View source for To be continued A Basic Concept 18

==A Basic Concept, #18==
       
        <p><em>Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (Isaiah 43:10) </em></p>
        <p>The witnesses of God. God has brought forth His witnesses since man has been on the earth. From the days of Abel there have been people who have represented God and His righteousness. </p>
        <p>Every witness of God is eternal. Whether we are referring to Noah, or Abraham, or Moses, or Elijah, or Paul the Apostle, that person is bearing witness of God's righteousness to the present day. </p>
        <p>No individual can be a complete witness of God until he is in the image of the Lord and in union with the Lord. The more nearly complete the image is, the more nearly complete the union is, the more the testimony approaches perfection. The Lord Jesus is the complete, perfect witness of God. </p>
        <p>God spends much time and effort when He fashions a witness. </p>
        <p>For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. (Isaiah 43:3) </p>
        <p>The true witness of God is an individual who has been chosen of God, who knows God, who believes God, who understands that God alone is God. In order for a person to come to know God to this extent he must be brought through a multitude of experiences—many of them distressing. </p>
        <p>When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:2) </p>
        <p>God brings us through distressing circumstances so we will be pressed into God, so we will know Him in a personal manner, His perfect faithfulness, His unfailing love, His dependability, the immutability of His Word, His concern for the details of our life. </p>
        <p>Sometimes many years go by while the Lord is teaching us. During this period it may be true that the most intense desires of our heart remain unfulfilled. Every relationship, circumstance, and thing is tested, tested, tested. Unending patience is required on our part. </p>
        <p>The most important treasure we lay up during our pilgrimage on the earth is the knowledge of the Holy One. It requires our entire lifetime to come to know the Lord. "That I may know him," Paul cried. </p>
        <p>As we pursue the Lord, responding faithfully to the crosses and challenges, as well as to the blessings that are given us, we become an ever more effective witness of the Lord. Bearing witness of Lord often must include much more than "telling others about Jesus," although telling others about Jesus has its place in the plan of God. </p>
        <p>The strongest witness we can give is the expression of our entire personality as we grow more in the image of the Lord and in union with Him. </p>
        <p>The new Jerusalem is the complete witness of God, the clear revelation of His holy Being. The new Jerusalem will reflect the Person, will, and way of God throughout eternity. </p>
        <p>[[To be continued A Basic Concept 19]]
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