"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13b).

The spirit of Antichrist is active today. It is at work in the world, and it is at work in the Church (or, what is called "the Church"), and it is at work within each one of us individually, trying to draw us out into something - anything - other than Christ. Hence the Lord's need for overcomers to rise up and demonstrate that in spite
of all appearances to the contrary, THE LORD JESUS REIGNS, and He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This demonstration begins with each individual disciple, then finds expression within the corporate
synthesis of Believers, before finding its ultimate expression and release in all creation. If the Lord does not have the preeminence in us as individual disciples, if we remain unsurrendered to Him in our own lives, how can the Church as a whole ever hope to bear His Testimony to the world? This is a critical point.

What assurance are we given? It is this: that in spite of nation rising up against nation, kingdom rising up against kingdom, political tumults and global confusion, "THINE IS THE KINGDOM" - Your Throne is everlasting, Your Kingdom is established, and of the increase of Your Government there shall be no end (cf. Isaiah 9:6,7). In other words, as Daniel would say, the Heavens DO rule, and it is the Most High God Who governs the affairs of men. THAT is the heart of the matter. THAT is what we are moving towards, from our
day-to-day affairs as followers of Jesus, to the course and direction
of this entire age.
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"
(Matthew 11:28).

As a drug addict is never satisfied, so a religious addict is never satisfied. The drug addict and the religious addict must always search for a bigger and better "high". Without this high they are irritable and bad-tempered. Deny them their "fix" and they will become intolerable. Suggest that they have a problem and they will begin to view YOU as the problem. Some say they are really hungry and thirsty for God, so they are going to go here or there because they want "fresh fire" or "greater anointing" or whatever. What they are really hungry and thirsty for is a fix, a spiritual experience, a feeling of power, a manifestation, the feeling of a gentle breeze blowing on them, someone to wave their hand over them and give them a "new word" and so on. Where is Christ in this kind of an atmosphere? In this orgy of sensation He is nowhere to be found.

We must stop looking for a Jesus "out there" and look for the Christ who is within us. If we would just once come to Christ in simplicity we would immediately meet Him. It would be better for us to lock ourselves alone into a room and just sit there quietly before the Lord for one hour than to travel back and forth to all these meetings, looking for something loud, powerful, and demonstrative. It is the Spirit which gives Life; the flesh profits nothing. I have one question: are you satisfied after all those experiences? If you are, then why do you have to keep running around for more of the same? Do you abide in Christ as Life, or not? And if you are not satisfied, can you not see why?
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

"...pour out the oil into all the empty vessels" (II Kings 3:4).

There is no lack of supply with the Lord. There is only a lack of willing vessels. The oil kept flowing until there were no more vessels to fill. A willing vessel is both yielded and empty. A vessel which is unwilling to be used cannot receive of the Infinite Supply. And a vessel which is already full cannot receive. The Life of the Lord is always looking for expression through a willing vessel that is both yielded and empty.
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

"As you have received the Lord Jesus Christ [theNarrowGate], so walk in Him [theNarrowPath]"
(Colossians 2:6).

We come to the Lord admitting that we cannot save ourselves, and He does the saving. That is the Gate. Now we come to the Lord every day, admitting that we cannot enter the Kingdom, and He does what it takes to conform us into His image. That is the Path. Hence, I have no secret for the Christian Life, but Christ. I have no key, but Christ. I have no method, but Christ. I have no formula, but Christ. I have no technique, but Christ. I have no life, but Christ - for it is no longer I that lives, it is Christ that lives in me (Galatians 2:20a). In Him, through Him, because of Him, by Him we may enter the Kingdom.

Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You that You are my Way, my Truth, and my Life! I praise You that I cannot save myself. I praise You that I cannot enter the Kingdom. As I trusted in You to bring me out of Egypt, so I trust in You to bring me into the Promised Land. As I have received You, so I will walk in You. You are my Narrow Gate, and You are my Narrow Path. As I am decreased, You are increased, and my life is exchanged for Your Life. I thank you, Lord, that through You we may enter the Kingdom.
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

"And when the servant of [Elisha] was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, 'Alas, my master! How shall we do?' And he answered, 'Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them'. And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see'. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (II Kings 6:15-17).

When the servant's eyes were opened, he saw what Elisha saw. When Elisha said, "The ones with us are greater than the ones with them" it must have sounded like lunacy. It cannot be understood with words alone: the eyes must be opened. If words were enough then Elisha would not have prayed for the eyes to be opened. We should spend less time trying to understand "words" and more time praying for God to open our eyes. When our eyes are opened, then the words will make sense. Until then, words are like hieroglyphics - we know there is something significant there, but we cannot understand what it means.

 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

Seek if you have not found. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . ." ( James 4:3  ). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, "you ask amiss"; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. ". . . seek, and you will find . . . ." Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? ". . . seek, [focus,] and you will find . . . ."

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. . ." (Isaiah 55:1  ). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.

". . . knock, and it will be opened to you" ( Luke 11:9 ). "Draw near to God . . ." ( James 4:8 ). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. "Cleanse your hands . . ." ( James 4:8 ). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. ". . . purify your hearts . . ." ( James 4:8 ). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. "Lament . . . " ( James 4:9 ). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. "Humble yourselves . . . " (James 4:10 ). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. ". . . to him who knocks it will be opened" ( Luke 11:10  ).

From: Utmost For His Highest

Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, "No, by nothing," but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to "live and move and have our being" in God ( Acts 17:28  ), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.

If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.

"He himself shall dwell in prosperity . . ." ( Psalm 25:13 ). God will cause us to "dwell in prosperity," keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. "God is our refuge . . ." ( Psalm 46:1  ). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.

-- No author assigned in CUT

From: Utmost For His Highest

"Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God'"
 (Matthew 22:29, NKJV).

One way the God-Man reveals Himself to us, of all ways, is not in a glorious vision or supernatural event, but in the pages of this thing we call the Bible. Imagine that. How odd. A book. Why not just appear to the one who seeks Him and speak face to face. No! Why? It would kill us. It would absolutely blow us away to be confronted with the Real Jesus, because the Jesus we have come to believe in is a fairy tale, a jolly elf, a fantasy character. The Bible prepares us for Him, does it not? Using types, shadows, stories, just to whet your appetite and get you accustomed to Him and His dealings so you are not totally shocked when you do meet Him.

How flippantly we just pick up the Word and skim through our favorite verses and say "ho hum". We haven't met the Lord. We haven't touched the God of the Word. How can we do that? Because the Bible is, outwardly speaking, so ordinary. Nothing high-tech about it. It seems so innocuous, so innocent. But it is the primary introduction we have to meeting the Man, the God-Man. Absolutely brilliant, this plan of God.
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Psalms 34:18,19).

We must learn sooner rather than later that discipleship is a process of tearing down in order to build up. We cannot expect to have a
single mountaintop experience with the Lord and then assume from henceforth the work of the Cross is completed in us. When we are
standing with the Lord in the New Jerusalem we may lay down the Cross. Until then, we dare not entertain the thought that we have
already been made perfect. We must deny ourselves and take up the Cross daily.
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

"And when [Jesus] saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, 'Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.' And presently the fig tree withered away" (Matthew 21:19).

It is not too difficult to find a meeting or a service in which you get a sense of death, not of Life. The music, preaching, and fellowship may be well and good: but you come away hungry and deflated because the Lord's Need is not met. The measure of the presence of the Lord or the blessing of the Lord upon a meeting, a work, or a people is always the Life. Let us not judge by outward appearances. Remember that it is not the leaves of the fig tree, but the figs, which contain the Life. The fruit of the Spirit is the outward manifestation of the inward Life. 
 
From: Chip Brogden

www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org