Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Recently, I have read several
articles whose main thrust was to tell men how friendly God
is and how much He wants to be friends with them. According
to them, He is just waiting patiently for them to let Him be their
friend. By this, they think that many will be persuaded to give
Him a chance to be their friend. The main problem is they do not
understand the natural rebellion which is in the heart of man
by nature, which causes him to despise the way of God. As it
is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that
understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their
throat is an open sepulcher, with their tongues they have
used deceit. The poison of asp is under their lips, whose mouth
is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way
of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before
their eyes." The other problem is that they have a fundamental
lack of understanding of who the God of heaven and earth is.
God has no needs. He has no lack. Nothing can be
added to Him, nor can anything be diminished. He does not need
friends. He dwells in the light into which
no man can approach. He is immortal and invisible.
Until a man has something of an understanding of the basic
character of him who rules in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, it is impossible that he can
grasp the great gulf that exists between mortals and he who inhabits
eternity, stretching out the heavens like a curtain and covering
himself with light like a garment. It would behoove a man to become
friends with Him, but such is an impossible task, and one which
is quite outside the realm of his natural desire or of his
ability to gain entrance into His presence by his own effort
and will. While we encourage sinners to
seek Him, we understand that the only time they will is when
He is pleased to give them grace to do so. Marvel not that I said
unto thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. We do read in the Scriptures
that some men have been called the friend of God. Abraham believed
God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he
was called the friend of God. And the Lord spake unto Moses
face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. Neither Abraham
nor Moses sought the Lord to become his friend. Rather, he
called Abraham out of heathen darkness and made of him a great
nation according to his purpose. Moses was delivered from death
as a baby at the hands of Pharaoh's henchmen and ultimately raised
up to a place of prominence in Pharaoh's house, all the while
in heathen darkness. In all of his dealings with Abraham
and Moses, the Lord was always the one who determined the course
that they would take. And it was they who benefited
from his kindness in using them to fulfill his purpose and magnify
his name in the earth. He befriended them quite apart
from any overtures on their part. He did not go looking for someone
who would listen to him and fulfill his desires. They were made willing
in the day that he reconciled them unto himself. Normally those
men who become friends share common interests and enjoy one
another's company. They mutually agree to befriend
one another. Men do not seek friends from
among those who despise them and who oppose their actions.
Yet we find that the one who is need of no one has shown himself
to be the friend of those who have the least claim of ever
gaining his affection by their actions and are actually opposed
to him. The Pharisees were quite moral
and upright men who went about with great religious fervor,
much praying, and giving honor to the Scriptures by carrying
them with them wherever they went. Yet the Lord did not identify
Himself as their friend. They said with derision, He is
a friend of publicans and sinners. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. He indeed is the friend of sinners. Those who have no religious fervor,
those who recognize their spiritual poverty, those who have great
need of faith but find none in themselves, those who confess
that His law is just and good but find in themselves no ability
to walk according to its precepts, those who cry out for mercy but
know that they deserve none, these are those among whom He
will be found. What comfort can a Savior bring
to those who never felt their woe? A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
New life from him we must receive before for sin we rightly grieve. Are you a sinner in need of a
Savior? Christ is mighty to save those who are his friends. For
a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net.