Teaching: http://archive.ncnradio.com/wjfp/wjfpcoc/2021/01746_wjfpChurchofChrist-2021-04-11.mp3
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Category Encouragement
A Most Important Reminder
C. H. Spurgeon
This Evening’s Meditation
“Abide in Me.” — John 15:4
Communion with Christ—is a certain cure for every ill. Whether it is the wormwood of woe, or the cloying surfeit of earthly delight—close fellowship with the Lord Jesus will take bitterness from the one, and satiety from the other. Live near to Jesus, Christian, and it is matter of secondary importance whether you live on the mountain of honor—or in the valley of humiliation. Living near to Jesus, you are covered with the wings of God, and underneath you are the everlasting arms.
Let nothing keep you from that hallowed fellowship, which is the choice privilege of a soul wedded to the Well-beloved. Do not be content with an interview now and then—but seek always to retain His company, for only in His presence—have you either comfort or safety. Jesus should not be unto us, a friend who calls upon us now and then—but one with whom we walk evermore. You have a difficult road before you—see, O traveler to heaven, that you go not without your guide. You have to pass through the fiery furnace; enter it not unless, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you have the Son of God to be your companion. You have to storm the Jericho of your own corruptions; do not attempt the warfare until, like Joshua, you have seen the Captain of the Lord’s host, with His sword drawn in His hand. You are to meet the Esau of your many temptations; meet him not until at Jabbok’s brook you have laid hold upon the angel, and prevailed.
In every case, in every condition, you will need Jesus; but most of all, when the iron gates of death shall open to you. Keep close to your soul’s Husband, lean your head upon His bosom, ask to be refreshed with the spiced wine of His pomegranate, and you shall be found of Him at the last, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Seeing you have lived with Him, and lived in Him here—you shall abide with Him forever!
Our Caring Savior
C. H. Spurgeon
This Morning’s Meditation
January 6 — Morning
“Casting all your care upon Him—for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
It is a happy way of soothing sorrow, when we can feel, “HE cares for me.” Christian! do not dishonor religion by always wearing a brow of worry—come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight—which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden—would be to Him but as the small dust of the scale. Nothing is so sweet as to
“Lie passive in God’s hands,
And know no will but His.”
O child of suffering—be patient. God has not passed you over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows—will also furnish you with what you need. Do not sit down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith—against a sea of trouble, and your your distresses shall end. There is One who cares for you! His eye is fixed on you! His heart beats with pity for your woe! His omnipotent hand shall yet bring you the needed help! The darkest cloud—shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom—shall give place to the morning. If you are one of His family—He will bind up your wounds, and heal your broken heart. Do not doubt His grace, because of your troubles—but believe that He loves you as much in seasons of distress—as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead—if you would leave providing—to the God of providence!
With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you—why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul—and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens—He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! Be done with fretful worry—and leave all your concerns in the hand of a gracious God!
The Last Adam
C. H. Spurgeon
This Morning’s Meditation
“The last Adam.” 1 Corinthians 15:45
Jesus is the federal head of His elect. As in Adam, every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and representative of the race as considered under the covenant of works. So under the covenant of grace, every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since He is the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new covenant of love.
The apostle Paul declares that Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek met him—it is a certain truth that the believer was in the loins of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, when in old eternity the covenant settlements of grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure forever. Thus, whatever Christ has done—He has wrought for the whole body of His Church. We were crucified in Him and buried with Him (Col. 2:10-13), and to make it still more wonderful, we are risen with Him and even ascended with Him to the seats on high (Eph. 2:6). It is thus that the Church has fulfilled the law, and is “accepted in the beloved.” It is thus that she is regarded with delight by the righteous Jehovah, for He views her in Jesus, and does not look upon her as separate from her covenant head.
As the Anointed Redeemer of Israel, Christ Jesus has nothing distinct from His Church, but all that He has—He holds for her. Adam’s righteousness was ours so long as he maintained it; and his sin was ours the moment that he committed it. And in the same manner, all that the Second Adam is or does—is ours as well as His, seeing that He is our representative. Here is the foundation of the covenant of grace. This gracious system of representation and substitution, which moved Justin Martyr to cry out, “O blessed change, O sweet substitution!” This is the very groundwork of the gospel of our salvation, and is to be received with strong faith and rapturous joy!
Our Inner Life
C. H. Spurgeon
This Morning’s Meditation
“You are an enclosed spring, a sealed fountain.” Song of Solomon 4:12
In this metaphor, which has reference to the inner life of a believer, we have very plainly the idea of secrecy. It is an enclosed spring. There were springs in the East, over which an edifice was built, so that none could reach them, but those who knew the secret entrance. Just so, is the heart of a believer when it is renewed by grace—there is a mysterious life within—which no human skill can touch. It is a secret which no other man knows; nay, which the very man who is the possesses it—cannot explain to his neighbor.
The text includes not only secrecy—but separation. It is not the common spring, of which every passer-by may drink, it is one kept and preserved from all others. It is a fountain bearing a particular mark—a king’s royal seal—so that all can see that it is not a common fountain—but a fountain owned by a proprietor, and placed specially by itself alone. So is it with the spiritual life. The chosen of God were separated in the eternal decree; they were separated by God in the day of redemption; and they are separated by the possession of a life which others have not. It is now impossible for them to feel at home with the world, or to delight in its pleasures.
There is also the idea of sacredness. The enclosed spring is preserved for the use of some special person—and such is the Christian’s heart. It is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God’s seal upon him—and he should be able to say with Paul, “From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
Another idea is prominent—it is that of security. Oh! how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer! If all the powers of earth and hell could combine against it—that immortal principle must still exist, for He who gave it pledged His life for its preservation. And who “is He who shall harm you,” when God is your protector?
God’s Grace, God’s Power, Our Weakness
C. H. Spurgeon
Today’s Morning Meditation
November 4
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness.
When the Christian warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, “I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory!” then defeat is not far distant. God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength. He who reckons on victory by his own strength—has reckoned wrongly, for “it is not by might, nor by power—but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess—shall return with their mirthful banners trailing in the dust, and their armor stained with disgrace.
Those who serve God—must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never accept their service. God will never own that man who works, unaided by divine strength. The mere fruits of the earth—He casts away; He will only reap that grain, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.
God will empty out all that you have—before He will put His own into you; He will first clean out your granaries—before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat. The river of God is full of water—but not one drop of it flows from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in His battles—but the strength which He Himself imparts.
Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give you victory. Your emptiness—is but the preparation for your being filled; and your casting down—is but the making ready for your lifting up!
Four Years Ago – Christian, Don’t Wait Until November
Posted at: The Christian’s Report on July 9, 2016
Followers of Jesus Christ in the United States of America, in less than four months we will go to the polls and record our choice for those who will serve as our local, state, and federal elected officials.
Believers and unbelievers alike will approach that day with the hope that our lives, and the lives of our fellow countrymen and countrywomen, will be filled with hope for our future as a result of those who we elect.
Is this a child’s dream? A baseless desire?
Not according to God’s word it isn’t.
The God of Israel has spoken;
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.2 Samuel 23:3,4
Is it possible that we could find ourselves under the rule of men and women who would serve in such a manner that the promises in 2 Samuel 23 would be fulfilled?
Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testament expands on the joys of living under the rule of such a government:
These words are a further description of the king’s duty, which is not only to rule with justice and piety, but also with sweetness, and gentleness, and condescension to the infirmities of his people; to render his government as acceptable to them as is the sunshine in a clear morning, or the tender grass which springs out of the earth by the warm beams of the sun after the rain.
I realize that this nation is as far removed from these ideals as a horse’s tail is from its nose. But I ask myself why God would tell us of such a government if attaining the same was not possible?
I therefore must say that it is absolutely possible. But how?
Maybe we should approach our King, find his ear through our prayers, confess our sin, and beseech him that he would find favor on our nation.
Might we be able to find within God’s provisioning that single mustard seed worth of faith which would shake the upcoming elections at their very foundation?
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Romans 13:1
See here? Is it not God who put our current government in place? Can not the same God answer his people’s prayers and install a government that governs with “sweetness, and gentleness, and condescension to the infirmities of his people?”
Meet with your God each morning, noon, and night. Cry out to him the words which he gives us in 2 Samuel 23 and Romans 13.
Do this for your family, your church, your nation. But most of all do this that God might be glorified through the faith of his people working as salt and light in this darkened world.
God bless you all, my prayer for God’s strength in your prayers is ongoing.
Larry
Entering Into Our Rest
J. C. Philpot
Today’s Daily Portion
June 17
“For we who have believed do enter into rest.” –Hebrews 4:3
We enter into rest by ceasing from our own works, and resting on Christ’s; according to the words, “For he who has entered into his rest, has also has ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” Now when you can fully rest upon the finished work of the Son of God, and believe by a living faith that your sins were laid upon his head; that he bore them in his body on the tree; that he has washed you in his precious blood, clothed you with his righteousness, and is sanctifying you by his Spirit and grace, then you can rest. There is something here firm and solid for the conscience to rest on.
While the law thunders, while Satan accuses, while conscience condemns there is no rest. But you can rest where God rests. God rests in his love; in the finished work of his dear Son; in the perfection of Christ’s humanity; in his fulfillment of all his covenant engagements; in the glorification of his holy law; in the satisfaction rendered to his justice; in the harmonizing of all his attributes; in the revelation of his grace and his glory to the children of men; for he is his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased.
The tabernacle in the wilderness, and afterwards the temple on Mount Zion, was a type of the pure and sacred humanity of the Lord Jesus. There God rested in a visible manner by a cloud upon the mercy seat, called by the Jewish writers the Shekinah. This, therefore, was the place of his rest, as he speaks, “For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever–here will I dwell; for I have desired it” (Psalm 132:13, 14).
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