EDITORIAL
"SOME OTHER MAN"
Philip ran down the dusty road to meet the approaching carriage. Coming alongside he heard the occupant of the carriage reading from Isaiah the prophet:
"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearers, so opened he not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth."
Philip was a lay-preacher. The traveler was a high-ranking official of Ethiopia. Philip called up to the man and asked him if he understood what he was reading. He admitted he didn't and invited Philip into the carriage to teach him.
"Of whom speaketh the prophet this?" queried the stranger, "of himself, or of some other man?" Indeed he spoke of some other Man, the greatest "some other man" in all the universe. And Philip "began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
Philip told the Ethiopian of how those under the Old Covenant cried out, in the words of Isaac, "Where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" He told him also of the New Covenant where the cry, as expressed by John the Baptist, is "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Jesus Christ was whom Isaiah spoke of, who "was led as a sheep to the slaughter," "the Lamb of God." "By his own blood He obtained eternal redemption for us." "So Christ was offered to bear the sins of many . . . unto salvation."
What is to hinder my taking a public stand for Christ, the Ethiopian wanted to know. "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest," answered Philip. "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," said the man.
Do you, dear reader, believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and your Saviour? He let nothing hinder Him from going all the way, even to the shameful death of the cross, to obtain your eternal salvation. Let nothing hinder you from coming to Him to make that salvation a reality in your life. "Behold the Lamb of God." Look to Him, Believe on Him. Trust in Him. Take Him as your Saviour. Let Him take away your sin. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Sincerely yours and HIS,
Art Gordon, Editor
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CHRIST IS THE WAY
By Robert M. McCheyne
"I am the way; no man cometh unto the Father but by me."
John 14:6
THE WHOLE BIBLE bears witness that by nature we have no way to the Father. We are by nature full of sin, and God is by nature infinitely holy, that is, He shrinks away from sin. Just as the sensitive plant, by its very nature, shrinks away from the touch of a human hand, so God, by His very nature, shrinks away from the touch of sin. He is everlastingly separate from sinners; He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.
This was impressively taught to Adam and the patriarchs. As long as Adam walked holily, God dwelt in him, and walked in him, and communed with him; but when Adam fell, "God drove the man out of paradise; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life."
This flaming sword between the cherubim was a magnificent emblem of God -- the just and sin-hating God. In the bush, He appeared to Moses as a consuming fire; in the temple, He appeared between the cherubim in the milder glory of the Shekinah; but here He appeared between the cherubim as a sword, a just and sin-hating God.
And I beseech you to remark, that this flaming sword turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. If it had not turned every way -- if it had left some footpath unglared across -- then Adam might have stolen in by that footpath, and made his own way to the tree of life. But no: whatever avenue he tried, however secret, however narrow, however steep and difficult, however silently he crept along, still this flaming meteor met him, and it seemed to say, "How can men be just with God? by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh living be justified." Well might Adam sit down, wearied with the vain search for a pathway into life; for man by nature has no way to the Father.
But Christ says, "I am the way." As He says in Psalm 16, "Thou wilt show me the path of life." No man could find out this path of life; but Jesus says, "Thou will show it me: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore."
Jesus pitied the poor sons of Adam vainly struggling to find out a way into the paradise of God, and He left the bosom of the Father, just that He might open up a way for us into the bosom of the Father. And how did He do it? Was it by escaping the vigilance of the flaming sword? No; for it turned every way. Was it by exerting His divine authority, and commanding the glittering blade to withdraw? No; for that would have been to dishonor His Father's law instead of magnifying it.
He therefore became a man in our stead -- yea, became sin. God caused to meet on Him the iniquities of us all. He advanced in our stead to meet that fiery meteor, He fell beneath its piercing blade; for He remembered the word of the prophet, which is written, "Awake O sword! against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts."
And now, since the glittering blade is bathed in the side of the Redeemer, the guiltiest of sinners -- whoever you be, whatever you be -- may enter in over His bleeding body, may find access to the paradise of God, to eat of the tree of life, and live forever. Come quickly -- doubt not; for He says, I am the way.
(From MEMORIES OF McCHEYNE, edited by Andrew A. Bonar,
published by Moody Press, Chicago IL, 1956.)
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IT IS CHRIST
By Charles H. Spurgeon
REMEMBER, sinner, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee -- it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee -- it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that is the instrument -- it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not to thy hope, but to Christ, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Christ, the Author and Finisher of thy faith; and if thou doest that, ten thousand devils cannot throw thee down.
There is one thing which all of us too much becloud in our preaching, though I believe we do it unintentionally -- namely, the great truth that it is not prayer, it is not faith, it is not our doings, it is not our feelings upon which we must rest, but upon Christ, and on Christ alone.
We are apt to think that we are not in a right state, that we do not feel enough, instead of remembering that our business is not with self, but Christ.
Let me beseech thee, look only to Christ; never expect deliverance from self, from ministers, or from any means of any kind apart from Christ; keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His agonies, His groans, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night, look for Him.
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Without Christ, religion is a sunless firmament; public service is a casket without jewel; life is a dreary passage to a dreadful end; the home is no abode of peace, the family has no strong bond of lasting love; the trade yields no returns of worthy profit; death is a downfall into unfathomable abyss; eternity prolongs unutterable woe.
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Without Christ, health is no healing of soul-sickness, and sickness is a prelude to immitigable pain. Without Christ, prosperity is an adverse tide, and adversity is a foreshadowing of deeper misery. Life is no gain, except to live be Christ. -- Things Concerning Himself
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The heart without Christ is ice. But when He enters, a glow is kindled which can never die. Love burns and blazes in every chamber of the inner man. Christ seen and loved is warmth to the heart. Warmth in the heart is fire in the lips. Fire in the lips is a flame in the hearers.
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My eyes are widely open to the fact that men are blessed, and are blessings, just in proportion as they live, ever gazing on Christ, ever listening to His voice.
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I know, and am intensely persuaded, that all peace, all joy, all salvation, are in Christ. -- Things Concerning Himself
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That time is the brightest time in which the Lord is nearest. That page is the brightest page in which most of Christ is found. That sermon is the brightest sermon in which most of Christ is heard. That life is the brightest life in which most of Christ is seen. -- Things Concerning Himself
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Poems By Yvonne Virginia Smith
WHEN I SEE HIM
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be;
but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him
for we shall see Him as He is."
I John 3:2
What rapture, Oh, what glory I shall know.
When Jesus calls for me; I do not care
If it be through death's valley I must go,
Or if I glimpse Him coming in the air.
What joy unspeakable for me 'twill be
To look upon the face of Him I love,
To worship at His feet eternally,
Forever safe with Christ my God above!
What ecstasy untold; my heart will thrill
When Jesus takes me by His nail-scarred hand;
What praise, what worship will my being fill
When in His likeness I before Him stand.
I'll look into the dearest eyes I know,
I'll clasp the hand of Him Whom I love best,
And thank Him o'er and o'er He loved me so,
And lovingly He holds me to His breast.
I do not know how long I yet must wait,
I only know I yearn to see my Lord;
I know one glimpse of Him will compensate
For any little pain life doth afford.
I only know till then 'tis mine to tell
The lost and dying that He loves them too,
And that He died to rescue them from Hell,
That they may there Above my Saviour view.
Today may be the day for Him to come,
Today may be the final day of grace;
'Ere I fall asleep He may call me Home,
What a joy today 'twould be to see His face!
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MY LORD WAS THERE
"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
Hebrews 13:8
The day was one of glory,
All was sunny, bright and fair;
Sweet joy began my morning, --
My Lord was with me there.
The joyful note lost volume,
As the noon brought on its care,
Clouds bedimmed the sunshine, --
My Lord was with me there.
Then evening's silv'ry fingers
Swept across the sunset rare,
And made things sad and cheerless, --
My Lord was with me there.
And then the night fell softly,
It's gloom I had to share --
But even in the darkness,
I found my Lord was there!
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EARLY EVENING
" . . . He that loveth Me shall be loved of my Father . . . "
John 14:21
I love the quietness of early evening,
When day's work is o'er and sets the even sun;
I love the breeze that softly whisp'reth
God's sweet approval of my work well done.
I love to kneel alone and gently whisper
The Name of Jesus in an evening prayer;
I love to thank Him for each blessing,
And softly tell Him of my every care.
I love by faith to reach and touch His garments,
And to breathe the fragrance of this Holy One;
I love to just be still and listen,
And hear and see the wonders that He's done.
And then I love to draw e'en nearer to Him,
Like John upon the bosom of His Lord;
And there I rest and find refreshment --
And there I love, and there He is adored.
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WHY ARE WE AFFLICTED?
In Answer To Our Own Prayers
By Herbert L. Roush
"That I may know him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death."
Philippians 3:10
THIS MAY come as a surprise to some, for what man would willingly pray for trouble, persecution, perplexity, and ask God to be cast down unto death? These experiences, however, are many times the direct answer of God to our own prayers.
How many times, dear reader, in a holy flood of love for the Lord Jesus have you earnestly told God that your heart's desire was that His will, not yours, be done in all things in your life? The prayer is not so easily prayed in the darkness of adversity, as it is in the sunshine of prosperity.
When all is well in heaven and on earth with us and no dark cloud interrupts our heavenly fellowship or obscures our vision, we many times find ourselves thanking God and rejoicing in the goodness of His love. In these times, we very often earnestly ask Him to take our lives completely and do in them and with them whatever will bring pleasure to Him.
We pray the prayer of Jesus, " . . . not what I will, but what thou wilt," and then quickly forget this prayer was born in the agony of Gethsemane and only answered fully in the darkness of Calvary's death.
We offer ourselves to God in the words of Romans 12:1 & 2 and forget that the living sacrifice once offered to God is "acceptable." God accepts the sincere offering of ourselves and then sets about to do whatever is necessary to make our lives a sweet smelling savour of Christ. In the words of John, when we pray in the will of God, "we have (present possession) the petitions we desired of Him" (I John 5:15).
There would have been no deliverance of Jesus to the death of the cross, if there had been no prayer of submission in the night hours of Gethsemane. Calvary was the response of God to the prayer of surrender Jesus prayed in the Garden. Ponder this well, beloved.
The very trial, which seems to you now to be more than you can bear and in which you are now tempted to accuse God, may well be the faithful answer of God to your own request to be poured out as a drink offering for His pleasure.
You ask Him that you might be fully yielded to Him, and this present affliction is bringing to light how little submission there really is in your heart and what a great work there is to be done in answer to your own prayers. God, however, is faithful; and in His method of delivering you to death for Jesus' sake, He will work that submission to Himself that you have so long yearned for and for which He patiently waits.
The surrender of the whole man to God for His glory and purpose is the goal of the Christian life. God wishes above all else that we would learn to delight ourselves in Him alone, that He might share with us the desires of His own heart (Psalm 37:4). He wants us to forsake all others and flee to Him alone for refuge and rest. He can only bring this to pass by rendering you helpless from time to time that you might not trust in yourself, but in the living God.
Jonah had to go to Tarshish to learn that his profession of surrender to the will of God was only empty lip service, and he had to go down to the bottom of the sea in affliction before he could cry from the heart, "Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9).
Abraham awakes one morning to find the hand of God upon the dearest thing to his heart, his only beloved and darling son. He is made to walk three days and nights in the belief that Isaac will be offered in death at Mt. Moriah.
Only God knows the struggle, the agony, the weeping and the groaning before Abraham can bring himself to lay the firewood upon Isaac's back, take the fire that will burn him and the knife that will slay him, and journey to the mount of God. Abraham went so deep and so far in his troubles, his affliction, his casting down, his delivering unto death, as to raise the knife that would end all his own dreams and hopes.
It was at that moment he learned the reason for his deep affliction of God; God did not want Isaac dead but Abraham in full and obedient submission to Himself. Do you not see what delivering to death was necessary before Abraham could be called the "friend of God"?
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NO SIDE WINDOWS
By H. Tuggy
I HAVE very much enjoyed the thought that Noah had only one window in the Ark, and that was at the top. This was a great mercy for him. Had there been any windows at the sides Noah would most likely have been tempted to look out to see what was going on around and then he would have beheld things which would have filled him with sorrow and alarm. The Lord knew this, and in His love He kept him from doing so, and so provided that he could only look up. This kept Noah in a sweet spirit of dependence, and therefore calm and happy.
What a beautiful picture this is for the believer now, while passing through this scene of sin and death; because his happy position is to be like Noah, always looking up, for if he gets occupied with the things around, that which is going on in the world, or among God's people, then sorrow and weakness will be sure to follow, and he will be filled with despondency.
God has given us His Son to be the joy of our souls, the object of our hearts, telling us that we shall soon see Him and be with Him forever. He is saying, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." God would have us find our joy where He is finding His, and that is in that previous One at His own right hand. God is saying, "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoice." May we know the power and blessedness of this joy at all times: so shall we glorify Him as we pass through this world! Happy ourselves, we shall help others to be happy. Therefore let us be careful that we have no side windows.
(From THINGS CONCERNING HIMSELF; used by permission.)
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SERMON SERIES
Romans 8:28
No. 14
(A BLIND BEGGAR)
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
THE BIRTH OF a child is a happy occasion. "Children are an heritage of the Lord." Parents' hearts rightly thrill at this miracle of God and His favor to them when He presents them with a small "bundle of joy."
This must have been the feelings of a young Jewish couple in Jerusalem in the first century A.D. Their joy knew no bounds when a son was born to them, -- until one day they discovered that their infant son was blind. BLIND!
They knew what this meant. He could never be like other boys. Their own lives would be drastically different from others with sighted children. Their hopes that he would follow in his father's footsteps and take up his father's trade were dashed upon the jagged rocks of disappointment. Their world fell from under them the day mother noticed the baby's eyes did not follow the object swinging in front of his face. A tragic turn of events.
They knew, too, that many of their neighbors would accuse them of committing some horrible secret sin. The gossips of the neighborhood would converse over the back fence what it might be. It was generally believed that physical affliction was the result of personal sin. Even the disciples, many years later, when they saw this blind man sitting and begging, and knowing he was born blind, asked Jesus, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither hath this man sinned (to cause this), nor his parents," replied Jesus. Sin was not the reason for his blindness. "But that the works of God should be made manifest in him." There were higher purposes at work. This physical impairment was destined to bring glory to God and good to the individual involved. What was disappointment at first proved to be God's appointment at last.
Indeed the blind man had spent the first years of his life greatly handicapped. As a lad he was left out of games and sports, and was no doubt very lonely. As an adolescent he was laughed at by unthinking contemporaries because of his seeming awkwardness, and was more than once embarrassed. As an adult he was left to shift for himself, earn a living as best he could, was reduced to panhandling to keep body and soul together, and was often despised for being a nuisance. His lot was certainly not an enviable one.
How often he must have wished for normal eyes like those who passed him on the street. How many nights must those sightless eyes have soaked his pillow with tears before falling into a restless sleep. He had feelings; this was something his neighbors forgot sometimes. He may have more of less gotten used to his poor circumstances and the thoughtlessness of others, but down in his heart he longed for something better. He may have long ago given up hope of anything better, resigning himself to his fate, but there was still that small but unquenchable flame of desire that burned deep inside him.
He did not know the purpose of his plight. Maybe he thought it was the result of personal sin, his own or his parents. Little did he realize that God had plans for him. He had no idea that this blindness was to bring glory to God and good to himself. In fact just to compare him with the others on his street, one would think (i.e. thinking on a purely human level) that he was further from God's kingdom than most. Take the proud pharisee for instance who paraded past him each day on his round of religious duties.
There was no comparison. The pharisee had everything, the blind man had nothing. The pharisee was on the top rung of the society ladder, the blind man was on the bottom rung; even lower. The pharisee prayed long and loud, fasted often, ministered, frequented the temple, in fact did all the things good religious people do, especially one in such a high position in the church. The blind man had none of these good works in which to boast.
But this is reasoning on the human level. God's thoughts are higher than man's thoughts. He reasons not on the human but divine level. He sees not as man sees. He judges not on outward appearances. He chooses not as man: "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world . . . the weak things . . . base things . . . despised, yea, and things which are not."
In the eyes of the world this beggar was one of those "things which are not." If ever there was a person who was unimportant to this world, and for all practical purposes a nonentity, a nothing, a nobody, surely it was this blind beggar. Those around him were convinced of it and the more they mistreated him, the more he became convinced of it. If they were to choose the man of the year from his community, he certainly would not be the choice of anyone.
But God chooses not as man chooses. He picks out "nobodies" in which to manifest His works; "that no flesh should glory (or boast) in his presence." "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." This man knew he possessed no merit that God should favor him. Had not he spent his entire life learning this? He had nothing in which to boast. So God chooses him to display His grace.
"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth." Jesus "anointed the eyes of the blind man . . . and (he) came seeing." The religious leaders questioned him later as to how such a miraculous thing could be, having been performed by a "sinner," they considered Jesus a blasphemer against God. The man assures them he knows nothing of their intricate theological questions, but "one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see."
Later, meeting the now-seeing, former (and, by the way, now excommunicated) beggar, Jesus broached the question, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" The man "answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him."
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Here was a man called according to God's purpose. What was the resulting "good"? HE MET JESUS! It was worth all the years of loneliness, abuse and poverty, to finally behold the Son of God and to feel His healing touch and to hear His gracious words. "I believe," said he. "And he worshipped him."
Are you, my reader, afflicted in some way? Have you considered this possibility, that maybe God has His gracious hand in this present situation to bring you to Christ? This affliction might well be your introduction to the blessed and holy Son of God. "Who is he?" Why He is "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father," who fellowshipped with the Father "before the world was," and even now sits at the Father's right hand exalted. He it was whom the Father "gave" to the world, to reconcile the sinner to Himself. "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son . . . to redeem them." "God sending his own Son . . . for sin, condemned sin." "He . . . spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all."
"God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." "He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (or acceptable sacrifice) for our sins." "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world."
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
"Dost THOU believe on the Son of God?" You have seen from the passages above who He is and what He has done for you. You have seen, too, what you are required to do. You are brought face to face with Him now. "Thou hast both seen him (in this message), and it is he that talketh with thee (from the Scriptures)." What will you do with Him? The blind beggar did the right thing. He believed and worshipped. Will you believe on Jesus Christ the Son of God and make Him the object of your worship and devotion?
But, you say, I am afflicted and suffering. So much the better. This your disappointment may be God's appointment. God may well have brought you to this place and hour to meet His beloved Son. But I am lonely. Jesus is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother. But I am abused. Christ loves you and died for you. But I am poverty stricken. He became poor that ye through His poverty might be rich. But I am a nobody. Christ chooses such.
May your response be: "Lord, I believe!"
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