HopeFaithPrayer

The Violence of Our Salvation – Thomas Watson

FaithMechanic — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:38 +0000

How violent Christ was about our salvation! He was in agony; He “continued all night in prayer” (Luke 6:12). He wept, He fasted, He died a violent death; He rose violently out of the grave. Was Christ so violent for our salvation, and does it not become us to be violent who are so intimately concerned in it? Christ’s violence was not only satisfactory, but exemplary. It was not only to appease God, but to teach us. Christ was violent in dying to teach us to be violent in believing. Reference: Heaven Taken By Storm by Thomas Watson

God Works In Mysterious Ways

FaithMechanic — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:11 +0000

After years of service in Africa, the missionary Robert Moffat returned to Scotland to recruit helpers. When he arrived at church one cold wintry night, he was dismayed that only a small group had come out to hear him. What bothered him even more was that the only people in attendance were ladies. Although he was grateful for their interest, he had hoped to challenge men. He had chosen as his text Proverbs 8:4, “Unto you, O men, I call.” In his discouragement, he almost failed to notice one small boy in the loft pumping the bellows of the organ. Moffat felt frustrated as he gave the message, for he realized that very few women could be expected to undergo the rigorous life in undeveloped jungles. But God works in mysterious ways. Although no one volunteered that evening, the young fellow assisting the organist was deeply moved by the challenge. As a result, he promised God he would follow in the footsteps of this pioneer missionary. And he remained true to his vow. When he grew up, he went and ministered to the unreached tribes of Africa. His name was David Livingstone! More on his life and manuscripts

By John Thackway in The Bible League Quarterly, January-March, 2012, p. 167.

Holy Violence – by Thomas Watson

FaithMechanic — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:54:18 +0000

The exercises of the worship of God are contrary to nature; therefore, there must be a provoking of ourselves to them. The movement of the soul toward sin is natural, but its movement toward heaven is violent. Let us then examine whether we put forth this holy violence for heaven. Do we set time apart to call ourselves to account and to try our evidences for heaven? “My spirit made diligent search” (Ps. 77:6). Are we afraid of artificial grace, as we are of artificial happiness? Do we use violence in prayer? Is there fire in our sacrifice? Is the wind of the Spirit filling our sails, causing unutterable groans (Rom. 8:26)? Do we pray in the morning as if we were to die at night? Do we thirst for the living God? Are our souls enlarged with holy desires? “There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee” (Ps. 73:25). Do we desire holiness as well as heaven? Do we desire as much to look like Christ as to live with Christ? Is our desire constant? Is this spiritual pulse ever beating?

Are we skilled in self-denial? Can we deny our ease, our aims, our interests? Can we cross our own will to fulfill God’s? Can we behead our beloved sin? To pluck out the right eye requires violence. (Matt. 18:9). Are we lovers of God? It is not how much we do, but how much we love. Does love command the castle of our hearts? Does Christ’s beauty and sweetness constrain us? (2 Cor. 5:14). Do we love God more than we fear hell? Do we keep our spiritual watch? When we, have prayed against sin, do we watch against temptation? Do we press after further degrees of sanctity? “Reaching forth unto those things which are before” (Phil. 3:13). A good Christian is a wonder; he is the most contented yet the least satisfied. He is contented with a little of the world, but not satisfied with a little grace. Reference: Heaven Taken By Storm by Thomas Watson (1620-1686)

Church Be Still! – by C.H. Spurgeon

FaithMechanic — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:39:23 +0000

Words, words, words: we have so many words, and they are chaff, but where is THE WORD that in the beginning was God and was with God? That Word is the living and incorruptible seed. We want less of the words of man, and more of Him who is the very Word of God. BE QUIET and let Jesus speak. Let His wounds speak to you: let His death speak to you; let His resurrection speak to you; let His ascension and His subsequent glory speak to you; and let the trumpet of the second advent ring in your ears. You cannot hear the music of these glorious things because of the rattle of the wheels of care and the vain jangle of disputatious self-wisdom. Be silent, that you may hear the voice of Jesus, for when He speaks your strength will be renewed.

The eternal Spirit is with His people, but we often miss His power because we give more ear to other voices than to His, and quite often our own voice is an injury to us, for it is heard when we have received no message from the Lord, and therefore gives an uncertain sound. If we will wait upon the blessed Spirit, His mysterious influence will sway us most divinely, and we shall be filled with all the fullness of God.

Keep silent, you saints, till you have felt your folly and your weakness, and then renew your strength most gloriously by casting yourselves upon the strength of God. More than ever before let your inmost souls be filled with trust in the Arm that never fails, the Hand that never loses its cunning, the Eye that is never closed, the Heart that never wavers.

Prayer Makes History – Andrew Bonar

FaithMechanic — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:28:38 +0000

In a letter to a close friend Andrew Bonar wrote, “Oh brother pray; in spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer, rather neglect friends than not pray, rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, supper and sleep too – than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer – we must pray in right earnest. The Lord is near. He comes softly while The Virgins Slumber.” Andrew Bonar lived in a time of revival and yet he was always praying for more of God’s revival power.

His diary again makes this clear. Wednesday, 21st, – “Enabled to spend nearly the whole day in prayer, praise and confession. I was led to deep humiliation for our church, and prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on my people. I spread out several promises before the Lord, and my heart was sore with desire and yet glad with expectation of what this day may obtain for me. But I find true what Samuel Rutherford wrote: ‘A bed watered with tears, a throat dry with praying, eyes a fountain of tears for the sins of the land are rarely to be found among us.’”

Andrew Bonar was a man who was intimately acquainted with Jesus Christ. As a result he saw what Jesus saw and therefore cared, wept and prayed like Jesus. Far too often our own eyes are dry because our eyes are blind to the needs around us. Many of us have become blinded by the temporal, till we can no longer see the eternal reality of the holiness of heaven and horrors of hell. Lord draw us back to the prayer closet where blind eyes see and hardened hearts are broken. Lord, have mercy and bring us to brokenness!

Andrew Bonar was just one of many Scottish ministers used of God during the Kilsyth Revival of 1839-1840.

In the Garden God Created Humans, At the Resurrection He Created Christians

FaithMechanic — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:53:24 +0000

In the Garden, God created man, both Adam and Eve. They were created immortal, but because of their disobedience they fell from God’s presence and the divine relationship was broken. From these two sprang all human life. There was only one true race of people. There was not a black race or a white race or a brown race or a yellow race. All were similar and all were equal. All were equally precious but all were equally lost.

At the resurrection of Christ, God created a new race of people, called Christians. These are humans that have been restored from the fall of Adam and Eve. They have a new heart and a new spirit. For them the divine relationship has been restored. Their relationship is no longer with a fallen world but with a living God, through a risen Savior. They are called the New Creation.

Now, there are two races of people on the earth, one fallen, and the other restored. However, there is conflict between them for they serve two different masters and have two different hearts. Fallen man will fall at the end of the age, and restored man will rise at the end and live with God forever. Both are immortal. Read – Salvation

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him; Colossians 3:10

The Baptism of the Holy Ghost – Charles G. Finney

FaithMechanic — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:29:19 +0000

by Charles G. Finney (1792-1875)

In the following excerpt, Finney recounts his empowering by the Holy Spirit while alone in his law office after his conversion in the autumn of 1821. From his Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney (New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1876) pp. 20-21.

“But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without my recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Ghost descended on me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love; for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.

No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love; and I do not know but I should say, I literally bellowed out the unutterable gushings of my heart. The waves came over me, and over me, one after the other, until I recollect I cried out, “I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me.” I said, “Lord, I cannot bear any more”; yet I had no fear of death.

How long I continued in this state, with this baptism continuing to roll over me and go through me, I do not know. But I know it was late in the evening when a member of my choir–for I was the leader of the choir–came into the office to see me in this state of loud weeping, and said to me, “Mr. Finney, what ails you?” I could make him no answer for some time. He then said, “Are you in pain?” I gathered myself up as best I could, and replied, “No, but so happy that I cannot live.”

He turned and left the office, and in a few minutes returned with one of the elders of the church, whose shop was nearly across the way from our office. This elder was a very serious man; and in my presence had been very watchful, and I had scarcely ever seen him laugh. When he came in, I was very much in the state in which I was when the young man went out to call him. He asked me how I felt, and I began to tell him. Instead of saying anything, he fell into a most spasmodic laughter. It seemed as if it was impossible for him to keep from laughing from the very bottom of his heart.” - Charles G. Finney

True Faith is a Matter of the Heart – J.C. Ryle

FaithMechanic — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:31:31 +0000

True faith does not depend merely on the state of man’s head and understanding, but on the state of his heart. His mind may be convinced. His conscience may be pierced. But so long as there is anything the man is secretly loving more than God, there will be no true faith. The man himself may be puzzled, and wonder why he does not believe. He does not see that he is like a child sitting on the lid of his box, and wishing to open it, but not considering that his own weight keeps it shut.

Let a man make sure that he honestly and really desires first the praise of God. It is the lack of an honest heart which makes many stick fast in their false religion all their days, and die at length without peace. Those who complain that they hear, approve, assent, but make no progress, and cannot get any hold on Christ, should ask themselves this simple question – “Am I honest? Am I sincere? Do I really desire first the praise of God?”

A true believer’s religion does not consist in mere intellectual assent to a certain set of propositions and doctrines. It is not a mere cold belief of a certain set of truths and facts concerning Christ. It consists in union, communion, and fellowship with an actual living Person, Jesus the Son of God. It is a life of faith in Jesus, confidence in Jesus, leaning on Jesus, drawing out of the fullness of Jesus, speaking to Jesus, working for Jesus, loving Jesus, and waiting for Jesus to come again. For more on J.C. Ryle, go to J.C. Ryle Quotes

Faith Gives Substance to Hope – John Osteen

FaithMechanic — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 02:38:37 +0000

By Rev. John Osteen (Father of Joel Osteen, and Founder of Lakewood Church)

There is no limit to what the Spirit-filled Christian can do for God, no matter where he is, if he will learn the fundamentals of Faith, dare to believe God, and just act on His Word.

We are going to study a scripture passage that I believe will be of a great help to you as you learn a faith basic. Begin by reading from the letter to the Hebrews:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Those first words tell you what faith is. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for….” Have you ever hoped for something? Hope is important. If you lose hope, you have lost a lot.

Hope is a vital link to workable faith. I mix faith with hope. If you have no hope, faith alone will not produce results. Faith gives substance to hope. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Hope is the climate in which faith works. If you SEE something, you do not need faith. It is there already. Faith is the evidence of things not seen….”

What to Do In a Raging Storm

FaithMechanic — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:11:19 +0000

This is a turbulent time; there are storms all around. Disaster lurks at every hand. What are we to do?

Let’s go to Mark 4:35-41 and see what Jesus expected of His disciples. I paraphrase:

Jesus is completely exhausted. For several days He has ministered to people with little or no sleep. He is carried to a boat that is to take Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. En route, a huge and unusual storm arises, nearly swamping the boat, and terrifying the disciples. They hurry back to Jesus, wake Him up, and plead with Him to save them. They’re not convinced He even cares whether they live or die.

Jesus wakes up, speaks to the storm, and it immediately stops. Confronted by His complete mastery over earth’s elements, the disciples now become even more fearful. He then declares, “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith? (Also, Luke 8:22-25 and Matthew 8:24-27)

Several of these men were hardened fishermen, and yet this storm had them terrified. The Greek language paints a picture of a truly abnormal one of a kind storm, the kind of storm where one would normally expect people to be fearful. Jesus, however, was both surprised and disappointed with their fear. Fear in a life-threatening storm apparently was not a reasonable response for Jesus. He then asked them, “Where is your faith?” Jesus equates being in fear with having no faith.

To Jesus, being fearful in a life-threatening storm was not an appropriate response.

It is obvious that He expected more out of them, but what exactly were they supposed to do? It seems to me that they had only two real options. One was to realize that Jesus was in the boat, and because of that, ultimately they would be safe. They would have then gone to Him in faith, knowing that He was able to deliver them. The other option was to rise up in faith themselves and take the initiative. They could have spoken to the storm themselves, and let Him sleep.

The disciples at this time were still way short of realizing either of these scenarios. They were still not convinced that having Jesus in the boat meant safety, let alone that they could rise up in faith and do the same. Just like these disciples, we in the Church today are not yet convinced of his power, and the fullness of the authority that He has invested in us.

Jesus is our source of life, and there is no fault in running to Him in faith. However, there comes a time when we as followers should step up and do something ourselves. While in a storm, we would do well to realize that not only is Jesus in the boat, but that He is also in us. Let us strive in the Word and in his presence, to reach a place where we can speak to the storm ourselves. When we stand up courageously in his Name, it glorifies Him.