The treasure is in the yielding

 In a Q&A period following an online Bible study, Southern California preacher John Verstegen (www.helpersofyourjoy.org) was asked about the Apostle Paul’s admonition in I Corinthians 9 regarding a Believer’s “prize” and striving for an incorruptible heavenly crown.

Verstegen answered, “It’s all going to be glory for us (out there), but it has to do with the ability to take God’s Word and function with it here, and hence when we get there we’ll be put into a position that is parallel to that capacity and functioning in grace developed here.

“By the way, I should say as well, that even when we’re there in the heavenly places we will continue to grow and develop in our capacity to serve. We’ll be studying and learning forever. Learning will never end. The Word of God is eternal in nature. Your soul and my soul—you and I will be learning forever.”

*****

Paul writes in II Corinthians 4, [11] For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

“What that’s talking about is what Romans 12’s talking about; how it happens,” explains Jordan.

“Romans 12 begins, [1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
[2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

“There are three checkpoints in the issue of presenting your body to the Father for Him to use. In I Corinthians, Paul says [19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
[20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

“Your soul is the issue of where your will is. He says glorify God in your spirit (obey God’s Word) and your body (that’s where it lives out). And it’s based on ‘the mercies of God.’

“When he says, ‘Present your bodies a living sacrifice,’ God desires a vehicle. He purchases you, puts His Spirit in you in order to dwell there and manifest the life of His Son in you. So our bodies are important vehicles.

“What do you do with a living sacrifice? Kill it. What’s Romans 6 say? [3] Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
[4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

“You’re buried with Him and then you’re raised with Him to 'walk in newness of life.' So what you really are is, ‘I’m crucified with Christ nevertheless I live.’ What am I? I’m a LIVING sacrifice. How did you get to be a living dead person? That’s part of the provision God made you in His Son. It’s ALREADY who you are.

“All Romans 12 is telling you is just live in the reality of who God's already made you. He’s not telling you to do something so you can be something. He’s telling you, ‘Go be who you are.’ Present your body as who God has made you in that body—holy.

“Romans 6:19: [19] I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

“This is who you are so yield yourself to that. Go back to 13: [13] Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

“He’s not saying, ‘Go make yourself these things.’ He’s saying, ‘That’s who you are so just let that be what the reality of your life is.’ You make a personal choice to say, ‘I’m going to make this what’s real with my body.’

“Romans 6:20-21: [20] For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
[21] What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

“You see, the holiness is the fruit of who you are. You’re not trying to make yourself holy. God has set you apart in Christ.

*****

“You need to have your own personal convictions about your life. ‘Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind’ is the issue of taking an understanding of God’s Word and APPLYING it.

“And as you walk in the truth of God’s Word about who you are in Christ, it’s not a bunch of rules and regulations where, ‘If I do this I get there.’ It’s just, ‘This is who I am,’ and you’re transformed.

“Again, Romans 12:2 says, [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

“By the way, the world wants to conform you to its mold. How does it do that? Paul tells you in Romans 1. There’s a thinking process that produces conformity to the world.

“There’s a long passage in II Corinthians 3 comparing the glory of the Mosaic Covenant to the glory of the New Covenant and Paul says the glory of the New Covenant is so much bigger and better than the glory of the Old Covenant.

“Paul ends the chapter by saying in verse 18, [18] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

“The law won’t transform you but you get transformed when you’re changed from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God.

“Galatians 5:18 says that the Spirit will not lead you to be under the law. The Spirit of God leads you to be under grace.

*****

“When you make the choice to ‘present your body,’ you make a choice to use your body for Him: ‘I’m going to let Him be the vehicle through which His truth lives and functions. I’m going to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.’ Fruits are the inward life and product of His righteousness unto the praise and glory of God.

“When you move from law (or performance-based acceptance where it’s what I do that gets me accepted and gets me blessed) to grace, it’s, ‘God’s provided it for me and I’m just going to let that be what lives and I’m going to yield to that. I’m going to present that as my thinking process.’ That’s where the transformation is; that’s where the changing is.

“Here’s why you want that. When Paul says ‘that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,’ that’s not a ‘good, better and best’ kind of a thing. Something that’s good is valuable.

“You know what you discover when you do what that verse is talking about; what the will of God is? People say, ‘Well, if I present my body a living sacrifice and tell God to just use it for His glory, I’m going to miss out on a lot.’

“No, you know what you discover the will of God is? It’s a treasure; it’s valuable. And when you treasure Him, you make choices in life because you value Him more than anything else. That’s really how you make the choices.

“What do you really choose to make the most valuable in your life? That renewed mind gives you the capacity to prove and demonstrate, to say, ‘There is the thing that is of greatest value and treasure to me.’

“The way Jesus Christ is glorified in your life is when people see what you see. When others see that you value Him more than all these other things, that will make you different than everybody else around you and it will make you different for the right reasons. It’s the essence of maturity. It’s the demonstration of what maturity is really all about. Absolute, complete, maximum fulfillment is when I take my life and function in a way that produces all that.”

Competent, free to have Him TAKE you somewhere

Paul writes in II Corinthians 6, [17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

"He's saying, 'Stay away from all that stuff that's only designed to keep you thinking you can gain blessings from God through your performance,' " explains Jordan. "Now, the result when you do that, sometime people think, 'Well, I'm going to lose out on everything.' No, He says, 'I'll give you something so much better.'

"When the Lord Almighty says, 'I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,' He didn't say, 'I'm going to be LIKE a Father unto you.' He said, 'I'm going to be your Father.'

"It's that you're going to BE--this is the reality of the relationship and the way the Father relates to us today as His sons and daughters. We literally have this personal, intimate, real, genuine, authentic relationship with God the Father that allows us to relate to Him on EXACTLY the same basis that Jesus Christ does. Now, that's a fascinating thing. You literally can know your heavenly Father.

*****

"Paul tells us in Romans 8:16, 'The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' In verse 26 of the same chapter, he writes, [26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

"When it says 'the Spirit itself,' it's talking about His function, not His person. You'll find sometime He's called the Holy Ghost and those verses talk about His person. When He talks about the Spirit, those verses invariably talk about the function He carries on.

"Words have shades of meanings. The word 'itself' and 'it,' when applied to a person, is designed to indicate honor and rank and status; to give dignity to it. You say, 'He's a king and he acts like it.' He's acting like what? It's the idea of status--like who he is.

"So it's a lack of understanding grammar to get upset about 'itself' and 'which.' Because you don't talk that way, and because the translators know more about your language than you seem to know, well, don't be mad at them because they know more than you did. 

"The verse says WITH our spirits, not TO our spirits like people often read the verse. Usually people say, 'I know I'm saved because the Holy Spirit bears witness to my spirit that I'm a child of God.' That's not what it said. It says, 'The Holy Spirit bears witness WITH my spirit which also bears witness that I'm a child of God.' You've got a double witness here bearing witness together.

"Romans 8:17 says, [17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

"The part of the inheritance with Christ we share is if we suffer WITH Him. Notice, it doesn't say suffer FOR Him. People come along and say, 'Well, if you suffer FOR Jesus, than He'll give you an inheritance.'

"No, suffering WITH Him is an entirely different concept. What he's talking about is the extent of your participation in the inheritance. Over in Colossians 3, Paul calls it 'the reward of the inheritance.' It's about how much participation you have in it; the position you have in that government of the heavens is based upon suffering WITH Him. 

*****

"Paul writes in Romans 8:14: [14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

"The issue of being 'led by the Spirit' is a terribly misunderstood concept. There's all kind of hokey and spooky stuff today in the evangelical world where people say, 'God led me to do this; the Lord spoke to me and wanted me to do that.'

"I remember years ago listening to a very famous lady Bible teacher and minister, the wife of the missionary martyred in Ecuador who was an international hero, and she's talking on her radio program to a bunch of ladies in a meeting, telling them she got up in the morning and was drinking her coffee at the table and was waiting for God to communicate to her what she should do that day.

"She said, 'The Lord spoke to me and said, Go to the mailbox.' So she goes down to the mailbox and so on and so forth.

"I wrote her a letter and asked her, 'Did you really mean that? What kind of accent did He have? How did He talk? If He spoke to you, did you write it down? I would like to see what He said. I don't have it in my Bible.'

"She wrote me back and was very kind and said, 'No, no, I believe the Bible's complete and the Bible's God's Word and I don't believe in extrabiblical communication; it was just an impression and a feeling.'

"I thought, 'Well, why didn't you say I was impressed to go.' When you say 'God spoke to me,' that's words, that's talk; extrabiblical communication.

"People talk about, 'Well, I had this feeling. I had this impression. God spoke to me in this still, small voice.' You hear that kind of stuff all over in the world today. This spiritual impression that comes on high. None of that is anything but nonsense; just emotional hoodleydoo.

"That verse doesn't say, 'As many of us are FILLED by the Spirit,' or TAUGHT by the Spirit. It says LED. You think about that word led. People say, 'Well, that's God guiding you.' The word isn't guide; the word is lead. Guidance is a subset of being led, but when someone guides you, it's only a part of the thing.

"By definition the word lead means to 'take someone to a particular destination.' If you get on your GPS, you need a destination and it will LEAD you to that place. Guiding you tells you along the way; leading is, 'I'm taking you somewhere.'

"When you think of that verse, think about it that way. The leadership is through the Word, the rightly divided Scripture, through the sound doctrine that's there in the Book.

"But what He's doing--the Spirit of God's job, His function, is to TAKE you somewhere and where He's taking you in your growth and in your walk, 'as many as are led.' In other words, the destination the Spirit of God is taking the Believer to is to be the son of God; to be a full-grown mature son.

"Romans 7 says, [6] But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

"So what is the goal the Spirit of God's going to lead you to? It's to 'serve in newness of the spirit,' not go back under the performance system of the law. The issue's freedom. You're free from the law; you're not under your flesh's resources and performance. You're free to live as who you are in Christ.

"Here, Paul's talking about, 'You're not simply free; you're competent to do it.' You have the capacity through the leading of the Spirit, the teaching of the Spirit of God, to live in the identity that God gives you, and that is the issue of being the sons of God.

"That's why he says in verse 15, [15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

"Now, by that Holy Spirit leading you to understand your adoption and the identity you have in Christ as a son of God and what that means, whereby . . . 

"Whereby is another one of these words in grammar that are called 'words of logic'; words that explain things. He says, 'It's through the work and the ministry of  the Spirit of God, part of what His job is, part of His capacity . . . The information you're going to get from Him about being the sons of god, it's through that truth and understanding that you cry, 'Abba, Father.' You're given the privilege to have the same kind of sonship relationship with God the Father that Jesus Christ has."

(new article tomorrow)

Hometown hero

When I think about reuniting with loved ones in heaven, my godparents, Elsie and Clayton Kepler, are always on the short list. They were a salt-of-the-earth, Bible-believing Christian couple so honest, sincere and good to the core.

Elsie, for one, had a childlike innocence about her, for which she was sometimes slighted/belittled by some of my grandmother's other friends. One of the sad stories from her life was when she had her hair done at the beauty parlor and a negligent hairdresser left perm chemicals on her scalp too long, causing Elsie to go bald. She had a to wear a dark-brown wig that was somewhat ill-fitting.

Elsie was an erratic driver who once scared the daylights out of me and my sister when she went through a red light in a busy intersection on the way to the department store Higbees (which she always mispronounced Hig-uh-bees).

I was reminded of the Keplers yesterday when I looked up the creator of a classic hymn that was playing in my head, Since I Have Been Redeemed, and learned that he was from the same tiny farm town (Uniontown, Ohio, platted in 1816 outside my hometown of Akron) where the Keplers grew crops and raised animals on a farm that had been in Clayte's family for generations.

According to Hymnary.Org, Edwin Othello Excell (1851-1921) was born and raised in Uniontown and worked as a bricklayer and plasterer before moving to Chicago to study music under George Root, an American songwriter and music educator who found fame during the Civil War with songs such as "Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!" and the "The Battle Cry of Freedom".

Excell, who was evangelist Sam Jones' song leader for two decades, established a music publishing house in Chicago and authored or composed over 3,000 gospel songs. He was the highest volume producer of hymnbooks in America at the time of his death, which came shortly after he fell ill assisting Gypsy Smith in a city-wide revival crusade in Louisville, KY.

Wikipedia confirms that Excell's "1909 stanza selection and arrangement of Amazing Grace became the most widely used and familiar setting of that hymn by the second half of the twentieth century.^[2] The influence of his sacred music on American popular culture through revival meetings, religious conventions, circuit chautauquas, and church hymnals was substantial enough by the 1920s to garner a satirical reference by Sinclair Lewis in the novel Elmer Gantry.^[3]"

Transformed from the inside out

Paul writes in Philippians 4, [6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

"How do you deal with situations in life where you're overwhelmed? Work, health, finances, family. That verse is so powerful," says Preacher David Reid. "What it says there is in any situation you find yourself in, you can pray about it. You can let your request be known unto God.

"God hears your problem, 'I can't handle it; I don't know what to do with it,' and you let your request be known with thanksgiving. The reason you do it with thanksgiving is this--let me paint you a scenario:

"Let's say that today you lose your job, you go bankrupt, you're diagnosed with an incurable disease and you're imprisoned for your faith. Guess what? No one wants that; no one's happy about that.

"In the scheme of eternity does it make any difference? It really doesn't. I mean, after the first 10,000 years in heaven are you going to be bent out of shape about the flat tire you have? You're not going to care.

"The reason why we can pray with thanksgiving is Ephesians 1:3: [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

"In other words, you're complete in Christ. You have the forgiveness of sins. You're accepted in the Beloved. You're loved with an everlasting love. 

"If you read Romans through Philemon and just make a list of the things God's done for you in Jesus Christ, then what are you upset about? There's lots of earthly things that could bother you but they just don't mean anything! You know the end of the story! You WIN!

"Philippians 4:7: [7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

"When it says it 'passeth all understanding,' that means it's beyond my ability to comprehend. It surpasses all understanding. It's greater than anything you can reason out.

"Prayer is the pressure-relief valve of my life: 'Here's the problem, Father, I'm giving it to you; I pray that you would resolve this. Even if you don't, it doesn't change who I am in Christ. It doesn't change any of the eternal truths you've stated about the Body of Christ in your Word. It will be okay either way.'

"What happens when, as a child, you have a problem that's too big for you? You go to Dad. 'Dad, I need help with this.' Well, in this situation you have a Dad who is perfect, who has all knowledge. He may not handle it the way we would like, but listen, we're not always right about what we want anyway!

"Verse 8: [8] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

"You know what that reminds me to be focused on? God's stance right there.

*****

"What if you decided the real deficit in your life was you didn't watch enough TV news? You think, "What all that good information is going to do is enrich my soul and bring me peace and contentment.' Is that true?

"The earth is cursed by sin. It's inhabited by sinful people. So the more time you spend learning about the earth, guess what you're going to find? Not joy and peace. You're just going to learn about more sinful activity.

"Instead, if you reflect upon the positive things of God's Word; if we instead spent the time learning about God's Word we might learn something that's eternal. So the way to get your thoughts right is that way. There's no substitute; there's nothing else that works the same way.

"II Corinthians 10: [3] For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

[5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

"What we need to do is take every thought and bring it into captivity to Christ.

"Romans 12: [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

"Notice it does not say, 'Polish the outside and make it look nice.' What it says is you're transformed from the inside out. What we need to do on a daily basis is renew our mind in God's Word and it will work from the inside out.

"Proverbs 16:3 is a fascinating principle. It says, [3] Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

"One way to get your thoughts right is to just get busy doing things for the Lord. God has made every one of us an ambassador in Jesus Christ and we have a ministry because there are things He would have us to do.

"The best way to quit feeling sorry for yourself is to go serve someone else. That's contrary to our flesh because our flesh is arrogant and prideful, but the secret to happiness is about being others-focused. It's about finding the work God would have you to do."

(new article tomorrow)

Way down in the innermost recesses

Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), famous missionary in India, once wrote, "The word comfort is from two Latin words meaning 'with' and 'strong' – He is with us to make us strong. Comfort is not soft, weakening commiseration; it is true, strengthening love."

Her example as a missionary was one that personally inspired Jim Elliot and his wife Elisabeth Elliot to pursue a similar vocation in Ecuador. Her message was, "It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire that He creates."

Paul starts Philippians 2 with, "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

[2] Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."

One commentary explains, "The word comfort in the passage is the ancient Greek word paraklesis. The idea behind this word for comfort is always more than soothing sympathy. It has the idea of strengthening, of helping, of making strong. The idea behind this word is communicated by the Latin word for comfort (fortis), which also means 'brave.' The love of God in our life makes us strong and makes us brave. Of course there is comfort of love!"

“When people hear ‘bowels and mercies’ they say, ‘What’s that?!’ ” explains Jordan. “Go back to chapter 1 and Paul’s already told you. He writes in verse 8, ‘For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.’

"Obviously he’s using a figure of speech or a metaphor. You can easily find another place it’s used that will explain it to you. The bowels of something is the innermost recesses. Bowels of the cave; bowels of a ship.

“Isaiah 16:11 says, ‘Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.’ He’s talking about, ‘I’m going to have some groaning way down in the depths of my inner man; my inward parts,’ and he’s not just talking about his physical anatomy; he’s talking about his soul.

“I John 3:17 is another place that helps you. ‘But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?’

“He’s talking about the innermost part of a person’s soul. The inward part. By the way, the issue about 'the bowels of compassion'—that’s where compassion comes from.

“If there’s something that can go right down into the depths of your soul where life really comes from . . . is there any of that? It’s all in Christ. Now he says, ‘If all this identity and these things you have in Christ are true, here’s the mindset it’s going to produce.’

“What Paul's saying in Philippians 2 is, ‘Here’s the thing I’m trying to get done in the ministry.' He writes, 'Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
[4] Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
[5] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:’

“ ‘In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves’—that’s the whole key!

“By the way, verse 4 is a great verse to remind you you have to be careful when you read the Bible. If you take that verse out of its context, and take it literally, you can see how that verse will get you into trouble!"

From mental asylum to poet for God

Author of the great old hymn There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood, William Cowper (1731-1800) was one of the most popular poets of his time.

According to Wikipedia, "Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him 'the best modern poet', whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poem Yardley-Oak."

Cowper's father was one of King George II’s chaplains and his mother was related to the poet John Donne. His mother died when he was only six years old and he was then sent off to a boarding school where he was treated badly and ostracized by his peers.

At 18, he became a lawyer’s apprentice and spent the next decade training to become a lawyer but struggled with depression and, as he was about to be examined to practice law, had a mental breakdown. He was sent to a mental hospital, in those days called "asylums."

"He struggled from manic depression and often felt that he was doomed to eternal damnation and hell," informs one website. "He made several attempts at drinking poison only to have spasms in his hand which prevented him from doing so. He then tried to hang himself with a strong garter. He passed out and then the garter broke while he was still suspended. He struggled with knowing that God could forgive him for this attempt.

"One day at the asylum, Cowper found a Bible on a bench. He opened it up and turned to the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead, which Cowper said showed him the mercy of the Savior."

He turned to Romans 3, where he read, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

It was upon reading this passage that Cowper said he was immediately converted. He wrote, "The full beams of the sun of righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fullness and completeness of His justification."

Once regaining his mental health, Cowper left the asylum and moved to the English town of Olney, where John Newton became his pastor. Newton encouraged Cowper to write hymns and he completed 68 of them in a short period of time. There is a Fountain Filled With Blood was the first one he wrote.

"There are many interesting stories told about the impact of this great hymn and one has to do with a large religious service conducted at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco," says a post at Barry's Blog. "The gifted speaker began to direct most of his eloquence against the power of the blood of Christ. When he was done, an elderly lady stood up in the midst of the crowd and softly began to sing this hymn as a touching rebuttal to the speaker's remarks.

"A hush fell over the audience as they listened. But before she could begin the second verse, about one hundred people rose to join her. By the time they reached the third verse, nearly a thousand were singing along. The triumphant, thrilling strains rang out - 'Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power, 'til all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.' The message, written by one cured by the Lord from deep depression, still rings out today in the hearts of those who've experienced the power of the blood of Christ."

The lyrics:

(1) There is a fountain filled with blood

drawn from Emmanuel's veins;

and sinners plunged beneath that flood

lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains,

lose all their guilty stains;

and sinners plunged beneath that flood

lose all their guilty stains.

(2) The dying thief rejoiced to see

that fountain in his day;

and there may I, though vile as he,

wash all my sins away.

Wash all my sins away,

wash all my sins away;

and there may I, though vile as he,

wash all my sins away.

(3) Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood

shall never lose its power

till all the ransomed church of God

be saved, to sin no more.

Be saved, to sin no more,

be saved, to sin no more;

till all the ransomed church of God

be saved, to sin no more.

(4) E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream

thy flowing wounds supply,

redeeming love has been my theme,

and shall be till I die.

And shall be till I die,

and shall be till I die;

redeeming love has been my theme,

and shall be till I die.

(5) Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I'll sing thy power to save,

when this poor lisping, stammering tongue

lies silent in the grave.

Lies silent in the grave,

lies silent in the grave;

when this poor lisping, stammering tongue

lies silent in the grave.

Everybody knew what Jews' Book said

When reading the Bible from cover to cover, what should become evident is it's one Book being preserved through history; one that keeps growing as God assigns people to add to it.

God says to Isaiah in Isaiah 30:8, [8] Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:

Daniel 9: [2] In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

"Daniel's studying his Bible and he's discovered in the Book of Jeremiah that God says, 'I'm going to send you into Babylonian captivity and it's going to last 70 years,' " explains Preacher Richard Jordan. "Dan says, 'Okay, Babylon's over, Persia's here, it's been 70 years; we're in the next phase.' He says, 'I'm going to go do what God tells me to do in Leviticus,' and he prays.

"Daniel 9:11 [11] Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

"He's got a copy of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 29. He says, 'What Moses wrote, I've got a copy of it right here and what's happening to us is what Moses wrote.'

"The Book's lasted. Verse 13: [13] As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

"You see, the Book's been written, collated together, preserved and distributed.

*****

"Now, this is one of the wildest verses--I read this and I just go, 'Woah! This is crazy.'

"Jeremiah was a prophet warning Israel of the coming Babylonian captivity. They didn't believe him, Nebuchadnezzar came and took Daniel away and so forth, and they left Jerry in the land; they left him in Israel.

"Jeremiah 40: [1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon.

"God's going to send word to Jeremiah after this Babylonian officer has let him go. Watch what this Babylonian Gentile military officer says in verse 2: [2] And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.

"He's quoting Leviticus 26 to Jeremiah! How did that dumb Gentile over there know what God said?! He had a Book that's been distributed. You see that? I say 'Wow!'

*****

"Go to Esther, set in Persia after where Daniel's at. You remember Haman who's going to try and destroy the Jews? Haman says, 'There's a bunch of people in the land; these crazy Jews and they've got all these laws that are just so different than ours.' Everybody knew what the Jews' Book said. It was widely distributed; it wasn't under a blanket somewhere.

"Go to Ezra 3:2, when they come back out of Babylonian captivity: [2] Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

"What did they do? They builded an altar of the God of Israel. My point is they've still got the Book. In Nehemiah 8, the great preaching chapter, verse 1 says, [1] And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

"It's, 'Bring the Book, teach us the Book.' Verse 5: [5] And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:

"Verse 8: [8] So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

*****

"In Matthew, when you get into the time of Christ, the Book's still there and it's still the issue. Jesus says in Matthew 22:31, [31] But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

"This is the verse that kept me from being a modernist back in my college days. The greatest definition you'll ever find in any theology book or any preacher on inspiration is that Book right here.

"Inspiration is God breathed. The Bible is that which is spoken to you by God. He took those words and wrote them down and you can read them. That's good because you didn't hear them. Two thousand years ago, you weren't there. If you're going to know what was said, God had to write it down and preserve it. The writing it down is the preserving.

"Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6 in the next verse and He says, 'You've got a copy in your hands of what Moses wrote in Exodus 3.' Verse 6: [6] Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

"The Book's still here and and Jesus thought the copy of the Book He had was what God said. Jesus thought God had preserved the inspired Word all through history and He had it in His hands. Now that's a strong statement of not just the writing, but the preserving of God's Word."

(new article tomorrow)

God does whatever's necessary

Does God know how everything is going to play out?

In Zechariah, hundreds of years before Christ's birth, Scripture records that He is going to be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver.

Columbus, Ohio Preacher David Reid explains, "Imagine that. Do you think you could predict the currency of the world 500 years in advance? How would you guess whether it's gold pieces or silver pieces or platinum or cookies? You wouldn't have any idea.

"How would you guess the number? You wouldn't have any ability to do that. Yet, Scripture records in Zechariah 11 that the Lord Jesus Christ is betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver. How does that happen unless God the Father knows the end from the beginning? He does, He does, He does, He does.

"God doesn't control all the circumstances in life, but there are some things that He clearly does. An example is in Matthew 24:35: [35] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

"That verse tells you that God is active in history and He will not let His Word be destroyed. He's going to do whatever He determines to do to cause that to happen. If He doesn't, that verse is false and He's a liar and He most certainly is not a liar, which tells you that God does whatever is necessary throughout history so that His Word does not pass away.

*****

"You'll hear people say, 'This world belongs to Satan,' but that's not true. II Corinthians 4:4 says Satan is 'the god of this world,' but the earth belongs to God the Father. Satan is who this world worships but make no mistake, this world is the Lord's.

"I Corinthians 10:26: [26] For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.

"Who does the earth belong to according to that verse? Look at verse 28: [28] But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:

"Jesus Christ created the earth and it never ceased to be His. Because Colossians 1:16 tells you, [16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

"My point is, God doesn't intervene when He takes action upon the earth because it's His! You don't intervene when you mow your front lawn. It's your lawn; you can mow it however you want to!

*****

"Paul tells us in Romans 11, [26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

"Romans 15: [12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

"So why does Israel suffer such incredible persecution during the dispensation of grace? Have you ever looked at that? During the dispensation of grace, the Jews have been persecuted in India, in Soviet Russia, in Nazi Germany, by Iran, Iraq.

"You could go down a list of country after country after country where Jews have been persecuted. But why? Today there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek.

"Does Satan know about God's future purpose with the nation Israel? Yes, he does. Does he want to defeat that future purpose? Yes, he does.

"Think of the prophetic program as a basketball game. Now, the dispensation of grace is a 'time out' in the prophetic calendar. If the dispensation of grace is an interruption of that basketball game, you know what Satan would like to do during that time out?

"He's the coach of the bad team and so he wants to walk over to the opposing bench of the good team, pull out a submachine gun and kill them all so that when the referee says, 'Hey, time for the game to resume,' it's, 'Oh, I'm so sorry, you don't have a team? I guess we win.'

"Satan would love to destroy the Jew during the dispensation of grace so that God's purpose with Israel can't be accomplished. The problem with that is Satan's strength is nothing compared to God's, so how well is this plan going to succeed? Zero chance."

(new article tomorrow)

Jesus abides with me still

“You learn an intimacy with the Lord and an appreciation of His grace, and there are great rewards right now in your personal fellowship with the Lord, your personal maturity and your growing, and you’re able to be comforted with the comfort of God."

About the classic hymn "Moment by Moment," Ira Sankey, the gospel singer known for his long association with Dwight L. Moody in religious revival campaigns across America and Britain in the late 1800s, once wrote:

"While Major Daniel W. Whittle was attending the World's Fair in Chicago, Henry Varley, a lay preacher from London, said to Major Whittle: 'I do not like the hymn I Need Thee Every Hour very well, because I need Him every moment of the day.' 

"Soon afterwards Major Whittle wrote this sweet hymn…[He] brought the hymn to me in manuscript a little later, saying that he would give me the copyright of both the words and music if I would print for him five hundred copies on fine paper, for distributing among his friends. His daughter, May Whittle, who later became the wife of Will R. Moody, composed the music.

"I did as Mr. Whittle wished; and I sent the hymn to England, where it was copyrighted on the same day as at Washington. In England the hymn became very popular. Falling into the hands of the well-known Rev. Andrew Murray, of South Africa, then visiting London, he adopted it as his favorite hymn.

"A year later, Mr. Murray visited Northfield, Massachusetts, and while holding a meeting for men in the church, he remarked, 'If Sankey only knew a hymn which I found in London, and would sing it, he would find that it embraces my entire creed.' I was very anxious to know what hymn it was, and when he had recited it I said to him: 'Doctor, that hymn was written within five hundred yards of where we are standing.' "

For years afterward, Murray had his wife sing this hymn in nearly all his meetings and it became a great favorite in South Africa during World War I.

1.     Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine;

Living with Jesus, a new life divine;

Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine,

Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Moment by moment I'm kept in His love;

Moment by moment I've life from above;

Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;

Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

2.     Never a trial that He is not there,

Never a burden that He doth not bear,

Never a sorrow that He doth not share,

Moment by moment, I'm under His care.

Moment by moment I'm kept in His love;

Moment by moment I've life from above;

Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;

Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

3.     Never a heartache, and never a groan,

Never a teardrop and never a moan;

Never a danger but there on the throne,

Moment by moment He thinks of His own.

Moment by moment I'm kept in His love;

Moment by moment I've life from above;

Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;

Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

4.     Never a weakness that He doth not feel,

Never a sickness that He cannot heal;

Moment by moment, in woe or in weal,

Jesus my Savior, abides with me still.

Moment by moment I'm kept in His love;

Moment by moment I've life from above;

Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;

Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Another great old hymn, It Will Be Worth It All, When We See Jesus, goes:

(2) Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,

We're tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;

But there is one in heav'n who knows our deepest care,

Let Jesus solve your problem - just go to Him in pray'r.

Refrain

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,

Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;

One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,

So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

(3) Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,

We'll cross the great divide, to glory, safe at last;

We'll share the joys of heav'n -- a harp, a home, a crown,

The tempter will be banished, we'll lay our burden down.

God delights in being One who reveals Himself

"The thing that can give you the humility of mind grace produces is to take a moment and think about all the wonderful privileges God's given you in your life," advises Jordan. 

"We literally have this personal, intimate, real, genuine, authentic relationship with God the Father that allows us to relate to Him on exactly the same basis that Jesus Christ does.

"He doesn't relate to you in His godheadness; omniscient, omnipotent, the Holy Other, the Transcendent One. He comes and relates to you, not in all the essences He has, but in His person. He isn't just all those other things; He's also life and love; He's personal, relational.

"Every member of the godhead, they spontaneously and forever live for the good and the benefit of the other members. They're always looking out for the others in the godhead. That's God's life and it's that kind of relationship that you and I in Christ now have and that's what the Holy Spirit's job is . . .

"One of my favorite verses in Ephesians is Ephesians 2:18: [18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

"It's the function and the work of the Holy Spirit to take you, and by that WORK of the Holy Spirit, lead you into that intimate relationship with the Father that Jesus Christ has provided for you. That's a wonderful, fantastic kind of relationship."

What breaks endless cycle of vanity?

The only religion God ever established He gave to the nation Israel through the hand of Moses. Called the law of Moses, the Bible calls it pure religion because it came straight from the hand of the Creator.

"By the time of the Lord Jesus they had corrupted it and Paul called it 'the Jews' religion,' " reminds Jordan. "They had turned it into their manmade religion. Mark 7: [6] He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. [7] Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctines the commandments of men.[8] For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,

"You see what they've done? They've taken what God said and laid it aside and taken up tradition that they've imposed on it. Verse 13: [13] Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

"You can take tradition and impose it on what God says and when you do that, verse 7 says 'in vain do they worship me.' The worship is empty, valueless, it's just futile living.

"When we talk in Ephesians 6 about parenting, you can have a futile, vain parenting or you can have a spirit-filled parenting. You can have a vain, futile, worthless, empty living or you can have a living that's designed the way your Creator designed you to live.

*****

"That issue of vanity in your Bible is a very important topic and it's important to think about today. Paul writes in I Corinthians 5:

[17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
[18] Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
[19] If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

"Solomon was the wisest man and yet there came a point in Solomon's life where, instead of depending on God's wisdom, he said, 'I'm going to go find out wisdom on my own.'

"He laid aside the commandment of God and sought wisdom through his own experience and the result of that is the Book of Ecclesiastes. This book is written almost a thousand years before the time of Christ.

"All of the great philosophers of the ancient world who have shaped world history--the Greeks, Romans, the Athenians--you can find every one of their philosophies expressed in Ecclesiastes. It's the strangest thing in the world.

"You know what they did? They simply took the wisdom of God, didn't give credit to it, and repeated it. Solomon in Ecclesiastes examined ALL of the thinking that men go through. He condensed it down into one book. He said, 'Here's all the vain thinking people operate on.'

"All of the philosophers of the world lay aside God's Word, reject it and take up human viewpoint. Isn't that what Romans 1 said? They said, 'We don't want God's revelation.' You know what that leaves you with? A goose egg. It leaves you with your noodle trying to figure things out and you can't do it. You become vain, empty, worthless in your imaginations. You begin to develop all these wise ideas that come out of nothing, emptiness.

" 'We are of all men most miserable.' In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says that one thing, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we shall die.

"And when you're dead, you're dead like a dog. It's over with. That's what the philosophy of the world is and, if there isn't hope in Jesus Christ, if there isn't something beyond right now, then you're just living a vain, miserable, worthless life. Because all there is ahead for you is the hole in the ground. Tomorrow's just a Bronx Cheer. You see how important the resurrection is?

"Psalm 39: [5] Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. [6] Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

"You young folks don't get that but older folks will tell you that's true. You say, 'Where'd it go so fast?!' 'Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.'

"The best you have is nothing. You won't win friends and influence people with that message.

"I just picked out some of these real encouraging verses in Ecclesiastes. In Adam, because of man's fall, man in his best state is just a pile of dust, a puff of wind; he's a dream, he's a shadow, he's a pillar of smoke, he's a worm, he's just this curiosity. In his best state he's just an empty shell.

"Ecclesiastes 5: 15: [15] As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

"The message is, 'Naked you come in, naked you go out.' You know what life is? One generation's born, it passes away and you know what it takes with it? It leaves it all behind. Well, what was I doing when I was doing what I was doing? No matter what I accomplished in life--fame, fortune, money, education, prestige--you know what happens? I die and it's gone. I've got nothing that lasts. It's just an illusion. I thought I had something but I didn't.

"When he says that, he's talking about this. Ecclesiastes 1: [1] The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

[2] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
[3] What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
[4] One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

[5] The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

"What are you getting out of everything you're doing in your life every day? Some of you are just starting out in life--you're still going to school. Some of you are raising your family.

"He says, 'What profit hath a man?' Verse 4 is what happens. You know what vanity is? One generation is born, they die, the next generation is born and they die, and the next generation is born and they die, and nothing changes. The earth is just still here. You try to build a legacy, have a family line, but you're not there; you're in a hole in the ground.

*****

"I love that verse in Acts 13 where it says David, the great king and bard of Israel, served his generation and 'fell on sleep.' You know what that means? He did all the things he did and, poof, he dies. If dying was the end of things, what did he have? Nothing. It was meaningless.

"Look at Ecclesiastes 8:14: [14] There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

"You know how that happens; you've seen that. Here's a wicked guy and it looks like he's blessed and he gets ahead. Here's another guy doing what's right and he's taking it in the neck all the time. What is that? It doesn't seem fair.

"People say, 'Well, if I was God, that's not what I would let happen.' That's the randomness of the curse. Listen, the curse of sin that causes vanity in the earth is a random thing. That randomness he's talking about here is how life operates in a fallen world. We live in a creation GOVERNED by that curse of sin.

"Jesus Christ took sin's curse and paid the price for it and redeemed me. Bought me out of the hock shop of sin and put me in His righteousness. He redeemed me so over there in the future He could come back and take possession of this possession He bought.

"The thing that changes the cycle of vanity, the cycle of the curse--the thing that changes that cycle of one generation comes and passes and another generation comes and passes, is the resurrection! It's the resurrection of Jesus Christ and your participation in it.

"I hope you follow what I'm trying to tell you. Listen, all that vanity out there in the world, that's all there is out in the world, and if it wasn't for the resurrection, all that stuff that was just the cycle of a sin-cursed world, good, bad or indifferent, that time and chance bring into your life . . . I mean, think about what your investing into your life and what are you going to have at the end?

" 'If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.' What you believe makes a difference. You've seen people reach the pinnacle of their chosen pursuit. Money, fame, education, religion, family. They reach out and have it all and find it an empty suit. In the finances of the world, the thrill is in the pursuit, not in the gaining of the prize. You know what that is? That's the illusion.

"Verse 20: [20] But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

"Generations that come and pass isn't true for us because of the resurrection. It's the resurrection of Christ that breaks that cycle. [21] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

"Apart from Christ's resurrection and our participation in it, there's no escape from vanity. In Acts 2, Peter's first message was, 'You with wicked hands crucified Him and God raised Him up.' Why? To sit on David's throne. God had a purpose for Him and He didn't just die; God raised Him up and Israel's going to get all her promises based upon that.

"In Paul's first message, he talks about you know what? Christ died and then God raised Him up. Acts 13: [34] And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

[35] Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
[36] For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
[37] But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

"He's raised `no more to see corruption.' His death completely put away sin. In Hebrews 9, it says, [27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."