August 2006 ●
Vol. 1. No. 6
Editorial
4
Russ
Atmore
Revelation
5
Louis
Berkhof
The
Splendors of Heaven
10
Russ
Atmore
Go
Back? Never! (Part 2)
12
C. H.
Spurgeon
Love
the Lord Jesus Christ
19
Thomas Brooks
Encouragement from God
22
Russ
Atmore
Jesus
Calls His Disciples (Mark 1:16 – 20)
25
Russ
Atmore
Bible
Quiz
28
Kaitlin Atmore
Editorial
The
work of God continues because God is. We may fail God and we do, but
God’s work will always continue. This should be a great
encouragement to us, because the work of God is accomplished through
God using his people to accomplish his purposes. The Church is
facing great issues today especially among evangelicals. The
tendency to divide has always been a problem for Christians (just
think of all the denominations there are, etc). This division is not
necessarily all bad because God has not stereotyped us to fit one
frame of thinking or acting. The problem is that in our divisions
the real issue at stake is the Gospel. An immature understanding or
a false understanding of the Gospel will have different
ramifications than a biblical understanding will.
What
has always impressed me about the great Christians of the past is
their unanimity on the Gospel. In no other period of church
history is this more exemplified than during the Reformation and the
Puritan era. Most Christians have never read anything from 16th
century and through to the 17th century. In order to see
far ahead and see more clearly, it is good to stand upon the
shoulders of giants. It would take a lifetime to digest all their
works, but the rewards in this life are immense.
We
have again included portion from Prof. Berkhof’s masterful little
work on Christian doctrine. We continue and conclude Mr. Spurgeon’s
sermon from Hebrews 11:15, 16. Thomas Brooks is one of the most
readable Puritans. His English is beautiful and he was truly a
surgeon of the human heart. There are some articles on heaven and
God’s encouragement to his people, in addition to our continuing
exposition and commentary on the Gospel of Mark.
As
usual, keep your eye out for our Bible quiz in the form of a
crossword in this edition. For those mighty in the Scriptures it
should prove no problem.
Soli
Deo Gloria
Revelation
This
article is Chapter 2 in Louis Berkhof, “Summary of Christian
Doctrine” (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 1938) 13 - 17.
1.
Revelation in General.
The discussion of religion naturally leads on to that of revelation
as its origin. If God had not revealed Himself, religion would have
been impossible. Man could not possibly have had any knowledge of
God, if God had not made Himself known. Left to himself, he would
never have discovered God. We distinguish between God's revelation
in nature and His revelation in Scripture.
Atheists and Agnostics, of course, do not believe in revelation.
Pantheists sometimes speak of it, though there is really no place
for it in their system of thought. And Deists admit the revelation
of God in nature, but deny the necessity, the reality, and even the
possibility of any special revelation such as we have in Scripture.
We believe in both general and special revelation.
2.
General Revelation.
The general revelation of God is prior to His special revelation in
point of time. It does not come to man in the form of verbal
communications, but in the facts, the forces, and the laws of
nature, in the constitution and operation of the human mind, and in
the facts of experience and history. The Bible refers to it in such
passages as Ps. 19:1, 2; Rom. 1:19, 20; 2:14, 15.
a.
The Insufficiency of General Revelation.
While Pelagians, Rationalists, and Deists regard this revelation as
adequate for our present needs, Roman Catholics and Protestants are
agreed that it is not sufficient. It was obscured by the blight of
sin resting on God's beautiful creation. The handwriting of the
Creator was not entirely erased, but became hazy and indistinct. It
does not now convey any fully reliable knowledge of God and
spiritual things, and therefore does not furnish us a trustworthy
foundation on which we can build for our eternal future. The present
religious confusion of those who would base their religion on a
purely natural basis clearly proves its insufficiency. It does not
even afford an adequate basis for religion in general, much less for
true religion. Even gentile nations appeal to some supposed special
revelation. And, finally, it utterly fails to meet the spiritual
needs of sinners. While it conveys some knowledge of the goodness,
the wisdom, and the power of God, it conveys no knowledge whatever
of Christ as the only way of salvation.
b.
The Value of General Revelation.
This does not mean, however, that general revelation has no value at
all. It accounts for the true elements that are still found in
heathen religions. Due to this revelation gentiles feel themselves
to be the offspring of God, Acts 17:28, seek after God if haply they
might find Him, Acts 17:27, see in nature God's everlasting power
and divinity, Rom. 1:19, 20, and do by nature the things of the law,
Rom. 2:14. Though they live in the darkness of sin and ignorance,
and pervert the truth of God, they still share in the illumination
of the Word, John 1:9, and in the general operations of the Holy
Spirit, Gen. 6:3. Moreover, the general revelation of God also forms
the background for His special revelation. The latter could not be
fully understood without the former. Science and history do not fail
to illumine the pages of the Bible.
3.
Special Revelation.
In addition to the revelation of God in nature we have His special
revelation which is now embodied in Scripture. The Bible is
preeminently the book of God's special revelation, a revelation in
which facts and words go hand in hand, the words interpreting the
facts and the facts giving substance to the words.
a.
The Necessity of Special Revelation.
This special revelation became necessary through the entrance of sin
into the world. God's handwriting in nature was obscured and
corrupted, and man was stricken with spiritual blindness, became
subject to error and unbelief, and now in his blindness and
perverseness fails to read aright even the remaining traces of the
original revelation, and is unable to understand any further
revelation of God. Therefore it became necessary that God should
re-interpret the truths of nature, should provide a new revelation
of redemption, and should illumine the mind of man and redeem it
from the power of error.
b.
The Means of Special Revelation.
In giving His special or supernatural revelation God used different
kinds of means, such as (1) Theophanies or visible manifestations of
God. He revealed His presence in fire and clouds of smoke, Ex. 8:2;
33:9: Ps. 78:14; 99:7; in stormy winds, Job 38:1; Ps .18:10-16, and
in a "still small voice," I Kings 19:12. These were all tokens of
His presence, revealing something of His glory. Among the Old
Testament appearances those of the Angel of Jehovah, the second
Person of the Trinity, occupied a prominent place, Gen. 16:13;
31:11; Ex. 23:20-23; Mal. 3:1. The highest point of the personal
appearance of God among men was reached in the incarnation of Jesus
Christ. In Him the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, John
1:14. (2) Direct communications. Sometimes God spoke to men in an
audible voice, as He did to Moses and the children of Israel, Deut.
5:4, and sometimes He suggested His messages to the prophets by an
internal operation of the Holy Spirit, I Pet. 1:11. Moreover, He
revealed Himself in dreams and visions, and by means of Urim and
Thummim, Num. 12:6; 27:21; Isa. 6. And in the New Testament Christ
appears as the great Teacher sent from God to reveal the Father's
will; and through His Spirit the apostles become the organs of
further revelations, John 14:26; I Cor. 2:12, 13; I Thess. 2:13. (3)
Miracles. The miracles of the Bible should never be regarded as mere
marvels which fill men with amazement, but as essential parts of
God's special revelation. They are manifestations of the special
power of God, tokens of His special presence, and often serve to
symbolize spiritual truths. They are signs of the coming Kingdom of
God and of the redemptive power of God. The greatest miracle of all
is the coming of the Son of God in the flesh. In Him the whole
creation of God is being restored and brought back to its original
beauty, I Tim. 3:16; Rev. 21:5.
c.
The Character of Special Revelation.
This special revelation of God is a revelation of redemption. It
reveals the plan of God for the redemption of sinners and of the
world, and the way in which this plan is realized. It is
instrumental in renewing man; it illumines his mind and inclines his
will to that which is good; it fills him with holy affections, and
prepares him for his heavenly home. Not only does it bring us a
message of redemption; it also acquaints us with redemptive facts.
It not only enriches us with knowledge, but also transforms lives by
changing sinners into saints. This revelation is clearly
progressive. The great truths of redemption appear but dimly at
first, but gradually increase in clearness, and finally stand out in
the New Testament in all their fullness and beauty.
To
memorize. Scripture passages bearing on:
a.
General Revelation:
Ps.
8:1. "0 Jehovah, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the
earth."
Ps.
19:1, 2. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto
night showeth wisdom."
Rom.
1:20. "For the invisible things of Him since the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are
made, even His everlasting power and divinity." Rom. 2:14, 15. "For
when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the
law, these, not having the law, are a law unto themselves; in that
they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their
consciences bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with
another accusing or else excusing them."
Num.
12:6-8. "And He said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among
you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will
speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is
faithful in all my house: with him will I speak mouth to mouth."
Heb.
1:1. "God having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets
by divers portions and in divers manners, hath in the end of these
days spoken unto us in His Son."
II
Pet. 1:21. "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men
spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit."
For
Further Study:
a.
Mention some of the appearances of the Angel of Jehovah. Can he have
been a mere angel? Gen. 16:13; 31:11, 13; 32:28; Ex. 23:20-23.
b.
Name some examples of revelation by dreams. Gen. 28:10- 17; 31:24;
41:2-7; Judg. 7:13; I Kings 8:5-9; Dan. 2:1-3; Matt. 2:13, 19, 20.
c.
Mention some cases in which God revealed Himself in visions. Isa. 6;
Ezek. 1-3; Dan. 2:19; 7:1-14; Zech. 2-6.
d.
Can you infer from the following passages what the miracles recorded
reveal? Ex. 10:1, 2; Deut. 8:3; John 2:1-11; 6:1- 14, 25-35; 9:1-7;
11:17-44.
Questions for Review
1.
How do general and special revelation differ?
2.
Where do we meet with the denial of all revelation of God?
3.
What is the position of the Deists as to revelation?
4.
What is the nature of general revelation?
5.
Why is it insufficient for our special needs, and what value does if
have?
6.
Why was God's special revelation necessary?
7.
What means did God employ in His special revelations?
8.
What are the characteristics of special revelation?
“Let
the Bible not only inform you, but inflame you.”
Thomas
Watson (c. 1620 – 1686)
The
Splendors of Heaven
Moses
identified “heaven” as the dwelling place of God (Deuteronomy
26:15). He also tells us in Genesis 1:1, that God made the ‘heavens
and the earth.’ God, Himself, identifies heaven as the place from
which He speaks (2 Chronicles 7:14). The fall of Satan is described
as a fall from heaven (Isaiah 14:12). Isaiah 66:1 tells us that the
Lord views heaven as His throne and earth as His footstool. Jesus
teaches us in the “Lord’s Prayer” that our Father is in heaven
(Matthew 6:9). It is possible for the believer to lay up treasures
in heaven (Matthew 6:20).
Jesus
teaches us that church discipline that is carried out on earth is
acknowledged in heaven as being legitimate and carries the approval
and seal of God (Matthew 16:19, 18:18). The Bible teaches that
heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word never will (Matthew
24:35). Jesus said that He had come down from heaven (John 6:38). We
know that Jesus said that He would return in the clouds of heaven
(Matthew 26:64, Acts 1:11, Revelation 1:7). Stephen saw the Glory of
the Lord and Jesus in Acts 7:55, when he looked up to heaven as they
stoned him to death.
The
Bible describes heaven as the final eternal abode of the righteous.
Heaven is not the subjective experience that many conceive it to be.
It is not an experience that people enjoy on earth in the present.
We often refer to a little bit of ‘heaven on earth.’ We don’t
understand this to mean actual heaven. The Bible presents heaven as
a definite place. Jesus ascended to heaven, i.e.; He went from one
place to another. John describes heaven as the place where there are
many mansions. It is our Heavenly Father’s house (John 14:1). John
is not describing a condition, but rather a place. Heaven is
described as the place where believers are “in”, and unbelievers are
“out” (Matthew 22:12,13; 25:10-12). Only the righteous (saved) will
inherit heaven (Matthew 5:5; Revelation 21:1-3).
John
Calvin said that, “if we believe heaven to be our country, it is
better for us to transmit our wealth thither, than to retain it
here, where we may lose it by a sudden removal.” Charles Spurgeon
said, ”I suspect that every saved soul in heaven is a great wonder,
and that heaven is a vast museum of wonders of grace and mercy, a
palace of miracles, in which everything will surprise everyone who
gets there.”
Of
all the wonders of heaven, there is only one supreme wonder – it is
the person of our Redeemer, who with His own blood purchased for
Himself a people, has gone to His home to prepare a home for them,
and will one day come back to take them there. O, wonder of wonders,
that Jesus is building a home for me. The Christian prefers to
be away from his or her body, and at home with the Lord (2
Corinthians 5:8). We live by faith and not by sight, while here upon
earth. One day, we will see His face, and His Name will be engraved
upon our foreheads (Revelation 22:4).
“Nothing is more contrary to a heavenly hope than an earthly heart.”
William Gurnall (1617 – 1679)
Go
Back? Never! (Part 2)
"And
truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they
came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now
they desire a better country, that is a heavenly ... city."
Hebrews 11:15, 16
II.
WE CANNOT TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK BECAUSE WE DESIRE
SOMETHING BETTER
than we could get by going back. An insatiable desire has been
implanted in us by divine grace, which urges us to:--
"Forget the steps already trod,
And
onward press our way."
Notice
how the text puts it, "But now they desire a better country, that
is, a heavenly." Brethren, we desire something better than this
world. Do you not? Has the world ever satisfied you? Perhaps it did
when you were dead in sin. A dead world may satisfy a dead heart,
but ever since you have known something of better things have you
ever been contented with the world? Perhaps you have tried to fill
your soul with worldly things. God has prospered you, and you have
said, "Oh! this is well!" Your children have been about you; you
have had many household joys, and you have said, "I could stay here
for ever." Did not you find very soon that there was a thorn in the
flesh? Did you ever get a rose in this world that was altogether
without a thorn? Have you not been obliged to say, after you have
had all that the world could give you, "Vanity of vanities, all is
vanity"? I am sure it has been so with you. All God's saints will
confess that if the Lord were to say to them, "You shall have all
the world, and that shall be your portion," they would be
broken-hearted men. "Nay, my Lord," they would say, "don't put me
off so, don't give me these husks, though thou give mountains of
them. Thou art more glorious than all the mountains of praise. Give
me thyself, and take these all away if it so please thee, but don't
my Lord, don't think I can fill myself with these things." We desire
something better.
Notice, next, that there is this about a Christian, that even when
he does not enjoy something better, he desires it. How much of
character is revealed in our desires. I felt greatly encouraged when
I read this, "Now they desire a better"--the word "country" has been
inserted by our translators--they desire something better. I know I
do. I do not always enjoy something better. Dark is my path. I
cannot see my Lord, I cannot enjoy his presence, and though it may
be a little thing to desire, let me say a good desire is more than
nature ever grew. Grace has given it. It is a great thing to be
desirous. They desire a better country. And because we desire this
better thing, we cannot go back and be content with things which
gratified us once.
More
than that, if ever the child of God gets entangled, for a while he
is uneasy in it. Abraham's slips--for he made one or two--were made
when he had left the land and gone down among the Philistines. But
he was not easy there; he must come back again. And Jacob, he had
found a wife, nay, two, in Laban's land, but he was not content. No;
no child of God can be. Whatever we may find in this world, we shall
never find a heaven here. We may hunt the world through, and say,
'This looks like a little paradise," but there is no paradise this
side of the skies--for a child of God at any rate.
There
is enough out there in the farmyard for the hogs, but there is not
for the children. There is enough in the world for sinners, but
there is not for saints. They have stronger, sharper, and more
vehement desires, for they have a nobler life within them, and they
desire a better country; and even if they get entangled for a while
in this country, and in a certain measure become citizens of it,
they are still uneasy; their citizenship is in heaven, and they
cannot rest anywhere but there. After all, we confess tonight, and
rejoice in the confessions, that our best hopes are for things that
are out of sight.
Our
expectations are our largest possessions. The things that we have,
that we value, are ours today by faith. We don't enjoy them yet, but
when our heirship shall be fully manifested, and we shall come to
the full ripe age, oh! then we shall come into our wealth, to the
mansions and to the glory and to the presence of Jesus Christ our
Lord. So, then, you see the reason why the Christian cannot go back,
though he has many opportunities, lies in this, that through divine
grace he has had produced in his heart desires for something better,
and even when he does not as yet enjoy that something better, the
desires themselves become mighty bonds that keep him from returning
to what he was.
Dear
brethren, cultivate these desires more and more. If they have such a
separating effect upon our character in keeping us from the world,
let us cultivate them much. Do you think that we meditate enough
upon heaven? Look at the miser. When does he forget his gold? He
dreams of it. He has locked it up tonight, and he goes to bed, but
he is afraid he heard a footstep downstairs, and he goes to see. He
looks to that iron safe to be quite sure that it is well secured--he
cannot forget his dear gold. Let us think of heaven, of Christ, of
all the blessings of the covenant, and let us thus keep our desires
wide awake. The more they draw us to heaven the more we shall be
separated from earth. But I must close with the sweetest part of the
text.
III.
WE HAVE FOR THIS REASON GREAT BLESSEDNESS.
"Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath
prepared for them a city." Because they are strangers, and because
they will not go back to their old abode, therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God. He might be. What poor people God's
people are--poor many of them in circumstances, but how many of them
I might very well call poor as to spiritual things! I do not think
if any of us had such a family as God has we should ever have
patience with them. We cannot even have, when we judge ourselves
rightly, patience with ourselves; but how is it that God bears with
the ill-manners of such a froward, weak, foolish, forgetful people
as his people are? He might well be ashamed to be called their God
if you look upon them as they are. Own them--how can he own them?
Does he not himself sometimes say of them, "How can I put thee among
the children?" and yet he does.
Viewed as they are, they are such a rabble in many respects that it
is marvelous he is not ashamed of them; and yet he never is; and to
prove that he is not ashamed of them we have this fact, that he
calls himself their God, "I will be your God," and he oftentimes
seems to speak of it as a very joyful thing to his own heart. "I am
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," and
while he calls himself their God he never forbids them to call him
their God; and in the presence of the great ones of the earth they
may call him their God--anywhere. He is not ashamed that it should
be so.
We
have sometimes heard of a brother who has become great and rich in
the world, and he has had some poor brother or some distant
relative, and when he has seen him in the street he has been obliged
just to speak to him and own him; but I dare say he wished him a
long way off, especially if some rich acquaintance happened to be
with him who should say, "Why, Smith, who was that wretched
seedy-looking fellow that you spoke to?" He does not like to say,
"That is my relation," or "That is my brother." But we find that
Jesus Christ, however low his people may sink, and however poor they
may be, is not ashamed to call them brethren, nor to let them look
up to him in all the depths of their degradation and call him
"brother born for adversity." He is not ashamed to call them
brethren. And one reason seems to me to be because he does not judge
them by what they are, but by what he has prepared for them.
Notice the text, "Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God, for he hath prepared for them--he hath prepared for them a
city." They are poor now, but God, to whom things to come are things
present, sees them in their fair white linen which is the
righteousness of the saints. All you can see in the poor child of
God is a hard-working, laboring man, who is mocked at and despised,
but what does God see in him? He sees in him a dignity and a glory
second only to himself. He hath put all things under the foot of
such a man as that, and crowned him with glory and honor in the
person of Christ, and the angels themselves are ministering servants
to such a one as that. You see his clothes, you see not him; you see
but his earthly tabernacle, but the Spirit, twice born immortal and
divine, you see not that. God does. Or if you spiritually perceive
that part, you see it as it is, but God sees it as it will be when
it shall be like unto Christ, without spot or wrinkle, or any such
thing. God sees the poorest child of God as he will be in that day
when he shall be like Christ, for he shall see him as he is.
It
seems in the text that God looks to what he has prepared for these
poor people--"he hath prepared for them a city." And methinks that
by what he has prepared for them he esteems them and loves them;
esteeming them by what he means them to be rather than by what they
appear to be.
Now
let us look at this preparation just a minute; "he hath prepared for
them"--them. I delight to preach a free gospel, and to preach it to
every creature under heaven; but we must never forget the
speciality--"he hath prepared for them a city." That is, for such as
are strangers and foreigners, for such as have faith, and therefore
have left the world and gone out to follow Christ. He hath prepared
for them, not for all of you, but only for such as he has prepared
for the city, has he prepared the city. But note what it is. It is a
city, which indicates, first, an abiding happiness. They dwelt in
tents--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but he has prepared for them a
city. Here we are tent-dwellers, but the tent is soon to be taken
down. "We know that this earthly house of our tent shall be
dissolved, but we have a house not made with hands eternal in the
heavens." "He hath prepared for them a city."
A
city is a place of social joy. In a lonely hamlet one has little
company, but in a city much. There all the inhabitants shall be
united in one glorious brotherhood--the true Communism; Liberty,
Equality, and Fraternity, in the highest possible degree. There
shall be delightful intercourse. "He hath prepared for them a city."
It is a city, too, for dignity. To be a burgess of the City of
London is thought to be a great honor, and upon princes is it
sometimes conferred; but we shall have the highest honor that can be
given when we shall be citizens of the city which God has prepared.
But I
must not dwell on this, delightful theme as it is, for I must close
by noticing you, who are the children of God. Don't wonder, don't
wonder if you have discomforts here. If you are what you profess to
be, you are strangers. Don't expect the men of this world to treat
you as one of themselves--if they do, be afraid. Dogs don't bark
when a man goes by that they know--they bark at strangers.
When
people slander and persecute you no longer, be afraid. If you are a
stranger, they naturally bark at you. Don't expect to find comforts
in this world that your flesh would long for. This is our inn, not
our home. We tarry here a night; we are away in the morning. We may
bear the discomforts of the eventide and the night, for the morning
will break so soon. Remember that your greatest joy while you are a
pilgrim is your God. So the text says, "Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God." Do you want a greater source of consolation
than you have got? Here is one that can never be diminished, much
less exhausted. When the creature streams are dry, go to this
eternal fountain, and you will find it ever springing up. Your God
is your true joy: make your joy to be in your God.
Now
what shall be said to those who are not strangers and foreigners?
Oh! you dwell in a land where you find some sort of repose, but I
have heavy tidings for you. This land in which you dwell, and all
the works thereof, must be burned up. The city of which you, who
have never been converted to Christ, are citizens, is the City of
Destruction, and as is its name such shall be its end. The king will
send his armies against that wicked city and destroy it, and if you
are citizens of it you will lose all you have--you will lose your
souls, you will lose yourselves. "Whither away?" saith one. "Where
can I find comfort then, and security?" You must do as Lot did when
the angels pressed him and said, "Haste to the mountain, lest thou
be consumed." The mountain of safety is Calvary. Where Jesus died,
there you shall live. There is death everywhere else, but there is
life in his death. Oh! fly to him! "But how?" saith one. Trust him.
God gave his Son, equal with himself, to bear the burdens of human
sin, and he died a substitute for sinners, a real substitute, an
efficient substitute for all who trust in him. If thou wilt trust
thy soul with Jesus, thou art saved. Thy sin was laid on him. It is
forgiven thee. It was blotted out when he nailed the handwriting of
ordinances to his cross. Trust him now and ye are saved. That is,
you shall henceforth become a stranger and a pilgrim, and in the
better land you shall find the rest which you never shall find here,
and need not wish to find, for the land is polluted. Let us away
from it. The curse has fallen. Let us get away to the uncursed and
ever blessed, where Jesus Christ dwells for ever. God add his
blessing on these words for Christ's sake. Amen.
Delivered by
C.H.
SPURGEON,
At
the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
On
Thursday Evening, July 13th, 1871
“There is little we touch, but we leave the print of our fingers
behind.”
Richard Baxter (1615 – 1691)
Love
the Lord Jesus Christ
Look
that ye love the Lord Jesus Christ with a superlative love, with an
overtopping love. There are none have suffered so much for you as
Christ; there are none that can suffer so much for you as Christ.
The least measure of that wrath that Christ hath sustained for you,
would have broke the hearts, necks, and backs of all created beings.
O my
friends! There is no love but a superlative love that is any ways
suitable to the transcendent sufferings of dear Jesus. Oh, love him
above your lusts, love him above your relations, love him above the
world, love him above all your outward contentments and enjoyments;
yea, love him above your very lives; for thus the patriarchs,
prophets, apostles, saints, primitive Christians, and the martyrs of
old, have loved our Lord Jesus Christ with an overtopping love: Rev.
xii. 11, 'They loved not their lives unto the death;' that is, they
slighted, contemned, yea, despised their lives, exposing them to
hazard and loss, out of love to the Lamb, 'who had washed them in
his blood.' I have read of one Kilian, a Dutch schoolmaster, who
being asked whether he did not love his wife and children, answered,
Were all the world a lump of gold, and in my hands to dispose of, I
would leave it at my enemies' feet to live with them in a prison;
but my soul and my Savior are dearer to me than all.
If my
father, saith Jerome, should stand before me, and my mother hang
upon, and my brethren should press about me, I would break through
my brethren, throw down my father, and tread underfoot my mother, to
cleave to Jesus Christ. Had I ten heads, said Henry Voes, they
should all off for Christ. If every hair of my head, said John
Ardley, martyr, were a man, they should all suffer for the faith of
Christ. Let fire, racks, pulleys, said Ignatius, and all the
torments of hell come upon me, so I may win Christ.
Love
made Jerome to say, O my Savior, didst thou die for love of me?-a
love sadder than death; but to me a death more lovely than love
itself. I cannot live, love thee, and be longer from thee. George
Carpenter, being asked whether he did not love his wife and
children, which stood weeping before him, answered, My wife and
children!- my wife and children! are dearer to me than all Bavaria;
yet, for the love of Christ, I know them not. That blessed virgin in
Basil being condemned for Christianity to the fire, and having her
estate and life offered her if she would worship idols, cried out,
'Let money perish, and life vanish, Christ is better than all.'
Sufferings for Christ are the saints' greatest glory; they are those
things wherein they have most gloried: Crudelitas vestra, gloria
nostra, your cruelty is our glory, saith Tertullian. It is reported
of Babylas, that when he was to die for Christ, he desired this
favor, that his chains might be buried with him, as the ensigns of
his honor. Thus you see with what a superlative love, with what an
overtopping love, former saints have loved our Lord Jesus; and can
you, Christians, who are cold and low in your love to Christ, read
over these instances, and not blush?
Certainly the more Christ hath suffered for us, the more dear Christ
should be unto us; the more bitter his sufferings have been for us,
the more sweet his love should be to us, and the more eminent should
be our love to him. Oh, let a suffering Christ lie nearest your
hearts; let him be your manna, your tree of life, your morning star.
It is better to part with all than with this pearl of price. Christ
is that golden pipe through which the golden oil of salvation runs;
and oh. how should this inflame our love to Christ!
Oh
that our hearts were more affected with the sufferings of Christ!
Who can tread upon these hot coals, and his heart not burn in love
to Christ, and cry out with Ignatius, Christ my love is crucified?
Cant. viii. 7,8. If a friend should die for us, how would our hearts
be affected with his kindness! and shall the God of glory lay down
his life for us, and shall we not be affected with his goodness i
John x. 17, 18. Shall Saul be affected with David's kindness in
sparing his life, 1 Sam. xxiv. 16, and shall not we be affected with
Christ's kindness, who, to save our life, lost his own? Oh, the
infinite love of Christ, that he should leave his Father's bosom,
John i. 18, and come down from heaven, that he might carry you up to
heaven, John xiv. 1-4; that he that was a Son should take upon him
the form of a servant, Phil. ii. 5-8; that you of slaves should be
made sons, of enemies should be made friends, of heirs of wrath
should be made heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, Rom. viii.
17; that to save us from everlasting ruin, Christ should stick at
nothing, but be willing to be made flesh, to lie in a manger, to be
tempted, deserted, persecuted, and to die upon a cross!
Oh
what flames of love should these things kindle in all our hearts to
Christ! Love is compared to fire; in heaping love upon our enemy, we
heap coals of fire upon his head, Rom. xii. 19, 20; Prov. xxvi. 21.
Now the property of fire is to turn all it meets with into its own
nature: fire maketh all things fire; the coal maketh burning coals;
and is it not a wonder then that Christ, having heaped abundance of
the fiery coals of his love upon our heads, we should yet be as cold
as corpses in our love to him. Ah! what sad metal are we made of,
that Christ's fiery love cannot inflame our love to Christ!
Moses
wondered why the bush consumed not, when he sees it all on fire,
Exod. iii. 3; but if you please but to look into your own hearts,
you shall see a greater wonder; for you shall see that, though you
walk like those three children in the fiery furnace, Dan. iii., even
in the midst of Christ's fiery love flaming round about you; yet
there is but little, very little, true smell of that sweet fire of
love to be felt or found upon you or in you. Oh, when shall the
sufferings of a dear and tender-hearted Savior kindle such a flame
of love in all our hearts, as shall still be a-breaking forth in our
lips and lives, in our words and ways, to the praise and glory of
free grace? Oh that the sufferings of a loving Jesus might at last
make us all sick of love! Cant. ii. v. Oh let him for ever lie
betwixt our breasts, Cant. i. 13, who hath left his Father's bosom
for a time, that he might be embosomed by us for ever.
Encouragement from God
To
be able to encourage someone is a great gift. It would be to our
advantage to pursue the art of encouragement. Everybody needs
encouraging. There are so many times when we are depressed in body
and in mind that we need spiritual encouragement to help us. The
Bible is God’s Word of encouragement. 1 Kings 19 tells us that
Elijah was afraid of Jezebel because she promised to destroy him. In
chapter 18, Elijah had just destroyed the prophets of Baal and dealt
such a blow to idolatry that he seemed indestructible. One of the
Puritans said that there are three things that make a man a minister
(a prophet). They are reading, praying and temptation.
So
often we can be doing spiritually fine and then all of a sudden we
are weak and afraid. This is how the Evil One works. Satan will not
have you a conquering Christian. He wants you weak and beggarly. He
wants you to not trust and depend on God. He will whisper lies to
you. The wonderful part of Elijah’s struggle is that God revealed
Himself to the prophet in the gentle whisper, and not in the great
and powerful wind that tore the mountain apart and shattered the
rocks, nor in the powerful earthquake, and not in the raging fire.
Those were all a demonstration of the power of God and you would
think that we would be lifted up if we see God in action, but the
opposite is true. God reveals Himself to us in quietness and
stillness when we have to strain to hear His gentle reassuring
voice.
Nehemiah, on the other hand, encouraged His people by recalling to
their minds the awesome power of God and that such a God was on
their side (Neh. 4:17-23). He said, “don’t be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight…”(Neh.4:14).
Elisha’s servant needed encouragement when the Arameans were lined
up to destroy Israel, and his faith was weak (2 Kings 6:15-17). When
Elisha prayed that the Lord open his servant’s eyes, the servant
suddenly saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all
around Elisha. God promises His children many things, but His
promises of encouragement are especially needed and precious,
because we are fleshly. So often we operate in the power of the
flesh, and that is not the way of faith. The flesh will fail every
time.
When
we would trust in the flesh, we must remember the resurrection of
Jesus from the dead (1 Cor. 15:11-58). His resurrection is a
guarantee and an assurance of our life with Him in eternity. One of
the most powerful stimulants to encouragement is found in the words
of Jesus in Matthew 28:19, 20. All authority belongs to Jesus in
heaven and on earth. Our Lord promised that He would be with us
always, to the very end of the age. In John 14:1 Jesus tells us to
not be discouraged in our hearts, but to trust Him. Trouble will
come to your heart often. Things won’t turn out the way you want
them too. You may have trouble with your children, your employer,
your friends, and even your bank manager. Look away to Christ. If
you are suffering for righteousness sake, you have no need to be
troubled. If you are suffering because of your sins, then confess
them to God and commit yourself again to him.
The
promise of Jesus to return for us is a great encouragement.
Ultimately, in the glorious sweet presence of God we will never
cease to be amazed at the wonder of God’s plan of redemption. All of
our afflictions will be seen in the light of God’s amazing grace. We
live in a world that offers no comfort or hope, but our hope and
trust must be in God. In the midst of affliction we must hope in
God. No one likes affliction, yet affliction is a flesh-cutting tool
designed by God to bring us to Himself. Today we are told by various
churches that affliction does not belong to the Christian. This is
false. The Psalmist says, “this is my comfort in my affliction that
your promise gives me life” (Ps. 119:50).
Notice that the Psalmist does not say that he should not have
affliction, but that in the midst of his suffering, he will trust in
God. But there is more to come in the Psalm. In Ps.119:71 the same
Psalmist says, “it is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might
learn your statutes.” Whoever would have thought that affliction was
good for you, but the truth is that affliction is designed by God to
teach us truth about the Lord. The story is not over yet though.
In
verse 75 the Psalmist says, “I know, O Lord that your rules are
righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” What a
blow to those who will tell you that suffering or sickness or sorrow
is wrong. It is the Lord who afflicts, and it is done in
faithfulness, and it promotes the righteousness of the Lord.
The
Lord only has our good in mind. He will not render evil to us. He
will not act capriciously toward us. He is like a tender mother and
gentle father. He speaks words of comfort and solace to us. This
week we should seek the Lord’s Word for us. Let God speak to you
from Scripture. Not one of you can change the future, though most of
us spend our days and nights worrying about what might or could have
been. Get your eyes off the furnace like Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, and onto God. Thieves and robbers may take all you have –
they will answer to God. Our lives and the lives of loved ones are
not ours to control. They are completely secure in God’s hands, no
matter what affliction may come your way. Every detail of your life
is planned by God. Your sins are permitted by God in order that you
might seek the Lord your God and know Him and turn from your sins.
Be encouraged in the Lord no matter your circumstances. Trust Him.
“Those that look to be happy must first look to be holy.”
Richard Sibbes (1577 – 1635)
Jesus
Calls His Disciples (Mark 1:16 – 20)
Scripture
Mark
1:16 – 20
Key Verse
“And
Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers
of men.”
-- Mark 1:17
Theme
Jesus
Calls His Disciples
Exposition
At
the outset of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord calls
twelve men to be his disciples. A disciple is simply someone who is
a learner. They were his followers, and Mark’s inclusion of the
calling of the disciples at this point, indicates that the disciples
were in for the long haul. Thus, we find throughout the Gospels, the
disciples are always with our Lord.
Our
Lord has being heralded by John the Baptist (vss. 2 – 8). The
approval and authentication of his person and ministry has been
given by the Father and the Holy Spirit (vss. 9 – 11). Jesus has
experienced and triumphed in the temptation ordeal at the hands of
Satan (vss. 12, 13). John the Baptist has been arrested and this has
signaled the commencement of the ministry of Jesus, and so we find
Jesus beginning his preaching ministry (vss. 14, 15).
We
know from John 1:35 that these disciples have previously encountered
Jesus. In Mark’s account, Mark is stressing the call to
discipleship. Jesus gives his call to discipleship by asking these
four men (Simon, Andrew, James and John) to follow him. The passage
stresses, in language that Mark enjoys using, that having heard the
call of Jesus, these disciples respond “immediately” (a word Mark
uses prolifically in his Gospel) to the Lord. Mark stresses that for
each of these men, they responded by leaving everything they owned
and were doing (see verse 18 and 20). Occupations (vss. 16, 19 –
fishermen in business, notice the “hired servants’ in verse 20) and
family (notice these men are a pair of brothers and Zebedee the
father of James and John) are not to be a hindrance in the call to
discipleship. In fact, very frequently, it is these issues that will
determine true discipleship and whether we respond in obedience to
the call.
Mark
makes reference to Peter and we know that he received information
from Peter to write his Gospel account (see their relationship in 1
Pet. 5:13). Mark refers to Peter as “Simon” six times, as “Peter,”
eighteen times and as “Simon Peter” once. He makes mention of Andrew
in Mark 1:29; 3:18 and 13:3. James and John are mentioned nine times
in the Gospel.
Mark
uses the word for “calling” (καλέω, kaleo) in the context of
discipleship in verse 20. We find the same word used in Mark
2:17 when Jesus said to the scribes of the Pharisees, “…I came not
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
One
commentator[3]
has suggested that if the response of Peter and Andrew reflects a
prompt response, then the response by James and John is a complete
response. Discipleship requires prompt action to the call and
complete obedience. The completeness of response is seen in the
immediacy of their following Jesus.
Jesus
stated that Simon, Andrew, James and John were to become “fishers of
men”. The words of Jesus in verse 17 are implied in the call given
to James and John in verse 20. Being a “fisher of men” is
conditioned upon their following Jesus. In the Old Testament
“fishing” for men carries the threat of judgment by God (Jer. 16:16
– 18), but here Jesus is emphasizing that fishing for men will be to
rescue men from the judgment of God.
Application
All
disciples have this same mandate. We too, are to live our lives in
such a way that we reflect the call to discipleship. Discipleship
means that we are no longer our own. Everything is to be at the
disposal of King Jesus. By including this account of Jesus
calling his disciples, Mark indicates to us that discipleship is
important. We are always to respond to Jesus’ commands with
promptness and we are to hold nothing back from him. In fact, we may
to jettison a few of the things that are important to us. There is
an unbreakable connection between Christology and discipleship. Mark
stresses that it was Jesus seeking his disciples (“he saw” in verses
16 and 19), and this is the right order to think of Jesus’ call
(refer to John 15:16). Discipleship requires obedience and
willingness. It is a matter of counting the cost and of loving
Christ. This is a beautiful account of Jesus loving his disciples
and calling them to lives of fruitful service. He does this with
each of us.
“Faith is not an experiment like, “try Jesus,” but a lifelong
commitment.”
John MacArthur (1939 - )
Bible
Quiz
Complete the Crossword using the clues below.
Across
5.
Cast all your _________ on him because he
cares for you.
6.
Women should remain silent in the
churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in ___________,
as the Law says.
7. But when our time was up, we left and
continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children
accompanied us out of the city, and there on the ________ we knelt
to pray.
8. For great is the LORD and most worthy of _________; he is to be
feared above all gods.
10. Make it your __________ to lead a quiet life, to mind your own
business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that
your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you
will not be dependent on anybody.
11. I call on the LORD in my ________, and he answers me.
13. "I will heal their ___________ and love them freely, for my
anger has turned away from them.
14. I will surely _________ you and make your descendants as
numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.
Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their
enemies,
15. Know then in your heart that as a man __________ his son, so the
LORD your God disciplines you.
16. Put away ___________ from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from
your lips.
Down
1. Blessed are those who are _____________ because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. “For many are ________, but few are chosen."
3. This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the ___________ and look;
ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in
it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will
not walk in it.'
4. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still __________, Christ died for us.
9. This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in
heaven, ______________ be your name,
12. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not
leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the
storm, and _________ are the dust of his feet.
“The
favor of God is what believers feel on earth.”
Robert M. M’Cheyne (1813 – 1843)
