LOVE

By

Grace Ryerson Roos

All Scripture quotations are from The King James

Version of the Bible, unless otherwise stated.

Copyright 1994

by Grace Ryerson Roos

Published by

A Glorious Church Fellowship, Inc.

aka Billye Brim Ministries

aka Prayer Mountain in the Ozarks

P. O. Box 40

Branson, MO 65615

(417) 336-4877

Table of Contents

Forward. .................................................................5

Reflections. .............................................................9

1 Love. ...................................................................11

2 Unconditional Love. .........................................19

3 Love Will Do It. ................................................25

4 Tell My People.. . ..............................................29

5 Control Your Environment. ............................33

6 The Inner Man. .................................................37

7 The Power of Our Words. ...............................39

8 Working With God. ..........................................41

9 Sabbath Rest. .....................................................47

Forward

I first came to know Brother Carl Roos in

1983 after the “graduation” of his wife, Grace,

to heaven. He and Grace were people of prayer

and they ministered to many other people of

prayer by sharing little nuggets of truth which

the Lord would show them in their times of

fellowship with Him. Sister Grace would write

these truths down in a newsletter called

MEDITATIONS.

After Sister Grace went to heaven, Brother

Roos became burdened to get these writings

out in book form to the Body of Christ and that

is when my association with him began.

Together, we worked on several books, On

Eagle’s Wings, Spiritual Warfare, Handfuls of

Purpose, The Voice and Leading of God, Prayer

Letters, Nuggets, and The Blood. He would call

me from time to time to check on the progress

of the books or just to minister to me and my

family in some way. Each conversation was an

encouragement to better serve the Master.

Brother Roos was a man who had learned

how to walk in love. He was comfortable with

his place in the Body of Christ and he

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Love

encouraged others to be comfortable with their

place. There was no striving, pressure or

“jockeying for position” with him. The keynote

of all his communication was simply this: Do

what the Master leads and empowers you to do

and leave the results to Him.

I remember our last conversation. It was

about the volume you now hold in your hands.

He called me just before a business trip of mine

to ask why, after getting all of the other books

out in short order, we had not put LOVE

together for printing. I finally confessed to him

that there was no problem with the book. I

simply was reluctant to print it because I knew

it was the last of the books and when it was

done, there would be nothing to keep him from

going on to heaven.

Brother Roos chuckled and reminded me

that he had given ME the responsibility of

getting the books out. He had completed his

assignment by getting the information to me.

I left for my business trip shortly after that

conversation and when I returned home,

Brother Roos had joined his beloved Grace. I

6

Forward

hope that you are blessed by this last book,

Love. I know it was important to both him and

Sister Roos and was one of the things on his last

checklist before he left earth for the other side.

Betty Oaks

7

Reflections

Grandfather Roos was a grand ole man;

With a noble brow and an erect stand:

His face—a maze of stories untold;

And eyes that shined like nuggets of gold!

He lived his life by God’s Word alone;

And in God’s house he was always well-

known;

There was a host of people when he did his

preaching;

And they always listened when he did his

teaching:

God kissed his life with many a blessing;

But I’m so glad that he’s now resting!

With his love he touched my heart;

And with his wisdom he did his part:

The pain in my heart cut like a sword;

But I knew that he wanted to be with the Lord:

When I go to glory, I’ll meet him again;

And when I do, he’ll be a brand new man!

JoAnn Roos

May 19, 1990

Age 13

9

Chapter One

Love

1

“Tell Me the ways that you love Me,” came the

soft voice of the Lord.

I was lying in bed... had just awakened.... As I

meditated on His Words, I began:

“I Love You, Lord, because You first loved

me.

“I Love You, Lord, because the Blood of

Jesus was provided for the blotting out of my

sins.

“I Love You, because You are not only my

Saviour, but You are my Friend.

“I Love You, for being my physical eyes.

For so many years, You have preserved and

kept me. I could have been blind, but You

stepped in, frustrated the disease, and gave me

sufficient sight to carry on a normal life.

“I Love You, for wisdom given in every

difficult situation.

“I Love You, because little things in my life

that cause me concern are just as important to

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Love

You as they are to me.

“I Love You, because You are so patient and

gentle in correcting and guiding me.

“I Love You, because You haven’t given up

on me, but continue to work to bring forth the

spiritual son that You see.

“I Love You, because You always have the

answers. I don’t always understand You, but

You give me enough understanding to calm my

heart and mind, and to exercise my faith that

You are in control and peace flows over me.

“I Love You, because when the enemy

comes in like a flood, You lift up a standard

against him and his work is aborted.

“I Love You, because You have assured me

that whatever I need in my body, my spirit, my

circumstances or relationships, You are well

able to meet the need, well able to give me my

heart’s desires.

“I Love You, because You knew all about

me before the foundation of the world and yet

You chose me to follow You and to have

fellowship with You; learning Your ways and

12

Love

delighting myself in Your unconditional love.

“I Love You, for Your Presence and the

comfort and strength I draw from You.

“I Love You, for causing me thru-Your-

Spirit, to be adequate in whatever You have

called me to do.

“I Love You, because as I walk in obedience

in my calling, You provide the anointing and

the words of inspiration that flow from my

heart. I need not fear falling short.

“I Love You, because even now, You are

with me in a very special way. I experience

Your tenderness and Your desires to help me

and to do for me what I cannot do for myself.

“OH! HOW I LOVE YOU, DEAR LORD.”

Words fail me. Only the Father’s language

which has been given me from above is

adequate to express my love for the Heavenly

Father. Only as I yield to this language do I

experience a spirit of satisfaction that I am

saying what my heart desires and yearns to

express.

“Thank you, Father, for this beautiful

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Love

language. It has enriched my life.

“I Love You for Your Word, Your

wonderful words of Life. What solace and joy

they have given me at all times; how they have

corrected me and built me, causing me to stand

strong in times of distress.

“I Love You, because You are my refuge

and strength, a very present help in time of

trouble.

“I Love You, Blessed Lord, because as

Corrie ten Boom expressed it, ‘You love me as I

am, but You love me too much to leave me that

way!’.

“Your faithfulness to refine, teach, purify,

and endue me with Your power is another big

reason why I Love You.”

All day long, at intervals, I went on

describing the many ways, and why I loved

Him. I kept finding so many new reasons to

express my love and appreciation to my

Heavenly Father for His goodness to me.

Will you stop and consider—right now, the

many ways that you love the Lord of Glory?

14

Love

Tell Him about them. Your Lord and Friend

longs to fellowship with you in this dear way;

calling your attention to the wealth of things

you have to praise Him for!

Again, the Lord said, “Grace, tell me the

true story of how you love Me.”

Very much puzzled over this, I began

repeating some of the things I mentioned

earlier; adding the following:

“I Love You, for the lessons You have so

carefully taught me.

“I Love You for the peace! Peace! Peace! that

You have given me when I was in turmoil!

“I Love You for just being You at all times,

unchanging and faithful and loving me with

such amazing tenderness and gentleness.

“For always being there when I needed

You, and never turning away from me.

“For helping me to honestly face issues and

to assume whatever blame rightly belonged to

me.

“For giving me strength when I was weak

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Love

spiritually or physically.

“For causing the Word to work for me

when Your conditions were met.

“I Love You, for the time Paul (son) broke

his arm and You touched him so beautifully.

He slept without pain that night and was able

to use his arm normally in a matter of three or

four days.

“For the time Carleen (daughter) was

choking to death on something, her eyes rolling

back in her head, and she was beginning to turn

black in the face. You heard our cries, and she

swallowed whatever it was and relaxed—so

limp and exhausted, but safe and well.

“For the day little eleven-month-old Joseph

(son) received a deep burn on the back of one

hand, and screamed in pain. I held him by

sheer force and cried to You that You had

taught me Yourself that You were sufficient

whatever my need, and instantly Joe-Joe

stopped crying, and relaxed against me. In a

minute or two, he was fast asleep. Oh, great is

Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”

16

Love

The Lord questioned me again. “Am I any

less faithful to you now?”

“No Lord,” I answered. “If anything You

have shown me how great is Your faithfulness.

Lord, You know I do not doubt Your

faithfulness. Your faithfulness is the basis of my

own faith.”

Softly came His response: “Then remember,

I have not changed: I ever remain the same!”

Meditating over all this, I realized that

somewhere in me the Lord detected a lessening

of my faith. These past few years I have come

thru some fiery times.... Only God can appreciate

my situation. I will not try to describe my

emotions and reactions, my struggles and the

attacks of the enemy that only I experienced.

I have continued to maintain my position of

faith in spite of darkness and the deceptive

cleverness of the enemy.

God has been very Faithful to see that I was

not overwhelmed, and the enemy was unveiled

for what he is. However, a brighter day has

dawned. The enemy that challenged every

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Love

advance I have made is put down. And I will

come forth the stronger and the wiser.

I shall see with new eyes. . I have that

assurance in my heart.

Yes: I can agree with Him: He is no less

faithful now than He has been in all my past.

Praise His wonderful Name!

18

Chapter Two

Unconditional Love

2

I woke up this morning singing deeply

within me, “Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all

that is within me bless His Holy Name! Bless

the Lord, Oh my soul!” (See Psalm 103: 1).

Then this prophecy came forth:

“Train yourself to hear the royal sound... to

love Me utterly even as I love you. I love you so I

ache to help you. Love Me so it will not matter

how I lead you.

“You will eat or not eat; sit or stand; talk or

not talk; sing or not sing; go or stay; sleep or stay

awake; work or not work.

“All your desire will be to please Me and to

please Me only.” (End of prophecy).

Unconditional love is the kind of love God

has for man. He loves us regardless of our

many failures, our willfulness and

disobedience.

That

God-kind-of-Love

(unconditional love) is revealed in the

following Scripture passage:

Love suffers long and is kind: Love envies

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Love

not; Love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, Seeks not her

own, Is not easily provoked, Thinks no evil;

Rejoices not in iniquity, But rejoices in the

truth; Bears all things, Believes all things, Hopes

all things, endures all things, LOVE NEVER

FAILS... And now abides faith, hope, LOVE,

These three, but the greatest of these is love.

I Cor. 13: 4-8, Paraphrase

The word, unconditional means without

conditions... absolute. God’s love is not

dependent on anything we do. God is love,

absolute love. This love is complete, entire, and

not mixed with anything else.

Too many times man’s love is lovely only as

long as man is pleasing us. Many parents have

turned off their children by constantly meeting

them with a critical spirit, and no love to salve

the wound. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to

reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,

and of judgment.

All we do when we do the reproving is

alienate the very people we are supposed to

love unconditionally.

20

Unconditional Love

Only God can change hearts, relationships

and circumstances. All our condemnations

minister only death to the very thing we want

to see come alive to God. Here it is where we

must come into the rest of faith, that

acknowledges that God is God.

Stop judging them and let God handle it all

in His infinite wisdom and His unconditional love.

He alone can bring to pass the consecrations

and devotions we long to see in others.

In the meantime our acceptance of them as

they are, surrounding them with our tender

love, showing them we care for them

unconditionally, will do more to win them than

all the corrections we can produce (thinking we

are doing God a service).

“No man cometh unto the Father except the

Father draw him.”

Who has to change them?

The Holy Spirit.

He will do His own wooing.. in His own

way. . just trust Him.

We all recognize there are times when we

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Love

must speak up, but only when the Spirit leads.

He will give us the right words and the right

spirit at such a time. AND MORE! He will have

us speak and shut up—when He is through

speaking.

God never bangs anyone over the head. He

knows they get the message the first time.

Most parents think they must repeat, and

repeat, and repeat what they have said. They

seemingly never get through with their

corrections.

There is a season in God’s economy for all

things. There is definitely a season when He

will deal with all of us to bring to pass His will

in us.

BUT, and this is a very important “but”: if

God is not dealing with our loved ones, we may

as well save our breath. Our words only bear

fruit when HE prompts us to speak.

1 Follow God’s example in everything you

do just as a much loved child imitates his father.

2 Be full of love for others, following the

example of Christ who loved you and gave

22

Unconditional Love

Himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your

sins. And God was pleased, for Christ’s love for

you was like sweet perfume to Him.

Ephesians 5: 1,2 The Living Bible

23

Chapter Three

Love Will Do It

3

I woke up in the night recently, and found

myself singing the chorus of "Love Lifted Me!”

Loudly it rang in the corridors of my inner-

self and then suddenly, the last verse came forth

with power and such joy!

At the same time I saw myself in-the-spirit,

dancing to the melody, from one end of my

dark living room to the other, in worship and

adoration. (An outside guard light provides

enough light inside, to see where everything is.)

I hurried out of bed, and went to the living

room, where I began to dance and sing under

my breath; keeping time to the melody:

“Souls in danger look above Jesus

completely saves!

He will lift you by His Love out of the

angry waves.

He’s the Master of the sea Billows His

will obey,

He your Saviour wants to be,

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Love

Be saved (healed) today!

Love lifted me! Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help Love

lifted me!

Such joy in His love overwhelmed me! It

was His love that was going to bring me out of

the angry waves of affliction, and because He is

the Master of the sea, those angry waves will

obey Him!

How tremendous His love!

How completely it fills the need, and

supplies the answer!

How beautiful His compassion and His

identification with our needs.

Over and over I sang the verse and chorus;

dancing before the Lord in holy awe and

adoration that He cared so much.

Beloved, He cares for you in the same way!

His love will meet your need also.

When nothing else could His love found a

way!

Praise His Dear Name!

26

Love Will Do It

Finally, I went back to bed, only to wake up

later in the night to dance and rejoice a second

time in His GREAT LOVE AND PROVISION.

27

Chapter Four

Tell My People...

4

The following prophecy was received by

Sister Roos at 5: 00 A. M., November 29, 1966...

It is still for us today.

Tell My people that I love them.

That My love is not a love of judgment

whereby I stand to condemn them at the first

misstep: Rather, My love is a compassionate love

that remembers they are of dust!

Have they stumbled?

Have they fallen?

Have they acted unwisely and independent of

Me and My Spirit?

STILL REMIND THEM: I love them with a

heart overflowing with understanding and mercy.

AND WILL INSTANTLY RESTORE THEM

if they will but turn to Me.

I am not difficult to serve! I am not an

austere, self-righteous One!

NAY: I long, I yearn after My own, and would

have them know for a certainty there is

forgiveness with me!

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Love

There is a new beginning with Me!

There is Love that plans for their eternal

good. Yea, have they met a defeat?

Have they been overwhelmed?

Yea, I am Master of the situation, and am

ready to take charge and right the wrong things,

and bring blessings out of chaos!

Yea, tell them I am not a God with an

upraised club, but I am The God of THE

NAIL-SCARRED HAND!

Has disobedience brought about a great

miscarriage of My eternal plans for them?

Remind them that I am still Master of all, And if

they will again turn to Me in humble contrition, I

will do the impossible thing!

I will make defeat turn into victory...

I will cause the bitter fruit of shame to bring

them strength.

AND they shall again abound to My Glory!

YEA! TELL THEM I AM WITH THEM TO DO THEM

GOOD ALL THE DAYS OF THEIR LIVES!

And thus the Spirit sayeth for 1967:

Yea, My people, FEAR NOT! For fear hath

30

Tell My People...

torment.

YEA, I SAY AGAIN, FEAR NOT! Know ye not

that there is no counsel, nor wisdom, nor

understanding against the Lord and they that are

His?

For WHO is he that sayeth and it cometh to

pass when the Lord commandeth it not?

For though they shall take counsel together, it

shall come to nought.

Though they speak the WORD, it shall not

stand.

For I am with thee to prosper thy way, and to

keep thy foot from faltering.

I disappoint the devices of the crafty that

their hands cannot perform their enterprise!

For though they intend evil against thee, their

mischievous device they are not able to execute.

Shall not his mischief return upon his own head,

and his violent dealing descend upon his own

plate?

Thou art children of the day and walkest

surely and boldly in the light of My truth. Fear

not, for there is no cause for thee to stumble. For

am I not the GOD OF THE HILLS as well as THE

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Love

GOD OF THE PLAINS?

Is there anything too hard for Me?

CONSIDER YE, AND FEAR NOT!

Yea, FEAR NOT the world’s fears... nor be

afraid.

Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself, and LET

Him be your FEAR... LET Him be your DREAD!

(end of prophecy)

Fear thou not for I am with thee: be not

dismayed; for I am thy God! I will strengthen

thee; Yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee

with the right hand of My righteousness.

Isaiah 41: 10

32

Chapter Five

Control Your Environment

5

It had been a frustrating day for me. I had

made plans to spend most of my time writing

for our Meditations, but for some reason this

was never realized. I seemed to be caught up in

a maze of very good things: Things that needed

to be done, but not what I wanted to do. And

my want-to was God’s will for me, I felt sure.

Yes, I was busy about His business, in what

I did do, but again, it was not what I was

burdened to do.

That night I awakened from sleep, hearing:

“Grace, take authority over your circumstances:

Control your environment. Don’t let anything

push you around: Be in command.”

I thought back over my day and realized I

had it within my power to do what I wanted to

do, and which was the perfect will of God for

the day: But I had let demands on my time

pressure me. It seemed some things needed to

be done right then, but in reality, one more day

would not have made any difference.

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Love

In retrospect, I knew what I should have

done.

I should have refused to be influenced by

these pressures, and should have been

controlled instead to produce what I was led to

do, and that was spend the day writing!

I repented.

I recalled that recently I had published a

short article on Jeremiah, in which the Lord

spoke to him about his persecutors in Israel.

The Living Bible states:

You are to influence them, not let them

influence you! They will fight against you like a

besieging army against a high city wall. But

they will not conquer you for I am with you to

protect and deliver you, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 15: 19-21

Since that time I have often been reminded,

‘‘Control your environment!”

Then I would rise up in the spirit and take

the situation under control, and permit God’s

perfect will at that time to come forth.. not

only for myself, but for all concerned.

34

Control Your Environment

You run into angry people who want to

take their anger out on you. Silently take

authority over those spirits of anger and strife, and

cast them down—binding their powers.

The tensions will begin to relax, and there

will be a complete change in attitude and voice.

They will suddenly become quite nice to deal

with. (Because you refused to be intimidated,

and demanded right relationships. )

If someone tries to “use” you, putting you

in a strain and seeking to change your plans for

their own convenience, refuse to be changed.

Silently bind the selfish spirit, and cast it down...

take ascendancy over it: Situations will improve

and attitudes will change.

Second Timothy 1: 7 states, “For God hath

not given us the spirit of fear (or frustration); but of

power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” We have

the mind of Christ, and His mind must rule so

that we may be blessed.

We are taught in Luke 10: 19, “Behold, I give

unto you power... over all the power of the enemy,

and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

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Love

In Deuteronomy 28: 13 we find, “And the

Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail; and

thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be

beneath (or under pressures). .."

The Word teaches us that we are made kings

and priests unto God. They are roles of rulership.

God desires that we behave like kings and priests,

and always stay in charge.

If we do not rule by the spirit in our lives,

the enemy can easily take over our situations

and bring distress and problems! THEN WHO IS

TO BLAME?

36

Chapter Six

The Inner Man

6

Do you ever have the sensation of standing

on tiptoes in the inner-man and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g

for something you know is out-there-in-the-spirit

that leaves you so expectant and full of

anticipation you thrill-to-the-depths with worship

and adoration, for He WHO is the Cause of it all?

God is moving in His “chosen” in a great

way, but it is a hidden way. This work is not out

where everyone can see it. It is in the inner-heart

—in secret: before the Lord!

The world says, “There’s ole Sister-So-and-

So! There’s ole Brother-So-and-So!” but they are

fooled .. We are not “ole” anything. . WE ARE

CHILDREN OF THE KING! AND GREATLY FAVORED!

37

Chapter Seven

The Power of Our Words

7

God has been emphasizing again the power

of our words. He has dealt very strictly with me,

about my speech.

A man of God once wrote, “Not only does

God desire, through faith, to restore our words,

and purity, He seeks to restore also that

authority and dominion, which man held

before “the fall,” but lost through sin.”

He calls words, “sacred instruments:”

noting that man is the only part of God’s

creation with whom He shared His power of

speech.

I am finding it better to say nothing at all

than to override a check of the spirit in barging

forward and saying what is natural, and so

many times, unnecessary.

We will sorely need the words of authority

and dominion in the days to come.

Now is the time to purify our speech and

hold it purely for God’s use.. So that our

concentrated words will be strong and bear the

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mark of authority and power.

I, for one, desire this word of power.

Our words create. . They build the very

atmosphere we live in. They produce from-the-

spirit what they are of.

Even men of the world know that! We are

deluged with articles about "positive thinking,

and its merits.”

This is true more so in the Spirit. So many

are “taken captive” by their words, and are held

in adversity and illness, and hard places:

Because that is ALL they ever witness to.

The language of faith is positive. It is

declarative.

Let us watch our speech: Let us testify only to

what God says about us; no matter what we see

and feel in the natural.

THE TRUE FACTS ARE WHAT GOD SAYS.

Feelings and the natural mind are our

enemies! GUARD AGAINST THEM!

40

Chapter Eight

Working With God

8

As we face another year, the Lord’s message

to us is that He loves us, no matter what our

state. He wants us to know that there is nothing

to fear.. And yet, there is one more thing that I

believe is imperative also to make this coming

year count for God. GOD WORKS WITH US TO

ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSE—NOT

INDEPENDENT OF US.

By this I mean, we must cooperate with His

leadings to realize the fullness of His purpose. If He

leads us to do something, He will not do it

without our cooperation.

For instance, a close friend had waited for

months for her husband to finish their bedroom

to match the rest of the house. She prayed and

prayed, and tried to inspire him to start on it,

but nothing was accomplished.

She was very grieved in her spirit.

One day, while praying again about this

need, the thought came and persisted, “Why

don’t I just move everything out of the room?”

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Love

She considered this and put the suggestion into

action.

When her husband came in that night, he

saw the empty room, and of his own volition,

went to work: putting up new paneling, etc.,

and in a matter of a few days, had transformed

the room.

When she cooperated with the Spirit’s leading,

the task was accomplished without any

pressure.

It was a thrilling revelation to her.

God knew what it would take to motivate

him... an empty room!

Another was led of the Spirit, years ago, to

take daily exercises. Sometimes it seemed like

such a useless chore: particularly when tired.

But knowing the ways of the Spirit, and for

obedience's sake, she continued them through the

years.

Today, she reaps her cooperation... Where

many grow stiff and feel every year of their age,

she is supple and elastic: enjoying an extended

youthfulness.

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Working With God

God works with us for our personal good,

and for the greater effectiveness of our

ministry, witness, OR GENERAL GOOD.

What is the Spirit of God leading you to do?

Does it seem a little “out of His line” (like

the physical exercises) and you question its

source?

God is the God of the physical man as well as

the spiritual man. He is just as much interested

in our physical welfare as He is in our spiritual

maturity. He is a personal God, and He deals

with us along personal lines.

Is the Spirit of the Lord leading you to train

yourself along some line in which you are

gifted?

Are you obeying?

Some years ago the Lord led me to enroll in

a correspondence school for Christian writers. I

finished the course.

I cannot pinpoint anything especially that I

learned that helped me. Yet—the overall

picture did something for me. I absorbed good

writing habits and know-how, in spite of it all.

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Love

Yet, being a good writer is not enough. One

must know THE MIND OF GOD CONCERNING His

PEOPLE, or their needs will go unmet!

God can, of course, overrule our lack of

training. But most of the time, He insists we work

with Him in doing our part.

Have you put yourself at the Lord's disposal

to bring to pass His purpose?

Are you cooperating with Him to see this

accomplished?

To make the most of our new year, we must

resolve to work with our God in all that He

leads, and thus cooperating with Him fully,

reap the blessings that He has in store for us.

This is important to all of us.

This article is not eloquent.. not a

tremendous thing, but a very down-to-earth

proposition, that anyone can follow. We are

without excuse if we do not.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the

father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and

earth is named,

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Working With God

That he would grant you, according to the

riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might

by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by

faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and

height;

And to know the love of Christ, which

passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with

all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3: 14-19

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Chapter Nine

Sabbath Rest

9

Sabbath-keeping, to me is not keeping a day. I

am not a Sunday-keeper in the usual sense of the

word, although I observe Sunday as a day of rest

and worship.

In our zeal to promote one day above

another, we Christians have overlooked the

deeper spiritual significance of Sabbath-Rest.

The true Sabbath is entering a rest-in-the-

spirit where we cease from all our efforts and

labors, and just sink into the rest-of-the-Lord.

It is a heart that has learned that (we) can do

nothing. . That our God is running this universe

and doing a great job. That He has His Hand on

our tiny segment of life, and He will order it for

His glory and our eternal good!

It is complete rest from all “wanting-to-work-

for-the-Lord!”

It is rest when marking time, seemingly

accomplishing nothing.

It is contentment with whatever the Lord

orders.

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Love

It is quiet peace, while sitting on the

sidelines, watching others working like beavers

for God.

It is not fretting because He calls us to sit

still and listen only to His voice.

Sabbath-Rest is the utter peace of being

what God wants us to be, even if everyone

around us misunderstands our motives and our

lack of ministry.

Sabbath-Rest is being able to say from the

depths of our heart, “Lord, I want only what

You want: Nothing more, nothing less! If it

pleases You to have me sit at Your feet, doing

nothing but just communing with You, well

and good! I will serve in this way.”

The Lord Jesus reminded the Pharisees of

His day, that, “The Sabbath was made for man and

not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is

Lord also of the Sabbath” (See Mark 2: 27, 28).

The Sabbath was given to man as a day of

rest. Physically, a man must have cessation of

labor every seven days for health’s sake.

I believe we all agree on that. BUT, what we

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Sabbath Rest

fail to see is there is a counterpart-in-the-Spirit that

is even more important: and that is the rest of the

spiritual man.

Leviticus 25: 4 says:

But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of

rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the Lord: Thou

shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy

vineyard. That which growth of its own accord

of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather

the grapes of thy vine undressed, for it is a year

of rest unto the Lord.

I know a number of ministers and Christian

workers whom God has in-these-last-days, called

to “Sit down,” and let their land lie idle:

forbidden by-the-Spirit to sow their fields or

prune their vineyards. Whatever comes up of

itself is not even to be harvested. God has called

for a “rest-to-their-labors” and brought them

into a discipline of waiting and trusting that the

Lord of the Harvest knows what He is doing.

“Oh, you must be a soul-winner!.. You

must do everything you can to preach and

minister! Souls are dying, and there you sit!”

Do you know, Fellow Christian, that we as

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Love

followers of Christ, must do only one thing. .

That is DO His WILL.

Hear the Word of the Lord, “Apart from Me

ye can do nothing.”

Much preaching and sowing and reaping

are done in the energy of the flesh, with a sense of

zeal and duty pushing one on. Paul was

forbidden by the Holy Spirit to enter Asia, and

when he “assayed to go into Bithynia, the Spirit

suffered them not.” There were souls in

darkness there. But it did not please the Lord to

cultivate that field at that time.

The Lord of the Harvest knows what He is

doing. All He desires of us is our obedience and

trust.

We see where zeal and ardor for the work

of the Lord actually hindered the Lord’s

purposes. Moses, knowing his calling as

Israel’s deliverer, was w-a-y ahead of God’s

schedule and had to flee out of the land to save

his own life. Moses was “called”, but he was

not wise to the ways of the Lord. He thought

everything depended upon him.

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Sabbath Rest

There is a high percentage of nervous

breakdowns among ministers of the Gospel.

This has always amazed me. . but I feel sure

they thought everything depended on them

and their ability to accomplish their ministries;

they must expend themselves, sacrifice

everything to get the message out.

Their zeal and ardent love for God is

commendable. (I would not minimize their

consecrated labors.) But God, Who hung His

only Son on Calvary to redeem man, did not

turn the work of salvation over to men. That is

the work of the Holy Spirit Himself, and it is

time we quit trying to do His work.

I suffered much frustration of spirit and

heartache, before I learned that ALL God required

of me was to walk-in-the-Spirit, hand-in-hand

with Him. He would give me my task to do as

the occasion arose. I did not need to fret over

my duty as a Christian. I was responsible to do

what He required of me and no more!

I may be shocking some of you readers! You

may wonder, “Don’t you have a burden for

souls?”

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Love

I may shock you even further when I

answer, “No, not unless the Lord puts the

burden upon me: then only can I travail in

prayer!”

When the Spirit of the Lord says, “Travail

for this need,” He travails through me, and

brings forth His Holy will, because it is His

Spirit that makes intercession.

I remember distinctly lying flat on my face on

my living room floor, my head a fountain of

tears, and my heart breaking for a soul that was

dear to the Lord. I poured out all that the Spirit

put in my heart to cry, and then peace came. I

went back to bed and to sleep. The prayer was

heard and victory was given.

There is no doubt when the Spirit Himself

prays.

This is being “co-laborers with God” (See I

Corinthians 3: 9). This is being “one-with-His-

Mind” concerning His harvest. He knows where

to reap, where to sow, where to cultivate and

water the seed. He alone knows the need of the

harvest field, and we are wearing ourselves out

trying to do His work in our own energies and

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Sabbath Rest

wisdom.

He works so effortlessly.

We make things h-a-r-d.

Men would admonish you: “Look at your

idle fields, and the fruit that is going to waste!”

What they fail to understand is that the

Lord of the Harvest has called for a “rest” in

your part of the vineyard. He will not bless

your disobedience in cultivating out of His

will.

A precious minister in the Lord saw a great

need in his vineyard. He labored, sweated and

fought doggedly to meet that need. He met

obstacle after obstacle, discouragement upon

discouragement, believing the enemy was

working against him, and that God would not

give him the victory.

Finally, circumstances forced him to leave

his work undone. Many months later, the Lord

revealed to him that He had hindered him

along the way. God did not need that building:

It did not fit into His plans at all. It was His

VINEYARD and He would care for it in His WAY!

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Love

Many of us, because we know nothing of

Sabbath-Rest, rush in and pick our fruit GREEN.

All we see is fruit, and zealously reach to pick

it, so sure we are commissioned to do so.

Fruit picked before the “picking stage” will

sour and become useless. This is one reason

there are so many souls who start well but fall

by the wayside when self-denial and the

discipline of a Christian walk begin to pale.

The Lord of the Harvest knows the exact

time to pick His fruit, and He would not have

you SPOIL it.

Now all this does not excuse lazy Christians

from doing anything. It is rather to encourage

all of us to walk hand-in-hand with the Lord

and let Him run His own business.

Let us be the errand boys and the bearers of

GOOD NEWS as He dictates.

The more sensitive we become to His

leadership, the more we find that He is in many

of the small things of each passing day: A word

spoken, a smile given, a courtesy extended,

maybe a book loaned, or a tract passed on, or a

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Sabbath Rest

telephone call to say “Hello” and to speak a

word as the Lord directs; or better yet, a letter

from the depths of the heart.

When we are faithful to follow the leading

of the Spirit in the little things, God knows we

will respond in the bigger things. We have

learned to be AT REST IN HIM, in ourselves, in our

circumstances, and there is p-e-a-c-e within and

without. We have ceased from our own works.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also

hath ceased from his own works as God did from

his.... Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being

left us of entering into his rest, any of you

should seem to come short of it.

Hebrews 4: 10, 11

God has given us a rest that is ours seven days a

week; a rest that is internal not external; a rest

that brings one into fellowship with God as

nothing else can.

An unknown author once wrote, “We have

got to get back to the gait of Galilee! Study

Christ’s life. His was the impossible task of

crowding into three short years a whole lifetime

of work. He never rushed around in flurried

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Love

activity, but quietly did each day just what his

Father willed for Him to do in that day. Not

any more! Not any less!

“One day He told Martha ‘One thing is

needful.. .’ He knew! He lived by it! Letting

God plan His days, while He simply DID WHAT

HE WAS TOLD TO DO!”

John 6: 38 says, “For I came down from

heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him

that sent me.”

John 8: 28, 29 says:

... I do nothing of myself; but as my Father

hath taught me, I speak these things.

And he that sent me is with me: the Father

hath not left me alone; for I do always those

things that please him.

Let Him lay His Healing Hand upon your

soul, and draw all the hurry and fever out of

your veins; until you realize that you are not a

mighty messenger and important worker of

His, full of care and responsibility, but only a

little child, with a Father’s bidding to fulfill.. to

cease to hurry lest you lose sight of His Face. .

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Sabbath Rest

this is rest.

57

Other books

by

Grace Ryerson Roos

Spiritual Warfare

Handfuls of Purpose

Prayer Letters

Nuggets

On Eagles Wings

The Blood

The Voice and Leading of God

Available from:

Billye Brim Ministries

P. O. Box 40

Branson, MO 65615

(800) 972-3447

Document Outline

- Love

- Table of Contents

- Forward

- Reflections

- 1 Love

- 2 Unconditional Love

- 3 Love Will Do It

- 4 Tell My People...

- 5 Control Your Environment

- 6 The Inner Man

- 7 The Power of Our Words

- 8 Working With God

- 9 Sabbath Rest

Table of Contents

Forward.

Reflections.

1 Love.

2 Unconditional Love.

3 Love Will Do It.

4 Tell My People.. .

5 Control Your Environment.

6 The Inner Man.

7 The Power of Our Words.

8 Working With God.

9 Sabbath Rest.

Love

Table of Contents