The Kingdom Of God Belong To Such As These

We have now been faithfully waiting upon the LORD since being sovereignly placed within this very location during the first month of the year two thousand twenty. For many years we pondered, wondering yet how it was possible to lift up Christ's banner with utter reliance upon no earthly resources or human support, save for the unshakable fidelity of God alone! Since the commencement of our nightly series of Bible study, He has been pleased to bless the work not merely with the addition of precious souls, but, more vitally, with the right and clear direction as to how we must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. For us, it is a matter of no import whatsoever to begin a work, however zealous, that is falsely named for Christ, if that work be not in strict accordance with His Divine prescription. From the solemn lesson of Nadab and Abihu, the Almighty hath plainly revealed how He must be approached and how He is to be worshipped . 

We would not have learned about the beautiful practice of elevated reverence for scripture and its proper place in sacred worship if Father had not sovereignly taken us from our previous denominations.

Moreover, it is powerfully evident from His tender guidance toward the route of scriptural, conforming worship that He takes great and intimate care to ensure that we possess a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Since that blessed day of my conversion, my merciful God hath continually demonstrated that He is ever and always guiding us, with strong yet tender hand, toward the straight and narrow path—and all of this, without exception, is performed solely for the everlasting glory of His most holy name!

And so we continue, quietly laboring within His vineyard here in our own neighborhood. We were, at the commencement of the work, looking with yearning toward God to stir up a movement amongst the elder families, yet we must now submit that He was graciously pleased to commence His true work amongst the children instead! It is also a matter of profound note that the heavenly Father hath sovereignly brought us to brethren of like-hearted conviction—even from the distant lands of Lubbock, Texas, and New Mexico. Their hearts are bent primarily upon the faithful ministry of the Word and upon the solemn, constant pleading with God in prayer. I have always held the settled conviction that my primary commission in the Kingdom is conducted upon my knees in prayer. What inexhaustible graciousness and wisdom it is for God to sovereignly lead us to companions who hold this same, essential doctrine!

Every other labour in the sacred ministry is but secondary and subordinate! The true fountainhead of any enduring work for the LORD must ever be unhindered communion with the divine Master and a constant, profound dependency upon the power of His most Holy Spirit. We are given the ultimate model in Christ Himself: He was perpetually heard by the Father precisely and He maintained an unbroken, sacred communion with Him. It is a blessed experience that never fails to lift my heart to greater heights of hope and fervent praise, and simultaneously brings me to even lower depths of sincere humility, whenever I hear these tender-hearted brethren petition the hand of God for His work here on our behalf . I confess that I have learned much of the divine life from the very example of their petitions, even as my heart hath grown to love them more dearly.

We are diligent to ensure that every single chapter of the Holy Bible is brought to bear upon the instruction of the dear children. Our chief emphasis lies in demonstrating how Christ is the only way unto the Father, and how every sacred story doth unerringly highlight the types and blessed shadows of the promised Redeemer. Furthermore, through the diligent use of the Catechism, the children are guided to learn the fundamental truths of God’s eternal purpose for Creation: which is solely to enable fallen man to worship God as He dwells amongst us, both in this present life and throughout the ages of eternity. We conclude this vital instruction with a solemn recitation of the Divine Decalogue, taken directly from the hallowed pages of Exodus the Twentieth, serving as the final, unchanging rule of life.

The past week brought forth a fresh token of our gracious God's continued movement, for He hath now enabled us to provide His holy Word to the dear children themselves! Henceforth, they shall no longer be mere listeners, but shall be found reading directly from His sacred pages together. This will assuredly plant within their tender hearts the blessed and life-giving practice of private devotion. Our fervent prayer is that the Holy Spirit would be pleased to illuminate and reveal the deep wonders of Christ unto them as they search the Scriptures for themselves, and that He would instill within them a holy, profound reverence for His written Word, which is their true and lasting inheritance.

It hath been a heavy, persistent burden upon our spirits to hear these same precious children mimic the swearing, the bitter teasing, and the cruel degrading that is perpetually on the lips of their elders. Therefore, one is most pleasantly surprised and wonderfully encouraged to now hear them respond with sobriety to the Catechism questions and recite the very words of the Ten Commandments! We must maintain theological fidelity: These outward recitations are not, of course, sure signs of saving faith, just as mere attendance in the Sunday school affords no guarantee of a sanctified character. Our hope, therefore, remains upon God alone!

We hold fast to the conviction that He not only directed us not to hinder the little ones from coming to Him, but commissioned us to teach them the solemn fear of the LORD. We plead for His intervention: Perhaps God, in His sovereign goodness, will grant irresistible mercy to some, if not all of them, that they may live to see their later years and rightfully glorify God wholeheartedly with a life redeemed!

With regards to us then, we rest on the hope that nothing done for His name is ever in vain.