To all my dear brethren, the flock of God every where; keep together in the power up to God, and none be discouraged or disheartened <52> at the enemies without, which are without God in the world; but be bold all in the power of truth, triumphing over the world. Hold your freedom, and keep and stand fast in it [Gal 5:1], that ye may be armed with wisdom, and furnished against your enemies, who are wiser in their generation than the children of light [Luke 16:8]. But the wisdom of the Most High is spreading, and making itself manifest in your hearts, by which ye may comprehend the world's wisdom, the world's worship and knowledge. And waiting in that which is pure, it will lead you into that which was before the world was, before the false worship was, before the seducers were, before the antichrist was, and before the outward temple was, and false prophet and hirelings: and here ye will comprehend the world, and what is done in the world. Therefore every one keep your habitation [Jude 1:6], abide the trial, and abide the day [Mal 3:2], and stand fast in your freedom, so far as Christ hath made you free; [Gal 5:1] free from man's will and commandments, which imbondageth; free from the fashions and lusts of the world, the fleshly will, which bondageth and burdens the pure. And to you that cannot witness this, wait, and mind the pure, and then the burden will be easy [Mat 11:30] ; and wait for redemption and salvation, to make it so [Lam 3:26f?]. And your strength is, to stand still [Isa 30:7], that ye may receive refreshings; that ye may know, how to wait, and how to walk before God, by the spirit of God within you. So God Almighty be with you, and keep you up to himself under his own dominion, from under the dominion of satan, that ye may trample him under your feet.
And Friends every where, meet together, treading and trampling all the deceit under your feet; and watch over one another in that which is eternal, and see every one, that your words be from the eternal life. Examine and search with that which is eternal, which speaks to that which is in prison in others [1 Pet 3:19]. And ye that are led forth to exhort, or to reprove, do it with all diligence [2 Tim 4:2], taking all opportunities, reproving that which devours the creation, and thereby destroys the very human reason. For the truth doth preserve every thing in its place. And all meet together every where, and in your meetings wait upon the Lord; and take heed of forming words, but mind the power, and know that which is eternal, which will keep you all in unity, walking in the spirit, and will let you see the ‘Lord near you, and amongst you.’ So, God Almighty be with you, and multiply you, and give you the dew of heaven [7.28" class="scriptRef">Gen 27:28], the heavenly dew, the living mercies, (which nourisheth the tender plants, which causeth them to grow, bud, and bring forth,) and water you with his blessings [Ezek 34:26]. So, the Lord God of power be with you all, my dear hearts! I am with you in the spirit, and in the love of your God, your Father and mine. The Lord God prosper, guide, and protect you, and bring you all into his kingdom of glory, you who are <53> elected, called, chosen and faithful [Rev 17:14], who are the lambs. God Almighty bless you, and keep you all, my dear hearts! The love of God is love past knowledge, which bears all things, endures all things, hopes all things, envieth not, thinketh no evil [1 Cor 13:5,7]. And the love of God is the ground of all true love in your hearts, which casts out the love of the world, and the enmity, which was begotten betwixt you and God [James 4:4]. ‘He that believes, is born of God [1 Jn 5:1]; and he that is born of God, overcomes the world [1 Jn 5:4].’ So, fare ye all well, and God Almighty bless and prosper you.
G. F.
Be the first to react on this!
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."