The person who would live by faith must be ready to stand for God when the churches no longer are fervent toward the Lord. God must have His "Antipas" (against all) in every generation. He who would walk with God must be prepared to walk alone. Those who must be popular, part of the crowd, will never reap the rich harvest that awaits the true servant of the Lord.

One would think that the prophets always knew the Lord's will, that they always experienced every comfort, that they were happy and contented people being the prophets of the Lord. The truth is, the prophets had to walk by faith in God. They were rejected by Israel. We imagine today that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, were regarded as the great men of Israel. In actuality the Lord's people at that time were as they are today—unbelieving and hard of heart. They received only the palace prophets who told them how wonderful they were and promised them every material and spiritual blessing, even when they sinned and disobeyed God.

The "palace prophets" live in luxury.

Jeremiah, after having been promised authority over the nations while still a young man, experienced much sorrow.

Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. (Jeremiah 15:10)

Would you like to be a prophet of the Lord?

The faith of the prophet is that of the individual who, like Joseph, has been singled out for a high place in the Lord; who then is cast out by his loved ones and forced to endure many hardships.

Those who are called to be witnesses of God must come to know the Lord. We come to know the Lord as we are brought through the fire and yet are not burned; as we are brought through the water and yet are not drowned. We pass through numerous dangers, tribulations, and traps set by the enemy. Our faith carries us through to victory because we are coming to know the faithfulness and love of Him who has called us to be a witness.

If we are called to rule we will suffer. The higher the position to which we have been called the deeper will be dug the foundation of our faith. Our obedience will be tested to the ultimate degree. Only a persevering faith in God can keep us faithful while we are in the fire.

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: (Hebrews 11:35)

Our faith must grasp the future. Our hope is the resurrection from the dead. No matter what takes place in the present life, we like Job, will stand once again on the earth.

Throughout the Church Era the blessed hope of the Christians has been changed from renewal of life on the earth to eternal residence in Heaven (perhaps as a result of the philosophy of Gnosticism). If the believer views eternal residence in Heaven as the goal of salvation he will find it very difficult to understand the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is designed for life on the earth.

To be continued.