Rescue The Perishing
 
I Believe in Jesus

Many today claim to believe in Jesus.  You hear it on the radio, TV, highways and bi-ways… pretty much everyone believes.  Christians believe in him as do Muslims, Buddhists, new-age, and old-age.  Homosexuals, bisexuals, nudists, fornicators, adulterers and idolaters… they all believe in Jesus.  It is very common for someone to bless the Lord (in whom they claim to have faith in) on one side of his mouth while cursing on the other… sometimes at the same time in the same sentence.  Most all politicians believe… it would be political suicide to NOT believe.  Even atheists mention the name of Jesus when cursing (and they usually turn to Him in fox-holes and on test day). 

The real questions here are:  What does it really mean to believe in Jesus?  Does belief in Him save you from your sins?  If you claim to know him, do you really?  What are the evidences of knowing Him?  What happens when a man/woman truly puts his full confidence in Jesus?  Does simply repeating a prayer after a preacher mean you are a Christian?  Can you be a believer without repentance? 

Jesus in Mark 1:15 preached his first sermon which was short and to the point: “Repent ye and believe the gospel.”  The greek work for “believe” is Pisteuo which means “to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.”  When a person truly believes in Jesus, he:

-          Believes he is the only begotten son of God

-          Believes he is the Messiah

-          Believes he is the Savior of the world

-          Believes he is the only way to heaven

-          Believes he died on the cross for us and rose again on the 3rd day.

Unless a person believes that Jesus is and did all of these things, this person’s faith and belief is on the wrong things.  A person must be fully persuaded and put his confidence in the work that Jesus did on the cross.  Simply believing in all of these things puts a person on level with the devil.  He is fully persuaded of these things too.  In fact, according to James 2:19 the devils believe and they tremble.  Faith without works is dead. 

Works do not save a man from hell.  Works do not justify a man before God.  Truly putting your faith in Christ does that.  However, a man that has truly put his full confidence in Christ will have a change in his life.  If a man were to stand in middle of the road and have an encounter with a Mack truck, he would no doubt have a few major changes in his life.  How much bigger is our Lord than a Mack truck?  A believer will begin to bare good fruit.  Jesus said in Matt 7:16 that you will know them by their fruits.  If you have put your faith in Christ, you will begin to bare good fruit in your life.  John 3:3 says that you must be born again in order to get to heaven.  You must have a new life in Christ.  When you put your faith in Him, you will be born-again.  Ez 36 talks about where God will put in his people a new heart… a heart of flesh.  He will put his spirit within us.  He will cause us to walk in his ways.  Becoming born-again is exactly what Ezekiel was talking about.  God changes our lives completely.  If you claim to be a Christian and nothing has changed in your life, you aren’t a Christian!  And, if you are not a Christian, you are hell-bound.

Jesus also said, “repent!”  Repentance is to change your mind.  To think differently.  When a man truly changes his mind, his actions follow.  When a young man goes to the dentist for the first time, he is going ignorantly and thus thinks that all will be pleasant.  However, once the drills start whirling and once the dentist begins picking and prodding, the young man realizes that this definitely is not a good experience.  He repents of his opinion.  He has changed his mind.  And, no doubt, the next time Mom says it’s time to go to the dentist; the young man is nowhere to be found.

True repentance results in change.  A truly repentant person stops his sin… otherwise he really wasn’t repentant.  If a person claims to know Christ and yet doesn’t stop his sin, this person hasn’t experience the Holy Spirit rebirthing him and this person hasn’t repented.  When a man realizes his exceeding sinfulness and is shamed by it, this is a step towards repentance.  When a man cries out for mercy and cries out for the Lord to change his sinful desires, this man is on the road to repentance.  When a man refuses to continue in a sinful habit because he knows the price that Jesus paid on the cross for that sin, this man has repented.  

Faith without works is as dead as belief without repentance.

Simply repeating a prayer after a preacher doesn’t save you.  Only putting your faith in Him does that.  Too many people think that since they prayed a little prayer when they were 9 years old that they are eternally secure.  The problem with this is that unless this 9 year old truly repented and believed, he wasted his time.  True faith costs something.  It’s easy to believe in Jesus when it doesn’t cost anything.  How about if you have a gun to your head and unless you deny Christ you will get your brains blown out.  Will you believe then?  How about if somebody offers you $20 Billion to deny your faith… will you serve Jesus then?  What if Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments?”  To the homosexual, that would mean to give up his homosexual activities.  Do you love Jesus enough to give him EVERYTHING?  If not, then you truly haven’t been saved and are hell-bound.

Turn to Jesus.  Put your actions where your mouth is.  If you claim to know Him, act like it.  If you are acting like a sinner, perhaps you are one.  If you curse like the world and engage in sinful activities like the world… it’s probably because you haven’t truly repented.  James tells us that if a person cannot control his tongue, his religion is in vain.  The Apostle Paul tells us that we should not let any corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth.  And yet, scores of “believers” pollute the air with language that would make the boldest sailor blush.  

Finally, putting your faith in Jesus isn’t about going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays.  It’s not about how much $ you put in the offering plate.  It’s not about good works like picking up trash in your neighborhood or helping your neighbor with the groceries.  All of these things are good, but these things aren’t what it’s all about.  It’s all about having a close, intimate relationship with Jesus.  It’s about loving Jesus to the point where you don’t want to hurt him.  It’s about your every move and your every desire revolving around what Jesus wants you to do.  It’s about total surrender to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  It’s about his ways, not your ways.  It’s about the fruit of the Spirit, not the works of the flesh.  Surrender to Him today… 

 
 
A Call to Repentance in the Church

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

We have come together to cry out to God on behalf of our nation. In setting aside these days, we are acknowledging that there are no human solutions to the tidal wave of evil in our land, and that nothing short of divine intervention can overcome the darkness and the lostness of our world.

But I believe we need to remind ourselves at the outset of this gathering, that there are some prayers God will not hear; there are some solemn assemblies He will not attend; there are some fasts that are not pleasing to Him.

When the children of Israel came to fast and pray with unclean hands and hearts, God said, “Though they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them . . . . though ye make many prayers, I will not hear” (Ezek. 8:18; Isa. 1:15).

In fact, the Scripture goes so far as to say that our prayers and our fasts are actually an abomination to Him if they are not accompanied by humility and repentance.

We would all be quick to agree about the need for repentance outside these walls. But are we as quick to recognize our own need for repentance?

We can readily identify the sins of the White House. But have we become blind to the corruption in our own house?

We decry the sin of our world. But have we not tolerated virtually all the same sins in the Church?

Tonight we face a danger of feeling that the problem is somewhere “out there”--in Washington, San Francisco, or Hollywood, on our college campuses, or among nominal church members.

But as we read the Scripture, we see that the sternest words of reproof were issued, not to the pagan world, but to the people of God.

The prophet Isaiah calls out, “Hear, oh heavens, and give ear, oh earth, for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. . . . they have forsaken the Lord; they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger; they are gone away backward. . . . the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores. . . . How is the faithful city become an harlot!” (Isaiah 1:2, 4-6, 21a).

Throughout the Old Testament, the Father/ Husband heart of God grieved over the waywardness of His chosen people. Time after time, He begged them to repent. And when they refused, the Hound of Heaven pursued their stubborn, sinning hearts with painful discipline.

In the New Testament, we hear Jesus’ indictment against the spiritual leaders of His day--men who were renowned for their much fasting and praying: “These people honor me with their lips,” He said, “but their hearts are far from me.”

The opening words of Jesus’ ministry here on earth were not, “Fast and Pray!” but “Repent!”

And when the ascended Lord Jesus looked down from His throne in heaven, His final message to the churches was not, “Go and preach the gospel,” but, “Repent!” For an unrepenting church has neither the motivation nor the capacity to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord.

To the first of the seven churches He said, “You have committed spiritual adultery . . . . You have left your first love . . . . Repent!”

To another, “You have a reputation for being alive, but you are really dead . . . . Repent!”

And to the comfortable, complacent church at Laodicea, He said, “You don’t think you have any needs, but the fact is, you are wretched, naked, miserable, blind, and poor . . . . Repent!”

And still tonight, the Lord Jesus pleads with His beloved Bride: “Be zealous, and repent, or else I will come and remove your light from its place.”

Over and over again, I have been gripped by the account in Ezekiel 8 and 9, where God takes His servant in a vision to the temple in Jerusalem. No less than ten times in the eighth chapter, God says to Ezekiel: “Look! See! Do you see what’s going on in there? Look at the detestable things taking place right in the middle of My temple!”
I have been asking God to help me see what He sees when His all-knowing eyes examine the church in America.

The picture is not a pretty one, and the truth is painful to admit. But we have got to get honest, if we ever hope to get God’s attention.

The truth is, we have not only flirted, but actually fornicated with the world. When it comes to how we live, how we think, how we look, how we sound, and how we “do ministry,” we have become virtually indistinguishable from the world outside the church.

Recent Barna research indicates, for example, that, for the first time in our nation, the divorce rate in the church is actually higher than outside the church.

We have bought into the world’s philosophies and practices. Whereas the church used to tell the world how to live, now the world is telling the church how to live. We have accommodated to the culture, rather than calling the culture to accommodate to Christ.

Thus, church and ministry have become big business--we are more familiar with management and marketing principles, than with the principles of humility, purity, faith, and prayer. Many pastors and Christian leaders have become CEO’s rather than spiritual shepherds.

We have utilized nearly every worldly method conceivable to attract the lost, and, in many cases, have lost both our distinctiveness and our effectiveness. We have built our ministries on pragmatism--“whatever works”--without stopping to evaluate if the means we are using are in accordance with the ways and Word of God.

In an effort to convince the world that Christianity is fun, we have entertained and amused ourselves to death. Why do Christian celebrities and comedians perform to sell-out crowds, while scarcely a few attend the prayer meetings? Why do we feel we can’t reach people today without rock bands, hip talk, and worldly dress?

Whatever happened to the power of God? Have we become more dependent on methods, techniques, strategies, and programs, than on prayer and the Holy Spirit?

Have we lost confidence in the power of the Word to convict, the gospel to convert, and the Spirit to draw men to Christ? We have seen what human effort, ingenuity, creativity, and technology can do; we know what money, organization, and promotion can do; but we have yet to see what God can do!

We care more about public relations--how our constituents view us--than about how God views us; we are more concerned about our reputation than His.

In our seeker-driven mindset, we are more worried about offending visitors than offending God. We are more concerned about people “feeling good” than about their “being right.” We want people to leave feeling good about church, about us, and about themselves--never mind that they have grossly offended a holy God and are under His
condemnation and wrath!

We are so afraid of seeming intolerant or unloving that we tiptoe around crucial issues of the Word of God. Our cowardice in standing with God on such matters as divorce and remarriage has made us accessories to the carnage of millions of Christian families. In fact, we have placed ourselves in the precarious position of justifying and defending what God says He hates!

We have commercialized and merchandized the gospel of Christ for the sake of financial gain and worldly acceptance.

In many instances, we have pursued unity at the expense of purity. Today, anyone who dares to call sin by name, or to point out doctrinal error is likely to be branded as divisive, unloving, or “legalistic.”

In an effort to make Christianity palatable to our soft, self-centered generation, we have preached a diluted message that sidesteps the issue of sin, eliminates the demands of the cross, and overlooks the need for conviction and repentance.

In an effort to make our message “relevant,” we have ended up preaching “another gospel” that is no gospel at all. We have preached Christianity as a way to find fulfillment, rather than a calling to take up the cross and follow Jesus.

In many cases, we are more concerned about additions and statistics than actual converts, or the quality of those converts. Never before in the history of the church, have there been so many millions of people on the church rolls who profess to be Christians, who can even pinpoint the time and place of their “conversion,” but whose lives give no credible evidence of a saving relationship with Christ.

Inside the church itself, in far more ways than we care to admit, we have failed to live by the Scripture. Like King Saul, we say we have obeyed the Word of God, but how do we explain all the evidence to the contrary?

For example, we are a community of the forgiven who refuse to forgive. We live with unresolved conflicts--in our homes, among church and ministry staff, and in the pew.

Further, we have ignored or rejected biblical standards for spiritual leadership. Instead, we exalt giftedness over godliness and elevate men whose lives and homes are far from conforming to the standard of Scripture.

We brush known sin under the carpet. Why do so few churches practice biblical church discipline? And why are professing believers who refuse to repent allowed to continue as members in good standing?

The Bride has forgotten how to blush. We sin without shame; we have lost our ability to mourn and grieve and weep over sin. Even our language betrays our theology of irresponsibility--we speak of leaders “falling” into sin, rather than acknowledging that these men and women have chosen a pathway of compromise and gratifying the lusts of the flesh.

In keeping with the times in which we live, we as Christian women have tossed aside such outmoded notions as virtue, modesty, femininity, and submission. We have exchanged the adorning of a meek and quiet spirit for an angry, demanding, controlling spirit. Abandoning our God-created role as helpers, we have insisted on taking up the reins in the home and in the church.

In our casual brand of Christianity there is little sense of the fear of the Lord. How else could millions of churchgoers sit under the preaching of the Word week after week and leave unchanged, unmoved? How else could so-called believers who claim to believe in holiness, sit in their living rooms or hotel rooms, watching television and laughing at ungodly jokes, lifestyles, and philosophies? When is the last time you saw God’s people “tremble at the Word of the Lord”? When is the last time we trembled at the Word of the Lord?

Should it come as any surprise that the watching world should reject our message, when our lives bear so little witness to its truth and power?

At the heart of our problem is that subtle, deadly sin of pride--insidious, cancerous, blinding pride. We are proud of our doctrinal correctness, proud of our spiritual accomplishments, proud of our statistics, proud of our stand on moral issues, proud of our reputation and our level of sacrifice.

Pride causes us to be self-righteous, self-congratulatory and self-sufficient. It blinds us to our true condition and our great need. It causes us to fear men rather than God. Pride causes us to compare ourselves to others and breeds a competitive, critical spirit. Our pride is strangling the life of Jesus right out of the church.

Yet, even as we list these sins, some of us may feel that we have not rejected the ways and the Word of God. Then could I ask you some questions God has been asking me in recent days?

If we are so close to God, where is the passion? Where is the compulsion, the unction, the fire? Where are the tears? Where is the mourning, the grieving, the weeping? Why are our eyes dry and our hearts dull? Where is the groaning, the crying out in soul travail?

Where are those who cry out with David, “It is time for you, oh God, to act, for they have trampled Your law”?

Where are the Isaiah’s who stir up themselves to take hold of God, praying fervently, “Oh, that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down”?

Where are those who plead with the psalmist, “Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine”?

Where are those who abhor sin, whether in the world, in the church, or in their own breast, who cry out,“Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake Thy law”?

Where are the Jeremiah’s whose hearts are in anguish, and whose eyes overflow with tears for the desolation of God’s people?

Where are the prophets who are willing to risk their reputation, their retirement funds, and their acceptance within the Christian community, in order to say what needs to be said to our generation? Where are the men who are sounding the alarm to waken the church out of her sleep and lethargy?

Is not God’s Word like a fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Then where is the preaching with conviction, confrontation, divine fire, and Holy Spirit anointing?

Where is the urgency, the solemnity, when we talk to men about eternity and the condition of their souls?

Where are the intensity and terror when we speak of the judgment and the wrath of God?

Where, for that matter, are the tenderness and passion when we speak of the loveliness, the beauty, and the grace of our Lord Jesus? Have our minds been engaged, without our hearts being ravished?

Where are the hot hearts, set aflame by the coal from the altar of the Lord?

Where are the men who have been with God, who have tarried in His presence until they have heard His Word, and then descended from the mount with the glory of God radiating from their faces and the power of God reverberating from their hearts?

Where are those who refuse to be satisfied with explainable, status quo ministry, but who expect to see Hell shattered at the feet of Jesus when they go forth in His name?

Having shown Ezekiel the abominations taking place in the inner court of the temple, God sends forth into the holy city a man with a marking pen. He is told: “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

Then executioners are sent into the city with instructions to slaughter all who do not have the intercessor’s mark on their forehead. And, says the Lord, “Begin at My sanctuary.”

In that passage, as in this auditorium tonight, there are only two groups of people: those who are the cause of the problem, and those who grieve and mourn with repentant hearts. There is no middle ground.

We know for sure of One who carries this burden on His heart tonight. What grief must the Saviour feel as He beholds His adulterous Bride in her tattered, stained, threadbare wedding garments?

He who became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him--He who shed His precious blood to purchase for Himself a holy Bride without spot and without blemish--what must He think, what must He feel, as He sees His Beloved One seduced, infatuated, and defiled by the world?

If our hearts are not broken over what breaks the heart of God, if we are not part of the remnant that sighs and laments and groans within over the detestable things that are going on in the temple of God, then we are part of the multitude that is in danger of His chastisement and in desperate need of repentance.

So tonight, God calls us to repent . . . to be afflicted and mourn and weep--first over our sin. For He will not hear or heed our prayers for our nation, as sincere as they may be, until we have first humbled ourselves and repented of our wicked ways. “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God”!

In a few moments, I am going to suggest that we go to our knees and humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord--each of us asking God to search our own heart. During that time, would you join me in praying, “Oh God, it’s not my brother, not my sister, not my pastor, not the deacons; it’s not the church or the ministry down the street--but it’s me, oh God. . . . Please shine the light of Your holiness into the innermost parts of my heart. Show me how I have sinned against You, how I have been a part of the problem, rather than a part of the solution. Show me where I need to repent.”

As the Holy Spirit brings conviction to our hearts, let’s humble ourselves, confess our wicked ways, and plead with God for mercy and forgiveness.

“Let us search and try our ways”; let us “turn to Him with all our hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
 
 
Do you "Really" believe there is a furnace of fire prepared for the devil and his angels, burning with unquenchable and everlasting fire, and that all unbelievers whose names are not written in the lamb's book of life shall be cast into that burning lake of fire, suffering what the bible calls "the second death"...do you actually believe in The eternal damnation of the impenitent wicked? 

 

Do you take it seriously that The wrath of God is already revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness? (See Rom 1:18)

 

do you honestly believe what the bible says, that "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God?"

(John 3:18 NKJV)

 

did jesus mean it when he said, "whosoever believes in the son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of god remains on him?

(john 3:36 esV)

 

If you truly do believe these things tell me how you can stroll through life like it's a walk in the park while countless millions around you are on a collision course with the wrath and judgment of almighty god, facing an eternal firey doom?

 

Jesus suffered to save and redeem us and to free us from the penalty and the power of sin. He commissioned us when he said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

 (Mark 16:15)

 

There isn't time to delay! "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."

(John 4:25)   "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2 ESV) 

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said,"Here am I! Send me." And he said, "Go, and say to this people..." (Isaiah 6:8-9 ESV)

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. as the father has sent me,even so i am sending you." (John 20:21 ESV)

 And now at this late hour he is calling all who will hear him to "Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." (Luke 14:21-23)

he who has ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:15 ESV)

   Who cares? by General william booth (1829-1912) founder of the salvation army   on one of my recent journeys, as i gazed from the coach window, i was led into a train of thought concerning the condition of the multitudes around me. they were living carelessly in the most open and shameless rebellion against god, without a thought for their eternal welfare. as i looked out of the window, i seemed to see them all...millions of people all around me given up to their drink and their pleasure, their dancing and their music, their business and their anxieties, their politics and their troubles. ignorant- willfully ignorant in many cases- and in other instances knowing all about the truth and not caring at all. but all of them, the whole mass of them, sweeping on and up in their blasphemies and devilries to the throne of god. while my mind was thus engaged, i had a vision.    I saw a dark and stormy ocean. over it black clouds hung heavily; through them every now and then vivid lightening flashed and loud thunder rolled, while the winds moaned, and the waves rose and foamed, towered and broke, only to rise and foam, tower and break again.   in that ocean i thought i saw myraids of poor human beings plunging and floating, shouting and shrieking, cursing and struggling and drowning; and as they cursed and screamed they rose and shrieked again, amd then some sank to rise no morE. And I saw out of this dark angry ocean, a mighty rock that rose up with it's summit towering high above the black clouds that overhung the stormy sea. and all around the base of this great rock i saw a vast platform. onto this platform, i saw with delight a number of the poor struggling, drowning wretches continually climbing out of the angry ocean. and i saw that a few of those who were already safe on the platform were helping the poor creatures still in the angry waters to reach the place of safety.   on looking more closely i found a number of those who had been rescued, industriously working and scheming by ladders, ropes, boats and other means more effective, to deliver the poor strugglers out of the sea. here and there were some who actually jumped into the water, regardless of the consequences in their passion to "rescue the perishing." and i hardly know which gladdened me the most- the sight of the poor drowning people climbing onto the rocks reaching a place of safely, or the devotion and self-sacrifice of those whose whole being was wrapped up in the effort for their delieverance.   As I looked on, i saw the occupants of the platform were quite a mixed company. that is, they were divided into different "sets" or classes, and they occupied themselves with different pleasures and employments. but only a very few of them seemed to make it their business to get the people out of the sea.   But what puzzled me most was the fact that though all of them had been rescued at one time or another from the ocean, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten all about it. Anyway, it seemed the memory of its darkness and danger no longer troubled them at all. And what seemed equally strange and perplexing to me was that these people did not even seem to have any care- that is any agonizing care- about the poor perishing ones who were struggling and drowning right before their very eyes... many of whom were their own husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and even their own children.

Now this astonishing unconcern could not have been the result of ignorance or lack of knowledge, because they lived right there in full sight of it all and even talked about it sometimes. Many even went regularly to hear lectures and sermons in which the awful state of these poor drowning creatures was described.

I have always said that the occupants of this platform were engaged in different pursuits and pastimes. Some of them were absorbed day and night in trading and business in order to make gain, storing up their savings in boxes, safes and the like.

Many spent their time in amusing themselves with growing flowers on the side of the rock, others in painting pieces of cloth or in playing music, or in dressing themselves up in different styles and walking about to be admired. Some occupied themselves chiefly in eating and drinking, others were taken up with arguing about the poor drowning creatures that had already been rescued.

But the thing to me that seemed the most amazing was that those on the platform to whom He called, who heard His voice and felt that they ought to obey it- at least they said they did- those who confessed to love Him much were in full sympathy with Him in the task He had undertaken- who worshipped Him or who professed to do so- were so taken up with their trades and professions, their money saving and pleasures, their families and circles, their religions and arguments about it, and their preparation for going to the mainland, that they did not listen to the cry that came to them from this Wonderful Being who had Himself gone down into the sea. Anyway, if they heard it they did not heed it. They did not care. And so the multitude went on right before them struggling and shrieking and drowning in the darkness.

And then I saw something that seemed to me even more strange than anything that had gone on before in this strange vision. I saw that some of these people on the platform whom this Wonderful Being had called to, wanting them to come and help Him in His difficult task of saving these perishing creatures, were always praying and crying out to Him to come to them!

Some wanted Him to come and stay with them, and spend His time and strength in making them happier. Others wanted Him to come and take away various doubts and misgivings they had concerning the truth of some letters He had written them. Some wanted Him to come and make them feel more secure on the rock- so secure that they would be quite sure that they should never slip off again into the ocean. Numbers of others wanted Him to make them feel quite certain that they would really get off the rock and onto the mainland someday: because as a matter of fact, it was well known that some had walked so carelessly as to loose their footing, and had fallen back again into the stormy waters.

So these people used to meet and get up as high on the rock as they could, and looking towards the mainland (where they thought the Great Being was) they would cry out, "Come to us! Come and help us!" And all the while He was down (by His Spirit) among the poor struggling, drowning creatures in the angry deep, with His arms around them trying to drag them out, and looking up- oh! so longingly but all in vain- to those on the rock, crying to them with His voice all hoarse from calling, "Come to Me! Come, and help Me!

And then I understood it all. It was plain enough. The sea was the ocean of life- the sea of real, actual human existence. That lightening was the gleaming of piercing truth coming from Jehovah’s Throne. That thunder was the distant echoing of the wrath of God. Those multitudes of people shrieking, struggling and agonizing in the stormy sea, was the thousands and thousands of poor harlots and harlot-makers, of drunkards and drunkard makers, of thieves, liars, blasphemers and ungodly people of every kindred, tongue and nation.

Oh what a black sea it was! And oh, what multitudes of rich and poor, ignorant and educated were there. They were all so unalike in their outward circumstances and conditions, yet all alike in one thing- all sinners before God- all held by, and holding onto, some iniquity, fascinated by some idol, the slaves of some devilish lust, and ruled by the foul fiend from the bottomless pit!

"All alike in one thing?" No, all alike in two things- not only the same in their wickedness but, unless rescued, the same in their sinking, sinking... down, down, down... to the same terrible doom. That great sheltering rock represented Calvary, the place where Jesus had died for them. And the people on it were those who had been rescued. The way they used their energies, gifts and time represented the occupations and amusements of those who professed to be saved from sin and hell- followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The handful of fierce, determined ones, who were risking their own lives in saving the perishing were true soldiers of the cross of Jesus. That Mighty Being who was calling to them from the midst of the angry waters was the Son of God, "the same yesterday, today and forever" who is still struggling and interceding to save the dying multitudes about us from this terrible doom of damnation, and whose voice can be heard above the music, machinery, and noise of life, calling on the rescued to come and help Him save the world.

My friends in Christ, you are rescued from the waters, you are on the rock, He is in the dark sea calling on you to come to Him and help Him. Will you go? Look for yourselves. The surging sea of life, crowded with perishing multitudes rolls up to the very spot on which you stand. Leaving the vision, I now come to speak of the fact- a fact that is as real as the Bible, as real as the Christ who hung upon the cross, as real as the judgment day will be, and as real as the heaven and hell that will follow it.

Look! Don’t be deceived by appearances- men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea! Look at them from the standpoint of the great White Throne, and what a sight you have! Jesus Christ, the Son of God is, through His Spirit, in the midst of this dying multitude, struggling to save them. And He is calling on you to jump into the sea- to go right away to His side and help Him in the holy strife. Will you jump? That is, will you go to His feet and place yourself absolutely at His disposal?

A young Christian once came to me, and told me that for some time she had been giving the Lord her profession and prayers and money, but now she wanted to give Him her life. She wanted to go right into the fight. In other words, she wanted to go to His assistance in the sea. As when a man from the shore, seeing another struggling in the water, takes off those outer garments that would hinder his efforts and leaps to the rescue, so will you who still linger on the bank, thinking and singing and praying about the poor perishing souls, lay aside your shame, your pride, your cares about other people’s opinions, your love of ease and all the selfish loves that have kept you back for so long, and rush to the rescue of this multitude of dying men and women.

Does the surging sea look dark and dangerous? Unquestionably it is so. There is no doubt that the leap for you, as for everyone who takes it, means difficulty and scorn and suffering. For you it may mean more than this. It may mean death. He who beckons you from the sea however, knows what it will mean - and knowing, He still calls to you and bids to you to come.

You must do it! You cannot hold back. You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough. You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, pleasant prospects. There has been much of human happiness, much clapping of hands and shouting of praises- very much of heaven on earth.

Now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you.

You must do it. With the light that is now broken in upon your mind and the call that is now sounding in your ears, and the beckoning hands that are now before your eyes, you have no alternative. To go down among the perishing crowds is your duty. Your happiness from now on will consist in sharing their misery, your ease in sharing their pain, your crown in helping them to bear their cross, and your heaven in going into the very jaws of hell to rescue them.

Now what will you do?

 
 
I Will Set No Worthless Thing Before My Eyes, But I Have Set The Lord Always Before Me!

A series of meditations on how

To draw closer to Jesus by setting

Your affections on God alone.

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.”

(Psalm 1:2 ESV)

Set no worthless thing before your eyes

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes... I will know nothing of evil” (Psa 101:3-4).

Meditation 1: There are many “worthless” things that clamor for your heart. But David said “I will set before my eyes no “vile” thing...I will have nothing to do with evil” (NIV); or as the KJV puts it, “I will set no “wicked” thing before my eyes.” In the NT we are admonished to “Abstain from all appearance of evil (1Th 5:22 KJV).

To accomplish this:
First of all, you must actively will to set no worthless thing before your eyes; it’s not something that will take care of itself. You must purpose in your heart to not set worthless things before your eyes. Be thorough and don’t be content to allow some worthless things to remain; rather, strive to set NO worthless thing before your eyes!

Secondly, to “set” anything “before the eyes” is to fix your affections on something as an end in itself; to set your heart upon something as a goal in sight, as something worthy to be desired or attained.

Thirdly, what is a ‘worthless” thing?  By definition, something is considered worthless when there is no intrinsic or lasting value in it; or when referred to a person it means there is no moral character or virtue in them, or there is no dignity or excellence in them. Anything that is of no real value toward advancing our love and affection for God and our fellow creatures in thought, word, or deed is a worthless thing! That has been my conclusion, but you must judge for yourself. Of course, anything that God has forbidden by word or in principle is a worthless thing.

Therefore, resolve in your heart this instant to set no worthless, vile, or wicked thing before you eyes! Let it be your purpose to abstain from all appearance of evil. Now, watch and pray so that you don’t fall into temptation (see Mat 14:38)!

Others around you may flirt with many questionable things of this world, but you “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col 3:2 KJV).  It is the pure in heart that shall see God (see Mat 5:8)! In his presence is fullness of joy, and pleasure for evermore (see Psalm 16:11), while the joy of the hypocrite only lasts for a moment, and the enjoyment of the pleasures or sin are only for a season (Job 20:5; Heb 11:25). Set your heart, therefore, on things that have lasting joy and pleasure attached to them. Others around you may be absorbed with the things of the world, but don’t become distracted yourself by the shiny trinkets the world sets before your eyes, remember that they are worthless!

“As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal”  (2Co 4:18 ESV).

Set the Lord always before yourself

“I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (Psa 16:8).

Meditation 2: It is not enough to not be distracted and have your heart set on worldly and worthless things. Set your heart on God, and on the things and ways of God ALWAYS! Fix your love and affections on heavenly things “not on things on the earth.” Can the scripture be any plainer? And the promise--because he is at your right hand, the object of your trust and affection, no matter what storms of life assail you, no matter what weapon is formed against you, it shall not prosper, and you shall never be shaken!

To accomplish this:

First, think often of the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is truly worthy of all your love and affection when compared to the worthless things of the world that vie for your love. 

1. He is worthy because of who he is: He is God (John 1:1). He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; All power has been given unto Him in heaven and in earth; all judgment has been given unto the Son; all things were created by Him and for him; He is the head of the body, the church; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and the first and the last; and He is the savior of all who trust in Him! He is worthy of all our praise and admiration, our worship and exaltation.

The glory He had with the Father before the world existed was veiled in human flesh, but on the Mountain of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John had a brief glimpse of the glory of Christ when “he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light (Mat 17:2 ESV)!

Paul had a brief glimpse of the glory of the risen Christ while on the road to Damascus when “about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around him and he fell to the ground...and he could not see because of the brightness of the light” (see Acts 22: 6-11).

And Apostle John saw the glorified Jesus on the Isle of Patmos: “The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters... and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead (Rev 1:14-17 ESV).

Isaiah saw him high and lifted up, before His incarnation. He said, “Woe is me, for I am undone...for my eyes have seen Lord.” So think often of how worthy Jesus is of your love and admiration. Also realize that in His holy presence that you too are “undone” because of your sins, and let that lead you to think that He is also worthy because of what he has done!

2. He is worthy because of what he has done: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing (Rev 5:12). Worthy is the Lamb that was slain! Does he love you? Just think of the things He has suffered on your behalf! To be in the form of God and to humble Himself and take on human flesh is in itself beyond comprehension, but to die a tortuous death on the cross, crucified by wicked men, while carrying the burden of your guilt upon Himself, and in death, being forsaken of the Father because He bore your sins, suffering for you the punishment due to your sins, and you ask does He love me? All this He has done for you because you could not do it for yourself. When you were yet without strength, Christ died for you! Has there ever been a more pure and holy love than that of Christ? We only love Him because He first loved us!  My friend, if the love of God the Father in giving His beloved Son up to death on your behalf to redeem you from the penalty, the power, and ultimately, the presence of sin; and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in willingly laying aside the glory He had with the Father, and suffering all that insults, cruel mocking,  horrible scourging, and the torment of the cross; if your heart is not melted by such a display of divine love, then you must be harder than a stone! Think of these things, and other related things to help you set the Lord ever before you as the only one who is worthy of the affection of your heart. Love Him most fervently, pant after His presence as the deer pants for the water! Let all things be vain and worthless, vile and wicked in comparison to His infinite worth!

Set your eyes toward God
“But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless” (Psalm 141:8).

Meditation 3: Would you be free from the dominion of sin? Would you be victorious over the power of temptation? Would you be the master over every thought? Would you be the ruler over the passions raging in your flesh? Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Are you vexed by sin and temptation and long to be free from their power? If you would do these things then let your eyes be toward God, your Lord. Will you gain the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil though your own efforts, through the sheer effort of human willpower? If you could overcome your “flesh” by human strength, why was it that Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, had to suffer the agony of the cross to reconcile you to God? How is it that He died for you when you were yet without strength, if you could be holy by pulling yourself up by your own boot straps, by your own power and strength?

To accomplish this:

1. Set your eyes toward God. When the Israelites were bitten by fiery serpents in the wilderness, the Lord told Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live" (Num 21:8 ESV). There was no other way to be saved from death. They must look to the fiery serpent on the pole to live. If the fangs of sin have bitten deeply into you, than look to Jesus on the cross...he was made sin for you that you might become the righteousness of God in Him. Look to him in every temptation! God is faithful! He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond what you can stand, and he will make a way of escape so that you can endure every temptation. When you are sorely tempted or tried, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2 NIV)! Pray and cry out in faith, for Jesus is a faithful deliverer.

2. Seek refuge in Christ. The Jews had “cities of refuge” into which a man being pursued by the “avenger of blood” could flee to for safety. Are you hounded by temptations and trials? Do they relentlessly pursue you and seek your life? Does your conscience smite you over past sins? Does the accuser condemn you before the bar of your conscience? Then flee to your city of refuge...Jesus! In him you will be safe. Be like David who said of the Lord, “you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy” (Psalm 61:3 ESV). Who or what enemy can prevail against our strong tower, our refuge? Did you know that “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Pro 18:10 ESV).

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies (Psalm 18:2-3 ESV).

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! (Psalm 20:1-2 ESV)

3. Have faith that God will not leave you defenseless. “God is my defense” (Psalm 59:9). He is not just the defense of Abraham, not just the defense of Moses, not just the defense of the Apostles; He is your defense as well. Own Him as such. Confess Him to be your defense. It is impossible to please God without faith, so have faith in HIM. Have faith in the promises of God, because it is God that has made the promises! Call upon him to be your defense in every temptation and trial, then believe that he is to YOU what He has promised to be to all those who trust in Him! Psalm 2:12 says, “Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

But the Lord has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. (Psalm 94:22 NKJV)

Be confident that you are not defenseless if your eyes are toward the Lord and your trust is in Him. You are not defenseless if you have sought a refuge in Him. You are not defenseless because “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8 ESV). Call upon Him, He is your help! To say our help is in the name of the Lord is to say that our help is in the Lord Jesus Christ who has been given all power in heaven and earth. He is our defense. Nothing or no one can stand against Him. His name is above all names!

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”(Php 2:9-11 KJVR).

Keep your eyes focused on the Lord

My eyes are ever toward the LORD (Psalm 25:15).

Meditation 4: This is a continuation of Psalm 141:8 mentioned above, only with the additional instruction to keep your eyes ‘ever’ toward the Lord. Do not ever allow your eyes, your heart, your mind, or your affections to wander from the Lord; rather, see that they are continually “fixed” and set on Him.

To accomplish this:

1. Keep your heart with all diligence. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Pro 4:23 NASV). Jesus said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man” (Mar 7:20 NKJV). Pray that God would search your heart and reveal to you every evil and false way. Do not harbor any ill feelings toward anyone. Let the peace of God rule in your heart. Keep yourself in the love of God, in the love of His ways, His law, and His Word. By doing these things you will be ever keeping your eyes toward the Lord.

2. Keep your conscience free from offense toward God and man. A pure and clean conscience is a great treasure and something you should seek after with all vigilance. Do not allow anything to remain that defiles your conscience. Paul said, “I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man” (Act 24:16 ESV). If your conscience is clean, you will have confidence before God. If your conscience condemns you, examine your heart and ‘take pains” to have a clear conscience. In this way you will be ever keeping your eyes toward God in deference to His righteousness and holiness.

3. Pray to be kept from hidden faults and from presumptuous sins. “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psa 19:12-14 ESV)

Hidden faults there are in all of us and that is why those who think they are without fault and without sin are deceived. Pray to be forgiven from any secret or hidden fault that still lies in your bosom.

Presumptuous sins have been the destruction of countless souls. It is the grossest iniquity to presume upon the grace of God. Pray to be kept from recklessly sinning and seeking pleasure in unrighteousness, planning to sin and planning to repent after the deed is done. This is a great and dangerous evil. A person thinking that way is not right in his heart. Sometimes even a righteous man may fall to temptation and sin in a moment of weakness, but it is another thing all together to wallow in sin while professing to be a child of God. Anyone thinking that they are a child of God while continuing to practice sin is mistaken. Read the Bible with your doctrinal blinders off, forget the doctrines of men, and see what the Holy Spirit has to say about believers continuing to practice sin.

Having said that, let me hasten to add that there have been times when even the children of God have committed gross iniquity, the usual example is King David, who committed adultery with the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and then had Him sent to the front lines of battle where he was killed, after finding out that Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, was with child. Even though God has chastised and delivered His children from terrible backslidings such as David experienced, do not rest or comfort yourself in such sins. Most often than not, presumptuous sins are a sign of a hardened and impenitent heart that has not been truly born of God. If you are in such a state, flee to the mercy seat now and cry out on your face to heaven that God would grant you a speedy repentance not to be repented of. All sinners in Zion should be afraid! God is no respecter of persons. A bare profession of belief in Jesus that is not accompanied by the evidence of a sanctified life is the surest thing of a false conversion. Be warned if you presume on God’s grace, you may well find Jesus saying “Depart from me you evildoer, I never knew you” on the day of judgment.

Pray for God to turn away your eyes from looking at worthless things

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. (Psa 119:37)

Meditation 5: This is the final meditation and it is a prayer to be turned by God from worthless things, and to be given life in his ways.

To accomplish this:

Make it part of your daily prayer to ask God to deliver you from the evil of being attracted to, and having your heart set on, worthless things. Ask Him to lead you in every choice to choose the best, not just a good among goods, but the best choice even among many good things. Pray that God gives you wisdom and understanding, the discernment to know what things are profitable and what things are good to the building up of yourself, and the body of Christ. Pray that God will show you every worthless thing that holds any sway over your affections, and pray to be forgiven of all such things. Keep in the Word of God and in prayer. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path. It will make you “wise unto salvation.” The prayer of faith is the conduit of spiritual blessings. Understanding, steadfastness, and strength all flow from the fountainhead of prayer.

~The End~

 

 
 
Part of the Old Testament Day of Atonement included the following:

Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.  (Leviticus 16:7-10 ESV)

And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:21-22 ESV) 

What this signified “was the removal of their sins far away, both from the people, and out of God’s sight, or from the place of his presence.” 1 

The prophet Jeremiah said, “In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant. (Jer 50:20ESV) 

“The losing of the goat was a sign to them that the sins of Israel would be sought for, and not found.” 2 

When the High Priest laid his hands on the goat and confessed the sins of the  people the significance was that the sins of Israel were being transferred, or “put on” the goat. Then the goat was taken far out into the wilderness and set free bearing “all their iniquities on itself,” after which the sins of Israel would not be found. 

This is all a wonderful foreshadowing of the work of Christ on behalf of every believer:


All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 KJV)

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11 KJV)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2Cor 5:21 ESV) 

Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross! All our sins were laid on him. Just like the scapegoat he bore our sins away, while he himself was forsaken to die on our behalf. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Mark 15:34). Our sins, every one, were put to his account; while our own slate was wiped clean, and our own account was marked “paid in full”! In him we are dead to sin, but alive unto righteousness. He takes out the hard, stony, impenitent heart from us and gives us a soft heart toward him. He puts a new spirit within us (Eze 36:26). We become born again; born from above. It is a spiritual rebirth miraculously accomplished by the life giving Holy Spirit that rose up Jesus from the dead! (See: John 3:3, 5-6; Rom 8:11). 

Jesus came willingly to take away our sins (Phil 2:5-8: John 1:29)! Now he asks you to come willingly to him. If you confess and forsake your sins (Pro 28:13) through repentance  (Luke 13:3, 5) putting all your hope and trust in the work of Christ in bearing your sins on the cross; if you’ll come to him in simple child-like faith and believe that he is both Savior and Lord, he will grant you forgiveness of sins and  eternal life!  Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13), and Jesus promised that “whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).  
He came to take away our sins. 

You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. (1John 3:5 ESV)   

And how far has our scapegoat carried our sins away? 

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Psa 103:12) 

Think about the mercy that is higher than the heavens (Psalm 108:4) and the love of God the Father in sending his “beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17)--knowing that he would lay down his life for our sins, when we were without strength and still sinners (Rom 5:6, 8). Truly, the love of “Christ surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:19). 

1. Matthew Poole Commentary, comments on Lev 16:21

2. Matthew Henry Commentary, comments on Jer 50:20