, O GLORIOUS GOD,

“it is the flame of my life to worship thee,

the crown and glory of my soul to adore thee,

heavenly pleasure to approach thee.

 

“Give me thy Spirit to help me worship now,

that I may forget the world,

be brought into fullness of life,

be refreshed, comforted, blessed” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p196).

 

KING, KING OF GLORY,

DIVINE, DIVINE MAJESTY,

GLORIOUS, O GLORIOUS GOD,

Every perfection adorns You.

CONFESSION

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STORMING HEAVEN

“Convince me that I can have no peace at death, nor hope that I should go to Christ, unless I intend to do his will and have his fullness while I live” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p167).

FATHER, heaven is not obtained except I violently take it by force (Matt 11:12). Since getting into CHRIST’s presence is never my natural desire, in the mundane or easy days I must power myself into CHRIST’s kingdom.

I default to the control of myself in a thousand different ways as I look for contentment. But, Oswald Chambers makes a statement that I must consider: “…we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, July 10th).

I can use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of my enjoyment. I can serve the church for my own well-feelings. In honesty, I must ask myself, “Am I a Christian because it is pleasurable?”

FATHER, always clue me I am on the broad path that leads to destruction (Matt 7:13) if I avoid being stirred up or am not willing to face “injustice and meanness and ingratitude and turmoil” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, July 10th). I have to believe storming heaven will mean physical stress, but because of my willful resolve and determination I will reap a joy superior to all joy—a joy that cannot be found anywhere else but in fellowship with You (ref#16, [1 Cor 2:9]).

“Faith makes things possible, but not easy” (a church marquee).

ADORATION

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Chord Progression: (C Dm G C) (E Am G7 C)

GOD ALL-SUFFICIENT

“KING OF GLORY,

DIVINE MAJESTY,

Every perfection adorns thy nature

and sustains thy throne;

 

“The heavens and earth are thine,

The world is thine and its fullness.

Thy power created the universe from nothing;

Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns,…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p216).

 

Thy goodness is unlimited;

so I will wait on thee.

I have everything supplied by thee,

and I am satisfied in thee (ref# 76, p 216).

 

“GLORIOUS GOD,

It is the flame of my life to worship thee,

the crown and glory of my soul to adore thee.”

It is “…heavenly pleasure to approach thee…” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p196).

 

Give me thy Spirit to help me worship,

that I may overlook the world—

so You can bring me into fullness of life—

that I may be refreshed, reassured and set apart (ref#76, p196).

 

“KING OF GLORY,

DIVINE MAJESTY,

Every perfection

adorns thy nature…” The Valley of Vision (ref# 76, p 216).

PRELUDE TO PRAYER

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Prayer Facts:

“In prayer all things here below vanish, and nothing seems important but holiness of heart and the salvation of others” The Valley of Vision (ref#76, p146).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You chose me, actually picked me out for Yourself as Your own in CHRIST before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4), I will wait for You

Because You are to me a GOD of deliverance and salvation, setting me free (Ps 68:20), I will wait for You.

Because You bear my burdens and carry me day by day (Ps 68:19), I will wait for You.

Because You abide (live and remain) in me and Your love is brought to completion in me (1 John 4:12), I will wait for You.

Read Through the Bible in a Year: April 1st – 7th

Apr 1  Jud 13-16; Ps 21

Apr 2  Jud 17-18; Gal 3

Apr 3  Jud 19-21; Gal 4

Apr 4  Ruth 1-2; Gal 5

Apr 5  Ruth 3-4; Gal 6

Apr 6  1 Sam 1-2; 1 Cor 1

Apr 7  1 Sam 3-5; Ps 22