Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The exercise of preaching
does not have power in and of itself, regardless of the skill,
devotion, and desire of the one doing the preaching. For unto
us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in
them that heard it. Faith is the gift of God, and
unless it is granted by the hand of him to whom belongs salvation,
then it is impossible that men should believe. This is that
which the Lord himself testified of to the Pharisees. Why do you
not understand my speech, even because you cannot hear my word? The Apostle Paul was likely in
Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and perhaps was even among the
multitude who gathered, as Peter declared the word of the Lord.
Yet he believed it not. He was most certainly there when
Stephen preached before being stoned. It is certain that by
the time he made ready to go to Damascus, that he was acquainted
with the gospel, since he was intent on destroying those who
preached it. Yet upon that Damascus road,
the Lord sent the gospel by his own mouth, and Paul confessed
that he was Lord. He did not at that time become
one of the sheep of the Lord, of whom the Lord had said, My
sheep, hear my voice. Rather, he was one of the Lord's
sheep long before he heard and believed. But it was not until
the Lord sent his word with power that his eyes were opened, and
he heard and believed as a result of the Lord's power and purpose.
Men often suppose that men can hear and believe through listening
to an eloquent preacher, even as the Jews assumed that they
could receive the truth of God by their teaching. Yet the Lord
told them, Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me, and ye will
not come to me that ye might have life. The Lord is pleased
to bring His sheep into His kingdom and to relieve their longings
and various outpourings of His Spirit upon them. These are those
times of refreshing sent by the Lord. Revivalism is a concept
born in the mind of men wherein they believe that they have the
power to cause God to pour out His Spirit according to their
desires and level of earnestness in seeking after it. Like all
concepts of conditionalism, it misses the mark and gets the
card ahead of the horse. Yet it is true that the Lord
does often work in the hearts and minds of His people to longingly
express their desires as David did. 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. In like fashion, Asaph begins
Psalm 74 with these words, O God, why hast thou cast us off forever?
Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember
thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old, the rod of
thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed, this Mount Zion
wherein thou hast dwelt. So it is indeed a common desire
among the saints who have tasted that the Lord is gracious to
see Him reveal His glory unto them and visit them with His
salvation. The Lord never forsakes His own, though He does from
time to time cause them to walk through the valley of the shadow
of death and the waste-howling wilderness, that they might be
stirred to seek Him. Yet that man who has never once
seen the glory of God displayed cannot long to see it displayed
again. So it must be the work of God
and the sons of God that would give them a yearning for His
presence. And it is His purpose in showing them His glory that
causes them to be dissatisfied with this present evil world.
For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what
communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? The resting place of the sons
of God is discovered in Asaph's psalm, as he declares his confidence
in the King. For God is my King of old, working
salvation in the midst of the earth. He nor we expect any deliverance,
nor might I desire any, which is not brought about by Him who
is our Lord and King. He does indeed work salvation
in the earth, as He is pleased to dwell with His people in the
earth. If you were of the world, the world would love His own.
But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you
out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. I have given
them thy word, and the world hateth them, because they are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not
that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou
shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. Are you longing for his presence?
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