This message begins in 2 Timothy 2:2:
And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
We are turning to 2 Timothy 1:12-18:
For which cause I also suffer these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know Him whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
That good thing which was committed unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us.
This thou knowest, that all that are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
The Lord grant mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus: for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain;
but, when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me—
the Lord grant unto him to find mercy of the Lord in that day—and in how many things he ministered at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
This time, we hope we will fellowship together during these evenings on 2 Timothy. Second Timothy was the last letter that Paul wrote, and he wrote it to his beloved son Timothy, his son in the faith.
We may say that 2 Timothy is the last will and testament of Paul. He left behind him a heritage for his son Timothy—and not only for his son Timothy, but for us too.
So I do believe that, as we are living in the last days, as we are living in a very difficult time, it is very important for us to know this letter by heart and to learn what Paul tried to leave behind to Timothy, that we may be those who will be counted as faithful people, as those who are trustworthy.
Not only may we be able to carry on the testimony of the Lord Jesus in our generation, but by the grace of God we may be able to help others, to instruct others, that they too may continue with the testimony until the Lord returns.
Last night we mentioned that, in order to be able to stand and to continue steadfastly with the testimony of Jesus, we need to remember the calling. Paul reminded Timothy of the holy calling with which he was called.
You know, it is very easy, when we are surrounded with problems, when we are under pressure, when we are deserted, when we feel ourselves as if we are alone fighting the battle, to look around us and to look within ourselves.
If we look around us and see that everything is falling apart—“all they that are in Asia turned away from me”—and if we look within ourselves, we will find that there is really nothing in ourselves upon which we can depend. We tend to go under. We tend to let go of the testimony of Jesus. We tend to accept defeat.
So it is important that, when we are surrounded with problems and feel ourselves very weak, we remember the calling. Why? Because if we remember the calling with which God has called us, immediately we will look away from our surroundings and look away from ourselves. We will look up to Him who has called us with a holy calling.
We will see that He has called us even before time began. We find that He has called us according to His eternal purpose. We find that He has called us not only according to His own purpose, but also according to His grace. Both the purpose and grace He gave us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is today? What are the things that we see around us? What is ourselves? Actually, if we can be lifted out of time and space, if we can be delivered into eternity and into God, into His purpose and into His grace, then, no matter what happens around us and no matter how we feel within ourselves, if we are connected to the holy calling with which God called us even before we were born, even before the foundation of the world, we are raptured into eternity and enraptured into God.
That is the way that we are able to stand and to be faithful to the very end. So it is of immense importance that we must be very clear concerning our calling.
Now, in 2 Timothy Paul says that He has called us with a holy calling. What is holy? Oftentimes, we connect holiness in contrast or opposition to sin. We think that if it is sinful, it is not holy. Of course, if it is sinful, it is not holy. But actually, the opposite of sin is not holy; the opposite of sin is righteousness. Righteousness is the opposite of sin.
What, then, is the opposite of holy? It simply is common. Anything that is common is unholy. Our God is a holy God. To put it in a simpler way, we can say that our God is an uncommon God.
In other words, He is not common at all. He is not like you and me. He is not like anybody else. He is altogether other than everything. He is unique. He is special. He is alone. That is what God is: He is holy.
Now, brothers and sisters, we have been called with a holy calling. In other words, that calling is nothing common. It is not something that eyes have seen, ears have heard, or the human heart has thought about.
As we find in Ephesians, it is something that eye has never seen, ear has never heard, and no one has ever thought about. It is a calling that is most holy and most uncommon. Why? Because we are called to be the body of Christ.
No, brothers and sisters, nobody ever thought that we are called to be the body of Christ. That is uncommon. That is most holy.
Being the body of Christ is, of course, a holy thing. We must be holy because He is holy. There can be nothing common with the body of Christ. There can be nothing earthly in the body of Christ. There can be nothing worldly in the body of Christ. There can be nothing of the flesh in the body of Christ. There can be nothing of you or me in the body of Christ.
You will find that the body of Christ is Christ, all and in all. That is the holiness of our calling.
Brothers and sisters, we are called with a holy calling. We are called to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. We mentioned last night that this is more than one person can fulfill. It has to be fulfilled by the many brethren, that He, Christ, may be the Firstborn among many brethren.
Every one of us takes some character of the Lord Jesus, and when you put all these brethren together, you see the Firstborn. That is our calling. It is an on-high calling.
Again, it is not according to our works. It is completely according to His own purpose and to His grace. That purpose was purposed before the foundation of the world. That grace was given before the foundation of the world. Both the purpose and the grace were in Christ Jesus.
But not until the Lord Jesus appeared upon this earth was it manifested. Then we begin to realize God’s purpose behind the calling, and then we begin to experience the grace that is ever available for us. By that sufficient grace, we are able to fulfill our calling and enter into the fullness of God’s purpose.
This evening, we would like to continue with the second matter: keep the deposit. Now, I know there is some difficulty here because you have different translations.
In my version, the word is deposit. In your translation, probably it is “that which has been committed,” or in the New American Standard Version you will find “the treasure.” Whatever the English translation may be, the Greek word is the same.
According to the Greek word, it means a deposit, something placed in trust. In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul says:
For I know Him whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
Then again, in 2 Timothy 1:14, he says:
That good thing which was committed unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us.
And in 1 Timothy 6:20:
O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called;
which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you.
Here again you find this word, deposit, or the entrusted thing committed to you. Whatever version you have, the thought is the same: it is a deposit.
What is a deposit? A deposit is something committed to another. In Scripture, this deposit is a mutual thing. First of all, God deposits something in you. Then, in the second place, you deposit what He has deposited in you back to God.
So actually, that deposit is mutual. He deposits something in you. He commits something to you for you to keep. Yet, in order that you may keep that which He has committed to you, the only way is to deposit it back to God. By that action, it will be kept forever.
Why does this matter of deposit become so essential? Because in a time of shaking, this matter of deposit becomes a defining factor in your life. Whether you are able to stand the trial and the testing really depends upon how much has been deposited in you.
If you find that your deposit is very little, you may find that you are not able to stand the testing. Brothers and sisters, we are already in the time of shaking.
If you read Hebrews, you will find that one day God will not only shake the earth, but He will shake the earth and the heaven. Why? Because the kingdom which cannot be shaken is coming soon.
Because of this, God is going to shake everything that can be shaken, so that only that which cannot be shaken will remain. Dear brothers and sisters, do not think that the shaking is yet to come. I believe that we are already in the midst of shaking.
God is shaking everything upon this earth. God is not only shaking the world—certainly the world is being shaken—but, in a spiritual application, God is shaking His church. God is shaking His people, not only the people of the world but His own people.
Why? Because He is preparing us for the kingdom that cannot be shaken. Anything that can be shaken cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Therefore, He has to shake us to such an extent that everything which can be shaken away will be taken away. Only that which cannot be shaken will remain and enter into the kingdom.
So, dear brothers and sisters, in a very real sense, I do believe that we are already in the midst of great shaking.
Not only do people of the world love themselves; even believers become lovers of self. Why did all Asia desert Paul? I do not think that they deserted Paul because they denied the faith. Probably they had not denied the faith, but they deserted Paul because it became too dangerous to be associated with Paul.
Paul was arrested as a ringleader. If anyone was associated with Paul in any sense, he would be under suspicion and would be arrested. For loving themselves, they deserted him.
Brothers and sisters, we all see more of such things happening. You will find that, out of love for ourselves, we are willing to desert our brothers and sisters.
For the people of the world to love the world is but natural. Try to tell the people of the world not to love the world—that is impossible, because that is all they have. But we who are the Lord’s should not love the world.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
But, brothers and sisters, we are living in a day when the world becomes more and more precious to believers. As things become more expensive, more scarce, and harder to obtain, they become more and more attractive to believers.
We become lovers of pleasures. We love pleasure. We are not lovers of good because it becomes too costly. We are not lovers of God as we should be. When you see these things happening, you know that we are in the time of great shaking.
How can you stand the test when the great shaking comes? Anything that is not a deposit—anything God has not deposited or committed in you—cannot stand the test.
Nothing superficial, nothing gained by hearsay, nothing gained by tradition, nothing that is merely mental—brothers and sisters, these things which you think you have will all be gone in the time of shaking.
Only that which God has really deposited in you will remain. That will help you go through testing and trials. Therefore, it is not only essential for us to know our calling; it is also important for us to examine ourselves before God as to whether we have a good deposit.
Let me illustrate this. Take, for instance, Abraham and Lot in the Old Testament. You will find that both Abraham and Lot left Ur of the Chaldees. Both of them entered into the promised land, and yet there was a great difference.
Why? Because Abraham had a good deposit in him, while Lot did not have one. The God of glory appeared to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, but Lot did not have that revelation.
God called Abraham to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house, and to go to the place which God would give to him. In other words, Abraham received God’s promise. Lot did not receive any promise. He simply followed Abraham.
When everything was calm, peaceful, and smooth, you could not tell the difference. You would think that Lot was as good as Abraham. Of course, Lot was a righteous man. But when the testing came, it made all the difference.
You remember how the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle and the herdsmen of Abraham’s cattle began to quarrel with each other before the Gentiles. Abraham said that such a thing should never happen, for there was no testimony. So Abraham said to Lot, “We have to part. Now you choose where you want to go.”
In other words, because Abraham had a vision, because he had a promise, because he saw the Lord of glory, he could afford to be meek. He could afford to let his natural nephew Lot have the first choice.
Lot could not do that. Why? Because he had no promise. Immediately Lot raised his eyes and saw that the whole plain near Sodom and Gomorrah was well watered, like the garden of Eden. So he made the choice and went there.
But, dear brothers and sisters, you know the result. Lot, having no good deposit in himself, had to reach out with his eyes and his hand to grasp what he could, but he lost everything.
Abraham, who had a good deposit in him, was willing to let go of the best, and he received everything. That is the difference between having a good deposit and not having one.
Another illustration is David and Saul. When you read the life of Saul, he began with a very good beginning. He was not actually a bad person.
Not only was he head and shoulders above others in physical stature, but he was a rather obedient son, a diligent person, and also a humble man. When the lot was cast and he was chosen to be king of Israel, they could not find him. He had hidden among the baggage.
He had a good beginning. Outwardly, Saul was as good as David, if not better. But there was no good deposit in him.
David, on the contrary, was neglected by his father and despised by his brothers. Yet, when he was in the field watching the sheep, he knew God in such an intimate way. God had deposited something in his life.
He was not in a hurry to broadcast what God had done for him. Everything was hidden, and yet he could afford to have all these things hidden. He did not need to grasp anything for himself. When the time came, God would manifest him.
Even when God had manifested him and Saul became very jealous of David, David, being the anointed of the Lord, would not seize the kingdom. Twice God delivered his enemy into his hand, and his people said, “You did not go out to find him. God delivered him to you. You do not need to do anything. We will do it for you, and all your problems will be solved, and you will have the kingdom.”
But David would not lift up his finger. He was willing to wait. He was able to wait. Why? Because he had the deposit. He knew what would happen in the end. He was not going to do anything to get a kingdom for himself. He could afford to let God deliver the kingdom to him.
Saul could not do that. When his kingdom was threatened, he became a murderer. He tried to murder David in order to keep his kingdom, but he lost his kingdom.
Brothers and sisters, this shows you the difference between a person who has a good deposit and a person who does not have a good deposit.
In the New Testament, you can see the same thing. Here was Paul. There was a good deposit in that man. Because the deposit was so good in him, and because he was kept by the Holy Spirit, he was able to stand all the tests and be faithful to the very end.
But look at his contemporaries. In 2 Timothy, Paul says, “All they that are in Asia turned away from me,” and he mentions especially Phygelus and Hermogenes.
We do not know who they were. Yet in 2 Timothy 2:17, one name is mentioned:
And their word will eat as doth a gangrene: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.
Here Paul mentions four persons among all the people in Asia who deserted him. Evidently, if you connect 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy, especially in the case of Hymenaeus, you find that he made shipwreck concerning faith. Why? Because he had a bad conscience.
Because of a bad conscience, his faith leaked out. With Philetus and Hymenaeus, you find that they got away from the truth of God into their babblings, into error. They even said that the resurrection had already passed and overthrew many people in the faith.
In other words, these four men represented, or probably led, the other brothers and sisters in Asia to turn away from Paul. They did not have a good deposit. They failed the test.
But Paul was able to stand to the very end. That is why Paul reminded Timothy, his son, “Remember, you have a good deposit. Because you have a good deposit, you will be able to stand if you keep it in the Holy Spirit and commit it to God who has entrusted it to you. Then you will be able to be faithful to the very end.”
Maybe I will use another example: Peter and Judas. Judas betrayed the Lord. Peter denied the Lord three times. Which was the greater crime? I would say that they were about the same. But you see the difference.
In Peter there was a good deposit. Even though for a moment he failed, you find that he bounced back. There was something in him that could not be shaken away.
Satan tried to sift him, but he could sift only the things that could be sifted. There was something in Peter that could not be sifted. It was a good deposit. Because there was that good deposit, he bounced back. Dear brothers and sisters, he rose higher than ever before.
But Judas betrayed the Lord. After he saw what he had done, he came under such remorse, his conscience smote him so much, that he went and hanged himself. Why? Because there was nothing deposited within him. That was the end.
Never in the Gospel do you find Judas addressing the Lord Jesus as “Lord” by himself—never.
So, dear brothers and sisters, from these illustrations you can see how important it is that we have a good deposit. Whatever is merely attached to you will be detached and fall apart. Only that which is deposited within you will help you go through.
Therefore, we need to ask ourselves before the Lord—not in a sense of self-analysis, but we need to go before the Lord and ask Him to shine upon us, that the light of His countenance may shine upon us and really reveal to us how much and how good the deposit in us is.
Has the Lord committed Himself to you? How much has He committed to you? That will make all the difference.
What is the good deposit? In 2 Timothy 1:13, we read:
Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul mentions the deposit in verse 12 and the deposit in verse 14, and in between he puts this sentence: “Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” This verse tells us what the good deposit is.
At first glance, you would say that it is words—healthy words, sound words, words that were spoken by Paul to Timothy. It was a pattern of healthy words. Some versions say it is a model, an example, or a pattern of sound words.
I want to read something because I can find nothing better than what H. C. G. Moule says about this pattern of sound words. He was an Anglican minister, a man of great learning, but also a man totally devoted to God. He commented on this, and I thought it was such a good comment that I would like to read it to you.
It has been debated what is meant by “the pattern of sound words.” To some, the phrase has seemed to suggest that, even at that early date, there had arisen an authorized statement of fundamental Christian truth, a summary of the main facts and principles of the Gospel, a veritable Apostles’ Creed.
But the phrase does not seem to me to point in this direction, at least not so clearly as to preclude a simpler explanation. And this, I think, is to be found in the view that by the pattern Saint Paul means here simply the Gospel itself in its grand lines of truth: the message of Christ Jesus incarnate, sacrifice, risen, ascended, reigning, saving, coming; the revelation of Him.
Now, brothers and sisters, when we think of an outline or a model, the word itself means an impression made by a blow. In other words, you make an impression upon something, and it leaves such an impression that it cannot be deviated from. So some people think that it means a pattern.
But remember: the pattern of healthy words is not a systematic summary or reduction of the truth of the Gospel—what we consider as an Apostles’ Creed. It is not a creed. It is Christ Himself, all that He is, revealed to us in the Gospel.
That is the outline, or pattern, of healthy words. To put it another way, it is more than just words. As we mentioned in the morning, it is Christ and the whole counsel of God.
All that Christ is and all that He has done have been committed by the apostles to the church. Or, if you want to put it another way, it is the faith once for all delivered to the saints. That is the outline of healthy words.
In contrast with this, you find that in 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy Paul mentions many deviations from that outline, from that pattern.
For instance, in 1 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy to charge certain men not to teach a different doctrine, neither to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questionings rather than God’s dispensation which is in faith.
The end of the charge is love out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. Some, having swerved from these things, turned aside to vain talking, desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say nor whereof they confidently affirm.
Here you find that some people deviated from the pattern of healthy words. They deviated from the faith once delivered to the saints. They deviated from Christ and all that He is and has done.
Instead, they went off into other doctrines, genealogies, questions, and the teaching of law instead of grace. In 2 Timothy, you find Paul mentioning profane babblings.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in a time when people’s ears are very itchy. They love to hear the things they want to hear. When this is the case, it is a great temptation for those who minister God’s Word to try to please the itching ears of the people.
They may try to say something that will be favorably accepted by the people. In order to do that, they are tempted to deviate from the pattern of healthy words. They go off on a tangent into other doctrines, other teachings, even vain babblings. Paul calls them babblings. There is nothing in them. They are empty.
This is a sign of our time. Because of this, it is most important that we have the pattern of sound words, that we have a good deposit. In other words, we have Christ and all that He has done for us: the person and work of Christ deposited within us as a good deposit.
We have a little deposit. We know the Lord Jesus as our Savior; that is a deposit. But there is much more than that. If all we have deposited within us is just a little bit, brothers and sisters, that is not enough.
We need to see that God is able to commit Christ to us in all His fullness. The richer the deposit is, the more able you are to stand the shaking.
What is the deposit? To put it in one word: Christ. Christ has been revealed to us through sound words, but it is the living Christ who is deposited in us. Brothers and sisters, the more Christ is deposited in you, the better.
How can we have a good deposit? Number one, Paul says, “Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me.” In other words, this deposit comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
We hear the Word, and we need to know from whom we hear. That is very important. Why? A minister and his ministry are identical. Therefore, if you know from whom you have heard, it is easier for you to discern what you have heard.
But what Timothy had heard from Paul, and what Timothy had learned from Paul, was more than just teaching. Read 2 Timothy 3:10:
But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience, persecutions, sufferings.
Paul says, “Timothy, you are thoroughly acquainted with my teaching, but more than that, with my conduct—not only teaching, but conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecution, and suffering.”
Patience is toward people. Endurance is toward things and events. How can you be acquainted with Paul’s teaching, conduct, faith, purpose, sufferings, and all these things just by receiving words that you hear? It is impossible.
It shows that the words here are more than merely something heard. When you hear these words in faith and in love, it is something to which you respond in faith and love. It is not merely objective truth about Christ.
It is truth that becomes subjective in you. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Because it is Christ in you, it is more than just teaching. It involves conduct, faith, purpose, suffering, endurance, love, and all these things. It is not merely something objective; it is subjective, right in you.
We receive a good deposit not only by what we hear, but in hearing we absorb, even from the one who teaches us, his conduct and everything that God has worked into that life. We receive the truth that has been wrought into that life.
The problem is that oftentimes when we hear something, when we hear a person, it is just teaching. We contact the words that he has spoken, but we do not contact the man out of whom the word comes. It is merely teaching; it is not the conduct, not the whole man.
Actually, a true ministry is the giving of one’s own life. In giving one’s own life, the life of Christ is given. That is the way we should hear, and that is the way we receive and have a good deposit.
If it is merely teaching that we hear, brothers and sisters, not only will we forget it, but it will not take us through trials and testings.
Number two: we have a good deposit through the Holy Scriptures, through the sacred writings. In 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Paul says:
And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness:
that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.
Not only by what we hear, but by what we read, we receive a good deposit. In order to have a good deposit, we must be thoroughly acquainted with the Holy Scriptures. Why? Because the Holy Scriptures are God-breathed.
By letting the Word of God dwell richly within us, we have a good deposit.
Number three: as we mentioned in the morning, not only by hearing and by reading, it must be through revelation. If there is no revelation, what you have read are mere letters. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Therefore, it is important that we seek the Lord for revelation. Brothers and sisters, I cannot emphasize this more. For too many believers, revelation is a rare thing.
In other words, you do not expect revelation. You think revelation is a rare thing. It may happen once in a lifetime; it may happen occasionally. For that reason, we live under a closed heaven.
But, dear brothers and sisters, we are given an open heaven. Living under an open heaven, we should expect revelation from above.
As we read the Word of God and as we hear people speak, at the same time we should open our hearts to the Lord and say, “O Lord, give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Turn what we hear and what we read into light from above.”
It is only when we are seeking revelation that we find it. “Seek, and ye shall find.”
Again, when I say revelation, I do not mean anything spectacular or necessarily anything great. By revelation, I mean that you see Christ in your spirit in the word that you hear and in the word that you read.
You need a touch of Christ. If Christ touches you, you receive a revelation, and you cannot be the same again.
Number four: to have a good deposit, you need not only revelation, but also the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
By the discipline of the Holy Spirit, I mean that not only does the Holy Spirit lead you and reveal that which is God to you, but the Holy Spirit so orders your circumstances that He uses what you meet with daily—He uses your circumstances—to work Christ into your very being.
If you want to know more about that, you have to go to 2 Corinthians 4. There you find that we have a treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.
The Holy Spirit begins to arrange our environment. We are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed.
We bear about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in us and manifested in other people. This is the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters, unless we know the discipline of the Holy Spirit in our lives, very little is real. Very little is a true deposit.
The problem today is that we hear a lot. We may read a lot. We think we have a lot. But because we refuse to accept the discipline of the Holy Spirit, what we have heard is not translated into life.
The work of the Holy Spirit is twofold: He works within and without. He works within by revelation; He works without by discipline. We need both.
Sometimes it begins with discipline and ends with revelation. Sometimes it begins with revelation. But remember: if you have a revelation, discipline will follow. Revelation is not cheap at all.
Paul, fourteen years before he wrote 2 Corinthians, was taken up into the third heaven. He was taken into Paradise, and he heard things that man could not utter. What revelation! What vision!
But immediately you find that thorn in the flesh. Do not think that the thorn was just a small thorn. The original word is a stake, a stake thrust into his flesh, making him so miserable and unbearable that he had to cry out to the Lord to remove it.
The Lord said, “I leave it there, but My grace is sufficient for thee.” That is the discipline of the Holy Spirit. Dear brothers and sisters, it is through these things that we come into a good deposit.
What God has deposited in us, we must keep in the Holy Spirit. God has deposited something in your life, but if it is not kept in the Holy Spirit, you lose it.
How can I convince you that this is possible? Do you know the church in Philadelphia? No church is more commendable than the church in Philadelphia. Why? Because you find all praise and no reproach.
Yet notice what the Lord says in Revelation 3:11:
I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.
In other words, they had a good deposit. On the basis of that good deposit, they deserved the crown. But they had to hold fast what they had; otherwise, their crown would be taken away from them.
Now, brothers and sisters, if God has put a good deposit in you—that is to say, if God has put a good measure of Christ in your life—it has to be kept in the Holy Spirit.
If it is not kept in the Holy Spirit, it loses its freshness. It loses its power. It becomes old. We cannot live on something that is old and stale. We have to live daily on something that is fresh and living.
So, no matter what God has already deposited in you, you have to keep it in the Holy Spirit. If it is out of tune with the Holy Spirit, you will find that the deposit has lost its freshness and its power.
That is why, even if you have received revelation, even if you know Christ in a very living way, yet if you are not living in the Holy Spirit, the result will be that you cannot live by your past experience.
It has to be kept in the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why we have to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. We have to be ruled daily by the Holy Spirit, because only in the Holy Spirit is Christ living, fresh, operative, and powerful.
But at the same time, not only do we keep the deposit in the Holy Spirit, but we commit our deposit to God. Let God keep it for us. That is the perseverance of the saints.
How can we persevere? If it depends on us, we may fall. But the perseverance of the saints is not in us; it is in God.
Because we have committed that which He has committed to us back to God, we are fully persuaded that He is able to guard the deposit which we have entrusted to Him until that day.
That day is the day when the Lord shall return and we shall see Him face to face.
Dear brothers and sisters, on the one hand, we need to seek to have a good deposit. On the other hand, we need to keep that deposit in the power of the Holy Spirit and also commit it to the keeping of God.
Finally, I will read Jude 24-25:
Now unto Him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of His glory without blemish in exceeding joy,
to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.
But to Him that is able to keep you. Paul said, “I know whom I have believed, and am fully persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
Dear brothers and sisters, this is our assurance. This is our confidence in the time of trouble. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
O heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou hast not only called us with a holy calling, but Thou hast rooted us in Christ Jesus even before the foundation of the world. O, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy calling.
We praise and thank Thee that Thou hast not only called us, but Thou hast deposited in us Christ, who is to be our all and in all. O, how we praise and thank Thee that He is that which is unshakable.
We do ask that Thou wouldst deposit more of Him in every one of us. Enable us to seek revelation from Thee. Enable us to yield ourselves to the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
And Lord, if Thou hast given us anything, may it be kept in the power of the Holy Spirit, that He may always be living and fresh.
Lord, we know whom we have believed, and we are fully persuaded that Thou art able to keep the deposit which we have entrusted to Thee until that day.
So we commit ourselves, and that which Thou hast given to us, back to Thy keeping. We thank Thee that Thou art able to keep us until that day. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.