Mills, John Milton: Todays Enabling 02 ~ 1 Cor 12;14

Lord, and there are diversities of workings, but the same God who worketh all things in all. Now, look down at verse eight. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith in the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings in the one spirit, and to another workings of powers, and to another prophecy, and to another discernings of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh, the one and the same spirit dividing to each one severally, even as he will. Look at verse thirty. Have all gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Now notice, these things that were so highly rated are put at the very last. Look at verse twenty eight: And God hath set some of the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, health, government, and so forth. Now, verse thirty one: but desire earnestly the greater gifts, and moreover a most excellent way show I unto you. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I'm become sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Now, chapter fourteen, look at verse six. But now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or prophecy or of teaching? Verse twenty six. What is it then, brethren? When you come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edify. If any man speaketh in a tongue, let it be by two or at the most three, and that in turn, and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. And let the prophet speak by two or three, and let the others discern. But if a revelation be made to another sitting by, let the first keep silence. For you all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be exhorted, and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. Verse thirty nine: wherefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues, but that all things be done decently and in order. Today's enablings, I mentioned that because just as our Savior yesterday spoke of one pattern that the disciples were to follow when they went out, another day he gave a different pattern for the disciples to follow. The same way concerning the first Passover in Exodus twelve and then the other Passovers. No Passover could be like that first Passover, and no Lord's Supper can be like the first Lord's Supper. And so for that reason, we must seek from the Word of God, from all that it tells us, to understand today's enablings, how we are to gather, what we are to expect of God, because if we expect the same today that we expected yesterday, we may be disillusioned. This is what I mean. I told those who were here last week that the Lord Jesus sent forth his disciples, first of all, without script, without wallet, without anything to lean upon. But then, just before he was crucified, he said, do you remember when I sent you forth with nothing of the flesh to depend upon? Yes. Did you lack anything? No. He said, but now, if you have these things that I told you not to carry before, carry them today. Understand? Yesterday's enablings were not today's enablings. And what happens is this: the dear children of God, reading about what took place in the early church and in certain portions of the Old Testament, are expecting God to work the same way today that he did then. But I have discovered that God does not work the way today that he did then. And if you think it through, you'll say, of course not. And if someone stood up and said, all the gifts that were accessible to the early church are in our possession today, you would laugh and say no. Well, if you say that, if they are not accessible to us today, then we cannot expect the same functionings of the Spirit in our lives today that he did in the early church. Do you understand that? You say, well then, at that time, the Spirit of God said to Philip, there is an Ethiopian eunuch, you go and get in the chariot with him and tell him, uh, the things that he wants to know. Now, if you say, that's what I'm expecting today, you will not be enabled that day. I know of only one person I respect, and only this I've heard. A dear sister in Christ, after a lifetime of devotion, praying to God, wanting to hear the voice of God. One time she was so discouraged that she was at her wit's end, and she said she heard as plainly as I'm speaking to you now, one word from God, child. The only word she ever audibly heard God speak to her in her lifetime. But when the Apostle Paul was in Corinth, he had been pummeled and beaten and mistreated, and the Lord Jesus came to her in a vision and said, be not afraid, speak. Hold not thy peace, I have many people in this city. So, if today you say, I'm expecting Jesus to speak to me today as he did yesterday, I'm afraid that you're going to be disappointed. That he did speak to them then, yes. That he is still able to speak to us today in the identical way, yes, but I have not met people who have had these experiences. I've heard them say that they have had them, but I've never seen them verified, and God expects me to have all of these pretentious boastings verified, as in the early church, when the Spirit of God was still present inspiring the word. Some came to the church at Ephesus and said, we are apostles, and the apostles were put to the test, and it said, you found them false. So, in like manner, there are those who can tell you today that they can raise the dead, that they can do all the New Testament miracles, but I have never seen these things demonstrated scripturally that they've been so. Now, I've heard things on occasion, but not like these, like our dear brother Sandy Sutherland, the time that he baptized a blind man in the sea, and when the man came up out of the water, he had his sight, and Sandy didn't know what to do. They thought he had the gift of healing. He didn't have it. And so God can still do those things today. But if you say, well, now he'll do it all the time. No, I hear of one here and one there, but it is not a man, just as Paul, just as Peter, who could go by and his shadow would cause a blessing to come upon the people. The Apostle Paul could send handkerchiefs and aprons to sick people, and they would be healed. And yet people will tell you, if you'll send me so much money today, I will send you handkerchiefs and aprons, but I venture to say it isn't worth the postage that you would have to pay to have them sent to you. But all of these things that they're talking about were scripturally true in the beginning, but are they today's enablings? And I am telling you that I have never found them so, and for that reason, what I'm doing is to try from God's word to find how God is enabling me to be a conqueror, to be a overcomer in the world today without the intensity and the fullness of the blessings and demonstrations of the Spirit that he manifested to the early Christians, and he gives us them in abundance. Now, here is what I want you to understand about all of these things that you think of as miracles, as if the prophets of old were simply there, and suddenly, without any effort on their part, everything was revealed to them. Let me ask you this. Where here did Daniel get his information for his seventy weeks? You remember where he got it? Borrowed it from Jeremiah. I want you to see that. Turn to Daniel nine. you must see this. You say, oh, Daniel didn't need to borrow anything from anybody. I see. Well, let's just read and see what God tells us. Look in Daniel chapter one, chapter uh nine, verse one. In the first year of Darius, the son of ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years. Where did Daniel learn about this? You say he got it from Jeremiah. And having learned this from Jeremiah, then God gave him additional things, not only seventy years, but also seventy times seven years. But now, you look at the Gospels. Turn to Luke chapter one. You say all of these Gospels, they're, they're guided by the Spirit of God, they're inspired. A man just sat down, Luke just sat down, and he wrote the gospel out on the inspiration of the Spirit. Luke one verse one: For as much as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus. Now, what did Luke do before he depended upon the Spirit of God to inspire him to write this gospel? You say he checked all the sources. Very good. One more reference. Turn to First Peter. First Peter chapter one, because here is a combination of the two. First Peter chapter one. verse ten: Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them, did point unto when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow them, to whom it was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto you did they minister these things which have now been announced unto us through them that preach the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit, and so forth, and so forth. Do you understand that God gave them certain revelations, and then they sought and searched diligently with the information that God gave? I think I would say, look, you've given me this much, just give me the next answer. But God said, no, I'm not going to do it. Daniel says, just tell me everything. God says, not until you've exhausted the books of Jeremiah. Luke says, just give me a gospel without error. He says, not until you trace the course of all things accurately, then I will give it to you. Now, do you understand that there are three ways that gifts are imparted, abilities are imparted to the church, and you and I just think of one of them. I know this one. It says in Ephesians four, when Christ ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts unto men, and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. So, the first way that gifts are given is by the sovereign distribution of a risen Christ. You say, yes, but do you realize that in First Corinthians fourteen, here is a meeting, and there is no interpreter present, and here is a man with the gift of tongues, and God says, if you have the gift of tongues, pray also that you may interpret. You understand what that's saying? God has given this man the gift of tongues. He has not given him the gift of interpretation, and Paul says, pray that God may give you that gift of interpretation. Therefore, not only sovereignly by a risen Christ, but prayerfully, God is able to impart to a man what was not given him sovereignly by the risen Christ in answer to his prayer. And another, and I told you of this, and it's the one that I depend on in addition to this one of prayer to God to impart special ability. I told you of the gifts, there are thirteen. I will bring them to your attention, God willing, or as we go along. There are thirteen gifts mentioned in First Corinthians twelve, and among these gifts is discernings of spirits. Now, that is a gift that is sovereignly bestowed by God. He is a man that has the ability to discern. As it says in First John four, Beloved, believe not all the spirits, but prove the spirit, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. And if you had this man with the gift of discernings of spirits, and a man stood up and started preaching, he would say, a false prophet, a false apostle. Why? He had that gift of the discerning of spirit. But it says in Hebrews five these words. It said, but full grown men are able to eat meat, even those who by reason of youth have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. The same word. Here is a man that sovereignly has the gift of discernment. Here is the man in Hebrews five who, by reason of use, has his senses exercised to discern good and evil. And I told you this, if there were a test to be given whether this man was truly of God or not, the man who had this sovereign gift of discernment could detect it immediately. But I could almost immediately because I know the three passages in the Bible that tell me how to test the apostles and the prophets and the others. Do you know those scriptures? Well, then how could you test them? You would say, I don't like the looks of that man. I just don't. That's not the way God told you to do it. And I'm not going to tell you the threefold test. That's another message. You'll get that at some other time, perhaps. But by reason of use, you are able to discern good and evil. So it means that I may find in my possession this gift of discerning good spirits due to nothing that is of me. The Savior simply imparted that gift to me. Or, I may find myself without the gift, but I may pray to the Lord, and God may give it to me upon my petition of prayer. Or, he may not give it to me, but I'm going to exercise my senses and know every jot and tittle in the Bible that has anything to say about true spirits and false spirits, and then God, by reason of use, will enable me to discern good and evil. So you say, well, there's a threefold way to understand, to have blessings, yes, and one is almost the equivalent of the other, but today I'm not sure that God has given so many sovereign gifts to the people of God, because I haven't heard them. I've heard them give expositions of the scriptures, and suddenly it seems as if the Spirit of God, if they have a gift, he has failed because he's not interpreting the word that I know he inspired the same way that that man is telling me. So something is wrong. So there is that way. So I haven't found that a way in its fullness around. So I set that aside. And if it's not around, I am to pray that it may be around. And then if that prayer isn't answered, it may be that God is going to answer the prayer by saying, go and read the books of Jeremiah and search diligently all the things that are already contained in this book, and perhaps then I will give you the answer to your prayer. So, if you have a man that says, oh God, give me that gift of discernment, give me that gift of discernment, and while you're praying all night for that gift of discernment, I'm searching the scriptures all night. Now, the next morning, I'm probably going to be able to discern good and evil on the subject, but if you haven't searched the scriptures the next morning, if God hasn't seen fit to answer your prayer, you're not going to know anything about good and evil. What am I saying? I'm saying that today's enablings are set forth in the scripture, and they are as valid as yesterday's enablings. And therefore, if I do not possess that gift, let me pray to God to give me that gift. And it may be that the answer to that prayer is by searching and seeking diligently, by reason of youth, having my senses exercised to discern good and evil. And God says all of those are valid ways. So now, what I have to ask is this: of these thirteen gifts, which, and I'm just mentioning the ones in First Corinthians, uh, chapter twelve— these are they. It says you have the word of wisdom, you have the word of knowledge, you have faith. It says that in addition to that, you have prophecy, you have discernings of spirits, you have gifts of healing, you have workings of powers, and when you have prophecy, you have discernings of spirit, you have kinds of tongues, and you have interpretation of tongues. And then farther along, it says you have apostles, you have teachers, you have help, and you have government. All right, of these thirteen gifts, how many are relevant? How many are in us today? And if they are not present in us today, then you are looking yesterday and its enablement, whereas it is not today's enablement. But I can tell you this, that God of necessity must still give revelation today. You say, why? If God were not giving revelations today, nobody would ever get saved. Don't you understand that? So the Lord Jesus said, whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Are you Jeremiah, Elijah, or John the Baptist, one of the prophets? And the Savior said, whom do you say that I am? And Peter said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Lord Jesus said, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven. Do you think that any of you could ever have comprehended who Jesus is unless the Father had revealed it to you? Could any man do it today without the Father still revealing who Jesus is? You say no. Then revelation concerning the person and work of Christ is still valid today, because as the Savior said, no man can come to me except the Father who sent me draw him. No man's going to come to Christ unless the Father draws him, and no one is going to know who Jesus is unless it is revealed to him. And for that reason, each member of the Godhead is spoken of as the revealer. The Father is spoken of in Matthew sixteen that I just quoted to you, and in Matthew eleven the Savior says, no man knoweth the Father, save the Son and him to whom he wills to reveal him. And so the Father reveals the Son, and in Matthew eleven, the Son reveals the Father, and then, for the sake of time, in First Corinthians two, things which I have not seen, ear have not heard, it says, but unto us God revealed them through the Spirit. So, just as we have in First Corinthians twelve the distribution of the gifts by the Godhead, so the revelations also come from the Godhead. But this is what I want you to understand, that no one goes along in total ignorance and suddenly says, I know who Jesus is. What happens is this, just as Daniel read the books, and then God revealed. Just as the prophets considered their own prophecies and then understood, not to us, but unto them did we prophesy these things. God only gives revelations today after a man has had truth imparted to him, he has had time to consider that truth, and after a consideration, then God reveals it to him. I can tell you of two revelations God has given me, but in addition to that, God gave you a revelation. If you know Christ as the Son of the living God, that his blood cleanses from all sin, you've had a revelation from God. No man can teach that to you. You are born not of the blood, not of the flesh, not of the will of man. It has to be of God. And so for that reason, we still have revelation, but concerning other truths. It is not that a man, without applying himself, gets a revelation from God. It is after a man has exhaustively applied himself, then God will give him the revelation. It's like Paul praying, oh God, this thorn in the flesh, take it away. And after he had prayed the third time, God said, no, I'm not going to take it away. And in like manner, a person seeks and searches diligently, and then God says, this is the answer to that question. Now, understand that revelations are not to come immediately without any prior preparation or searching of the scripture, unless God does something exceptional. But the Savior said this, go learn what this means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Go learn what this means. Well then, is he going to give you an immediate revelation? You say, no, he expects me to go and apply myself and learn what this thing means, and then what will he do? He will reveal it unto me. I have the prophecies before me. I search and seek diligently, and after I do that, what happens? God gives me the answer. Listen to what he says in two Timothy two seven, Paul to Timothy. He says to Timothy, consider what I say, and the word is put your mind upon what I say. The Lord give thee understanding in all things, and it is more accurately translated, the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things. When? After you considered what I say. And we heard in the prayer tonight, the Bereans listened to Paul preach, and they went and searched the scriptures diligently whether those things were so, and what happened? It says, many of them therefore believed. You say, well, I thought belief just came. It says they searched the scriptures diligently, and God rewarded their searching by revealing to them who Jesus was. But what you and I are doing is we are praying to God, oh God, reveal it to me, reveal it to me. Well, if while I'm praying, I'm also searching what I know to be the inspired word of God, unless God varies from the way he usually does things, I'm going to find it as I search the scripture, as I go learn what this means, as Peter did in Acts ten when Christ is giving him that object lesson from heaven. Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Peter says, not so. And the Lord does it three times, and Peter is thinking of these things, and finally he says, I've got it. He says, God is no respecter of persons. I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Why didn't he just reveal it to him? Because he said, go learn what this means. Consider what I say. Now, at times it comes within an hour or more or less, and at times it comes after years of searching. So you continue to apply yourself diligently. And so revelations come, but let me give you some help on some of these words. It says, what is it then, brethren, when you come together, each one of you have a psalm, have a revelation. Now, what does that mean? If you came to meeting with a revelation, what gift is that? It's not a gift at all. It is an illumination, and that illumination, something that you understand, if it's going to be a blessing, if it's going to edify the saints, it has to be translated into words that can be understood by the people of God. The Lord Jesus said, whom do men say that I am? Whom do you say that I am? Peter knew. He had that revelation. It would have done us absolutely no good unless with his lips he said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You understand? When a revelation is given, that is something that is mental. It has to be manifested. If you have the gift of knowledge, look, I know things about this book. What good is that to you? You say, it's no good unless you tell me. Of course not. The gift of wisdom. If I have that wisdom, what good is it unless I impart that wisdom to you? You say, no good. And so Paul says, if I come to you, brethren, and he speaks of a revelation or with knowledge, he says, what good is it unless I teach you or unless I prophesy? You understand? So here is Paul, and he comes with revelations and knowledge, but unless he teaches or prophesies, the knowledge and the revelation that God has given him is of no value to him. All right, now, some other thoughts about these gifts that God gives. It may be that God reveals to a man, but he has not given you that special gift to impart that revelation in a special way to others. Here are two men, the Apostle Paul and Apollos. And God had taught Apollos the way of John, and he knew the baptism of John, and he knew the Old Testament scriptures accurately, it says. Here is the Apostle Paul, he knows much more. But when Apollos stood up, he was an eloquent man, and he could approach your soul with his eloquence. But when Paul preached, people looked upon him and said, his bodily presence is contemptible, and his speech is of no account. Do you understand that when God gives you the ability to impart it to others, it does not mean that that ability is of necessity with eloquence like Apollos. He may have been like the Apostle Paul, and he says, his speech is of no account. Why? Because Paul knew all these things, but he would contest. Apollos can out preach me any day. I know much more than he does, but what he knows he can express in an eloquent manner that thrills the souls of people. So for that reason, you'd better listen to men, because a man that has gifts and knowledge and revelations may come, and as the Apostle Paul, with contemptible speech, impart that truth unto you, and a man may come just with the baptism of John and thrill your soul with his eloquence. And what is so sad today is that people will be thrilled with eloquence, and a man comes along with a stammering tongue, with fullness of truth, and they reject him because they would rather have the way it's presented than the content of what is presented. So we must understand that. However, it may be that the Apostle Paul, of purpose, spoke that way so that men's confidence might stand not in men and the protections that man has, but in God and in the scriptures themselves. That's what he said. He said, when I came unto you, I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming unto you the gospel of Jesus. And then he goes on to say, I preach this way, lest your wisdom should be in men, the words of men, confidence in the flesh. He said, I preach this way so that your confidence might be in God. And there are some people who tell you how to be saved, and it has to be confidence in God because their ability to get it across is so poor. And so God says, that is quite all right, and some people of purpose do it that way. And I confess to you that I have studied homiletics, and I know the way to present things, and I had a man that all of you know, perhaps twenty five years ago, to call me aside after a meeting. He said, John, words like this, he said, let me tell you. He said, I can tell you how to be much more effective in your preaching. Oh, how? He said, now when you come to the end, he said, put a tremolo in your voice, get a certain look upon your face, and hold it. I said, thank you, thank you. I said, that's the way to do it. He said, that's the way to do it. And ever since, I've been doing just the opposite of that, because some men may say I was saved by that tremolo in his voice. Did you see the sincerity in that man's look? And some people are saved that way. That's the sad thing. But if I come up with stammering lips telling you that Christ is the savior of sinners, other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, then you'll say, well, the only thing you told me was what's in the Bible, and your confidence wouldn't be in man, and yet some people win disciples that very way. So there are some things that still are in existence today, and we must look to God and ask him to impart to us all that still remains, because there may be something that remains that we do not know. I can tell you this, that the concept of tongues and what people think about tongues isn't relevant today for this reason. A brother, a learned brother that is taught, I shan't tell you any more, but he's one of us, and he was telling me about tongues, and another man was saying, uh, don't you know that these men, uh, they need the gift of tongues today so that they can go and preach the gospel to the lost and save them? I said, tongues have never been preached at any time in God's word to sinners. They're never intended to save men's souls. Tongues are directed towards God and are for him and not for man at all. You say, what? If we had time, I would show you in First Corinthians fourteen. It says, he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God, for in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. And Paul says, just remember this, he said, I will pray with a tongue, he said, but I will pray in the spirit, and I will pray with my understanding. He said, I will sing in the spirit, I will sing with my understanding. I will bless in the spirit, I will bless with my understanding. And he speaks about giving thanks as well. Notice, if you are speaking to God because no man hears and understands, and you are blessing God and thanking God and praying to God, for whom are tongues? You say they are for God, never intended for the preaching of the gospel to sinners. You say, but it's just like this, and forgive me, but of all things, some years ago, at a remembrance meeting, I stood to my feet and praised God, and after the meeting, people came and thanked me for the prayer, and I could have said, mind your own business, I was praying to God. You understand? But as I prayed to God, it was just like when that alabaster box of ointment was opened, John remembered that the day that he wrote the gospel, he said the room was filled with the odor of the ointment. And so if a person speaks in a tongue, those words are addressed to God, but just as a prayer is addressed to God, and I've been thrilled by prayers at a remembrance meeting more than messages I've heard at other times, and yet the man was speaking them to God, and that is the way that it should be. But when you prophesy, it says prophecy is not for God, but it is for men. And the prophecy that we are to desire earnestly to possess, and we can still possess that today, not in the fullness, not in the infallibility, the way that they in the New Testament did, but the element of the gift of prophecy still exists. And if you said, what is the difference in the gift of teaching and the gift of prophecy, it would be this. I'm so glad when I'm invited to preach, the person who invites me says, we want you to preach on this subject. Thank you, because then I only have to pray about how to preach that subject. If he phones and says, we want you to come and preach, what? You decide that for yourself. First, I have to go and pray to God, what should I tell them? And then after he says, tell them this, then I have to start praying to God to understand what I'm going to tell them. Now, if it's a teaching and I have that ability, what subject do you want? I see the resurrection of Christ, the second coming of Christ. Good, I will teach you that. Fine, they chose me. But there are times when needs exist among the people of God, and one who has the gift of prophecy is able to see what is needed. As it says, the Lord Jesus came to speak a word in season to him that is weary, and a man cries unto God, and the meeting here in Waynesville needs this ministry. And then prophecy, this is what it is. These are some of the el- elements. He that speaketh and prophesies speaketh unto men edification, exhortation, consolation, also learning, comfort, and in Acts fifteen it says also confirmation. So do you mean if I have the gift of prophecy, I can impart all of those things to man? Yes, you can ascertain the need of an assembly, and you give him those blessings that I mentioned. And another thing that's so startling is this. I've been asked so many times, preach the gospel, preach the gospel. You realize that also prophecy will convert sinners? Here is a hypothetical case. It says, if everybody's talking in tongues in your assembly, and an unlearned and an unbelieving man come in and they hear you talk in tongues, they'll say you're insane at that meeting. It said, but if you all prophesy, he is convicted of all, he is reproved of all, the secrets of his heart are manifest, and he shall fall down among you, fall down upon his face and say, God is among you indeed. What brought that about? You say prophecy. And so preach the word, and the Spirit of God is able to take the word and to get to the hearts not only of the children of God, but to sinners as well. And so for that reason, let us pray for teaching. Yes, thank God. I remember H. K. Downey. He was a man that could take subjects and teach them because he would just give you line upon line, precept upon precept. It didn't matter whether they were applicable or not, he could do it. And others would come along and have their finger on the pulse of the meeting and say, this is what is needed. And he would preach, and he would give not only teaching, but permanent ministry that a- a- attended to the existent need at that time in the assembly. So these are some of the truths concerning God's enablings for today. Just this. I told you about the preaching, the ministering of the word, but what about temptations today? God says this, flee fornication. I see. How do you want to avoid fornication? Flee fornication. What's the other way? It says, to avoid fornication, that each man have his own wife and each woman her own husband. Oh, I see. Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. I see. And the Lord Jesus said, rise and pray that you enter not into temptation. I see. What's going to keep you from sin? The love of Christ constraineth us. So all of these things are not miraculous, but it's dwelling upon, it is making no provision for, it's doing everything in our power to avoid them, and as we do, then as God reveals, God will also deliver. Yes, God's enablings are infinite, but what are his enablings today? Know and avail yourself of God's enablings for today. Let us pray. Our Father, we're so thankful that at all times, whether with fullness or less fullness, you give to us what we need. Lord, we could wish that it were like those disciples who came back rejoicing, even the demons are subject to us. And thy son said, in this rejoice not that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven. Let us know what to rejoice about, but let us have that rejoicing. And our father reveal things to us, but let us not with laziness ask you to do this, but ha- out having exhausted every avenue before we expect you to reveal these things to us. We know that you can do today what you've done in the past, and we pray, Father, give us more power. But at the same time, until you do, our God, let us be prepared to use our senses, to exercise them day by day, and by reason of use, have them able to discern good and evil. Let us avail ourselves of your enablings for today. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.