CONSTANT GRACE AND MERCY

: "You are often sinning, but He is always forgiving you; you are often wandering, often erring, often grieving Him, but “He forgives all your iniquities.” I do not feel like preaching when I touch this text. I heartily wish I could sit down and have a happy cry over this blessed truth that my God is at this moment forgiving me." ~ Spurgeon

MY FAITH RESTS ON HIS OMNIPOTENCE

: "My faith has no bed to sleep upon but omnipotence." ~ Rutherford

REMEDY FOR APPARENT FAILURE

What is God's remedy for dejection at apparent failure in our labours? This - the assurance that God's purpose cannot fail, that God's plans cannot miscarry, that God's will must be done. Our labours are not intended to bring about that which God has not decreed. A.W. Pink

 Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord. A.W. Pink


 Unbelief, and a thousand evils, are still in our hearts: though their reign and dominion is at an end, they are not slain or eradicated; their efforts will be felt more or less sensibly, as the Lord is pleased more or less to afford or abate His gracious influence. A.W. Pink

UNLESS WE ARE CONVINCED

"Unless we are convinced that without Christ we are under the eternal curse of God, we shall never flee to him for refuge." ~ John Owen

"Belonging to Jesus"

"Thou hast taught me that faith is nothing else than receiving thy kindness; that it is an adherence to Christ, a resting on him, love clinging to him as a branch to the tree, to seek life and vigor from him." -from "Belonging to Jesus" (page 57)

confidence in Scripture

"All believers have the experience that in the best moments of their life they are also most firm in their belief in Scripture. The believer's confidence in Christ increases along with their confidence in Scripture and, conversely, ignorance of the Scriptures is automatically and proportionately ignorance of Christ." (H. Bavinck, RD.2.440)

SHORTER CAT 100

Q. 100. What doth the preface of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord’s Prayer, which is, Our Father which art in heaven, teaches us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others.

I WILL HEAL THEIR APOSTASY

(Hos 14:4-8) 4 I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.  5 ​I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;  6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.  7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.  8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.

JEREMIAH 32:37-42

Jer 32:37-42  Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety.  (38)  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  (39)  I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  (40)  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  (41)  I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.  (42)  "For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.

Cast yourself into the arms of Christ

"Cast yourself into the arms of Christ, and if you perish, perish there." - Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed

PERSONAL REMINDER POST

Hint: From Shem to Abram. Genesis 11:10-32

 This is Genesis 3:15 being carried out to Genesis 12, 15, 17.

 See too, Matthew 1.

Acts 2, is Genesis 12, and is Romans 1:16.


Covenant isn't Co-extensive with Election, the Abrahamic Covenant isn't Co-extensive with Election, the New Covenant isn't co-extensive with election.

SCRIPTURE; BAVINCK'S INSIGHT

“Scripture resists all naturalistic and rationalistic explanations of its origins as revelation and attributes it solely to an extraordinary operative presence of God the Holy Spirit. Scripture does not give us data to interpret; it is itself the interpretation of reality, the shaper of a distinct world view, a worldview that is theistic and naturalistic” (p84) Here again we see Bavinck’s faithful commitment to Holy Scripture. Scripture is the sole authority, and it cannot be proven or interpreted by another means, other than scripture alone. Again this may seem circular, but only a word from God can authorize the word of God, and that is exactly what we have in the Bible. And this is the decisive point; Christianity is based upon a revelation that is received in faith. Not a revelation that can be authenticated, or proven by reason. 

http://onechurchonefaith.blogspot.com/

MERCY OF GOD

Some people imagine that in order to be a merciful Christian you must never present the Word of God, the Holiness of God, the Justice of God, or the Warnings of God; however, it is precisely the mercy of God which ensures that these very things will be presented to mankind. The most unmerciful thing we could do is to fail at presenting these very truths.

To be in His Kingdom

On the morning news a guy shares his experience of auditioning to play guitar on the road with Billy Joel. Billy pulled him aside in private during a session and asked, "So can I use you to go on the road for me?" The guitarists face beamed as he recounted the moment and he said with a smile, "Are you kidding me! Yea!!" The reporters all chuckled at this wonderful excitement of being asked to play for Billy Joel. Years went by and this guitarist was rehearsing in the stud...io and singing the lyrics. Billy walked in the back and asked, "Are you listening to me?" (Being sure that they were). They all said, No, that is the guitarist. And now the guitarist has a cover band for Billy Joel that even Billy thinks sounds like his own voice.

So #1. How excited and grateful and thankful we should be that Jesus called us to be in His kingdom. #2. What a compliment it would be for people to walk in the room and say, "that sounds like Jesus."...May we be transformed into His image in our voice, thoughts, desires, actions. In the interview you could tell this man was genuinely thrilled to be in the band and to be like the leader, what a faint example of how thrilled we should be to be called to His Kingdom and be made like our King.

----

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

SHOULD BE TERRIFIED

In many respects what passes for "the church" should be terrified that Christ is coming again. Dr. Bray

SET MY HEART ON CHRIST

Many times I am forced in my prayers first to beg God that He would take my heart, and set it on Himself in Christ, and when it is there, that He would keep it there.
—John Bunyan

PRESERVING ME

John Newton (of Amazing Grace note)...

"We are poor, weak, inconsistent creatures—if left but a little to ourselves.

When I think how cold, dull and heartless I have been; how often I have wandered, how often trifled upon the brink of temptation; when I consider what powerful, vigilant, and subtle enemies are combined against me; and how many professors have fallen on my right hand and my left—I am amazed at the greatness of His mercy in preserving me! I am a living commentary, that there is forgiveness with Him—and that He is able to save to the uttermost!"

"Hold me up—and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117

A SOLDIER WHO FIGHTS

"Disputations have been allowed from ancient times. Even concerning the Holy Trinity. What good is a soldier if he is not allowed to fight, a sheepdog if he may not bark, and a theologian if he may not debate? Better spend money to support old women who can knit than theologians who cannot discuss." --Martin Luther

THEY ARE FIXED

"So surely as the stars are fashioned by His hands, and their orbits fixed by Him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: He has ordained their season and their place, their intensity and the effect they shall have upon us." --C.H. Spurgeon

BOAST IN MY SAVIOR

I do not confess my sins in order to boast in my sins or my sinning, but I confess my sins in order to boast in my Savior and His saving.

DON'T WORRY, LIFE IS NOT ABOUT US

I'm convinced that most all the worrying we do in life occurs because we have forgotten that the Gospel frees us from the idolatry that life is all about us.

FROM AL HARTMAN.

APPROACH BY GRACE

How dare you approach the mercy-seat of God on the basis of what kind of day you had, as if that were the basis for our entrance into the presence of the sovereign and holy God?
No wonder we cannot beat the Devil. This is works theology. It has nothing to do with grace and the exclusive sufficiency of Christ. Nothing.

 ~~ D.A. Carson

GRACE IS AT AN END

"There can be no grace when there is no sovereignty. Deny God’s right to choose whom He will and you deny His right to save whom He will. Deny His right to save whom He will and you deny that salvation is of grace. If salvation is made to hinge upon any merit or fitness in man, seen or foreseen, grace is at an end." - Horatius Bonar

Apologetics to One Audience

I think I suffered from being drawn into apologetics without having the proper foundation of "why" we give an apologetic. Without a proper foundation it is easy to be focused on making points and better points to bring someone to see the "irrefutable" prove of a position, this leads to great frustration as this someone continues to reject the obvious, but this is because one began with the wrong foundation entirely. Our apologetics must begin with a focus on "one audience" ...only-- the Lord. Is the Lord being glorified, praised, honored, pleased in this apologetic. Am I humble, prayerful, meek, loving, diligent, serving, sacrificial, encouraging, friendly, forgiving, forbearing, patient, kind in the apologetic. If we provide an apologetic in faith, and with a single-eye upon providing it as an act of thanksgiving and worship to the Lord then our foundation will be proper; and frustration will not develop because we will not look to earthly results in our offering which is heaven-ward.

who feeds the burning furnace of the sun

“The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength.” - Charles Spurgeon

Hymn 559 Red Trinity Hymnal

Father, I know that all my life Is portioned out for me, And the changes that are sure to come I do not fear to see; But I ask Thee for a present mind Intent on pleasing Thee. I would not have the restless will That hurries to and fro, Seeking for some great thing to do Or secret thing to know; I would be treated as a child, And guided where I go. So I ask Thee for daily strength, To none that ask denied, And a mind to blend with outward life While keeping at Thy side; Content to fill a little space, If Thou be glorified.

Valley of Vision excerpts

"O God, I bless thee for the happy moment when I first saw thy law fulfilled in Christ, wrath appeased, death destroyed, sin forgiven, my soul saved. Ever since, Thou hast been faithful to me, daily I have proved the power of Jesus' blood, daily I have known the strength of the Spirit, my teacher, director, sanctifier." -from "The Life Look" (page 54) "In Jesus, my brother, I have my new birth, every restraining power, every renewing grace. It is by thy Spirit I call thee Father, believe in thee, love thee; strengthen me inwardly for every purpose of my Christian life." -from "A Convert's First Prayer" (page 53) "My Father, I could never have sought my happiness in thy love, unless thou had'st first loved me. Thy Spirit has encouraged me by grace to seek thee, has made known to me thy reconciliation in Jesus, has taught me to believe it, has helped me to take thee for my God and portion. May he grant me to grow in the knowledge and experience of thy love, and walk in it all the way to glory." -from "A Convert's First Prayer" (page 53)

Sabbath Summary

The Sabbath. Sabbath (from whence we get the word sabbatical) means rest, and the rest for the people of God under the Mosaic Law was a day of the week, namely, the last day, or Saturday, because of our Creator’s rest on the seventh day of creation. (There was also a Sabbath year.) In keeping with its meaning, this day (along with the Sabbath year) was designated for national Israel (as a sign of the covenant) not as a day for worship per se, but for rest. I believe that rest was a shadow of, and completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ Who, in the New and better Covenant, is Himself the Rest (the Christian’s Sabbath) for the souls of those who have ceased from their religious efforts to obtain right standing with God, to rely on Christ’s finished work in their stead. Our Sabbath is not a day but a Person. With Jesus and not a day as my Sabbath, I do not “keep” any day of the week, but I do faithfully assemble with the local fellowship of Believers on Sundays and other appointed times, not because of the Fourth Commandment, but because of the example set by the Apostles, and because of the significance of Christ’s resurrection which He chose to execute on the first day of the week. Our Lord declared “Man was not made for the Sabbath.” To the Christian, there are no special holy days. Resting in God’s provision—not worshipping on Sunday (as good as that is)—is that eternal, moral, principle foreshadowed in the Fourth Commandment. http://www.migliacci.com/Statement_of_Faith-extended-09-11-15.pdf

GREAT HYMN

"1 Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace
Or wash away the stain.

2 But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.

3 My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin.

4 My soul looks back to see
The burden Thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursed tree;
I know my guilt was there.

5 Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice
And sing His bleeding love."

AN HEIR TO HEAVEN

: "If He loved you when you were a mass of corruption, will He not answer your prayers now that He has made you an heir to heaven?" ~ Spurgeon

WE SHALL ENTER VICTORIOUSLY

"We are all as an unclean thing."—Isaiah 64:6.

The believer is a new creature, he belongs to a holy generation and a peculiar people—the Spirit of God is in him, and in all respects he is far removed from the natural man; but for all that the Christian is a sinner still. He is so from the imperfection of his nature, and will continue so to the end of his earthly life. The black fingers of sin leave smuts upon our fairest robes. Sin mars our repentance, ere the great Potter has finished it, upon the wheel. Selfishness defiles our tears, and unbelief tampers with our faith. The best thing we ever did apart from the merit of Jesus only swelled the number of our sins; for when we have been most pure in our own sight, yet, like the heavens, we are not pure in God's sight; and as He charged His angels with folly, much more must He charge us with it, even in our most angelic frames of mind. The song which thrills to heaven, and seeks to emulate seraphic strains, hath human discords in it. The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a bruised and battered prayer, and only moves that arm because the sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication.

The most golden faith or the purest degree of sanctification to which a Christian ever attained on earth, has still so much alloy in it as to be only worthy of the flames, in itself considered. Every night we look in the glass we see a sinner, and had need confess, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Oh, how precious the blood of Christ to such hearts as ours! How priceless a gift is His perfect righteousness! And how bright the hope of perfect holiness hereafter! Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken. It has no dominion; it is a broken-backed snake; we are in bitter conflict with it, but it is with a vanquished foe that we have to deal. Yet a little while and we shall enter victoriously into the city where nothing defileth.
Charles Spurgeon

holy reverence

“Of all preaching in the world, I hate that preaching which tends to make the hearers laugh, or to move their minds with tickling levity, and affect them as stage-plays used to do, instead of affecting them with a holy reverence of the name of God.” Richard Baxter

IN HIS HANDS

“When one knows that his times are in God’s hands, he would not change places with a king! No, nor even with an angel!”

WORSHIP IS ABOUT GOD

Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name (Psalm 29:2).

It's Sunday around noonish. As the congregation files out of the sanctuary heading toward the parking lot, listen closely and you will hear it.

It's a common refrain voiced near the exit doors of churches all across this land.
"I didn't get anything out of that today." "I didn't get anything out of the sermon." "I didn't get anything out of that service." "I guess her song was all right, but I didn't get anything out of it."

Sound familiar? Not only have I heard it countless times over these near-fifty years in the ministry, I probably have said it a few times myself.

This is like dry rot in a congregation. Like a termite infestation in the building. Like an epidemic afflicting the people of the Lord, one which we seem helpless to stop.

But let's try. Let's see if we can make a little difference where you and I live, in the churches where we serve and worship. We might not be able to help all of them, but if we bless one or two, it will have been time well spent.

1. You are Not Supposed to 'Get Anything Out of the Service'

Worship is not about you and me. Not about "getting our needs met." Not about a performance from the pastor and singer and choir and musicians. Not in the least.

2. Worship is About the Lord

"Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name." That Psalms 29:2 verse atop our article today is found also in 1 Chronicles 16:29 and Psalms 96:8. It deserves being looked at closely.

a) We are in church to give. Not to get.
Now, if I am going somewhere to "get," but find out on arriving, I am expected to "give," I am one frustrated fellow. And that is what is happening in the typical church service. People walk out the door frustrated because they didn't "get." The reason they didn't is that they were not there to "get," but to "give."
Someone should have told them.

b) We are giving glory to God. Not to man.
We know that. At least we say we do. How many times have we recited, "...for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory"? And how often have we sung, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."?

c) We do so because glory is His right. He is "worthy of worship."
This is the theme of the final book of the Bible.

• "Who is worthy?" (Rev. 5:2) 
• "You are worthy...for you were slain, and have redeemed us" (Rev. 5:9). 
• "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" (Rev. 5:12).

3. Self-centeredness Destroys All Worship
If my focus is on myself when I enter the church--getting my needs met, learning something, hearing a lesson that blesses me, being lifted by the singing--then Christ has no part in it. He becomes my servant, and the pastor (and all the other so-called performers) are there only for me. It's all about me.
We have strayed so far from the biblical concept of worship--giving God His due in all the ways He has commanded--it's a wonder we keep going to church. And it's an even greater wonder that our leaders keep trying to get us to worship.

The poor preacher! Trying to cater to the insatiable hungers of his people, even the best and most godly among them, is an impossible task. One week he gets it right and eats up the accolades. Then, about the time he thinks he has it figured out, the congregation walks out grumbling that they got nothing out of the meal he served today.

The typical congregation in the average church today really does think the service is all about them--getting people saved, learning the Word, receiving inspiration to last another week, having their sins forgiven, taking an offering to provision the Lord's work throughout the world.

Anything wrong with those things? Absolutely not. But if we go to church to do those things, we can do
them. But we will not have worshiped.

Warren Wiersbe says, "If you worship because it pays, it will not pay."
 
4. Evangelism & Discipleship, Giving & Praying, Grow Out of Worship; Not the Other Way Around

The disciples were worshiping on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled them and drove them into the streets to bear a witness to the living Christ (Acts 2).

Isaiah was in the Temple worshiping when God appeared to him, forgave his sins, and called him as a prophet to the people (Isaiah 6).

It was in the act of worship that the two distraught disciples had their eyes opened to recognize Jesus at their table (Luke 24).
 
5. We are to Give Him Worship and Glory in the Ways Scripture Commands

"Give to the Lord the glory due His name and bring an offering." So commands I Chronicles 16:29 and Psalm 96:8.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart--these, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:17)

Singing, praise, rejoicing. Praying, offering, humbling, loving. All these are commanded in worship at various places in Scripture.

The Lord Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, "Those who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). That is, with their inner being, the totality of themselves, their spirit, not just their lips or their bodies going through the motions. And in truth--the revealed truth of how God has prescribed worship to take place. He is not pleased with "just anything" that we claim as worship.

We must balance our worship between spirit (the subjective part: body, soul, emotions) and truth (the objective aspect: all that God has revealed in His word).
 
6. We Are the Ones Who Decide Whether We Worship upon Entering the House of the Lord

Don't blame the preacher if you don't worship. He can't do it for you.

No one else can eat my food for me, love my cherished ones in my place, or do my worshiping for me.
No pastor can decide or dictate whether we will worship by the quality of his leadership or the power of his sermon. Whether I worship in today's service has absolutely nothing to do with how well he does his job.
I am in charge of this decision. I decide whether I will worship.
When Mary sat before the Lord Jesus, clearly worshiping, He informed a disgruntled Martha that her sister had "chosen the good part," something that "will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42). That something special was time spent in worship. Such moments or hours are eternal.
Lest someone point out that Martha could have worshiped in her kitchen by her service for Christ, we do not argue, but simply point out that she was not doing so that day.
 
7. Remember: Worship is a Verb

And it's an active verb at that.
Worship is something we do, not something done to us.
In the worst of circumstances, I can still worship my God. In the Philippians prison, while their backs were still oozing blood from the beating they'd received, Paul and Silas worshiped (Acts 16:25).
Even if a church has no pastor and has to make do with a stuttering layman or some inept fill-in, I can still bow before the Lord, offer Him my praise, and give Him my all. I can humble before Him and I can bring my offering.

What I cannot do is leave church blaming my failure to worship on the poor singing, the boring sermon, or the noise from the children in the next pew. I am in charge of the decision whether I will worship, and no one else.

Someone has pointed out that ours is the only nation on earth where church members feel they have to have "worshipful architecture" before they can adequately honor the Lord. Millions of Christians across the world seem to worship just fine without any kind of building. Believers in Malawi meet under mango trees, according to retired missionary Mike Canady, and their worship is as anointed as anyone's anywhere.

(What? No stained glass!)

Our insistence on worshipful music, worship settings, and worshipful everything are all signs of our disgusting self-centeredness.

It's disgusting because I see it in myself, and do not like it.

No one enjoys a great choir more than I. I love to hear a soloist transport us all into the Throneroom by his/her vocal offering in the service. A great testimony of God's grace and power thrills me. And of course, being a preacher, I delight in hearing a sermon that you feel is direct from the heart of God.
But if I require any one or all of those before I can worship, something is vastly wrong with me.
My friends, something is vastly wrong with us today.
 
Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt. Used with permission.
Publication date: May 24, 2011

Proper Worship

R. Albert Mohler Jr.

September 20, 2013

 

In The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Grand Inquisitor offers this insight into fallen human nature: “So long as man remains free he strives for nothing so incessantly and so painfully as to find someone to worship.”

Though the Grand Inquisitor falls far short as a reliable guide to theology, at this point he is surely correct. Human beings are profoundly religious — even when we do not know ourselves to be — and humans incessantly seek an object of worship.

Yet, human beings are sinners, and thus our worship is, more often than not, grounded in our own paganism of personal preference. The fallen human heart is indeed an “idomaking factory,” always producing new idols for worship and veneration. That corrupted factory, left to its own devices, will never produce true worship, but will instead worship its own invention.

But Christians are those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, incorporated into the body of Christ and are then called to true worship as regulated and authorized by Scripture. Worship is the purpose for which we were made — and only the redeemed can worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

But, do we?

The British philosopher Roger Scruton once advised his fellow philosophers that the best way to understand what people really believe about God is to observe them at worship. Theology books and doctrinal statements may reveal what a congregation says it believes, but worship will reveal what it really believes. If so, we are in big trouble.

Years ago, A.W. Tozer lamented that many churches conceive of worship as “a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction.” Many Christians, he argued, would not even recognize worship as “a meeting where the only attraction is God.” True 50 years ago, those words now serve as a direct indictment of contemporary worship.

Worship is the purpose for which we were made — and only the redeemed can worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

At the worldview level, we must face the fact that modernism collapsed transcendence in many minds. The focus of worship was “horizontalized” and reduced to human scale. Worship was transformed into an experiment in “meaningfulness” as judged by the worshiper, not an act of joyful submission to the wonder and grandeur of God.

While all Christians affirm the necessity and reality of the experiential dimension of faith, the experience must be grounded in and accountable to the Word of God.

Hughes Oliphant Old once summarized Christian worship in terms of “its sense of the majesty and sovereignty of God, its sense of reverence, of simple dignity, its conviction that worship must above all serve the praise of God.” As Old recognized, this path of renewal “may not be just exactly what everyone is looking for.”

Looking for it or not, this is the only path back to the worship God seeks.

THE LOVING GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Far from being a history of a harsh God, the Old Testament is the record of a God who is patient in the extreme. —R.C. Sproul

MERE MORALITY

GEORGE WHITEFIELD “Mere heathen morality, and not Jesus Christ, is preached in most of our churches."

WASTED LIVES

NATE SAINT "And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."

ARE THEY OFFENDED

“If the truth offends, then let it offend. People have been living their whole lives in offense to God; let them be offended for a while.”~John MacArthur

WRONG TO WORRY

REMORSE OVER THE PAST AND WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE – GOD’S WORD FORBIDS BOTH!

There are two things that usually bring the Christian down: they are : REMORSE OVER THE PAST, AND WORRY OVER THE FUTURE; and God’s word forbids from doing EITHER. What has happened till now is past and there is little we can do to undo it. It is what men term as ‘water under the bridge’.

But for the Christian there is always hope no matter how bad his/her past may have been. The Apostle’s admonition is – “forgetting those things WHICH ARE BEHIND, and reaching forth unto those things WHICH ARE BEFORE”! [Phil 3:13] Now this is easily said than done. Memories of the past constantly haunt us and the results of our past mistakes most often stare us in the face. And if we were without God like most the worldly people the future would be pretty bleak. But we have a God who is SOVEREIGN and with whom ALL THINGS are possible.

Our God can and does overrule any mistake or sins of our past for His glory! In the Old Testament the Lord told His people- “I will RESTORE to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and MY PEOPLE SHALL NEVER BE ASHAMED.”! [Joel 2:25]

Now ponder the above verse very prayerfully! God says He can and will restore what you think may hopelessly be lost, and in the end you will never be ashamed.

This is one of the amazing things about God. He can take our broken dreams and make a miracle out of our lives.

The more we learn how sovereign our God is, the more we can be assured that He is in COMPLETE CONTROL of all that has transpired in our lives. If you are a Christian, then you know that God did not spare His only begotten Son to save you. Now THAT is the ultimate expression of love. One may sacrifice their child to save a FRIEND, but only God sacrificed His Son to save His ENEMIES. “For if, when WE WERE ENEMIES, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life”! [Rom 5:10]

Seeing that He has given His well beloved to save our wretched souls, will He now trick or trap us into ruin? “Oh but I brought all this on myself by MY OWN wrong decisions”! In a certain sense this is true, but in a deeper sense it is God who has been guiding you in all the decisions you have made! “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps”! [Prov 16:9]. Again, “A Man’s goings are OF THE LORD; how can a man then understand his own way”? [Prov 20:24]

The Patriarch Job was so established and confident of God’s ‘Absolute Sovereignty’ that in spite of all the evil that befell him, he could confidently affirm – “But HE KNOWETH the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall COME FORTH AS GOLD”! [Job 23:10]

One thing that I have learnt during these twenty six years as a Christian is that the Lord is sovereignly overruling ALL OUR DECISIONS for His glory and for our ultimate good! Unless we grasp this amazing truth, we shall be miserable in this vale of tears. "The misfortunes and adversities of life, so called, assume a different color when we look at them through this glass of Absolute Predestination. It is sad to hear people trying to live over their lives again and saying to themselves: 'IF I had chosen a different profession,' 'IF I had taken a different turning of the road,' 'IF I had married another person.' Etc. All this is weak and unChristian. The web of destiny we have woven, in a sense, with our own hands, and yet God had His part in it. It is GOD'S PART in it, and not our part, that gives us faith and hope." [Clarence E. Macartney]

Dearly Beloved, this doctrine of Absolute Sovereignty is not a novelty amongst God’s people, but is as old as the Bible itself. This is what made Joseph affirm to his brethren, “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good”! [Gen 50:20]. Knowledge of this doctrine is what made David say concerning Shimei when he cursed David, “let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so”? [1Sam 16:10]. Finally when Judas would betray our Master, the Lord does not entreat him to repent, but rather says, “That thou doest, do quickly”! [Jn 13:27].

If a sparrow falleth not to the ground without the Father and if the hairs of our head are all numbered, then rest assured that ALL THINGS that transpire in the life of the believer are working together for his/her good. He began this good work in us and He alone will one day finish it and to Him alone will be all the Glory!

“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it! Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts”! [Zech 4;6-8]

“Beloved, I would encourage you to constantly remind yourself of the Scripture where the Psalmist says that – “He (God) led them forth by the RIGHT WAY that they might go to a city of habitation." Is that not amazing? For we read that "they (the Israelites) WANDERED:" and that their wanderings were in a "WILDERNESS," where there were no TRACKED PATHS? And we read that it was "a solitary way"? How, then, could it be "a RIGHT WAY," where there was no way at all? Yet the Spirit of God says, that it WAS the "right way." Reason, sense, and nature, have to hold their peace. Because, nature never can understand how a way of trouble, of temptation, of exercise, of sorrow, of perplexity can be the right way. But GOD NEVER MEANT NATURE, SENSE, AND REASON TO UNDERSTAND IT. The Lord gives faith to His dear people, that His dealings may be believed in, not reasoned upon; and He raises up this precious gift of the Spirit in their soul, not that they may confer with nature, sense, and reason, but that they may believe His own testimony in their heart and conscience. For this reason God leads His people by such paths as are directly contrary to nature, sense, and reason, in order to baffle them!

By faith, then, only can we understand how it is "a right way." And when faith is in exercise, then it is known to be "a right way." Our losses, our crosses, our trials in providence, our afflictions of body, our perplexities of mind, our sorrows of heart, – all are then to us "a right way." 'Once,' you say, 'they were a labyrinth: I could not find my way through them: they were an enigma, which I could not unravel. But soon you will see that those things, which so puzzled, perplexed, and tried me, led to your greatest blessings. I could not,' you will say, 'see the hand of the Lord at THAT TIME: but how plainly do I see it NOW? In that painful dispensation, that agony of soul, that trouble of mind, that distressing path, how plainly do I see NOW that the Lord's hand was leading me”! [J.C. Philpot]

And the Lord is not done yet, Beloved! He will CONTINUE to lead you and ultimately bring you into your desired haven!

He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their DESIRED HAVEN. Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! [Psa 107:29-31]

Love
Michael Jeshurun!

P.S. If I could, would I go back and change anything in my life? Trust me, actually NO! This path which He has brought me through is the BEST for me. For had there been a better path, HE who loved me enough to die for me would have brought me that way! Hallelujah!

—

GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err

And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Words: Will­iam Cow­per, in Twen­ty-six Let­ters on Re­li­gious Sub­jects, by John New­ton, 1774. It is re­port­ed­ly the last hymn Cow­per ev­er wrote, with a fas­cin­at­ing (though un­sub­stan­ti­at­ed) story be­hind it.
Cow­per oft­en strug­gled with de­press­ion and doubt. One night he de­cid­ed to com­mit su­i­cide by drown­ing him­self. He called a cab and told the driv­er to take him to the Thames Riv­er. How­ev­er, thick fog came down and pre­vent­ed them from find­ing the riv­er (ano­ther ver­sion of the story has the driv­er get­ting lost de­liber­ate­ly). After driv­ing around lost for a while, the cab­by fin­al­ly stopped and let Cow­per out. To Cowper’s sur­prise, he found him­self on his own door­step: God had sent the fog to keep him from kill­ing him­self. Even in our black­est mo­ments, God watch­es over us.
Music: Dun­dee, Scot­tish Psal­ter, 1615

Hymns to Remember

http://openhymnal.org/Lyrics/Lift_High_The_Cross-Crucifier.html

http://openhymnal.org/Lyrics/Go_to_Dark_Gethsemane-Gethsemane-Petra.html

http://openhymnal.org/Lyrics/By_Grace_Im_Saved-O_Dass_Ich_Tansend_Zungen.html

BY GRACE I'M SAVED

By Grace I'm Saved

1. By grace I'm saved grace free and boundless! My heart, believ'st thou this or not? Why tremblest thou with terror groundless? Has ever God a falsehood taught? His Word is truethen this must be: By grace there is a crown for thee.
2. By grace! our works are all rejected, All claims of merit pass for naught; The mighty Savior, long expected, To us this blissful truth has brought, That He by death redeems our race, And we are saved alone by grace.
3. By grace! mark well this phrase's meaning, When sin rolls sorrows o'er thy breast, When Satan threats with pride o'erweening, When troubled conscience sighs for rest: What reason ne'er can comprehend It pleases God by grace to send.
4. By grace His Son, on earth appearing, Vouchsafed beneath thy woe to bend; Hadst thou, damnation justly fearing, Done aught to render Him thy friend? Was't not that He thy welfare sought, And but by grace deliv'rance wrought?
5. By grace! this ground of our salvation As long as God is true endures: What saints have penned by inspiration, What God to our poor soul secures, What all our faith must rest upon, Is grace, free grace through His dear Son.
6. By grace! but think not, thou who livest Securely on in godless ways, That thou, though all are called, receivest The promised rest that wakes our praise: By grace none find in heaven a place Who live in sin in hope of grace.
7. By grace! They who have heard this sentence Must bid hypocrisy farewell; For only after deep repentance The soul what grace imports can tell; To sin while grace a trifle seems, To faith it bright with glory beams.
8. By grace the timid hearts that languish, Find access to the Father's heart, When conflicts fierce and bitter anguish Bid all their joy and hopes depart. Where, oftimes, should I strength obtain, Bid grace my anchor not remain!
9. By grace! on this in death I'll rest me, Rejoicing e'en though feeling naught; I know my sin it oft oppressed me But Him, too, who my soul hath bought: My heart exults grief flees apace Because my soul is saved by grace.
10. By grace! O sin and Satan hear it! I bear my flag of faith in hand, And pass, in spite of doubts, nor fear it, The Red Sea to the promised land; I hold the word my Savior taught As certain, whether felt or not.

Words: Christian L. Scheidt, 1742. Translated by Matthias Loy, (1828-1915).
Music: 'O Dass Ich Tansend Zungen' Johann Balthasar K�nig, 1738.
Setting: "The Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal" (Ohio Synod), 1908.
copyright: public domain. This score is a part of the Open Hymnal Project, 2007 Revision.

GREATEST JUDGMENT

The greatest judgment God lays upon a man in this life is to let him sin without control. When the Lord's displeasure is most severely kindled against a person, He does not say, I will bring the sword and the plague on this man, but, I will let him sin on: 'So I gave them up unto their own hearts' LUST.' (Psalm 81:12)

Thomas Watson

SINK IMMEDIATELY

If God should let you go, you would sink immediately and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock.

Jonathan Edwards

CLOSE EMBRACE

 He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.
- Joni E Tada

At LEAST 13 years after Genesis 12

Gen 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram ....

Which was thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael last mentioned; so many years more it was before he is expressly told he should have a son by Sarai, or had the promise of Isaac, which was for the trial of his faith; (John Gill).

An inference

An inference from a precedent does not an imperative make.

God is for us

Such a God have we, such a God do we worship, to such a God do we pray, at whose command all created things sprang into being. Why then should we fear if this God favours us? Why should we tremble at the anger of the whole world? If He is our dwelling-place shall we not be safe though the heavens should go to the wrack? For we have a Lord greater than all the world. We have a Lord so mighty that at His word all things sprang into being. And yet we are so fainthearted that if the anger of a single prince or king, nay, even of a single neighbour, is to be borne, we tremble and droop in spirit. Yet in comparison with this King, all things beside in the whole world are but as the lightest dust which a slight breath moves from its place, and suffers not to be still. In this way this description of God is consolatory, and trembling spirits ought to look to this consolation in their temptations and dangers.

Martin Luther

DON'T WASTE TIME

John Calvin: "Paul now forbids him to waste much time in debating with heretics, because battle would lead to battle and dispute to dispute. Such is the cunning of Satan, that, by the impudent talkativeness of such men, he entangles good and faithful pastors, so as to draw them away from diligence in teaching. We must therefore beware lest we become engaged in quarrelsome disputes; for we shall never have leisure to devote our labors to the Lord’s flock, and contentious men will never cease to annoy us. 

When he commands him to avoid such persons, it is as if he said that he must not toil hard to satisfy them, and even that there is nothing better than to cut off the handle for fighting which they are eager to find. This is a highly necessary admonition; for even they who would willingly take no part in strifes of words are sometimes drawn by shame into controversy, because they think that it would be shameful cowardice to quit the field. 

Besides, there is no temper, however mild, that is not liable to be provoked by the fierce taunts of enemies, because they look upon it as intolerable that those men should attack the truth, (as they are accustomed to do,) and that none should reply. Nor are there wanting men who are either of a combative disposition, or excessively hot-tempered, who are eager for battle. On the contrary, Paul does not wish that the servant of Christ should be much and long employed in debating with heretics."

PROVISION

Name one solitary day in which you provided, secured, sustained your food, clothing, health, housing, needs, or blessings?  So why should I fret and worry about how to do such things in the future, fearing that funds may dwindle. My faith should be in the sufficiency of my Father, not the sufficiency of my funds.

Valley of Vision

"Forgive me if I have tried to add anything to the one foundation, if I have unconsciously relied upon my knowledge, experience, deeds, and not seen them as filthy rags; if I have attempted to complete what is perfect in Christ." -from "The Life Look" (page 54)

Various Types of Legalism

• RT @PastorTullian: Save yourself = theological legalism. Transform yourself = functional legalism. Change the world = missional legalism.

The accomplishment of Jesus

It is solely due to the life, death, blood, resurrection, obedience, righteousness, perfection, grace, and accomplishment of Jesus Christ that I was born again, given a new mind, a new heart, a living faith, and the exercise thereof. In fact it was accomplishment of Jesus Christ that ensured the exercise of the faith that His mediation gave me.

CALVIN on Head-Coverings

Should any one now object, that her hair is enough, as being a natural covering, Paul says that it is not, for it is such a covering as requires another thing to be made use of for covering it And hence a conjecture is drawn, with some appearance of probability -- that women who had beautiful hair were accustomed to uncover their heads for the purpose of showing off their beauty. It is not, therefore, without good reason that Paul, as a remedy for this vice, sets before them the opposite idea -- that they be regarded as remarkable for unseemliness, rather than for what is an incentive to lust. [625]

PRAY CONTRARY TO OUR OWN HEART

thought provoking: "If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart." Bonhoeffer.

BEZA QUOTE

Theodore Beza: It belongs to the church of God to receive blows rather than to inflict them -- but, she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers. --Theodore of Beza 1561 to King Charles IX of France

AN OBSERVATION

The Christian life is a personal one. And what I mean is, it is easy to lay back and wait for corporate Bible study, corporate prayer, corporate evangelism, corporate benevolence ministry, corporate outreach, and all things corporate. It seems clear that God has provided a community body of the church to build one another up which includes encouragement, instruction, correction, and joint labor; it is wrong and dangerous to be a lone ranger void of accountability and teamwork.

Yet having said that, I am learning the past 4.5 years that I can never sit back and wait for the corporate functions (or lack thereof) to be my mainstay. In family worship, Joshua and his house will serve the Lord, and so I must constantly pursue Christ and His Kingdom as He first loved me and claimed me for His own possession. I will enjoy the nourishment of Christ, prayer, Scripture, evangelism, ministry, outreach, and worship without waiting for the Christian community to be the inducement or occasion to pursue these things.

Has the local congregation lacked evangelism, prayer, devotion, ministry, outreach, discipleship? Well, don't let that be my (your) excuse for my own lack of personal: evangelism, prayer, devotion, ministry, outreach, discipleship.

WANDERING SHEEP

I was a wandering sheep,
I did not love the fold;
I did not love my Shepherd’s voice,
I would not be controlled.
I was a wayward child,
I did not love my home;
I did not love my Father’s voice,
I loved afar to roam.

The Shepherd sought His sheep,
The Father sought His child;
They followed me o’er vale and hill,
O’er deserts waste and wild;
They found me nigh to death,
Famished and faint and lone;
They bound me with the bands of love,
They saved the wand’ring one.

They spoke in tender love,
They raised my drooping head,
They gently closed my bleeding wounds,
My fainting soul they fed;
They washed my filth away,
They made me clean and fair;
They brought me to my home in peace,
The long sought wanderer.

Jesus my Shepherd is:
’Twas He that loved my soul;
’Twas He that washed me in His blood,
’Twas He that made me whole.
’Twas He that sought the lost,
That found the wand’ring sheep,
’Twas He that brought me to the fold,
’Tis He that still doth keep.

No more a wandering sheep,
I love to be controlled;
I love my tender Shepherd’s voice,
I love the peaceful fold.
No more a wayward child,
I seek no more to roam;
I love my heavenly Father’s voice,
I love, I love His home!

HORATIUS BONAR

COMFORT THE FEEBLEMINDED

JOHN GILL ON 1 THESS 5:14

Comfort the feebleminded: such as are not able to bear the loss of near and dear relations; are ready to stagger under the cross, and at the reproaches and persecutions of the world; and are almost overset with the temptations of Satan; and are borne down and discouraged with the corruptions of their hearts, speak a comfortable word to them, encourage them with the doctrines of grace, and the promises of the Gospel.

Preaching with Faith

The preacher preaches the word with the aim to bring attention to the God of glory, an accurate apprehension /understanding of Scripture to the mind, a deepening affection to the heart, and a faithful application in the life.  Yet the preacher realizes he himself cannot change the listener's "attention, mind, heart, life"  The audience may ignore or drift from the passage, or reject and twist the meaning of the passage, and despise the passage, and never bear fruit in accordance with the passage.  So the pastor preaches first as an act of worship to God, an act of obedience to God, and an act of faith toward God, leaving the results of the preaching up to the power and grace of God.  Only God can change the attention, mind, heart, life of the soul.

POOR OR PLUSH

“For whom the devil cannot overcome with poverty, want, need and misery, he attacks with riches, favor, honor, pleasure, power and the like, and contends on both sides against us; yea, ‘he walketh about,’ says St. Peter in 1 Pet 5:8, so that if he cannot overthrow us either with suffering or love, … he retires to a higher and different method and attacks us with error, blindness and a false understanding of the Scripture.” -- Martin Luther

A GOOD PREACHER

“A good preacher should have these properties and virtues: first, to teach systematically; secondly, he should have a ready wit; thirdly, he should be eloquent; fourthly, he should have a good voice; fifthly, a good memory; sixthly, he should know when to make an end; seventhly, he should be sure of his doctrine; eighthly, he should venture and engage body and blood, wealth and honor, in the Word; ninthly, he should suffer himself to be mocked and jeered of everyone.” -- Martin Luther

I BLESS THEE

‎"O God, I bless thee for the happy moment when I first saw thy law fulfilled in Christ, wrath appeased, death destroyed, sin forgiven, my soul saved. Ever since, Thou hast been faithful to me, daily I have proved the power of Jesus' blood, daily I have known the strength of the Spirit, my teacher, director, sanctifier." -from "The Life Look" (page 54)

TRIFLES

"We all profess that we are bound for heaven, immortality, and glory: but is it any evidence that we really design it if all our thoughts are consumed about the trifles of this world, which we must leave behind us, and have only occasional thoughts of things above?"

- John Owen

CAN YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR

I've known this before and known it for years, and yet have failed to rest in the fact; but today I very deep and profound peace came in the confidence of: "It is not my responsibility if others fail to hear the sermon." The greatest under-shepherds you can name will stay have men sit and day dream with a wandering mind and never engaged with the Scripture or message. And yes, I have also been frequently guilty of such disrespect to God's Word; but I am just saying from the pastor's point of view, it is his duty to preach clearly, prayerfully, accurately; those who need 7 jokes and 7 sentimental stories to keep them interested are saying in effect: the death and resurrection of Christ does not interest me by itself.

THE DELIGHT OF THE FATHER

"Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father. What solace then must that soul be filled with, that has the possession of Him to all eternity!"

- John Bunyan

FEELINGS COME AND GO

“Feelings come and feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God--
Naught else is worth believing.

Though all my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart
Whose Word cannot be broken.

I'll trust in God's unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away,
HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!”

― Martin Luther

NOT PERMITTED

"I am not permitted to let my love be so merciful as to tolerate and endure false doctrine. When faith and doctrine are concerned and endangered, neither love nor patience are in order....when these are concerned, neither toleration nor mercy are in order, but only anger, dispute, and destruction - to be sure, only with the Word of God as our weapon."

Martin Luther

PUBLIC WORSHIP

"The Lord is more glorified by public worship than private. God is then glorified by us when we acknowledge that he is glorious. And he is most glorified when this acknowledgment is most public. This is obvious. A public acknowledgment of the worth and excellency of any one tends more to his honour than that which is private or secret. It was more for David's honour that the multitude did celebrate his victory, 1 Sam. 18:7, than if a particular person had acknowledged it only in private. Hence the psalmist, when he would have the glory of God most amply declared, contents not himself with a private acknowledgment, but summons all the earth to praise him, Ps. 96:1-8. Then is the Lord most glorified, when his glory is most declared, and then it is most declared when it is declared by most, by a multitude." -David Clarkson-

OUR BEARD COMES BACK

‎"Original sin is in us like our beard. We are shaved today and look clean; tomorrow our beard has grown again, nor does it cease growing while we remain on earth. In like manner original sin cannot be extirpated from us; it springs up in us as long as we live." -- Martin Luther

HONEY IN THE ROCK

‎"He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." - Psalm 81:16

 I can remember the time, almost 10 years ago, when I first heard the song that really blessed me, it was called "Honey in the Rock." I was grinning ear to ear because the meaning of the lyrics, being based on Psalm 81:16 had gripped me.

GOD IS NOT TROUBLED

God is not troubled by anything that is now taking place in His world - either in its political, social, or religious sphere; nor should we be troubled. The helm is still in His hand; and Satan himself cannot so much as touch a hair of our heads, without His direct permission.
~Writings of A.W. Pink

POOR IN SPIRIT

"He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit" 
~John Calvin, via Al and Cathy Hartman

I HAVE A HIGH PRIEST

When old companions, old lusts, and sins crowd in upon you, and when you feel that you are ready to sink, what can save you, sinking sinner? This alone - I have a high priest in heaven, and he can support in the hour of affliction. This alone can give you peace - I have a high priest in heaven. When you are dying - when friends can do you no good - when sins rise up like spectres around your bed - what can give you peace? This - "I have a high priest in heaven."

Robert Murray M'Cheyne

THE WHOLE WORK IS HIS

"Faith is the acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us, and the recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the want on our part. The whole work is His, not ours, from first to last."

Horatius Bonar

LEANING ON YOURSELF???

"Indeed, the generality of men that are trained up in a Protestant country will tell you that they do not expect to be justified by their own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ. But alas! How few are there that do really and actually submit unto this righteousness. There is a cursed bias in the heart of man to lean to something in himself. Is not this the language of thy heart many 

times? O! If I had such a frame, such a melting of heart, such love, such a degree of humility and obedience, then I think God would accept of me, and love me on that account. But, Sirs, let me tell you, it is not on account of anything wrought in you, or done by you, but only on the account of the doing and dying of the Son of God.”

Ebenezer Erskine

PREACHING GRACE SANCTIFIES

‎"It's the role of grace in sanctification that sometimes troubles us...People worry that emphasizing grace undermines obedience. Consistently preaching the necessity and the proper motivation for holiness may be the most difficult task evangelical preachers face because we culturally define grace as license rather than the biblical power of holiness...Grace is the power of obedience not the antidote to obedience."

Bryan Chapell;

Jesus Delivers Us

(Author unknown)

"Hold me up--and I shall be safe!" Psalm 119:117

"For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling!" Psalm 116:8

Christ has completely and perfectly delivered all His people from the condemnation of sin, as He suffered the wrath of God for us on the cross, having our sins charged to His account. 

But His deliverance of us does not end there. He is still delivering us and keeping us from all that would harm or destroy us. 

He continually delivers us . . .
  from the power of sin which still plagues, corrupts, and contaminates us;
  from the influence of the world;
  from the force of temptation;
  from the deceitfulness of our own hearts;
  and from the designs of all our foes!

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!" Psalm 18:2 

from gracegems

THE HAND THAT HOLDS THE ROD

"Grant that I may be salted with suffering, with every exactment tempered to my soul, every rod excellently fitted to my back, to chastise, humble, break me. Let me not overlook the hand that holds the rod, as thou didst not let me forget the rod that fell on Christ, and drew me to him." -from "Christian Calling" (page 50)

VALLEY OF VISION

SANCTIFICATION EXCERPT

A.W. PINK writes,

Like "salvation" itself—according to the use of the term is Scripture (see 2 Tim. 1:9, salvation in the past; Phil. 2:12, salvation in the present; Rom. 13:11, salvation in the future) and in the actual history of the redeemed—so sanctification must be considered under its three tenses. There is a very real sense in which all of God’s elect have already been sanctified: Jude 1; Hebrews 10:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:13. There is also a very real sense in which those of God’s people on earth are daily being sanctified: 2 Corinthians. 4:16; 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23. And there is also a real sense in which the Christian’s (complete) sanctification is yetfuture: Romans 8:30; Hebrews 12:23; 1 John 3:2. Unless this threefold distinction be carefully borne in mind our thoughts are bound to be confused. Objectively, our sanctification is already an accomplished fact (1 Cor. 1:2), in which one saint shares equally with another. Subjectively, our sanctification is not complete in this life (Phil. 3:12) and varies considerably in different Christians, though the promise of Philippians 1:6 belongs alike to all of them.

Though our sanctification be complete in all its parts, yet it is not now perfect in its degrees. As the newborn babe possesses a soul and body, endowed with all their members, yet they are undeveloped and far from a state of maturity. So it is with the Christian, who (in comparison with the life to come) remains throughout this life but a "babe in Christ" (1 Pet. 2:2). We know but "in part" (1 Cor. 13:12), and we are sanctified but in part, for "there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed" (Josh. 13 :1). In the most gracious there remains a double principle: the flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new man. We are a mixture and a medley during our present state. There is a conflict between operating principles (sin and grace), so that every act is mixed: there is tin mixed with our silver and dross with our gold. Our best deeds are defiled, and therefore we continue to feed upon the Lamb with "bitter herbs" (Ex. 12:8).

Holiness in the heart discovers itself by godly sorrowings and godly aspirations. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4): "mourn" because of the swellings of pride, the workings of unbelief, the surging of discontent; "mourn" because of the feebleness of their faith, the coldness of their love, their lack of conformity to Christ. There is nothing which more plainly evidences a person to be sanctified than a broken and contrite heart—grieving over that which is contrary to holiness. Rightly did the Puritan John Owen say, "Evangelical repentance is that which carrieth the believing soul through all his failures, infirmities, and sins. He is not able to live one day without the constant exercise of it. It is as necessary unto the continuance of spiritual life as faith is. It is that continual, habitual, self-abasement which arises from a sense of the majesty and holiness of God, and the consciousness of our miserable failures." It is this which makes the real Christian so thankful for Romans 7, for he finds it corresponds exactly with his own inward experience.

The sanctified soul, then, is very far from being satisfied with the measure of experimental holiness which is yet his portion. He is painfully conscious of the feebleness of his graces, the leanness of his soul, and the defilements from his inward corruption. But, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. 5:6), or "they that are hungering and thirsting" as the Greek reads, being the participle of the present tense; intimating apresent disposition of the soul. Christ pronounces "blessed" (in contrast from those under "the curse") they who are hungering and thirsting after His righteousness imparted as well as imputed, who thirst after the righteousness of sanctification as well as the righteousness of justification—i.e., the Spirit infusing into the soul holy principles, supernatural graces, spiritual qualities, and then strengthening and developing the same. Such has been the experiences of the saints in all ages, "As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, 0 God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" (Ps. 42:1, 2).

DO YOU LOVE JESUS

"Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?"
    John 21:15

Do you love Me . . .
  More than these creature claimants?
  More than these earthly honors?
  More than these worldly riches?
  More than these domestic comforts?
  More than parent, child, brother, sister, friend?

Do you love Me . . .
  singly,
  supremely,
  above all,
  amid ten thousand suitors for your heart?

Do you love Me . . .
Does My beauty charm you?
Does My love win you?
Does My grace draw you?
Does My cross attract you?
Have My sufferings and My death subdued
  you to penitence, faith, and love?
Am I dearer to you than earth's dearest attractions?
Am I more precious than the heart's most precious treasure?
Can you part with all, and every one, for Me?


"Do I love You, O my Lord?
 Behold my heart and see;
 Gently dislodge each idol thence,
 That seeks to rival Thee."

"You know I love You, dearest Lord;
 But, oh, I long to soar;
 Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
 And learn to love You more!"

OCTAVIUS WINSLOW

Valley of Vision

O Lord,

I am a shell full of dust, but animated with an invisible rational soul and made anew by an unseen power of grace; Yet I am no rare object of valuable price, but one that has nothing and is nothing, although chosen of thee from eternity, given to Christ, and born again; I am deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state, of the vanity of creatures, but also of the sufficiency 

of Christ.

When thou wouldst guide me I control myself, When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.

When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.

When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself, When I should submit to thy providence I follow my will, When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself; I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself, Instead of thee I look to a man’s approbation, and am by nature an idolater.

Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.

Convince me that I cannot be my own God, or make myself happy, nor my own Christ to restore my joy, nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, rule me.

Help me to see that grace does this by providential affliction, for when my credit is good thou dost cast me lower, when riches are my idol thou dost wing them away, when pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.

Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart; show me that none of these things can heal a wounded conscience, or support a tottering frame, or uphold a departing spirit.

Then take me to the cross and leave me there.

—Valley of Vision: Man a Nothing, p91

HATE THEIR SIN

ONLY GOD CAN TEACH AND TRANSFORM

It is extremely easy for me to have the mindset of: "find a lot of audio exposition and video exposition, and take it all in...with an implication of : What does prayer have to do with anything, I'm learning right??? How vain and foolish. All the audio and video in the world, no matter how solid the exposition is powerless without the grace and power of God to transform the mind and heart.

THRIVING

Which do I desire most? A thriving online ministry, with many videos, mp3s, articles, forums, all getting traffic and feeback. -- or -- a thriving prayer life with many praises, thanksgivings, supplications, all getting grace and mercy.

FAITH IS LIKE NOT CARING

My statement following is extremely over-simplified, but this came to mind: Apathy is not caring, and Faith is not caring. Apathy is not caring because one simply doesn't care. Faith is not caring, because one knows that God is wise, good, sovereign, and worthy. Obviously apathy and faith are entirely opposite terms, and even with faith we do "care" and are "concerned". Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac and he cared about Isaac and would be painful to have him die at his own hands; but when it came down do it, He cared more about trusting God, knowing God could raise him from the dead or provide a substitute...more than caring about 'his own understanding and preferences'. I hope no one lives in apathy, but I hope your life is filled with faith, that whatever thy lot God has taught thee to say, "it is well, it is well with my soul."

Do we recover a nation, any nation?

Is it true, that: the reason america is in such bad shape, morally, is because the church has failed, and we need to go out and be the difference in life, word, and deed?

Well, there are many tares in the church, true enough. Yet, Noah's culture was not going to be changed by some "improvement in Noah" Sodom was not going to be changed by some "improvement in Abraham" Egypt was not going to be changed by some improvement in Joseph or Moses. Canaan was not going to be changed by some improvement in Joshua or David. And the same can be said of all the prophets to national Israel or the disciples and apostles. I personally cannot undo all the damage that someone like Billy Graham has done, when at times God has sent false prophets to those who love a lie and suppress the truth. Today there are Arminian congregations and denominations working with millions of dollars, and thankfully God is not intimidated for thwarted by such opposition; however, God's sheep do not have to live under a taskmaster like Pharaoh to "recover America" -- an agenda that God has never given us.

AFRAID OF MY OWN HEART

I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. -- Martin Luther

THIS POOR WORLD IS NOT YOUR REST

(James Smith; via gracegems)

Your trials, though many, painful, and tedious--are but proofs of your heavenly Father's love! They are sent in mercy--to convince you that this poor world is not your rest.
Your Father's wisdom chose them,
His love sent them, and
His mercy will sanctify them to you!

Tried believer--are you looking to Jesus? He can hush the storm, and still the tempest. He is always near in trouble. Is your eye fixed upon Him? Does your heart repose on His tender love and faithful Word?

Do you recognize your heavenly Father's hand in your trials? His hand is in them, whether you see it or not. He sends, bounds, and removes them--as He wisely desires. And it has often comforted the saint to realize that the hand of God is in every trial, trouble, and disappointment.

Do you sweetly acquiescence in God's will, in faith that whatever He permits in our life, is right and best for you?

to know grace

To know Christ, is to know grace. If you cannot proclaim Biblical grace, then you cannot proclaim the Christ of the Bible. Beware of those who preach "another Christ" by preaching "another grace" when there is no other grace (Christ) than the one Paul preached.

REVERENCE HIS HAND

"Affliction does not rise out of the dust or come to men by chance; but it is the Lord that sends it, and we should own and reverence His hand in it." - Thomas Boston