The More Christ Has Suffered For Us!
Filed under: Christology, Quotes | Tags: Christology, Quotes
Leave a Comment “Christ is that golden pipe through which the golden oil of salvation runs!
The more Christ has suffered for us–the dearer Christ should be unto us. The greater and the bitterer Christ’s sufferings have been for us–the greater and the sweeter should our love be to Him. O my friends! there is no love but a superlative love, which is any way 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 contentments and enjoyments;
yes, love Him above your very lives!
Certainly the more bitter His sufferings have been for us, the more eminent should be our love to Him. 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?
Oh, the infinite love of Christ–that He should leave His Father’s bosom, and come down from heaven–that He might carry you up to heaven; that He who was a Son should take upon Him the form of a servant:
that you slaves–should be made sons;
that you enemies–should be made friends;
that you heirs of wrath–should be made heirs of God!
To save us from everlasting ruin, Christ was willing to be made flesh, to be tempted, deserted, persecuted, and to die upon a cruel cross! Oh what flames of love to Christ, should these things kindle in all our hearts!
Oh, let a suffering Christ lie nearest your hearts!” – Thomas Brooks
11-08-09pm Sermon – Proverbs 4:1-27
Filed under: Obedience, Parenting, Proverbs, Sermons | Tags: Obedience, Parenting, Proverbs, Sermons, Wisdom
Leave a Comment If you see a Play button hit the play button and start listening. 11-08-09pm Sermon – Proverbs 4:1-27. If you do not see a play button, then hit this link.
Outline
I. The Need Of Wisdom
II. The Trouble With Evil
III. The Practice of Good Wisdom
11-08-09am Sermon – Ephesians 5:3-4
Filed under: Ephesians, Sermons, Sin | Tags: Ephesians, Immoralilty, Sermons, Sin
Leave a Comment If you see a Play button hit the play button and start listening. 11-08-09am Sermon – Ephesians 5:3-4. If you do not see a play button, then hit this link.
Outline
I. Sexual Immorality Must Cease
II. Vulgar Language Must End
III. Thanksgiving Must Increase
The Test Of Amusements
“”Lovers of pleasure–rather than lovers of God” 2 Timothy 3:4
Is the love of pleasure growing upon you, gaining the power and the ascendency over you? Is it dulling the keenness of your zest for spiritual pleasures? Is it making Bible-study, prayer, communion with Christ, meditation upon holy themes–less sweet enjoyments than before? Is it making your hunger for righteousness, for God–less intense? Is it interfering with the comfort and blessing you used to find in worship services, or in Christian work?
If so, there is only one thing to do–hasten to return to God, cut off the pleasure which is imperiling the soul, and find in Christ the joy which the world cannot give, and which ever enhances the life. We must test all our pleasures and amusements by this rule–Are they helping us to grow into Christ-likeness and spiritual beauty?” – J.R. Miller
It Is Not Easy For Us To Learn This Lesson
Filed under: Christology, Quotes | Tags: Christology, Quotes
Leave a Comment “”If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23-24
Only as we learn to die to self–do we become like Christ.
Human nature seeks all for self–and none for Christ. Becoming a Christian is the taking of Christ into the life–in the place of self. Then all is changed. Life has a new center, a new aim. Christ comes first. His plan for our lives is accepted, instead of our own. It is no more what we would like to do–but “What does the Master want us to do?” It is no longer the pressing of our own will–but “May Your will, not mine, be done.”
This is the foundation of all Christian living–the dying of self–and the growing of Christ in the heart. So long as there remains any self-will, any unsubmission, any spirit of disobedience, any unconquered self, asserting its authority against the will of Christ–just so long, is our consecration incomplete.
This law of the dying of SELF, and the magnifying of Christ–is the only way to true usefulness. Not until self has been renounced, is anyone ready for true Christian service. While we are thinking how this or that will affect us, whether it will pay us to make this sacrifice or that self-denial; while we are consulting our own ease, our own comfort, our own interest or advantage in any form–we have not yet learned fully what the love of Christ means.
This law of the dying of SELF, and the magnifying of Christ–is the secret of Christian peace. When Christ is small, and SELF is large–life cannot be deeply restful. Everything annoys us. We grow impatient of whatever breaks our comfort. We grieve over little trials. We find causes for discontent in merest trifles. We resent whatever would hinder or oppose us. There is no blue sky in the ‘picture’, of which SELF is the center!
But when SELF decreases, and Christ increases–then the life of friction and worry is changed into quietness and peace. When the glory of Christ streams over this little, cramped, fretted, broken life of ours–peace comes, and the love of Christ brightens every spot and sweetens all bitterness. Trials are easy to bear, when self is small–and Christ is large.
This lesson has its very practical bearing on all our common, every-day life. Naturally, we want to have our own way. We like to carry out our own plans and ambitions. We are apt to feel, too, that we have failed in life, when we cannot realize these hopes. But this is the world’s standard! The successful worldling is the one who is able to master all life’s circumstances, and make them serve him.
But the greatest thing possible in any life–is to have the divine plan for it fulfilled–even though it thwarts every human hope and dashes away every earthly dream. It is not easy for us to learn this lesson–that God’s ways are always better for us than our own!
We make our little plans and begin to carry them out. We think we have all things arranged for our greatest happiness and our best good. Then God’s plan breaks in upon ours–and we look down through our tears upon the shattered fragments of our fine plans! All seems wreck, loss, and disaster! But no–it is only God’s larger, wiser, better plan–displacing our little, imperfect, shortsighted one!
It is true, that God really thinks about our lives–and has a purpose of His own for them, a place He would have us fill, a work He would have us do. It seems when we think of it, that this is scarcely possible–that each one of the lives of His countless children–should be personally and individually thought about by the Father. Yet we know that this is true of the least and lowliest of believers. Surely if God cares enough for us to make a plan for our life, a heavenly plan–it must be better than any plan of ours could be! It is a high honor, therefore, for His plan to take the place of ours, whatever the cost and the pain may be to us!” – J.R. Miller
The Ruined Handkerchief
“”We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
It is one of the wonders of divine love, that God will take even our blemishes and sins, when we truly repent of them and give them into His hands–and make them blessings to us in some way.
A friend once showed Ruskin a costly handkerchief, on which a blot of ink had been made. “Nothing can be done with that!” the friend said, thinking that the handkerchief was now ruined and worthless. Ruskin carried it away with him and after a time sent it back to his friend. In a most skillful and artistic way–he had made a fine design on the handkerchief, using the blot as its foundation. Instead of being ruined, the handkerchief was made far more beautiful and valuable.
Just so, God takes the flaws and blots and stains upon our lives, the disfiguring blemishes, when we commit them to Him, and by His marvelous grace–changes them into strength and beauty of character!
David’s grievous sin, was not only forgiven–but was made a transforming power in his life.
Peter’s pitiful fall, became a step upward through his Lord’s forgiveness and gentle dealing. Peter never would have become the man he afterward became–if he had not denied his Lord, and then repented and been restored.
There is one thing always to be remembered. Paul tells us that we become more than conquerors in all life’s trials, dangers, struggles, temptations, and sorrows–only “through Him who loved us.” Without Christ–we must be defeated. There is only one secret that can turn evil into good, pain into blessing–that is the love of Christ. There is only one Hand which can take the blotted life–and transform it into beauty.” – J.R. Miller
We Begin To Be Like Christ
Filed under: Christology, Holiness, Quotes | Tags: Christology, Holiness, Quotes
Leave a Comment “”I am among you as one who serves.” Luke 22:27
“He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him.” John 13:4-5
Serving is not an easy lesson to learn. But it is a lesson we must learn–if ever we would become like our Master. He did not come to be served–but to serve. He served to the uttermost, just as He loved to the uttermost. Anything that needed to be done for another, He did as naturally and as simply as He breathed. He loved people, and was interested in them, and was ready always to be helpful to them. It never mattered what the service was, whether it was the saving of a soul, the curing of a grievous sickness, or the giving of a cup of water–He did the least as graciously and as divinely, as the greatest.
The washing of feet was the lowliest service any man could do for another. It was the work of the lowliest slave. Yet Jesus without hesitation, did this service for His own disciples. Thus He taught them that nothing anyone may ever need to have done–is unfit for the whitest hands. We begin to be like Christ–only when we begin to love others enough to serve them.
There is no surer test of the genuineness of Christian life, than in this matter of serving others. When we see the Son of God washing His disciples’ feet–no service is too menial for us to do. A king may do the lowliest kindness to the poorest peasant in his realm, and his honor will only be enhanced by it.
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet–you also should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14″ – J.R. Miller
Any Moment We May Be Stricken Down!
““Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in You.” Psalm 143:9
Each day is full of dangers–dangers we cannot see, and from which we cannot protect ourselves. Disease lurks in the air we breathe, and hides in the water we drink, or in the food we eat. Along the street where we walk, on the railway over which we ride–there are perils. Any moment we may be stricken down! There may be enemies who are plotting against us, conspiring to do us harm.
There are certainly spiritual enemies, who are seeking to destroy us! The sunniest day is full of them. No African jungle is so full of savage and blood-thirsty wild beasts–as the common days in our lives are full of spiritual enemies and perils. These dangers are unseen–and hence cannot protect ourselves. “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy! He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour!” 1 Peter 5:8
What, then, can we do? As we go out in the morning we can offer this prayer, “Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in You.” We can thus put our frail, imperiled lives–into the hands of our almighty God!
“Cast your burden upon the Lord–and He shall sustain you.” Psalm 55:22. We are not promised that our prayers shall take the perils and temptations out of our day. It is not thus, that God usually helps. We are bidden to cast our burden upon the Lord–but we are not told that He will lift it away from us. The promise is that we shall be sustained and strengthened in bearing it.
We need the burden! It is God’s gift to us, and has a blessing in it, which we cannot afford to miss. Prayer does not take our trials away–but it puts our life into the hands of God–so that in His keeping, we shall be kept from harm while we pass through our trials. It brings God’s grace into our heart–to preserve us from falling into sin; and God’s strength into our life–that we may be victorious over our enemies.
Not to pray as we go into the day’s dangers and trials–is to meet them without the help of Christ, and surely to suffer hurt, and possibly to fall into sin!” – J.R. Miller
The Highest Attainment In Christian Life
Filed under: Christology, Practical Theology, Sacramentology | Tags: Christology, Practical Theology, Sacramentology
Leave a Comment “”Do this in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:25
The secret of all the noble heroisms of the Church, has been passionate love for Jesus!
The Lord’s Supper was intended to keep Christ always vividly in remembrance. We are to think of Him, when we have the sacred memorials of His love in our hands, reminding us of what He did to redeem us. But we are to think of Him just as devoutly, when we are away from the sacred table–in the midst of worldly tasks and circumstances.
If we always remember Christ, it will keep us faithful in our loyalty–as true to Him out on the streets, and when we are tempted and tried–as when we are at His feet in prayer.
Remembering Christ, will transform us into His likeness. Our thoughts are the builders, which rear the temple of our character. If we think of unclean things–our lives will become unclean. If we think of earthly things–we will grow earthly. If we think of Christ, if thoughts of Him are in our mind and heart continually, we will be changed, moment by moment, into His beauty!
The highest attainment in Christian life–is to always remember Christ, never to forget Him, to keep His blessed face ever before us. Then we shall never lose His peace out of our hearts. Then we shall never fail Him in any duty or struggle. Then we shall never be lonely, for remembering Christ will keep us ever conscious of His gracious presence.” – J.R. Miller
11-01-09pm Sermon – 2 Samuel 8:1-18
Filed under: Samuel, Sermons, Theology | Tags: Faithfulness, Kingdom, Samuel, Sermons, Theology
Leave a Comment If you see a Play button hit the play button and start listening. 11-01-09pm Sermon – 2 Samuel 8:1-18. If you do not see a play button, then hit this link.
Outline
I. The Lord Grows His Kingdom In Size
II. The Lord Grows His Kingdom In Wealth And Honor
III. The Lord Grows His Kingdom In Justice And Righteousness
