Without Truth, All is Manipulation-Os Guinness

Check out this brief clip which brings out a vital aspect of living according to truth.



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God Said the Bible is God's Word

"Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Just as the Holy Spirit came upon the womb of Mary, so He came upon the brain of a Moses, a David, an Isaiah, a Paul, a John and the rest of the writers of the divine library. The power of the Highest overshadowed them, therefore that holy thing which was born of their minds is called the Holy Bible, the word of God. The writing of Luke will, of course, have the vocabulary of Luke and the work of Paul will bear the stamp of Paul’s mind. However, this is only in the same manner that the Lord Jesus might have had eyes like his mother’s or hair that was the same color and texture as hers. He did not inherit her sins because the Holy Spirit had come upon her. If we ask, how could this be, the answer is God says so. And the writings of men of the Book did not inherit the errors of their carnal minds because their writings were conceived by the Holy Spirit and born out of their personalities without partaking of their fallen nature. If we ask, how could this be, again the answer is God says so. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, The Invisible War)

 

Do You Weep Like Jesus?

The following is derived for the most part from a sermon I preached yesterday.

And when he drew near and saw the city [Jerusalem], he wept over it (Luke 19:41).

Jesus was the perfect man, and he cried. Actually, the word here means “to sob deeply, affectingly.” We see little in Scripture mentioning his tears, but it’s there. The plight of mankind being what it is—blind and hard-hearted, it’s no wonder that he wept. He wept at the grave of Lazarus, not because his friend had died, but because the people still didn’t get it—that he was indeed the Savior of men come to release men from sin’s awful grip. But they didn’t get it. What’s worse is most people still don’t. The way is broad that leads to destruction and MANY enter there! (Mt. 7:13) Should this not cause even the lukewarm Christian to shudder and the tender heart to weep! “Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow” (Lamentations 1:12). This plaint of Jeremiah’s could easily be applied to our Lord and ten times over! You cannot match the depth of Jesus’ heart, so too you cannot top his threshold for sorrow.

Jesus knew the history of this great city. It’s highest purpose was to promote the exclusive worship of the one true God. And though judgment had to come, his heart broke still over the devastation yet to come from Rome. So, as Jesus draws near to that ancient city, all the plans for it, for the world flood over him. They didn’t get it. Very few ever really do. Is it any wonder that Jesus lamented all that Jerusalem missed? You offer infinite hope to sinful mankind and instead of clamoring after it, they despise it, and go whoring after other gods! It’s enough to make a true man cry. It’s should make a godly person cry! “Ah, would that you had known . . .” (Luke 19:42). It’s as if Jesus were crying, “I wish you could see what you’ve missed. I wish you knew the beauty and wonder over which you stumble. But you cannot. You will not!”

Do You Weep Like Jesus?

In his classic on the Sermon on the Mount, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes how the godly do indeed weep, or mourn over sin, starting with themselves: 

As I confront God and his holiness, and contemplate the life that I am meant to live, I see myself, my utter helplessness and hopelessness. I discover my quality of spirit and immediately that makes me mourn. I must mourn about the fact that I am like that. But obviously it does not stop there. A man who truly faces himself, and examines himself and his life, is a man who must of necessity mourn for his sins also, for the things he does. . . . Any man who is at all a Christian is smitten with a sense of grief and sorrow that he was ever capable of such things in action or in thought, and that makes him mourn.

When our own sin causes us to mourn, then we are in a better position to weep over the sins of the world about us. Oh, that we who enjoy the pleasure of God on us, will weep in sympathetic vibration with the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You CAN Trust Him! (A Must-Read)

The following is best read aloud, and, as you will discover, . . . with feeling!! This will bless your soul. 

You Can Trust Him

S. M. Lockridge

No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He's enduringly strong;

He's entirely sincere.

He's eternally steadfast;

He's immortally graceful.

He's imperially powerful;

He's impartially merciful.

He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world.

He's God's Son. He's a sinners Savior.

He's the centerpiece of civilization.

I'm trying to tell you, Church—You can trust Him!

He does not have to call for help,

And you can't confuse Him.

He doesn't need you and he doesn't need me.

He stands alone in the solitude of Himself.

He's august and He's unique.

He's unparalleled; He's unprecedented;

He's supreme and pre-eminent.

He's the loftiest idea in literature.

He's the highest personality in philosophy.

He's the supreme problem of higher criticism.

He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology.

He's the cardinal necessity of spiritual religion.

He's the miracle of the age.

He's the superlative of everything good that you can call Him.

I'm trying to tell you—you can trust Him!

He can satisfy all of our needs

and He can do it simultaneously.

He supplies strengths for the weak.

He's available for the tempted and tried;

He sympathizes and He sees.

He guards and He guides.

He heals the sick. He cleansed the lepers.

He forgives sinners.

He discharges debtors;

He delivers the captives.

He defends the feeble;

He blesses the young.

He regards the aged;

He rewards the diligent.

He beautifies the meek.

I'm trying to tell you—you can trust Him!

He's the key to knowledge.

He's the wellspring of wisdom.

He's the doorway of deliverance.

He's the pathway to peace.

He's the roadway to righteousness.

He's the highway to holiness.

He's the gateway to glory.

You can trust Him!

He's the Master of the mighty.

He's the Captain of the conquerors.

He's the Head of the heroes.

He's the Leader of the legislators.

He's the Overseer of the overcomers.

He's the Governor of the governors.

He's the Prince of princes.

He's the King of kings.

He's the Lord of lords.

You can trust Him!

His office is manifold.

His promise is sure.

His life is matchless.

His goodness is limitless.

His mercy is everlasting.

His love never changes.

His Word is enough.

His grace is sufficient.

His reign is righteous.

His yoke is easy.

His burden is light.

I wish I could describe Him to you!

He's indescribable because He's incomprehensible.

He's irresistible and He's invincible.

You can't get Him off your hands.

You can't get Him out of your mind.

You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him

Pilate couldn't stand Him when he found out he couldn't stop Him.

Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him.

The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree.

Herod couldn't kill Him.

Death couldn't handle Him.

And thank God the grave couldn't hold Him.

There was nobody before Him.

There will be nobody after Him.

He had no predecessor, and He'll have no successor.

You can't impeach Him,

and He's not going to resign.

YOU CAN TRUST HIM!

Basics on God's Armor

All my Christian life (which is nearly all of it thankfully), I have heard or quoted the verses in Ephesians 6:10-17 regarding putting on the full armor of God. Of course, it's vital to do this. Consider several implications:

1. IT IS A CONTINUOUS SUITING UP. The battle never ends, so neither does our preparation for it. One does not put it on once, and then never think about it again. A main tenet of soldiering is that one must live constantly on the alert, prepared at any time, especially in the most unlikely of circumstances.

2. SUITING UP REQUIRES OUR ACTION. "Put on," "take up," "having fastened," etc., all point to diligence on our part. The battle may be the Lord's, but he requires our commitment, and this, for our good. There is no place for passivity in the battle of the ages.

3. ONE MUST REMEMBER THE CHARACTER OF THE FIGHT--IT IS A SPIRITUAL ONE, NOT A PHYSICAL. This means we don't go around "beating up" on one another, for that in itself is a ploy of the evil one to keep us distracted from the true enemy, as well as squabbling in the rear while the battle rages on the front!

4. THE TRUE ENEMY IS ANYONE OR ANYTHING THAT TURNS OUR EYES AWAY FROM THE ALL-SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST ONTO TRUST IN MAN. Granted, our attention turns immediately to Satan, as well it should. But the devil often fools us by coming through another person or event. Remember, Satan was in Peter's good heart to divert Jesus' intended death (Mt. 16:22-23). Peter's main sin here was hearing what Jesus had told them in strictly human terms, and not God's. We might credit Peter with at least wanting Jesus' safety. But Jesus saw it for what it was, an attempt to divert him from the infinitely greater mission--death on the cross!

5. VICTORY IS ASSURED IN EACH PIECE. We are not commanded to don the armor as a mere exercise in obedience. It carries true value and accomplishes powerful victories! Inattention to God's word invites destruction, whereas a vigilent spirit wins in the day of battle! Spurgeon said,

Let me remind you that you are a soldier, you will be always at war, you will never have a furlough or conclude a treaty. Like the old knights who slept in their armor, you will be attacked even in your rest. There is no part of the journey to heaven which is secure from the enemy, and no moment, not even the sweet rest of the Lord’s day, when the clarion may not sound. Therefore, prepare yourselves always for the battle. “Put on the whole armor of God,” and look upon life as a continued battle. Be surprised when you have not to fight; be wonderstruck when the world is peaceful towards you; be astonished when your old corruptions do not rise and assault you. You must travel with your swords always drawn, and you may as well throw away the scabbard, for you will never want it. You are a soldier who must always fight, and by the light of battle you must survey the whole of your life. (From a sermon in 1867)

Run, Christian, run in the almighty power of Jesus Christ!

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The Dry Rot of Nonexpectation

". . . but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. . . . Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6: 4, 7).

The church is afflicted by dry rot. This is best explained when the psychology of nonexpectation takes over and spiritual rigidity sets in, which is an inability to visualize anything better, a lack of desire for improvement. 

There are many who respond by arguing, "I know lots of evangelical churches that would like to grow, and they do their best to get the crowds in. They want to grow and have contests to make their Sunday school larger." That is true, but they are trying to get people to come and share their rut. They want people to help them celebrate the rote and finally join in the rot. Because the Holy Spirit is not given a chance to work in our services, nobody is repenting, nobody is seeking God, nobody is spending a day in quiet waiting on God with open Bible seeking to mend his or her ways. Nobody is doing it-- we just want more people. But more people for what? More people to come and repeat our dead services without feeling, without meaning, without wonder, without surprise? More people to join us in the bondage to the rote? For the most part, spiritual rigidity that cannot bend is too weak to know just how weak it is. 

A. W. Tozer, Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church, 8, 9.
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A Call To FEEL Your Faith!

The last two days I have focused on the issue of taking a Christian stand against the evils of abortion. I want to add to that today from another perspective, namely the heart of those who are tender enough to resist evil in all its forms. Look at Ezekiel 9:4,

"Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it." 

Jerusalem was a cesspool of sin aggravated by hundreds of years of intermittent but persistent rebelliousness. The time had come for judgment! "Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand" (v. 1). So the Lord sent the heavenly detective/police force (cherubim) throughout the city to mark the ones who'd escape death. And what was to be their criteria for this mark? Look for those who "grieved and lamented over" their dreadful plight (i.e., rampant sin). Don't look for those who profess faith ONLY, for that would be hypocrisy. Don't seek out those with a good religious resume either. No, look for their response; seek out the right kind of people by their behavior. BEHAVIOR ALWAYS BETRAYS BELIEF! And the behavior they are to detect is a grieving, lamenting heart. Indeed, Jesus would later proclaim, "Blessed are those who mourn (over sin, theirs and others), for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). The world doesn't like mourners, declares Don Carson. "The world in which we live likes to laugh. Pleasure dispensers sell cheers and chuckles, all for a neat profit. The summum bonum [i.e., "ultimate goal"] of life becomes a good time, and the immediate goal is the next high. The world does not like mourners; mourners are wet blankets" (Sermon on the Mount, p. 19). OK, that's the world's viewpoint. What of God's?

My Point?

The kind of people God looks for are those who FEEL THINGS. They aren't content to merely discuss issues; they don't satisfy themselves that they've done their duty after they've written about them, or read their Bibles on the subject. No, they FEEL the pain of sin, they FEEL the dejection of God's disappointment! Their heart aches. In short, they "grieve and lament." Do you feel anything in terms of your relationship with Christ and this world? Does anything bother you, or move you?

Pastors Included!

Then, almost before you know it, you've read 5 devastating words, "And begin at my sanctuary!" Start with the religious leaders--priests, scribes. I liken this today to our pastors or elders or deacons--ones who should certainly know better! These are ones who NEED to live better -- not perfectly, but better. When it comes to God's great grace, we pastors and leaders stand to receive the greater condemnation if we do not respond accordingly. That's not a threat; it is the natural concomitant of a wonderful privilege.

The end result is that all those who had not received the "mark" were slaughtered! That's right, men, women, boys and girls. EVERYONE! It's an amazingly serious cleansing. But my emphasis here is to encourage us all to first see the importance of FEELING sin and righteousness, then second, to act on it. Let us not rest content to have learned ABOUT bad things in the world, or to have become FAMILIAR with Bible doctrines. Rather, let us enter into them, to actually be moved by them. GRIEVE and LAMENT over today's sins, and tomorrow we may see Christ bring salvation--and FEEL IT TOO!