The Overcoming Truths:Give the Protection of His Grace

THE OVERCOMING TRUTHS

Give the Protection of His Grace ~ Phil.3; Heb.5:11;6:20;Rev.21:7

7 Calls of the Spirit

The Calls of the Spirit

A. Call to salvation B. Call to a Twofold Responsibility (before God & man)) C. Call to Anointed Priesthood D. Call to overcome Temptation E. Call to Anointed & Proven Ministry F. Call to Abundant Life G. Call to the Throne.

In the Life of Christ

A. Matthew 2:15 B.Lk.2:49-52 C. Lk.3:21-22 D. Lk.4:1-2 E. Lk.4:14-19 F. Jn.12:24 G.Acts 1:10

In the life of the disciple

A. 1 Thes.4:7; 2Cor.1:9;3:9 B. 1 Cor.1:9;3:9 C. Gal.5:13;1Pet.2:5;2Cor.3:17 D. 1 Pet.3:21;3:9;Col.3:15 E. Phil.2:22;Acts 13:2; Jn.21:17 F. Jn.10:10; Col.1:5-6 G.1Thes.2:12;2Thes.2:14

The Purpose

A. Holiness B. Fellowship C. Liberty D. Suffering and Peace E. Special Ministry F. Life Eternal G. Kingdom and Glory.

What He does with us

A. "Woo's" B. "Proves" C. "Endures" (bears up) D. "Bruises" E. "Uses" F. "Renews" G. "Moves

The "overcomer" blessings in Rev. 2, 3.

A. "To eat of the Tree of Life" B. "No hurt of the second death" C. "To eat of the hidden manna and a new name" D. "Power to rule the Morning Star" E. "Clothed in white raiment and not to blot out his name from the book but to confess it before His Father." F. "A pillar in the House of God and threefold Name on him: a. God's name b. New Jersalem's Name c. Christ's new Name" G. "To sit with Christ in His throne."



The Seven Calls of the Spirit
There were seven time when the Spirit called Christ to a higher realm. Since He is our example(1Pe.2:21), we too are to follow the pattern, and allow the spirit to lead us in the bloodstained path. Naturally, there may by a certain amount of "leeway" in how the seven calls come to us in contrast to how they came to Christ. But a glimpse into Christ's life will help us locate ourselves as to just where we are in God's calendar for our individual lives.

We need to remember several things when we see how Christ followed these divine calls so easily. His one delight was not to preach, or anything else no matter how good it may seem to be, but as seen in Ps.40:8 "I delight to do thy will, O my God..." And another secret of growth was that, although He was in a hard, spiritually "dry" environment all His life, He did not let the hardness of others harden Him. "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground." (Is.53:2).

The calls:

1. The call to Salvation-was the first call that the Lord Jesus answered to and it is also the first call of the Spirit that we must answer.

2. The twofold call to Responsibility-came next, A. Before men(his earthly parents) and B. to do the work the Father had planned. (Luke 2:49). His Father's business was in the Father's temple where, at the age of twelve, He was ministering to the temple leaders. And this call is our second one too. Look at Andrew, who as soon as he found Christ, felt responsible to bring his brother, Peter to Christ. Of course this call includes our responsibility to follow Christ, in our daily walk, now that Egypt has been left behind.

3.The Call to Anointed Priesthood- came at the river Jordan where the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ, at the age of thirty (when Israel's priests were anointed for the priesthood). This call represents, basically our receiving the Holy Spirit for service, but often has inherent in it a call to a special ministry, but like David who was anointed by Samuel to sit on the throne, there must first be a proving period before one is fit to enter the fullness of his particular ministry. That is why following the call is important.

4. The Call to Overcome Temptation-is the fourth call. This is a "proving ground" call as it were. For "Many are called" to a ministry, as in call number 3- "but few are chosen." Why? Because they never pass this particular "grade" or call. In Christ's life this came during his forty days of temptation (Lk.4:2). And because He hid the Word away in His heart and was Spirit-led, He passed through this call into the fifth one.

5.This was the Call to the Anointed Ministry-(Lk.4:14-19) which lasted for three and one-half years. Christ was the chief apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher, elder,deacon,government and help. (He still is, and when we enter this fifth call, He is still pouring out His life-ministry through us.)

We might say that these calls are like a child's building blocks. Entering these progressive calls of service for Christ, does not relieve us from previous call's responsibility. And in Christ's three and one-half years ministry, although He had perhaps His severest temptations in the wilderness, yet He was tested still.

6. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ constituted His sixth call, The Call to Abundant Life. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (Jn.12:24). In one way, this call is like the fourth call repeated and intensified, except that there is the resurrection side of it too.

7. The Call to the Throne-is seen in Christ's call upward to sit "on the right hand of God"(Mk.16:19). Since the Spirit is to give us a taste of the glory to come (Eph.1:14), God wants to empower us to sit on the throne, and take full dominion over the adversary, while we are waiting on the real call upward. When we get to the place where, in daily experience, it is "no more I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal.2:20), we will experience this throne-room living.

These calls are not limited just to the individual, for God has issued the same calls to the church. God divided the church age into periods, pictured by the churches of Revelation two and three, in which the church is receiving these calls. For example, the Laodicean church receives the call to the throne, as it is last. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne...." (Rev.3:21). We shall not go into detail here on the seventh churches as representing the Church age, as that has been covered in the booklet, "Reviewing the Revelation."

In the Old Testament, as well as in the New Testament, a case or fact was proved by two or three witnesses (2 Cor.13:1). God's desire is to have a pattern church of today just as He had one in Acts, to prove His grace to all. These pattern churches follow along the lines of the "seven calls," too. Notice, first, the "earthly" Church's calls:

1. The Call to Salvation-After Calvary and the resurrection, Jesus call the apostles to salvation when He breathed upon them and commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit as we read in John 20:22-23.

2. The Twofold Call to Responsibility- came through the Great Commission (Mt.28:19-20;Mt.16:15-18). Also, this call called them unto the upper room first. (Acts 2:4)

3. The Call to the Anointed Priesthood-came at Pentecost (Acts 2:4), which call was prefigured in Israel's Sinai, where God called them to be a nation of priests (Ex.19:6).

4.The Call to Overcome Temptation-came through the dispersion, due to persecution (Acts 8:1).

5. The Call to the Anointed Ministry-came fast following the preceding call, "Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to....Samaria..."(Acts8:4-5).

6. The Call to Abundant Life- came as God raised Paul up with his abundant life message and ministry of grace, as seen in his missionary journeys (Acts 13-19).

7. The Call to the Throne-perhaps has its great climax in the martyrdoms under Nero that followed. Meanwhile Paul's example of "throne room living" is seen in his journey to Rome, and epistles written en route.

Now notice the progressive calls repeated under different circumstances, in this last "Pattern Church" in which we may have a part. Of course, as it root goes back to the Reformation, there is where these calls begin.

1. The Call to Salvation-came at the mouth of the reformers who called God's people out of Babylon to a genuine salvation by grace, not by works. (Of course God is still calling His people to be saved and to come out of the world, so we are not saying that these calls cannot be repeated to God's children no, but we are seeing the "over-all" picture).

2. The Twofold Call to Responsibility-was seen particularly in the last century in the great missionary activities (toward men), but also in the old-fashioned "waiting meetings" for power of the original "Holiness" people. They were in their upper room in those days, and felt responsible to get God's preparation.

3. The Call to the Anointed Priesthood-came as, simultaneously, the Pentecostal downpours came upon these waiting disciples the world over, and the Pentecostal groups emerged.

4. The Call to Overcome Temptation-came as Communism and persecutions, and world wars, arose without, and, in many cases, internal divisions within, amidst God's children. (Remember, only those who stay full of the Holy Spirit and who have the pure Word come through this stage.)

5. The Call to the Anointed Ministry-followed fast upon the preceding call as God's true servants went everywhere preaching the Word with "signs following."

6. The Call to Abundant Life-which has its precedent in Paul's three missionary journeys, and Christ's death, burial and resurrection, can be summed up by the three "remnants" that God is raising up today. This endtime power remnant is seen pictured, as man see's it (with all its faults, etc.), in David's three remnants in 1 Samuel 30:26. There we see David's "presence remnant," the nobles of Judah who enjoyed His presence as friends. Then there were those who were so faint they abode by the brook Besor (or in Hebrew, "Cool Brook" - the revelation is refreshing). But His "power remnant" were those rugged fellows that pursued the enemy until the spoils were gained. And then some showed a selfish spirit and didn't want to divided the spoil. That is why we say that here the endtime remnants are seen as man sees them. For man sees all the faults, and many who identify themselves with the power remnant of God, aren't all actually in His power remnant.

7. Lastly, the overcoming Bride shall hear The Call of the Throne-(Lk.21:36; Phil.3:11; 2Thes.1:11;Heb.9:28; Rev.3:10)-all these verses are conditional)while the Church in general must be purified by three and one-half years tribulation. As Israel of old, Judah led the minority group first, then after a great space, the others followed, Numbers 10:5, but they all got to Canaan.

These calls can be followed in a local assembly too, as seen in Antioch. Notice the following reference: Acts 11:21,23,26, ("Christian" or "little Christ" means they must have had the call to the anointed priesthood for "Christ" means the anoinoted one"). All three missionary journeys of Paul began at Antioch. Beginning then Antioch, instead of Jerusalem, starts coming to the front. History records many martyrs from Antioch late in an age of materialism. May we have ears to hear the call of God's spirit.