The Greatness of the Church

The Greatness of the Church 
by T. Austin-Sparks

There is a painful slowness amongst Christians to apprehend the great purpose and intent of their salvation, to know and to understand the nature of their high calling; and it is in this connection that there is a great divide between the people of God. Christianity at its best has very largely become a general thing a matter of being saved and of going on in a general way as Christians, but not recognizing that in God' s mind we are saved with a mighty purpose, not just to be saved and then to be occupied with getting others saved, and stopping there. Both of those things are good; they are fundamental and essential, but they are only the beginning.

From that point something quite different begins, what Paul refers to here when he says, ''I....beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called''; and around that phrase, the calling wherewith ye were called, he gathers all these immense things about the Church; these immense things which, as to the backward aspect, reach far back over the ages; as to the upward aspect, ''in the heavenlies", with a vocation which is now heavenly; and then the onward aspect, ''the ages to come". These are phrases which indicate the calling wherewith we are called, but how few of us have really apprehended it!

We could say very much about the tragedy of the loss of that vision, the loss of that Divine revelation, and of the building up of something which has made it well nigh impossible for multitudes now to move into that calling, bound hand and foot as they are by a tradition and by a system of things which leaves responsible people not free, too much involved, too much involved for their very livelihood, to move into God's full thought.

The Church, as the Body of Christ, is the vessel chosen of God, appointed and revealed by God, to be the embodiment of the glory and greatness of Christ, the vessel, the vehicle, by which all that Christ is will be made known through the ages of the ages. The greatness of the work of Christ in His Cross indicates how great the Church must be. If Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it, if the work of the Cross of the Lord Jesus is so great, is not that a further indication of how great the Church must be? It has by His own parable been called a ''pearl of great price'' (Matt. 13:46), and to secure it He, the Divine Merchant, let go all that He had, and He had an 'all' which no merchant in the history of this world has ever possessed, a wealth and a fullness, a glory which He had with God before the world was, something indestructible, great, and wonderful. Seeking goodly pearls, when He had found one of great price He sold all to get it. We cannot understand that; it is beyond us; but there it is, it is Divine revelation. And the Cross was the price of the Church. For some unspeakable reason, the Church stands related to God in value like that. Christ loved the Church, the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood. It is evidently a very great and wonderful thing.

Now we must look at some of those features of Christ which are taken up in the Church, in order that we may know what this Church is that we are talking about. What is it? Well, if it takes up the things which are true of Christ, then what is true of Him is, in the mind of God, to be true of the Church; and it is true of the Church which is in God's eye.

And the first feature of Christ is His eternal being, the eternal conception. He was before the world was; He was before the order of time was instituted in the establishment of those heavenly bodies by the government of which time exists, years and months, day and night, summer and winter. These are all governed by heavenly bodies, and these are time factors. Before they were, He was, for He created all things. That is true of Christ.

But the letter to the Ephesians says that that is true of the Church: ''He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world....having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself'' (Eph. 1:4-5). This letter to the Ephesians is not set in time, it will have its effect upon time matters, the practical matters of everyday life, of our walk and conduct here on this earth, but it is set in the timeless realm. It goes back, and it goes on; it bridges all time in the Divine conception. That is where this letter is set, and until we recognize the implications of that, we have no real apprehension of the Church; and when we do recognize that, what nonsense all this 'churchianity' becomes, how small and petty, and how we feel that from God's standpoint we are just playing at some game of churches when we make so much of what has traditionally come to be called 'the Church.' One real Divine glimpse of the Church and all that other becomes paltry, petty, foolish; and a mighty emancipation takes place inside of us, but it requires revelation.

Christ as the foundation, as the rock, as the basis of everything, is founded, planted, and rooted in eternity, and nothing that time can bring can affect that. He is outside of it all. He is over it all. He is beyond it all. Nothing that can come in, even with Adam's fall and all its consequences through history, can interfere with that. The Church takes that feature of the absolute stability of Christ. It is something outside of time, before the world was, chosen in Him. The stability of the true Church according to God's mind is the stability of Christ Himself. This thing, on God's basis, in God's realm is an immovable and indestructible thing. The Church embodies the eternity and indestructibility of His very life.

Spring in the Heart

Spring in the Heart

by C.H. Spurgeon

"You water the ridges thereof abundantly: you settle the furrows thereof: you make it soft with showers: you blessed the springing thereof." Psalm 65:10.

You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. Psalm 65:10

You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. Psalm 65:10

Though other seasons excel in fullness, spring must always bear the palm for freshness and beauty. We thank God when the harvest hours draw near, and the golden grain invites the sickle, but we ought equally to thank him for the rougher days of spring, for these prepare the harvest. April showers are mothers of the sweet May flowers, and the wet and cold of winter are the parents of the splendor of summer. God blesses the springing thereof, or else it could not be said, "You crown the year with your goodness." There is as much necessity for divine benediction in spring as for heavenly bounty in summer; and, therefore, we should praise God all the year round.

Spiritual spring is a very blessed season in a church. Then we see youthful piety developed, and on every hand we hear the joyful cry of those who say, "We have found the Lord." Our sons are springing up as the grass and as willows by the watercourses. We hold up our hands in glad astonishment and cry, "Who are these that fly as a cloud and as doves to their windows?" In the revival days of a Church, when God is blessing her with many conversions, she has great cause to rejoice in God and to sing, "You blessed the springing thereof."

I intend to take the text in reference to individual cases. There is a time of springing of grace, when it is just in its bud, just breaking through the dull cold earth of unregenerate nature. I desire to talk a little about that, and concerning the blessing which the Lord grants to the green blade of new-born godliness, to those who are beginning to hope in the Lord.

I. First, I shall have a little to say about THE WORK PREVIOUS TO THE SPRINGING THEREOF.

It appears from the text that there is work for God alone to do before the springing comes, and we know that there is work for God to do through us as well.

There is work for us to do. Before there can be a springing up in the soul of any, there must be ploughing, harrowing, and sowing. There must be a ploughing, and we do not expect that as soon as ever we plough we shall reap the sheaves. Blessed be God, in many cases, the reaper overtakes the ploughman, but we must not always expect it. In some hearts God is long in preparing the soul by conviction: the law with its ten black horses drags the ploughshare of conviction up and down the soul until there is no one part of it left unfurrowed. Conviction goes deeper than any plough to the very core and center of the spirit, until the spirit is wounded. The ploughers make deep furrows indeed when God puts his hand to the work: the soil of the heart is broken in pieces in the presence of the Most High.

Then comes the sowing. Before there can be a springing up it is certain that there must be something put into the ground, so that after the preacher has used the plough of the law, he applies to his Master for the seed-basket of the gospel. Gospel promises, gospel doctrines, especially a clear exposition of free grace and the atonement, these are the handfuls of corn which we scatter broadcast. Some of the grain falls on the highway, and is lost; but other handfuls fall where the plough has been, and there abide.

Then comes the harrowing work. We do not expect to sow seed and then leave it: the gospel has to be prayed over. The prayer of the preacher and the prayer of the Church make up God's harrow to rake in the seed after it is scattered, and so it is covered up within the clods of the soul, and is hidden in the heart of the hearer.

Now there is a reason why I dwell upon this, namely, that I may exhort my dear brethren who have not seen success, not to give up the work but to hope that they have been doing the ploughing, and sowing, and harrowing work, and that the harvest is to come. I mention this for yet another reason, and that is, by way of warning to those who expect to have a harvest without this preparatory work. I do not believe that much good will come from attempts at sudden revivals made without previous prayerful labor. A revival to be permanent must be a matter of growth, and the result of much holy effort, longing, pleading, and watching. The servant of God is to preach the gospel whether men are prepared for it or not; but in order to large success, depend upon it there is a preparedness necessary among the hearers. Upon some hearts warm earnest preaching drops like an unusual thing which startles but does not convince; while in other congregations, where good gospel preaching has long been the rule, and much prayer has been offered, the words fall into the hearers' souls and bring forth speedy fruit. We must not expect to have results without work. There is no hope of a church having an extensive revival in its midst unless there is continued and importunate waiting upon God, together with earnest laborings, intense anxiety, and hopeful expectation.

But there is also a work to be done which is beyond our power. After ploughing, sowing, and harrowing, there must come the shower from Heaven. "You visit the earth and water it," says the Psalmist. In vain are all our efforts unless God shall bless us with the rain of his Holy Spirit's influence. O Holy Spirit! You, and you alone, work wonders in the human heart, and you come from the Father and the Son to do the Father's purposes, and to glorify the Son.

Three effects are spoken of. First, we are told he waters the ridges. As the ridges of the field become well saturated through and through with the abundant rain, so God sends his Holy Spirit until the whole heart of man is moved and influenced by his divine operations. The understanding is enlightened, the conscience is quickened, the will is controlled, the affections are inflamed; all these powers, which I may call the ridges of the heart, come under the divine working. It is ours to deal with men as men, and bring to bear upon them gospel truth, and to set before them motives that are suitable to move rational creatures; but, after all, it is the rain from on high which alone can water the ridges: there is no hope of the heart being savingly affected except by divine operations.

Next, it is added, "You settle the furrows," by which some think it is meant that the furrows are drenched with water. Others think there is an allusion here to the beating down of the earth by heavy rain until the ridges become flat, and by the soaking of the water are settled into a more compact mass. Certain it is that the influences of God's Spirit have a humbling and settling effect upon a man. He was unsettled once like the earth that is dry and crumbly, and blown about and carried away with every wind of doctrine; but as the earth when soaked with wet is compacted and knit together, so the heart becomes solid and serious under the power of the Spirit. As the high parts of the ridge are beaten down into the furrows, so, the lofty ideas, the grand schemes, and carnal boastings of the heart begin to level down, when the Holy Spirit comes to work upon the soul. Genuine humility is a very gracious fruit of the Spirit. To be broken in heart is the best means of preparing the soul for Jesus. "A broken and a contrite hear, O God, you will not despise." Brethren, always be thankful when you see high thoughts of man brought down; this settling the furrows is a very gracious preparatory work of grace.

Yet again, it is added, "You make it soft with showers." Man's heart is naturally hardened against the gospel; like the Eastern soil, it is hard as iron if there be no gracious rain. How sweetly and effectively does the Spirit of God soften the man through and through! He is no longer towards the Word what he used to be: he feels everything, whereas once he felt nothing. The rock flows with water; the heart is dissolved in tenderness, the eyes are melted into tears.

All this is God's work. I have said already that God works through us, but still it is God's immediate work to send down the rain of his grace from on high. Perhaps he is at work upon some of you, though as yet there is no springing up of spiritual life in your souls. Though your condition is still a sad one, we will hope for you that before long there shall be seen the living seed of grace sending up its tender green shoot above the soil, and may the Lord bless the springing thereof.

II. In the second place, let us deliver A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SPRINGING THEREOF.

After the operations of the Holy Spirit have been quietly going on for a certain season as pleases the great Master and Gardener, then there are signs of grace. Remember the apostle's words, "First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." Some of our friends are greatly disturbed because they cannot see the full corn in the ear in themselves. They suppose that, if they were the subjects of a divine work they would be precisely like certain advanced Christians with whom it is their privilege to commune, or of whom they may have read in biographies. Beloved, this is a very great mistake. When first grace enters the heart, it is not a great tree covering with its shadow whole acres, but it is the least of all seeds, like a rain of mustard seed. When it first rises upon the soul, it is not the sun shining at high noon, but it is the first dim ray of dawn. Are you so simple as to expect the harvest before you have passed through the springing-time? I shall hope that by a very brief description of the earliest stage of Christian experience you may be led to say, "I have gone as far as that," and then I hope you may be able to take the comfort of the text to yourselves: "You blessed the springing thereof."

What then is the springing up of piety in the heart? We think it is first seen in sincerely earnest desires after salvation. The man is not saved, in his own apprehension, but he longs to be. That which was once a matter of indifference is now a subject of intense concern. Once he despised Christians, and thought them needlessly earnest; he thought religion a mere trifle, and he looked upon the things of time and sense as the only substantial matters; but now how changed he is! He envies the meanest Christian, and would change places with the poorest believer if he might but be able to read his title clear to mansions in the skies. Now worldly things have lost dominion over him, and spiritual things are uppermost. Once with the unthinking many, he cried, "Who will show us any good?" but now he cries, "Lord, lift you up the light of your countenance upon me." Once it was the corn and the wine to which he looked for comfort, but now he looks to God alone. His rock of refuge must be God, for he finds no comfort elsewhere. His holy desires, which he had years ago, were like smoke from the chimney, soon blown away; but now his longings are permanent, though not always operative to the same degree. At times these desires amount to a hungering and a thirsting after righteousness, and yet he is not satisfied with these desires, but wishes for a still more anxious longing after heavenly things. These desires are among the first springings of divine life in the soul.

"The springing thereof" shows itself next in prayer. It is prayer now. Once it was the mocking of God with holy sounds unattended by the heart; but now, though the prayer is such that he would not like a human ear to hear him, yet God approves it, for it is the talking of a spirit to a Spirit, and not the muttering of lips to an unknown God. His prayers, perhaps, are not very long: they do not amount to more than this, "Oh!" "Ah!" "Would to God!" "Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner!" and such-like short ejaculations; but, then, they are prayers. "Behold he prays," does not refer to a long prayer; it is quite as sure a proof of spiritual life within, if it only refers to a sigh or to a tear. These "groanings that cannot be uttered," are among "the springings thereof."

There will also be manifest a hearty love for the means of grace, and the house of God. The Bible, long unread, which was thought to be of little more use than an old almanac, is now treated with great consideration; and though the reader finds little in it that comforts him just now, and much that alarms him, yet he feels that it is the book for him, and he turns to its pages with hope. When he goes up to God's house, he listens eagerly, hoping that there may be a message for him. Before, he attended worship as a sort of pious necessity incumbent upon all respectable people; but now he goes up to God's house that he may find the Savior. Once there was no more religion in him than in the door which turns upon its hinges; but now he enters the house praying, "Lord, meet with my soul," and if he gets no blessing, he goes away sighing, "O that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat." This is one of the blessed signs of "the springing thereof."

Emptied From Vessel to Vessel

Emptied From Vessel to Vessel
By John Follette

"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity; therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed." (Jer. 48:11).

In the text before us we find a partial statement of the judgment against Moab. It is not my purpose to take up this judgment and from an historical standpoint show the reason for and outcome of it. But I would like to take from this verse a little group of words, really a figure of speech, and find if there be any spiritual application therein for our profit.

The words, emptied from vessel to vessel, are so suggestive! The Holy Spirit in making use of such an expression means more than we may think from a surface or careless reading. The figure has to do with wine-making. It tells one of the methods used in producing a clear, rich, well-refined wine. It is poured into a vessel and allowed to stand for a certain length of time under respective circumstances perhaps of heat, cold, light of darkness. Then it is poured again into another. Each time there is a settling of sediment and dregs which remain in the vessel as the wine-maker carefully pours the precious liquid into still another one. This process he repeats until the wine is perfectly refined and it is poured in clear smooth streams, it yields a freshness of scent or fragrance very choice and pleasing to the maker. This is not so if the wine is allowed to stand all the time in one vessel. If so, it settles upon its lees and becomes scented with the essence of the dregs and loses its proper color value.

Does not such a figure speak? We are, as Christians, familiar enough with God's methods in soul training to recognize at once its teaching. There is a very useful lesson in Scripture in which we are mentioned as vessels. The Holy Spirit uses that type to teach us lessons concerning character building, frailty, usefulness, emptiness, and other helpful truths. But the figure here is quite different; instead of being represented as vessels we are to play the part of wine which is emptied or poured out. The vessels then are quite distinct from us and are produced by the wine-maker alone and serve only for refining the wine.

I wish we could see more clearly than we do and recognize the fact that we are at the present time in the wonderful school of the Holy Ghost. God is a Master-teacher and has us, His children, in training. We are not saved, sanctified and baptized in the Holy Spirit because we are matured or a finished product. These marvelous blessings have come to us because we are not matured. So as we yield to their purposes and ends, the Holy Spirit will see to it that we are taken step by step (vessel by vessel) into growth and maturity. And with wills yielded and spirits mellowed and broken we shall then become wine on the lees well refined.

It is here we find one of the methods God uses in accomplishing the desire of His heart. What may that desire be? That we may be conformed to the image of His dear Son. This is a work indeed. When once we get a vision of what we are by nature and realize it is God's purpose to transform us into the image of Christ, we are amazed. Well we may be, for there is no natural power to carry out so titanic an undertaking. We are helpless before it and see that if ever it is done the power must come from a source other than ourselves. So it does. We are God's little children. He furnishes the means and power for our transformation. He simply asks for yielded, willing material upon which to work. Can we not afford Him this today?

Have we not all found ourselves being emptied from one vessel to another in God's ceaseless dealings? What may these vessels be? I think they represent the various trails, unique arrangement of trying circumstances, peculiar conditions, unexplainable leadings, tests in relation to healing and the general array of experiences and vicissitudes common in the life of a consecrated Christian. He does not say the vessels are all alike. That would spoil the teaching given in the figure.

The vessels are quite different; scarcely two alike in the whole number. Let us consider a few. Here is one made of glass (but it is not wine colored) and as the wine is emptied into it, it assumes a yellow tinge or a green or blue cast as the color of the vessel may produce. This is the vessel of misunderstanding. People judge the color of the wine by the color of the glass, and at once label the wine as off color. Then an endless course of reasons ensues as to the cause of its being thus colored and why such rich looking wine should suddenly take such an unusual shade. Of course the "wine" is all the time conscious of such remarks and has a prayerful time getting settled. For the wine must become absolutely still and stand long enough for the sediment to settle and cling to the bottom and sides of the vessel. Many keep the wine in motion trying to explain the fact that it is really all right; only the glass is colored. Thus there is a delay and longer time is needed to get clear wine. Just as it gets settled and there is a clear condition again, the Maker carefully lifts it up and pours it into another vessel. What is left behind? Praise God, a few more dregs of self-vindication and a few more shreds of the self-life.

As the wine is poured out, it beholds the new vessel, a large, round open receptacle--gray and ugly. ,At first there is a shrinking perhaps--for the vessel seems so unusual, so uninviting and so absolutely unlike any into which it has ever been emptied. It is so flat and open that as the wine is poured out it can no longer keep its proper course so it runs and spreads, filling the whole open vessel. This is the vessel of public gaze. It is where God pours us when we are to experience public humiliation and weakness. The wine cannot gather itself up and appear in any other shape. It must spread out flat and be open to public judgment and criticism. The trying light, the confusion, and scores of remarks made concerning the "spill," (as it seems to the people) altogether work a miracle. The wine becomes quiet, yielded and silent. Then it is poured out again. Clinging to the sides of the ugly, gray vessel there are dregs of pride and self-preservation; but added to the wine is a richer hue.

The next vessel is made of clay. It is not transparent and can reflect no light. It is tall and has a long, narrow neck. It matters not about the shape of the vessel, the wine is poured into it. As usual it has some difficulty in getting settled (owing to the darkness). It has some fear as to the certainty that it belongs there. But at last it yields and fills the vessel in quietness. Here it stands for hours, days and even months in shadow and darkness. At times the wine hears music and the delightful cries of those in light; but the clay affords no transparency so the wine remembers the light found in other days and simply trusts for light to shine again. This is the vessel of long, dark trial. The kind in which God lets us alone to prove us even in shadow and dark\-ness. But lo, it works wonders in the wine. As it is again poured forth it gleams with light--faith tried and tested. Left behind are dregs of impatience, questioning and unbelief.

That is not all. Again the wine is poured off into a new vessel. This one is unusual in size and quite unique in design. The shape is most peculiar--it is full of bulges, angles, corners, dents and ridges. The wine has a hard time in finding its way into all the odd nooks and corners. People watch it and at once consider the wine is in the wrong vessel. It was never called to go into such a receptacle. It is a waste of time, money and energy and so the wine's leadings must have been all wrong. This is the vessel of strange guidance.

Let me tell you, dear friends, God's ways are not our ways. He does not come down with a private secretary and explain to the public all the leadings of His children. It is certainly a death to the flesh to be taken from one end of the earth to the other and not be able to satisfy their curiosity and the reasonings of the flesh. The wine, I am sure, had no real pleasure (in the natural) in finding its way into the different bulges and dents, but it had been poured and must now needs run and fill the vessel. I am glad that we do not have to know why God does everything. Neither do we have to explain to the public why He leads us as He does at times. As soon as the wine is settled and the lesson learned, the gentle hand of the Maker again lifts it and pours it off. How it sparkles and gleams with fresh yielded-ness and obedience. Behind are dregs of distrust and fear.

We cannot take time to speak of the many, many vessels so different in character. Here is one made of such a variety of materials--nearly everything enters into its composition. It is not at all the choice of the wine. It was never even considered to ask how it should be formed. This one speaks of the complex arrangement of circumstances into which we are thrust when we truly are not to blame for the situation at all. It is the vessel of everybody else's fault. It is an awkward place to be. People fail to do their duty, or forget, or someone is not broken and yielded, or another refuses to come or go as he should. Before we know it we are involved in a predicament quite to our disapproval.

We are often willing to go through a trial or test when we are to blame or have some touch upon it, but to be dragged into a plight with which we had nothing to do and for which we are not at all to blame, is (to the flesh) a real death. But listen. Who made the vessel ? God is not blaming you for the trial or its makeup. The wine had only to yield, be poured into, and fill. We need not take too much time in telling the Lord all about the size, shape, color, and texture of this vessel. He made it. Rather let us melt and flow.

Enough has been said concerning the vessels and what they teach. Let us now turn to another phase of truth g/yen here. How may the wine act in being poured? In the study of my own experience and in watching others go through trials and testings, I have found three ways we may act.

The Lesson of Love

The Lesson of Love

By J.R. Miller

Table of Contents

› Preface - The Lesson of Love J. R. Miller, 1903 PREFACE To learn how to love--is to learn how to live. The lesson is a long one--but it is the great bu ...read

› Chapter 1 - The LESSON of Love - Christian love has to be learned. There is natural affection which does not need to be learned--the love of parents for children, of children for pare ...read

› Chapter 2 - Things That are LOVELY - Nothing that is not beautiful, is fit for a place in a Christly life. Strength is essential--but strength need not be rough and unlovely; art has lear ...read

› Chapter 3 - To SUFFER and Love On - "Then Jesus said to his disciples--If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me!" Matthew 16:24 A Christ ...read

› Chapter 4 - The Hurt of FLATTERY - "You know we never used flattery!" 1 Thessalonians 2:5 "A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin!" Proverbs 26:28 "He ...read

› Chapter 5 - "Nor Life" - "I am convinced that neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39 ...read

› Chapter 6 - Having the Mind of Christ - "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5 The ideal Christian life, is one in which the mind that was in Christ Je ...read

› Chapter 7 - The Second Mile - One of our Lord's remarkable exhortations is, "Whoever shall compel you to go one mile--go with him two." That is, do more than you are expected to do ...read

› Chapter 8 - Losing SELF in Christ - "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but ...read

› Chapter 9 - Growing By Abandonment - "One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called m ...read

› Chapter 10 - Leaving Things Undone - Among the memorabilia of a departed godly man, it is said: "He left nothing undone." That is more than can be said of most people. The best of us are ...read

› Chapter 11 - Living for the BEST Things - In one of our Lord's lesser parables, there is a pleasant story of a man who was in the pearl business. He was always on the quest for pearls. He must ...read

› Chapter 12 - Serving and Following Christ - 'Tis not for man to trifle-- Life is brief, and sin is here! Our age is but the falling of a leaf, The dropping of a tear! Not many lives, but only on ...read

› Chapter 13 - Citizenship in Heaven - Our Lord spoke a great deal of a kingdom that is not of this world. He said this kingdom does not come with observation; that is, men do not see its p ...read

› Chapter 14 - Gladdened to Gladden - Perhaps we do not think often enough of the responsibility of JOY. When God makes us glad the gladness is not to end with ourselves--we are to pass it ...read

› Chapter 15 - The Gentleness of Christ - Gentleness is not weakness. The true man is always strong. Tourists sometimes find high up on the Alps, on some bald crag, on the edge of the eternal ...read

› Chapter 16 - Would Our Way Be Better? - We often think we could do better--if things were in our hands. We think we could direct our affairs so as to get more happiness and greater good out ...read

› Chapter 17 - In the Father's Hands - "Our Father in heaven." Matthew 6:9 There is infinite comfort in the truth of the divine Fatherhood. The name 'Father' carries in it a whole theolo ...read

› Chapter 18 - One Day at a Time - "And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day." Genesis 1:5 One of the secrets of happy and beautiful life, is to live one day at a ...read

› Chapter 19 - True Friendship's Wishes - Paul has given us many lessons in friendship. He himself had a genius for friendship, and no one can study him in his relation to his friends without ...read

› Chapter 20 - Christ in Our Everydays - "Casting all your cares upon Him; for He cares for you!" 1 Peter 5:7 Some people seem to miss altogether--the thought of bringing Christ into their ...read

› Chapter 21 - In Tune With God - In music, everything depends on tune. It is so also in living. Many people are like instruments out of tune, sometimes badly out of tune. There is no ...read

A heaven of comfort in this world of sorrow!

(William Mason, "A Spiritual Treasury for the Children of God")

You worldlings disdain us — but we pity you!

As you are now — so once were we.

Far too long — we enjoyed your carnal gratifications, and feasted on your vain delights. We confess it — and grieve for it. Now we have found Jesus! We have another and a better life. We have divine pleasures, spiritual joys from Christ, and sweet communion with Him! We anxiously wait for future glory. We enjoy a heaven of comfort, in this world of sorrow!

He who walks most by faith, will be the happiest, and most comfortable Christian. He who lives nearest to Christ in faith — will follow Him closest in love. Consequently, he will keep at the greatest distance from the world's vain pleasures, and the carnal delights of the flesh.

In search of an imaginary good

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Many are asking—Who can show us any good?" Psalm 4:6

And all these—all this vast gathering of human souls, are joining in one cry—all moving in one direction! Oh, dreadful thought—at which the faithful well may weep! Their cry is SELF; their course is sin. Here and there are the chosen few struggling against the mighty tide; but the masses, the multitude are hurrying on in their mad career—in search of an imaginary good; and reaping the fruit of the futile search—in disappointment, damnation and hell. 

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

The evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity!

(A.W. Tozer)

Any objection to the evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity, is met with the triumphant reply, "But we are winning the lost!" 

And what are you winning them to? 
To true discipleship? 
To cross-carrying? 
To self-denial? 
To separation from the world? 
To crucifixion of the flesh? 
To holy living? 
To nobility of character? 
To a despising of the world's treasures? 
To total committal to Christ? 
Of course, the answer to all these questions is NO!

THE LORD MY EXPECTATION

THE LORD MY PORTION or,
DAILY NEED DIVINELY SUPPLIED

By Octavius Winslow, 1870

THE LORD MY EXPECTATION

"The Lord is my portion, says my soul."

"My soul, wait only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."--Psalm 62:5

It is the sin, as it is the mortification, of the believer, to expect too much from the creature, and too little from the Lord. In the one case disappointment, often painful and humiliating, is the inevitable result; in the other, a precious fulfillment of the divine and gracious promise, "Those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed." How elevated and hallowed the experience of David, as embodied in the portion which suggests our present meditation, "My soul, wait only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."

Look, first, at the OBJECT of the believing soul's expectation--it is God.

Faith, hope, and love could not stretch their pinions higher. And yet, divine as is this Object of expectation, high and lofty as is His place of abode, holy and bright as is His nature, the lowliest soul, uplifting its longing, believing, expecting gaze, may reach Him, and realize its highest, fullest expectation! Oh, how faintly we deal with the all-sufficiency of our God!--how we limit the Holy One of Israel!--how we confine and distrust Jesus! My soul! has God in Christ ever failed, ever disappointed you? Has there ever been--can there ever be--any confounding of His wisdom, any baffling of His power, any lessening of His resources, any exhaustion of His goodness, faithfulness, and love? Never! Then, O my soul, cease from man, cease to make flesh your arm, abandon your expectation of help, of supply, of sympathy from the creature, and wait only upon God.

And study, my soul, the POSTURE--waiting. It is the posture of faith, the attitude of love, the expression of patience and hope. We are often too impatient of the Lord's delays in our behalf. We may indeed pray, "make no tarrying;" and yet the vision may tarry its appointed time, but, though it tarry, it will surely come. The Lord may keep you long waiting at the throne, to test your sincerity, and try your faith, and prove your love, but, in the end, He will appear--your prayer is heard, and shall be answered.

And look at the EXCLUSIVENESS of this expectation. "My soul, wait only upon God"--only upon Him. Ah! how hard the lesson! How tenaciously and idolatrously we cling to the creature! With the creature in one hand, and with the Creator in the other, we think to carve our way through all oppositions, difficulties, and needs. But, no! this must not be. The Lord will have our simple, honest, and exclusive trust. He will not allow us to expect from man what only can be found in Himself. He is a jealous God, and will have our honest, undivided hearts. Are you seeking salvation? Let go of all expectation of finding pardon, and peace, and hope in anything of your own doing; and simply and only take hold in faith of Jesus, and your expectation of being saved--saved without a work of your own--saved from the power, guilt, and condemnation of sin--saved now, saved at once, and saved forever--shall never be ashamed.

And what, O my soul! might you expect? Everything! There is no limitation. God's promise is, "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." Could language be more simple and explicit, or promise more full and precious? Expect, O my soul, great things from God. Expect large supplies of grace from Jesus. Let your expectation be high as His being, wide as His resources, vast as His love. Expect His answer to your prayer; expect the fulfillment of His word; expect His providential supplies of your need; expect sympathy and soothing in your grief; expect deliverance in the mount of danger; expect, at the last distressing moment, strength, support, and deliverance; grace to help you in every time of need. And when heart and flesh fail, and you pass down the shaded valley, solitary and alone, expect that Jesus will be with you there; and your expectation shall not be disappointed, nor your hope be made ashamed. "My soul, wait only upon God; for my expectation is from him."

Sacrilege!

Sacrilege!  (by Octavius Winslow)  Cultivate a profound reverence for God's Word. Nothing is more grievous to the Holy Spirit than a trifling with revelation. The words of Scripture are divinely inspired. "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Beware of referring to it with levity. To adopt the words of Scripture irreverently, or to employ its phraseology flippantly, is to cast discredit upon inspiration, to press it into the service of the flesh, and to make the Word of God the jest book of the profane. This is awful trifling with the thoughts and words of the Holy Spirit! Stand in awe of this Holy Book!  God says, "I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My Word." Isaiah 66:2 "Then all who trembled at the Words of the God of Israel..." Ezra 9:4 "We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God..." Ezra 10:3 "My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of Your laws." Psalm 119:120 "My heart stands in awe of Your Word." Psalm 119:161  (Editor's note: How very sad is it that many professing Christians use the holy Word of God to amuse others with 'bible jokes' and in other trifling and irreverent ways. Much of today's pseudo Christian music, movies and children's literature use the Word of God in a flippant manner, if not in a downright profane and sacrilegious way.)

Better to rot in prison!

Better to rot in prison!

(J. R. Miller, "Practical Lessons from the Story of Joseph")

"How can I do this great wickedness—and sin against God!" Genesis 39:9

"After hearing his wife's story, Potiphar was furious! He took Joseph and threw him into the prison!" Genesis 39:19-20

Sometimes it costs very dearly—to be true to God. Joseph lay now in a dungeon. But his loss through doing right, was nothing in comparison with what he would have lost—had he done the wickedness to which he was tempted. His prison gloom, deep as it was—was as noonday, compared with what would have been the darkness of his soul under the blight of evil, and the bitterness of remorse. The chains that hung upon him in his dungeon, were but like feathers—in comparison with the heavy chains which would have bound his soul, had he yielded to the temptation. Though in a prison, his feet hurt by the fetters—he was a free man because his conscience was free, and his heart was pure!

No fear of consequences should ever drive us to do a wrong thing.

It is better to suffer any loss, any cost, any sacrifice—than be eaten up by remorse!

Better be hurled down from a high place for doing right—than win worldly honor by doing wrong.

Better lose our right hand—than lose our purity of soul.

Better to rot in prison—than to sin against God!

It was the prayer of a young queen, which she wrote with a diamond point on her castle window, "Keep me pure; make others great." That is the lesson of Joseph's victory over temptation; dishonor, loss, dungeon, death—anything before sin!

Fate, accident, chance — or SOVEREIGNTY?

(John MacDuff, "The Thoughts of God")
"I form the light — and create darkness; I make peace — and create evil! I the LORD do all these things!" Isaiah 45:7

What a sad world this would be — were it governed by Fate! Were its blended lights and shadows, its joys and sorrows — the result of capricious accident — or blind and wayward chance! How blessed to think that each separate occurrence which befalls me — is the fulfillment of God's own immutable purpose!
Is it the material world? It is He . . .
  who "forms the light — and creates darkness;"
  who appoints the sun and moon for their seasons;
  who gives to the sea its decree;
  who watches the sparrow in its fall;
  who tends the lily in the field; and
  who paints the tiniest flower that blossoms in the meadow.

Is it the moral world? All events are predetermined and prearranged by Him! "I make peace — and create evil!" Both prosperity and adversity are His appointment. The Lord who of old prepared Jonah's shade-plant, also prepared the worm! He gives — and He takes away. He molds every tear! He "puts them into His bottle." He knows them all, counts them all, treasures them all. Not one of them falls unbidden — unnoted.

"The lot is cast into the lap — but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." Over every occurrence in nature and in providence, He writes, "I the Lord do all these things!" True, His thoughts are often mysterious, and His ways are past finding out. We are led at times, amid the bewildering mazes of His providential dealings, to exclaim, "O Lord, how great are Your works, and Your thoughts are very deep!" Be it ours to defer our verdict — until their full development.

We cannot envision the thoughts and intents of the architect or engineer in the first clearing of the ground for the foundation of some gigantic structure. The uninitiated eye can discover nothing but piles of unshapely rubbish — a chaos of confusion. But gradually, as week by week passes — we see his thoughts molding themselves into visible and substantial shapes of order and beauty. And when the edifice at last stands before us complete, we discern that all which was mystery and confusion at first — was a necessary part and portion of the undertaking.

So is it, at present, regarding the mysterious dealings of God. Often, in vain, do we try to comprehend the purposes of the Almighty Architect, amid the dust and debris of the earthly foundations. Let us wait patiently, until we gaze on the finished structure of eternity.

Oh, blessed assurance — that the loom of our life is in the hands of the Great Designer — that it is He who is interweaving the threads of our existence: the light — and the dark, the acknowledged good — and the apparent evil. The chain of what is erroneously called "destiny," is in His keeping. He knows its every connecting link — He has forged each one on His own anvil!

Man's purposes have failed, and are ever liable to fail — his brightest anticipations may be thwarted; his best-laid schemes may be frustrated.

Life is often a retrospect of crushed hopes — the bright rainbow-hues of morning, passing in its afternoon into damp mist and drizzling rain. "Many are the thoughts in a man's heart," (knowing no fulfillment nor fruition) "but the counsel of the Lord — that shall stand." "From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse My actions!"

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!" Revelation 19:6

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

We reason ourselves into all kinds of folly and misery

(William Law, "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life") The misery of our condition appears in this, that we use our powers and abilities to the torment and vexation of ourselves, and our fellow creatures. God Almighty has entrusted us with the use of reason, and we use it to the disorder and corruption of our nature. We reason ourselves into all kinds of folly and misery, and make our lives the sport of foolish and extravagant passions . . .   seeking after imaginary happiness in all kinds of shapes;   creating to ourselves a thousand needs;   amusing our hearts with false hopes and fears;   using the world worse than irrational animals;   envying, vexing, and tormenting one another with   restless passions, and unreasonable contentions. Let any man but look back upon his own life, and see what use he has made of his reason . . .   what foolish passions,   what vain thoughts,   what needless labors,   what extravagant projects, have taken up the greatest part of his life! How foolish he has been in his words and conversation; how seldom he has done well with judgment; how seldom he has been able to please himself; how often he has displeased others; how often he has changed his counsels; hated what he loved, and loved what he hated; how often he has been enraged and elated at trifles; pleased and displeased with the very same things, and constantly changing from one vanity to another! Most people would rather choose to die, than to have . . .   all their secret follies,   all the errors of their judgments,   all the vanity of their minds,   all the falseness of their pretenses,   the frequency of their vain and disorderly passions,   their uneasiness, hatred, envies, and vexations, made known unto the world.

Over-loved, idolized, and leaned upon

(John Flavel)

Whatever we have over-loved, idolized, and
leaned upon—God has from time to time broken 
it, and made us to see the vanity of it; so that we 
find the readiest course to be rid of our comforts 
—is to set our hearts inordinately upon them.

No Christian is where he ought to be spiritually

(A.W. Tozer)

No Christian is where he ought to be spiritually, until the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ is being reproduced in his daily life!

Yet even though a person has become like Christ, he will not know it — because humility and meekness are also a part of the transformation of true godliness!

"Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did!" 1 John 2:6

THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD

(John MacDuff, "The Night Watches")
"Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Where shall I flee from Your presence?" Psalm 139:7

The omnipresence of God! How baffling to any finite comprehension! To think that above us, and around us, and within us — there is Deity — the invisible footprints of an Omniscient, Omnipresent One! "His Eyes are in every place!" On rolling planets — and tiny atoms; on the bright seraph — and the lowly worm; roaming in searching scrutiny through the tracks of immensity — and reading the dark and hidden page of my heart! "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do!"

O God! shall this Your Omnipresence appall me? No! In my seasons of sadness and sorrow and loneliness — when other comforts and comforters have failed — when, it may be, in the darkness and silence of some midnight hour, in vain I have sought repose — how sweet to think, "My God is here! I am not alone. The Omniscient One, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike — is hovering over my sleepless pillow!" O my Unsetting Sun, it cannot be darkness or loneliness or sadness — where You are. There can be no night to the soul which has been cheered with Your glorious radiance!

"Surely, I am with you always!" How precious, blessed Jesus, is this, Your legacy of parting love! Present with each of Your people until the end of time — ever present, omnipresent. The true "Pillar of cloud" by day — and "Pillar of fire" by night, preceding and encamping by us in every step of our wilderness journey. My soul! think of Him at this moment — as present with every member of the family that He has redeemed with His blood! Yes, and as much present with every individual soul, as if He had none other to care for — but as if that one engrossed all His affection and love!

The Great Builder — surveying every stone and pillar of His spiritual temple;
the Great Shepherd — with His eye on every sheep of His fold;
the Great High Priest — marking every tear-drop; noting every sorrow; listening to every prayer; knowing the peculiarities of every case: no number perplexing Him — no variety bewildering Him; able to attend to all, and satisfy all, and answer all — myriads drawing hourly from His Treasury — and yet no diminution of that Treasury — ever emptying, and yet ever filling, and always full!

Jesus! Your perpetual and all-pervading presence turns darkness into day! I am not left un-befriended to weather the storms of life — Your hand is from hour to hour piloting my frail vessel. The omnipresence of God — gracious antidote to every earthly sorrow!

"I have set the Lord always before me!" Even now, as night is drawing its curtains around me, be this my closing prayer, 'Blessed Savior! abide with me, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent!' Under the shadowing wings of Your presence and love, "I will both lie down and sleep in peace,  for You alone, O Lord, make me live in safety!" Psalm 4:8

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

God does not deal with us in this 'sentimental' way!

(J. R. Miller, "The SILENT Christ")

"A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession!' Jesus did not answer her a word!" Matthew 15:22

We are apt to forget that the aim of God with us, is . . .
  not to flood us with tenderness all the time,
  not to keep our path always strewn with flowers,
  not to continually give us everything we want,
  not to save us from all manner of suffering. 

No! God's aim with us, is . . .
  to make something of us,
  to build up strong and noble character in us,
  to mature qualities of grace and beauty in us,
  to make us more like Christ!

To do this—He must ofttimes deny us what we ask for, and must seem indifferent to our cries. "Jesus did not answer her a word!"

There are 'sentimental ideas of God' prevalent, which are dishonoring to Him. There are those who imagine that God's love means tenderness that cannot cause pain. They think that He cannot look a moment on suffering, without relieving it; that He must instantly hear and answer every cry for the removal of trouble. 

Not such a God—is the God of the Bible! When suffering is the best thing for us—He is not too sympathetic to let us suffer—until the work of suffering is accomplished in us. He is not too kind to be silent to our prayers—when it is better that He should be silent for a time, to allow . . .
  faith to grow strong,
  self-confidence to be swept away, and
  the evil in us—to be burned out in the furnace of pain!

There is a danger with all of us—our tenderness lacks strength. We cannot tolerate to see people suffer, and so we hasten to give relief—before the ministry of suffering is accomplished. We think of our mission to others, as being only 'to make life easier for them'. We are continually lifting away burdens, which it were better to have left resting longer on our friend's shoulder! We are eager to make life easy for our children—when it were better if it had been left hard.

We must learn that God does not deal with us in this 'sentimental' way. He is not too tender to see us suffer—if more suffering is needed to work in us the discipline that will make us like Christ!

Here we have the key of many of the 'mysteries of Providence'. Life is not easy for us—and God does not intend it to be easy!

Suppose for a moment, that God immediately gave us everything we ask for—and immediately removed every little pain, trouble, difficulty, and hardness that we seek to have removed; what would be the result on us? How selfish it would make us! We would become weak, unable to endure suffering, to bear trial, to carry burdens, or to struggle. We would be only children always—and would never rise into manly strength. God's over-kindness to us—would pamper in us all the worst elements of our nature, and would make us only poor driveling creatures!

On the other hand, however, God's wise and firm treatment of us, teaches us the great lessons which make us strong with the strength of Christ Himself.

He teaches us to yield our own will to Him.
He develops in us—patience, faith, love, hope and peace.
He trains us to endure hardness—that we may grow heroic, courageous and strong.

It is well for us to make careful note of this—that in all God's delays when we pray—His aim is some good in us.

Perhaps we are willful, asking only for our own way—and must learn to say, "May Your will be done." 

Perhaps we are weak, unable to bear pain or to endure adversity or loss—and we must be trained and disciplined into strength.

Perhaps our desires are only for earthly good, not for heavenly blessings—and we must be taught the transitory character of all worldly things, and led to desire things which are eternal. 

Perhaps we are impatient—and must be taught to wait for God. We are like children in our eager restlessness—and need to learn self-restraint.

At the least, we may always know that silence is not refusal—that God hears and cares, and that when our faith has learned its lessons—He will answer in blessing!

"The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:6

"God disciplines us for our good—that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10