<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
sleeptake 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 indisciplinesor lack of
disciplinehave 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
characterthat 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 wavesthey 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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