Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me

Friday, September 23, 2016

Deliverance From Dust And Chaff

 Amos 9:9  For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
 

The sifting process is going on still. Wherever we go, we are still being winnowed and sifted.

In all countries God's people are being tried "like as corn is sifted in a sieve."

Sometimes the devil holds the sieve and tosses us up and down at a great rate, with the earnest desire to get rid of us forever.

Unbelief is not slow to agitate our heart and mind with its restless fears.

The world lends a willing hand at the same process and shakes us to the right and to the left with great vigor.

Worst of all, the church, so largely apostate as it is, comes in to give a more furious force to the sifting process.

Well, well! Let it go on.

Thus is the chaff severed from the wheat.

Thus is the wheat delivered from dust and chaff.

And how great is the mercy which comes to us in the text, "Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth"!

All shall be preserved that is good, true, gracious.

Not one of the least of believers lose anything worth calling a loss.

We shall be so kept in the sifting that it shall be a real gain to us through Christ Jesus.

~Charles Spurgeon~
 

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

The Sword Of The LORD And Of Gideon

Judges 7:20  And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!

The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” This is precisely what all Christians must do.

First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine.

Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus.

Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet.

There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified.

Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears.
 

Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is Gideon’s watchword, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!”

God must do it, it is his own work.

But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used...“The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!”

If we only cry, “The sword of the Lord!” we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we shout, “The sword of Gideon!” alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh:

We must blend the two in practical harmony, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!”

We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the help of our God; 

Let us, therefore, in his name determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony, and God shall be with us, 

And Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign forever and ever.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Complete Safety

Deu 33:12  And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

Yes, there is no safety like that which comes of dwelling near to God.

For His best beloved the LORD can find no surer or safer place.

O LORD, let me always abide under Thy shadow, close to Thy wounded side.

Nearer and nearer would I come to Thee, my LORD; and when once specially near Thee, I would abide there forever.

What a covering is that which the LORD gives to His chosen!

Not a fair roof shall cover him, nor a bomb-proof casement, nor even an angel's wing, but Jehovah Himself.

Nothing can come at us when we are thus covered.

This covering the LORD will grant us all the day long, however long the day.

LORD, let me abide this day consciously beneath this canopy of love, this pavilion of sovereign power.

Does the third clause mean that the LORD in His temple would dwell among the mountains of Benjamin or that the LORD would be where Benjamin's burden should be placed, or does it mean that we are borne upon the shoulders of the Eternal?

In any case, the LORD is the support and strength of His saints. 

LORD, let me ever enjoy Thy help, and then my arms will be sufficient for me. 

~Charles Spurgeon~

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Keeping The Unity



Strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of the Spirit in the binding power of peace.

Oneness in Christ as a Body fitly framed together is what is portrayed.

How is this perfect unity reached?

By all that is individual and personal being left, by the Lord being the focal center, and by our giving diligence to maintain the unity in that way;

Keeping all personal things out, and keeping Christ and His interests always in view....

This is not visionary, imaginative, or merely idealistic, it is very practical.

You and I will discover that there are working elements of divisiveness, things creeping in amongst us to set us apart.

The enemy is always seeking to do that, and the things that rise up to get in between the Lord's people and put up a barrier are countless;

A sense of strain and of distance, for example, of discord and of unrelatedness.

Sometimes they are more of an abstract character;

That is, you can never lay your hand upon them and explain them, and say what they are;

It is just a sense of something.

Sometimes it is more positive, a distinct and definite misunderstanding, a misinterpretation of something said or done, something laid hold of;

And of course, it is always exaggerated by the enemy.

How is that kind of thing to be dealt with in order to keep the unity of the Spirit?

Rightly, adequately on this basis alone, by our saying: "This is not to the Lord's interests; this can never be of value to the Lord; this can never be to His glory and satisfaction; this can only mean injury to the Lord."

What I may feel in the matter is not the vital consideration.

I may even be the wronged party, but am I going to feel wronged and hurt?

Am I going to stand on my dignity?

Am I going to shut myself up and go away, because I have been wronged?

That is how nature would have it, but I must take this attitude: The Lord stands to lose, the Lord's Name stands to suffer, the Lord's interests are involved in this;

I must get on top of this; I must get the better of this; I must shake this thing off and not allow it to affect my attitude, my conduct, my feelings toward this brother or sister!

There must be the putting aside of that which we feel, and even of our rights for the Lord's sake, and a getting on top of this enemy effort to injure the Lord's testimony.

That is giving diligence to keep the unity....

Life is by unity, and unity can only adequately be found in Christ being in His place as the One for whom we let go everything that is personal. 

We might not do it for the sake of anyone else. 

We might never do it for the sake of the person in view.

We do it for His sake, and the enemy is defeated. 

~T. Austin Sparks~

Saturday, September 10, 2016

"Evening Wolves"

Hab 1:8  Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

While preparing the present volume, this particular expression recurred to me so frequently, that in order to be rid of its constant importunity I determined to give a page to it.

The evening wolf, infuriated by a day of hunger, was fiercer and more ravenous than he would have been in the morning.

May not the furious creature represent our doubts and fears after a day of distraction of mind, losses in business, and perhaps ungenerous tauntings from our fellow men?

How our thoughts howl in our ears, “Where is now thy God?”

How voracious and greedy they are, swallowing up all suggestions of comfort, and remaining as hungry as before.

Great Shepherd, slay these evening wolves, and bid thy sheep lie down in green pastures, undisturbed by insatiable unbelief.

How like are the fiends of hell to evening wolves, for when the flock of Christ are in a cloudy and dark day, and their sun seems going down, they hasten to tear and to devour.

They will scarcely attack the Christian in the daylight of faith, but in the gloom of soul conflict they fall upon him.

O thou who hast laid down thy life for the sheep, preserve them from the fangs of the wolf.

False teachers who craftily and industriously hunt for the precious life, devouring men by their false-hoods, are as dangerous and detestable as evening wolves.

Darkness is their element, deceit is their character, destruction is their end.

We are most in danger from them when they wear the sheep’s skin.

Blessed is he who is kept from them, for thousands are made the prey of grievous wolves that enter within the fold of the church.

What a wonder of grace it is when fierce persecutors are converted, for then the wolf dwells with the lamb, and men of cruel ungovernable dispositions become gentle and teachable.

O Lord, convert many such: for such we will pray tonight.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Do As Thou Hast Said

1Ch 17:23  Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.
 

1Ch 17:24  Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.
 

THIS is a most blessed phase of true prayer. Many a time we ask for things which are not absolutely promised.

We are not sure therefore until we have persevered for some time whether our petitions are in the line of God's purpose or no.

There are other occasions, and in the life of David this was one, when we are fully persuaded that what we ask is according to God's will.

We feel led to take up set plead some promise from the page of Scripture, under the special impression that it contains a message for us.

At such times, in confident faith, we say, "Do as Thou hast said."

There is hardly any position more utterly beautiful, strong, or safe, than to put the finger upon some promise of the Divine Word, and claim it.

There need be no anguish, or struggle, or wrestling; we simply present the check and ask for cash, produce the promise, and claim its fulfillment; nor can there be any doubt as to the issue.

It would give much interest to prayer, if we were more definite. It is far better to claim a few things specifically than a score vaguely.

David's argument was not simply that his house might be established, but that God's name might be magnified for ever.

It is good when we can lose sight of our personal interests in our keen desire for his glory; when we are so delivered from egotism, that Christ is all and in all. 

Let the attitude of your soul be more towards the glory of God;

And as you quote promise after promise for the enthroning of Christ, the saving of men, and the sanctification of your soul, dare in humble faith to say, Do as Thou hast said, that thy Name may be magnified for ever.

~F. B. Meyer~

Monday, September 5, 2016

With Me Wherever I Am

2Chronicles 20:17  Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

This was a great mercy for Jehoshaphat, for a great multitude had come out against him;

And it will be a great mercy for me, for I have great need, and I have no might or wisdom.

If the LORD be with me, it matters little who may desert me.

If the LORD be with me, I shall conquer in the battle of life, and the greater my trials the more glorious will be my victory. 

How can I be sure that the LORD is with me?

For certain He is with me if I am with Him.

If I trust in His faithfulness, believe His words, and obey His commands, He is assuredly with me.

If I am on Satan's side, God is against me and cannot be otherwise;

But if I live to honor God, I may be sure that He will honor me. 

I am quite sure that God is with me if Jesus is my sole and only Savior.

If I have placed my soul in the hands of God's only-begotten Son, then I may be sure that the Father will put forth all His power to preserve me, that His Son may not be dishonored.

Oh, for faith to take hold upon the short but sweet text for today!

O LORD, fulfill this word to Thy servant!

Be with me in the house, in the street, in the field, in the shop, in company, and alone.

Be Thou also with all Thy people.

~Charles Spurgeon~