IS IT WELL WITH THEE?
A most important question. One which you must answer. This question was first asked of the Shunammite woman by Elisha (II Kings 4:26). All was not well with her at the time. Her only son had just died. But when the prophet asked her, "Is it well with thee . . . with thy husband . . . with the child?" he received an affirmative answer. Because this woman knew where to go in her extremity.
She went straight to the man of God. "It is well," she said, and then would not let the prophet go until he came to see the child. Elisha prayed, the Lord answered, and the child was restored to life. The woman's faith was rewarded.
Is it well with you? You who read these words. Is it well with your soul? Is it well with your family? It may be so. If you know where to go for help. Certainly, it is not well with you in your natural-born state. The Bible says we "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"; and "the soul that sinneth it shall die."
But if you flee in your extremity to the Man of God, it shall be well with you. He is in touch with the Majesty on high. His prayers are always answered. When you bring your sin-burdened soul to Him, He will breathe into your soul the breath of life -- His life-giving Spirit.
The Shunammite had faith in the prophet of God. There has come One greater than Elisha, the Man Christ Jesus, God's only begotten Son. Faith in Him will be rewarded. No matter what the need, "God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Take hold of Him by faith and prayer and do not let Him go until He gives you the desire of your heart. Is it eternal life you want? "I give unto them eternal life," said Jesus.
Is it well with you? with your family? It may be. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
-- Editor
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"The Father hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son -- In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." -- Colossians 1:13-14.
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Fifth in a Series
HIS VIRGIN BIRTH
What is the importance of the doctrine of the Virgin Birth? It is important for several reasons but we shall mention only three.
First, it gives the only reasonable explanation of the incarnation of God's Son in human flesh.
It has been suggested that it is more reasonable to believe that our Lord entered human life in the ordinary manner, through the union of father and mother, which we call procreation. But just the opposite is true.
We must remember that the natural result of the ordinary procreative process by human parents always results in the beginning of a new personality.
It was not so with Jesus Christ. He did not get His personality through human birth. He was a person before He was born. Those who accept this fact of the pre-existence of Christ as a personal being must also accept some kind of a miracle in connection with His entrance into human life. The miracle of the divine conception and virgin birth is by far the most reasonable.
By a special creative act the personality of the eternal Son was clothed with human nature and form in the womb of the virgin Mary.
Secondly, the Virgin Birth is essential to the trustworthiness of the Gospel records.
There is only one way to get rid of the virgin birth, and that is by making Matthew and Luke either liars or victims of blind credulity. If we do that, we put a question mark after everything in their writings -- the life of Christ, His teachings, His death, resurrection, etc.
Some critics argue that the Church has been trying to defend a battle front that is too long, that the line should be shortened by giving up certain parts like the virgin birth without surrendering all along the line.
Luke claims for his Gospel: "It seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee . . . " (Acts 1:3). Suppose he was wrong about the very first matter he investigated, the virgin birth! We could not rely on anything else he wrote.
So, you see, on the virgin birth rests the trustworthiness of the Sacred Record throughout. If the Record is wrong at this point, where then is it right?
Finally, the Virgin Birth is necessary to complete the picture of the supernatural career of the Son of God upon earth.
Every aspect of His career was shot through with the supernatural. He was a supernatural Person, with supernatural knowledge, power, works, message, life, death, resurrection, ascension!
Considering such a Person, would it not have been passing strange if He had entered the world by a merely natural birth? Indeed if the Gospel records contained no account of a supernatural birth, it would have marred the harmony of the record.
We close this study with the words of the ancient creed: "He was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the virgin Mary."
(My thanks to Dr. Alva J. McClain, President Emeritus of Grace Theological Seminary, for the outline and some of the material used in these studies. -- Editor.)
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REAL FAITH
By George Mueller
Text: -- "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:1)
FIRST: What is Faith? In the simplest manner in which I am able to express it, I answer: Faith is the assurance that the thing which God has said in His Word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in His Word. This assurance, this reliance on God's Word, this confidence is Faith.
No impressions are to be taken in connection with Faith. Impressions have neither one thing nor the other to do with faith. Faith has to do with the Word of God. It is not impressions, strong or weak, which will make any difference.
Probabilities are not to be taken into account. Many people are willing to believe regarding those things that seem probable to them. Faith has nothing to do with probabilities. The province of FAITH begins where probabilities cease and sight and sense fail. A great many of God's children are cast down and lament their want of Faith. They write to me and say that they have no impressions, no feeling, they see no probability that the thing they wish will come to pass. Appearances ae not to be taken into account. The question is -- whether God has spoken it in His Word.
SECOND: How Faith may be increased. God delights to increase the faith of His children. Our Faith, which is feeble at first, is developed and strengthened more and more by us. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God's hand as a means. I say -- and say it deliberately -- trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of Faith.
Oh, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, seek to learn for yourselves, for I cannot tell you the blessedness! In the darkest moments I am able to confide in Him, for I know what a beautiful and kind and lovable Being He is, and if it be the will of God to put us in the furnace, let Him do it, that so we may acquaint ourselves with Him as He will reveal Himself, and that we may know Him better. We come then to the conclusion that God is a lovable Being, and we are satisfied with Him, and say: "It is my Father, let Him do as He pleases."
When I first began to allow God to deal with me, relying on Him, taking Him at His Word, and set out fifty years ago simply relying on Him for myself, family, taxes, traveling expenses and every other need, I rested on the simple promises I found in the sixth chapter of Matthew. Read Matthew 6:25-34 carefully. I believed the Word, I rested on it and practiced it. I took God at His Word. A stranger, a foreigner in England, I knew seven languages and might have used them perhaps as a means of remunerative employment but I had consecrated myself to labor for the Lord, I put my reliance in the God who has promised, and He has acted according to His Word. I've lacked nothing -- nothing.
Then, with regard to my pastoral work; for the past fifty-one years I have had great difficulties, great trials and perplexities. There will always be difficulties, always trials. But God has sustained me under them and delivered me out of them, and the work has gone on.
Now, this is not, as some have said, because I am a man of great mental power, or endowed with energy and perseverance -- these are not the reasons. It is because I have confided in God; because I have sought God, and He has cared for the Institution, which, under His direction, has one hundred schools, with masters and mistresses and other departments.
I do not carry the burden. And now in my sixty-seventh year, I have physical strength and mental vigor for as much work as when I was a young man in the university, studying and preparing Latin orations. I am just as vigorous as at that time. How comes this? Because in the last half century of labor I've been able, with the simplicity of a child, to rely upon God. I have had my trials, but I have laid hold upon God, and so it has come to pass that I have been sustained. It is not only permission, but positive command that He gives, to cast the burdens upon Him. Oh, let us do it! My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee." Day by day I do it. This morning sixty matters in connection with the church of which I am pastor, I brought before the Lord, and thus it is, day by day I do it, and year by year; ten years, thirty years, forty years.
Do not, however, expect to obtain full faith at once. All such things as jumping into full exercise of Faith in such things I discountenance. I do not believe in it. All such things go on in a natural way. The little I did obtain I did not obtain all at once. Stay your soul on the Word of God, and you will have an increase of your Faith as you exercise it.
One thing more. Some say, "Oh, I shall never have the gift of Faith Mr. Mueller has got." This is a mistake -- it is the greatest error -- there is not a particle of truth in it. My faith is the same kind of faith that all of God's children have had. It is the same kind that Simon Peter had, and all Christians may obtain the like Faith. My Faith is their Faith. Their Faith is precisely the Faith I exercise, only with regard to degree, mine may be more strongly exercised.
Now, my beloved brothers and sisters, begin in a little way. At first I was able to trust the Lord for ten dollars, then for a hundred dollars, then for a thousand dollars, and now, with the greatest ease, I could trust Him for a million dollars, if there was occasion. But first, I should quietly, carefully, deliberately examine and see whether what I was trusting for was something in accordance with His promises in His written Word.
(From a tract by Good News Publishers, Westchester IL.)
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THE LORD SHUT HIM IN
By Rev. Gerrit Rezelman
A Message of Comfort for the Sick and Shut-in.
If you are sick or "shut in," you are in a large and noble company. Shut-ins have long been a special part of God's people. It is true that man loves freedom and to be shut in and confined within four walls is generally not desired. But I suggest to you, dear friends, that the shut-in is a privileged person, and especially when he has been shut in by the Lord his God.
Do you remember that the first shut-ins recorded in the Bible were shut in by God? In Genesis 7 we read, "And the Lord saith unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark . . . And they went in . . . And the Lord shut him in" (7:16). And then the rains began and the fountains from the deep were broken up, and the flood came. "And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." And all in all, Noah and his family were "shut in" the ark for a year and ten days.
I can imagine Noah and his family sometimes becoming weary and bored in that ark. I can imagine them wishing for some dry land, for all around them was water -- water everywhere. Yet they were privileged and blessed, delivered from all the wicked men of earth and protected from the greatest catastrophe which had ever overtaken the earth. And then came that happy day when God spake unto Noah saying, "Go forth of the ark, thou and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee."
In this message, we are thinking of God's shut-ins, of that vast multitude who are shut-in by reason of affliction, by sickness and pain or who, having lost their loved ones and friends in this life, feel now that they are very much alone. You Shut-ins cannot go places or do your daily work as before. You are denied many of the pleasures of life. Your suffering seems at time unbearable. You are so confined, even fellowship with God's people in the public worship service is no longer possible for you. Yes, truly, you are "shut-in."
But remember, fellow believers have not forgotten you. They truly miss you from their company. They notice your pew empty in the church. Their Christian sympathy is ever mindful of you. And never in their prayers do they forget you before God's Throne of mercy and grace. But all the while your friends remember that the Lord is shutting you in.
To be shut-in is really a God-given privilege. You Shut-ins live in a far larger, more beautiful world than you ever realize. For your world can be filled with the radiance, and the hope, and the cheer, which come from afar -- 'way beyond the four walls of your confinement. These are Heaven's gifts to you!
You, dear Shut-in, live a protected life. Shut-out from the worldly wants and from many an alluring sin, you are like Noah in the ark, for when the rains beat and the winds blow, they cannot come nigh you. "For the Lord shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." (Psalm 91:4,11). Many of life's dangers are shut-out from you!
But, best of all, you are shut in with the love of Christ Jesus. What you thought was tragedy is working out for your good. The rich, deep experience of the love of Christ, who cares for you, is ever yours. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine?"
Finally, God's shut-in is in a position of unusual power. You can be much in prayer and communion with God, in behalf of yourself and others. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). The prayer chamber is the "power house of the kingdom." And you, Shut-in, may be at the controls daily in this power house.
Your example of patience and faith may be a living inspiration to many others who are not shut-in as you are. Tell others the secret of your spiritual strength. For "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant" (Psalm 25:14).
You too, dear shut-in sufferer, may, like Noah, if you have loved and accepted this Saviour by faith, become an heir of "the righteousness of faith" (Hebrews 11:7), which will be your justification and salvation forever.
Then there will come a day, such as the day God said to Noah, "Go forth out of the ark." God may once again restore you to health and former blessings, and open the doors that have shut you in.
Or -- the Lord may say: "The cup of your suffering and sickness is full. You have suffered bravely. You have patiently endured. Come now, and enter into the joy of thy Lord."
Therefore, thank the Lord if He has shut you in.
ONE BRIEF WORD,
in closing, to every reader. Whether we be shut-in, or healthy and free, this question: Have we all found a place of safety in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we assured that we are shut in with our God? God has promised that He will never again send a universal flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:15), but He will once again loose His wrath upon sin. One more great judgment day is coming (Matthew 25:31-46, & II Peter 3). In that great day, will we be "Shut-in" or "Shut-out" from the love of God?
(From a tract by the Chicago Tract Society.)
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