From “Feast of Tabernacles,” Chapter 11- Tabernacles – The Feast of Rest, continued
THE UNEXPLORED REALMS OF THE SPIRIT
Man’s chief difficulty seems to be simply this: in his limited and finite understanding he does not have the vision of greater and vaster and higher and deeper and broader expanses of God’s Truth. He has failed to see that God is both infinite and eternal, and therefore in finding God one must be prepared to go ever onward and upward into the vast expanses of the Spirit of God. If God is infinite, there is no limit to the experience which we might have in union with Him by the Spirit. And if God is eternal, there is no end to the measure of Truth into which He would lead us by the Spirit. When Columbus began his explorations, it was not sufficient that they should have begun his explorations, it was not sufficient that they should have taken ship and sailed for a day or two. True, they were in the ocean the day they started. But the ocean was vast–and they must sail on, and on, and on, and on, …even to the shores of America. Nor is it sufficient that a man should drill miles into the earth and discover oil, and then promptly shout, “We’ve found oil,” and proceed to cap its flow. It must flow, and flow, and flow, and flow… if mankind is to be profited from it.
Now God has invited us to become partakers of His Holy Spirit, and that simply means He has invited us to explore the eternal recesses of the deep things of God and infinite heights of His glory. For the Spirit of God is given to us for that very purpose: “That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God…” We cannot know these things in the natural; hence the Spirit of God is imparted to search out and explore “all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10, 12). But those depths of God are unsearchable, for God is both infinite and eternal. It is not very clear, therefore, that it is going to take all eternity for us to fully explore the immensities of the Divine attributes? “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”
THE EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE
We are not suggesting that God has not done much for us in the past; but we are confident of this: anything we have had in the past by way of experience has been but the foretaste and the earnest of what God would now lead us into by the Spirit. The solemn exhortations of Hebrews 4 are therefore most applicable to us in this great day of opportunity. “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached (Or, the word of the report) did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Heb. 4:1, 2). The reference, of course, is to the first generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt, and crossed over the Red Sea and came into the wilderness. It did not take them long to reach the door-step of their inheritance–it was just eleven days journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, the doorway of Canaan. And when they got there Moses sent forth spies to spy out the land and search out the riches of their inheritance. Twelve spies went forth into the land and explored it for forty days. As to its wealth and fruitfulness there was absolutely no question. They knew the people would not believe what they found, so they cut down a branch of grapes in the valley of Eschol, and carried it between two upon a staff; and they also brought of the pomegranates and of the figs. “Surely,” they testified, “It floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.” And they showed them what they had found. (See. Num. 13:17-33). GHW
God can give us ample proof of His loving intentions of spiritual abundance for our lives. We may even get close enough to survey them and collect a few samples. But if we are unwilling to believe God for the fulness of His blessings, our show-and-tell means little to nothing. Are we looking at the abundance or are we looking at the obstacles God has promised to help us overcome? Surely we are able, if only we focus on the prize.
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