Identification of the Godly # 1
In a day like the present, when, because of the abounding of iniquity, the love of many has waxed cold - it might be thought that it is no easy matter to distinguish the genuine from the spurious, the living Christian from the lifeless professor. But that is a mistaken notion. The very opposite is the case, as a little reflection should intimate to those favored with spiritual understanding. It is in time of revival, when the Spirit of God is working mightily in a community, that many are temporarily awakened, convicted of their sins and have their emotions deeply stirred. Though not regenerated, impressions are made upon them, and fearing the wrath to come - they exercise a natural and temporary faith in Christ - and find peace therein.
Such are they who "receive the word with joy" (Luke 8:13) - yet have they "no root" in themselves" (Mark 4:17); Matt. 13:20). They float with the tide of revival, and are carried into companies of God's people; but as Matthew 13:21 goes on to say, they endure "for a while" only, for their goodness is "as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goes away" (Hosea 6:4).
What we have pointed out above - unpalatable as it may be to those who like to think that all which glitters is real gold - as illustrated and demonstrated all through religious history. We are plainly told that the Lord "called him (Abraham) alone" (Isaiah 51:2) when He bade him leave Chaldea and go forth unto a better inheritance. Yet Genesis 11:31 tells us that Terah, his father, accompanied him "to go into the land of Canaan;" but he never arrived there, dying at Haran (verse 32) which means, "Half-way." When the Lord put forth His mighty hand and delivered the Hebrews from the house of bondage, we are told that, "a mixed multitude went up also with them" (Ex. 12:38)! That mixed multitude soon became a thorn in Israel's side, for they were the ones who "fell a lusting" for the fleshpots of Egypt and evilly influenced God's people to become dissatisfied with manna (Num. 11:4, 5). Just as surely as Israel's exodus from Egypt was a Divinely designed "mixed multitude" who joined themselves unto them foreshadowed the crowd of empty professors who have ever associated with them.
At a later date, when God wrought so wondrously through Joshua, we read of the Gibeonites who determined to throw in their lot with Israel, and so cleverly did they pose as "strangers and pilgrims" that God's servant was deceived by them. They came to him with the language of piety, saying, "Your servants have come from a very distant country, because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of Him; all that He did in Egypt," etc. (Joshua 9:9, 10), which serves to illustrate the same principle and fact.
We all know how it was with Christ during the days of His earthly ministry. Speaking as never men spoke, going about doing good, working miracles, great multitudes flocked to Him, many "believed in His name", yet with a non-saving faith (John 2:23, 24) and "walked with Him as His disciples for a season - but later deserted Him (John 6:66). While they walked with Him, do you suppose that it was easy to perceive their real character? No indeed, as our Lord's next words to the apostles indicate: "Will you also go away?" (John 6:67). It was only when the hour of testing came, that their real character was revealed.
And thus it has been all through the centuries of this Christian era. When the Holy Spirit has wrought in power, regenerating and reviving the elect, a "mixed multitude" has always joined their ranks, and while the revival continued, it was rarely possible for human judgment to distinguish the tares from the wheat.
Thus, it was in the blessed days of the Reformers and the early Puritans. Thus, it was under the preaching of George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Spurgeon. But such is very far from being the case now or for many years past. Our lot is cast in a day when the Spirit is "grieved," and His power withheld, when in most places, He has been "quenched" and His presence withdrawn. Over the great majority of churches and chapels, the sentence is written, "your house is left unto you desolate!" and though the services are continued, they are lifeless and unctionless; and though new members are still added, they are but barren branches as their fruitless lives evidence; and thus, they are easily distinguished from the genuine saint, and so are very different in caliber from the professors of earlier and better times.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
"He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Sin is shut out--and they are shut in!
(Charles Spurgeon)
"The sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more!" Isaiah 65:19
The glorified weep no more, because all causes of grief are gone!
There are no broken friendships, nor blighted prospects in Heaven.
Poverty, famine, peril, persecution and slander--are unknown there.
No pain distresses, and no thought of death or bereavement saddens.
They weep no more, because they all are perfectly sanctified!
No "evil heart of unbelief" prompts them to depart from the living God.
They are without fault before His throne, and are fully conformed to His image!
Well may they cease to mourn--who have ceased to sin!
They weep no more, because all fear of change is past!
They know that they are eternally secure!
Sin is shut out--and they are shut in!
They dwell within a city which shall never be stormed!
They bask in a sun which shall never set!
They drink of a river which shall never run dry!
They pluck fruit from a tree which shall never wither!
Countless cycles may revolve--but eternity shall not be exhausted; and while eternity endures, their immortality and blessedness shall co-exist with it. They are forever with the Lord!
They weep no more, because every desire is fulfilled!
They cannot wish for anything--which they don't already have in full possession.
Eye and ear,
heart and hand,
mind and imagination,
desire and affection,
all the faculties--
are completely satisfied!
As imperfect as our present ideas are of the things which God has prepared for those who love Him--yet we know enough by Scriptural revelation, that the glorified saints are supremely blessed.
The joy of Christ, which is an infinite fullness of delight, is in them.
They bathe forever in the bottomless, shoreless sea of infinite blessedness!
That same joyful rest remains for us! It may not be far distant.
Before long, sorrow's dewdrops will be transformed into the pearls of everlasting bliss!
"The sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more!" Isaiah 65:19
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain!" Revelation 21:4
"Therefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:18
The Real Heaven
Trying to picture life in eternity, many people imagine lying around on clouds, strumming harps. I’m not sure how this misconception about heaven got started, but I can assure you that is unlikely. We have been gifted, equipped, and enabled to fulfill God’s purpose in this life. And He will still have a purpose for us in the life to come.
In today’s passage, Jesus described the kingdom of heaven in the context of a man giving his servants money to invest. The men who served their master faithfully were heartily congratulated and given greater responsibility. When we reach Christ’s judgment seat, our foremost reward will be to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:23 NIV). I can’t imagine words that could please me more than a commendation from the Savior I love above all.
We will also receive our new assignment in God’s heavenly kingdom. This is the part of the reward that corresponds to the words, “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things” (v. 23). There will be no lazing about for us! We will have a renewed heaven and earth to live in and enjoy (2 Peter 3:13). In our perfected bodies, with hearts and souls attuned to the Lord, we will serve Him and each other.
God has a plan for every believer to pursue, and He has gifted each of His children specifically for that purpose. That plan requires our passion and motivation—on earth or in heaven. This world is our training ground for the greater life to come, so let’s prepare like good and faithful servants.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
________________________________
Absolute Assurance
"He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Several times in the Scriptures the LORD hath said this. He has often repeated it to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt about it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the LORD's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our LORD's company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold; His favor is better than fortune. We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than almighty Goodness. Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace that thou mayest never leave thy LORD, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.
~Charles H. Spurgeon~
_______________________________
Sin is shut out--and they are shut in!
(Charles Spurgeon)
"The sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more!" Isaiah 65:19
The glorified weep no more, because all causes of grief are gone!
There are no broken friendships, nor blighted prospects in Heaven.
Poverty, famine, peril, persecution and slander--are unknown there.
No pain distresses, and no thought of death or bereavement saddens.
They weep no more, because they all are perfectly sanctified!
No "evil heart of unbelief" prompts them to depart from the living God.
They are without fault before His throne, and are fully conformed to His image!
Well may they cease to mourn--who have ceased to sin!
They weep no more, because all fear of change is past!
They know that they are eternally secure!
Sin is shut out--and they are shut in!
They dwell within a city which shall never be stormed!
They bask in a sun which shall never set!
They drink of a river which shall never run dry!
They pluck fruit from a tree which shall never wither!
Countless cycles may revolve--but eternity shall not be exhausted; and while eternity endures, their immortality and blessedness shall co-exist with it. They are forever with the Lord!
They weep no more, because every desire is fulfilled!
They cannot wish for anything--which they don't already have in full possession.
Eye and ear,
heart and hand,
mind and imagination,
desire and affection,
all the faculties--
are completely satisfied!
As imperfect as our present ideas are of the things which God has prepared for those who love Him--yet we know enough by Scriptural revelation, that the glorified saints are supremely blessed.
The joy of Christ, which is an infinite fullness of delight, is in them.
They bathe forever in the bottomless, shoreless sea of infinite blessedness!
That same joyful rest remains for us! It may not be far distant.
Before long, sorrow's dewdrops will be transformed into the pearls of everlasting bliss!
"The sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more!" Isaiah 65:19
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain!" Revelation 21:4
"Therefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:18
Sins Presence # 2
Sins Presence # 2
Now Christian reader, is it really and truly the desire of your heart that God will "hide pride" from you (Job 33:17)? If by grace it is so, then are you willing for Him to use His own means and method in accomplishing your desire, even though it is an unpleasant process, yes, galling to your complacency? If you are willing for your natural religiousness to be blasted and to be stripped of your peacock feathers, then it will be by evil remaining in you and bestirring itself to your grief!
Second Timothy 3:2 shows that pride springs from inordinate self-love. They who are undue lovers of themselves - soon grow proud of themselves; which is obvious to God, for it robes Him of His glory. Since God will be glorious unto His saints, as well as glorified by them - He subdues their pride by leaving that in them which humbles their hearts - but makes them admire Him the more for His longsuffering.
Divine light exposes filth within, of which they had no previous realization, causing them to cry with the leper, "Unclean, unclean!" (Lev. 13:45). They have such painful discoveries of indwelling sin as often makes them lament, "O wretched man that I am!" (Romans 7:24). But how thankful we should be if God makes us "abhor" ourselves (Job 42:6), and thereby make way for prizing Christ all the more!
In this life, holiness, my reader, consists largely of pantings after it - and grievings because we feel ourselves to be so unholy. What would happen to a man still left in this world - if he were full of sin one day and then made absolutely sinless the next? Let our present experience supply the answer. Do we not find it very difficult to keep our proper humble place, both before God and our brethren, when the evil within us is subdued but a little? Is not that evidence we require something to deliver us from self-righteousness? Even the beloved Paul needed "a thorn in the flesh" lest he "be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations" given to him (2 Cor. 12:7).
The man after God's own heart prayer, "O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise" (Psalm 51:15): as though he said, "If You, Lord, will help me to speak aright, I shall not proclaim my own worth nor boast of what I have done - but will give You all the glory." As God left some of the Canaanites in the land - to prove Israel (Judges 2:21-22), so He leaves sin in us - to humble us.
We shall be sinless in heaven, and the sight of the "Lamb, who was slain" (Rev. 5:12) will forever prevent the re-entry of pride into our souls.
Our consciousness of sin's presence has, first, an emptying influence; it makes way for a pardoning and cleansing Christ, by convicting the soul of its deep need.
Second, it has a continual abasing influence, bringing us to realize more and more our utter insufficiency and complete dependence upon God.
Third, it has an evangelical influence, for it serves to make us more conscious of the perfect suitability of the great Physician for such lepers as we feel ourselves to be.
Fourth, it has a God-honoring influence, for it brings the renewed soul to marvel increasingly at His "longsuffering to us" (2 Peter 3:9).
Fifth, it should promote a spirit of forbearance to our fellows: we ought not to expect less failure in them - than we find in ourselves.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Now Christian reader, is it really and truly the desire of your heart that God will "hide pride" from you (Job 33:17)? If by grace it is so, then are you willing for Him to use His own means and method in accomplishing your desire, even though it is an unpleasant process, yes, galling to your complacency? If you are willing for your natural religiousness to be blasted and to be stripped of your peacock feathers, then it will be by evil remaining in you and bestirring itself to your grief!
Second Timothy 3:2 shows that pride springs from inordinate self-love. They who are undue lovers of themselves - soon grow proud of themselves; which is obvious to God, for it robes Him of His glory. Since God will be glorious unto His saints, as well as glorified by them - He subdues their pride by leaving that in them which humbles their hearts - but makes them admire Him the more for His longsuffering.
Divine light exposes filth within, of which they had no previous realization, causing them to cry with the leper, "Unclean, unclean!" (Lev. 13:45). They have such painful discoveries of indwelling sin as often makes them lament, "O wretched man that I am!" (Romans 7:24). But how thankful we should be if God makes us "abhor" ourselves (Job 42:6), and thereby make way for prizing Christ all the more!
In this life, holiness, my reader, consists largely of pantings after it - and grievings because we feel ourselves to be so unholy. What would happen to a man still left in this world - if he were full of sin one day and then made absolutely sinless the next? Let our present experience supply the answer. Do we not find it very difficult to keep our proper humble place, both before God and our brethren, when the evil within us is subdued but a little? Is not that evidence we require something to deliver us from self-righteousness? Even the beloved Paul needed "a thorn in the flesh" lest he "be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations" given to him (2 Cor. 12:7).
The man after God's own heart prayer, "O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise" (Psalm 51:15): as though he said, "If You, Lord, will help me to speak aright, I shall not proclaim my own worth nor boast of what I have done - but will give You all the glory." As God left some of the Canaanites in the land - to prove Israel (Judges 2:21-22), so He leaves sin in us - to humble us.
We shall be sinless in heaven, and the sight of the "Lamb, who was slain" (Rev. 5:12) will forever prevent the re-entry of pride into our souls.
Our consciousness of sin's presence has, first, an emptying influence; it makes way for a pardoning and cleansing Christ, by convicting the soul of its deep need.
Second, it has a continual abasing influence, bringing us to realize more and more our utter insufficiency and complete dependence upon God.
Third, it has an evangelical influence, for it serves to make us more conscious of the perfect suitability of the great Physician for such lepers as we feel ourselves to be.
Fourth, it has a God-honoring influence, for it brings the renewed soul to marvel increasingly at His "longsuffering to us" (2 Peter 3:9).
Fifth, it should promote a spirit of forbearance to our fellows: we ought not to expect less failure in them - than we find in ourselves.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Sin's Presence # 1
Sin's Presence # 1
There are two sides to a Christian's life: a light side - and a dark one; an elevating side - and a depressing one. His experience is neither all joy - nor all grief; but a commingling of both. it was so with the apostle Paul: "As sorrowful - yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. 6:10). When a person is regenerated, he is not there and then taken to heaven - but he is given both a pledge and a foretaste of it. Nor is sin then eradicated from his being, though its dominion over him is broken. It is indwelling corruption which casts its dark shadow over his joy!
The varied experiences of the believer are occasioned by Christ's presence - and sin's presence. If, on the one hand, it be blessedly true that Christ is with him all the days, even unto the end; on the other hand, it is solemnly true that sin indwells him all his days, even unto the end of his earthly history! Said Paul, "evil is present with me"; and that, not only occasionally - but sin "dwells in me" (Romans 7:20-21). Thus, as God's people feed upon the Lamb, it is "with bitter herbs they shall eat it" (Exodus 12:8).
The Christian's consciousness of indwelling sin, his mourning over its defiling influence, his sincere efforts to strive against its solicitations, his penitent confessions to God of his failure to master this inveterate foe - are among the unmistakable evidences that he is a regenerate person. For certain it is, that none who is dead in trespasses and sins realizes there isa sea of iniquity within his heart, defiling his very thoughts and imagination; still less does he make conscience of the same and lament it.
Let the believer recall his own case: in the days of his unregeneracy, he was not cast down by what now distresses! We are bidden to "remember" what we were "in time past," and then contrast the "But now" (Eph. 2:11-13), that we may be shamed over the former - and rejoice and give thanks for the latter.
It is cause for fervent praise if your eyes have been opened to see "the sinfulness of sin," and your heart to feel its obnoxiousness. Since it was not always thus, a great change has taken place - you have been made the subject of a miracle of grace. But the continuance of indwelling sin presents a sore and perplexing problem to the Christian. That nothing is too hard for the Lord - he is full assured. Why then is evil allowed to remain present with him? Why is he not rid of this hideous thing - which he so much loaths and hates? Why should this horrible depravity be allowed to disturb his peace and mar his joy? Why does not the God of all grace rid him of this harassing tyrant?
It must ever be remembered that His thoughts and ways are often the very opposite of ours. Yet we must also remember they are infinitely wiser and better than ours. God then must have some valid reason why He leaves sin in His people; and since He loves them with a boundless and unchangeable love - it must be left in them for their benefit. Faith may be fully assured that evil continues to be present with the saint both for the glory of God and for his own good. Thus, there is a bright side to even this dark cloud.
We are not apt to think it is a most deplorable thing that sin still indwells us and to imagine it would be far better if we were rid of it. But that is our ignorance. Yes, it is something worse: it is a spirit of opposition to God, a rebelling against His dealings with us, an impugning of His wisdom, a casting reflection upon His goodness. Since He has given such abundant proofs that He has our best interests at heart, it must be most reprehensible for any to call into question His ways with them.
Rather, may we be fully persuaded that our loving Father would have completely removed "the flesh" from the soul of His children at the moment of their regeneration - had that been for their highest welfare. Since He has not done so, we must confidently conclude that God has a benevolent purpose in allowing sin to indwell them, to the end of their pilgrim journey. But does His Word furnish any hints of His gracious designs therein? Yes - but we must now limit ourselves unto one of them.
God leaves sin in His people - to promote their humility. There is nothing which He abominates, so much as pride. In Proverbs 6:16-17, the Holy Spirit has listed seven things which the Lord hates, and they are headed with "A proud look"! God feeds the hungry - but the rich He sends empty away. He "gives grace unto the humble," but "resists the proud" (James 4:6). It is the egotistical and self-satisfied Laodiceans who are so loathsome in His sight - that He spues them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16-17).
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
There are two sides to a Christian's life: a light side - and a dark one; an elevating side - and a depressing one. His experience is neither all joy - nor all grief; but a commingling of both. it was so with the apostle Paul: "As sorrowful - yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. 6:10). When a person is regenerated, he is not there and then taken to heaven - but he is given both a pledge and a foretaste of it. Nor is sin then eradicated from his being, though its dominion over him is broken. It is indwelling corruption which casts its dark shadow over his joy!
The varied experiences of the believer are occasioned by Christ's presence - and sin's presence. If, on the one hand, it be blessedly true that Christ is with him all the days, even unto the end; on the other hand, it is solemnly true that sin indwells him all his days, even unto the end of his earthly history! Said Paul, "evil is present with me"; and that, not only occasionally - but sin "dwells in me" (Romans 7:20-21). Thus, as God's people feed upon the Lamb, it is "with bitter herbs they shall eat it" (Exodus 12:8).
The Christian's consciousness of indwelling sin, his mourning over its defiling influence, his sincere efforts to strive against its solicitations, his penitent confessions to God of his failure to master this inveterate foe - are among the unmistakable evidences that he is a regenerate person. For certain it is, that none who is dead in trespasses and sins realizes there isa sea of iniquity within his heart, defiling his very thoughts and imagination; still less does he make conscience of the same and lament it.
Let the believer recall his own case: in the days of his unregeneracy, he was not cast down by what now distresses! We are bidden to "remember" what we were "in time past," and then contrast the "But now" (Eph. 2:11-13), that we may be shamed over the former - and rejoice and give thanks for the latter.
It is cause for fervent praise if your eyes have been opened to see "the sinfulness of sin," and your heart to feel its obnoxiousness. Since it was not always thus, a great change has taken place - you have been made the subject of a miracle of grace. But the continuance of indwelling sin presents a sore and perplexing problem to the Christian. That nothing is too hard for the Lord - he is full assured. Why then is evil allowed to remain present with him? Why is he not rid of this hideous thing - which he so much loaths and hates? Why should this horrible depravity be allowed to disturb his peace and mar his joy? Why does not the God of all grace rid him of this harassing tyrant?
It must ever be remembered that His thoughts and ways are often the very opposite of ours. Yet we must also remember they are infinitely wiser and better than ours. God then must have some valid reason why He leaves sin in His people; and since He loves them with a boundless and unchangeable love - it must be left in them for their benefit. Faith may be fully assured that evil continues to be present with the saint both for the glory of God and for his own good. Thus, there is a bright side to even this dark cloud.
We are not apt to think it is a most deplorable thing that sin still indwells us and to imagine it would be far better if we were rid of it. But that is our ignorance. Yes, it is something worse: it is a spirit of opposition to God, a rebelling against His dealings with us, an impugning of His wisdom, a casting reflection upon His goodness. Since He has given such abundant proofs that He has our best interests at heart, it must be most reprehensible for any to call into question His ways with them.
Rather, may we be fully persuaded that our loving Father would have completely removed "the flesh" from the soul of His children at the moment of their regeneration - had that been for their highest welfare. Since He has not done so, we must confidently conclude that God has a benevolent purpose in allowing sin to indwell them, to the end of their pilgrim journey. But does His Word furnish any hints of His gracious designs therein? Yes - but we must now limit ourselves unto one of them.
God leaves sin in His people - to promote their humility. There is nothing which He abominates, so much as pride. In Proverbs 6:16-17, the Holy Spirit has listed seven things which the Lord hates, and they are headed with "A proud look"! God feeds the hungry - but the rich He sends empty away. He "gives grace unto the humble," but "resists the proud" (James 4:6). It is the egotistical and self-satisfied Laodiceans who are so loathsome in His sight - that He spues them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16-17).
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
The Living God and the Battle for Life # 3
The Living God and the Battle for Life # 3
Now our point is just this, that the hallmark of God's work is Life, the hallmark of satan's work is death. The great objective of satan is to bring us into that state of heart - it is called "conscience" in Hebrews - which will be a suitable ground for him to bring about his reign of death, but God has made His full provision of another ground upon which satan has no standing, where he cannot come - iniquity cannot come on that ground, unrighteousness cannot come onto that ground, sin cannot come there. satan therefore cannot stand there on the ground of that provided righteousness in Christ who is made unto us from God righteousness, sanctification and redemption. satan cannot come there. Stand then on the ground of Christ and satan has no stand, no power, and death is vanquished. But that does not mean that satan accepts his defeat. It does not mean that the battle is at an end, for our battle is not to get our ground, it is to keep it. We may get our ground and stand on it, but that is not the end of the conflict. It may only be the beginning of the conflict. We have got to hold that ground, stand our ground. "Stand, therefore...stand, withstand, having done all, stand." The battle for Life so often resolves itself into a matter not of gaining some position, but holding it. Remember that! To get us moved away - that is a great apostolic word - being moved away, by any means to get us moved away. Now, satan stands at nothing to bring that about, that moving away.
I am not going to begin to touch on the means, the ways by which satan seeks to get that moving away, but I have the present situation very much in mind, and here I head up everything and stop. I cannot get away from the strong feeling that what is happening today is something very much more than just a phase of this world's history as such. I do not think that needs arguing. I think we all feel that. We are all convinced, even people who profess very little faith in the Lord Jesus have a strong feeling and strong conviction that this is more than merely an earthly, international conflict, that this is something more in this. We are quite sure about it, but what is the meaning of it? Well, I believe, beloved, that it is heading up to its end, the end of that particular phase of the sovereign ordering method of God which is called "the times of the Gentiles." The end of any dispensation takes the spiritual features of its beginning and repeats them.
Now, if you do not know what I mean by that, let me illustrate. The times of the Gentiles came in with Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God took the rule of this world away from Israel because of Israel's unfaithfulness and breaking of the Covenant, and committed the rule of this world and its kingdom into the hands of Gentile rulers, the first of which was Nebuchadnezzar. Now, one of the first things you find about Nebuchadnezzar taking the rule of the kingdoms of this world as the great head of gold is this. It came into his head - that is the way of putting it, it seems almost a fancy, a chance, but no. Things come into men's heads, but where do they come from? We will see in a minute. It came into his head to do something. What came into his head? Well, he had dreamed and it came into his head to put all the wise men throughout his dominion to a test and to say this: "Unless you pass the test, you will be destroyed!" - and that, from satan's standpoint, was a foregone conclusion. They would be destroyed. It was their death sentence, because they were not going to pass the test. The thing was altogether beyond them, and they would not pass the test, therefore all the wise men were sentenced to death before they even were given the test, virtually. They had got to interpret, and if they could not, they would be destroyed, for he was an absolute despot - whom he sentenced to death were killed; whom he kept alive were kept alive. That is what is said about this one.
Now, what is the objective of satan? Where did this thing come from? There is one man in Babylon with whom the interests of God and heaven are bound up. The testimony of God is bound up in one man's life - Daniel. He is one amongst the wise men. Get all the wise men killed, and you have got Daniel included. Now you see why. Daniel carries things right on to Christ. The testimony of Daniel is the testimony of Jesus; his prophecies lead right on to today and afterward. Everything of what is precious to God through the history of this world is bound up with that one man in Babylon. He is in touch with heaven. His prayers influence the heavenly powers, principalities. Yes, what is of God is bound up with that man. The living God, the living testimony, the living interests of God are bound up with one man, therefore satan does not mind if he has all the wise men throughout the kingdom of Babylon killed if he can only get one man. That is the beginning of this dispensation of the times of the Gentiles.
My conviction is this, that today satan is standing at nothing in the wholesale slaughter on this earth in order to get at one corporate man, that man child of Revelation 12, that company with whom the heavenly and eternal interests of God and the testimony of Jesus are bound up, and this is it - life or death? And the pressure to corrupt will be intense, the pressure to destroy faith in the living God will be terrible, the pressure to move us away from our ground of confidence in God will be unspeakably great in order that that testimony of the living God, that Life over which satan has no power, shall be brought, so far as the instrument is concerned, into a neutralized state - God must have an instrument. He has done this thing again and again.
It is our faith, beloved; if we lose faith, we have lost our Life; if we lose our confidence in the living God, we are engulfed in that spiritual death. It does not matter to satan if he throws all the nations into the fire of destruction if he can get his end. What is the end? It is God's elect, with which all the purposes of God are bound up, to get at that, to get at the faith of that, not to destroy it physically, but to get at its faith.
Let us see what the issue is right at the heart of things, and see it is all a colossal, upspeakable iniquitous attack upon a faith, the faith of the Son of God in us. If satan can destroy faith, the day is lost, he is victor. But to come back and finish on the right note - "Thou art the Son of the living God," "Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The Living God!
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(The End)
Now our point is just this, that the hallmark of God's work is Life, the hallmark of satan's work is death. The great objective of satan is to bring us into that state of heart - it is called "conscience" in Hebrews - which will be a suitable ground for him to bring about his reign of death, but God has made His full provision of another ground upon which satan has no standing, where he cannot come - iniquity cannot come on that ground, unrighteousness cannot come onto that ground, sin cannot come there. satan therefore cannot stand there on the ground of that provided righteousness in Christ who is made unto us from God righteousness, sanctification and redemption. satan cannot come there. Stand then on the ground of Christ and satan has no stand, no power, and death is vanquished. But that does not mean that satan accepts his defeat. It does not mean that the battle is at an end, for our battle is not to get our ground, it is to keep it. We may get our ground and stand on it, but that is not the end of the conflict. It may only be the beginning of the conflict. We have got to hold that ground, stand our ground. "Stand, therefore...stand, withstand, having done all, stand." The battle for Life so often resolves itself into a matter not of gaining some position, but holding it. Remember that! To get us moved away - that is a great apostolic word - being moved away, by any means to get us moved away. Now, satan stands at nothing to bring that about, that moving away.
I am not going to begin to touch on the means, the ways by which satan seeks to get that moving away, but I have the present situation very much in mind, and here I head up everything and stop. I cannot get away from the strong feeling that what is happening today is something very much more than just a phase of this world's history as such. I do not think that needs arguing. I think we all feel that. We are all convinced, even people who profess very little faith in the Lord Jesus have a strong feeling and strong conviction that this is more than merely an earthly, international conflict, that this is something more in this. We are quite sure about it, but what is the meaning of it? Well, I believe, beloved, that it is heading up to its end, the end of that particular phase of the sovereign ordering method of God which is called "the times of the Gentiles." The end of any dispensation takes the spiritual features of its beginning and repeats them.
Now, if you do not know what I mean by that, let me illustrate. The times of the Gentiles came in with Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God took the rule of this world away from Israel because of Israel's unfaithfulness and breaking of the Covenant, and committed the rule of this world and its kingdom into the hands of Gentile rulers, the first of which was Nebuchadnezzar. Now, one of the first things you find about Nebuchadnezzar taking the rule of the kingdoms of this world as the great head of gold is this. It came into his head - that is the way of putting it, it seems almost a fancy, a chance, but no. Things come into men's heads, but where do they come from? We will see in a minute. It came into his head to do something. What came into his head? Well, he had dreamed and it came into his head to put all the wise men throughout his dominion to a test and to say this: "Unless you pass the test, you will be destroyed!" - and that, from satan's standpoint, was a foregone conclusion. They would be destroyed. It was their death sentence, because they were not going to pass the test. The thing was altogether beyond them, and they would not pass the test, therefore all the wise men were sentenced to death before they even were given the test, virtually. They had got to interpret, and if they could not, they would be destroyed, for he was an absolute despot - whom he sentenced to death were killed; whom he kept alive were kept alive. That is what is said about this one.
Now, what is the objective of satan? Where did this thing come from? There is one man in Babylon with whom the interests of God and heaven are bound up. The testimony of God is bound up in one man's life - Daniel. He is one amongst the wise men. Get all the wise men killed, and you have got Daniel included. Now you see why. Daniel carries things right on to Christ. The testimony of Daniel is the testimony of Jesus; his prophecies lead right on to today and afterward. Everything of what is precious to God through the history of this world is bound up with that one man in Babylon. He is in touch with heaven. His prayers influence the heavenly powers, principalities. Yes, what is of God is bound up with that man. The living God, the living testimony, the living interests of God are bound up with one man, therefore satan does not mind if he has all the wise men throughout the kingdom of Babylon killed if he can only get one man. That is the beginning of this dispensation of the times of the Gentiles.
My conviction is this, that today satan is standing at nothing in the wholesale slaughter on this earth in order to get at one corporate man, that man child of Revelation 12, that company with whom the heavenly and eternal interests of God and the testimony of Jesus are bound up, and this is it - life or death? And the pressure to corrupt will be intense, the pressure to destroy faith in the living God will be terrible, the pressure to move us away from our ground of confidence in God will be unspeakably great in order that that testimony of the living God, that Life over which satan has no power, shall be brought, so far as the instrument is concerned, into a neutralized state - God must have an instrument. He has done this thing again and again.
It is our faith, beloved; if we lose faith, we have lost our Life; if we lose our confidence in the living God, we are engulfed in that spiritual death. It does not matter to satan if he throws all the nations into the fire of destruction if he can get his end. What is the end? It is God's elect, with which all the purposes of God are bound up, to get at that, to get at the faith of that, not to destroy it physically, but to get at its faith.
Let us see what the issue is right at the heart of things, and see it is all a colossal, upspeakable iniquitous attack upon a faith, the faith of the Son of God in us. If satan can destroy faith, the day is lost, he is victor. But to come back and finish on the right note - "Thou art the Son of the living God," "Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The Living God!
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(The End)
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Troubles, Troubles, Troubles!
Troubles, Troubles, Troubles!
"Call upon Me in the day of trouble! I will deliver you - and you shall glorify Me!" (Psalm 50:15).
Believer, in this portion of the divine word, you will discover
1. your present portion - trouble.
2. your constant privilege - prayer.
3. your future prospect - deliverance.
1. Your present portion is TROUBLE. You must expect trouble, and will certainly be deceived if you expect to escape it. Sin is the parent of trouble - and our sin-cursed earth its fruitful soil. Trouble springs up all around us, and appears in an almost infinite variety of forms.
Every connection we form, every character we bear, every office we fill, and every relation we sustain - is a fruitful source of trouble!
We shall have trouble in mind, trouble in circumstances, trouble in body; trouble from almost every quarter!
This poor world is not our rest - for it is polluted! This poor world is not our home - for we are poor pilgrims! This poor world is not our country - for we are strangers and aliens!
Every day has its peculiar troubles. Often when we look for a certain comfort - we only find peculiar distress and vexation! Everything declares, "Happiness is not in me!" You may look on the right hand - but you will find no permanent peace; on the left - and disappointment awaits you. Only in Jesus is solid peace, holy satisfaction, and permanent comfort to be found. If we could rightly interpret the various voices around us, we would find them all saying, "Go to Jesus! Abide in Jesus! Derive all from Jesus - or be wretched, miserable, and disappointed!"
In youth, manhood and old age - trouble and tribulation is the Christian's lot. Our God feeds us with the heritage of Jacob our father; but if we carefully read his history, we shall find some very bitter herbs grew on it: Joseph is lost, Rachel dies, Simeon is imprisoned, Benjamin must go; Simeon and Levi slay the Shechemites - and all these things appear against him!
Just so with us, troubles and trials follow each other, at times, almost like Job's messengers; treading on each other's heels, and we are almost overwhelmed! But,
2. Your constant privilege is PRAYER - to visit the throne of grace, and wait upon our God. He says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble!" Troubles furnish us with messages to our Father's throne, quicken us in our supplications, and oblige us to entreat His favor!
His throne of grace is always accessible, and His ear is always open; but in times of trouble, He especially invites us to draw near. He says: Call upon Me in trouble, call for whatever you need! Are you perplexed - then call for wisdom; are you guilty - then call for pardon; are you miserable - then call for comfort; are you in darkness - then call for light; are you in bondage - then call for freedom and relief.
Call upon Me, for I am always on the throne of grace! Call upon Me, for I am glad to see you! Call upon Me - upon Me first, before you run to others! Call upon Me - without reserve. Call upon Me boldly - without fear. The promise encourages us, the invitation allures us - but trouble impels us to call upon our God.
Our troubles are frequently the instruments the Holy Spirit employs to carry on His sacred work in our hearts. By troubles, He empties us of self, weans us from the world, and endears Jesus and His salvation to us! Oh, believer, make use of your privilege in every time of trouble - and fully expect what Your God has promised!
3. Your future prospect is DELIVERANCE. The prospect is opened up, "I will deliver you - and you shall glorify Me!" Here God comes under engagement to deliver His calling child. Can we, then, be too confident, or expect deliverance with too much assurance? Surely not! Only let us beware lest we dictate to God as to time, means, or manner of deliverance - and then we cannot be too certain. He will deliver, and in such a way as to put honor on your faith, pour confusion on your unbelief, and secure the glory to His blessed self!
"I WILL" this promise is more durable than earth, more stable as the pillars of Heaven, and as changeless as the nature of Jehovah.
"I WILL DELIVER!" this is at once the food, warrant, and plea of faith; the lattice through which hope directs the eye, and the prime argument which the soul uses before God.
"I WILL DELIVER YOU!" My poor brother - are you in trouble? Are you calling upon God? You are the person God had in His eye and in His heart - when He cased this precious portion to be penned. Say, "He will deliver ME!" And you, being delivered, proving God to be faithful, realizing the power of prayer, and enjoying delivering mercy - shall, though satan will try to hinder, and unbelief would gladly shut your mouth - you shall glorify Me!
How truly blessed, how pleasant, how satisfactory is this! Every believer must say: "It is just as I would have it! I get all the mercy - and God gets all the glory!"
~James Smith~
(The End)
"Call upon Me in the day of trouble! I will deliver you - and you shall glorify Me!" (Psalm 50:15).
Believer, in this portion of the divine word, you will discover
1. your present portion - trouble.
2. your constant privilege - prayer.
3. your future prospect - deliverance.
1. Your present portion is TROUBLE. You must expect trouble, and will certainly be deceived if you expect to escape it. Sin is the parent of trouble - and our sin-cursed earth its fruitful soil. Trouble springs up all around us, and appears in an almost infinite variety of forms.
Every connection we form, every character we bear, every office we fill, and every relation we sustain - is a fruitful source of trouble!
We shall have trouble in mind, trouble in circumstances, trouble in body; trouble from almost every quarter!
This poor world is not our rest - for it is polluted! This poor world is not our home - for we are poor pilgrims! This poor world is not our country - for we are strangers and aliens!
Every day has its peculiar troubles. Often when we look for a certain comfort - we only find peculiar distress and vexation! Everything declares, "Happiness is not in me!" You may look on the right hand - but you will find no permanent peace; on the left - and disappointment awaits you. Only in Jesus is solid peace, holy satisfaction, and permanent comfort to be found. If we could rightly interpret the various voices around us, we would find them all saying, "Go to Jesus! Abide in Jesus! Derive all from Jesus - or be wretched, miserable, and disappointed!"
In youth, manhood and old age - trouble and tribulation is the Christian's lot. Our God feeds us with the heritage of Jacob our father; but if we carefully read his history, we shall find some very bitter herbs grew on it: Joseph is lost, Rachel dies, Simeon is imprisoned, Benjamin must go; Simeon and Levi slay the Shechemites - and all these things appear against him!
Just so with us, troubles and trials follow each other, at times, almost like Job's messengers; treading on each other's heels, and we are almost overwhelmed! But,
2. Your constant privilege is PRAYER - to visit the throne of grace, and wait upon our God. He says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble!" Troubles furnish us with messages to our Father's throne, quicken us in our supplications, and oblige us to entreat His favor!
His throne of grace is always accessible, and His ear is always open; but in times of trouble, He especially invites us to draw near. He says: Call upon Me in trouble, call for whatever you need! Are you perplexed - then call for wisdom; are you guilty - then call for pardon; are you miserable - then call for comfort; are you in darkness - then call for light; are you in bondage - then call for freedom and relief.
Call upon Me, for I am always on the throne of grace! Call upon Me, for I am glad to see you! Call upon Me - upon Me first, before you run to others! Call upon Me - without reserve. Call upon Me boldly - without fear. The promise encourages us, the invitation allures us - but trouble impels us to call upon our God.
Our troubles are frequently the instruments the Holy Spirit employs to carry on His sacred work in our hearts. By troubles, He empties us of self, weans us from the world, and endears Jesus and His salvation to us! Oh, believer, make use of your privilege in every time of trouble - and fully expect what Your God has promised!
3. Your future prospect is DELIVERANCE. The prospect is opened up, "I will deliver you - and you shall glorify Me!" Here God comes under engagement to deliver His calling child. Can we, then, be too confident, or expect deliverance with too much assurance? Surely not! Only let us beware lest we dictate to God as to time, means, or manner of deliverance - and then we cannot be too certain. He will deliver, and in such a way as to put honor on your faith, pour confusion on your unbelief, and secure the glory to His blessed self!
"I WILL" this promise is more durable than earth, more stable as the pillars of Heaven, and as changeless as the nature of Jehovah.
"I WILL DELIVER!" this is at once the food, warrant, and plea of faith; the lattice through which hope directs the eye, and the prime argument which the soul uses before God.
"I WILL DELIVER YOU!" My poor brother - are you in trouble? Are you calling upon God? You are the person God had in His eye and in His heart - when He cased this precious portion to be penned. Say, "He will deliver ME!" And you, being delivered, proving God to be faithful, realizing the power of prayer, and enjoying delivering mercy - shall, though satan will try to hinder, and unbelief would gladly shut your mouth - you shall glorify Me!
How truly blessed, how pleasant, how satisfactory is this! Every believer must say: "It is just as I would have it! I get all the mercy - and God gets all the glory!"
~James Smith~
(The End)
The Living God and the Battle for Life # 2
The Living God and the Battle for Life # 2
God has one thing in view finally, and that is Life. He intended from the beginning that that which issued from Himself, represented Himself, and bore His mark, should be that which lives with His own Life. satan has determined just the opposite, that that which comes from him bears his mark, and that is death, not because he wants to have death to gratify himself, but he wants God to be deprived of that upon which His heart is set. satan's heart is a heart of malicious spite against God. Remember that! He has, deep in his very being, this spite against God. God has done something to satan which has turned his heart with the bitterest malice and deep abysmal hatred for God and spite against God, and he wants to deprive God of His end - that is, a universe marked by God's own Life. And so anything whatever that has the mark of God upon it or is in the way of having that mark or that seal, is the objective of satan's bitterest hatred. It becomes a sharer with God in the spite of satan. Remember that! Wherever there is Divine Life, then that becomes part and lot with God in the animosity of the devil. The one thing is to bring that Life to an end, to spoil that Life, to bring in death; where Life is, to surround that and try and engulf it in death again. There is only one way in which he can do it and that is to corrupt, but, strangely enough, it is to get the mind or the heart of the believer accepting corruption.
You see, in Christ Jesus, by faith, we are partakers of the very righteousness of God. It is not a goodness of man, but a righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ. That is what God is. We share in His nature by faith. We are accounted the same as God by faith in another righteousness. A tremendous thing! That is not what we are in ourselves. No man can ever say for a moment, "I am one with God in my nature!" Who can say that? "I am one with God in His very righteousness, in His very holiness, in His sinless perfection! I, in myself, am one with God in that!" What presumption! But yet, by faith in the Lord Jesus, in virtue of His mighty Blood, we are able to say, "In Christ, not in myself, in Christ I am a sharer in the Divine nature, I am accounted one with God in His righteousness, His nature!"
Now, the enemy's objective is not to make us worse than we are. I do not know whether he can do that, if we knew the depths of our own nature. It is not that, but it is always to work upon what we are to try and bring it up as a cloud between us and our faith and God's righteousness, in order that we shall accept in our hearts and in our minds an evil state rather than that state which is ours by faith. And so, accepting in our hearts and in our minds condemnation and accusation on the genuine ground of what we are in ourselves, so destroying faith in what we are in Christ, to bring us under condemnation and so to smite us with death, to bring about death.
There is that wonderful illustration of this in the Old Testament in the case of Balaam and Israel. You remember how Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel. "Come, curse me Israel." Balak took Balaam up into the great high place and showed him Israel and Balaam was unable to curse. And Balak said, "Come round and look at them from another angle, perhaps you will be able to curse them there!" But he found he could not curse them from that angle. Then Balak tried another another angle, "We will get these people somehow!" But Balaam could not curse them, he had to go on blessing. And Balak said, "I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them." What is the explanation? Oh, Balaam's utterance contains one clause! You see, he is being compelled to look down on Israel from God's standpoint, from heaven, not along the level of earth, but what Israel is, what Jacob is. Jacob is used there as a title. But he was compelled to down from above. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob." Why? Because Jacob was without iniquity. Not a bit of it. There is another story in the Psalms about what Jacob was, that corporate Jacob, what they were in themselves, but He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob! Why? They are out under the Blood. When they are out under the Blood, God has His own view. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob." Therefore it was impossible to bring them under the curse because of the Blood.
Paul says, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?...It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead" (Romans 8:33-34).
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Well, satan is always trying to do that with a view to bring under the curse, to death, this great issue of Life and death.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 3)
God has one thing in view finally, and that is Life. He intended from the beginning that that which issued from Himself, represented Himself, and bore His mark, should be that which lives with His own Life. satan has determined just the opposite, that that which comes from him bears his mark, and that is death, not because he wants to have death to gratify himself, but he wants God to be deprived of that upon which His heart is set. satan's heart is a heart of malicious spite against God. Remember that! He has, deep in his very being, this spite against God. God has done something to satan which has turned his heart with the bitterest malice and deep abysmal hatred for God and spite against God, and he wants to deprive God of His end - that is, a universe marked by God's own Life. And so anything whatever that has the mark of God upon it or is in the way of having that mark or that seal, is the objective of satan's bitterest hatred. It becomes a sharer with God in the spite of satan. Remember that! Wherever there is Divine Life, then that becomes part and lot with God in the animosity of the devil. The one thing is to bring that Life to an end, to spoil that Life, to bring in death; where Life is, to surround that and try and engulf it in death again. There is only one way in which he can do it and that is to corrupt, but, strangely enough, it is to get the mind or the heart of the believer accepting corruption.
You see, in Christ Jesus, by faith, we are partakers of the very righteousness of God. It is not a goodness of man, but a righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ. That is what God is. We share in His nature by faith. We are accounted the same as God by faith in another righteousness. A tremendous thing! That is not what we are in ourselves. No man can ever say for a moment, "I am one with God in my nature!" Who can say that? "I am one with God in His very righteousness, in His very holiness, in His sinless perfection! I, in myself, am one with God in that!" What presumption! But yet, by faith in the Lord Jesus, in virtue of His mighty Blood, we are able to say, "In Christ, not in myself, in Christ I am a sharer in the Divine nature, I am accounted one with God in His righteousness, His nature!"
Now, the enemy's objective is not to make us worse than we are. I do not know whether he can do that, if we knew the depths of our own nature. It is not that, but it is always to work upon what we are to try and bring it up as a cloud between us and our faith and God's righteousness, in order that we shall accept in our hearts and in our minds an evil state rather than that state which is ours by faith. And so, accepting in our hearts and in our minds condemnation and accusation on the genuine ground of what we are in ourselves, so destroying faith in what we are in Christ, to bring us under condemnation and so to smite us with death, to bring about death.
There is that wonderful illustration of this in the Old Testament in the case of Balaam and Israel. You remember how Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel. "Come, curse me Israel." Balak took Balaam up into the great high place and showed him Israel and Balaam was unable to curse. And Balak said, "Come round and look at them from another angle, perhaps you will be able to curse them there!" But he found he could not curse them from that angle. Then Balak tried another another angle, "We will get these people somehow!" But Balaam could not curse them, he had to go on blessing. And Balak said, "I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them." What is the explanation? Oh, Balaam's utterance contains one clause! You see, he is being compelled to look down on Israel from God's standpoint, from heaven, not along the level of earth, but what Israel is, what Jacob is. Jacob is used there as a title. But he was compelled to down from above. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob." Why? Because Jacob was without iniquity. Not a bit of it. There is another story in the Psalms about what Jacob was, that corporate Jacob, what they were in themselves, but He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob! Why? They are out under the Blood. When they are out under the Blood, God has His own view. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob." Therefore it was impossible to bring them under the curse because of the Blood.
Paul says, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?...It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead" (Romans 8:33-34).
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Well, satan is always trying to do that with a view to bring under the curse, to death, this great issue of Life and death.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 3)
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