Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Some have described our
society as increasingly violent, but one only has to turn to the
Old Testament scriptures to discover that this type of violence has
been occurring from the very beginning of man's existence.
The saga of man's journey through time had only just begun when
Cain slew his brother in a fit of religious jealousy. We see
both the armies of the heathen and those of Israel wreaking
carnage upon all who stood in their path. No distinction was
made between man, woman, child, or beast, as they slaughtered
all who moved. So violence of this type is nothing
new. It's just the manifestation of
sin's awful curse upon men. But violence is not always to
be associated with the shedding of blood in acts of destruction.
Neither is it always to be looked upon negatively. Some of the
definitions used by Webster for violence are vehement feeling
or expression, fervor, marked by extreme force or sudden intense
activity, extreme, intense, not natural, emotionally agitated. The Lord Jesus spoke of such
violence when he said, And from the days of John the Baptist
until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent
take it by force. The violence described by the
Lord is a good thing and actually describes the manner in which
his children strive to enter the kingdom of heaven. The salvation
of God's people is that which is marked out before their birth,
paid for and accomplished by the righteousness and shed blood
of the Savior, and then brought to pass in time by the effectual
call of the Holy Spirit. This is all accomplished without
their aid or consent. Yet the Lord Jesus is speaking
about God's children entering into the kingdom of heaven in
an active sense, which involves their desire and will. Men cannot
determine their election by climbing a ladder to heaven and perusing
the pages of the Lamb's Book of Life, but they can experience
its reality by a work wrought in them by the Holy Spirit. Repentance
and faith are both gifts from God that are manifested actively
and can be seen and felt in His children in a real way. A man
does not have to wait until death to experience the blessings of
eternal life, nor does he have to enter heaven to taste of heavenly
things. We are not the children of darkness.
In the modern concept of salvation, men are seen as supplying a part
which God Himself is either unable or unwilling to supply. Salvation
is presented as something men can, more or less, acquire for
themselves by giving their assent and agreement and letting God
come into their hearts. This is a concept which is totally
foreign to the scripture, yet it has been and is being proclaimed
far and wide as the gospel. The great evangelistic ministries
of the last century have reduced entering the kingdom of heaven
into a simple formula which, if any man agrees to, he is assured
of salvation. The description which the Lord
gives of taking, that is, entering the kingdom by force, is one
which is in contrast to a simple agreement to some terms. In the
Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said, Blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. When
a man experiences the quickening and conviction of the Holy Ghost,
he becomes acquainted with his own wickedness and inability
to help himself. He becomes, as the publican who
cried out, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. When he hears the
gospel preached, he is then as blind Bartimaeus, of whom we
read, and when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he
began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy
on me. And many charged him that he
should hold his peace, but he cried the more a great deal,
thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Just as nothing could
deter the blind beggar from calling out until he was heard, an awakened
sinner will cry out unto the Lord for mercy, knowing his need
to be so great and the capability of the Savior so complete that
he must seek Him. He can choose no other course
of action. When Peter preached Christ on the day of Pentecost,
men were smitten in their hearts and said, Men and brethren, what
shall we do? When the Philippian jailer was
convicted as he faced certain death, he fell down at Paul and
Silas' feet and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? These
men violently sought the kingdom of heaven. They weren't looking
for a card to sign, an aisle to walk down, or a can of prayer
to pray. They needed a Savior, and nothing
would deter them from that quest, and nothing else could comfort
them. Nobody needed to plead with them to do anything. They
were intently and fervently seeking a remedy for the need of their
very souls. We have fled for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us. Have you violently sought
the Lord Jesus Christ? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.