Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Ephesians 6:10 (New King James Version)
Fools For Christ's Sake by Samuel Logan Brengle
TO THE NATURAL HEART AND the unsanctified mind the commands of God are foolishness. 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee' (Gen. xii. 1), said God to Abraham. How foolish to leave home and wealth and greatness to go to a land that he knew not! But Abraham believed and obeyed and became heir of the world. 'I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt' (Exod. iii. 10), was God's word to Moses. What folly for this poor shepherd, who forty years before had fled from the face of Pharaoh a hunted murderer and vagabond, to seek to deliver a nation of slaves from the iron hand of the haughtiest, mightiest monarch of earth!
Does your call to work for God seem foolish, unreasonable, impossible? 'Have faith in God' (Mark xi. 22). Obey like Abraham and Moses and Paul, and you will yet praise Him for all the way He led you and for the part He gave you to do in winning the world from Satan back to God.
Does God call you? Be not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Stay not in the order of your going. Let nothing hinder you. Go and God will be with you as He was with Moses and Paul, and as the years speed by you will increasingly thank God that no business prospects, no fond friendships, no lust of power or love of secluded ease kept you from the battle's front with its burdens and bitter conflicts and fierce sorrows and soul-satisfying triumphs. One soul joining in the anthem of the redeemed ones around the Throne, saved from Hell through your labors, will pay you for all your toils; one look at the face of Jesus will reward you for all your privations. What care Peter and John and Paul now, if they did lose all to follow Jesus, and did suffer and die for the men they sought to save? And what will you care??
Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. --John Wesley
Whether we think of or speak to God; whether we act or suffer for him; all is prayer when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him. --John Wesley
Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered
Psalm 40:4,5
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task. --Phillips Brooks
"Oh, that I could dedicate my all to God. This is all the return I can make Him."
"It is impossible for any rational creature to be happy without acting all for God. God Himself could not make him happy any other way... There is nothing in the world worth living for but doing good and finishing God's work, doing the work that Christ did. I see nothing else in the world that can yield any satisfaction besides living to God, pleasing Him, and doing his whole will."
"Here am I, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in Thy service, and to promote Thy kingdom."
"My desires seem especially to be after weanedness from the world, perfect deadness to it, and that I may be crucified to all its allurements. My soul desires to feel itself more of a pilgrim and a stranger here below, that nothing may divert me from pressing through the lonely desert, till I arrive at my Father's house."
"This morning about nine I withdrew to the woods for prayer. I was in such anguish that when I arose from my knees I felt extremely weak and overcome. ...I cared not how or where I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ."
"Oh, that I could spend every moment of my life to God's glory!"
"I have received my all from God. Oh, that I could return my all to God."
"It is sweet to be nothing and less than nothing that Christ may be all in all."
"All my desire was the conversion of the heathen... I declare, now I am dying, I would not have spent my life otherwise for the whole world."
David Brainerd
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God" Galatians 2.20
Prayer Answered by Crosses
by John Newton
1 I ask'd the Lord, that I might grow
In faith, and love, and ev'ry grace,
Might more of his salvation know,
And seek more earnestly his face.
2 'Twas he who taught me thus to pray,
And he, I trust has answer'd pray'r;
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.
3 I hop'd that in some favour'd hour,
At once he'd answer my request:
And by his love's constraining pow'r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.
4 Instead of this. he made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow'rs of hell
Assault my soul in ev'ry part.
5 Yea more, with his own hand he seem'd
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Cross'd all the fair designs I schem'd,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.
6 Lord, why is this, I trembling cry'd,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
"'Tis in this way," the Lord reply'd,
"I answer pray'r for grace and faith.
7 "These inward trials I employ,
"From self and pride to set thee free;
"And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
"That thou mayst seek thy all in me."
Why must we glorify God?
1. Because he gives us our being. Psalm 100:3, "It is he that made us." We think it a great kindness in a man to spare our life, but what kindness is it in God to give us our life! We draw our breath from him; and as life, so all the comforts of life are from him. He gives us health, which is the sauce to sweeten our life; and food, which is the oil that nourishes the lamp of life. If all we receive is from his bounty, is it not reasonable we should glorify him? Should we not live to him, seeing we live by him? Rom. 11:36, "For of him, and through him, are all things." All we have is of his fulness, all we have is through his free grace; and therefore to him should be all. It follows, therefore, "To him be glory for ever." God is not our benefactor only, but our founder, as rivers that come from the sea empty their silver streams into the sea again.
2. Because God has made all things for his own glory. Prov. 16:4. "The Lord hath made all things for himself:" that is, "for his glory." As a king has excise out of commodities, so God will have glory out of everything. He will have glory out of the wicked. If they will not give him glory, he will get glory upon them. Exod. 14:17. "I will get me honour upon Pharaoh." But especially has he made the godly for his glory; they are the lively organs of his praise. Isa. 43:21, "This people have I formed for myself, and they shall shew forth my praise." It is true, they cannot add to his glory, but they may exalt it; they cannot raise him in heaven, but they may raise him in the esteem of others here. God has adopted the saints into his family, and made them a royal priesthood, that they should show forth the praise of him who hath called them, I Pet. 2:9.
3. Because the glory of God has intrinsic value and excellence; it transcends the thoughts of men, and the tongues of angels. His glory is his treasure, all his riches lie here; as Micah said. Judges 18:24, "What have I more?" So, what has God more? God's glory is worth more than heaven, and worth more than the salvation of all men's souls. Better kingdoms be thrown down, better men and angels be annihilated, than God should lose one jewel of his crown, one beam of his glory.
4. Creatures below us, and above us, bring glory to God; and do we think to sit rent free? Shall everything glorify God but man? It would be a pity then that man was ever made. (1.) Creatures below us glorify God, the inanimate creatures and the heavens glorify God. "The heavens declare the glory of God." Psalm 19:1. The curious workmanship of heaven sets forth the glory of its Maker; the firmament is beautified and pencilled out in blue and azure colours, where the power and wisdom of God may be clearly seen. "The heavens declare his glory:" we may see the glory of God blazing in the sun, and twinkling in the stars. Look into the air, the birds, with their chirping music, sing hymns of praise to God. Every beast in its kind glorifies God. Isa. 43:20, "The beasts of the field shall honour me." (2.) Creatures above us glorify God: "the angels are ministering spirits." Heb. 1:14. They are still waiting on God's throne, and bring some revenues of glory into the exchequer of heaven. Surely man should be much more studious of God's glory than the angels; for God has honoured him more than the angels, in that Christ took man's nature upon him, and not the angels. Though, in regard of creation, God made man "a little lower than the angels," Heb. 2:7, yet, in regard of redemption, God has set him higher than the angels. He has married mankind to himself; the angels are Christ's friends, not his spouse. He has covered us with the purple robe of righteousness, which is a better righteousness than the angels have, 2 Cor. 5:20. If then the angels bring glory to God, much more should we, being dignified with honour above angelic spirits.
5. We must bring glory to God, because all our hopes hang upon him. Psalm 39:7. "My hope is in thee." And Psalm 62:5. "My expectation is from him;" I expect a kingdom from him. A child that is good-natured will honour his parent, by expecting all he needs from him. Psalm 87:7. "All my springs are in thee." The silver springs of grace, and the golden springs of glory are in him.
by Thomas Watson
The Ten Marks of a Flesh-Pleaser
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by Richard Baxter
The signs of a flesh-pleaser or sensualist are these:
1. When a man in his desire to please his appetite, does not do it with a view to a higher end, that is to say to the preparing himself for the service of God; but does it only for the delight itself. (Of course no one does every action conciously with a view to the service of God. Nevertheless, the general manner or habit of a life spent in the service of God is absent for the flesh-pleaser.)
2. When he looks more eagerly and industriously after the prosperity of his body than of his soul.
3. When he will not refrain from his pleasures, when God forbids them, or when they hurt his soul, or when the necessities of his soul call him away from them. But he must have his delight whatever it costs him, and is so set upon it, that he cannot deny it to himself.
4. When the pleasures of his flesh exceed his delights in God, and his holy word and ways, and the expectations of endless pleasure. And this not only in the passion, but in the estimation, choice, and action. When he had rather be at a play, or feast, or other entertainment, or getting good bargains or profits in the world, than to live in the life of faith and love, which would be a holy and heavenly way of living.
5. When men set their minds to scheme and study to make provision for the pleasures of the flesh; and this is first and sweetest in their thoughts.
6. When they had rather talk, or hear, or read of fleshly pleasures, than of spiritual and heavenly delights.
7. When they love the company of merry sensualists, better than the communion of saints, in which they may be exercised in the praises of their Maker.
8. When they consider that the best place to live and work is where they have the pleasure of the flesh. They would rather be where they have things easy, and lack nothing for the body, rather than where they have far better help and provision for the soul, though the flesh be pinched for it.
9. When he will be more eager to spend money to please his flesh than to please God.
10. When he will believe or like no doctrine but "easy-believism," and hate mortification as too strict "legalism." By these, and similar signs, sensuality may easily be known; indeed, by the main bent of the life.
"man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty"
- John Calvin
John Newton lived to be eighty-two years old and continued to preach and have an active ministry until beset by fading health in the last two years of his life. Even then, Newton never ceased to be amazed by God's grace and told his friends:
My memory is nearly gone;
but I remember two things;
That I am a great sinner, and
that Christ is a great Saviour.
John Newton (1725-1807)
MEN, WE MUST PREACH WITH AUTHORITY
Matthew 7:29
For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
If I may, I would like to address all men who have been given the great responsibility of presenting the Gospel to the church. Any Christian man, who stands before any church, and speaks the good message of the gospel.
The word authority in this passage comes from a Greek word, "Exousia". This word is best explained by words such as; force, competency, mastery, and power. Man could never have such authority as Christ exhibited, for this was God exalting Himself. However, It cannot be refuted that as men are strengthened in faith, the natural result will be a message delivered with great conviction, great force, great competency, combined with great humility. The authority we possess is a by-product of a great passion to glorify God. When faith has made our redeemer and our redemption so vivid, we will not be able, many times, to contain ourselves. The dry, weary message will seldom cross our lips.
We will not have to find our motivation in any other source or program. We will not need to adjust our methodology to attract people and "Atmosphere". We will not have to invent ways to become excited and recharged. For the mysteries of the unsearchable riches and greatness of God will have been so manifested in our lives by the grace of faith, our only motivation will be GOD, and His glory, forever more. The power of the gospel will be so overwhelming in our lives, and so meaningful in our lives, we will stand and proclaim with great authority this gospel. And the words that are spoken will be dripping with sincerity, and love, and power.
And as the gospel so perfectly does, it will humble us in our inability, eliminate all our boasting, and make us dependant upon God's power alone. Therefore, I say that with authority comes great humility. And with this humility comes a great desire to be competent in scripture. We will desire mastery in the things of God. We will study, and pray, and seek God, for our passion will be to thoroughly glorify God.
Therefore, I encourage you men who so desire to preach. Be strong in faith, speak with authority, speak with humility. Sheep desire undershepherds who believe completely in the Good Shepherd. And if we believe completely, it will so be reflected in our preaching.
In God's Grace,
Jack Gilbert, Pastor
Biblical Texts to Show God’s Zeal for His Own Glory
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By John Piper
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God chose his people for his glory:
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace. (Ephesians 1:4-6, cf. vv. 12, 14, NASB)
God created us for his glory:
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory. (Isaiah 43:6-7)
God called Israel for his glory:
You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified (Isaiah 49:3).
I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. (Jeremiah 13:11)
God rescued Israel from Egypt for his glory:
Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works . . . but rebelled by the Sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power. (Psalm 106:7-8)
God raised Pharaoh up to show his power and glorify his name:
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17)
God defeated Pharaoh at the Red Sea to show his glory:
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord . . . And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. (Exodus 14:4, 18; cf. v. 17)
God spared Israel in the wilderness for the glory of his name:
I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. (Ezekiel 20:l4)
God gave Israel victory in Canaan for the glory of his name:
Who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? (2 Samuel 7:23)
God did not cast away his people for the glory of his name:
Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord . . . For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake. (l Samuel 12:20, 22)
God saved Jerusalem from attack for the glory of his name:
For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. (2 Kings 19:34; cf. 20:6)
God restored Israel from exile for the glory of his name:
Thus says the Lord God, It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name.. . . And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name. . . . And the nations will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 36:22-23; cf. v. 32)
Jesus sought the glory of his Father in all he did:
The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. (John 7:l8)
Jesus told us to do good works so that God gets glory:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16; cf. 1 Peter 2:12)
Jesus warned that not seeking God’s glory makes faith impossible:
The Bounty Of The Destitute
“Being justified freely by His grace…”
Romans 3:24
Oswald Chambers
The Gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the revelation which it brings is not palatable. There is a certain pride in man that will give and give, but to come and accept is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom, I will give myself in consecration, I will do anything, but do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest blessing spiritually is the knowledge that we are destitute; until we get there Our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us if we think we are sufficient of ourselves, we have to enter into His Kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are rich, possessed of anything in the way of pride or independence, God cannot do anything for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is made effectual in us by the Holy Spirit, He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, which puts "the beyond" within, and immediately "the beyond" has come within, it rises up to "the above," and we are lifted into the domain where Jesus lives. (John 3:5.)
Rely on the Holy Spirit, not your own strength
“It is imperative that we realize our complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit. We must not rely upon our own strength of resolution or purpose. It is when we are weak that we are strong. It is by grace that we are being saved (Rom. 5:10) as surely as by grace that we have been saved (Ehp. 2:8-9).
If we are not keenly sensitive to our own helplessness, then we can make the use of the means of sanctification the minister of self-righteousness and pride and thus defeat the purpose of sanctification. We must not rely on the means of sanctification but upon the God of all grace.”
—John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1955), 147
