Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The Lord God of heaven
and earth will bless those that belong to Him. None will be left
out and none will be overlooked. The people of God have both the
promise of future blessing as well as that of the present.
The Lord Jesus said to his disciples, I go to prepare a place for you,
but also I am come that they, that is his sheep, might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. The certainty
of present and future blessing for believers cannot be denied.
Many modern day teachers have taken the concept of present
blessing and turned it into something which is foreign to the basic
nature of the blessings which Christ has promised for his followers.
The flesh is always seeking to find satisfaction in the things
of this earth, yet it is quite clear that even the greatest
of blessings which earthly things can afford fall far short of
what the souls of God's people hunger for. I have heard these
teachers tell their hearers that God will give money, houses,
and lands to those who follow certain prescribed paths. Yet
the Lord Jesus said, What shall it profit a man if he gain the
whole world and lose his own soul? Is earthly wealth one of
the promises of God? The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. These same teachers, whom the scriptures describe as wells
without water, tell their expectant audience that God promises to
take away all their fleshly sickness and disease by their simply claiming
a victory over it. This empty promise is based on
the false understanding of the disease from which we are healed
by stripes. When Isaiah said, and with his
stripes we are healed, he had in mind a much more pervasive
problem than fever, short legs, cancers, or headaches. Christ
came to heal his people from the disease of sin. The Lord
Jesus said, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able
to kill the soul. The flesh always seeks to avoid
discomfort, and so it should come as no shock that this teaching
should find such great appeal. God has promised abundant life
to his people, but not necessarily a life which is filled with this
world's goods, nor is free from the trials of affliction. In
fact, it is very often the case that God is pleased to afflict
his people with poverty, that they might learn the true nature
of his riches. He often brings sickness of body,
that they may learn that their strength is not of themselves,
but of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. The Lord
has their lasting benefit in mind, rather than some short-term
relief from sorrowing in the flesh. Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward
it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which
are exercised thereby. The psalmist said, We went through
fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy
place. It is easy to look back and rejoice
at the path God has led us down. Yet there is a better way for
God's people, and that is to learn to rejoice in our God in
the midst of our trials. We do not have to wait until
we see the outcome of our afflictions in order to experience the peace
and happiness which the Lord bestows. Paul said, but we glory
in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh, that
is, brings about patience, and patience brings about experience,
and experience brings about hope. We can patiently wait, knowing
that weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
The key to living in the abundance which the Lord intends for His
people is in the establishing the ground of our hope firmly
in Him. But if we hope for that we see
not, then we with patience wait for it. We're not expectantly
waiting for the riches of this world. but for the riches which
are ours through the blessed presence of Christ in our everyday
lives. Truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full. We are not defeated
by sickness, disease, pain, or even death, which is a certainty.
These hold for us no dread. for our Savior is greater than
all these. The Lord Jesus Christ has beaten
death, he has conquered sin, and he has triumphed over the
grave. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory? The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. These promises are a very present
help in all times and kinds of trouble to those who have learned
to wait upon the Lord. But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk
and not faint. Are you satisfied with the blessing
of Christ himself? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.