---------------------------<BrethrenVoice>--------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [The Moderator would welcome your comments/feedback] [<SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> archives/read online: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> <3 November 2002> Contents: -------------- 1) <Devotional> "Treasury of David - Psalm 23:1"- C.H.Spurgeon 2) <Bible-Study> "Exposition of the Levitical offerings" (Pt-13)-C.E.Wigg 3) <Exhortation> "Fear not, only believe!" - Andrew Murray 4) <From-the-Gleaner> "Top-stories-of-the-week" - Ben 1) <DEVOTIONAL> TREASURY OF DAVID - PSALM 23:1 C. H. Spurgeon Verse 1. "The Lord is my shepherd." What condescension is this, that the infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people. David had himself been a keeper of sheep, and understood both the needs of the sheep and the many cares of a shepherd. He compares himself to a creature weak, defenceless, and foolish, and he takes God to be his Provider, Preserver, Director, and, indeed, his everything. No man has a right to consider himself the Lord's sheep unless his nature has been renewed for the scriptural description of unconverted men does not picture them as sheep, but as wolves or goats. A sheep is an object of property, not a wild animal; its owner sets great store by it, and frequently it is bought with a great price. It is well to know, as certainly David did, that we belong to the Lord. There is a noble tone of confidence about this sentence. There is no "if" nor "but," nor even "I hope so;" but he says, "The Lord is my shepherd." We must cultivate the spirit of assured dependence upon our heavenly Father. The sweetest word of the whole is that monosyllable, "My." He does not say, "The Lord is the shepherd of the world at large, and leadeth forth the multitude as his flock," but "The Lord is my shepherd;" if he be a Shepherd to no one else, he is a Shepherd to me; he cares for me, watches over me, and preserves me. The words are in the present tense. Whatever be the believer's position, he is even now under the pastoral care of Jehovah. ____________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> THE OBLATION OR MEAL OFFERING - AN EXPOSITION OF SOME OF THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS - CHAPTER 2 (PART-13) Charles E. Wigg When He needed a coin to teach a lesson, He did not have one and had to be shown a penny. When Peter unwisely committed Jesus to pay the Temple tax, He sent him to catch a fish in whose mouth he found a coin, showing that the Lord Himself did not have the money to pay the tax. Travelling in India one is constantly accosted by beggars, who almost always will have a handful of coins, which they rattle back and forth to attract attention. It is plain that the Lord of heaven and earth, became poorer than the beggars in India's streets, yet never did He beg or complain. He showed a sweet contentment with the lot that the will of God had chosen for Him. Our blessed Savior suffered hardship such as defies one's understanding, and experienced the bitterness of being misunderstood by all, even by His own mother. He endured manifold afflictions, yet the crushing effect of His trials, (similar to the grinding of the grain), only brought out the absolute fineness and evenness of His character. In our Lord Jesus, every trait of His character was in perfect balance. He was mighty, yet meek. Often men of great personal power are quite arrogant, but not with our Savior. He had such power as could call back people from the dead, even Lazarus who had been buried for four days, yet He became obedient unto death Himself. In Him courage was blended with kindness. He stood alone against the robber-merchants in the temple courtyard, yet lifted fallen women to a life of holiness. He became angry, yet never lost His temper. He loved with all His heart, yet never allowed His love to carry Him beyond the boundaries of righteousness. He said to the poor guilty woman who was taken in adultery, "neither do I condemn thee", but He upheld the just demands of His own holy law, by bearing the punishment that she deserved, Himself, when He hung on the cross. In Him meekness & majesty were in perfect balance. Most of us know some really lovely people, but there is usually something that seems to spoil them, and we often think that if only this feature, or that feature were not there, then they would be much more attractive. But in our Lord Jesus Christ, there is nothing to spoil Him, "He is altogether lovely", (Song of Songs,5;16.) I sometimes ask people, "If you could change the Lord Jesus in any way, what would you want to change"? The answer is always, "Nothing". He is the true FINE FLOUR. Such flour is soothing to the touch When I was a small boy, when my mother was baking cakes, I would often put my hand into the bowl, (while she was not looking), just to feel the smoothness of the flour, and let it run through my fingers. The Apostle John in his First Epistle, chapter one , verse one, speaking of the "Word of Life", says, "Which we have contemplated, and our hands have handled." In His risen and ascended state, Jesus said to His disciples, "Handle me and see for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me having", (Luke,24;39.) The more that we, by faith, are able to touch and handle our blessed Master, the more precious He becomes. --- [Reproduced with permission] _______________________________________________________ 3) <EXHORTATION> FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!" Andrew Murray Do we not know that throughout Scripture a chief element of faith in God is a sense of powerlessness and utter helplessness? I want to speak here on the place faith must have if we are to obtain that deep, intense, living vitality which we are longing for. If we are to appropriate the words, "Fear not, only believe," as really spoken by our Lord to ourselves, we must note well the attitude of the man to whom they were first given. Jairus was in great trouble. His little daughter was at the point of death. He fell at Christ's feet and begged Him to come and lay His hand on her. Jesus went with him. But all at once there was an interruption by a woman who touched the hem of Christ's garment. Jairus began to fear that they might arrive too late. His worst fears were realized. A messenger met them, saying, "Your daughter is dead; why trouble the Master any further?" It was to such a man in his deep distress, now brought to utter hopelessness, that Christ spoke the words: "Fear not, only believe." The soil had been broken deeply; the heart was prepared to believe. Christ's precious words entered in and took possession. If we are bearing the burden of a dead or a dying church, if we are going to take part in the work of rousing her and lifting her up into abundant life in Christ, we need a word like this. It will bring us the joyous assurance, day by day, that Christ is with us, that He will work through us, and that we can count upon Him to give the blessing. But we must take the place that Jairus did, falling at Jesus' feet, pleading with Him intensely, graciously, and mightily to do something. Even when the word comes, "There is no hope, death reigns, all our efforts are in vain," we are still to be of good cheer and hold on to His word. "Fear not, only believe" must be our watchword. But only, I say it once again, only to the man who waits at Christ's feet in prayer and looks to Him alone. There we shall learn that throughout all Scripture it is faith, in the midst of seeming impossibility, that waits and claims the fulfillment of the promise. Think of Abraham, "who waxed strong through faith, giving glory to God, being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform." It is as we persevere in prayer and take hold of definite promises, and beseech Him greatly to fulfill them, that we shall, in spite of every obstacle, hold fast our confidence to the end. We may find that as time goes on, as the insight into the deadly state of the Church grows deeper, and as experience teaches us how very hard it is to rouse Christians to the full meaning of, and full surrender to, the claims of Christ, our hearts will often fail us for fear and grow faint. But if we have made our covenant with Christ that we dare not go back, and are determined to hold on, we shall find that just one word from our Lord hidden in the heart, and lived on day by day, will give strength in time of greatest darkness. Just think of the Words of Christ in a situation that appeared to man, to be impossible. He had said of the young ruler, "How hard it is for the rich to enter heaven." The disciples had said, "Who then can be saved?" Christ's answer was, "With men it is impossible," but, He added, "with God all things are possible." And elsewhere He said, "All things are possible to him that believes." These words are a threefold cord that cannot be broken. First, "With men it is impossible." It seems easy to say, and yet how difficult to realize it and act it out. What is it that hinders the Church in this day from falling on its knees and beseeching God by His Holy Spirit to give revival? It is this: Men do not consider that the work they need to do is impossible with man. They consult and organize and labor, oh so diligently, and yet the members decline by the thousands. They cannot see that the work of winning men to become members of Christ and His Church is a work that God alone can do through men who have yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit. What a day that would be if the Church were to fall down before God and bow in the dust with the Cry: "Oh God, it is impossible with man." We should then be prepared for the second lesson, "But not with God - all things are possible with God." At first sight this word also appears easy to accept. We are so sure there is nothing impossible with such a God. And yet, when we ask whether God's servants really believe it, and in the joyful confidence that He is going to do it wait upon Him and expect His working, we soon find out that it is not so. God is so little of a reality to us. How few men take time with God and secure His holy presence to fill their hearts and strengthen them in their work. Oh, all you who are beginning to take the state of the Church to heart and to bear it as a burden before the Lord, do not be surprised if you have found it a hard thing. Fully grasp the truth, "With God all things are possible." Learn the lesson of bringing that truth into your daily prayer and your daily work. Let its light shine into your heart, on your sphere of labor, on the Church around you, on the weakest and most hopeless part of the Church, until all your thoughts have this as their keynote: "But not with God - all things are possible with God." He is fully able and willing to rouse the Church out of her apathy and lift Christians into the abundant life. But now, comes the third and most difficult lesson: "All things are possible to him that believes." It is something great to really believe that all things are possible with God. Yet we may be anxious as to how and when it may come to pass. This word of Christ throws the responsibility on us. It is to him who believes that God makes all things possible. When Christ spoke that word to the father of the epileptic, the man felt his responsibility so deeply, and feared that he might not qualify, that he cried out, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." And Christ heard that prayer. He is still waiting, even when our hearts shrink back from the thought, "Is it going to depend upon me whether this mighty God will do the impossible thing? I do not dare bear the heavy burden of such a responsibility." He who helped the father of the epileptic boy, He who said to Peter, "I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail," Jesus Christ, who became man to bring us into fellowship with the omnipotent God, He will give us the confidence to believe that it is God's will, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, then you shall ask what you will." Let us live in fellowship with Christ who spoke these words. He will enable us to receive them until they become the joy and the strength of our heart. If I have not succeeded in giving a deep impression of the sore need of the Holy Spirit and His power that the state of the Church demands, I should feel that I had failed in my purpose. But I should be still more disappointed if I were to part with the reader without having helped him to the confident assurance that God is able and willing, in answer to prayer, to work revival. He is also willing to fill the hearts of many of His children with a measure of the Holy Spirit such as they have never known. As we look out upon a Church so weak and faithless, do let us listen to the voice of Jesus as He says. "Fear not, only believe." What I have already said, I say again: The Church around you may be in a dying state, with no possibility of being reached by human effort. I beseech you, Look up to God. Wait before Him in prayer until stronger desire is stirred in you and your faith rises to link itself to His omnipotence. Believe in the power of our Lord Jesus, and in His tender relationship to you, watching over your faith. Believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, the birthright of the Church. He surrounds you on every side and longs to get possession of you and those for whom you are praying. So let the study of the state of the Church give you a knowledge of God and a trust in Him beyond what you have ever known or thought. _______________________________________________________ 4) <FROM-THE-GLEANER> A-GLANCE-AT-THE-TOP-STORIES-OF-THE-WEEK Ben RUSSIA SAYS IRAQ RESOLUTION CLOSER:The Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, has said the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have moved significantly closer over a new resolution on Iraq. "We have converged on a whole series of positions," he said, without going into details of possible compromise. WEAPONS INSPECTORS SUPPORT TOUGH LANGUAGE FOR IRAQ RESOLUTION: The United States won key support Monday from chief weapons inspectors who told the Security Council they would be better off with a new resolution that warns Iraq of consequences if it fails to cooperate. POWELL SEES PATH TO IRAQ COMPROMISE: Signaling compromise, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday "there may be a way" to bridge remaining differences with France and Russia on a U.N. resolution designed to force Iraq to disarm. US READIES WAR CRIMES CHARGES FOR SADDAM: The Bush administration is preparing to charge Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and more than a dozen members of his inner circle with crimes against humanity if Baghdad falls, The Washington Post reported officials as saying. AIR FORCE DEPLOYS B-2 BOMBER OVERSEAS: The United States is preparing to deploy heavy B-2 bombers to Britain and the Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia, if necessary in time to lead an attack on Iraq, the officer in charge of the fleet said on Wednesday. LABOUR PULL-OUT SHATTERS ISRAEL'S RULING COALITION: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced a struggle to keep his government afloat on Thursday after the Labour Party abandoned his ruling coalition in a bitter dispute over funding for Jewish settlements. HARDLINER APPOINTED TO SHARON'S CABINET: Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, appointed a hard-line former general to be his defence minister yesterday following the break-up of the national unity government, foreshadowing a lurch to the right in his new cabinet. NETANYAHU COULD BECOME ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon planned on Friday to ask his main rival in the right-wing Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu, to become foreign minister in the narrow government he hopes to form, Israel Radio said. TERRORIST KILLS THREE, WOUNDS TWO IN HERMESH, ISRAEL: In a terrorist infiltration into Hermesh in northern Samaria Tuesday night an Israeli woman and two young girls were killed. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BLASTS PALESTINIANS FOR WAR CRIMES: Persons involved in suicide terror strikes commit crimes against humanity and war crimes, says Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization based in New York. The organization's conclusions on such terror strikes are being released today in a new report: "Erased in a Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians." EGYPT CRITICISED FOR 'ANTI-SEMITIC' FILM: The programme uses a forged document called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion - which describes a Jewish plot for world domination - as a central plot device. SUDAN PREPARES MAJOR ASSAULT ON OPPOSITION: Sudan is expected to acquire a new secret weapon in the next month that could change the balance of power between the Islamist government and non-Muslim opponents in the south, east and in neighboring Eritrea, according to WorldNetDaily intelligence sources. CHECHEN TERRORISTS TO BE BURIED IN PIGSKIN: According to the Moskovski Komsomol newspaper, Russian security forces have decided to bury the terrorists from last's week's hostage siege wrapped in pig's skin. The aim is to deter potential Islamic terrorists from future attacks. IRAN, PAKISTAN DISCUSS JOINT EXERCISES: Iran and Pakistan are discussing joint military exercises and training. Officials said the first such exercise could begin in 2003. BRITAIN SELLS IRAN METAL FOR USE IN NUKES: Britain has been accused of selling Iran a rare metal that serves as a key component of a nuclear weapon. STRONG NEW TREMORS RATTLE SOUTHERN ITALY: One of the aftershocks was nearly as powerful as Thursday's earthquake, which brought a school down onto an entire class of 6-year-olds and their two teachers. EL NINO EXPECTED TO INFLUENCE CENTRAL US WINTER WEATHER: El Niņo will have a visible influence on U.S. weather patterns into early 2003, including the nation's Midwest region, the head of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center said today at a climate workshop in Kansas City, Mo. MASSIVE QUAKE OFF SUMATRA: AUSTRALIAN scientists have recorded a massive earthquake registering 7.7 on the Richter scale just offshore from central Sumatra, Indonesia. JORDANIAN ENGINEERS SAY TEMPLE MOUNT WALL IN NEED OF REINFORCEMENT: A new report by a group of senior Jordanian engineers concerning the ominous bulge in the southern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount recommends replacing some of the eroding stones in the two-thousand-year-old wall in order to prevent it from future collapse, said Jordanian officials. JOHN PAUL II CALLS FOR MORE PROFOUND STUDY OF MARY: "The Holy Father" said he was particularly interested in the subject, because "it takes up the expressions with which I conclude the apostolic letter 'Novo Millennio Ineunte,' entrusting to Mary, Mother of God and of all believers, the future of the new millennium and the way of the Church." EU 'CONSTITUTION' DRAFT UNVEILED: The man overseeing the big debate on the future of the European Union has unveiled the first draft of a new constitution for Europe. Valery Giscard d'Estaing has been heading a 105-member convention aimed at simplifying EU treaties, putting them into a language everyone can understand and bringing the organisation closer to citizens. EU BLUEPRINT SPELLS DEMISE OF DEMOCRACY: The fact is that voters have no real influence over the European Council, still less the European Commission, because neither is a government which can be voted out. -----------------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------------------ Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------