The servant is God's "chosen one." I have come to believe that being a member of the Body of Christ is by Divine choice. When I teach what I think God has shown me about the Kingdom there are a few who behave as a person dying of thirst who has found cold, sparkling clear water. Then they try to share what they have learned with their friends, and it is something like addressing an Egyptian sphinx. There is no recognition that anything intelligible has been uttered.

I am at a loss to account for this, for it seems to me that Evangelical people are intelligent and devout. So becoming a member of the Body of Christ must be by Divine choice, as Isaiah stated.

God delights in those who have chosen to serve Him without regard for how their own plans and ambitions may be affected.

God puts His Spirit on those who serve Him. Today we see outstanding Christian leaders attempting to use the Spirit of God according to what they perceive to be God's will. They are speaking more of the Spirit than they are of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not wise. God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him, not those who are attempting to use the Spirit to have sensational meetings.

"He will bring justice to the nations." The concept that the return of Jesus Christ is for the purpose of bringing justice to the nations of the earth has been buried under many feet of accumulated rubbish. We say today that "Christ is coming to catch up His waiting bride to Heaven." This is totally unscriptural. There is not one verse of the Bible that supports this view.

Christ and His Bride are coming to bring justice to the nations, not to rest in Heaven. The reason for the catching up of the resurrected saints is that they might meet the Lord in the air and descend with Him as He by force installs the Kingdom of God on the earth.

God intends to restore on the earth all that was lost by Adam and Eve, and to add to this restoration marvels of which we are not able even to dream.

The Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth in order to bring this restoration to pass, not to return again to Heaven with the myriads of saints He brought with Him so He and they might do nothing of significance in the spirit realm for eternity.

The Lord's heart is in the earth. He has prayed to the Father that He might inherit the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth.

He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. (Isaiah 42:2—NIV)

What does this tell us? It tells us that the gifts and ministries of the Body must build us to a maturity of character that does not shout or cry out or raise our voice in the streets.

Today it is fashionable to encourage presumption with such statements as "go out and do great things for God"; "dare God to show His power"; and this kind of presumptuous faith.

To be continued.