There is a kind of suffering known only to the Christian. It is voluntary suffering deliberately and knowingly incurred for the sake of Christ. Such is a luxury, a treasure of fabulous value, a source of riches beyond the power of the mind to conceive. And it is rare as well as precious, for there are few in this decadent age who will of their own choice go down into this dark mine looking for jewels. But, of our own choice it must be, for there is not other way to get down. God will not force us into this kind of suffering. He will not lay this cross upon us not embarrass us with riches we do not want. Such riches are reserved for those who apply to serve in the legion unto death, who volunteer to suffer for Christ’s sake and who follow-up their application with lives that challenge the devil and invite the fury of hell. Such as these have said good-bye to the world’s toys; they have chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God;they have accepted toil and suffering as their earthly portion. The marks of the cross are upon them and they are known in heaven and hell.

But where are they? Has this breed of Christian died out of the earth? Have the saints of God joined the mad scramble for security? Has the cross become no more than a symbol , a bloodless and sterile relic of nobler times? Are we now afraid to suffer and unwilling to die? I hope not but I wonder. And only God has the answer.( Tozer, The radical Cross)

Interesting questions Tozer presents. Has this breed of Christian died out today? Do we even, in our modern age, understand the notion of what it means to ” mine the darkness for jewels.” Are we afraid to suffer and unwilling to die? Is security, that which the world highly values, is that what we seek? To be honest, if you listen to those who supposedly represent Christianity today you would have to conclude that above all else security is prized. Whether it is financial security or national security or even social security. We have insurance to cover almost every possible scenario. I do not say that there is anything wrong with security and insurance in and of itself. Yet, when it rules us, when it dictates our actions, when we lay all our hopes into its tenuous hands then we will undoubtedly find ourselves in trouble.

We cannot be ruled by these fears and at the very same time serve the living God effectively. To answer Tozer’s question about whether this breed of Christian has vanished from the earth, I say no. I see saints in war-torn countries continue on serving God and being martyred for their Lord, they are such a breed. I have met countless saints from all around the world whose desire in this world is to serve God, they only live to serve God. I have met and heard from so many American saints, ( American saints often have a bad press around the world) who love the Lord with all of their hearts and who have willingly suffered for His sake and who would suffer more is asked, they are of this breed.

I see a time ahead, not in the too far distant future, where God will raise up out of the shadows such a breed as Tozer spoke of. A people who have been taught by God Himself and who have been enriched by the treasures of the ” dark mine.” They have been taught obedience and reliance upon Him. They have been honed by the hammer and the chisel to rightly fit into the plans of God for such a time as this. They have been secretly drawn into the desert and there, where no life should be found, they have found life and that more abundantly. This abundant life is not the abundant life spoken of by heretical teachers of health and prosperity. No, this is the abundant life of the cross-bearers; Those who willingly suffer for His sake and would have it no other way and have found an abundant source of joy and strength to endure and in enduring, overcome.

God has His people. And whether they live or whether they die their aim is to glorify God, it is their chief all-consuming desire. As the world plunges into darkness and chaos, and all around are losing their heads, there is a breed of Christian who have learned to walk among such darkness with a peace that surpasses all understanding. God has mighty plans for such a breed of people. Not the plans of the false prophet who tell the people of a glorious future in this world and only speak of peace and prosperity. No, the Lord will bring forward a breed of people to lead the Body of Christ in the way of the cross. A people who will show that there are mountaintop experiences to be had in the very depths of the deepest valley’s. Their light will shine in such darkness for their light is the light of Christ Himself and when He and He alone is lifted up then men and women shall be drawn unto Him.

I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. (Isa 45:2-3)

And the remnant… shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (Isaiah 37:31)

The Lord must have something which cannot be carried away, which cannot be removed, cannot be shaken, and certainly something which cannot be rooted up. That is His remnant. That, He must have for His own glory, and, that being so, He will take every measure with His remnant to have them after that kind, with roots downward. Of course, unto fruit upward. We speak much about the upward side of things, life in the heavenlies, sitting in the heavenlies, and our warfare and work – the fruitfulness of our life in union with the Lord. That is only possible as our roots are downward. In order that that might be so, we have to get into a place of unshakeableness where the roots have got such a grip that nothing can overthrow. And I believe that explains a very great deal of what the Lord is doing with His own spiritual people in these days.

It is true that the true children of God are going through a time of intense trial and testing spiritually in these days; everywhere it is so. Why? Because the Lord must have something against which hell is impotent and by which He demonstrates to the universe that strength of His might which causes to stand and withstand, and having done all to stand. If one were asked what the last issue for the Church in this age is, I would say that it stands, and that is saying a tremendous thing. Oh, you say, that is surely limiting things, are you not expecting much more than that? Progress, advance, sweeping movements?

The Church will have all its work cut out in the end to stand, but its standing will be its victory. Just to be able, through testing, trial, when everything is blowing round you like a blizzard; when everything is dark, mysterious, and even God seems far away and unreal, and faith is tested and you are being assailed on the right hand and on the left, and there is every reason outwardly for your moving, giving up, falling down, surrendering, lowering your standard, just to stand and not be moved in your faith is the greatest possible victory…. We are passing through deep experiences, the enemy is doing it and the Lord is not preventing him, but we are coming to a fuller knowledge of the power of our God and a deeper rooting beyond all previous shakeableness. And the Lord is seeking to have a people who cannot be shaken, against whom hell with all its demonstration of arrogance and pride, is impotent. “And the remnant… shall again take root downward.” That is what the Lord needs.

By T. Austin-Sparks from: Rooted and Grounded

To be filled with the Spirit of God is to have come through feelings, disturbance, anxiety, disappointments and emptiness. When you reach that place of despair, when you have gone to the last person and you have written the last editor, when you have followed the last evangelist around, and hunted down the last fellow to counsel with you-when no man can help you anymore and you are in a state of inward despair-this is when you will recognize that you are near the place where God can finally do what He wants to do for you. When there comes that despair with self, that emptying out of you and that inner loneliness, you are getting close.(Tozer)

This is the most difficult place for the saint on the journey home. Tozer says it well, you are getting closer. When all the world has lost its appeal to you When you find yourself wandering in the wasteland dunes of anxiety and emptiness and disappointments, know that God is near. You must know it for you will not feel it. Keep walking saint, this is the desert place known as despair. No man or woman can help you. This is simply between you and God and the refiners fire. You will be tested in this. God is looking for a people who seek to worship Him with their whole hearts.

And if you think that all of your troubles are without purpose then you are wrong saint. There is a purpose in every trial, in every trouble, in every disappointment. There is a purpose in every step you take through the desert of despair and loneliness. Yes indeed you must pass through these places in order to continue the journey home on the narrow path, it is true that there are no short-cuts, no way around these difficult places of death. The enemy will whisper in your ear when you seem to be surrounded by darkness and defeat ” what was it all about.” He will ask you to consider the possibility that your life has been for nothing and that there has been no purpose in any of your suffering. Liar! Brothers and sisters, he is a liar and I know I speak to someone who needs to hear that today.

Psa 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

The Valley of Baca, the valley of weeping, the valley of tears. The road to the altar, the tabernacle, traverses many valleys. Some are narrow some are deep . There is no avoiding them. You will shed tears in these valleys. You will often times feel abandoned in these valleys. What should you do as you travel through these valleys? Dig deeper. Dig holes in these valleys brothers and sisters. These valleys are without rain and it would seem to many that they will surely die as they go through it. You will not die. So why should you stop and dig holes in this valley. Why not rush through as quickly as possible? The truth is, this valley cannot be rushed. No matter how much you run, to the left or the right, you have to go through the valley. Even if you run straight ahead, the valley will last exactly how long it is supposed to last. So, when you stop in the midst of it, when you resist the urge to panic and fear, when you embrace the fact that this valley has to be gone through, these “dark nights of the soul,” will become an oasis and a place of refreshment to those who have faith and continue to trust in the Lord.

You will not be tempted more than you are able. The Lord has not abandoned you. He will minister to you. When you dig deeper, you are emptying yourself in preparation to receive the Lords presence. He will come to you on your journey, on your pilgrimage , in your deepest valleys. And to those who dig, their holes will be filled abundantly when the flash flood of His rain comes. The steeper the valley, the bigger the flood. The holes ensure that when the flood ends, their will be pools of water left over that will not only minister to you, but will comfort and encourage those who come along behind you, for remember, there is only one path, the narrow one, and all must traverse it. Let your tears fall saints, your tears shall remain. They shall refresh another. Stand fast brothers and sisters. You keep on walking no matter how dark it has become. You are surrounded by troubles on every side and inwardly there are fears? You are not alone, this is the path and you are where you should be and it shall not overcome you.

Inside of you lies the treasures of God, inside that earthen vessel. You have been called to comfort those with the comfort you yourself have been comforted with along the way. When you pass through this place of death and you are not overcome, you will testify of it and comfort others and glorify God. Remember saints, we are always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life of the cross, the way of sacrifice, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our lives. The greater the trial the closer our God. You say ” but this trial is such that I cannot feel Him, I cannot sense His presence.” Saints, one of the greatest trials of all is trust. Our foundation is built upon faith. The enemy will try to pull you down and destroy you by coming against the very foundation of your life, your faith. Your life in the Spirit stands upon faith in Jesus. Stand today brother, stand today sister.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Wait upon the Lord and He will come to you. Wait, wait, keep waiting, keep trusting, keep abiding, keep praying, keep trusting, keep praising, keep reading His word. You will not faint, you will not fall in this desert. When the rain comes and it will come, you will walk and you will run and you will mount up with wings as eagles and you will revel in the presence of God. One day, one moment in His presence is better than a thousand elsewhere. In one moment, in one word, in one breath of the Holy Spirit there is life and eternity and hope and joy. One more thing brothers and sisters, and never doubt this. Your Father loves you. He sees you. He has not forgotten you. His love for you is an everlasting love. His thoughts towards you cannot be numbered, they are greater than the sands of the seashore. Stand fast in this and know that you are known. Let you tears fill the valleys, none are lost.

“The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the divisions which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace. The disciples will be sorely tempted to desert their Lord. But the end is also near, and they must hold on and persevere until it comes. Only he will he blessed who remains loyal to Jesus and his word until the end. But when the end comes, the hostility towards Jesus and his disciples will be made manifest the whole world over, and only then must the messengers flee from city to city, in order that they may proclaim the Word where it can still find a hearing. If they run away then, they will not be running away from the Word, but holding fast to it.

The Christian will be hounded from place to place, subjected to physical assault, maltreatment and death of every kind. We are ap­proaching an age of widespread persecution. Therein lies the true significance of all the movements and conflicts of our age. Our adversaries seek to root out the Christian Church and the Christian faith because they cannot live side by side with us, because they see in every word we utter and every deed we do, even when they are not specifically directed against them, a condemnation of their own words and deeds. They are not far wrong. They suspect too that we are indifferent to their condemnation. Indeed they must admit that it is utterly futile to condemn us. We do not reciprocate their hatred and contention, although they would like it better if we did, and so sink to their own level.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (Rev 13:4-7)

He makes war against the saints and overcomes them. This is not to be confused with the gates of hell prevailing against the Body of Christ, this is more in line with Jesus being crucified. Satan thought he had accomplished a great victory at Calvary but in actual fact, an open shame, a humiliation was being made of him even although the exact opposite seemed to be true. We know that just a few days later ” up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes.” Satan again will believe he has won a great victory then Christ will come in all His glory and every eye will see and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The question in all of this for the saints will be ” are you willing to be overcome in the flesh that you might triumph in the Spirit?” Are you willing to glorify a God that has called you to Martyrdom? This same question has been asked by every Martyr down through the ages. By allowing ourselves to be Martyred and not resisting in the flesh, other than fleeing from city to city as circumstances warrant it, we will make an open shame of our enemy and it will be a witness for all the world to see. They will hate us all the more for our actions will be counter to the flesh and bring conviction to their hard hearts………..and then the end shall come……bro Frank