Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The will and purpose of
Almighty God cannot be thwarted. Yet at the same time, men must
give an account of their thoughts as well as their activities.
While we must confess that we are full of sin from head to
foot, yet we cannot use this confession to excuse our sinful
ways. In fact, the very realization
of this state we find ourselves in should be all the reason we
need to cry out to the Lord for deliverance. Our spirit is the
very seat and heart of all that animates and motivates us. Solomon
said, as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. And also keep thy heart
with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. The
Lord Jesus said that the things which a man takes into his body
could not defile him, but that which cometh out of the man,
that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart
of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil
eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, and these evil things come from
within and defile the man. So we have within us a ravening
beast that desires to rule us and gain complete control over
us. Quite a fearful thought were it not that the Lord, through
the gift of His Spirit, will break that dominion and give
us an abundant life which knows the taste of victory over that
iron grip. We are not yet what we should
be, yet by the grace of God we are certainly not what we once
were. We who once were dead in trespasses and sins are now seated
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, created in him unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. The spirit which Solomon said
should be ruled is primarily the seat of our emotions and
appetites. One only has to look at the nearest buffet line and
those who frequent them to see the results of failing to curb
the appetite. But overeating is not primarily
what Solomon had in mind. This is just a very practical
example, which illustrates the necessity of man to set a watch
on his desire to feed all of his appetites. The emotions also
must be ruled, or they too will rule us. Know ye not that to
whom ye yield yourselves to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
obey? Of all the emotions, the one that Scripture speaks most
about is anger. Anger in itself is not a bad
thing. The Lord Jesus Christ became angry when he saw the
money changers in the temple. But anger is a very strong emotion
that certainly must be ruled over or it will take control
over us. The man who does not rule his spirit of anger is destined
to be destroyed by it. He that is slow to anger is better
than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that
taketh a city. Following closely to anger is
a spirit of judgmentalism. We are taught in God's word that
he that is spiritual judgeth all things. Yet the Lord himself
warned us to judge not that you be not judged. Simply put, we
are to be judges without passing judgment on others. This does
not mean that we are to approve of everything that others do
or that we adopt the notion that there is no such thing as right
and wrong. But we must fight against the emotion of self-righteousness
that coupled with anger can lead us to speak condemnation on others
while we excuse the same thing in ourselves. Another emotion
that if left unchecked can control us is that of sadness and despair. As natural as having a sad countenance
is from time to time, we must be on guard to rule over that
spirit of sadness which causes self-pity, which will ultimately
lead us to despair. Paul said, We are troubled on
every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not
destroyed. Things may not always go just
like what we want them to, but we always have the promise of
God that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. The appetites
of our spirit that must be ruled over are many. The scripture
plainly sets forth the main ones with the most emphasis placed
on the lust of the flesh. We have certain needs as human
beings which are meant to be met in moderation. Mankind's
sexual nature is the very foundation of the procreation of our species.
Yet it is the lack of control over this appetite that can destroy
the very species it was meant to expand. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death. The Lord Jesus Christ was tempted
in all points like as we are, yet he did no sin, neither was
God found in his heart. As he has given us his example,
may we have grace to walk according to it. He is a faithful high
priest over the household of God. He ever liveth to make intercession
for those that come unto God by him. Do you desire the salvation
which is found in Christ alone? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.