Psalm 87:7
Thus it is with the Christian. Christ is all in all. He is the source of everything we live on and possess. All our springs are from Him and in Him alone. He is the origination continually of all that comes to us.
Our love springs from Him because He first loved us and has poured out His love in our hearts.
Our hope in in HIm alone, our help, strength, peace, and empowering comes from Him alone. If Christ left us to ourselves for even a moment, we would collapse and be nothing. The Christian is, in reality, KEPT by the very power of God through our Saviour. All, all, all our springs are in Him.
Look not elsewhere. You won't find it. No need searching. It is non-existent outside of Christ Himself. But in Him are all the treasures, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. All our springs come forth from and through Him to each of us.
What a Saviour and what a Source. Today, all my springs for strength, wisdom, encouragement, provision, and sustenance are in Him. Come and drink. Come and dine. Come and receive what is needed. Tell Him, "Lord Jesus, all my springs are in You."
- Mack Tomlinson
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Jesus Christ the Lord- Cease Not
"And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."
- Acts 5:42
Jesus Christ is our message. All other truths, however glorious they are, must be subservient to this one theme- Jesus Christ. He is God, the living God. He is Jehovah, the Lord of glory, the eternal Word made flesh. He is true God who fully became man. As one said, "He who sees the Son sees the Father in the face of Christ. Christ was not God because he was virgin born. He was virgin born because He was God."
This God became a true man, a true human being; He claimed to be God. “I and the Father are one.”
C. S. Lewis- “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, like a man who says he’s a poached egg or he would be a liar and a devil from hell. You must make your choice. Either this man is the Son of God or a madman or worse. But don’t come up with any such nonsense about his being only a great human teacher. He hasn’t left us that choice and He did not intend to.”
Who He is to us:
God Almighty Jehovah
The eternal I AM
The Son of God
The Redeemer
The Lord of Glory
The Saviour of sinners
The Saviour of the world
The Lamb that was slain
The only revelation of God to man
The One Mediator between God and man
The Door to heaven
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
The Light of the world
The Bread of life
The Living water
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
The Eternal Life
The Shepherd of our souls
What He did for us:
He lived
He preached
He taught
He obeyed the Father
He healed
He performed miraculous signs and wonders
He walked among men
He loved sinners
He revealed the Father
He never sinned
He fulfilled the law in our behalf
He obeyed the holy law of God for us
He went freely in place of us to embrace a rugged cruel method of capital punishment- the Roman cross
He bled and died there as a substitute in our place
A ransom, payment for sin
He bore and took the full holy wrath of Almighty God for us
He died taking on Himself all our wrath, bearing all our punishment, satisfying the demands of holy justice
His life and his blood were the perfect payment, successfully atoning for every sin
He was buried for three days
He rose again the third day
He’s alive
He ascended to heaven
He is exalted to the Father's right hand
He's been given all authority now in heaven and in earth
He's reigning in the universe
He’s coming again
He is saving all sinners who will come to Him, bow the knee, yield to His Lordship, repent and believe the gospel, and turn to him as Lord. He is Lord of all.
The early church ceased not to preach Jesus Christ. He’s the Christ, the Son of the living God. The whole gospel is contained in this person of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the message of the true church-- Jesus Christ
Our message is not:
Politics
Education
Social reform
Government improvement
Religion and the equality of all sincere faiths
Social justice
The preservation and improvement of the world
Our message is-- "Daily . . . from house to house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." The gospel, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth about Jesus Christ- it's the only thing God has to say to this world.
So cease not-- Just keep telling people
There’s a God, He;s the only true and living God.
He made you; He owns you; He will call you to account; He’s the judge of all the earth.
He has ordained a Saviour and a Judge, His Son Jesus Christ.
He died to forgive your sins. He's the only Saviour. Come to Him. Believe on Him. Give yourself away to Him as your Lord.
Speaking of the preciousness of this exclusive message, some in history have said:
Christ’s blood is heaven’s key.
The doctrine of the death of Christ is the substance of the gospel.
Jesus Christ never died for our good works, which were not worth dying for. He died for our sins.
One drop of Christ’s blood is worth more than heaven and earth.
God had condemned sin before, but never so perfectly as in the death of His Son.
Death stung itself to death when it stung Christ on the cross.
At Calvary’s cross--
God put all our sins upon His Son
"He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
There God condemned sin, massacred sin, put sin to death, and conquered it forever on that tree in our Saviour who died there.
Cease not in telling it. Cease not in preaching it. Ceasing not in believing it. Cease not in take all your consolation from it. Out of the cross flows all our hope, peace, assurance, help, strength, and every drop of mercy that comes to us. Cease not staying at the cross. And cease not telling others, even if they kill you for saying it.
- Mack Tomlinson
- Acts 5:42
Jesus Christ is our message. All other truths, however glorious they are, must be subservient to this one theme- Jesus Christ. He is God, the living God. He is Jehovah, the Lord of glory, the eternal Word made flesh. He is true God who fully became man. As one said, "He who sees the Son sees the Father in the face of Christ. Christ was not God because he was virgin born. He was virgin born because He was God."
This God became a true man, a true human being; He claimed to be God. “I and the Father are one.”
C. S. Lewis- “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, like a man who says he’s a poached egg or he would be a liar and a devil from hell. You must make your choice. Either this man is the Son of God or a madman or worse. But don’t come up with any such nonsense about his being only a great human teacher. He hasn’t left us that choice and He did not intend to.”
Who He is to us:
God Almighty Jehovah
The eternal I AM
The Son of God
The Redeemer
The Lord of Glory
The Saviour of sinners
The Saviour of the world
The Lamb that was slain
The only revelation of God to man
The One Mediator between God and man
The Door to heaven
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
The Light of the world
The Bread of life
The Living water
The Lion of the tribe of Judah
The Eternal Life
The Shepherd of our souls
What He did for us:
He lived
He preached
He taught
He obeyed the Father
He healed
He performed miraculous signs and wonders
He walked among men
He loved sinners
He revealed the Father
He never sinned
He fulfilled the law in our behalf
He obeyed the holy law of God for us
He went freely in place of us to embrace a rugged cruel method of capital punishment- the Roman cross
He bled and died there as a substitute in our place
A ransom, payment for sin
He bore and took the full holy wrath of Almighty God for us
He died taking on Himself all our wrath, bearing all our punishment, satisfying the demands of holy justice
His life and his blood were the perfect payment, successfully atoning for every sin
He was buried for three days
He rose again the third day
He’s alive
He ascended to heaven
He is exalted to the Father's right hand
He's been given all authority now in heaven and in earth
He's reigning in the universe
He’s coming again
He is saving all sinners who will come to Him, bow the knee, yield to His Lordship, repent and believe the gospel, and turn to him as Lord. He is Lord of all.
The early church ceased not to preach Jesus Christ. He’s the Christ, the Son of the living God. The whole gospel is contained in this person of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the message of the true church-- Jesus Christ
Our message is not:
Politics
Education
Social reform
Government improvement
Religion and the equality of all sincere faiths
Social justice
The preservation and improvement of the world
Our message is-- "Daily . . . from house to house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." The gospel, the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth about Jesus Christ- it's the only thing God has to say to this world.
So cease not-- Just keep telling people
There’s a God, He;s the only true and living God.
He made you; He owns you; He will call you to account; He’s the judge of all the earth.
He has ordained a Saviour and a Judge, His Son Jesus Christ.
He died to forgive your sins. He's the only Saviour. Come to Him. Believe on Him. Give yourself away to Him as your Lord.
Speaking of the preciousness of this exclusive message, some in history have said:
Christ’s blood is heaven’s key.
The doctrine of the death of Christ is the substance of the gospel.
Jesus Christ never died for our good works, which were not worth dying for. He died for our sins.
One drop of Christ’s blood is worth more than heaven and earth.
God had condemned sin before, but never so perfectly as in the death of His Son.
Death stung itself to death when it stung Christ on the cross.
At Calvary’s cross--
God put all our sins upon His Son
"He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
There God condemned sin, massacred sin, put sin to death, and conquered it forever on that tree in our Saviour who died there.
Cease not in telling it. Cease not in preaching it. Ceasing not in believing it. Cease not in take all your consolation from it. Out of the cross flows all our hope, peace, assurance, help, strength, and every drop of mercy that comes to us. Cease not staying at the cross. And cease not telling others, even if they kill you for saying it.
- Mack Tomlinson
Friday, August 27, 2010
Present Sufferings
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us!" Romans 8:18
Paul compares present sufferings with future glory.
Believers are exposed to all kinds of suffering. Instead of obtaining an exemption from afflictions, they are assured that it is through much tribulation that they must enter into the kingdom of God.
Some endure inward suffering with which no one is fully acquainted but God Himself. They have such darkness, gloom, distress, agitation, trouble, and sorrow as would not be easy to describe.
Some suffer much in body from the stressed and disordered state of the nervous system, from chronic diseases, or deformities in the physical frame. They seldom move without suffering and for years have little freedom from weakness and pain. They live a life of suffering, a kind of dying life, and think much of heaven as a place where there is no more pain.
Some suffer much financially; scarcely anything seems to prosper with them; losses, crosses, and opposition meet them at every turn; and though they live honestly, and conduct their business honorably, they are thwarted, hindered, and filled with perplexity. No one can tell what they suffer from financial trials and difficulties.
Others suffer from reproach, misrepresentation, strife, and persecution in the world, or in the Church--or both! No one seems to understand them, or is prepared to sympathize with them; they are like "a sparrow alone upon the house-top." False friends and open enemies unite to trouble and distress them, so that they often sigh, and say, "O that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest!"
Others in the domestic circle or from some of the relationships of life are called to suffer long and seriously.
But whether from trouble of mind, sickness of body, trials in business, family difficulties, or persecution for Christ's sake, all suffer and most believers suffer much!
But compare their present sufferings with their future glory:
Glory which will exclude all pain and suffering, all sin and sorrow.
Glory beyond the reach of all foes and the cause of all trouble. Glory which includes happiness--perfect, perpetual, never-ending happiness
Glory which includes honor--the highest, holiest, and most satisfying honor!
Glory or splendor which will fill the soul, clothe the body, and dignify the entire person forever.
Filled with light, peace, and joy; clothed with beauty, brightness, and magnificence--they will appear with Christ in glory, filling them with wonder and unutterable delight.
This glory will be possessed by us as part of our marriage portion and inalienable inheritance. But we can form no adequate idea of that glory, for "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him!" 1 Corinthians 2:9
Paul compares present sufferings with future glory.
Believers are exposed to all kinds of suffering. Instead of obtaining an exemption from afflictions, they are assured that it is through much tribulation that they must enter into the kingdom of God.
Some endure inward suffering with which no one is fully acquainted but God Himself. They have such darkness, gloom, distress, agitation, trouble, and sorrow as would not be easy to describe.
Some suffer much in body from the stressed and disordered state of the nervous system, from chronic diseases, or deformities in the physical frame. They seldom move without suffering and for years have little freedom from weakness and pain. They live a life of suffering, a kind of dying life, and think much of heaven as a place where there is no more pain.
Some suffer much financially; scarcely anything seems to prosper with them; losses, crosses, and opposition meet them at every turn; and though they live honestly, and conduct their business honorably, they are thwarted, hindered, and filled with perplexity. No one can tell what they suffer from financial trials and difficulties.
Others suffer from reproach, misrepresentation, strife, and persecution in the world, or in the Church--or both! No one seems to understand them, or is prepared to sympathize with them; they are like "a sparrow alone upon the house-top." False friends and open enemies unite to trouble and distress them, so that they often sigh, and say, "O that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest!"
Others in the domestic circle or from some of the relationships of life are called to suffer long and seriously.
But whether from trouble of mind, sickness of body, trials in business, family difficulties, or persecution for Christ's sake, all suffer and most believers suffer much!
But compare their present sufferings with their future glory:
Glory which will exclude all pain and suffering, all sin and sorrow.
Glory beyond the reach of all foes and the cause of all trouble. Glory which includes happiness--perfect, perpetual, never-ending happiness
Glory which includes honor--the highest, holiest, and most satisfying honor!
Glory or splendor which will fill the soul, clothe the body, and dignify the entire person forever.
Filled with light, peace, and joy; clothed with beauty, brightness, and magnificence--they will appear with Christ in glory, filling them with wonder and unutterable delight.
This glory will be possessed by us as part of our marriage portion and inalienable inheritance. But we can form no adequate idea of that glory, for "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him!" 1 Corinthians 2:9
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Leonard Ravenhill on George Whitefield
(MT) One of Leonard Ravenhill's favorites in church history was George Whitefield. He reveled in Whitefield’s love for Christ, his passion and power in preaching, and how God used him. Ravenhill said once in a sermon:
Perhaps the most amazing voice in history was George Whitefield, a contemporary and at one time a co-worker with Wesley. A man was sitting on the side of the road a mile away from where Whitefield was speaking without amplification and the man got saved by hearing the sermon. The famous actor Stephen Garrick heard that George Whitefield was to preach in London at 5:00 a.m. and he went to hear him. Would you believe he got up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go hear that man? Oh, mercy! Can you imagine four thousand people, waiting at 5 o’clock in the morning to hear a preacher?
Whitefield was one man whom God possessed completely and his life was astounding.
- Leonard Ravenhill
Perhaps the most amazing voice in history was George Whitefield, a contemporary and at one time a co-worker with Wesley. A man was sitting on the side of the road a mile away from where Whitefield was speaking without amplification and the man got saved by hearing the sermon. The famous actor Stephen Garrick heard that George Whitefield was to preach in London at 5:00 a.m. and he went to hear him. Would you believe he got up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go hear that man? Oh, mercy! Can you imagine four thousand people, waiting at 5 o’clock in the morning to hear a preacher?
Whitefield was one man whom God possessed completely and his life was astounding.
- Leonard Ravenhill
Monday, August 23, 2010
Jesus our Shield
"My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart." Psalm 7:10
This implies exposure to foes--Satan, evil men, and death; Against these we need defense.
It implies opposition--and the opposition of our foes is great, daring, and deadly.
It implies danger to be apprehended--because we are weak, timid and unskillful, and our foes are strong, daring, and experienced.
Our safety therefore, stands in what the Lord is to us--He is our shield, and such a shield as no one besides has or can have. He is omniscient to see all our foes and dangers. He is omnipresent to help us at all times, and against all opposers. He is omnipotent to defend us, and secure us from all evil. He is faithful to fulfill His word and carry out His engagements. He will come between the believer and danger. He will preserve the trusting soul from all real injury. He will protect the upright in heart everywhere, and at all times.
What a mercy. What an unspeakable privilege is this.
"You who fear the Lord--trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield." Psalm 115:11.
"He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge."
- Psalm 144:2
- James Smith
This implies exposure to foes--Satan, evil men, and death; Against these we need defense.
It implies opposition--and the opposition of our foes is great, daring, and deadly.
It implies danger to be apprehended--because we are weak, timid and unskillful, and our foes are strong, daring, and experienced.
Our safety therefore, stands in what the Lord is to us--He is our shield, and such a shield as no one besides has or can have. He is omniscient to see all our foes and dangers. He is omnipresent to help us at all times, and against all opposers. He is omnipotent to defend us, and secure us from all evil. He is faithful to fulfill His word and carry out His engagements. He will come between the believer and danger. He will preserve the trusting soul from all real injury. He will protect the upright in heart everywhere, and at all times.
What a mercy. What an unspeakable privilege is this.
"You who fear the Lord--trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield." Psalm 115:11.
"He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge."
- Psalm 144:2
- James Smith
Sick with Love
NOTE: Please pray for our conference with David Miller, which begins tonight through Wednesday night at Providence Chapel in Denton. - thanks - Mack T.
Song of Solomon 5:8
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
Such is the language of the believer panting after present fellowship with Jesus. He is sick with love for his Lord. Gracious souls are never perfectly at ease except they are in a state of nearness to Christ, for when they are away from Him, they lose their peace. The nearer to Him, the nearer to the perfect calm of heaven. The nearer to Him, the fuller the heart is, not only of peace, but of life, vigour, and joy, for these all depend on constant intercourse with Jesus.
What the sun is to the day, what the moon is to the night, what the dew is to the flower, such is Jesus Christ to us. What bread is to the hungry, clothing to the naked, the shadow of a great rock to the traveller in a weary land, such is Jesus Christ to us; and, therefore, if we are not consciously one with Him, little marvel if our spirit cries in the words of the Song, "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, tell Him that I am sick of love." This earnest longing after Jesus has a blessing attending it: "Blessed are the y that do hunger and thirst after righteousness"; and therefore, supremely blessed are they who thirst after the Righteous One. Blessed is that hunger, since it comes from God: if I may not have the full-blown blessedness of being filled, I would seek the same blessedness in its sweet bud-pining in emptiness and eagerness till I am filled with Christ.
If I may not feed on Jesus, it shall be next door to heaven to hunger and thirst after Him. There is a hallowedness about that hunger, since it sparkles among the beatitudes of our Lord. But the blessing involves a promise. Such hungry ones "shall be filled" with what they are desiring. If Christ thus causes us to long after Himself, He will certainly satisfy those longings, and when He does come to us, as come He will, oh, how sweet it will be!
- C. H. Spurgeon
Song of Solomon 5:8
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
Such is the language of the believer panting after present fellowship with Jesus. He is sick with love for his Lord. Gracious souls are never perfectly at ease except they are in a state of nearness to Christ, for when they are away from Him, they lose their peace. The nearer to Him, the nearer to the perfect calm of heaven. The nearer to Him, the fuller the heart is, not only of peace, but of life, vigour, and joy, for these all depend on constant intercourse with Jesus.
What the sun is to the day, what the moon is to the night, what the dew is to the flower, such is Jesus Christ to us. What bread is to the hungry, clothing to the naked, the shadow of a great rock to the traveller in a weary land, such is Jesus Christ to us; and, therefore, if we are not consciously one with Him, little marvel if our spirit cries in the words of the Song, "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, tell Him that I am sick of love." This earnest longing after Jesus has a blessing attending it: "Blessed are the y that do hunger and thirst after righteousness"; and therefore, supremely blessed are they who thirst after the Righteous One. Blessed is that hunger, since it comes from God: if I may not have the full-blown blessedness of being filled, I would seek the same blessedness in its sweet bud-pining in emptiness and eagerness till I am filled with Christ.
If I may not feed on Jesus, it shall be next door to heaven to hunger and thirst after Him. There is a hallowedness about that hunger, since it sparkles among the beatitudes of our Lord. But the blessing involves a promise. Such hungry ones "shall be filled" with what they are desiring. If Christ thus causes us to long after Himself, He will certainly satisfy those longings, and when He does come to us, as come He will, oh, how sweet it will be!
- C. H. Spurgeon
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Mercy of God
Psalm 52:8
Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord.
It is tender mercy. With gentle, loving touch, he healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of his mercy as in the matter of it.
It is great mercy. There is nothing little in God; his mercy is like himself—it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God.
It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice. There was no right on the sinner’s part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself.
It is rich mercy. Some things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden ointment to your bleeding wounds; a heavenly bandage to your broken bones; a royal chariot for your weary feet; a bosom of love for your trembling heart. It is manifold mercy. As Bunyan says, “All the flowers in God’s garden are double.” There is no single mercy. You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies.
It is abounding mercy. Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever.
It is unfailing mercy. It will never leave thee. If mercy be thy friend, mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from yielding; with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking; with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance; and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.
- C. H. Spurgeon
Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord.
It is tender mercy. With gentle, loving touch, he healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is as gracious in the manner of his mercy as in the matter of it.
It is great mercy. There is nothing little in God; his mercy is like himself—it is infinite. You cannot measure it. His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God.
It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice. There was no right on the sinner’s part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself.
It is rich mercy. Some things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden ointment to your bleeding wounds; a heavenly bandage to your broken bones; a royal chariot for your weary feet; a bosom of love for your trembling heart. It is manifold mercy. As Bunyan says, “All the flowers in God’s garden are double.” There is no single mercy. You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies.
It is abounding mercy. Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever.
It is unfailing mercy. It will never leave thee. If mercy be thy friend, mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from yielding; with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking; with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance; and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.
- C. H. Spurgeon
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