<BrethrenVoice>
<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY>
<29 August 2002>
Contents:
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(1) <Devotional> "Sustained" - M.J. Stanford
(2) <Exhortational> "The world of feeling within us" (Pt-2)- R.Zacharias
(3) <Doctrinal> "In the beginning it was not so!" (Pt-4) - C.E.Wiggs
(4) <Prophetical> "The Redeemer's Return" (Pt-15)- A.W.Pink
(5) <Apologetics) "Christian Apologetics, Intro" (Pt-2) -M.Copland
(1) <DEVOTIONAL>
SUSTAINED
Miles J. Stanford
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee" (Psalm 55:22).
Our Father's living waters flow both in summer and winter (Zechariah
14:8). He provides the barrenness of winter in order to cut us off from
every other supply, and teach us to draw from His ever-flowing water of
life.
"The Father passes us through all the seasons here; and the winter, the
most trying one, is the most helpful, if we are really cast on Him in it.
Then the real measure of our dependence on Him is ascertained, and also
the extent of our resources in Him; and we make acquisitions in Him which
we never make at any other time. All our growth and fruit depend on our
winters, or rather on how we pass through them.
"The more we can rest in Him the more we are independent of everything
outside of Him at such a time, the more vigor we really possess; and the
better we get over the winter, be it ever so severe. If I am independent
of the winter, it is evident that I have mastered it, and not it me; and
if I have done so, through the strength of the Lord Jesus, I am relieved
though in no human way. Peter is delivered from prison in a superhuman
way; but first he, though enduring a very trying winter, could lay him
down and sleep–take his rest, because the Lord sustained him." -J.B.S.
"It is a wonderful thing to be so satisfied with the Lord Jesus' company,
that we can be tranquil about everything. I remember when I used to think
that I should be happy beyond conception if I were able to say, 'I will
fear no evil; my heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.' In order to reach
this, you must find Him enough, without anything else. You can never prove
the worth of anyone, until you are absolutely dependent upon him." -J.B.S.
"I laid down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me" (Psalm 3:5).
---
Copyright ©1996-2002 TrueBranch Ministry.
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(2) <EXHORTATIONAL> <SLICE-OF-INFINITY>
THE WORLD OF FEELING WITHIN US (PART-2)
Ravi Zacharias
Yesterday we considered the privilege of feeling, yet the importance of
being honest with ourselves as we reflect on our own sense of God's
nearness or distance. So I ask again: What emotional trappings, or
prejudices and insecurities, have been brought into your relationship with
God that could be keeping you from this relationship?
May I now pose two more questions? What indisciplines—or lack of
discipline—have been carried into this relationship? That's an
uncomfortable question for each of us, isn't it? But, you know, so often
this struggle is at the heart of what leaves us restless and uncertain.
Because in a subtle way, the distance we feel is not so much that God is
far away, as much as it is that we are so far from where we could be.
Indiscipline breeds surrender to the lesser and defeat in the face of
opportunity. We always seem to find the line of least resistance and then
blame God when we fail.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what wrong ideas about God have
been transferred to your relationship with Him that, again, could be
keeping you from God? Do you sometimes, like the prodigal son's brother,
question God's character—that He would show mercy to the undeserving or
seemingly act unjustly? Do you become angry or indifferent as a result?
How often we allow our feelings to dictate the way we think God should
behave toward us or this world and then respond in frustration or doubt
when He fails to measure up to our standard.
Listen to what Os Guinness writes about emotions:
The emotions were everything when faith was there, and now that doubt is
there they are still everything. All that is different is that they have
changed sides. But if emotions are really all that matters, then neither
faith nor doubt have anything to do with truth; they are simply the names
that we give to their changing moods. (Footnote 1: Os Guinness, God in
the Dark (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1996), p 134.)
From the beginning of our trust to our daily walk, we must walk by His
word, not by our feelings. We must remember that emotions are not all
that matters. The emotions are like the waves—they can be up or down.
God's word is like the rudder that can help you steer, even through the
rough spots. Jesus reminded His disciples that many things change, but
His Word never will. And in that Word He has said to you, "Lo, I am with
you always." Your feelings can bank on that.
---
Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM).
Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a radio ministry of Ravi
Zacharias International Ministries
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(3) <DOCTRINAL>
IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO! (PART-4)
Charles E. Wigg
....
An examination of what took place, and the things practiced when the
Church began. Contrasting it with present practices (2)
AFTER BAPTISM:
We read that those who gladly received the word, were baptised and
continued steadfastly in four things. It is important to note that they
continued steadfastly. That is they did not rush ahead and make
spectacular progress, neither did they lag behind. They went on
steadfastly. How we long to see such today, new believers who will make
steady progress, solid people, who can be relied upon without fear of
being disappointed.
They continued in four things and the importance of these four things
cannot be over-emphasised. The first is the teaching of the Apostles. That
is a solid all round understanding of the whole scope of revealed truth,
such as is taught to us in the Epistles. It is so sad today, when we find
many believers who emphasise almost solely, such things as speaking in
tongues, healing, miracles, etc. But they have little desire for the
understanding of spiritual things, rejecting such things as being "too
heavy". James speaks of "Contending earnestly for the faith once delivered
to the saints." To continue in such teaching, would involve meeting
regularly with believers for the purpose of studying the Scriptures.
The second thing mentioned is "the fellowship (of the Apostles)". Though
the Apostles are no longer with us, yet that same quality of fellowship
which they introduced remains. The Greek word for "fellowship", is
koinonia, which means sharing, or partnership. The introduction of formal,
denominational Churches, where a pastor or clergyman presides, or rules,
has done much to destroy this kind, or quality of fellowship. All that is
expected of the members to do, is to come to the services, listen to the
sermon, make their contribution to the collection and then go home until
next week.
Partnership means that each person has equal rights to enjoy the
privileges of the fellowship, but also equal obligation to carry the
responsibilities of the fellowship. No partnership will ever work, if one
partner only wants to take their share of the profits, yet does not do
their share of the work. Such fellowship draws people together, enables
each member to discover their own God given gifts, or abilities and also
those of their brothers and sisters. Such fellowship involves the
believers working together as a team. This is what the Apostle Paul
exhorted the Philippians to do. (Phil. 1:27). Satan knows that such a
fellowship has power and is very effective in winning the lost for Christ.
He tries very hard to prevent this, by bringing in division, bickering and
mis-understanding between the believers; and to get them to dissipate
their energies and strength, by striving, or quarrelling with each other.
The third thing mentioned is the "Breaking of Bread", known to us as the
Lord's Supper or to others as "Communion". This clearly shows that the
Lord's Supper occupied a central and very important place in the
gatherings of the early Church. It is a sad characteristic of the days
of decline in which we live, that the Lord's Supper has been removed from
the important place that it once occupied. It became the practice of the
Church, as it became established, for believers to gather on the first day
of the week, to celebrate the Lord's Supper, or to "break bread". But it
seems that to begin with, the believers broke bread in each other's
houses, perhaps more than once a week.
[To be concluded]
---
[Reproduced with permission of Charles E. Wigg]
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(4) <PROPHETICAL>
"THE REDEEMER'S RETURN" (PART-14)
II. THE CHARACTER OF OUR HOPE
Arthur W. Pink
....
4. OUR HOPE IS THE PERSONAL RETURN OF OUR REDEEMER (2 of 2)
-----------------------------------------------------------
The hope of Civilization has failed. How much all of us have heard of "the
march and progress of Civilization" during the past two generations! What
an Utopia it was going to create! The masses were to be educated and
reformed, injustices were to cease, war was to be abolished, and all
mankind welded into one great Brotherhood living together in peace and
good will. Civilization was to be the agency for ushering in the
long-looked-for Millennium. Any one who dared to challenge the claims made
on behalf of the enlightenment of our twentieth century, or called into
question the transformation which the upward march of Civilization was
supposed to be effecting, was regarded as an "old fogey" who was not
abreast of the times, or, as a "pessimist" whose vision was blinded by
prejudice. Was not "Evolution" an established fact of science and did not
the fundamental principle of Evolution--progress and advancement from the
lower to the higher--apply to nations and the human race as a whole, if
so, we should soon discover that we had outgrown all the barbarities of
the past. War was now no longer to be thought of, for those cultured
nations within the magic pale of civilization would henceforth settle
their differences amicably by means of arbitration. It was true that the
great Powers continued building enormous armies and navies, but these, we
were told, would merely be used to enforce Peace. But oh! what a madman's
dream it has all proven. The Hope of Civilization, like every other hope
which has not been founded upon the sure and certain Word of God, has also
proved to be nothing more than an entrancing mirage, a tragic delusion.
The great World War, with all its unmentionable horrors, its inhumanities,
its barbaric ruthlessness, has rudely wakened a lethargic humanity to the
utter insufficiency of all merely human expediencies, and has demonstrated
as clearly as anything has ever been demonstrated that "Civilization" is
nothing more than a high-sounding but empty title.
We repeat again, the ONLY hope of the Church is the personal Return of the
Redeemer to remove His people from these scenes of misery and bloodshed to
be for ever with Himself; and the ONLY hope for this poor sin-cursed and
Satan-dominated world is the Second Advent of the Son of Man to rule and
reign over the earth in righteousness and peace. This is the world's LAST
hope, for every other hope has failed it! We turn now to consider--
--
{Footnote:- In Scripture, "hope" is something more than desire or longing:
it is a joyous expectation, a definite assurance. Faith is that which lays
hold of God's promises; hope is that spiritual grace which sustains the
heart until the promise is "received."}
[To be concluded]
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(5) <APOLOGETICS>
"CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS, AN INTRODUCTION - (PART-2)"
M.Copland
....
II. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS "A HISTORICAL, FACTUAL FAITH"
A. CHRISTIANITY APPEALS TO HISTORY, AND THE FACTS OF HISTORY
1. "The facts backing the Christian claim are not a special kind
of 'religious' fact. They are the cognitive, informational
facts upon which all historical, legal, and ordinary decisions
are based." - CHARLES PINNOCK
2. It will be my purpose in future lessons...
a. To present these HISTORICAL FACTS
b. Then demonstrate that the CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION is more
logical than any other
B. BUT TO BRIEFLY ILLUSTRATE THAT CHRISTIANITY IS BASED UPON
HISTORICAL FACTS...
1. Consider Lk 2:1-5; 3:1-2
2. Notice the appeal to time, places, people and events that
actually existed in history
C. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, THEREFORE, IS A HISTORICAL FAITH THAT
APPEALS TO CERTAIN FACTS OF HISTORICAL OCCURENCE
1. Not a PHILOSOPHICAL faith appealing to philosophies of men
2. Not a faith based upon MYTHS and LEGENDS
III. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS "AN OBJECTIVE FAITH"
A. IT IS A FAITH IN AN "OBJECT": JESUS OF NAZARETH!
1. Faith in WHO He was: The Christ, the Son of God
2. Faith in WHAT He did: He rose from the dead on the third day
B. IT "DOES" MAKE A DIFFERENCE "WHAT" WE BELIEVE!
1. The old cliche "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as
you believe in something" is inconsistent with the Christian
faith
2. Consider Jn 8:24; Ro 10:9
a. Note that it is not faith IN OF ITSELF that is important
b. But IN WHOM (the object) our faith is based!
[To be concluded]
---
© M.Copland
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