The Divine Magnet That Draws With Irresistible Force, Hearts of Steel! (and others)
"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself!" (John 12:32).
Whenever and wherever Christ is lifted up, then His power to attract is made plain. The elect of God, drawn by a power they have no ability or will to resist, take their places beneath the Cross. The uplifting of Christ crucified, is God's chosen means to draw to Himself His elect, yet hidden people. The Cross is the divine magnet that draws with irresistible force, hearts of steel. So mighty is its magnetic power, that it attracts those on whom all other means have failed.
We had often been compelled to take our stand before Mount Sinai. But though its lightnings flashed into our every eyes, and its thunders crashed right over head, our heart remained as hard as rock - yes, pride seemed more rampant in that dread storm than ever - we felt we might be broken - but we resolved we would never bend.
There have been moments when hell argued with us, and all its sentences were written in glowing flame! There were moments when eternal damnation forced itself upon our thoughts, and made us dread the death that never dies. But though our knees shook with fright, our flinty hearts remained unmelted.
Sinai and hell both failed. So also did Heaven, for though we read of its glories, and heard tell of its joys, and sometimes had a languid desire at last to find our way there - we still remained unattracted, and reveled in the vain world.
But when a bleeding Saviour hanging on a tree met our sight, then not only were our eyes riveted - but an unseen hand touched every heart-string. We looked - and looked - and looked again - and felt that as we looked, we were being drawn with silken cords nearer, yet nearer still, until we found ourselves as penitents at His blessed feet!
Beautifully has John Newton described this sweet experience as his own:
"In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear;
Until a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career!
I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agonies and blood.
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His Cross I stood.
Sure never til my dying breath,
Can I forget that look!
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.
A second look He gave, which said,
I freely all forgive;
This blood is for your ransom paid,
I die, that you may live!"
~Archibald Brown~
_________________________
Nothing Escapes His Notice!
What a wondrous Being is the God of Scripture!
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).
God is omniscient. He knows everything: everything possible, everything actual, all events, all creatures, of the past, the present, and the future.
He is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, on earth, and in hell. Nothing escapes His notice, nothing can be hidden from Him, nothing is forgotten by Him. His knowledge is perfect. He never errs. He never changes. He never overlooks anything.
God not only knows whatever has happened in the past in every part of His vast domains; and He is not only thoroughly acquainted with everything that is now transpiring throughout the entire universe - but He is also perfectly cognizant of every event, from the least to the greatest, that ever will happen in the ages to come! God's knowledge of the future is as complete as is His knowledge of the past and the present; and that, because the future depends entirely upon Himself. God has Himself designed whatever shall yet be, and what He has designed, must be effectuated. God's knowledge does not arise from things because they are or will be - but because He has ordained them to be! Yes, such is the God with whom we have to do!
"You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue - You know it completely, O Lord!" (Psalm 139:2-4).
How solemn is this fact: nothing can be concealed from God! "For I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them" (Ezekiel 11:5). Though He is invisible to us - we are not so to Him. Neither the darkness of night, the closest curtains, nor the deepest dungeon - can hide any sinner from the eyes of Omniscience! Men would strip Deity of His omniscience if they could. They wish there might be no Witness of their sins, no Searcher of their hearts, no Judge of their deeds!
~A. W. Pink~
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
God In Everything # 2 (and others)
God In Everything # 2 (and others)
In a word, the spiritual mind sees God in everything. The worm, the whale, and the tempest, all are instruments in His hand. The most insignificant, as well as the most splendid agents, further His ends. The east wind would not have proved effectual, though it had been ever so vehement, had not the worm and a scorching east wind could be joint agents in doing a work of God? Yet so it was! Great and small are only terms in use among men, and cannot apply to Him "who stoops down to behold the things that are in heaven," as well as "the things that are on earth." They are all alike to Him "who sits on the circle of the earth." Jehovah can count the number of the stars, and while He does so, He can take knowledge of a falling sparrow. He can make the whirlwind and His chariot, and a broken heart His dwelling place. Nothing is great or small with God.
The believer, therefore, must not look upon anything as ordinary, for God is in everything. True, he may have to pass through the same circumstances - to meet the same trials - to encounter the same reverses as other men; but he must not meet them in the same way, nor interpret them on the same principle; nor do they convey the same report to his ear. He should hear the voice of God, and heed His message, in the most trifling as well as in the most momentous occurrence of the day. The disobedience of a child, or the loss of an estate, or the death of a friend, should all be regarded as divine messengers to his soul.
So also, when we look around in the world, we should see God is in everything. The overturning of thrones, the crashing of empires, the famine, the pestilence, and every event that occurs among nations, exhibit traces of the hand of God, and utter a voice for the ear of man. The devil will seek to rob the Christians of the real sweetness of this thought; he will tempt him to think that, at least, the commonplace circumstances of everyday life exhibit nothing extraordinary, but only such as happen to other men. But we must not yield to him in this. We must start on our course every morning, with this truth vividly impressed on our mind - God is in everything! The sun that rolls along the heavens in splendid brilliancy, the worm that crawls along the path, have both alike been prepared of God, and, moreover, could both alike cooperate in the development of His unsearchable designs.
I would observe, in conclusion, that the only one who walked in the abiding remembrance of the above precious and important truth, was our blessed Master. He saw His Father's hand and heard the Father's voice in everything. This appears preeminently in the season of the deepest sorrow. He came forth from the garden of Gethsemane with those memorable words, "The cup which my Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" thus recognizing in the fullest manner, that God is in everything.
~C. H. Mackintosh~
(The End)
__________________________
God's Most Comforting Attribute!
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" (Romans 8:28).
There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all.
There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend, then the doctrine of their Master ruling over all creation, the kingship of God over all the works of His own hand, the throne of God, and His right to reign upon that throne.
"Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases!" (Psalm 115:3).
"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth." (Daniel 4:35).
"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" (Revelation 19:6).
"To be God and sovereign are inseparable!" (Stephen Charnock).
"Sovereignty characterizes the whole being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes!" (A. W. Pink).
"God has sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us." (William Carey).
~Charles Spurgeon~
In a word, the spiritual mind sees God in everything. The worm, the whale, and the tempest, all are instruments in His hand. The most insignificant, as well as the most splendid agents, further His ends. The east wind would not have proved effectual, though it had been ever so vehement, had not the worm and a scorching east wind could be joint agents in doing a work of God? Yet so it was! Great and small are only terms in use among men, and cannot apply to Him "who stoops down to behold the things that are in heaven," as well as "the things that are on earth." They are all alike to Him "who sits on the circle of the earth." Jehovah can count the number of the stars, and while He does so, He can take knowledge of a falling sparrow. He can make the whirlwind and His chariot, and a broken heart His dwelling place. Nothing is great or small with God.
The believer, therefore, must not look upon anything as ordinary, for God is in everything. True, he may have to pass through the same circumstances - to meet the same trials - to encounter the same reverses as other men; but he must not meet them in the same way, nor interpret them on the same principle; nor do they convey the same report to his ear. He should hear the voice of God, and heed His message, in the most trifling as well as in the most momentous occurrence of the day. The disobedience of a child, or the loss of an estate, or the death of a friend, should all be regarded as divine messengers to his soul.
So also, when we look around in the world, we should see God is in everything. The overturning of thrones, the crashing of empires, the famine, the pestilence, and every event that occurs among nations, exhibit traces of the hand of God, and utter a voice for the ear of man. The devil will seek to rob the Christians of the real sweetness of this thought; he will tempt him to think that, at least, the commonplace circumstances of everyday life exhibit nothing extraordinary, but only such as happen to other men. But we must not yield to him in this. We must start on our course every morning, with this truth vividly impressed on our mind - God is in everything! The sun that rolls along the heavens in splendid brilliancy, the worm that crawls along the path, have both alike been prepared of God, and, moreover, could both alike cooperate in the development of His unsearchable designs.
I would observe, in conclusion, that the only one who walked in the abiding remembrance of the above precious and important truth, was our blessed Master. He saw His Father's hand and heard the Father's voice in everything. This appears preeminently in the season of the deepest sorrow. He came forth from the garden of Gethsemane with those memorable words, "The cup which my Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" thus recognizing in the fullest manner, that God is in everything.
~C. H. Mackintosh~
(The End)
__________________________
God's Most Comforting Attribute!
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" (Romans 8:28).
There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all.
There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend, then the doctrine of their Master ruling over all creation, the kingship of God over all the works of His own hand, the throne of God, and His right to reign upon that throne.
"Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases!" (Psalm 115:3).
"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth." (Daniel 4:35).
"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" (Revelation 19:6).
"To be God and sovereign are inseparable!" (Stephen Charnock).
"Sovereignty characterizes the whole being of God. He is sovereign in all His attributes!" (A. W. Pink).
"God has sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us." (William Carey).
~Charles Spurgeon~
God Is Everything
God Is Everything
But as the ship was sailing along, suddenly the Lord flung a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to send them to the bottom!
Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights!
And the Lord God prepared a gourd to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased some of his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the gourd. But God also prepared a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant, so that it soon died and withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God sent a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. "Death is certainly better than this!" he exclaimed. (Jonah 1:4, 17; 4:6-8).
Nothing so much helps the Christian endure the trials of his path as the habit of seeing God in everything! There is no circumstance, be it ever so trivial or ever so commonplace, which may not be regarded as a messenger from God, if only the ear be circumcised to hear, and the mind spiritual to understand the message. If we lose sight of this valuable truth, life, in many instances at least, will be but a dull monotony, presenting nothing beyond the most ordinary circumstances. On the other hand, if we could but remember, as we start each day on our course, that the hand of our Father can be traced in every scene - if we could see in the smallest, as well as in the most weighty circumstances, traces of the divine presence - how full of deep interest would each day's history be found!
The Book of Jonah illustrates this truth in a very marked way. There we learn, what we need so much to remember, that there is nothing ordinary to the Christian; everything is extraordinary. The most commonplace things, the simplest circumstances, exhibit in the history of Jonah, the evidences of divine intervention. To see this instructive feature, it is not needful to enter upon the detailed exposition of the Book of Jonah, we only need to notice one expression, which occurs in it again and again, namely, "The Lord prepared."
In chapter one the Lord sends out a wind into the sea, and this wind had in it a solemn voice for the prophet's ear, had he been wakeful to hear it. Jonah was the one who needed to be taught; for him the messenger was sent forth. The poor pagan mariners, no doubt, had often encountered a storm; to them it was nothing new, nothing special, nothing but what fell to the common lot of seamen; yet it was special and extraordinary for one individual on board, though that one was asleep in the sides of the ship. In vain did the sailors seek to counteract the storm; nothing would avail until the Lord's messenger had reached the ears of him to whom it was sent.
Following Jonah a little further, we perceive another instance of what we may term, "seeing God in everything." He is brought into new circumstances, yet he is not beyond the reach of the messengers of God. The Christian can never find himself in a position in which his Father's voice cannot reach his ear, or his Father's hand meet his view, for His voice can be heard, His hand seen, in everything. Thus when Jonah had been cast forth into the sea, "the Lord prepared a great fish." Here, too, we see that there is nothing ordinary to the child of God. A great fish was nothing uncommon; there are many such in the sea; yet did the Lord prepare one for Jonah, in order that it might be the messenger of God to his soul.
Again, in chapter four, we find the prophet sitting on the east side of the city of Nineveh, in sullenness, and impatience, grieved because the city had not been overthrown, and entreating the Lord to take away his life. He would seem to have forgotten the lesson learned during his three days' sojourn in the sea, and he therefore needed a fresh message from God - "And the Lord prepared a gourd." This is very instructive. There was surely nothing uncommon in the mere circumstance of a gourd; other men might see a thousand gourds, and, moreover, might sit beneath their shade, and yet see nothing extraordinary in them. But Jonah's gourd exhibited traces of the hand of God, and forms a link - an important link - in the chain of circumstances through which, according to the design of God, the prophet was passing. The gourd now, like the great fish before, though very different in its kind, was the messenger of God to his soul. "So Jonah was exceeding glad for the gourd." He had before longed to depart, but his longing was more the result of impatience and chagrin, than of holy desire to depart and be at rest forever. It was the painfulness of the present, rather than the happiness of the future - which made him wish to be gone.
This is often the case. We are frequently anxious to get away from present pressure; but if the pressure were removed, the longing would cease. If we longed for the coming of of Jesus, and the glory of His blessed presence, circumstances would make no difference - we would then long as ardently to get away from those times of pressure and sorrow. Jonah while he sat beneath the shadow of the gourd, thought not of departing, and the very fact of his being "exceeding glad for the gourd" proved how much he needed that special messenger from the Lord; it served to make manifest the true condition of his soul, when he uttered the words, "Take, I beseech You, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live!" The Lord can make even a gourd the instrument for developing the secrets of the human heart. Truly the Christian can say, God is in everything. The tempest roars, and the voice of God is heard, a gourd springs up in silence, and the hand of God is seen. Yet the gourd was but a link in the chain; for "the Lord prepared a worm, and this worm trifling as it was when viewed in the light of an instrument, was, nevertheless, as much the divine agent as was the "great wind", or the "great fish". A worm, when used by God, can do wonders; it withered Jonah's gourd, and taught him, as it teaches us, a solemn lesson. True, it was only an insignificant agent, the efficacy of which depended upon its conjunction with others; but this only illustrates the more strikingly the greatness of our Father's mind. He can prepare a worm, and He can prepare a vehement east wind, and make them both, though so unlike, conducive to His great designs.
~C. H. Mackintosh~
(continued with # 2)
But as the ship was sailing along, suddenly the Lord flung a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to send them to the bottom!
Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights!
And the Lord God prepared a gourd to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased some of his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the gourd. But God also prepared a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant, so that it soon died and withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God sent a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. "Death is certainly better than this!" he exclaimed. (Jonah 1:4, 17; 4:6-8).
Nothing so much helps the Christian endure the trials of his path as the habit of seeing God in everything! There is no circumstance, be it ever so trivial or ever so commonplace, which may not be regarded as a messenger from God, if only the ear be circumcised to hear, and the mind spiritual to understand the message. If we lose sight of this valuable truth, life, in many instances at least, will be but a dull monotony, presenting nothing beyond the most ordinary circumstances. On the other hand, if we could but remember, as we start each day on our course, that the hand of our Father can be traced in every scene - if we could see in the smallest, as well as in the most weighty circumstances, traces of the divine presence - how full of deep interest would each day's history be found!
The Book of Jonah illustrates this truth in a very marked way. There we learn, what we need so much to remember, that there is nothing ordinary to the Christian; everything is extraordinary. The most commonplace things, the simplest circumstances, exhibit in the history of Jonah, the evidences of divine intervention. To see this instructive feature, it is not needful to enter upon the detailed exposition of the Book of Jonah, we only need to notice one expression, which occurs in it again and again, namely, "The Lord prepared."
In chapter one the Lord sends out a wind into the sea, and this wind had in it a solemn voice for the prophet's ear, had he been wakeful to hear it. Jonah was the one who needed to be taught; for him the messenger was sent forth. The poor pagan mariners, no doubt, had often encountered a storm; to them it was nothing new, nothing special, nothing but what fell to the common lot of seamen; yet it was special and extraordinary for one individual on board, though that one was asleep in the sides of the ship. In vain did the sailors seek to counteract the storm; nothing would avail until the Lord's messenger had reached the ears of him to whom it was sent.
Following Jonah a little further, we perceive another instance of what we may term, "seeing God in everything." He is brought into new circumstances, yet he is not beyond the reach of the messengers of God. The Christian can never find himself in a position in which his Father's voice cannot reach his ear, or his Father's hand meet his view, for His voice can be heard, His hand seen, in everything. Thus when Jonah had been cast forth into the sea, "the Lord prepared a great fish." Here, too, we see that there is nothing ordinary to the child of God. A great fish was nothing uncommon; there are many such in the sea; yet did the Lord prepare one for Jonah, in order that it might be the messenger of God to his soul.
Again, in chapter four, we find the prophet sitting on the east side of the city of Nineveh, in sullenness, and impatience, grieved because the city had not been overthrown, and entreating the Lord to take away his life. He would seem to have forgotten the lesson learned during his three days' sojourn in the sea, and he therefore needed a fresh message from God - "And the Lord prepared a gourd." This is very instructive. There was surely nothing uncommon in the mere circumstance of a gourd; other men might see a thousand gourds, and, moreover, might sit beneath their shade, and yet see nothing extraordinary in them. But Jonah's gourd exhibited traces of the hand of God, and forms a link - an important link - in the chain of circumstances through which, according to the design of God, the prophet was passing. The gourd now, like the great fish before, though very different in its kind, was the messenger of God to his soul. "So Jonah was exceeding glad for the gourd." He had before longed to depart, but his longing was more the result of impatience and chagrin, than of holy desire to depart and be at rest forever. It was the painfulness of the present, rather than the happiness of the future - which made him wish to be gone.
This is often the case. We are frequently anxious to get away from present pressure; but if the pressure were removed, the longing would cease. If we longed for the coming of of Jesus, and the glory of His blessed presence, circumstances would make no difference - we would then long as ardently to get away from those times of pressure and sorrow. Jonah while he sat beneath the shadow of the gourd, thought not of departing, and the very fact of his being "exceeding glad for the gourd" proved how much he needed that special messenger from the Lord; it served to make manifest the true condition of his soul, when he uttered the words, "Take, I beseech You, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live!" The Lord can make even a gourd the instrument for developing the secrets of the human heart. Truly the Christian can say, God is in everything. The tempest roars, and the voice of God is heard, a gourd springs up in silence, and the hand of God is seen. Yet the gourd was but a link in the chain; for "the Lord prepared a worm, and this worm trifling as it was when viewed in the light of an instrument, was, nevertheless, as much the divine agent as was the "great wind", or the "great fish". A worm, when used by God, can do wonders; it withered Jonah's gourd, and taught him, as it teaches us, a solemn lesson. True, it was only an insignificant agent, the efficacy of which depended upon its conjunction with others; but this only illustrates the more strikingly the greatness of our Father's mind. He can prepare a worm, and He can prepare a vehement east wind, and make them both, though so unlike, conducive to His great designs.
~C. H. Mackintosh~
(continued with # 2)
Sunday, November 11, 2018
The God of Popular Christianity!
The God of Popular Christianity!
"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth! Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might" (1 Chronicles 29:11-12).
In these days of man-centered religion, verses like these have been ignored. The pulpits of our land preach a defeated God, a disappointed Christ and a defenseless Holy Spirit. Man has been deified - and God dethroned. God has been relegated to the background.
The God most people believe in has benevolent intentions, yet He is unable to carry them out. He wants to bless men, but they will not let Him. The average church-goer thinks satan has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather than worshiped. The god of popular Christianity has a weak smile and a halo!
To suppose in the slightest that God has failed, or that He has been defeated, is the height of foolishness and the depth of impiety! The religious world needs to get God off the charity list!
The Bible knows nothing of a defeated, disappointed, and defenseless God! The God of the Bible is the "Almighty God" (Genesis 17:1) Who has all power in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). With Him nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) or too hard (Jeremiah 32:17). His eternal purpose is being worked out. Everything is going according to His plan, and all things are under His control.
The God of the Bible is the Supreme Being in the universe! He is the most High, higher than the highest. He has no superiors and no equals. God is God. He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases.
"He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? What His soul desires, even that He does" (Job 23:13). Agreeing with this is Psalm 115:3: "But our God is in the heavens: He has done whatever He has pleased." As the Master of the World He declares: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure!" (Isaiah 46:10).
God is the Supreme Being and the Sovereign of the universe. He exercises His power as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. "All inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. But He does according to His will in the host of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth. No one can ward off His hand or say to Him: What have You done? (Daniel 4:35).
God governs all His creatures and their actions. The events that take place on earth do not take place by chance, or fate, or luck. The so-called accidents are not even incidents with the Master of the World. He numbered the hairs of our head and noted the sparrow's fall in eternity past by His "determinate counsel and foreknowledge" (Acts 2:23).
The Master of the World set the bounds of our habitation on earth. The number of our months is with Him, and our days are appointed!
God is holding the helm of the universe, and regulating all events. The Master of the World "works all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11). It is God's eternal right to do His pleasure. He is not accountable to any of His creatures. Job 33:13 declares: "He gives no account of any of His matters."
God controls all things - or nothing.
He must either rule - or be ruled.
He must either sway - or be swayed.
He must either accomplish His will - or be thwarted by His creatures.
He is not obligated to leave the affairs of this world to be governed by accident, chance, or the will of sinful men.
If we admit that God absolutely governs all things according to the counsel of His own will, then we admit that He has determined what shall and what shall not transpire in time and eternity. To deny His universal control of all things, is to deny His eternal power and Godhead. If He has the power and wisdom to determine all events - then He can cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
~Milburn Cockrell~
(The End)
"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth! Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might" (1 Chronicles 29:11-12).
In these days of man-centered religion, verses like these have been ignored. The pulpits of our land preach a defeated God, a disappointed Christ and a defenseless Holy Spirit. Man has been deified - and God dethroned. God has been relegated to the background.
The God most people believe in has benevolent intentions, yet He is unable to carry them out. He wants to bless men, but they will not let Him. The average church-goer thinks satan has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather than worshiped. The god of popular Christianity has a weak smile and a halo!
To suppose in the slightest that God has failed, or that He has been defeated, is the height of foolishness and the depth of impiety! The religious world needs to get God off the charity list!
The Bible knows nothing of a defeated, disappointed, and defenseless God! The God of the Bible is the "Almighty God" (Genesis 17:1) Who has all power in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). With Him nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) or too hard (Jeremiah 32:17). His eternal purpose is being worked out. Everything is going according to His plan, and all things are under His control.
The God of the Bible is the Supreme Being in the universe! He is the most High, higher than the highest. He has no superiors and no equals. God is God. He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases.
"He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? What His soul desires, even that He does" (Job 23:13). Agreeing with this is Psalm 115:3: "But our God is in the heavens: He has done whatever He has pleased." As the Master of the World He declares: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure!" (Isaiah 46:10).
God is the Supreme Being and the Sovereign of the universe. He exercises His power as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. "All inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. But He does according to His will in the host of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth. No one can ward off His hand or say to Him: What have You done? (Daniel 4:35).
God governs all His creatures and their actions. The events that take place on earth do not take place by chance, or fate, or luck. The so-called accidents are not even incidents with the Master of the World. He numbered the hairs of our head and noted the sparrow's fall in eternity past by His "determinate counsel and foreknowledge" (Acts 2:23).
The Master of the World set the bounds of our habitation on earth. The number of our months is with Him, and our days are appointed!
God is holding the helm of the universe, and regulating all events. The Master of the World "works all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11). It is God's eternal right to do His pleasure. He is not accountable to any of His creatures. Job 33:13 declares: "He gives no account of any of His matters."
God controls all things - or nothing.
He must either rule - or be ruled.
He must either sway - or be swayed.
He must either accomplish His will - or be thwarted by His creatures.
He is not obligated to leave the affairs of this world to be governed by accident, chance, or the will of sinful men.
If we admit that God absolutely governs all things according to the counsel of His own will, then we admit that He has determined what shall and what shall not transpire in time and eternity. To deny His universal control of all things, is to deny His eternal power and Godhead. If He has the power and wisdom to determine all events - then He can cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
~Milburn Cockrell~
(The End)
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers
Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers
You have a heart fit to do the deed!(J.C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Luke")
"But they kept shouting: Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Luke 23:21
Let us often pray that we may thoroughly understand the sinfulness of man's heart.
Christ is never fully valued--until sin is clearly seen.
We must know the depth and malignity of our disease--in order to appreciate the great Physician.
Few of us, it may be feared, have the least conception of the strength and virulence of the spiritual disease with which we are born! Few entirely realize that "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and that unconverted human nature, if it had the power--would cast its Maker down from His throne and crucify Him!
The behavior of the Jews before us--is only a picture of what every natural man would do to God, if he only could!
"If the bosom of God were within the reach of men, it would be stabbed a million of times in one moment! If the bosom of God were now within your reach, and one blow would rid the universe of God--you have a heart fit to do the deed!" Robert Murray M'Cheyne
I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24 NLT)
Here is something that you and I must dwell upon. Personally, I am constantly brought to this: I have not yet learnt thoroughly to believe what I believe in! I believe in the finished work of Christ, yet sometimes I am just as miserable about myself as any man could be. I am often almost at the point of giving up because of what a wretched kind of thing I am. If there is anything in this world that would cause me to give up the Christian ministry, it is myself. Do you understand what I mean? Oh, how we are discouraged by what we find in ourselves! And so, we don't believe what we believe in. We believe in the finished work of Christ, and that God puts all that finished work to our account. God does not see us in ourselves – He sees us in Christ. He does not see us, He sees Christ in us. We don't believe that! If we really did we would be delivered from ourselves and would indeed be triumphant Christians.
Of course, that does not mean that we can just behave anyhow. We may speak and act wrongly, but for every Christian there is a refuge – a mercy seat. It has not to be made; it is there with the precious Blood. That has not to be shed; it is shed. There is a High Priest making intercession for us. There is everything that we need. The work is finished, completed. Oh, we Christians must believe our beliefs! We must take hold, with both hands, of the things which are of our Christian faith.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
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You have a heart fit to do the deed!(J.C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Luke")
"But they kept shouting: Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Luke 23:21
Let us often pray that we may thoroughly understand the sinfulness of man's heart.
Christ is never fully valued--until sin is clearly seen.
We must know the depth and malignity of our disease--in order to appreciate the great Physician.
Few of us, it may be feared, have the least conception of the strength and virulence of the spiritual disease with which we are born! Few entirely realize that "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and that unconverted human nature, if it had the power--would cast its Maker down from His throne and crucify Him!
The behavior of the Jews before us--is only a picture of what every natural man would do to God, if he only could!
"If the bosom of God were within the reach of men, it would be stabbed a million of times in one moment! If the bosom of God were now within your reach, and one blow would rid the universe of God--you have a heart fit to do the deed!" Robert Murray M'Cheyne
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God's Mysterious Dealings
If God were dealing with us as sinners, that is, if He were dealing with us because of certain personal sins and personal faults, we could quite clearly understand that; but when He is dealing with us in relation to Divine purpose, as His servants, His dealings with us go far beyond our understanding. We are taken out into a realm where we do not understand what the Lord is doing with us, and why the Lord takes certain courses with us. We are out of our depth; we are altogether baffled and we are compelled - that is, if we are going on with God - to believe that God knows what He is doing: we have just to move with Him according to whatever light we may have, and believe that these dealings with us, so far beyond our understanding are somehow related to that purpose with which we are called and that the explanation waits some distance ahead, and we will find it when we get there. God does not explain Himself when He takes a step with us.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
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Sanctify them through Thy truth.
Sanctification begins in regeneration. The Spirit of God infuses into man that new living principle by which he becomes "a new creature" in Christ Jesus. This work, which begins in the new birth, is carried on in two ways-mortification, whereby the lusts of the flesh are subdued and kept under; and vivification, by which the life which God has put within us is made to be a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. This is carried on every day in what is called "perseverance," by which the Christian is preserved and continued in a gracious state, and is made to abound in good works unto the praise and glory of God; and it culminates or comes to perfection, in "glory," when the soul, being thoroughly purged, is caught up to dwell with holy beings at the right hand of the Majesty on high. But while the Spirit of God is thus the author of sanctification, yet there is a visible agency employed which must not be forgotten. "Sanctify them," said Jesus, "through thy truth: thy word is truth." The passages of Scripture which prove that the instrument of our sanctification is the Word of God are very many. The Spirit of God brings to our minds the precepts and doctrines of truth, and applies them with power. These are heard in the ear, and being received in the heart, they work in us to will and to do of God's good pleasure. The truth is the sanctifier, and if we do not hear or read the truth, we shall not grow in sanctification. We only progress in sound living as we progress in sound understanding. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Do not say of any error, "It is a mere matter of opinion." No man indulges an error of judgment, without sooner or later tolerating an error in practice. Hold fast the truth, for by so holding the truth shall you be sanctified by the Spirit of God.
~Charles Spurgeon~
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BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Jesus answered and said...if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” Matthew 21:21
“Jesus answered and said...if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” Matthew 21:21
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
When a nation loses its ability to discern morality, it embarks on a slippery slope toward self-destruction, especially when it comes to basic sexual morality.
When a nation loses its ability to discern morality, it embarks on a slippery slope toward self-destruction, especially when it comes to basic sexual morality.
When a nation turns its back on the commands of God, He will say, “That’s the last step. I wash My hands. You asked for it. You got it.”
America is in crisis, and unless we have a moral rebirth, we will join the graveyard of the nations. The hour is late—it’s time to wake up. Time is passing—it’s time to look up. Jesus is coming—it’s time to sober up. Satan is working—it’s time to amour up. Mountains need moving—it’s time to pray up and pray some mountain-moving prayers.
ACTION POINT:
Ask the Lord to heal our land. Take inventory. What do you need to repent of in your own heart and life? God has said he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). Rather than ask God to get rid of them, ask Him to forgive the iniquities of the wicked and bring salvation to their souls.
~Adrian Rogers~
Ask the Lord to heal our land. Take inventory. What do you need to repent of in your own heart and life? God has said he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). Rather than ask God to get rid of them, ask Him to forgive the iniquities of the wicked and bring salvation to their souls.
~Adrian Rogers~
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