An Appeal; Deliverance

C. H. Spurgeon

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)

This is a promise indeed!

Here is an urgent occasion—"the day of trouble." It is dark at noon on such a day, and every hour seems blacker than the one which came before it. Then is this promise in season: it is written for the cloudy day.

Here is condescending advice, "Call upon me." We ought not to need the exhortation: it should be our constant habit all the day and every day. What a mercy to have liberty to call upon God! What wisdom to make good use of it! How foolish to go running about to men! The Lord invites us to lay our case before Him, and surely we will not hesitate to do so.

Here is reassuring encouragement: "I will deliver thee." Whatever the trouble may be, the Lord makes no exceptions but promises full, sure, happy deliverance. He will Himself work out our deliverance by His own hand. We believe it, and the Lord honors faith.

Here is an ultimate result: "Thou shalt glorify me." Ah, that we will do most abundantly. When He has delivered us we will loudly praise Him; and as He is sure to do it, let us begin to glorify Him at once.

Resting in the Lord/Discouraged because of the way

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (Num 21:4 KJV)

Sometimes, like the Israelites, we also get discouraged because of the way, that is because of the path the Lord has us on. Things happen to us too slowly, or too quickly, or unexpected events and outcomes make us discouraged.

The key to conquering our discouragement is to rest in the Lord. His plan is perfect and so is His timing. No matter what we are going through, we can rest knowing God is still on His throne.

“...... He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ (Daniel 4:35b NASB)

The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. (Psa 116:6-7 NASB)

When you are discouraged because of the way, rest in the Lord fellow traveler.

My soul rests quietly only when it looks to God; from him comes my deliverance. (Psalm 62:1 ISB)

Doing what is right...even when it's hard

This is another in our series of blog entries focusing on the life of a Christian. Wouldn't it be wonderful if once we became a believer, we were never tempted again? And even better ...if we never sinned again? But we are tempted. This is the Christian struggle - for the spirit to win over the desires of the flesh.




Paul captured this struggle well:
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. - Galatians 5:17 ESV

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. - Romans 7:21-24 ESV

Yet, God has promised us strength to do the right thing. 

 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -1 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

This brings us to the question: in that moment of decision, how do we make the right choice? There are many things we can do to prepare ourselves for that moment of decision. In past blogs we brought up several things including remembering the outcome of past mistakes, knowing Scripture, making godly decisions, and abstaining from even the appearance of evil.

But in that moment of decision, in that split second, a four letter word could help save the day. "PRAY". 

Prayer is our lifeline to God - and even in that moment of temptation all you can do is get out "Help me Lord", it is your lifeline. That call awakens your subconscious to the fact that you are about to do something that Jesus would have you abstain from, thereby increasing the odds your conscience mind will do something about it. Secondly it reaches out asking the Lord for His power to overcome. 

So in that moment of temptation, we can:

• Be prepared
• Do our best to do the right thing
• PRAY

-The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (2 Thes 3:18 NASB)

Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord

"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord."—Exodus 14:13.

C. H. Spurgeon

HESE words contain God's command to the believer when he is reduced to great straits and brought into extraordinary difficulties. He cannot retreat; he cannot go forward; he is shut up on the right hand and on the left; what is he now to do? The Master's word to him is, "Stand still." It will be well for him if at such times he listens only to his Master's word, for other and evil advisers come with their suggestions. Despair whispers, "Lie down and die; give it all up." But God would have us put on a cheerful courage, and even in our worst times, rejoice in His love and faithfulness. 

Cowardice says, "Retreat; go back to the worldling's way of action; you cannot play the Christian's part, it is too difficult. Relinquish your principles." But, however much Satan may urge this course upon you, you cannot follow it if you are a child of God. His divine fiat has bid thee go from strength to strength, and so thou shalt, and neither death nor hell shall turn thee from thy course. What, if for a while thou art called to stand still, yet this is but to renew thy strength for some greater advance in due time. 

Precipitancy cries, "do something. Stir yourself; to stand still and wait, is sheer idleness." We must be doing something at once—we must do it so we think—instead of looking to the Lord, who will not only do something but will do everything. Presumption boasts, "If the sea be before you, march into it and expect a miracle." 

But Faith listens neither to Presumption, nor to Despair, nor to Cowardice, nor to Precipitancy, but it hears God say, "Stand still," and immovable as a rock it stands. "Stand still";—keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you, as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, "Go forward."

When you just don't want to....

Most days we have it under control don't we? That thing that is tempting us - not a problem. Our focus is on the Lord and our walk with Him. We focus on the tasks at hand and are successful. Good day...check.

But some days aren't so easy are they? That thing that is tempting us gets the best of us. One slip. Maybe it was thing we shouldn't have said. Maybe it was the thing we shouldn't have done....or the thing we shouldn't have looked at. Maybe it was just the thing we shouldn't have thought about.

 Last week we pondered practical ways to refrain from eating the forbidden fruit in this entry.

Today we'll look at the things Scripture tells us to do when those slip ups happen.

First Realize: 

• Realize that even at our best, we have all sinned 

 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23 NASB)

• Realize that God forgives our sin. 

But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9 NASB)

• Realize we can have victory over sin. 

 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57 NASB)

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Then Repair: 

• Pray and confess your sin to the Lord.

Psa 32:5  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. 

• Repent.  (Make a U-turn. Repenting is not just being sorry, but being sorry and following that with appropriate actions) (Acts 8:22a, 17:30, Rev 3:3a, 3:19)

Act 8:22  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God...

• Strengthen your resolve for next time - Remember the way you feel now and use that feeling to make you stronger in the future. Who wants to feel like this?? Right?)

When we sin, we don't lose our salvation, but sometimes we sure do lose the JOY that comes with it! 

Psa 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 

So remember this feeling, so you will have more strength next time the temptation comes. 

Deu 9:7  Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.

While you should remember how this feels, also remember that GOD will NOT remember your sin once you have confessed it and asked forgiveness.

Isa 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. 

 Hallelujah!

Life without the forbidden fruit

Human nature....it's always the one thing we can't have that we want. If I told you that you could never have a chartreuse polka dot book cover, eventually, despite knowing it would be really ugly and you'd probably hate it and never even wanted one until now.....your thoughts would soon be consumed with getting a chartreuse polka dot book cover. 

It was that way from the Garden of Eden.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  (Gen 2:16-17 ESV)

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  (Gen 3:6 ESV)

Thousands of years later, Paul wrote of the same struggle.

 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”  But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.  I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. (Rom 7:7-9 ESV)

The question now begs to be asked...what then do we do? HOW do we stop ourselves from eating the forbidden fruit?? Our strength is in Jesus Christ, and in Scripture He outlined some very practical steps we can take. Here are seven of them.

1. Sow to spirit

• Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

2. Do good and don't give up

• Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 
• Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. 
• 1Th 5:15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. 

3 Rejoice and be thankful in what you DO have... all the "fruits" you CAN eat. Rejoice because of all the ways the Lord has blessed you.

•  1Th 5:16  Rejoice evermore. 
• 1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

4. Be in prayer

• 1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing. 

5. Don't quench the spirit or His voice

• 1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit. 

6. Be discerning

• 1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 

7. Abstain from even the appearance of evil

• 1Th 5:22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.

Holidays

Summer time brings much anticipated vacations. When school is out, both students and parents enjoy going on holiday. We look forward to time away from work and school, and to letting our guard down and having leisure time.

In the Christian's walk though, we don't get a vacation from living out our faith. Scripture speaks of us running a race and we must finish well.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 

1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. (NASB)

Paul compares the Christian to a soldier in Ephesians 6 and describes the armor he wears. This is armor we do not get to remove on this side of eternity. 

Our walk is further described in Galatians chapter 5.  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (verses 16-24 NASB)

Remember: testimonies take a lifetime to build but can be destroyed in only minutes.

Word to Him Who Halts

C. H. Spurgeon

I will save her that halteth. (Zephaniah 3:19)

There are plenty of these lame ones, both male and female. You may meet "her that halteth" twenty times in an hour. They are in the right road and exceedingly anxious to run in it with diligence, but they are lame and make a sorry walk of it. On the heavenly road there are many cripples. It may be that they say in their hearts—What will become of us? Sin will overtake us; Satan will throw us down. Ready-to-halt is our name and our nature; the Lord can never make good soldiers of us, nor even nimble messengers to go on His errands. 

Well, well! He will save us, and that is no small thing. He says, "I will save her that halteth." In saving us He will greatly glorify Himself. Everybody will ask—How came this lame woman to run the race and win the crown? And then the praise will all be given to almighty grace.

Lord, though I halt in faith, in prayer, in praise, in service, and in patience, save me, I beseech Thee! Only Thou canst save such a cripple as I am. Lord, let me not perish because I am among the hindmost, but gather up by Thy grace the slowest of Thy pilgrims—even me. Behold He hath said it shall be so, and therefore, like Jacob, prevailing in prayer, I go forward though my sinew be shrunk.

Never Separated from God

C. H. Spurgeon

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And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? (John 11:26)

Yes, Lord, we believe it; we shall never die. Our soul may be separated from our body, and this is death of a kind; but our soul shall never be separated from God, which is the true death—the death which was threatened to sin—the death penalty which is the worst that can happen. We believe this most assuredly, for who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? We are members of the Body of Christ; will Christ lose parts of His Body? We are married to Jesus; will He be bereaved and widowed? It is not possible. 

There is a life within us which is not capable of being divided from God: yea, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, and how then can we die? Jesus, Himself, is our life, and therefore there is no dying for us, for He cannot die again, In Him we died unto sin once, and the capital sentence cannot a second time be executed. Now we live, and live forever. The reward of righteousness is life everlasting, and we have nothing less than the righteousness of God, and therefore can claim the very highest reward.

Living and believing, we believe that we shall live and enjoy. Wherefore we press forward with full assurance that our life is secure in our living Head.

He who thinks he stands....take heed

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.  
-(1 Cor 10:12 NASB)

Our Christian walk has so many parts doesn't it? We need to be aware of every area of our walk with God because if one area gets a little "off", left unattended, it will likely become even more "off" - and then other areas will follow.

Compare it to someone that eats a very healthy diet, but has little control with sweets. They decide they will just have one bite of their favorite dessert, and that one bite turns into two and then they eat the whole piece and have seconds. The next day they crave sweets and eat even more junk food and eventually they have a two week binge on unhealthy choices.

Our walk with God is not so different. We must be aware of every area of our lives because if one part becomes dishonoring to God, more areas of our lives will likely follow. Underlying every action we take should be a subconscious evaluation: "Does what I am doing please the Lord?"

It is important that we listen for God's conviction and guidance on a daily basis. If we listen, He will waken us morning by morning and cause our ears to hear. He is faithful and ever merciful. Amen!

Isa 50:4b ...He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 

You Can Help

2 Corinthians 8:14-15 At this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may becomea supply for your need, that there may be equality;  as it is written, “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.” (NASB)

We are so blessed to have the resources we do in our nation. Most of our necessities would considered luxuries in other countries.

If you have an old pair of glasses (daily or reading), they may be useful for people in the Congo who do not otherwise have access to eyeglasses. The Paul Carson Partnership evaluates glasses to be taken to the Congo when medical teams go to the area. Wendy Scott (who attends First Evangelical Free Church of Maine) is the local contact person for the collection of these glasses. There will be a collection box in the lobby at our church for the next month. The lasses that you have worn can now be worn by a Congolese man or woman who will be able to better see the world around them.

If you don't wear glasses and would like to help, Everything's a Dollar near the Maine Mall usually has cute reading glasses, as does Marden's.

Profit and Loss

by C.H. Spurgeon

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

Spiritually man is a great trader—he is trading for his own welfare; he is trading for time and for eternity; he keeps two shops: one shop is kept by an apprentice of his, a rough unseemly hand, of clayey mould, called the body; the other business, which is an infinitely more vast concern, is kept by one that is called “the soul” a spiritual being, who does not traffic upon little things, but who deals with hell or heaven, and trades with the mighty realities of eternity. Now, a merchant would be very unwise who should pay all attention to some small off-hand shop of his, and take no account whatever of a large establishment. 

And he would, indeed, be negligent, who should very carefully jot down every trifle of the expenditure of his own household, but should never think of reckoning the expenses of some vast concern that may be hanging on his hands. But the most of men are just as foolish—they estimate the profits (as they conceive them to be) which are gained in that small corner shop called the body, but they too seldom reckon up the awful loss which is brought about by a negligence of the soul’s concerns in the great matters of eternity. 

Let me beseech you, my brethren, while you are not careless of the body, as, indeed, you ought not to be, seeing that it is, in the case of believers, the temple of the Holy Spirit, to take more especial care of your souls. Decorate the tenement, but do not suffer the inhabitant to die of starvation; do not paint the ship while you are letting the crew perish for want of stores on board. Look to your soul, as well as to your body; to the life, as well as to that by which you live.

For meditation: We can be so bodily minded that we are no heavenly use

(1 Timothy 4:8 gives the right balance).

Sermon no. 92
7 July (Preached 6 July 1856)

Double Resting Place

Remember the story in 2 Kings 4? A barren women went to Elijah who prophesied she would bear a son. She did, and some years later the son died working in the field and she went straight to the man of God. When anyone on the way asked her how she was, she replied, "It is well."

How could she say "It is well" when her only son was now dead? Because, she rested in God. She trusted in the Lord.

The town she lived in was named Shunem. The city's name, Shunem, means "Double Resting Place"

It is interesting how the Lord speaks about "doubles" in Scripture. Isaiah penned:  He blessed the righteous with double blessings: For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. -  Isaiah 61:7

In Christ, we have received more than double blessing, and He is our "Double Resting Place".
In times of joy and times of trouble, find your Shunem in the shadow of His wings.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge...Psalm 51:1a