Friends,—Towards all men walk in wisdom, and be gentle to all men [2 Tim 2:24]; ‘for the meek inherit the earth ,’ and receive the blessing [Mat 5:5]. ‘And they that thirst after righteousness shall inherit righteousness,’ and the blessing [Mat 5:6]. And the ‘merciful do obtain mercy’ and the blessing [Mat 5:7]. And the <131> ‘pure in heart shall see God,’ and receive the blessing [Mat 5:8]. And ‘Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted [Mat 5:4].’ And ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the children of God [Mat 5:9].’ And ‘Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God [Mat 5:10].’ And ‘Blessed are ye when men shall revile and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake [Mat 5:11].’ And it is love that edifieth [1 Cor 8:1], and the edifying is in the most holy faith [Jude 1:20, 1 Tim 1:4], which faith is the gift of God [Eph 2:8], which giveth victory over the world [1 Jn 5:4]; and in this is the blessing, which purifieth the heart [Acts 15:9], and this is it which bringeth to please God [Heb 11:6]. And that which edifieth is the living faith, and not the dead faith [James 2:17]; and love rejoiceth in the truth, and not in the iniquity [1 Cor 13:6], for that is not in love. So ye that are the Lord's lot, (mark!) and are his inheritance [Psa 16:5], and are in covenant with God, with him ye have peace; which covenant is given to all the world. But they that hate the light are out of covenant with God, and by the light they are condemned [John 3:19f]; and those which the light doth condemn are out of the covenant.
G. F
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George Fox (1624 - 1691)
Was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. This was a group the Lord started through the ministry of George Fox. God called him apart from all other forms of Christendom in his day because of the lack of Biblical obedience and holiness.The emphasis in George Fox's ministry was firstly prophetic. He called out the people of God to show them that they had the Holy Spirit of God and could be taught of Him and not to solely rely on the teachings of ecclesiastical leaders. Secondly, he spoke directly to many ministers in his day to show them they were hirelings and did not have a true shepherds heart for the people of God rather they were seeking after financial gain.
Founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers). George Fox was born in Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire, England, the son of Puritan parents. Little is known of his early life, apart from what he wrote in his journal: "In my very young years, I had a gravity and stayedness of mind and spirit not usual in young children. Insomuch that, when I saw old men behave lightly and wantonly toward each other, I had a dislike thereof raise in my heart, and I said within myself, `If ever I come to be a man, surely I shall not do so, nor be so wanton.'"
At the age of 19, he gained deep, personal assurance of his salvation and began to travel as an itinerant preacher, seeking a return to the simple practices of the New Testament. He abhorred technical theology, and preached a faith borne of experience, freshly fed and guided by the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit.
Fox was persecuted almost daily, yet his power of endurance was phenomenal. He was beaten with dogwhips, knocked down with fists and stones, brutally struck with pikestaves, hard beset by mobs, incarcerated eight times in the pestilential jails, prisons, castles and dungeons--yet he went straightforward with his mission as though he had discovered some fresh courage which made him impervious to man's inhumanity.
He undertook as far as possible to let the new life in Christ take its own free course of development in his ministry. He shunned rigid forms and static systems, and for that reason he refused to head a new sect or to start a new denomination, or to begin a new church. He would not build an organization of any kind. His followers at first called themselves "Children of the Light," and later adopted the name "The Society (or Fellowship) of Friends."
Fox preached and traveled for 40 years throughout England, Scotland, Holland, and America. His life demonstrated the truth of his famous saying, "One man raised by God's power to stand and live in the same spirit the apostle and prophets were in, can shake the country for ten miles around."