The Waning Pulpit # 2
First, we must have a message to preach, not for the sake of preaching, but for the sake of convincing men of their sins, as the Spirit of God may lead us. When asked one day his opinion regarding sermons of ministers, Hon. William J. Byran said: "I desire my minister to preach every Sabbath the simple gospel. The old, old story never wearies the average congregation, if it comes from a devout mind with preparation in the message. My ideal sermon is one which has an appeal to the unconverted and a spiritual uplift for the Christian. I want my minister to be abreast of the times on all new theological questions and research, but I do not want him to bring them into the pulpit. I have formed certain fixed views of Christ, His gospel, and the inspiration of the Bible from a careful reading of that Book of books and of the Shorter Catechism, and it will not make me a better Christian or profit my spiritual life to unsettle these views by a discussion in the pulpit of new theories of Christ and the Holy Scriptures. Finally, I want my minister to act on the belief that Christ's gospel is the surest cure of all social and political evils, and that his best method of promoting temperance, social morality, and good citizenship, is to bring men into the Church. In a word, I want my minister to emphasize in the lifework the declaration of the most successful preacher, Paul: "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
Second, we must have an unwavering conviction that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. If we give any evidence of uncertainty at this point, the message we deliver will scarcely be received with enthusiasm, and it is inconceivable that it could be delivered with very much power. At the close of an editorial in the British Weekly was the following: "Whatever else is in the Bible or not in it, man is in it, and it is still the one supreme Book for finding the man in all men. But it will not yield its treasure except to the humble and the reverent, in whose soul the flame of iniquity burns as a lamp in the temple. Neither to the idolater nor to the iconoclast does divine truth appear, but to the praying worker who gives his best to both prayer and work.
"We believe there are signs of the preacher's return to the Book. While giving science and literature their due place, the preacher will do well to become yet a man of one Book. It is inexhaustible, its phrase ever fresh, as the greatest masters have ever found.
When one is filled with the Word of God, when he loves it, when it profoundly moves him, every one with whom he comes in contact will take knowledge of him that he has been with Jesus,and whether he is in the pulpit or out of it, he will have power. A human life can become saturated with the Word of God, when one loves it and meditates upon it continually. One's thoughts, feelings, affections, dispositions, and character become colored with the spirit of the Word of God. Such a filling of the mind and heart with the pure Word of God is the best way to prepare for any future of darkness into which he may pass. It is like hanging up a hundred lamps while the light of day yet shines in order that they may be ready to pour down their soft beams the moment the daylight fades."
There must also be a clear presentation of the claims of Jesus Christ. It is a sad thing that it should ever be said of the minister that in his preaching, Christ is not presented. I am persuaded that those in the pulpit who forget Him are few in number as compared with the great army of preachers who sincerely love Jesus Christ with all their hearts. Then it should not be forgotten that the way must not be made too easy. General Booth says that the chief dangers in the twentieth century are: Religion without the Holy Spirit; Christianity without Christ; Forgiveness without Repentance; Salvation without Regeneration; Politics without God, and Heaven without hell.
The fires of criticism will soon burn lower than today. The minister may more and more, if he will, come to his own. If out of it all we come to a better likeness of Christ, with more of a passion for preaching, more of a love for souls, more of a desire to see lost ones turn to the Saviour, then the fires will not have been in vain, and the criticisms we have faced will have been helpful.
~J. Wilbur Chapman~
(The End)
Saturday, March 30, 2019
The Waning Pulpit # 1
The Waning Pulpit # 1
This is a day when the minister is under sharpest fire. By some his motives are questioned, his spirit is censured, and his failure to secure such results as came in days gone by, when the gospel was preached, is used as an argument against him. However, in the midst of such criticism it should not be forgotten that it is, by no means, as easy to preach today as in the olden times. The minister formerly was recognized as a man under authority, his words were generally received as the truth; now the genuineness of his message is sharply questioned, and even his authority is subject to criticism. When Mr. D. L. Moody preached the gospel and urged men to turn to God, his statements were accepted without question; but today all this is changed, and one must not only preach his sermon, but he must prove his authority and be ready to substantiate the integrity and genuineness of the Book on the basis of which his message is delivered. But a brighter day will come for the minister, and it is only necessary that he should be watchful in these troublesome times, have the approval of his own conscience in the matter of preaching, and also be sure that he has Christ's approval in whose name he speaks and from whom he has received his call to preach.
As an illustration of the sharpness of the criticism it may be well to note the words spoken by a professor of law, in an Eastern university, in an address before a minister's conference:
"The waning power of the pulpit is one of the most lamentable signs of the times. The intellectual preeminence of the preacher has passed and gone. The pulpit no longer attracts the brightest minds, and theological seminaries swarm with intellectual weaklings. Pulpit deliverances of our day often lack every element of real oratory; they are largely dreary monologues and complacent soliloquy. The speaker's wits, instead of being sharpened by adversity and defeat, are blunted by his unvaried weekly duel with an imaginary foe. Our present day divines are not deficient in the arts of finished elocution, but they have dropped the old theme of salvation from an inherited curse of sin. But when the pulpit has moral earnestness, it rises to the loftiest elevation of eloquent expression. It was homely language of a country deacon speaking to a person who had prayed long and loudly for power."
This opinion may or may not be correct; the one who gave it evidently thinks it is, and unquestionably he represents a certain element in the Church. Whether true or not, it is the sort of criticism facing the preacher today. It is claimed that we have failed to give sufficient emphasis to the importance of prayer, and we read that this was the secret of true greatness in the pulpit of other days. It is said we have lost our power because we have not given sufficient attention to Bible study; not Bible study in the preparation of sermons, but Bible study in the development of our own spiritual of our own spiritual life. Unquestionably the secret of Spurgeon's power was found just here. During the days of the week we must become saturated with the Scriptures so that on Sunday the message comes flowing forth like the current of a mighty river. Men tell us we have lost this, that we preach about God's Word, but not the Word itself.
It has been said that we have given up personal work, and depend too much upon our pulpit efforts to turn men to God. "How do you like your minister?" said one of my friends to a plain woman in the mountains of Kentucky. She hesitated a moment and replied: "We don't like him so very well. He preaches well enough, but he has the college habit, and studies so much that we do not see him except on Sundays," and, she said, "you know a minister must speak to you out of the pulpit as well as in it if he is to influence you."
We are told that we have also failed in the matter of direct preaching. The son of a minister told me that he had never in his life heard his father, when preaching, give a personal invitation from the pulpit to those listening to him to accept Christ. While this is, of course, the greatest exception to the rule, yet it seems strange that even one man feeling called to preach the gospel should not urge men at all times, in season and out of season, to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as a Saviour. I am quite persuaded that we would be able to meet and overcome these criticisms, whether they be just or unjust, had we firm convictions on the following essential points.
~Wilbur Chapman~
(continued with # 2)
This is a day when the minister is under sharpest fire. By some his motives are questioned, his spirit is censured, and his failure to secure such results as came in days gone by, when the gospel was preached, is used as an argument against him. However, in the midst of such criticism it should not be forgotten that it is, by no means, as easy to preach today as in the olden times. The minister formerly was recognized as a man under authority, his words were generally received as the truth; now the genuineness of his message is sharply questioned, and even his authority is subject to criticism. When Mr. D. L. Moody preached the gospel and urged men to turn to God, his statements were accepted without question; but today all this is changed, and one must not only preach his sermon, but he must prove his authority and be ready to substantiate the integrity and genuineness of the Book on the basis of which his message is delivered. But a brighter day will come for the minister, and it is only necessary that he should be watchful in these troublesome times, have the approval of his own conscience in the matter of preaching, and also be sure that he has Christ's approval in whose name he speaks and from whom he has received his call to preach.
As an illustration of the sharpness of the criticism it may be well to note the words spoken by a professor of law, in an Eastern university, in an address before a minister's conference:
"The waning power of the pulpit is one of the most lamentable signs of the times. The intellectual preeminence of the preacher has passed and gone. The pulpit no longer attracts the brightest minds, and theological seminaries swarm with intellectual weaklings. Pulpit deliverances of our day often lack every element of real oratory; they are largely dreary monologues and complacent soliloquy. The speaker's wits, instead of being sharpened by adversity and defeat, are blunted by his unvaried weekly duel with an imaginary foe. Our present day divines are not deficient in the arts of finished elocution, but they have dropped the old theme of salvation from an inherited curse of sin. But when the pulpit has moral earnestness, it rises to the loftiest elevation of eloquent expression. It was homely language of a country deacon speaking to a person who had prayed long and loudly for power."
This opinion may or may not be correct; the one who gave it evidently thinks it is, and unquestionably he represents a certain element in the Church. Whether true or not, it is the sort of criticism facing the preacher today. It is claimed that we have failed to give sufficient emphasis to the importance of prayer, and we read that this was the secret of true greatness in the pulpit of other days. It is said we have lost our power because we have not given sufficient attention to Bible study; not Bible study in the preparation of sermons, but Bible study in the development of our own spiritual of our own spiritual life. Unquestionably the secret of Spurgeon's power was found just here. During the days of the week we must become saturated with the Scriptures so that on Sunday the message comes flowing forth like the current of a mighty river. Men tell us we have lost this, that we preach about God's Word, but not the Word itself.
It has been said that we have given up personal work, and depend too much upon our pulpit efforts to turn men to God. "How do you like your minister?" said one of my friends to a plain woman in the mountains of Kentucky. She hesitated a moment and replied: "We don't like him so very well. He preaches well enough, but he has the college habit, and studies so much that we do not see him except on Sundays," and, she said, "you know a minister must speak to you out of the pulpit as well as in it if he is to influence you."
We are told that we have also failed in the matter of direct preaching. The son of a minister told me that he had never in his life heard his father, when preaching, give a personal invitation from the pulpit to those listening to him to accept Christ. While this is, of course, the greatest exception to the rule, yet it seems strange that even one man feeling called to preach the gospel should not urge men at all times, in season and out of season, to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as a Saviour. I am quite persuaded that we would be able to meet and overcome these criticisms, whether they be just or unjust, had we firm convictions on the following essential points.
~Wilbur Chapman~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Classic Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers..
Classic Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers..
One continued dream and delusion!
(Thomas Boston, "Human Nature in its Fourfold State")
"There is no one who understands." Romans 3:11
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14
"They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." Ephesians 4:18
The natural man's apprehension of divine things is corrupt. The understanding, that leading faculty, is despoiled of its primitive glory, and covered over with confusion.
Tell them how they may advance their worldly wealth, or how they may gratify their lusts--and they will quickly understand these things. But it is very hard to make them know how their souls may be saved, or how their hearts may find rest in Christ. They are very stupid and unteachable in the matters of God. What woeful delusions prevail over them! Do we not often see those, who in other things are the wisest of men--yet are notorious fools with respect to their soul's eternal interests?
Many who are eagle-eyed in the trifles of time--yet are like owls and bats in the light of eternal realities. Nay, truly, the life of every natural man is but one continued dream and delusion, out of which he never awakes, until either, by a divine light darted from Heaven into his soul, he comes to himself--or, in Hell he lifts up his eyes in torment!
Sin has closed the windows of the soul, and darkness covers the whole. The prince of darkness reigns there, and nothing but the works of darkness are framed there. We are born spiritually blind--and cannot be restored without a miracle of grace!
"For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord!" Ephesians 5:8
Today's reading: Psalm 149:1-9
The clear instruction in Psalm 149 is to sing a "new song" to the Lord, which communicates that it's important for us to be fresh and creative with our praise. In other words, the words we use to praise God, and even the manner in which we praise, shouldn't always be the same. So as we go about our weekend (Sunday is coming), let's be open to different ways to praise. Look for a fresh new way to praise God, and then do it!
Think about your normal routine when it comes to praising God. What's one way you can praise God differently this weekend (verbally or with your actions)?
~Daily Disciples~
___________________________
Controlling Our Appetites
What words would you use to describe our society? Materialistic, sensual, impatient, indulgent, undisciplined--these are just a few. We're also a "have it now" culture. Satan specializes in presenting us with opportunities for instant gratification while promising us that indulging our appetites will bring us the satisfaction we seek.
Human appetites, in themselves, are not sinful. In fact, they're God-given. However, because of our fleshly weaknesses, they need to be controlled. When our appetites rule us, we're in trouble. Paul likened the Christian life to that of athletes who are so focused on winning the race that they exercise self-control in every area of their lives
That's exactly how we're called to live, yet we lack the motivation, determination, and power to do so in our own strength. For this reason, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit within us. If we yield our lives to Him and step out in obedience to His promptings, we'll have the strength to say no when fleshly desires feel overpowering (Gal. 5:16).
Another key to success is keeping our focus on the eternal instead of the temporal. Many decisions that seem mundane are in fact spiritually significant. Are you indulging an appetite that could result in the sacrifice of an imperishable reward in heaven?
When the Enemy tempts us, he always tries to keep our attention on our desire and the pleasure of indulgence rather than on the eternal rewards and blessings we're forfeiting. Just remind yourself how quickly immediate gratification wanes and how long eternity lasts.
~Charles F. Stanley~
_______________________
One continued dream and delusion!
(Thomas Boston, "Human Nature in its Fourfold State")
"There is no one who understands." Romans 3:11
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14
"They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts." Ephesians 4:18
The natural man's apprehension of divine things is corrupt. The understanding, that leading faculty, is despoiled of its primitive glory, and covered over with confusion.
Tell them how they may advance their worldly wealth, or how they may gratify their lusts--and they will quickly understand these things. But it is very hard to make them know how their souls may be saved, or how their hearts may find rest in Christ. They are very stupid and unteachable in the matters of God. What woeful delusions prevail over them! Do we not often see those, who in other things are the wisest of men--yet are notorious fools with respect to their soul's eternal interests?
Many who are eagle-eyed in the trifles of time--yet are like owls and bats in the light of eternal realities. Nay, truly, the life of every natural man is but one continued dream and delusion, out of which he never awakes, until either, by a divine light darted from Heaven into his soul, he comes to himself--or, in Hell he lifts up his eyes in torment!
Sin has closed the windows of the soul, and darkness covers the whole. The prince of darkness reigns there, and nothing but the works of darkness are framed there. We are born spiritually blind--and cannot be restored without a miracle of grace!
"For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord!" Ephesians 5:8
My Time Wasn't Come Yet
My Time Wasn't Come Yet
"You see, my time wasn't come yet," said Dick Jones, as he jumped down from the parade and ran to get his boat into the water, for he saw the ladies and gentlemen approaching whom he was to take out that beautiful calm day.
Old Jerry Clark shook his head as he looked after him. "I doubt your time'll come before you're ready for it, Dick," said he, "if you don't mend your ways." But Dick was out of hearing.
Dick Jones was a well-known man in the place. He was one of the best boatmen there, and visitors liked to go out with him, for he was very lively and a great talker and full of stories of his adventures. They were mostly true stories too. Few men had gone through more dangers than Dick, or had more narrow escapes. He was just describing the last of them to some of his mates, when he broke off at the sight of his party coming.
It had happened the winter before. Dick's winter work was very different from his summer work. In the winter he did not row visitors about on the calm sea; then he made one of the crew of the fishing lugger and was often out in rough weather. One night in the winter before, the lugger had been caught in a storm and driven out to sea and forced to run for shelter to a distant port. Several of the other boats was lost in that storm and Dick's lugger was almost given up for lost. He was telling his mates about it (not for the first time by any means) and describing how nearly the lugger had been swamped! "I never had such a narrow escape before," said he, "but, you see, my time wasn't come yet." And so he ran off laughing.
Yet he was old enough to have had more thought, for he was by no means a young man. One escape after another had he had - and still no thought, no care, no change; even his own words might well have made him think: "My time wasn't come yet." Then it will come some day - am I ready for it? But no such question occurred to him. Whether a serious thought crossed his mind in the hour of danger, I know not; but if it did, it all blew over with the storm. Safe ashore again, he thought no more of his "time" but went on as before, just as light and careless as if he had nothing to live for but to please himself.
As for being grateful to God for saving his life or considering what such mercies and warnings called him to, I fear he troubled himself with no such thoughts. I wonder whether he goes on so still or whether his "time has come"; perhaps, as old Jerry said, it has come before he was ready for it.
Whether he goes on so or not, there are plenty who do - many who outwardly lead a very different life perhaps from Dick Jones, who have nothing to do with the sea and have never been in danger of drowning, but who are nevertheless like him in careless unconcern about the future state and their own souls.
"My times wasn't come yet," or, "My time is not come yet." This is the most that any man can say - the youngest, the strongest, the most stout-hearted. "Not yet"; you cannot get beyond that. There is nothing between you and the future state except that "not yet." For your time will come. You cannot help its coming. You cannot put off for a moment. Your time depends not on your will, but God's. You cannot lift a finger against the will of God. When He says your time is to come - then come it will. Even Dick Jones seemed to allow this. "You see," said he, "my time wasn't come yet," as if he was aware that all rested with God and that no one could tell beforehand whether his time was to come then or not.
Nobody ever can tell that. God keeps that secret to Himself. Not only in danger at sea or in any other special danger - but at all seasons, we never know whether our time is at hand or not.
When Dick Jones spoke of his "time," he meant his time to die. How could he speak of it so lightly? How can anyone speak lightly of his time of dying? If death ended all, even then it would be too solemn to be spoken of so. But it does not end all. "It is appointed for men to die once - but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). - the judgment and then the eternal state. Can you think of that and still speak jokingly of your "time," especially if you know that you are not ready and that if you were to die now, the judgment would go against you?
How amazing it is that any man can be so thoughtless, so foolish, so mad! "My time wasn't come yet." Are you such a one? Oh, think! Eternity is no trifling matter. Your soul is at stake. Your "time", your dying time, is drawing nearer every day, and you know not how near it may be. And you are not prepared for it; you are not even preparing. The only way to be ready to die,is to be washed from guilt in the blood of Jesus. That precious blood is open to you; Christ's salvation is ready for you as a free gift. Why has not your time come yet? Is it not in mercy, because you are not ready? But your time will come. Let it not come too soon. Make sure you are not fleeing Christ. Then it cannot come too soon. Then it cannot take you by surprise.
Your time for this has come: "It is time to seek the Lord" (Hosea 10:12). "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). He is near now; He may now be found. This present time, is your time for seeking Him. It may be the only time. Do not let it slip.
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
"You see, my time wasn't come yet," said Dick Jones, as he jumped down from the parade and ran to get his boat into the water, for he saw the ladies and gentlemen approaching whom he was to take out that beautiful calm day.
Old Jerry Clark shook his head as he looked after him. "I doubt your time'll come before you're ready for it, Dick," said he, "if you don't mend your ways." But Dick was out of hearing.
Dick Jones was a well-known man in the place. He was one of the best boatmen there, and visitors liked to go out with him, for he was very lively and a great talker and full of stories of his adventures. They were mostly true stories too. Few men had gone through more dangers than Dick, or had more narrow escapes. He was just describing the last of them to some of his mates, when he broke off at the sight of his party coming.
It had happened the winter before. Dick's winter work was very different from his summer work. In the winter he did not row visitors about on the calm sea; then he made one of the crew of the fishing lugger and was often out in rough weather. One night in the winter before, the lugger had been caught in a storm and driven out to sea and forced to run for shelter to a distant port. Several of the other boats was lost in that storm and Dick's lugger was almost given up for lost. He was telling his mates about it (not for the first time by any means) and describing how nearly the lugger had been swamped! "I never had such a narrow escape before," said he, "but, you see, my time wasn't come yet." And so he ran off laughing.
Yet he was old enough to have had more thought, for he was by no means a young man. One escape after another had he had - and still no thought, no care, no change; even his own words might well have made him think: "My time wasn't come yet." Then it will come some day - am I ready for it? But no such question occurred to him. Whether a serious thought crossed his mind in the hour of danger, I know not; but if it did, it all blew over with the storm. Safe ashore again, he thought no more of his "time" but went on as before, just as light and careless as if he had nothing to live for but to please himself.
As for being grateful to God for saving his life or considering what such mercies and warnings called him to, I fear he troubled himself with no such thoughts. I wonder whether he goes on so still or whether his "time has come"; perhaps, as old Jerry said, it has come before he was ready for it.
Whether he goes on so or not, there are plenty who do - many who outwardly lead a very different life perhaps from Dick Jones, who have nothing to do with the sea and have never been in danger of drowning, but who are nevertheless like him in careless unconcern about the future state and their own souls.
"My times wasn't come yet," or, "My time is not come yet." This is the most that any man can say - the youngest, the strongest, the most stout-hearted. "Not yet"; you cannot get beyond that. There is nothing between you and the future state except that "not yet." For your time will come. You cannot help its coming. You cannot put off for a moment. Your time depends not on your will, but God's. You cannot lift a finger against the will of God. When He says your time is to come - then come it will. Even Dick Jones seemed to allow this. "You see," said he, "my time wasn't come yet," as if he was aware that all rested with God and that no one could tell beforehand whether his time was to come then or not.
Nobody ever can tell that. God keeps that secret to Himself. Not only in danger at sea or in any other special danger - but at all seasons, we never know whether our time is at hand or not.
When Dick Jones spoke of his "time," he meant his time to die. How could he speak of it so lightly? How can anyone speak lightly of his time of dying? If death ended all, even then it would be too solemn to be spoken of so. But it does not end all. "It is appointed for men to die once - but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). - the judgment and then the eternal state. Can you think of that and still speak jokingly of your "time," especially if you know that you are not ready and that if you were to die now, the judgment would go against you?
How amazing it is that any man can be so thoughtless, so foolish, so mad! "My time wasn't come yet." Are you such a one? Oh, think! Eternity is no trifling matter. Your soul is at stake. Your "time", your dying time, is drawing nearer every day, and you know not how near it may be. And you are not prepared for it; you are not even preparing. The only way to be ready to die,is to be washed from guilt in the blood of Jesus. That precious blood is open to you; Christ's salvation is ready for you as a free gift. Why has not your time come yet? Is it not in mercy, because you are not ready? But your time will come. Let it not come too soon. Make sure you are not fleeing Christ. Then it cannot come too soon. Then it cannot take you by surprise.
Your time for this has come: "It is time to seek the Lord" (Hosea 10:12). "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6). He is near now; He may now be found. This present time, is your time for seeking Him. It may be the only time. Do not let it slip.
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
Saturday, March 16, 2019
If The Lord Wills
If The Lord Wills
James 4:13-16
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills - we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil."
A sick bed teaches many lessons. Among others, it teaches this: "You do not know what will happen tomorrow!" For a sick bed cuts short many a work and brings nothing many a plan and makes a total change in many a life. It is not only the aged and infirm who have to do with the sick bed. Many a man in his prime is laid there - many an active, busy person, full of life and strength, is suddenly smitten with illness and taken away from all his earthly concerns. All the work he had planned for this time must be left undone. All that he thought he would be so busy in - he can have nothing to do with. If it is done at all - others must do it. For the present, at least, a complete stop is put to all his doings. There on the sick bed he lies - and there he must lie.
How few think of this beforehand! How few of those who form plans in their health and strength, seem to think it possible that sickness may come and put a stop to them all! Yet we have warnings all around us. If we ourselves are in health - there is no time when we have not some sick among our neighbors or friends. Sometimes they rise from the bed and go about among us again. Sometimes they never again appear. We "do not know what will happen tomorrow!" - what changes may befall us, what loss may come. The present we know, and the past we know - but the future we know not. Even tomorrow is hidden from us.
Life itself is but "a vapor," that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away!" Like the mist on the mountains, which the rising sun quickly disperses; or like the curling smoke, caught and scattered by the breeze as it issues from the chimney top. At the longest - life is but "for a little while," but often it is cut short in its prime. Men ought to bear this in mind. Plans ought not to be formed with no thought of God. All rests with Him. We ought to say, "If the Lord wills - we shall live and do this or that." For that is the simple truth. Whether we consider it or not - all will be just as our sovereign God pleases.
This need not make us unhappy or interfere with the business of life. If we are God's loving children - then we shall rejoice to think that all our concerns are ordered by Him. If we are walking in the way in which God would have us to walk - then we have but to go straight on, fearing nothing. And then, uncertain as we may be whether we shall do such and such a thing or not, whether health or sickness will be our portion, and even whether we shall live or die - we shall still be able to feel that "it shall be well with those who fear God!" (Ecc. 8:12).
Whatever may befall us, we shall be in our merciful Father's hands - our reconciled Father in Christ Jesus. He will order all for us - and He always orders what is best. Happy are those who pass their days in the constant recollection of God - trusting in Him, following His guidance, contented with His will. They have committed their souls to their Redeemer in humble faith - and all their lesser concerns they now cheerfully leave to God. They desire to have no wish, but that His will should be done - whatever it might be. They know that His will is best. They believe that He loves them. They are sure that what He does, will be perfectly right and wise and good. What more can any desire for peace, contentment, or happiness?
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
______________________________
Christianity means more than church membership.
When is a revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.
Live so that when the final summons comes you will leave Christlikeness behind. Live so that there is more than an epitaph on a tombstone or an obituary in a newspaper.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.
I believe that a long step toward public morality will have been taken when sins are called by their right names.
Hypocrites in the Church? Yes, and in the lodge and at the home. Don't hunt through the Church for a hypocrite. Go home and look in the mirror. Hypocrites? Yes. See that you make the number one less.
A revival does two things. First, it returns the Church from her backsliding and second, it causes the conversion of men and women; and it always includes the conviction of sin on the part of the Church. What a spell the devil seems to cast over the Church today!
When may a revival be expected? When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Christian.
~Billy Sunday~
James 4:13-16
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills - we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil."
A sick bed teaches many lessons. Among others, it teaches this: "You do not know what will happen tomorrow!" For a sick bed cuts short many a work and brings nothing many a plan and makes a total change in many a life. It is not only the aged and infirm who have to do with the sick bed. Many a man in his prime is laid there - many an active, busy person, full of life and strength, is suddenly smitten with illness and taken away from all his earthly concerns. All the work he had planned for this time must be left undone. All that he thought he would be so busy in - he can have nothing to do with. If it is done at all - others must do it. For the present, at least, a complete stop is put to all his doings. There on the sick bed he lies - and there he must lie.
How few think of this beforehand! How few of those who form plans in their health and strength, seem to think it possible that sickness may come and put a stop to them all! Yet we have warnings all around us. If we ourselves are in health - there is no time when we have not some sick among our neighbors or friends. Sometimes they rise from the bed and go about among us again. Sometimes they never again appear. We "do not know what will happen tomorrow!" - what changes may befall us, what loss may come. The present we know, and the past we know - but the future we know not. Even tomorrow is hidden from us.
Life itself is but "a vapor," that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away!" Like the mist on the mountains, which the rising sun quickly disperses; or like the curling smoke, caught and scattered by the breeze as it issues from the chimney top. At the longest - life is but "for a little while," but often it is cut short in its prime. Men ought to bear this in mind. Plans ought not to be formed with no thought of God. All rests with Him. We ought to say, "If the Lord wills - we shall live and do this or that." For that is the simple truth. Whether we consider it or not - all will be just as our sovereign God pleases.
This need not make us unhappy or interfere with the business of life. If we are God's loving children - then we shall rejoice to think that all our concerns are ordered by Him. If we are walking in the way in which God would have us to walk - then we have but to go straight on, fearing nothing. And then, uncertain as we may be whether we shall do such and such a thing or not, whether health or sickness will be our portion, and even whether we shall live or die - we shall still be able to feel that "it shall be well with those who fear God!" (Ecc. 8:12).
Whatever may befall us, we shall be in our merciful Father's hands - our reconciled Father in Christ Jesus. He will order all for us - and He always orders what is best. Happy are those who pass their days in the constant recollection of God - trusting in Him, following His guidance, contented with His will. They have committed their souls to their Redeemer in humble faith - and all their lesser concerns they now cheerfully leave to God. They desire to have no wish, but that His will should be done - whatever it might be. They know that His will is best. They believe that He loves them. They are sure that what He does, will be perfectly right and wise and good. What more can any desire for peace, contentment, or happiness?
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
______________________________
Christianity means more than church membership.
When is a revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.
Live so that when the final summons comes you will leave Christlikeness behind. Live so that there is more than an epitaph on a tombstone or an obituary in a newspaper.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.
I believe that a long step toward public morality will have been taken when sins are called by their right names.
Hypocrites in the Church? Yes, and in the lodge and at the home. Don't hunt through the Church for a hypocrite. Go home and look in the mirror. Hypocrites? Yes. See that you make the number one less.
A revival does two things. First, it returns the Church from her backsliding and second, it causes the conversion of men and women; and it always includes the conviction of sin on the part of the Church. What a spell the devil seems to cast over the Church today!
When may a revival be expected? When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Christian.
~Billy Sunday~
The Barren Fig Tree # 2
The Barren Fig Tree # 2
But the fig tree was not cut down. The dresser of the vineyard begged for another year. "Master," he said - "let it alone this year also, until I shall dig about it, and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well; and if not, then after that you shall cut it down." If it might stay another year - he would take double pains with it; he would dig the ground around it; he would fertilize it well; he would do all that could be done. Perhaps it might bear fruit after all. If so, it would be well - a tree would be gained. But if not, then he would ask for no more delay - then let it be cut down. It was the fig tree's last chance!
The Lord Jesus Christ pleads for sinners - for the useless, the formal professor, the impenitent, the unbelieving; for those who do no good, but rather harm; for cumberers of the ground. Once He died for sinners - and now He pleads for them. Not merely for sinners in general, but for this person and for that person, one by one. That he may not be cut down, that more time may be granted - more yet after so many years of patient longsuffering, another year: "this year also." Yes, perhaps sometimes that very space of time - who knows? "Let it alone this year also." He is pleading thus for the unprofitable professor continually.
Then the gracious Saviour uses further means with him who is thus spared; for He is Lord of all, He has all means and instruments within His power. Perhaps He orders a man's lot so that he shall hear the gospel message more faithfully and forcibly delivered, than previously. Perhaps He leads him away from worldly acquaintances and gives him new friends of a better sort, who love God and seek to obey Him. Perhaps He tries him with affliction, disappointments in his worldly plans, lays him on a sick bed, or sends death into his family. Meanwhile conscience speaks within; thoughts arise in the heart; the Spirit strives there. Thus the Lord Jesus deals with the soul for whom He has pleaded.
"If it bears fruit, well!" If he who was so long unprofitable, begins now to serve God, if the conscience is awakened and the heart changed, if he be brought to know himself a sinner and to believe in Jesus as his Saviour, if thus he becomes "a new creature in Christ Jesus" and begins thenceforth to live to God - then it is well indeed! Angels rejoice; glory is brought to God; another useful member is added to the Church on earth - and a soul is saved!
But "if not". Ah, how sad an "if" is this! We do not know the end of the fig tree. The parable leaves off at this point: "If not - then after that you shall cut it down." We are not told whether it bore fruit and was allowed to stand - or was unfruitful still and was cut down at the end of the year. This seems to make the parable apply with peculiar force to those who are even now being dealt with as the fig tree was to be dealt with during that year.
It may be that you have been unfruitful hitherto - and that now God is dealing with you in some new way. Are you in trouble of any kind? Has sorrow visited you? Has your health failed? Has sickness fallen upon you? Are you laid aside?
May not the reason be that the Lord Jesus has pleaded for you that you might have more time, and that now He is dealing with you as the dresser of the vineyard was to deal with the fig tree? If so, how gracious is He in this very affliction! It is for your soul's good. "Let it alone this year also!"
Ah, do not let so precious a season slip away! Let not one day slip away! All may yet be well - if you turn to God with all your heart and seek mercy through the blood of the Lamb and begin to live to God.
Let there be no "if" in your case; no "not." Let the great question be settled at once. Do not delay. Seek your Saviour now. "Behold, now is the accepted time - behold, now is the day of salvation!"
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
But the fig tree was not cut down. The dresser of the vineyard begged for another year. "Master," he said - "let it alone this year also, until I shall dig about it, and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well; and if not, then after that you shall cut it down." If it might stay another year - he would take double pains with it; he would dig the ground around it; he would fertilize it well; he would do all that could be done. Perhaps it might bear fruit after all. If so, it would be well - a tree would be gained. But if not, then he would ask for no more delay - then let it be cut down. It was the fig tree's last chance!
The Lord Jesus Christ pleads for sinners - for the useless, the formal professor, the impenitent, the unbelieving; for those who do no good, but rather harm; for cumberers of the ground. Once He died for sinners - and now He pleads for them. Not merely for sinners in general, but for this person and for that person, one by one. That he may not be cut down, that more time may be granted - more yet after so many years of patient longsuffering, another year: "this year also." Yes, perhaps sometimes that very space of time - who knows? "Let it alone this year also." He is pleading thus for the unprofitable professor continually.
Then the gracious Saviour uses further means with him who is thus spared; for He is Lord of all, He has all means and instruments within His power. Perhaps He orders a man's lot so that he shall hear the gospel message more faithfully and forcibly delivered, than previously. Perhaps He leads him away from worldly acquaintances and gives him new friends of a better sort, who love God and seek to obey Him. Perhaps He tries him with affliction, disappointments in his worldly plans, lays him on a sick bed, or sends death into his family. Meanwhile conscience speaks within; thoughts arise in the heart; the Spirit strives there. Thus the Lord Jesus deals with the soul for whom He has pleaded.
"If it bears fruit, well!" If he who was so long unprofitable, begins now to serve God, if the conscience is awakened and the heart changed, if he be brought to know himself a sinner and to believe in Jesus as his Saviour, if thus he becomes "a new creature in Christ Jesus" and begins thenceforth to live to God - then it is well indeed! Angels rejoice; glory is brought to God; another useful member is added to the Church on earth - and a soul is saved!
But "if not". Ah, how sad an "if" is this! We do not know the end of the fig tree. The parable leaves off at this point: "If not - then after that you shall cut it down." We are not told whether it bore fruit and was allowed to stand - or was unfruitful still and was cut down at the end of the year. This seems to make the parable apply with peculiar force to those who are even now being dealt with as the fig tree was to be dealt with during that year.
It may be that you have been unfruitful hitherto - and that now God is dealing with you in some new way. Are you in trouble of any kind? Has sorrow visited you? Has your health failed? Has sickness fallen upon you? Are you laid aside?
May not the reason be that the Lord Jesus has pleaded for you that you might have more time, and that now He is dealing with you as the dresser of the vineyard was to deal with the fig tree? If so, how gracious is He in this very affliction! It is for your soul's good. "Let it alone this year also!"
Ah, do not let so precious a season slip away! Let not one day slip away! All may yet be well - if you turn to God with all your heart and seek mercy through the blood of the Lamb and begin to live to God.
Let there be no "if" in your case; no "not." Let the great question be settled at once. Do not delay. Seek your Saviour now. "Behold, now is the accepted time - behold, now is the day of salvation!"
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
Saturday, March 9, 2019
The Barren Fig Tree # 1
The Barren Fig Tree # 1
Luke 13:6-9
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then he said unto the dresser of his vineyard, 'Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down! Why does it cumber ground?"
And he answering said unto him, 'Master, let it alone this year also, until I shall dig about it and fertilize it. And if it bear fruit, well; and if not, then after that you shall cut it down.' "
This is a solemn prarble - but not a difficult one.
The owner of the vineyard means God Almighty.
The unfruitful fig tree means any person who is a Christian in name only.
The dresser of the vineyard means the Lord Jesus Christ.
The parable represents the fig tree as planted in the vineyard - not growing wild by the wayside; but set in an enclosed place like our gardens and orchards, and taken care of.
The person here meant therefore is not a heathen man - but one who has had religious teaching and has learned about God, and His ways. Our Lord spoke the parable to Jews - and doubtless it first pointed to them. Now it applies to those who bear the Name of Christ - but are not real Christians. The vineyard represents the visible Church of Christ - the general body of those who call themselves Christians. Every baptized person belongs to this body. He is like a tree planted in a vineyard.
The parable shows us that God takes notice of the Church, for we find the owner of the vineyard coming to see it year after year. And not only of the Church at large, but of every member of it; for the man came continually to look at this one tree.
Yes, we live under the constant observation of God. He takes notice of each one of us. His eye is on us continually. He marks our spiritual condition, the state of our hearts, and the course of our lives. He observes all and knows all.
What does He look for in us? Just what this man sought to find on his fig tree - fruit. Only the fruit that God looks for is spiritual fruit, the fruits of holiness, the fruits of the Spirit. Would leaves satisfy the owner of the fig tree? Would he be content with great branches and a strong growth? No! He set the tree there that it might bear fruit - and nothing but fruit would satisfy him.
Just so, God looks for more than the mere name of Christian. He looks for more than mere knowledge and profession and talk. These are but like leaves. He seeks fruit - and nothing but fruit will be accepted with God. He discerns what is real, from what is merely pretended. As easily as the man in the parable could tell fruit from leaves - so easily does God distinguish between the real and the nominal Christian. Yet the man had patience with this tree. True, it ought to have borne fruit the first year he came to look. Yet he was not hasty with it. It would stand for another year. Another year's sun would shine on it; another year's dews and rains would moisten it - perhaps it might bear fruit then. And even when he was disappointed again, he still had patience; he would wait another year; he would try the tree yet once more.
And what unprofitable nominal Christian can say that God has not had patience - long patience, with him? Has he not lived on in the enjoyment of the means of grace? Have not time and opportunities been given to him? Year after year, for many more years than two or three - he has been borne with in his unfruitfulness; and unprofitable servant, a Christian in name only, not loving or serving God, and yet allowed to remain.
But the fig tree took up valuable space! The longer it stayed there and the larger it grew - the more did it cumber the ground, occupying the room to no purpose, and hindering the growth of other trees. So when the owner came for the third time and still found no fruit, his patience was exhausted - he would have such a tree in his vineyard no longer. "Cut it down!" said he, "why does it cumber the ground?"
The unfruitful Christian is like the unfruitful tree. Far from doing any good - he even does harm. His example is evil. Even if he is not a gross outward sinner - yet such religion as his tends to bring all religion into discredit. When people see that a man may be called a Christian - that he may know so much, and talk so loud - and yet show nothing of the spirit of the gospel in his life - they are led to think that religion itself must be mere pretense; and that there is, after all, no truth, no power, no reality in it.
Thus the nominal Christian is a cumberer of the ground. He is useless, and worse than useless, in the Church of Christ.
We do not hear the voice of the Almighty commanding that such a one shall be taken away; but that is what the parable represents to us. "Cut it down!" Ah, what awful words, when applied so! "Cut it down!" Let him be taken away; let him stay no longer; let him die! We do not hear the voice - but do we not often see the cutting down, the taking away?
~Francis Bourdillon~
(continued with # 2)
Luke 13:6-9
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then he said unto the dresser of his vineyard, 'Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and found none. Cut it down! Why does it cumber ground?"
And he answering said unto him, 'Master, let it alone this year also, until I shall dig about it and fertilize it. And if it bear fruit, well; and if not, then after that you shall cut it down.' "
This is a solemn prarble - but not a difficult one.
The owner of the vineyard means God Almighty.
The unfruitful fig tree means any person who is a Christian in name only.
The dresser of the vineyard means the Lord Jesus Christ.
The parable represents the fig tree as planted in the vineyard - not growing wild by the wayside; but set in an enclosed place like our gardens and orchards, and taken care of.
The person here meant therefore is not a heathen man - but one who has had religious teaching and has learned about God, and His ways. Our Lord spoke the parable to Jews - and doubtless it first pointed to them. Now it applies to those who bear the Name of Christ - but are not real Christians. The vineyard represents the visible Church of Christ - the general body of those who call themselves Christians. Every baptized person belongs to this body. He is like a tree planted in a vineyard.
The parable shows us that God takes notice of the Church, for we find the owner of the vineyard coming to see it year after year. And not only of the Church at large, but of every member of it; for the man came continually to look at this one tree.
Yes, we live under the constant observation of God. He takes notice of each one of us. His eye is on us continually. He marks our spiritual condition, the state of our hearts, and the course of our lives. He observes all and knows all.
What does He look for in us? Just what this man sought to find on his fig tree - fruit. Only the fruit that God looks for is spiritual fruit, the fruits of holiness, the fruits of the Spirit. Would leaves satisfy the owner of the fig tree? Would he be content with great branches and a strong growth? No! He set the tree there that it might bear fruit - and nothing but fruit would satisfy him.
Just so, God looks for more than the mere name of Christian. He looks for more than mere knowledge and profession and talk. These are but like leaves. He seeks fruit - and nothing but fruit will be accepted with God. He discerns what is real, from what is merely pretended. As easily as the man in the parable could tell fruit from leaves - so easily does God distinguish between the real and the nominal Christian. Yet the man had patience with this tree. True, it ought to have borne fruit the first year he came to look. Yet he was not hasty with it. It would stand for another year. Another year's sun would shine on it; another year's dews and rains would moisten it - perhaps it might bear fruit then. And even when he was disappointed again, he still had patience; he would wait another year; he would try the tree yet once more.
And what unprofitable nominal Christian can say that God has not had patience - long patience, with him? Has he not lived on in the enjoyment of the means of grace? Have not time and opportunities been given to him? Year after year, for many more years than two or three - he has been borne with in his unfruitfulness; and unprofitable servant, a Christian in name only, not loving or serving God, and yet allowed to remain.
But the fig tree took up valuable space! The longer it stayed there and the larger it grew - the more did it cumber the ground, occupying the room to no purpose, and hindering the growth of other trees. So when the owner came for the third time and still found no fruit, his patience was exhausted - he would have such a tree in his vineyard no longer. "Cut it down!" said he, "why does it cumber the ground?"
The unfruitful Christian is like the unfruitful tree. Far from doing any good - he even does harm. His example is evil. Even if he is not a gross outward sinner - yet such religion as his tends to bring all religion into discredit. When people see that a man may be called a Christian - that he may know so much, and talk so loud - and yet show nothing of the spirit of the gospel in his life - they are led to think that religion itself must be mere pretense; and that there is, after all, no truth, no power, no reality in it.
Thus the nominal Christian is a cumberer of the ground. He is useless, and worse than useless, in the Church of Christ.
We do not hear the voice of the Almighty commanding that such a one shall be taken away; but that is what the parable represents to us. "Cut it down!" Ah, what awful words, when applied so! "Cut it down!" Let him be taken away; let him stay no longer; let him die! We do not hear the voice - but do we not often see the cutting down, the taking away?
~Francis Bourdillon~
(continued with # 2)
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