Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Samson was a great and
powerful man who grew accustomed to the presence and power of
God in his life. He accomplished so many mighty
deeds with such ease that he began to take the Lord's presence
and power for granted. Ultimately, he forgot from whom
it was that his strength came. He thought himself to be invincible
and disregarded the secret of his power. When he told Delilah
how his strength could be overcome, I don't believe that he actually
thought that he would be weak if she cut off his hair. He presumed
that he was so strong that it was not necessary for him to
keep the vow under which he had lived. He thought his strength
was natural. After he was shorn, he thought
he would rise up as he had so many times in the past, only
to find that the Lord had departed from him, and he was right for
failure. Esau was Isaac's firstborn son,
the apple of his father's eye. The firstborn son in a Hebrew
family had a birthright which not only involved an inheritance
of real property, but carried with it the opportunity to have
the spiritual blessings of the father bestowed on him. Esau
had little regard for this spiritual blessing and willingly surrendered
it to Jacob for a bowl of soup. And Esau said, Behold, I am at
the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Then the scripture goes on to say, Thus Esau despised his birthright. He counted its value as insignificant
compared to his craving to fulfill the desire of his flesh. David
was a man after God's own heart. He fought and won many battles
and was known as a mighty man of valor. Yet there came a time
in his life when, instead of going out to battle, he decided
to take it easy and be a man of leisure. Because he disregarded
his calling, he succumbed to idleness and fell into a great
sin with Bathsheba. Rather than fleeing from the
temptation, he entertained the thought of sin and ultimately
indulged the lust of his flesh. Though not all of these men were
spiritual giants, we can nonetheless learn some very important lessons
from their mistakes. We must never forget that our
strength is from the Lord. If we are left to our own understanding
and power for even a moment, we are sure to fail. Just because
the Lord has been with us in the past does not guarantee that
He will always be with us. The scripture says, 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. God will not allow His children
to continue in their own strength without taking measures to humble
them and correct their thinking. And it shall be said in that
day, lo, this is our God. We have waited for him and he
will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in
his salvation. We must always regard that which
is spiritual as far more valuable than the things of this material
world in which we live. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. And the world passeth away in
the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever. We must regard the calling that
God has given us with the utmost respect. We cannot afford to
neglect those things He has called us to do, even as age or infirmity
set in. The speed and seeming effectiveness
of our efforts may diminish, but our calling never does. The
gifts and calling of God are without repentance. The old saying,
idle hands are the devil's workshop, is just as true as a man ages
as it was in his youth. whatsoever thy hand findeth to
do, do it with thy might. For there is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whether thou goest."
The warnings that the Lord sent to the churches in the book of
Revelation serve as illustrations of the same warnings which are
appropriate for believers in our day. Our love for him sometimes
waxes and wanes. Who among the Lord's children
has not felt his own heart grow cold towards the things of God
from time to time? When that happens, it is always
true that it is us who have left him, as we have disregarded the
value of his fellowship and grace. When such a state is brought
to our awareness, should we not fall upon our faces and seek
his mercy and favor? Remember, therefore, from whence
thou art fallen, and repent, that is, turn around, and do
the first works. He told the Laodiceans that they
had confused success in this world's goods with the true blessings
of God. This is an apt description of
the majority of churches today. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Are you content or do you long
for His presence? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.