Daily Archives: April 14, 2013

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Charles Stanley – How can I find the strength to endure when I face spiritual opposition?

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Ezra 4

In the Book of Ezra we read of a beleaguered people who faced opposition in doing what God had commissioned them to do. They sought to rebuild the holy temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s forces decades earlier, and they faced stiff opposition from the locals, deceitful offers of “help,” and open attacks from the outside.

Still, God’s people successfully completed the temple restoration. How? By developing a spiritual quality we all need in the Christian life: endurance.

God knows the Christian life is not easy. And it never will become easy, no matter how long we live. In this world, we will face opposition, both from the world and from the enemy of our souls, the devil. Jesus told us, “In the world you have tribulation” (John 16:33).

Surrounded by such opposition, if we’re going to live in a way that pleases God, then we must develop endurance. The Bible is full of examples of people who endured opposition to their work and who received their reward as a result. Hebrews 11, often called the “Hall of Faith,” lists some of those heroes.

But what exactly is involved in developing endurance? At least four things play a big role:

Receiving encouragement from others. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to ponder the lives of those he lists in chapter 11. He refers to them as “a cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1). We cannot see this great cloud of witnesses, but we can read about them in God’s Word and glean from their inspiring stories of endurance.

Getting rid of hindrances. Hebrews tells us, “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us” (12:1). This means we need to identify those things that could slow us down, including any sin God brings to our attention.

Running the race. Hebrews 12:1 ends by telling us, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” When the going gets rough, we don’t run away. We can’t be quitters. Rather, we continue on in confident trust, and the longer we persevere, the stronger our faith in Him becomes.

Fixing our eyes on Christ. Hebrews 12:2 advises us to keep “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Nothing helps us endure like seeing the final prize before us—and that prize is Christ Himself. Do you want the prize? Then you must endure. And Jesus promises to help you.

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Our Daily Bread — Well Done, David Schumm

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Isaiah 35:3-10

Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come. —Isaiah 35:4

At David Schumm’s memorial service, we celebrated the optimism, perseverance, and faith of a man with severe cerebral palsy. For all of David’s 74 years, the simple tasks of daily life required great effort. Through it all, he kept smiling and helping others by giving more than 23,000 hours as a hospital volunteer, along with encouraging at-risk teens.

David selected Isaiah 35:3-10 to be read at his service: “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you. . . . Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (vv.3-4,6). This promise, given to the people of Israel while in captivity, reminds us of our hope for the time when Christ will return for those who trust and follow Him.

During David’s last weeks, he often pointed visitors to a large picture of Jesus near his bed, saying, “He’s coming to get me soon.” This is the hope Jesus Christ gives to all His children, which calls forth our thanks and praise to Him! —David McCasland

Marvelous message we bring,

Glorious carol we sing,

Wonderful word of the King:

Jesus is coming again! —Peterson

Live as if Christ died yesterday and is coming back today.

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Alistair Begg – Even in the Face of Mockery

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Mockery was a large factor in our Lord’s suffering. Judas mocked Him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed Him to scorn; Herod set Him at nothing; the servants and the soldiers jeered at Him and brutally insulted Him; Pilate and his guards ridiculed His royalty; and on the tree all sorts of horrible jibes and hideous taunts were hurled at Him.

Ridicule is always hard to bear, but when we are in intense pain it is so heartless, so cruel, that it cuts us to the quick. Consider the Savior crucified, racked with anguish far beyond anything we can imagine, and then picture that motley multitude, all wagging their heads or making mouths in bitter contempt of the poor suffering victim! Surely there must have been something more in the Crucified One than they could see, or else such a great and mingled crowd would not have unanimously “honored” Him with such contempt. Was it not evil confessing, in the very moment of its greatest apparent triumph, that after all it could do no more than mock at that victorious goodness that was then reigning on the cross?

O Jesus, “despised and rejected by men,”1 how could You die for men who treated You so badly? Here is amazing love, love divine, love beyond degree. We despised You in our pre-converted days, and even since our new birth we have given the world a place in our hearts, and yet You bled to heal our wounds and died to give us life. O that we could set You on a glorious high throne in all men’s hearts! We would ring out Your praises over land and sea until men would universally adore you just as they once unanimously rejected You.

Your creatures wrong Thee, O sovereign Good!

You are not loved, because not understood:

This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile

Ungrateful men, regardless of Thy smile.

1Isaiah 53:3

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Charles Spurgeon – David’s dying song

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“Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.” 2 Samuel 23:5

Suggested Further Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

If God were to put my salvation in my hands, I should be lost in ten minutes; but my salvation is not there—it is in Christ’s hands. You have read of the celebrated dream of John Newton, which I will tell you to the best of my recollection. He thought he was out at sea, on board a vessel, when some bright angel flew down and presented him with a ring, saying, “As long as you wear this ring you shall be happy, and your soul shall be safe.” He put the ring on his finger, and he felt happy to have it in his own possession. Then there came a spirit from the vast deep, and said to him; “The ring is nothing but folly;” and by deceit and flattery the spirit at last persuaded him to slip the ring from off his finger, and he dropped it in the sea. Then there came fierce things from the deep; the mountains bellowed, and hurled upward their volcanic lava: all the earth was on fire, and his soul in the greatest trouble. By and by a spirit came, and diving below, brought up the ring, and showing it to him, said, “Now thou art safe, for I have saved the ring.” Now might John Newton have said, “Let me put it on my finger again.” “No, no; you cannot take care of it yourself;” and up the angel flew, carrying the ring away with him, so that then he felt secure, since no deceit of hell could get it from him again, for it was up in heaven. My life is “hid with Christ in God.”

For meditation: Satan is unable to snatch anyone from the mighty hand of God (Job 1:12; 2:6; Luke 22:31,32; John 10:28,29). But he still has the unbeliever in his grasp.

Sermon no. 19

14 April (Preached 15 April 1855)

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John MacArthur – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy”

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“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

Mercy is not a human attribute. It is God’s gift to those who seek Him. Psalm 103:11 says, “As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (KJV).

The verb form of “merciful” appears many times in Scripture and means “to have mercy on,” “aid the afflicted,” “give help to the wretched,” or “rescue the miserable.” In general it refers to anything you do to benefit someone in need. The noun form is used only twice: here in Matthew 5:7 and in Hebrews 2:17, which reads, “[Christ] had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest.” Christ Himself is both the source and illustration of mercy.

Christ modeled mercy throughout His earthly ministry. He healed the sick and enabled the crippled to walk. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the mute. His redeeming love embraced sinners of all kinds. He wept with those in sorrow and comforted the lonely. He embraced little children and the elderly alike. His mercy was compassion in action!

Despite His abundant mercy, Jesus received no mercy from His enemies. They hated Him without cause, accused Him falsely, beat Him, nailed Him to a cross, spat upon Him, and cursed Him. Even then He sought mercy for them, praying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Some have paraphrased Matthew 5:7 to say that if you show mercy to others, they will show mercy to you. Now that might happen in some isolated incidences, but in this jaded world that’s not often the case–as Jesus’ life clearly demonstrates. Many Christians have incurred slander, rebuke, lawsuits, and even death for their noble efforts. Jesus didn’t guarantee merciful treatment from others. His emphasis was that God shows mercy toward those who show mercy to others.

Don’t ever be reluctant to show mercy to others–even when they misunderstand or mistreat you. God will use your kindness for His glory and reward you accordingly.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Praise Jesus for being willing to suffer death that you might receive mercy.

Is there someone you might show mercy to today in some tangible way?

For Further Study:

Read John 5:1-18.

How did Christ demonstrate mercy to the sick man?

How did the Jewish religious leaders react?

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Destroying the Devil’s Works

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“But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan, who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

A young Christian came to inquire of me one day, “How do you account for the fact that so many Christian leaders, many of them famous personalities, pastors and heads of Christian organizations are involved in moral and financial scandals?”

He named several well-known pastors and Christian leaders to illustrate his point.

Sadly I acknowledged his statement to be true. It seems there is an all-out attack of Satan to destroy the credibility of the Christian message. My explanation to him was that our Lord and the apostle Paul dealt with the same problem because, even though the disciples had been with the Lord Jesus three years or more, Judas betrayed Him and the others deserted Him.

The apostle Paul spoke of several who had deserted him. Those included Demas, who loved the present world, and Hymenaeus, Alexander and Philetus, who strayed from the truth.

Only one person can help us live holy lives that will honor our Lord, who came to destroy the works of the devil, and that is the third person of the Trinity – God the Holy Spirit. As long as we cast our ballot for the Spirit in our warfare against the flesh, we can live supernaturally every day in the joy, the wonder, the adventure and the power of the resurrection. It is simply a matter of our will; the decision is ours.

Bible Reading: I John 3:4-10

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  “Oh, God, thank You that You sent Your Son to destroy the works of the devil. I will claim the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit so that I may live victoriously and never bring scandal or disgrace to Your name.”

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Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Audience

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To get an audience with Abraham Lincoln, the presiding President of the United States in 1862, citizens would simply present themselves at the White House between the hours of 11:00am and 2:00pm, sit in the lobby, and wait their turn. Today, it may be easier to get an audience with the Pope or the Royal Couple than to get penciled into the president’s appointment schedule.

Draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy. Hebrews 4:16

In Earth’s realm, God knew His creation would have need of His presence continually, so He sent the Holy Spirit to reside in your heart, discern your thoughts, and attend to your prayers. In today’s turbulent times, if you have invited the presence of God into your life, there is no situation so complicated or so dire that it cannot be attended to by His mercy.

Do you want to make a difference in this nation? Take an audience with the King. Hope for America and its leaders will arrive on the wings of your prayer. When people of faith pray, things change. God answers prayer – bringing healing for the brokenhearted, food for the hungry, compassion for the exiled, and the clarity of truth for the lost and misdirected.

Recommended Reading: I John 5:9-15