What Does Your Heart Earnestly Yearn For?

Dear Friends,

     Maybe I should start by asking:  What is it that you really want?   What is it that you really desire?   What does your heart earnestly yearn for?   Do you even know? 
     This week's "thought" addresses that issue: What  your heart truly yearns for.   The answer I offer today comes to you from David Downing, co-director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. It is taken from an Advent Devotional book called, "The Grand Miracle."  Enjoy.

"I Am the Bread of Life."

John 6:35

     "It is not what God can give us, but God that we want," said George MacDonald.  He was a seasoned old soul, and what was true for him may have been more of an ideal for other pilgrims on the journey. The rest of us may feel more inclined to pray: "Father, forgive us, for we do not know what we want."   We seek a gilded afterlife when we could have Eternal Life.  We seek breadcrumbs of earthly pleasure when we could have a heavenly banquet.  We avoid pain when we could embrace joy.  We plead for words that will give us comfort and light, but our own darkness does not comprehend the Word. 

     Help us, Lord.  We ask for a road-map to heaven when the Way, the Truth and the Life stands right before us.  We want the crown without the cross, and we fix our gaze on the crown more than the King.  We look to Glory, but others do not see the glory when they look at us.  We do not ask too much in prayer, but too little.  We follow the One who multiplied the loaves and do not see the Bread of Life.  We want to quench the thirst of the moment, but do not ask for Living Water, the cup of heaven.

     The Everlasting took human form so that we might lift our eyes from the gifts to the Giver. He emptied Himself so that from His fullness we might receive grace upon grace. The baby lay in a feeding trough so we might not be forever hungry. The child spoke in His Father's house, so we might put away childish things. The man told us that we must die to live, that sorrow would turn to joy, that those who seek will find.  He rose that we might rise. He came to be with us for a time, so that we might be with Him forever.  Lord, teach us to know what we want, to want what you want, and most of all, to want you.  Amen." 

     So many today do not realize that their pursuit of joy, happiness, pleasure, contentment and peace in their souls' is really an inner craving after God.  "God has placed eternity in our hearts," says Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 3:11.  And that "eternity" which God has placed within us has left a hole in our soul that can only be filled, as Pascal put it, "by an infinite and immutable object, that is, by God Himself."

     Yes, most people fail to see that their clamoring after all those things -- even sinful things -- is really a pursuit of God and what He alone can supply when He enters our being, by His Spirit, in the grace of regeneration.  To quote Pascal at greater length, "There was once a true happiness in man, of which there now remains only an empty trace, which he vainly tries to fill with things from his environment. Yet all these efforts are inadequate, because the infinite abyss in the human soul can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is, by God Himself."

     Maybe our prayer should be:  Lord Jesus, forgive us for chasing after things that can never truly satisfy when you have told us time and again in your Word that we can find true and lasting satisfaction only in You; in having You.  So often we clamor after everything but you, even venturing into the pursuit of sinful and forbidden things, before we finally come -- broken, empty and damaged -- to see the error of our ways. Convince us, we pray, that our inner hunger can only be satisfied as we feed on You the Bread of Heaven, and our inner thirst can only be quenched as we drink deeply of You the Living Water -- the only water a person can partake of and thirst no more.  Lord, as Mr. Downing has correctly prayed, "teach us to know what we want, to want what you want, and most of all, to want you."  Amen.

In this time of anticipation and waiting, Pastor Jeff

Fanny Crosby's Life Story

Greetings All,

     Everyone loves an inspiring story!   I came across the story below while preparing for my Sunday School class on, "100 Must Know Christians From Church History."  It is about Fanny Crosby the well-known hymn writer (well-known, at least, to those who attend churches that did, or still do, sing hymns - since many don't)!  I have taken material from three sources to create the account below, the major source being, "50 People Every Christian Should Know - Learning From Spiritual Giants of the Faith" by Warren Weirsbe.  Should you desire to look at a far more extensive recounting of her life, it can be found in her autobiography, "Fanny Crosby's Life Story," or  Edith Blumhofer's book, "Her Heart Can See."  Enjoy.

     "I believe myself still really in the prime of my life!" wrote Frances Jane Crosby at the age of eighty-three. She lived twelve more years (1820-1915)...  Donald P. Hustad has called Fanny Crosby "the most prolific and significant writer of Gospel songs in American history." She wrote more than 8000 songs, most of which are now forgotten.  But many continue to minister to people: "To God Be the Glory," "Blessed Assurance," "Praise Him, Praise Him," "Jesus keep Me Near the Cross," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me," “Safe in the Arms of Jesus,” “Rescue the Perishing,” “Savior, More Than Life to Me,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” and many others. 

     When Fanny was only six weeks old she developed a minor eye inflammation and the doctor's careless treatment left her blind. "It seemed to be intended by the blessed Providence of God that I should be blind all my life," she wrote in her delightful autobiography Fanny Crosby's Life Story, "and I thank Him for the dispensation."  The doctor who destroyed her sight never forgave himself and moved from the area, but Fanny held no ill-will toward him. "If I could meet him now," she wrote, "I would say "Thank you, thank you -- over and over again -- for making me blind."  In fact, she claimed that if she could have her sight restored, she would not attempt it. She felt that her blindness was God's gift to her so that she could write songs for his glory.  "I could not have written thousands of hymns," she said, "if I had been hindered by the distractions of seeing all the interesting and beautiful objects that would have been presented to my notice." 

     Fanny was greatly influenced by her mother and grandmother (her father died when she was very young). When the family moved to Connecticut a neighbor (Mrs. Hawley) read to her from the Bible and taught her Bible stories.  It seems unbelievable, but by the time Fanny was ten years old, she could recite (from memory) the first four books of the Old Testament and the four Gospels!  She could also repeat "poems without number."  She sometimes compared her mind to a writing desk, with little drawers and compartments filled with information readily available. In 1835 (at the age of 15) her mother took her to the famous "Institution for the Blind" in New York City for formal education  She proved an excellent student in everything except mathematics. In rebellion against the subject she wrote the following poem:  "I loathe, abhor, it makes me sick; To hear the word arithmetic!"  Before long, she became the resident poet for the school, and the superintendent was concerned that the growing praise might go to her head. So he called her into his office and warned her to beware of pride. He also urged her to use her gifts to the glory of God.  "His words were like bombshells," she would later write, "but they did me an immense amount of good."

     In 1845 (at the age of 25) Fanny, who was somewhat frail in health and had experienced loss through the death of loved ones, became increasingly concerned about the state of her own soul.  She had been so busy learning, teaching and nursing that she had forgotten something very important: She realized that she did not have a true love for God in her heart. She began to attend numerous churches of varying denominations in her quest to find what she needed from the Lord.  She attended Congregationalist, Episcopalian, Dutch Reformed, and Methodist Episcopal churches, as well as Wesleyan camp meetings. Her concerns intensified after an interesting dream: She dreamt one night that a friend was on his deathbed, and he asked her quite pointedly (in the dream) if she would meet him in heaven.  She responded "yes" in the dream, but when she awoke the next morning she felt uneasy about the state of her soul.  Five years later, in November of 1850, she attended revival meetings at the Broadway Tabernacle Methodist Church in New York City.  She went to altar twice, yet it was not until the singing of, "Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed? that she went forward a third time while the words of the last verse, "Here, Lord - I give myself away! 'Tis all that I can do" were being sung.  This line took hold in her heart and she began to shout!  She had been born again, and finally had the personal assurance she had been searching for.  This, needless to say, led to one of her most famous songs: "Blessed Assurance."  "My very soul was flooded with celestial light," she said. "For the first time I realized that I had been trying to hold the world in one hand and the Lord in the other." After this experience, she boldly testified about Christ and never shied away from praying in public. 

     In 1851 she published her second volume of poems, where she makes reference to her declining health in the preface -- though she would go on to live another 64 years!  In 1858 she wrote her third volume of poems -- the same year she married Alexander Van Alstyne, who had also been a student at the school for the blind and, like Fanny, had taught there upon graduating. He was a gifted musician and a perfect partner to the poetess.  The turning point in her life came in 1864 when she met William Bradbury, the famous hymn writer and publisher. "For many years I have been wanting you to write for me," he told here.  "I wish you would begin right away!"  She did begin, and the result was her first gospel song, "Our Bright Home Above." Little did anyone realize that God would use her to pen over eight thousand songs in the next fifty-one years.  How did Fanny write her lyrics?  "I never undertake a hymn," she explained, "without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration in the work I am about to do." She would pray and meditate until she was in the right mood. Sometimes she would quote other hymns to prime the pump. Then the ideas would come and she would develop the song in her mind and commit it to memory.  At times, she would have as many as forty different songs stored away in her mind. She would let each song lie still for a few days before dictating it to a friend, who would then send it off to the publisher.

     In her day she was one of the best known women in America  In fact, on the occasion of her 85th birthday, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, wrote to her:  "My dear friend:  It is more than fif­ty years ago that our ac­quaint­ance and friend­ship be­gan; and ev­er since that time I have watched your con­tin­u­ous and in­ter­es­ted la­bor in up­lift­ing hu­man­i­ty, and point­ing out the way to an ap­pre­ci­a­tion of God’s good­ness and mer­cy..."

     Fanny was just a few weeks away from her 95th birthday when she was called home -- a hope she had written about often in her songs. For the first time she could see, and, best of all, she could see her Savior.  Have you ever noticed how often she wrote about "seeing" in her lyrics?  Watch for the references the next time you sing a Fanny Crosby song. "Saved by Grace" is just one example, where she writes: "And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story -- Saved by Grace; Yes we shall see him face to face, And tell the story -- Saved by Grace."  It was said of another blind hymn writer, George Matheson, that God made him blind so he could see clearly in other ways and become a guide to others.  The same tribute could be applied to Fanny Crosby, who triumphed over her handicap and used it to the glory of God."

     It's hard to summarize such a profound life of 95 years in a few simple paragraphs without leaving out many pertinent details.  Maybe the lengthy autobiography and other biographies would fill in the holes, answering such questions as: Were there brief times when she wished she could see, or struggled with the limitations brought about by her blindness?  What truths of Scripture helped her remain so grateful, joyful and positive?  What would her attitude have been if she hadn't been given parents and others who poured themselves into her in regards to her faith?  And what about the amazing gift of her near photographic memory and immense poetic skills, since we know not all are blessed with such awesome abilities?  How did such extraordinary graces help her when it came to accepting the doctor's blunder in causing her blindness?  Did he ever come to forgive himself?  So many questions and many surely without answers this side of eternity!

     For hymn lovers like myself, Fanny Crosby's songs have been an inspiration and great spiritual help.  My favorites are Blessed Assurance and To God Be the Glory.  They have always uplifted me, both the music and the words. For who could say it better?

To God be the glory great things He has done,

So loved He the world that He gave us His son,

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory great things He has done

O perfect redemption the purchase of blood,

To every believer the promise of God.

The vilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus a pardon receives

Great things He has taught us great things He has done,

And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son.

But purer and higher and greater will be,

Our wonder our worship when Jesus we see.

In His Grace, Pastor Jeff

The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life

Greetings All,

I didn't get a chance to post a "thought" last week, so I wanted to rectify that this week!   This one is by Charles H. Spurgeon and has to do with prayer.  Actually, it has to do with the Bible's command for us to pray.  Many see prayer as an optional practice one can engage in if, or when, they choose.  But the Bible sees it differently.  Thus, I offer you Spurgeon's insights on the matter, which come from the book, "The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life," compiled and edited by Robert Hall.   Enjoy!

Prayer is Commanded 

     "We are not merely counselled or advised to pray, we are commanded to pray. This is a great condescension to our needs, weaknesses, and struggles. When a hospital is built, it is considered sufficient that the doors are open for the sick when they need help.  But no order is given that the sick must enter the hospital's care.  It is thought to be enough to offer its services without issuing a mandate that people must take advantage of them.  It seems somewhat strange, therefore, that where prayer is concerned, people need to be commanded to be merciful to their own souls.

     So marvelous is the condescension of our gracious God that He issues a command of love without which the sons of Adam would rather starve (or remain sick) than come and partake of the Gospel feast or services to help cure their soul.  God's own people need -- or else they would not have been given it -- a command to pray. Why?  Because we are very subject to periods of worldliness.  We do not forget to eat, or go to work, or go to our beds to sleep, but we do often forget to wrestle with God in prayer and spend long periods in consecrated fellowship with our Father and our God.  With many believers, the worldly ledger is so large and bulky that you cannot move it, and the Bible -- representing their devotion -- is so small that you could fit it in the pocket of their coat. Hours for the world, minutes for Christ! The world gets the best, while prayer gets the leftovers of our time.  We give our strength and freshness to the ways of making money and our tiredness to the ways of God.

     Hence it is that we need to be commanded to attend that that very act that should be our greatest joy and happiness and highest privilege to perform -- to meet with our God.  "Call upon me," He says, for He knows we are prone to forget.  "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God!"(Jonah 1:6) is an exhortation we need to hear as much as Jonah did in the storm...

     It may be helpful for some of you to find out how often in Scripture you are told to pray. "Call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you" (Psalm 50:15). "Trust in Him at all times, you people, pour out your hearts to Him" (Psalm 62:8).  "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7).  "Watch and pray, that you do not fall into temptation" (Matt. 26:41).  "Pray without ceasing" (I Thess 5:7). "Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16).  "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).  "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Col. 4:2). I need not multiply texts on the need for prayer when I could not exhaust them.  I have picked only a few from this great bag of pearls...

     There are also times when God commands His people to pray not only in the Bible, but directly in their hearts by the motions of His Holy Spirit. You who know the inner life understand my meaning. You suddenly feel the pressing sense that you must pray.  It may be that you do not at first take particular notice of the inclination, but it comes again, and again, and again -- "Pray!"  I find that in the matter of prayer I am like a water wheel that runs well when there is plenty of water pouring over it, but turns with very little force when the brook grows shallow. Whenever our Lord gives us the special inclination to pray, we should double our diligence. Scripture says we should pray always and never give up" (Luke 18:1), yet when God gives us the special longing and compulsion to pray, you have another command that should compel you to cheerful obedience...  See to it that you use the golden hour and reap a harvest while the sun shines. When we enjoy visitations from on high, we should be particularly constant in prayer.  If some other pressing duty comes our way, let it pass.  When God in a special way bids us to pray by the motions of His Holy Spirit, we should obey and pray." 

     It may come as a surprise to hear that God commanding us to pray is part of His condescension (in a good sense) to our struggles and weaknesses. He knows we struggle to pray. He knows we are distracted. He knows other things nudge it out. He knows we have sinful inclinations that encourage us not to pray. Therefore, out of a grace that pushes us to do those things that are good for us, He commands us to pray.  And He does so not only through the written and recorded Word in Scripture, but even more personally in our hearts by His Spirit. Spurgeon is right. Those who know the Lord know that He frequently moves us internally to pray, or want to pray, or feel we must pray, and that if we don't we will be defying Him!

Just some thoughts to ponder, Pastor Jeff 

It Is Well With My Soul

Greetings All,

     My daughter Bekah sent me the link to this devotional by Tori Kelly the other day, because she knows Horatio Spafford's hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" is one of my favorites. I opened it, read it, felt there was much honest transparency and biblical truth in it, and therefore thought I would pass it along to you. I trust it will encourage and speak to you as well.  Enjoy.

SOUL’S ANTHEM (IT IS WELL)

     Suffering is guaranteed in this life. The devil is always throwing fiery darts at us. Right now in this moment he’s trying to attack my family, my health, my relationships, and my peace. He’ll do anything to take my eyes off of Jesus.  He wants to take everything away from me, and most importantly, he wants to take my faith.

     Our faith is not grounded in our circumstances.  Neither can our joy in Christ be.  Recently, my grandfather passed away in the time I felt I needed him most.  I felt like I had lost my best friend. It was so painful to go through and I cried so much -- until my eyes had nothing left.  But through every tear, God was with me in those hard moments. I could still be in a dark and lonely place, and even be mourning, but my joy could not be stolen because it is secured in Jesus.  No matter what happens, no matter what arrows are thrown my way, no matter how dark it gets, I know I will be okay.  It’s not always easy to believe, but I know that when I remind myself that God is in control I find rest and am able to sing, “it is well with my soul.”

     Most importantly, I can always sing “it is well” because God spoiled the movie for us and we get to know how this story ends. “It is well with my soul” because there is a place called heaven where death will be no more, every tear will be wiped away, and any tears shed in this life will be redeemed (he has bottled each one).

     Maybe your suffering is different than losing a grandfather. Maybe it’s worse. Maybe it’s as bad as the writer of “It is Well” who lost his entire family in the days prior to when he penned this hymn.  Even still, God says all of it is not even worthy to be compared to the glory to come to us.  Like an adult reflecting on his experience in kindergarten, so believers in heaven will remember their suffering in this life, saying, “Oh yeah... I think I vaguely remember...”

     Suffering comes to each of us in a different way - broken relationships, physical illness, economic hardships, loss, crime, slander, betrayal, depression, humiliation, you name it. Scripture assures us of this. Jesus assures his disciples of this. "In this world you WILL have trouble (tribulations). But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Jesus never promises us a trouble-free life in this world. His promised overcoming of the world means, as Tori Kelly rightly points out, we already know how the story ends!  Jesus is the Victor!  It's already a done deal!  God has won!  The world loses!  And we get to be over-comers with him in the victory he's already won!

     John 16:33 was spoken prior to the cross and resurrection.  Yet it is spoken in the past tense - "I have overcome..."  It is spoken before the cross an resurrection, but with as much confidence and assurance in the promise as if those those things had already taken place!  (If only they had truly "heard" him!)  In fact, in a very real sense the cross had already taken place, as John assures us in Revelation 13:8, where it speaks of Jesus as, "the Lamb slain from the creation of the world."   Jesus' ultimate victory of overcoming the world had already been decreed and determined and worked out in the providence of God before God ever created the world!  And we get to rejoice and participate in many of the benefits of that victory in this life (not all of them just yet), remembering as Paul assures us,  "Our light and momentary trials are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (I Corinthians 4:17).

     Resting in the victory of God until the promise becomes our experienced reality in eternity, Pastor Jeff

Testimony of William Grimshaw

Greetings All!

     There comes a time in the life of every believer where they must wrestle with what they truly trust in; where their hope lies, and what the only true object of saving faith is. This week's "thought" is a true account of the one man's journey along that road -- a road that led from misplaced faith and depression, to true faith and joy!
     It is not unusual (at least at the beginning of our life of faith) to have a faith that when tested is found lacking or misplaced. Hopefully this testimony about William Grimshaw's journey from trusting in the wrong thing, to being led by a miraculous event to trust in the only true saving object of faith will be of help to all -- either as a guide that takes you to where you need to be, or a reminder not to stray from there. It comes from "The One Year Book of Christian History" by Michael and Sharon Rusten.  Enjoy.

     "William Grimshaw was born in Lancashire, England, in 1708. He went to Christ's College, Cambridge, intending to enter the ministry. During his third year he fell in with the wrong crowd, becoming, in his own words, "as vile as the worst."  Still, he chose to enter the ministry, finding no incongruity between his sinful lifestyle and his chosen profession.  Ordained in the Church of England in 1732, Grimshaw was assigned a church in West Yorkshire. He married a young widow, but within four years she tragically died, leaving him with two small children.

     Already a troubled soul, Grimshaw was plunged into a deep depression. He sent his children away to be raised by relatives. All he could think about was his own mortality and the necessity of making arrangements for his own funeral... In his written instructions for his funeral he specified: "To attend my funeral I desire that 20 persons be invited (of my next relations and intimatest acquaintances) and be entertained in the following manner: Let 5 quarts of claret (a red wine from Bordeaux) ... be put in a punch bowl and be drunk in wine glasses until it is all gone."

     At this time an itinerant preacher began rebuking Grimshaw for his legalistic view of salvation [a view whereby he encouraged people to trust in their own efforts, works, or aspects of their own performance for their acceptance with God]. He said to Grimshaw, "You are no believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are building on the sand."   Grimshaw tried to avoid the man, but the words "you are building on sand" kept haunting him.  In 1741, while visiting a friend, Grimshaw saw a book on the table and picked it up.  As he opened it, and discovered it was by John Owen, a Puritan theologian, a flash of heat flushed his face. Puzzled, he looked at the fireplace, wondering if the fire had caused his sudden flush of heat.  Opening the book again, he read the title: "The Doctrine of Justification by Faith."  Suddenly a second flash of heat swept over him. Astonished that it happened again, Grimshaw took it as a divine imperative that he was to read the book.

     Taking the book back home, Grimshaw noted in the preface that Owen had written the book for people suffering from the same anguish and distress of soul he was experiencing.  The book confronted the reader with the question of whether he would 'trust in his own personal inherent righteousness (his own efforts and religious or moral performances) or, in full renunciation of it, take to himself the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ alone.' To Grimshaw the choice was clear.  As he would later confide to a friend,  "I was wiling to renounce myself, every degree of fancied merit and ability, and to embrace CHRIST ONLY for my all in all.  O what light and comfort did I now enjoy in my own soul, and what a taste of the pardoning love of God!"

     His ministry immediately changed, and he found peace and joy in his heart as well as his soul. He fell in love with a local girl, married her, and brought his children back home...  He applied for a new parish and moved his family to nearby Haworth, where he ministered powerfully and effectively until his death in 1763 at the age of 55. Under his spiritual leadership the little-known village of Yorkshire became one of the leading centers of the Christian faith in all of England. His funeral was quite different from the one he had planned years before. Vast crowds of loving parishioners followed his coffin to its final resting place. The pastor who spoke summarized the faith of Grimshaw by saying, "Upon Christ's atoning blood and justifying righteousness alone, did EVERY HOPE of his soul's acceptance with God depend" 

     Upon what does your hope rest?  What is the object of your faith? What does your hope or trust for pardon and salvation rest upon?  Is it your efforts at trying to be a "good" person?  Is it a list of accomplishments or a resume of cataloged good works?  Is it a mix of faith in Jesus plus your attempts to be righteous? Here it helps to remember that when it comes to saving faith, Jesus plus anything nullifies Jesus. If you are trusting in anything of your own, you are trusting in you, and thus not fully (or for that matter, not at all) in Jesus.  The Gospel's message is clear: We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  Add anything into the mix and you disbelieve the Gospel, negate Jesus, will struggle incessantly with emotional highs and lows, find the need to pretend, have a fear of being open, honest and transparent about your sins, wrestle with a sense of of frustration with God and self, fall into occasional depressions, and a lack of assurance of God's forgiveness and complete acceptance.

     Only when one's hope for acceptance with God is in CHRIST ONLY -- only when both eyes are glued on Jesus, instead of one on Jesus and the other on the sin-stained performances of the self -- are they liberated from all those afflicting things to experience peace, joy and release from the weight of burdens too heavy to carry.  John Owen was right in asking: "will you trust in your own personal inherent righteousness [which is always stained by sin and thus unrighteous or unacceptable righteousness], or in full renunciation of it, take to yourself the grace of God and righteousness of CHRIST ALONE."

     Blessed is the person who stops hoping and trusting in their own efforts, and looks instead to Christ alone for their pardon and acceptance with God.  As one who fell into this Grimshaw's mistake, I can tell you from personal experience what a blessed liberation comes as we get our eyes off us, and simply, "fix our eyes (of faith) on Jesus..." (Heb. 12:2).  And please notice it says "eyes" -- that is, both of them!  Not one eye of faith fixed on what you do, and the other one looking to what Jesus did, but BOTH OF THEM fixed on Jesus. For He is the only true object of saving faith, and faith in HIM ALONE is the only means of salvation or remedy for the countless malady's of the soul.

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

The Comforter

Greetings All!

This week's "thought" comes from someone we haven't heard from for quite a while - Charles H. Spurgeon.  He has been dubbed the "Prince of Preachers" and is considered by many to be the most gifted preacher ever.  This excerpt comes from a message he preached on October 6, 1872 entitled "The Comforter."   Spurgeon began his preaching career in 1850 at the age of 15. By the time he was 19 he had accepted a call to pastor one of the biggest Baptist churches in London.  Within a short time they had to build an addition onto the church to increase the seating capacity from 1200 to 5000 seats to accommodate the weekly crowds. He was an extraordinarily gifted man.
     To those who wrongly believe that Christianity was universally popular back in the mid-to-late-800's in England, this somewhat auto-biographical account should clear up that misunderstanding.  I've been reading this sermon in my devotional time and found it both interesting and true; that's why I wanted to pass it along to you.  Enjoy.

The Comforter

     “In the 15th chapter of John’s Gospel we find the Savior describing His saints in the world as hated and persecuted for His sake, and He bids them expect this. But He consoles them in verses 26-27: “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me. And you also shall bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

     Now verses 18-27 mean just this—while Jesus Christ was here on earth, if anyone had anything to say against Him or His disciples, the Master came forward to the front, and He soon baffled His foes so that they confessed, “Never has anyone spoken like this man” (John 7:46). At this present time our Master and head is gone from us, so how are we to answer the attacks of the world?  The answer is we have another Counselor who comes to speak for us, and if we had but confidence in Him, beloved, He would have spoken for us much more loudly than He has sometimes done!

     Whenever we learn to leave the business in His hands, He will do two things for us:  FIRST - He will speak for us Himself, and SECOND - He will enable us also to bear witness.  At this present time many questions of doctrine are brought up for discussion, many objections to the truth of God are blocked, and there are many who would lay the axe at the very root of Christianity and cut it down as a rotten tree!  What is our answer?  I will tell you: Nearly all the books that have been written to answer modern philosophies are a waste of time and a waste of paper.  The only way in which the church can hold her own, and answer her detractors is by real power from God!

     Has she done anything for the world?

     Can she produce results?

     By her fruits shall she be proved to be a tree of life to the nations!

     Now the Spirit of God, if we would but trust Him, and give up all this idolatry of human learning, cleverness, genius, eloquence, rhetoric, and I know not what beside, would soon answer our adversaries!  He would silence some of them by converting them as He answered Saul of Tarsus by turning him from a persecutor to an apostle. He would silence others by confounding them and making them see their own children and relations brought to know the truth of God! If there is not a miraculous spiritual power in the Church of God at this day, she is an impostor!  At this moment the only vindication of our existence is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit among us.  Is He still working and witnessing for Christ? I fear He is not in some churches.

     Here in our fellowship we behold Him. Look at His workings in this place.  Nearly 20 years ago [back in August of 1854] our ministry began in this city under much opposition and hostile criticism. The preacher [that is, Spurgeon himself] being condemned on all hands as vulgar, unlearned, and, in fact, a “nine days’ wonder”!  Jesus Christ was preached by us in simpler language than men had been accustomed to hear, and every one of our sermons was full of the old-fashioned gospel. Many other pulpits were intellectual, but we held to the pure Scriptures.  Rhetorical essays were the wares retailed by most of the preachers, but we gave the people the gospel.  We brought out before the world the old Reformers’ doctrines, Calvinistic truth, Augustinian teaching, and Pauline dogma! We were not ashamed to be the, “Echo of a long-dead evangelism,” as some wiseacre called us.

     We preached Christ and Him crucified, and by the space of these 20 years have we ever lacked a congregation? When has not this vast hall been thronged? Have we ever lacked conversions? Has a Sunday passed over us without them? Has not the history of this church, from its littleness in Park Street until now, been a march of triumph with the hearts and souls of men being the spoils of the war and the flag under which we have marched been Christ crucified?

     And it is so everywhere! Only let men come back to the gospel and preach it ardently, not with pretty words and the artificiality of polished speech, but as a burning heart compels them, and as the Spirit of God teaches them to speak it.  Then will great signs and wonders be seen!  We must have signs following—else we cannot answer the world!  Let them sneer; let them rave; let them curse; let them lie—God will answer them!  It is ours in the power of the Spirit of God to keep on preaching Christ and glorifying the Savior.  Just as Jesus always met the adversary in a moment, and the disciples had no need of any other defender, so we have another Helper, who in answer to prayer will vindicate His own cause, and gloriously avenge His own elect.”

     In a world of competing ideas and religious views, something must set Christianity apart from all the rest. Something more than "mere morality" as C. S. Lewis called it.  Something more than mere religious gatherings.  Something that shows our faith to be different from all the rest.  And that "something" (as Spurgeon points out) must be the power of God!  People must be able to see and sense the evidences of God's presence and the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit among His people if we are to truly testify to the reality of Jesus and His gospel (I Cor. 14:24-25 / II Cor. 10:3-5).

     Be it the miracle of an extraordinary and other-worldly love; the miracle of someone turned to repentance and faith; the miracle of a healing or a prophetic word that hits home as if it were tailor made; or the miracle of a regenerate heart -- the greatest miracle of all -- the power of God must be seen if people's objections are to be stifled!  "The only way in which the church can hold her own, and answer her detractors is by real power from God!...  If there is not a miraculous spiritual power in the Church of God at this day, she is an impostor!  At this moment the only vindication of our existence is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit among us...  Only let men come back to the gospel and preach it ardently, not with pretty words and the artificiality of polished speech, but as a burning heart compels them, and as the Spirit of God teaches them to speak it. Then will great signs and wonders be seen!  We must have signs following—else we cannot answer the world!"

     To use the words of Isaiah in his deep yearning for a visible and incontestable manifestation of God's power: "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!" (Is. 64:1-2) That's what we need more than anything else -- a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God in incontestable and saving power!  Not manufactured miracles, but God-given miracles.  Not the stuff of mere human emotion, but the supernatural intervention of a sovereign God.  And it must stem from earnest prayer and the gospel ardently preached, as Spurgeon says, from a burning heart that's moved and compelled by the Holy Spirit.  Our prayer, Like Isaiah's, must be, "Come down Lord!"

     With Prayer for the Renewing of Christ's Church on Earth, Pastor Jeff