The Christian and His Devotional Life — Gerhard Du Toit

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You are reading Christian literature on a consistent basis. That's wonderful. They say to us that 70 of your growth as a Christian is depending upon what you read. Now, the most important book in our lives is the Word of God.

I learned the English language through the Word of God. My background, my native tongue is a dialect that we speak of as Afrikaans. And it's a combination between German and Dutch. I mean, just come here, Brother Denny, I want to teach you something.

Say, Ack. Say what? Ack. Ess. Ess. E. E. Boba. Boba. Jan. Jan. He just said I'm overbooned. Is this recorded? Is there anyone who's got a place for me to stay tonight? Anyway, so when God spoke to me about, I'm sorry my brother, please forgive me, oh man, I feel like I can cry now, anyway, when God spoke to me about Britain, I had to learn the English language, and so someone gave me an old translation, an old Bible, King James Bible, and I bought myself the Old and the New Testament and cassette, and for seven years I committed myself to the listening of the Old Testament for 90 minutes every morning and 45 minutes every night, and I think in those seven years I went through the Old Testament 49 times, and I went through the New Testament 87 times, or 84 times, and the Word of God became part of my life, and when I went to the British Isles, I never took one of these old Webster dictionaries with me, but I took the Word of God with me, and if I was looking for a word to spell, I would think about it and say, now that word is in Romans chapter 12, and I would go to it, and that's where I found it.

So the Word of God is the most important book of our lives, but then there are some wonderful books that you and I can read. I try, and the last 17 years, and I'm just sharing this with you because they say men listen to cassettes easier than reading, and they said our wives find it easier to read, and I sometimes have difficulty when I read a book that I read so fast that I don't really get what's in that book, and what I've done for the last 17 years, I have been reading books with a microphone like this onto 90 minute cassettes, and in my library I've got loads of books that I've read onto cassettes, and then if I get into the car or a van and I drive for 9 hours or 18 hours or whatever, I listen through these books, and if I've listened through a book 5 or 6 or 7 times, then that book becomes part of my life.

It's a little book, and what I normally do, I read the life story of someone, I don't read his life story onto cassette, but like one year I read the life story of Dr. Andrew Murray, and that year I tried to read all the books of Andrew Murray onto cassette, then the next year I took Oswald Chambers, read his life story, because then I was able to understand where he came from, and then I tried to read everything that Oswald Chambers wrote, read it onto cassette, and then re-listened to it.

One year I made the mistake to try and do it with Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and I mean, you know, he preached 14 years out of Romans, and spent 8 years in the epistle to the Ephesians. In fact, I don't think it's true, but they said to me that he began to preach out of Ephesians, and young people got married and went to the mission field and came back with children, and he was in chapter 1 verse 3.

Anyway there are two books, if you were in our session yesterday afternoon, and some of you have been coming and telling me some of the breakthroughs that God has given to you out, and if you've been trusting God for the witness of His Spirit, that your life is totally surrendered to God.

If you sit here and you didn't agree with me yesterday afternoon, I want you to go and pray about it. I want you to go and ask God and say, God, is there really a life in the fullness of the Spirit of God?

You go and ask God about that. Because sometimes when we disagree with something, if I disagree with what someone says, I get alone with God and say, God, you need to sort me out in this one, and you need to speak to me about that.

If you've trusted God for the fullness of His Spirit, this is a great little book, Helps to Holiness. This book belongs to Brother Dennis, so don't ask me if you can get it. And then there is another book, and this is a must, if you are serious of God, my brother, you need to get hold of this book, by Richard Taylor, The Disciplined Life.

I kind of believe that God can't bless a life which is not disciplined. I just firmly believe it in my relationship with God that if I want the blessings of God in my life, then my life as a Christian needs to be a life that is disciplined in the presence of God.

And I also mentioned to you yesterday that we have this material, and if you are really keen, we will be able to maybe make copies of this, that I quite often use in counselling people in the fullness of God's Spirit.

And the first chapter deals with stepping into the blessings of God, then secondly standing in the blessings of God, and thirdly staying within the blessings of God. How do I maintain the fullness of God's Spirit in my life?

Because it is conditional, and I do that through consecration, and through obedience, and through abiding, and through prayer, through Bible study, through discipline, witnessing, understanding my human limitations and growth, and there is a whole chapter about that, and if you want us to make copies, I am sure we can do that.

There are maybe some of you here this afternoon, and upon your heart is a tremendous sense of guilt, because you have been exposed to so much light, and so much light has been coming to your heart. Now you need to know that God does not condemn us, but the Spirit of God convicts us.

And I really want you to get through to God these days. God is doing a tremendous deep work in our lives. And I am serious when I said last night that I am challenging you to come and spend a half night in prayer on Friday night.

You see the Bible is saying to us in Romans chapter 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Why does the Bible say that?

Well God is saying that to us because He said, for that which the law could not do, Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh, and condemned sin in the flesh. Why did He do that? So that the righteousness of the law would be fulfilled in us.

You see the spirit-filled life is not a life where I can do what I want. The moment when God's Spirit takes control of my life, a new law comes into operation. And which law is it? It is the law of the life of the Spirit of Christ.

That is the law that comes into operation in my life. The law of the Spirit in my life as a believer. So I don't think God wants us to be under condemnation. And God don't want us to have the wrong sense of guilt.

One other thing, and I'm taking a minute or so because we are copying some material for you at the back. I've got something that I put together a few years ago on communications that comes from God. When do I know that it is God that is speaking to me?

When is it myself? And when is it the voice of Satan? And at the back I've got a page here, the difference between the voice of God and the voice of Satan. The voice of Satan is always loud and strong and clamorous.

But the voice of God is always quiet and persuasive. The voice of Satan never deals with specifics. But is often dealing with things in general terms. The voice of God is always to the point. The voice of God is specific and God is not a God of confusion.

The voice of Satan is always demanding and always trying to get an immediate decision. The voice of God is always leading. Time is always a great asset to know the voice of God. I often say to people, God is never in a hurry and very seldom late.

The voice of Satan perplexes, creates turmoil and mixes up. But the voice of God is always clear and distinctive. The voice of Satan is never marked by a restful and a peaceful spirit. But the voice of God gives us great rest and certainty.

The voice of Satan is always afraid of the light of God and will draw back from it. But the voice of God is always open and willing for counsel and question. You see, sometimes people come to me and they say, you know, God spoke to me.

And then I said, well, are you open for the counsel of spiritual people? And they are cautious about that and I often wonder about that kind of guidance. The voice of Satan brings depression and discouragement.

But the voice of God brings great encouragement to the believer. The voice of Satan appeals to the lower instincts and he suggests, I want. But the voice of God appeals to the higher instincts and suggests, I ought.

The voice of Satan disappears if the Christian refuses to listen to it. But the voice of God grows stronger and stronger in my personal relationship with God. So, if you would like to get a copy of that, I'm sure we would be able to do that.

Now, I have some material on the subject of temptation that I would love to share with you, maybe in 10 or 15 years time, if you are still alive. Okay, we are going to give you some material, but it's not coming.

So, what I'm going to do, I'm going to start this afternoon. So, as we do that, why don't we just fall for a moment of prayer. Father, we come to you this afternoon in a time of tremendous blessing. A time in which God is searching our hearts on very, very deep levels in our personal relationships with you.

Lord, you are doing it in my own life and I believe that you are doing it in many of our lives today. And I believe in my heart that only eternity is going to reveal what God has been doing in our lives this week.

Lord, I was praying this morning and saying to thee how I would long to be in the midst of revival. And Father, we can't work it up and we can't bring it down, we can't manipulate that sense of the presence of God.

But Father, we can pray. And we do not know if in your sovereign grace and mercy, you have chosen these days to find the people that are ready to be in the midst of an outpouring of your Spirit. Lord, maybe you are doing a deep work of revival in our hearts.

And we pray that you will forgive us if we just look for the outward manifestation of it. But Father, you know that we are just insignificant little people. And you know that we deeply long sometimes to seek out working and we trust you that you will do that.

Bless me in this time of sharing with these men about this tremendous important aspect of my relationship with God. In Jesus' name, Amen. I would like to speak to you this afternoon, if I may, on what I would consider as the third most important aspect of my relationship with God.

The first most important aspect of my relationship with God is the fact that he saved me. And that he came into my life and he gave me the witness of his Spirit that I came to Christ. And the second most important aspect of my life is the fact that God brought me to a place of absolute surrender to his will for my life.

And he called me into ministry to serve God and to live for him. And then the third most important aspect of my relationship with God is what I would consider as the discipline of my daily devotional walk with God.

For the simple reason that my brethren, you and I can't take people further spiritually than that we are ourselves. And we can only impart to people that which we possess in our personal walks with God.

I remember when I went to study theology in my own homeland of Africa. At the very first night of our coming together with the president of the school of students. And it wasn't a big Bible school, there were only about 27 of us students.

And I love to be in a Bible school like that. But he met with us as students and he made a statement that has been with me for the rest of my life since that night. And he said to us as students, he said, you did not only come to this school to get to know the word of God.

But he said, most of all, he said, you have come to this school to get to know the God of this world. And in that Bible college, Bible school where I studied was there a rule. That every morning at 6 o 'clock the bell would go off in the school.

And then from 6 o 'clock till half past 7 was the expectation from the faculty. That every one of us as students had to be on our knees before God. And we were involved in what we used to speak of those days as our quiet times.

Or our personal devotional lives. And I have learned through the years the tremendous value of what it really means for me to meet with God on a daily basis. I mean just as the people of Israel when they were in the wilderness, God gave them their food on a daily basis.

Do you remember how the Lord Jesus said in the gospels, he said, man shall not live by bread alone. But by every, every, every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. And I began to ask myself is it biblically true for me to stand here this afternoon and to say to you as a believer.

That God's expectation from your life is that you would come to the place where you discipline yourself. Where you begin to spend time with God on a daily basis. You see time is a piece of eternity. And my brother, one hour outside of the will of God is wasted time.

And you and I need to find the will of God for our lives and we need to follow it and we need to finish it. The son of God, God has a blueprint for the life of the son. Do you remember how he said, my father worked he did too and he said, so do I.

He said, the son can do nothing unless he sees the father do it. And I began to ask myself is it biblically true to stand here this afternoon and to say to you that God's expectation from you is to meet with God on a consistent basis.

And I came across this verse in the prophecy of Isaiah and I'm sure you realize that the prophecy of Isaiah is called the miniature bible. Because there are 66 chapters in Isaiah and there are 66 books in the bible.

The first 39 chapters of the prophecy of Isaiah is speaking to us about Old Testament events and prophecies. There are 39 books of the Old Testament and the last 27 chapters of Isaiah from chapter 40 onwards is speaking to us about the coming of the Messiah.

And there are 27 books in the New Testament. That's why he was called that great evangelical prophet. And he prophesied about the life of the Saviour and this is what he said. He made this statement, he said, the Lord God has given to me the tongue as the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.

And then he made this statement, he said, he wakeneth me morning by morning. He wakeneth my ear as the learned. If I would look at the Hebrew text of that, it's saying to me that morning after morning the son of God was awakened by the father.

To spend time in the presence of his father. And then I come to this verse in the first chapter of the gospel of Mark. This is what the bible said about Jesus. And in the morning rising up a great while before day he went out and departed into a solitary place and there the Lord Jesus prayed.

Now if it was necessary for the son of God to spend time in the presence of his father then how much more is it necessary for us to spend time in the presence of God as God's people. I want us to look at what I would consider the reasons why I believe God wants us to do that.

I want us to look at the requirements, the kind of tools that you need in order to do that. And then if time would allow us I want us to look at the regulations of how do I go about in these times that I spent in the presence of God.

So what are the reasons that you and I need to develop this kind of a lifestyle. First of all I believe that God wants us to develop this discipline in our lives simply because of the fact that God has given unto us a spiritual constitution.

You see we are of what theologians would refer to as a trichonomy. And the bible is saying to us that God has given unto us a body and a soul and a spirit. And my brethren God has given unto us a body so that through the senses of my body he will make me conscious of this world in which I find myself.

And when the spirit of God comes to dwell within my life my body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit of God. That means that God wants to sanctify my eyes the way that I look and the places where I look.

He wants to sanctify my ears the things that I listen to. He wants to sanctify my emotions. I mean emotion is something wonderful that God has given unto us but if emotion is not sanctified it can be very very destructive.

And it can become very much part of the psychic. I mean you remember in the gospel or rather in the book of little book of Jude the bible is speaking about things of people who do not know God. And the word is the word psuche and the Greek text it comes from the word psychic.

And psychic power is a very dangerous thing. I mean believe it or not but with psychic power people has been risen from the dead. With psychic power amazing things has happened. I remember sitting in a Christian coffee house one night in the city of Middleworth in South Africa when a psychic sat in front of me with a spoon and turned to me.

And I was with some young believers and he turned to me and he said I have the power to let this spoon stand upright. And I look him straight in the eyes and I said in the name of Jesus Christ by the blood you will not do it in this room.

And he couldn't do it. But you see if our emotions is not sanctified it become very very destructive. Because what will happen to us we will move from experience to exposition. And you and I will interpret the word of God in the light of our experience.

And whoever does not fit into my experience I will not be willing to accept. But the biblical pattern is experience as exposition and then experience. The New Testament Epistles what is it? Is doctrine, application.

And you see the doctrines of God's word is the skeleton of my relationship with God. God has given to me a soul. And what constitutes my soul? Well my soul constitutes my personality, my emotions, my will, my intellect to a certain sense.

And God has given that to me to make me conscious of myself. You see when you become a Christian you don't lose your identity. God wants to sanctify my personality. And he gives me my identity in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I'm precious and I'm important to God. And I'm crucified with Christ. Yet nevertheless the life which I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God that loved me and gave himself to me.

You see God has got no duplicates. Every one of us are originals in the presence of God. Sometimes my wife said to me, Daddy what a place this world would have been if everyone was like you. Then I say well maybe something would have happened.

You see God has got no duplicates. And then my brethren God has given to me a spirit. Why is it that God has given to me a spirit? Well God has given to me a spirit so that through my spirit he makes me conscious of himself.

A God consciousness. Now when you and I came to Christ and we accepted him as our personal saviour. What really happens to us is that we receive the Holy Spirit of God. You remember in the Acts of the Apostles when Paul came to the church of Ephesus and he said to them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?

And I mean they didn't even know that there was a Holy Spirit. But when you and I were converted what happened to us? The Spirit of God comes to dwell in my life. And where does the Spirit of God come to dwell?

It seems to me that the Bible is saying to us that the Spirit of God probably comes to dwell within my spirit. You say why do you say that? Well you remember in Romans chapter 8 the Bible is saying to us in verse 16 that the Spirit of God bear witness with what?

That I am a child of God. And you remember in John chapter 3 when the Lord Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. He said to Nicodemus, he said the wind bloweth and we do not know where the sound is coming from. He said so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.

So it seems to us that the Spirit of God comes to dwell within my spirit. And let me affirm again what I said yesterday afternoon. That I do think that from God's perspective is it possible for us to be born of the Spirit and be full to the Spirit at the exact same moment.

But my experience in counseling the people of God is that I found very few people that really would be able to say that. In their relationships with God. But the Spirit of God comes to dwell within my spirit.

And the Holy Spirit of God my Brethren is a person. And I received Him as a person. And remember He never ever speaks of Himself or about Himself. He always brings me back to the Word of God in the light of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I don't know if you will appreciate me saying this to you. But whenever I point someone to the Lord Jesus I never ever say to those people that they are born again. I never do that. I believe that it is the work of the Spirit of God to witness to them that they have been born from above.

And it normally takes me about three hours to sit down with someone who is ready to give his life to Christ at the table with two open Bibles and a notebook. And I systematically share with them God's plan of salvation.

And we go through man's condition. And we go through man's condition, God's provision which is the Savior. And we go through man's responsibility to repent. And then we go through God's promise. And we in those three hours cover I would say probably around 100 to 125 passages in the Word of God.

And I let him read them out loud. And I ask him questions about it. So that he would understand what the Word of God is about. You see you and I dare not expect someone to respond to the Gospel unless the intellect of that person is absolutely satisfied and convinced by the Word of God.

You see when we speak about the documents of repentance. The prodigal son said I will rise and I will go to my father. And I will say to my father I sin against heaven and in thy sight. And then the Bible says and he arose and he went to his father.

The decision to follow Christ. God do not bypass my mind. I mean the mind is involved in making a decision to become a follower of Christ. But my brethren it is not enough that my mind and my intellect is convinced.

And I mean the authority of God's Word as you let people read the Word of God. The authority of God's Word convince them of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. And once they are convinced by what the Gospel of Christ is about.

Their intellect is satisfied and then what's the next step? Their heart is stirred. You see you can't sit under the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not be affected by it. I mean it affects the emotions. You realize what Christ has done for you on the cross.

And the combination between an intellect that is absolutely satisfied and a heart that is stirred. Brings me to the realm of the will. And my will is strengthened. Because my intellect is convinced and my heart has been stirred.

And it brings me to the realm of the will and the will is strengthened. And my brethren the decision to become a follower of God, of Christ. To ask Him to come into my life is in the realm of the will.

Not so much in the realm of the intellect or in the realm of the emotions. It's in the realm of the will. You know why I say that? Because Jesus said to His disciples. He said, He that willeth to do my will shall know of the Gospel or the doctrine that I am speaking about.

Now you remember in John chapter 3 verse number 14. When the Son of God used that illustration with Nicodemus and He said to him. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. So shall the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Now Nicodemus was a Pharisee. I mean he knew the Old Testament law and he knew the prophet. And he knew what happened in the book of Numbers in chapter 16. How they sinned against God. And God allowed those serpents to come in amongst them.

They were bitten by those serpents. And as a result of that they were dying. And then Moses found mercy with God. And God said to Moses. Moses I want you to make a brazen serpent. And lift it up amongst the people.

And as they looked at the serpent they were lifted. And what really happens is that when you deal with someone and you realize he is lost in the presence of God. And the Spirit of God in His conviction of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

He does not only convict them of their lost condition. But the Spirit of God also convinced them of the righteousness of God. And when He convicted them of their lost condition. That they were born in iniquity and in sin that their mothers could not see them.

The next thing that the Spirit of God does. He focused their attention upon the cross. That is why Jesus said. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. I mean when you realize you are lost.

Does the Holy Spirit of God leave you right there? No, no. He focused you upon the righteousness of God. And He focused you upon the crucifixion of Christ. And as He would do that. You trust Him. And the miracle of a new birth will take place in the life of the person.

Now, when that happens. I never say to people that they are born of the Spirit of God. I point them to the Savior. We, when they are ready. And when we deal with man's lost condition. I turn to them and I said to them.

I said, where are you? And if they say, I am lost. Then I say to them. Well maybe we should leave you right here for a week or two or three weeks. So that you think about it. And if they are ready for me to leave them.

I don't go further than that. I mean people need to realize that they are lost. My brethren, before God can save them. But most of the times. By that time they are so convicted and so broken up. And so affected by the Word of God.

That I say, well maybe you need time to go and think about this. They say, no, no, no. I want you to explain to me more. And I love to hear that from people. And then after they understand everything.

And I know they are ready to give their lives to God. We kneel down and I let them pray out loud. My brethren, if they can't pray themselves. Out loud and say, God I know that I am a sinner. I know that I am lost.

I need you to save me. I ask you to forgive me my sin. I ask you to cleanse me in your blood. I confess my sins before God. And I ask you to become my saviour. I mean if I can't pray that. After you explain to them everything.

Then I don't know about it. And when they trusted Christ. I turned to them and I said. No, I can't say to you that you are born again. I said, God need to witness to your spirit. That you are born from above.

To give an illustration. I was involved in a tent crusade. We used to have ten evangelistic campaigns in Africa. And I tell you if you ever preach in a tent it's tremendous. I think there is more of the presence of God in a tent than in a church.

I mean we preach and the dust would rise boy. And we just had a wonderful time. And God saved people. Oh, it was precious days. This lady and her husband came to the services. And we very seldom if ever made any invitation before the 14th or the 15th.

And sometimes the 17th night. I mean they really knew what God was going to save them from. And I remember just a Friday night when this lady and her husband sat in the service. And she wept through the service.

They hardly missed the meeting. And the Saturday morning I went to the house. And he unfortunately was out. But she invited me into this little house. And when I came into this house the first thing that I recognized was the condition of the house.

I mean the place was like a pig stall you know. It was just a mess. And I remember I stood there and I said to myself. Thank God he didn't send me to clean this house. But he did send me to share the gospel.

And I sat there that day and I began to share the gospel. And she was under tremendous conviction of sin. And we systematically went through God's plan of salvation. At the end of that she was ready to ask God to come into her life.

We knelt around the kitchen table. And she prayed the sinner's prayer. And she asked God to save her. And I mean I knew that the Spirit of God, that God did a work in her heart. And we sat down and I said Madam.

I said I can't say to you that you are born of the Spirit. I said God need to give you the witness of the Spirit. And three days later I came back to do follow up work. And knocked at the door of the house.

And she ran to the door of this little woman. And opened the door and invited me in. And it was amazing you know when I stepped into the house. The first thing that I recognized was the fact that the house was clean.

I remember I stood there and I said to myself. Well my boy. If nothing has happened to the woman. Thank God something has happened to the house. But you know when God touches the lives of people. He also touches their circumstances.

We sat down that day and I said to her. I said Madam. Has God given to you the witness of the Spirit that you are born from above? And she looked at me and she said. Gerard she said. When you said that to me the other day.

She said. I did not really know what you were trying to say to me. I didn't understand it. But she said something happened. She said three o 'clock this morning I was awakened. I was lying next to my husband in bed.

And I was wide awake. And she said these words came to me. Though your sins be as scarlet. They shall be as white as snow. And though they be red as crimson. They shall be as wool. And she said. I can't get away from those words.

She said. Can you please tell me where I can find them? It's the Word of God you see. You see the witness of God's Spirit is just as I said yesterday. And the Spirit is like a scale. And the one side of the scale is my experience.

And my brethren. The experience of justification is going to be affected by where I am physically. And emotionally. And spiritually. And those things will affect the experience. But on the other side of the scale is the Word of God.

And if you ask me this afternoon and say. How do you know that you've been saved? I will say to you that there was a moment that the Spirit of God witnessed from the Word of God. And it spoke to my heart.

And I knew I was born of the Spirit. Maybe you sit there and you say. Well I'm just a young believer. And what does God's Word say to me? Well you remember that wonderful verse in 1 Peter chapter 2. When God is saying to us in His Word.

As young born babes desire to the sincere milk of the Word of God. So that you may grow thereby. You see Peter was a family man. And whoever comes to Christ and has just been converted. We just point a fellow to Christ in one of our Bible study groups.

Out in the town of Chilliwack. About an hour and a half from our house. And we had a Bible study group that meets there. And we're going through the Acts of the Apostles. We have been going for about 18 months now.

And we are just started in Acts chapter 5. I mean we're taking our time. And he sat there. He was invited to the group. And one night he sat next to me. And I turned to him and I said. Frank I said. I said what do you think of this?

And I mean he didn't know what this was. And I said tell us a little bit about where you are in your relationship with God. And I mean he was just thumping around. And he didn't know what he was talking about.

And I said Frank. I said open your Bible at John chapter 3. And I said read to me those first 14 verses. And he read it. And I said explain to me your understanding of what it means to be born again. And he said I don't know about this.