Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Isaiah used the word increase
to describe the kingship of Christ when he said, For unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it,
and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts
will perform this. John the Immerser said that Christ
must increase and himself must decrease. Paul declared the same,
saying, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I unto the world. The mark of true gospel preaching
is that it is always centered in Christ, and its purpose and
subject is simply the magnification and glory of Him who died for
sinners and ever lives and reigns in His present glory as the Lord
of Lords and King of Kings. The true preaching of the gospel
has no ulterior motive other than that Christ should be lifted
up before men, resplendent in all of His glory and redemptive
work. There are no hidden agendas,
quest for measurable results, moral crusades, nor fundraising
pleas which are added on. This is sharply contrasted by
that which is being continually served up to the present religious
world by the babblers, which the religious multitudes call
preachers, with their permanent grins and affable ways. These
are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women,
and men do, it seems, laden with sins, led away with divers' lusts.
These clowns and hucksters are continually teaching and writing
books which are on every subject but the glory of Christ. They
are ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the
truth. Rather than seeking the increase of Christ, they plot
and scheme to increase the crowds which will flock to hear them,
cruise with them to this vacation spot or that, and cast in their
money into seemingly ever-needy coffers. Sadly, the religious
multitudes love to have it so and delight in being made twofold
more the children of hell than their masters. We must preach
Christ and Him crucified, who gave Himself for our sins, that
He might deliver us from this present evil world according
to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. Christ crucified is not an important
part of the gospel. It is the beginning of the gospel.
It is the very essence of the gospel. There can be no gospel
preaching where Christ is not the sum and substance of all
that is said. It matters not how morally upright
men may be persuaded to be, nor how devoted to a cause they may
seem. If the glory of Christ's redemptive
work is not at the heart of their thought and desire, they have
no knowledge of the gospel. We do not preach a cooperative
effort whereby men may be saved. Jesus Christ procured the eternal
salvation of His elect when He hung on Calvary's cross. Nothing
can be added to that redemption and nothing can be taken from
it. We must preach Christ reigning as king. But unto the Son, he
saith, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of
righteousness is a scepter of thy kingdom. We are not waiting
for the day when he will become king. He is already seated forever
on the throne of his kingdom, which shall never pass away.
All things are put under his feet. He came into this world
to manifest His kingdom which stretches from shore to shore.
He presently rules in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth, and He shall yet manifest the full extent of that
kingdom in the ages to come. All things transpire exactly
according to His will, and He shall accomplish all of His pleasure. We must preach Christ as the
Savior of sinners. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. We preach that the Savior came
not simply to die for those who were lost, but to seek them out
and draw them to himself. He came not for the righteous,
but for those who were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others. He has not only purchased their redemption by imputing
their sins to Himself and imputing His righteousness to them, but
He has sent His Holy Spirit into the world to quicken His elect
and call them to Himself at the appointed time. He is mighty
to save, and will leave no stone unturned, nor abandon any which
he has purchased, until he has gathered them all unto himself.
I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me
a people. And they all shall know me, from
the least to the greatest. Do you know him? For a free CD
containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to
forthepoor at windstream.net.