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The theme of this article is knowing the definite possession of heaven for the Christian! Moses could not enter the Promised Land for going beyond what was instructed on him. He could only see Canaan but was not allowed to enter in. Christians can see the New Heaven in the image of their mind, and they are guaranteed their place There. Thus, the believer should have the sense of being there now, and even praying from there to the earth; for God “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6).
NC
It is possible, in a way, to be tantalized by the beauty and perfection of the glory, because there is nothing to compare with it here; and yet it may be as seen in the distance, as Moses saw the land from Pisgah, admired and loved, but with no positive possession, no setting the sole of one’s foot solidly on it (nothing physical, with anticipation only—NC).
If I only see the glory as Moses saw Canaan from Mount Pisgah, I have no sense of possession there; this is merely seeing a better thing, in which I not only have no present possession, but I am myself actually separate from it, and outside it. This tantalizes, if I may so say. If I were to die then, with this view fully before me, I should be a Stephen, but if I have to live here with a glimpse of it, without any realization of possession, it is only tantalizing.
We must know the place and glory into which the Lord Jesus has entered as our present home and abiding place; an actual possession in which the Father has “set us” now (Eph 2:6), in order to be true strangers here (Heb 11:13; 1Pe 2:11). When we realize this, everything here becomes strange to us (even with feelings that you don’t belong here, so don’t allow this to trouble you—NC), because we are here from another realm, a bright and heavenly place. It is not only that we are looking for and expecting this place at the end (we are to know the surety now that heaven is ours—NC). This will not make us strangers here; for we may have this, and still be at home here, and though we may wish to go to heaven, we are as yet strangers there (instead of here—NC), for we have never enjoyed possession there, (we are to realize that heaven is a Christian’s present possession - Luk 22:29, 30—NC).
There is often this beholding afar off, and there may be a great deal of true admiration, the heart captivated with the view from Pisgah, which does not help one in one’s path down here, but on the contrary, makes one feel the contrast between what is here, and what one has had a glimpse of. In this case one is more unfitted for remaining here, instead of being enabled, because of moral superiority and elevation, to meet everything here as the Lord Jesus’ witnesses on earth.
The fact is, we are not now as Moses on mount Pisgah, nor even as Stephen; we do not see the glory from earth, but we are positioned in heaven (same as being there—NC), and there we see it. Thus we “behold” the Lord Jesus where He is in glory, and as we behold Him and fellowship with Him, we are gradually transformed “into the same image (have the same desires—NC) from glory to glory” (2Co 3:18; 1Co 15:49; Rom 8:29), we are transformed into the condition of the place in which He is, and we in Him there (Jhn 14:20). Then we can walk and serve here (1Jo 4:17—NC), expecting mothing from this scene, but able to contribute to it, as a wealthy man can contribute when visiting the haunts of the destitute. If he were one of them, surely he could not contribute.
The Lord grant that we may indeed traverse the haunts of the destitute down here (witness to the lost—NC), with hearts full of the unsearchable riches of Christ; not merely seeing a future of unbounded wealth, but in spirit there now, our cup running over, and therefore not seeking for anything here; but, as opportunity offers, contributing to each according to his need (according to where our faith may be weak—NC).
— James Butler Stoney (1814-1897)
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 29
“Rationalism defies God; Ritualism degrades God.” –MJS
“With Rationalism’s intellectual audacity on the one hand, which dares to speak against the Word of God; and on the other hand, the outward piety of Ritualism—there is really the same root of infidelity at bottom. There is the supplanting of the plain truth of the inspired Word. Both get rid of it, depriving the soul of that which is the only means of a living link between God and man.
“It does not matter what the means or forms may be, whether the negative process of Rationalism, or the more positive claim of Ritualism: if man comes in—whether it be his rites or his reasoning’s—so as to exclude God’s Word, or step between its authority and the soul of man, it becomes pretty much the same result in the end.
“Rationalism is the deification of human powers, in which man presumes by his own mind to judge the Word of God, and is therefore the infidelity of the intellect when either carried out to its results or judged in its principle.
“On the other hand Ritualism is the infidelity of the imagination, very often with piety underneath it, with a love for the Savior that may preserve from the full consequences of the system, but in itself always savoring of and tending to idolatry.
“We cannot know the value of Christ the Truth unless we have the Spirit of Truth. Nevertheless, the test of having the Spirit of Truth, and of not being a prey to fanaticism, is that the soul is attracted and subject to the Lord Jesus Christ—and this cannot be without faith produced and nourished by the Word of Truth.” —William Kelly (1821-1906)
NC
Tantalize, Or Actualize?
It is possible, in a way, to be tantalized by the beauty and perfection of the glory, because there is nothing to compare with it here; and yet it may be as seen in the distance, as Moses saw the land from Pisgah, admired and loved, but with no positive possession, no setting the sole of one’s foot solidly on it (nothing physical, with anticipation only—NC).
If I only see the glory as Moses saw Canaan from Mount Pisgah, I have no sense of possession there; this is merely seeing a better thing, in which I not only have no present possession, but I am myself actually separate from it, and outside it. This tantalizes, if I may so say. If I were to die then, with this view fully before me, I should be a Stephen, but if I have to live here with a glimpse of it, without any realization of possession, it is only tantalizing.
We must know the place and glory into which the Lord Jesus has entered as our present home and abiding place; an actual possession in which the Father has “set us” now (Eph 2:6), in order to be true strangers here (Heb 11:13; 1Pe 2:11). When we realize this, everything here becomes strange to us (even with feelings that you don’t belong here, so don’t allow this to trouble you—NC), because we are here from another realm, a bright and heavenly place. It is not only that we are looking for and expecting this place at the end (we are to know the surety now that heaven is ours—NC). This will not make us strangers here; for we may have this, and still be at home here, and though we may wish to go to heaven, we are as yet strangers there (instead of here—NC), for we have never enjoyed possession there, (we are to realize that heaven is a Christian’s present possession - Luk 22:29, 30—NC).
There is often this beholding afar off, and there may be a great deal of true admiration, the heart captivated with the view from Pisgah, which does not help one in one’s path down here, but on the contrary, makes one feel the contrast between what is here, and what one has had a glimpse of. In this case one is more unfitted for remaining here, instead of being enabled, because of moral superiority and elevation, to meet everything here as the Lord Jesus’ witnesses on earth.
The fact is, we are not now as Moses on mount Pisgah, nor even as Stephen; we do not see the glory from earth, but we are positioned in heaven (same as being there—NC), and there we see it. Thus we “behold” the Lord Jesus where He is in glory, and as we behold Him and fellowship with Him, we are gradually transformed “into the same image (have the same desires—NC) from glory to glory” (2Co 3:18; 1Co 15:49; Rom 8:29), we are transformed into the condition of the place in which He is, and we in Him there (Jhn 14:20). Then we can walk and serve here (1Jo 4:17—NC), expecting mothing from this scene, but able to contribute to it, as a wealthy man can contribute when visiting the haunts of the destitute. If he were one of them, surely he could not contribute.
The Lord grant that we may indeed traverse the haunts of the destitute down here (witness to the lost—NC), with hearts full of the unsearchable riches of Christ; not merely seeing a future of unbounded wealth, but in spirit there now, our cup running over, and therefore not seeking for anything here; but, as opportunity offers, contributing to each according to his need (according to where our faith may be weak—NC).
— James Butler Stoney (1814-1897)
MJS daily devotional excerpt for October 29
“Rationalism defies God; Ritualism degrades God.” –MJS
“With Rationalism’s intellectual audacity on the one hand, which dares to speak against the Word of God; and on the other hand, the outward piety of Ritualism—there is really the same root of infidelity at bottom. There is the supplanting of the plain truth of the inspired Word. Both get rid of it, depriving the soul of that which is the only means of a living link between God and man.
“It does not matter what the means or forms may be, whether the negative process of Rationalism, or the more positive claim of Ritualism: if man comes in—whether it be his rites or his reasoning’s—so as to exclude God’s Word, or step between its authority and the soul of man, it becomes pretty much the same result in the end.
“Rationalism is the deification of human powers, in which man presumes by his own mind to judge the Word of God, and is therefore the infidelity of the intellect when either carried out to its results or judged in its principle.
“On the other hand Ritualism is the infidelity of the imagination, very often with piety underneath it, with a love for the Savior that may preserve from the full consequences of the system, but in itself always savoring of and tending to idolatry.
“We cannot know the value of Christ the Truth unless we have the Spirit of Truth. Nevertheless, the test of having the Spirit of Truth, and of not being a prey to fanaticism, is that the soul is attracted and subject to the Lord Jesus Christ—and this cannot be without faith produced and nourished by the Word of Truth.” —William Kelly (1821-1906)
