Without the Camp...

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp. --Hebrews 13:13

By Spurgeon

Jesus, bearing his cross, went forth to suffer without the gate. 

The Christian's reason for leaving the camp of the world's sin and religion is not because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple must follow his Master. Christ was "not of the world:" his life and his testimony were a constant protest against conformity with the world. Never was such overflowing affection for men as you find in him; but still he was separate from sinners. 

In like manner Christ's people must "go forth unto him." They must take their position "without the camp," as witness-bearers for the truth. They must be prepared to tread the straight and narrow path. They must have bold, unflinching, lion-like hearts, loving Christ first, and his truth next, and Christ and his truth beyond all the world. 

Jesus would have his people "go forth without the camp" for their own sanctification. You cannot grow in grace to any high degree while you are conformed to the world. The life of separation may be a path of sorrow, but it is the highway of safety; and though the separated life may cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle, yet it is a happy life after all. No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ: Jesus reveals himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest. The highway of holiness is the highway of communion. It is thus we shall hope to win the crown if we are enabled by divine grace faithfully to follow Christ "without the camp." The crown of glory will follow the cross of separation. A moment's shame will be well recompensed by eternal honour; a little while of witness-bearing will seem nothing when we are "forever with the Lord."

Comfort and Exhortation...

1 Thessalonians 5 - For comfort, exhortation and hope...

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Brethren, pray for us.

Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

HIs Presence Goes With Me...

Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’  Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”

And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”--Exodus 33:12-17

Reading through Exodus 33:12-17 again this morning and praying it fervently for myself as well as for the people whom I love.  

Father, 

I am Your beloved daughter and by Your matchless grace have found grace in Your sight!!  I have been chosen in You before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before You.  I want to know You more!!  Please show me now Your ways  and teach me Your paths so that others would see the evidence of Your grace displayed in my life and desire Your Presence, also. 

In my flesh I can do nothing good.   Without Your Spirit I am helpless and hopeless!! You provide me with wisdom and guide me continually. You have prepared works for me to walk in.  You deal with my enemies round about me...I am never ashamed because You are my Father who fights for me and never turns me away!  I want my life to be an expression of my utter gratitude for what You and You alone have accomplished.   I want to live always to the praise of Your glory!  This cannot happen unless Your Presence goes with me for I am like a child before You.  I do not know how to come in or go out.  

Lift up the light of Your countenance upon me, Father, and give me peace.  You are the glory of my strength and in Your favor I am exalted. The Holy One of Israel is my King, my strength and my shield...He hears the  voice of my supplications.  My heart trusts in You and I am helped.  Therefore, I greatly rejoice and with my song I praise You!  Let me never glory in anything or anyone but You, Lord.  May I live, Father, in utter dependence on You and may it be to the praise of Your glory!

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--that, as it is written, "He who glories, let Him glory in the Lord."--1 Corinthians 1:30-31

The Earth is the Lord's

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.--Psalm 24:1


In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.--Genesis 1:1

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.  Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.  Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.--Genesis 1:26-31

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.--John 1:1-5

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.--John 1:14

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. --John 1:17

The Title Deed to the Earth belongs to Jesus Christ...

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”--Revelation 5:5

Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”--Revelation 5:7-10

He Answered Nothing...

Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.

Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”  But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.--Matthew 27:11b-13 (emphasis mine)

He answered nothing.  Jesus held His peace.  What a wondrous example of wisdom...SILENCE.  

But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴ Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.

For in You, O Lord, I hope;

You will hear, O Lord my God.--Psalm 38:13-14

You, my Jesus, was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, You opened not Your mouth.  You faced so much unjust suffering and were accused of so many things and answered them nothing!  You knew they could have no power against You unless it had been given to them by Your Father in heaven.  Your surrendered completely to His will for the joy that was set before You and endured the cross...You died because You had set Your love upon ME!! before the foundation of the world!! You desired me and chose me as Your peculiar treasure to be with You always and forever...AND YOUR CHOOSING HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ME BUT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR MERCY, LOVE AND COMPASSION.  

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: --1 John 3:1a

It is written in Your word that no Man spoke as You spoke, but silence was Your answer to Your accusers and Your to Your persecutors.  You bore it all, speechless and said not a word in Your defense...not a word to stop Your slaughter. You were the perfect self-sacrifice. You, who knew no sin, bore our sins for us and took the punishment we so rightly deserved!  Our sin is defenseless.  Nothing can be said in excuse of human guilt and no one can save us but our God and it was to Him that You committed Yourself!  Such a beautiful and perfect example You left for us in the face of suffering.  Silence is so very often the perfect response to an opposing world.  Quiet endurance answers so many questions so much better than words often can.  Thinking on the martyrs who spoke volumes as they gave up their lives for what they believed.  How utterly awesome, Father that in Your Son's silence He proved conclusively that He was the true Lamb of God by fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy!

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.--Isaiah 53:7

Oh Father, may silence be my wisdom as I face an opposing world who hated You without a cause and because I follow You, will hate me, also. 

May I consider my Jesus, who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself and may this keep me from becoming weary and discouraged in my soul knowing that I have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin.

May I do as Your precious Son did in the face of persecution and oppression:

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

 “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;--1 Peter 2:21-23

When I suffer according to Your will, Father, I pray that I do not take offense; but instead commit my soul to You in doing good...You are my faithful Creator. You have seen and observed both my trouble and my grief and will repay it by Your hand.  The helpless commits himself to You...Into Your hand, then,  I commit my spirit.  You have redeemed me.  You have abolished death and brought immortality to light through the Gospel.  May I live for You unashamed for I know whom I have believed and like Paul am confident that He who has begun a good work in me will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.  May my last words be as my Jesus:

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.--Luke 23:46

Eyes on Him...

I have been reading "One Perfect Life" by John MacArthur which is in essence a harmony of the four Gospels.  Reading it brings Christ to mind often during the day and with Christ in mind I am no longer thinking on me and my circumstances. (This in itself is such a good thing)   I am thinking on His wondrous attributes.  Thinking great thoughts of my Jesus which are as Spurgeon would say...such sweet savor...truly a fragrance unequaled!  In His life of ministry here on earth Jesus makes every one of His Father's precepts shine like the sun! He is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.  In His life you see truth, love, perfection, obedience, surrender, the beauty of holiness and unending grace.  As I read, I see how far short I fall of the glory of God and yet I am not discouraged...for I see that this battle is not mine...I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me!  He is with me and He fights for me!

As I read I also see that my God cares for me, that His grace is sufficient, that His will is best and that in Him is my safety.  My Jesus was Man of Sorrows, well acquainted with grief.   He was despised and rejected of men and not received by even His own people.  My Jesus understands all that I go through and sympathizes.  Despite what He faced He loved until the end...He did nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind regarded others as more important than Himself.  He set His face like flint and endured it all for me...for each of us who would believe.  His love was constant, self-forgetting and faithful.  I so very much want to be as He was and is!    He is my help...my strong habitation...my God fights for me.  Praying that my life can be a reflection of His glory and that I would honor my Father always during my time here on earth.  May my eyes and my thoughts be ever toward Him and may my trust be demonstrated by my praise of faith!

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.--Colossians 3:1-4

His Peace...

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.--Ephesians 1:2

God gives peace...His true peace to those who love and obey Him.  The Bible says that man on his own cannot know this peace because he is alienated from God.  True peace is only available through our Father in Heaven who is the God of all Peace and from the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  

Beloved, may both His grace and peace be with you today and every day.  His peace is a gift of His grace!  Take hold of what you have been given!  Grace is God's unmerited favor or kindness to us in His Son...to us who are so undeserving but by faith believe!  

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.--Romans 5:1-2

How beautiful is that...our access into this grace is by our faith. (which is also a gift from Him)  Apart from Christ we are aliens in this world without hope, but now in Christ Jesus we have been brought near. 

The Spirit of God who makes His home with us when we believe and bears witness with our Spirit that we are His children...it is He who leads us and speaks His peace to our hearts even in the midst of very difficult circumstances.  He also convicts us of sin and wrong focus that weaken us and lessen our devotion to God.   His Spirit assures us that our God is sovereign and that whatever comes our way must first go through His hand of love.  We are thus comforted that despite how things look or feel our God has it all in hand and is working it all together for His glory and our good.  This is the peace that is talked of in the book of Philippians...the one that is surpasses all understanding.  God does not give peace as the world gives peace...the world's peace is fleeting and dependent on circumstances...our God's peace is total and eternal in the heavens.

Praying today that His Spirit would show me those things that discourage His peace from ruling in my heart.  Try me Father...search me...show me my sin and know my anxieties.  Help me to step out of the way and allow your peace and comforts to be the delight of my soul.  The work you want to do in my heart is good!!  Oh, that the following command from the Book of Philippians would be the antidote today for all of my anxious, foolish and prideful thoughts.  May I receive Your word with meekness (no argument) and allow them to root, ground and grow in my heart.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.--Philippians 4:6-9

Notes on True Success...

Was outside running and thinking on some things I had read this morning in the word of God.

Run the race with endurance...Press forward and look to Him

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.--Hebrews 12:1-2

Herein lies true success....

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.--2nd Timothy 4:7-8

The Reward...

His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.--Matthew 25:21

Salvation is the path to glory...live being faithful to the will of your God.  Remember the goal...think on the reward...finish well.

The Book of Jude

The Book of Jude always reminds me of Dave Hunt...one who contended earnestly for the faith. Posting it in his honor.  

http://www.thebereancall.org

Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Desiring the Praise of God...

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God--Romans 2:29

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.--1 Samuel 16:7

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.--Matthew 23:25-28

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.--Luke 17:21

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.--John 4:23

For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.--Philippians 3:3

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.--Colossians 2:11-12

How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?--John 5:44

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.--John 12:43

Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.--1 Corinthians 4:5

For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.--2nd Corinthians 10:18

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.--1 Thessalonians 2:4  

APPLICATION:  God looks at our hearts...He sees all.  There is NOTHING hidden from his sight. His judgment reaches the secret places of our hearts and it is according to truth.   He desires truth in the inward parts and renders to each one according to his deeds.  

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.--1 Peter 3:4

Psalm 51

Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Preeminence Belongs to Him...

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”--Revelation 11:15

His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.--Psalm 72:17

Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.--Isaiah 9:7

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.--Isaiah 53:2-3

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.--Isaiah 53:12

John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.--John 3:27

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. --1 Cor 3:7

APPLICATION:

He must increase, but I must decrease.--John 3:30

Jesus the Gentle...

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with al lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering bearing with one another in love endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.--Ephesians 4:1-2 

It was noted in the previous study that the first three chapters of Ephesians were about doctrine and the last three about duty...or the first three describe our position in Christ and the last three our practice.  Paul begins Chapter 4 of Ephesians by beseeching us to walk worthy of the calling with which we were called.  Here in verse two and three he enumerates the 5 characteristics of the worthy walk...with the goal being endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  That is the goal...unity.  The center of Christian unity is in the heart.   It is not in a set of rules...it is not outward.  In verse 2 Paul gives us 5 attitudes of the heart which bring about peace in the body and bind believers together.

Meekness or gentleness is the second characteristic of the worthy walk. The first step, humility (talked about here) is the foundational characteristic of the worthy walk and encompasses the others.  Without a lowliness of spirit there would be no meekness.  Meekness or gentleness is a mildness of disposition, a graciousness of spirit. Proverbs 16:28 tells us that he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.  In fact, a man who does not rule his spirit is likened  to a city broken down without walls. 

In the world meekness is despised and is very often associated with weakness.  Meekness, however, is the opposite of weakness...it is power that is under the control of the Spirit of God.  Jesus describes Himself in Matthew 11 as gentle and lowly in heart... a place where our soul can find rest.  He exemplified meekness perfectly throughout His earthly ministry.  He was never selfishly ambition but always was about the will of His Father in Heaven.  Jesus was a Servant Leader.  Mark tells us that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.  The path to greatness in the world is through aggression, pride and putting oneself forward, but Jesus, the greatest Man that ever lived walked the path of humility and gentleness.  This is how we, who are His followers, are to walk.  

Meekness is also not cowardice.  At His crucifixion, Jesus showed meekness in the face of unjust suffering. He could have destroyed those who opposed Him with a word, but instead, for the joy that was set before Him (us) He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.   He willing suffered insult, injury and death to deliver us from eternal damnation.  He set His face like flint and suffered and endured all of it for our sake.   To offenses against Himself, Jesus was silent...to religious hypocrisy, lies and lack of truth, He responded  firmly and without equivocation.  Read the following verse from 1 Peter 2 and see the pattern Christ has left behind for us to follow.  

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Jesus committed Himself to His Father's sovereign care in all things.  We are to do the same...we died with Him and our life is now hidden with Christ in God.  It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.  A person who has died to self has neither thought nor worry for himself.  He lives for God...He knows his life is not about him but about doing the will of His Father in Heaven.  A meek person steps aside and allows his God to work even in offenses and perhaps, especially in offenses against him.   A meek person is grateful for what his God has done and lives with a thankful servant's heart of love and compassion toward those around him. 

Beloved, we are more than conquerors through God who loves us.  There is nothing that can separate us from His love.  Like Jesus, we can set our faces like flint and follow in His steps, because He is our Rock and our Defense.... He will not allow us to be moved.  We can put off offenses against us and lean on our Beloved, depending on both His strength and protection because we know He cares for us and will guide us continually. The worst the world can throw at us is truly the best thing that can happen to us here on earth. (death)  

I end with one of my favorite quotes about gentleness from John MacArthur...in context he is referring to the verse from Philippians 4 that tells us to let our gentleness be made known to all men.

Gentleness: This means learning to accept less than you might think you are due.  Let your gentleness ....we can replace this word with the following:  Let your contentment, forbearing spirit, sweet reasonableness, bigheartedness, good will...bending beyond what is expected to grant them good, magnanimity, charity toward the faults of others, mercy toward failures of others, not being personally offended by the faults of others..be known to all men. It is the kind of gentleness that can submit to injustice, disgrace, mistreatment, without hatred, without malice, without retaliation, without vengeance.

The best way to look at it...it is the graciousness of humility which basically says you may have mistreated me, you may have misjudged me, you may have misrepresented me, you may have not given me what I deserve or given me what I don’t deserve, you may have ruined my reputation with some, acted in hostility towards me, I may be the recipient of your inequity, injustice, and mistreatment but I humbly, graciously accept it...Christ still reaches out in love...

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.--Revelation 12:11

"Blessed are the gentle,(meek) for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5).

Jesus from Isaiah 53

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Quiet Heart - Spurgeon

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)

It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mis-trusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!

Oh, for grace to be confident in God! The holy One of Israel must defend and deliver His own. He cannot run back from His solemn declarations. We may make sure that every word of His will stand though the mountains should depart. He deserves to be confided in; and if we would display confidence and consequent quietness, we might be as happy as the spirits before the throne.

Come, my soul, return unto thy rest, and lean thy head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.

Allured by Love...Spurgeon

Wilderness Communion

I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. (Hosea 2:14)

The goodness of God sees us allured by sin, and it resolves to try upon us the more powerful allurements of love. Do we not remember when the Lover of our souls first cast a spell upon us and charmed us away from the fascinations of the world! He will do this again and again whenever He sees us likely to be ensnared by evil.

He promises to draw us apart, for there He can best deal with us, and this separated place is not to be a paradise, but a wilderness, since in such a place there will be nothing to take of our attention from our God. In the deserts of affliction the presence of the Lord becomes everything to us, and we prize His company beyond any value which we set upon it when we sat under our own vine and fig tree in the society of our fellows. Solitude and affliction bring more to themselves and to their heavenly Father than any other means.

When thus allured and secluded the Lord has choice things to say to us for our comfort. He "speaks to our heart," as the original has it. Oh, that at this we may have this promise explained in our experience! Allured by love, separated by trial, and comforted by the Spirit of truth, may we know the Lord and sing for joy!

A letter from Saeed Abedini to his wife, Naghmeh Received March 21, 2013

A letter from Saeed Abedini to his wife, Naghmeh Received March 21, 2013

Hello to my dear love and wife,

When I saw my family for the first time behind the glass walls, I could see my mom four meters away. As she approached me and saw my face, she broke down and could not get closer. She was crying. I understood what she felt because after weeks of being in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, I also got to see my face in the mirror of an elevator that was taking me to the prison hospital. I said hi to the person staring back at me because I did not recognize myself. My hair was shaven, under my eyes were swollen three times what they should have been, my face was swollen, and my beard had grown.

It was a few days ago when one of my family members, with weary eyes and after running around for 15 weeks in trying to get me out of prison, said that my dad says every single day that “this week I will get my son out of prison.” But this does not happen and he is not able to get me out of prison. In that instant I looked into the wrinkled and tired eyes of my dad. I could clearly see that he had ran around for months and he had no more strength left in him. It was very hard seeing my family in such a situation.

You, my wife, on the other side of the world, alone with the kids. Alone and worried. My family here in Iran, being interrogated, tired and under so much pressure.

With the loud voice of the prison guard, our visitation had ended and they put covers over our eyes and we returned to the dark room void of any natural sunlight.

I started praying for my family. My dear Naghmeh. You are the love of my life. I am always in love with you.

Dear Naghmeh, I have been stung so many times that I have become full of poison. This is an Iranian saying. A lot of people say that they have been stung by so many people that their whole being is full of poison like a poisonous snake. It

means that we have been bitten by the snakes of this world so many times that, that all of the poison has collected in us and that we are like the poisonous snake. But if we sting anyone, we will die. This Iranian saying is full of spirit of revenge and unforgiveness and every time I would hear this in Iran, I would get very sick hearing it.

A few days ago they brought a young war veteran who was disabled in 80% of his body in my cell. He had been put in solitary confinement with his horrific condition. And this had made him very mad and he kept saying “why did they do this to me? I gave my whole life for their sake. See what they have done to me!!!” And when he would get very mad he would say “I will take my revenge!”

I spoke to this young man until 4 in the morning. I spent time with him and spoke to him to forgive. When we don’t forgive, we drink the poison ourselves and then wait for the other person to die. And we take the knife that has hurt us and we stab ourselves with it again! And this is the will of the evil one who wants to destroy us.

But when we forgive, we pour out the poison of the enemy and of the devil and we don’t let the poison stay in us and we don’t let the poison make us into poisonous snakes! So that we don’t become like the person we despised and who persecuted and tortured us.

Maybe you ask, what is the secret of being so happy in such a hard situation?

Forgiveness and a change of attitude. When we forgive, we become free and we become messengers of peace and reconciliation and goodness. And whoever stings us, we can take into our embrace and love them. And in this dark and evil time, we can live full of love and full of peace and full of joy and shine like the stars! Glory be to His Name.

I forgave the prison doctor who did not listen to me and did not give me the medication that I needed. I forgave the interrogator who beat me. Every day when I would see the interrogator and for the last time when I saw him, I forgave him. I smiled at him and with respect shook his hand and I said my goodbye. The minute I forgave them and loved them, that second I was filled with unspeakable joy. I saw in the eyes of the interrogator that he had come to respect me and as he was leaving, he could not look behind him. Love is as strong as death.

We have to get rid of the poison in our body because if we don’t, we will die. We have to get rid of both poisons; first the poison of the snake that bit us and also the poison in us that was created by that bite. We can get rid of the first poison by forgiveness and we can get rid of the second poison by humility, by dying to ourselves, and allowing the band-­‐aid of love and goodness to replace the empty place of the wound. So that we are not a tool of darkness and revenge, but that we can be light and love and a vessel of forgiveness and we can be transformed in the process.

Surely you have someone in your family, city, work or environment that have become like poisonous snake who have bitten you and tried to make you poisonous. So, forgive them and use the antidote of love and be Victorious!

One of the chances of forgiveness came when I was blindfolded and a guard was holding my hand guiding me. He asked “what are you here for? What is your crime?” I said “I am Christian Pastor.” All of the sudden he let go of my hand and said “so you are unclean! I will tell others not to defile themselves by touching you!” He would tell others not to get close to me. It really broke my heart. The nurse would also come to take care of us and provide us with treatment, but she said in front of others “in our religion we are not suppose to touch you, you are unclean. Baha’i (religion) and Christians are unclean!” She did not treat me and that night I could not sleep from the intense pain I had. According to the doctor’s instructions, they would not give me the pain medication that they would give other prisoners because I was unclean.

I could not fall sleep one night due to the pain when all of a sudden I could hear the sound of dirty sewer rats with their loud noises and screeches. It was around 4 in the morning. It sounded like laughter in a way.

Even though many would call me unclean and filthy and would not even want to pass by me and they had abandoned me and they were disgusted to touch me because they were afraid that they would also become unclean, but I knew that in the eyes of Jesus Christ, and in the eyes of my brothers and sisters, I am like the sewer rat, beautiful and loveable – not disgusting and unclean – and like the rats I can scream with joy within those prison walls and worship my Lord in joy and strength.

The Joy of the Lord is my strength. Amen.

Satisfied With Your Goodness...

And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”--Jeremiah 31:14

Father,

Help me to be satisfied with Your goodness.  You make my soul a well-watered garden.  You turn my mourning into joy, You comfort me and You make me rejoice from my sorrows.  Gather me and lead me, Father, and cause me to walk in a straight way without stumbling for I am Your precious daughter.  You love me with an everlasting love.  A love without beginning, without end, without measure and without changing is the love of my God for me!  Your heart is tender toward me.  Help me to follow You as a dear child.  May Your Holy Spirit always lead me, Father!  I am Your beloved!  I dwell in safely in the secret place of Your Presence and Your love covers me.  You satiate me when I am weary and replenish my soul when I am sorrowful.  You satisfy my longings and fill me when I am hungry with Your goodness.  Your right hand helps me and in the shadow of Your wings I rejoice!  

My soul will follow hard after You...Help me to hearken diligently unto You, and eat that which is good.  Let me go forth as Your word goes forth...it does not return to You void, but accomplishes that which pleases You...it prospers in the thing whereto it was sent.  I will go out with joy, Father, and be led forth with peace knowing thatYou will make me like that tree planted by the rivers of water whose leaf does not wither, and whatever he does proposers.  I will seek Your kingdom first.  I will hunger and thirst for Your righteousness and You shall fill me.  

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,--Ephesians 1:3

to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.--Ephesians 3:19

for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”--Revelation 7:17

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

“For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.--Isaiah 55:6-12

His Everlasting Love...

Trying to wrap my mind around this one today...

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.--Jeremiah 31:3


Without beginning, without end, without measure, without change is the love of Jehovah to His elect.....Is the love of Jehovah for ME!!   Because He changes not, His love for me changes not...In Him I can rest.  His heart is faithful...His promises sure.  There is nothing about His love that is contingent on me...I am His and I am His forever...even when I am not faithful...even when I go my own way and my sins go up over my head.... His love for me remains the same.  His love draw me continually in, reminding me that Perfect love loves me...Perfect love casts out all my fear....

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It isChrist who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.--Romans 8:28-39

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; --Philippians 1:6

You Did it for Me..

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clotheYou?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’--Matthew 25:34-40

Father,

All I do for Your people is graciously accepted by Your, Son as done to Himself. What motivation...what a sweet assurance from You, my Father in Heaven to love as You love!   Help me Father, to show kindness for Your namesake!  You have shown me such great love and grace!  You who were rich became poor for my sake that I through Your poverty might be rich.  I want to honor You and have mercy on others as You have honored me and shown me such great mercy!  I want to be another's servant for my Jesus' sake!  May your love, Father, compel and motivate me moment by moment to do those things that are pleasing to You.  Those who are dear to you, should be dear to me.  Help me to love not just in word only but in deed and truth. Help me to see others with Your eyes.  I want Your Son to be the link between me and others.  Increase my faith, Father, and make my heart willing to extend the love and grace you have shown me to all You bring into my life.  



By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.--1 John 3:16-18

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.  

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak,  knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.  For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.--2 Corinthians 4:5-18