Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. all the ways of men, whether
in the pursuit of their lusts or their religion, are entered
into by them with the desire to escape or turn a blind eye
to the inescapable truth that it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this, the judgment. The word must appears 132 times
in the King James Version. The vast majority of the times
that it appears in the New Testament, it is translated from the Greek
word, which means it is necessary or binding, that which shall
occur. There is no equivocation where
we find this word. Nothing can prevent what must
happen. God reveals himself to be the
cause of those things which must occur. If all things occur randomly,
no occurrence could be described in this fashion. Thus God reveals
his sovereignty by the simple concept of this noble word, must. The unfolding purpose of God
in the redemption of his elect bride is seen as he ordained
the very place where the Redeemer would be condemned and put to
death for his people. From that time forth began Jesus
to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem
and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and
scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day. Not
only did he mark out the place but also the means whereby this
would happen. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken him by wicked
hands and crucified and slain. He is despised and rejected,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. Every step of his sojourn among
the sons of men was ordered in such fashion that he would seek
and save his sheep that were lost. There were a multitude
of people along his pathway, and he could go anywhere he desired
to go. Yet we see him fulfilling his purpose to bring salvation
to a particular Samaritan woman at a well on a particular day,
and he must needs go through Samaria. She could have been
nowhere else, and he would be exactly where she was with the
exact message which she needed to hear, yea, she must hear.
In like fashion, we see him bring salvation to the house of Zacchaeus.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and
said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down, for today
I must abide in thy house. And he made haste, and came down,
and received him joyfully. The Pharisees said in disgust
that he went to be a guest at the house of a sinner. They were
right, because he came not to call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance. and other sheep I have which are not of this
foal, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice,
and there shall be one foal and one shepherd." When he spoke
with Nicodemus, the Lord described the operation of his spirit,
which is a necessity for a man to see the kingdom of God, when
he said, Ye must be born again. Vain is the man who thinks that
he can somehow exercise faith or come to the Lord apart from
this supernatural work, which must precede all of a man's inclinations
towards seeking the way of God. There is none that understand
it. There is none that seeketh after God. Men can pursue all
sorts of religion and even adopt a level of morality by the operation
of their will. But it is only by this birth
from above that a man is brought to fall upon his face in repentance
towards him whose glory he is awakened to behold. The Lord
has sent his messengers into the earth with the gospel of
the glory of the blessed God, and nothing can prevent them
from bringing life and immortality to light for those to whom he
has appointed to hear it. For the promise is unto you and
to your children and to all that are far off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. And the Gospel must first be
published among all nations. This Gospel is summarized by
the Lord when He said, The Son of Man must suffer many things,
and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be slain, and be raised the third day. Those for whom He
has shed His precious blood as a Lamb without spot or blemish
must be saved. There is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Has He taken
away your sins and made you willing to call upon Him in the day of
His power? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.