The eternal destiny of the saint is formed by his response to the death of the cross. If he is willing and obedient he suffers for a while and then is given to eat of the good of the land.

If he holds back from the Lord even the smallest area of his life he cannot enter the glorious destiny of the sons of God.

The Lord, He is God. We are His creatures. Any display of disobedience on our part prevents us from enjoying fellowship with God.

God puts His desires for us in our heart. However, we may interpret our desires in a manner different from what the Lord knows to be best for us—that which will bring us everlasting joy.

Throughout life we are chastened, if we are one of God's elect, and required finally to give back to God every one of our desires. If we do not we fail as a son of God, a victorious saint. If we give back to God every desire without exception, God purifies, refines, adds to, subtracts from each desire until the true value is attained. Then He gives back to us what alone can fulfill our deepest longings.

Only the person who is persuaded of God's goodness and faithfulness is able to stand under the searching and testing of the Lord. If he stands, the throne of glory is his. The fullness of joy is his. The land of promise is his.

And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; (Joshua 3:14)

The Christian life is not static. It does not consist of an assent to a set of theological statements. It is a day-by-day movement from union with Satan to union with Christ. Every true saint continually is experiencing change in his personality as the Holy Spirit converts him into the image of the Lord Jesus and brings him into union with Christ.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (II Corinthians 3:18)

The people "removed from their tents." There was a going forward. There was a period of instruction followed by action.

The genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus lives in a "tent," so to speak. He is not a part of this world system and is not at home in the world. He or she is ready to pack up and move at a moment's notice. The Lord Jesus is visiting people today, some of whom are new Christians and some of whom are experienced saints, and giving them a hunger and thirst for righteousness.

They shall be filled. They shall obtain the increased Presence and knowledge of Christ for which they hunger if they are willing to leave what is familiar and press forward into a closer walk with the Lord.

Some believers reap Christ thirtyfold. Some believers reap Christ sixtyfold. Some believers reap Christ a hundredfold.

What causes the difference in reaping? It is the willingness of the believer to be pruned by the Father.

Some believers are willing to be pruned once. They reap thirtyfold.

Other believers consent to be pruned again after they have borne some fruit. They reap sixtyfold.

A third group places no limitations on God. Whatever He does to them and with them is agreeable to them. They recognize that the only important issue of life is Christ, and all their plans and energies are directed toward the pursuit of Christ. They reap a hundredfold.

To be continued.