<BrethrenVoice>
<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY>
<16 September 2002>
Contents:
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(1) <Exhortational> "I'd rather have Jesus than..." - Connie Giordano
(2) <Doctrinal> "In the beginning it was not so!" (Pt-18) - C.E.Wigg
(3) <Prophetical> "The Redeemer's Return" (Pt-28)- A.W.Pink
(4) <Apologetics) "Christian Apologetics" (Pt-16) -M. Copland
(1) <EXHORTATIONAL>
I'D RATHER HAVE JESUS THAN...
Connie Giordano
If someone were to ask you the question - "What are you living for and
what would you be willing to die for?" - what would be your honest and
sincere response?
In the early part of the twentieth century, Mrs. Rhea F. Miller wrote the
stirring and inspiring words of the well-loved hymn - "I'd rather Have
Jesus." Later, George Beverly Shea, at the age of 23, while composing a
melody for this hymn, was so moved by its message, that he dedicated his
life's future and his singing talent to the Lord. Throughout his lifetime
and ministry, there was not a song that he sang more often that this
particular one.
You may or may not be very familiar with this hymn written by Mrs.
Miller. But, today, why not ask the Holy Spirit to open up your eyes to
see this song in a fresh way? In light of where you are at this very
moment in your walk with the Lord, what is God speaking to you personally
through these inspiring and challenging words?
"I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land;
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame;
I'd rather be true to His holy name.
"He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb;
He's all that my hungering spirit needs -
I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead:
Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin's dread sway!
I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today."
Oh! Saint of God! Oh! Chosen One of the Lord!
Oh! Called out One from your mother's womb for God's plan and purpose!
Can you honestly say with Rhea Miller that you would rather have Jesus than
silver or gold...riches untold...houses or land...men's applause or
world-wide fame? Above all worldly honors and accolades, would you rather
be led by Him and be found true and faithful to His name? Is integrity far
more costly and precious to you than climbing the corporate ladder using
dishonest measures?
Is the Lord Jesus indeed fairer than any beauty that this world can furnish?
Is He more satisfying to your soul than any earthly pleasures? Is He your
all-in-all? Is He more than enough to your hungering soul? Are you more than
willing to let Him have His way in your life - with no strings attached?
If the Holy Spirit would call on you today for the task of adding more
stanzas to this song, what would you add? In the year 2002, what would the
Church of the Lord Jesus as a whole be able to declare to the world at this
time - "I'd rather have Jesus than..."?
Personally, what would you say to your unsaved family, friends, co-workers
and neighbours - "I'd rather have Jesus than..."
David expressed his absolute longing for God above all others many times
through the Book of Psalms. Let's examine two particular examples to see the
extent that he went to find Him -
Psalm 84:2 - "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the
Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. "
"My soul longeth" - These words indicate an intense desire. David longed
for, pined after, and earnestly desired to the point where it made him weak
and exhausted.
"even fainteth" - He became totally exhausted and spent, having no more
strength.
"for the courts of the Lord" - What was he pining after with such intensity?
He was longing for the place where public worship was conducted.
"my heart and my flesh" - With his whole being - every appetite, wish,
desire, and aspiration - he longed for communion with his God. It was with
an entire and intense desire.
"crieth out for the living God" - With utmost impatience for any delay in
his search, he uttered loud, vibrating wails.
Psalm 63:1 - "O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul
thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land,
where no water is; To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen
Thee in the sanctuary."
"O God, Thou art my God" - David worshipped the Lord his God as the
Almighty One, the One from Whom he derived all supernatural strength and
power. He looked unto Him as the One Who had all power to save and
deliver from any foe, circumstance, or situation.
"early will I seek Thee" - This refers to the daybreak, early dawn, and
the start of a new day. David purposed to seek God first before other
distractions and diversions would dare to steal away his attention and
affection from Him. He gave God his first and best thoughts. He formed no
plans but those that were directed and controlled by Him.
"my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee" - Once again, we
see terminology used by David to express the idea that he sought after
God with his entire being. He desired God above all others. Only He could
satisfy.
"In a dry and thirsty land" - This is a parched land - a land of
barrenness, rocks, intense heat, and utter desolation - a land that
brought its travellers much weariness and exhaustion.
"where no water is" - There was absolutely no trace of a stream or
fountain to quench one's thirst.
"To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the
sanctuary" - David experienced the manifestation of the awesome presence
of God and was "ruined" forever by it. Nothing in this world could
compare to that powerful influence that he felt which is capable of
melting the hardest of hearts and destroying the strongest of bondages.
In these two Psalms, we studied how David expressed his heartfelt desire
and longing for God above all others. Mrs. Rhea F. Miller said it this
way - "I'd rather have Jesus than..."
If given the opportunity to speak or write with the entire world as your
audience, how would you express your longings after God in this "dry and
thirsty" world in which we live? Does your heart yearn to be in the place
where God's power, glory, and awesome presence is manifested - where
miracles abound, hardened hearts are melted, lives are changed, sick bodies
are healed, and demonic spirits are driven out of their captives? Do you
give God the firstfruits of every day, longing for His leading and plans for
your life? In what way do you show Him that you desire Him more than this
world's many treasures?
David said - "O God, Thou art my God..my heart and my flesh crieth out
for the living God." Mrs Rhea Miller said - "I'd rather have Jesus than..."
Now it is your turn...what do you have to say?
May God Bless His Word.
Connie
---
Copyright 2002 by Connie Giordano
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(2) <DOCTRINAL>
IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO! (PART-18)
EXPERIENCE/CHURCH PRACTICE
Charles E. Wigg
....
It is also in the local Church that the new believer should gain experience.
There you should be taught that you are a member of the body of Christ, and
that as such God has given you gifts. You should be encouraged to discover
what your gifts are, and be given the opportunity to exercise those gifts.
In most sound Assemblies there will be a children's ministry, where children
of school age, from many homes, will be gathered, and together with the
children of the believers will be regularly and simply taught the Scriptures
in classes. It is often called Sunday School, or in Muslim lands, Bible
school. This is a very good place for a young believer to learn how to share
the word of God , with others. Usually this is done under the supervision of
senior or experienced believers. This experienced person is then able to
guide and advise the younger believer, so that they will become efficient
teachers of the word.
CHURCH PRACTICE - In the local Church the believer is exposed to all the
traumas, difficulties and blessings, that inevitably will be the experience
of those who seek to maintain a collective Christian witness. In the local
Church the believer learns the importance of the role of Elders, and the
need to be in submission to them in obedience to the word of God.. Thus they
learn the practical side of the work of the Lord. Such things can never be
learned in any academic institution. Hence it is in the day to day events
within the local Assembly, that the believer is equipped to go out to the
place where the Lord leads them. Even when they reach that place, they often
serve at first, under the guidance and supervision of a senior and
experienced worker. It was the practice "IN THE BEGINNING" for the servants
of God to go out to the field of service, straight from the local Church,
with the commendation, and fellowship of the believers in that Church.
Of recent years the expression "Church Planting" has been much in vogue.
However we do not find this expression anywhere in the Bible, nor is anyone
given the responsibility of planting any Church. Those who went out in the
beginning, went with the prime intention of preaching the Gospel. Those who
believed were taught the word of God, and became disciples. It was the Lord
who planted the Church, and added those who were being saved to that Church.
It was He who placed in the Church those gifts necessary for its growth and
continuance. May it please the Lord to continue to prepare and to use those
servants of His whom He has prepared, for the salvation of the lost, and the
establishment and multiplication of true New Testament Churches, such as
were "IN THE BEGINNING"
[To be concluded]
---
[Reproduced with permission of Charles E. Wigg]
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(3) <PROPHETICAL>
"THE REDEEMER'S RETURN" (PART-28)
THE FACT OF OUR REDEEMER'S RETURN
Arthur W. Pink
....
4. The Fact of the Redeemer's Return was typified in the lives of Joseph and
Solomon. (2/2)
In many particulars David typified the humiliation of his "greater son." He
was born in Bethlehem of Judea. He is described as "of a beautiful
countenance, and goodly to look upon," thus reminding us of Him who
"increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man," and who
to the believer is the Fairest among ten thousand and the altogether Lovely
One. By occupation he was a "shepherd," and during his shepherd life he
repeatedly entered into conflict with wild beasts. He was pre-eminently a
man of prayer and is the only one in all Scripture termed a "man after God's
own heart." He was the one who slew Goliath--the opposer of God's people,
and type of Satan, foreshadowing the conflict between the Serpent and the
woman's Seed who, by His death, delivered God's people from the toils of
their great Enemy. When his arch-enemy Saul was in his power he acted in
great mercy by sparing his life, just as in Gethsemane our blessed Lord
refused to summon the angels to destroy His foes and as on the Cross He
prayed for the forgiveness of His murderers. He was a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief, suffering chiefly from those of His own household.
After David came Solomon who foreshadowed the glory and the millennial reign
of Christ. The word "Solomon" means "Peaceable" and thus his name suggests
the Kingdom of Christ over which He shall rule as the "Prince of Peace." He
was "anointed" some time before he was crowned: so the Lord Jesus was
"anointed with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 10:38) at His baptism but is yet
awaiting the day of His coronation. Gentiles took part in the crowning of
Solomon (1 Kings 1:38, 39), typifying the universal homage which Christ
shall receive during the Millennium. At the time of his coronation, Solomon
was followed by an army of soldiers (the "Cherethites and the Pelethites")
(1 Kings 1:38), just as our returning King shall be accompanied by "the
armies in heaven" (Rev. 19:14). Solomon was not only King of Israel but,
like the One he foreshadowed, he was King of Kings (see 1 Kings 4:21, 24).
During his reign "Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine
and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of
Solomon" (1 Kings 4:25): so it will be with Israel again during the
Millennium (see Jer. 23:6). Solomon was the builder of Israel's Temple, so
also we read of Christ that He will "return and will build again the
tabernacle of David, which is fallen down" (Acts 15:16); and again, "Behold
the Man whose name is the Branch; and He shall grow up out of His place, and
He shall build the temple of the Lord" (Zech. 6:12). At the dedication of
the Temple, Solomon was the one who offered up the sacrifices to God (1
Kings 8:63), thus foreshadowing the One who shall be "a priest upon His
throne"(Zech. 6:13). Solomon's fame spread abroad far and wide so that "all
the earth sought to Solomon" (1 Kings 10:23) and came up to Jerusalem to pay
him homage, and thus will it be with David's "son" and Lord--"It shall come
to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against
Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts" (Zech. 14:16). During Solomon's reign, for the first and last time
until the Millennium, all Palestine rested in peace. The glory and majesty
of Solomon's reign has never been equalled before or since--"King Solomon
exceeded all the Kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom" (1 Kings
10:23); "And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all
Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any King
before him in Israel" (1 Chron. 29:25). Thus we see that the peaceful,
international, and glorious reign of Solomon, following the death of David,
typified the millennial reign of the Redeemer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Scripture the word "mystery" signifies "a previously hidden truth, now
Divinely revealed, but in which a supernatural element still remains despite
the revelation."--Dr. Scofield.
[To be concluded]
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(4) <APOLOGETICS>
"CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS, AN INTRODUCTION - (PART-16)"
M. Copland
....
THE NEW TESTAMENT: TRUTH OR LIE?
Introduction
1. Up to this point, I have tried to demonstrate the following FACTS:
a. Jesus actually lived
b. The New Testament has good reasons to be considered as a RELIABLE
HISTORICAL DOCUMENT...
1) It was circulated soon after the events took place
2) Archaeology confirms the New Testament record in every area
that can be checked
3) The bibliographical test gives us every reason to believe that
what we have today is what was written by the original authors
2. But what are we to do with the testimony of the New Testament con-
cerning the miracles of Jesus, and the report of His resurrection from
the dead?
a. Archaeology cannot confirm or deny the truthfulness of such things
b. Each of us must decide whether the New Testament at this point is
telling the TRUTH, or that a LIE was carefully orchestrated by
the eight writers of the New Testament!
3. But are these the only alternatives? That the New Testament is
either telling the truth or is a carefully orchestrated lie?
[YES! To understand why, consider...]
I. WHY THERE ARE ONLY TWO ALTERNATIVES
A. THE WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT LEAVE US NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE!
1. As Paul explained in his letter to the Corinthians, either
Jesus rose from the dead, or he and other "eyewitnesses" are
in fact "false witnesses" - 1 Co 15:14-15
2. Peter, also, states that either the events (like the trans-
figuration) occurred as described by the "eyewitnesses", or they
are "cunningly devised fables"! - 2 Pe 1:16-18
B. WE CANNOT SAY THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN SINCERELY DECEIVED!
1. Especially in reference to the resurrection of Jesus
a. They claim they ate and drank with Him afterwards - Ac 10:
39-41
b. They claim they saw and touched Him - 1 Jn 1:1-4
2. They leave us NO ROOM for saying they were but MISTAKEN or
DECEIVED!
a. Some skeptics have tried to offer this as an alternative
b. That perhaps in their grief and loss over the crucifixion
of Jesus they "hallucinated" or saw grief-inspired "visions"
of Jesus
c. But "hallucinations" and "visions" are highly individualistic
experiences
1) One person might see the hallucination or vision
2) But several or many people don't see the same vision at
the same time!
d. As outlined in the gospels and also 1 Co 15:4-8, the
resurrection appearances of Jesus were often witnessed by
many at the same time (over 500 on one occasion!)
[So they leave us no choice; either the New Testament is a "Book Of
Truth," or it is a "Book of Lies."
Which is more logical, more rational, to believe? To help us decide,
consider...]
[To be concluded]
---
© M. Copland 2002
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