Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The prophet Jeremiah was
lamenting to the Lord of his troubles when the Lord gave him
a mild rebuke and reminded him that troubles which come upon
men in this natural world are to be expected and are nothing
compared to that judgment which he is able to mete out. Men often
view such calamities and disasters as tsunamis, hurricanes, and
other calamities, as the judgment of God displayed. Indeed, there
is a sense in which we can view such catastrophes as His judgment
upon sin, since there would be no such happenings in a world
which was without sin. Sin is the root cause of all
of man's sorrow. We are certainly moved with compassion
for those who are suffering in the midst of tragic loss, such
as those in the recent building collapse, but we are also aware
that this is but a light trial compared to the unfolding of
God's eternal judgment upon sin. These buildings can be rebuilt,
the dead can be buried, new lives will spring up to replace them,
and life will go on even in a benighted city such as Miami. But the judgment
of God is that from which there is no recovery. The unfolding
of the wrath of Almighty God shall cause the heavens and the
earth to flee away, and men will desire death rather than life,
but cannot find it. The Lord said, An evil and an
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall
no sign be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as
Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly,
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise
in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because
they repented at the preaching of Jonas. And behold, a greater
than Jonas is here. If the heart of a man is not
moved to repentance by the truth as it is revealed in Jesus Christ,
no amount of calamities or disasters will do the job. Man in his natural
state will not be moved to repentance by the scare tactics of preachers
of doom and gloom, and will only raise his fists higher in rebellion
in the face of pain and suffering. The wrath and judgment of God
are not designed as corrective measures, but rather for the
total destruction of the wicked. The Lord said, I also will laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall
seek me early, but they shall not find me. There is no relief
or remedy for the man who abides under the wrath of the Almighty
God. God has no partial judgment or wrath that is temporary. The
true sons of God are totally without condemnation. They have
been the objects of His affection before their creation and should
fall upon their faces daily thanking Him that they were not appointed
under wrath. By nature, that is, birth into the human race,
they were the children of wrath even as others, but by election
they are appointed unto redemption through the blood and righteousness
of Jesus Christ the Lord. Election does not save the sons
of God. It is the means whereby they
are chosen to receive salvation. The Blessed Redeemer trod the
winepress of God's wrath in their behalf and alone secured their
redemption. He was a perfect substitute,
having no sin of his own, but willing to bear the punishment
due to theirs. He obtained, that is, purchased
or got possession of, eternal redemption for them that they
might never taste. the wrath he already endured
for their sake. Had he not been the immutable
and eternal Son of God, he would have been destroyed by the burning
wrath of an offended holy God. The natural man hates the doctrine
of God's free and unconditional election of a people in Christ
Jesus before the world began. He will rise up in anger at the
thought of God being an absolute sovereign over his destiny. Only
the grace of God, awakening a lost and rebellious sinner, will cause
him to bow down in repentance and own the fact that he is worthy
of destruction. His natural enmity against God
is slain as he worships at the Lord's footstool and owns the
justice of God in condemning him forever, but praises that
mercy which appointed him to redemption in Christ. Only a
rebel can find fault with God. Nay, but O man, who art thou
that replies against God, shall the thing form, say to him that
formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Do you rejoice in His
sovereign election of that people whom He loved from before the
foundation of the world? Or do you grow angry when you
hear this humbling message proclaimed? Do you think you have chosen
Him, or do you rejoice that He has chosen you? For a free CD
containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to
forthepoor at windstream.net.