Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The children of God are
to be both builders and fighters, just as the Jews were in the
days of Nehemiah, the prophet with a sword in one hand and
a trowel in the other. Our ultimate help will not be
found in the strength of our own hands, but in the One who
has called us to this work. Yet we are called to the task
at hand and we must not shrink back from it. While the Jews
cried unto the Lord and trusted Him for their deliverance, they
were faithful to perform the undertaking that He had set before
them. They had a clear understanding both of the work to be done and
the deadly nature of their enemies. While we are quite certain that
our salvation is not in any way dependent on our works, we are
equally certain that true faith cannot be demonstrated without
works. One does not have to search very
far to find men who are exhorting God's people to great activity.
The predominant religious thought today is to keep people stirred
up with much busy work. It is almost as if some believe
that the more they do, the more spiritual they are. The flesh
is convinced that it can earn favor with God by its deeds and
faithfulness. Therefore, all of the world's
religions are interested in the works of men, but God is interested
in the heart worship of His people. By His grace, He has called His
children to be workers in His vineyard. Yet the labor that
they are involved in does not always produce that which is
readily apparent to the eye of the flesh. We labor for those
things that perish not, the warm embrace of our Savior's hand,
the smile upon His face, and the warmth of His glory. To walk
with Him in the cool of the evening and to lay our head upon His
shoulder in the darkness of the night are blessings which the
religious man can only speculate about. but cannot know by experience. For which cause we faint not?
For though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed
day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. Why 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. God's children are exhorted to
seek the benefit of their brethren, desiring to build them up in
the most holy faith, that they might come to the full measure
of the stature of Christ, having put off the old man with his
lusts, and are renewed daily by his Spirit, praying that the
will of God will be done in the earth as it is decreed in heaven,
preaching the word in season and out, that Christ might be
lifted up, glorified in word and deed. The world can have
no part in such labor as this. In fact, the religious flesh
scoffs at the notion that such activity can be construed as
the work to which they are called to do. They are confronted in
this work by numerous enemies. The old comic strip character
Pogo pretty well nailed down who the chief enemy of the sons
of God is when he said, we have met the enemy and he is us. Their fleshly nature wars against
the sons of God constantly. He has wounded them many times
and is a constant intimidator and aggravator. The world is
also the enemy of the saints, for it has no friendship with
the people of God. There are other enemies of God's
children. They are described in the Scriptures as those who
are enemies of the cross. They would corrupt the gospel,
preaching that which Paul calls another gospel. They would seek
to toss the sons of God to and fro with ever-shifting winds
of doctrine that exalt the flesh and attempt to steal the glory
of the Lord. They would bring the free-born
sons of God into bondage to religious dogmas and practices and rob
them of their freedom by seeking to enslave them to the law of
sin and death from which the Lord Jesus has forever set them
free. Another enemy of the saints who
would take great delight in their total destruction is Satan himself. He goes about seeking to destroy
whom he can. If one listens to some preachers
today, they would become convinced that Satan is a rival to the
living God. We have respect for him as a
worthy adversary whose strength exceeds our own, but we know
that he is a defeated foe who has no power at all except that
which God appoints for him to have. We are certain that he
shall not triumph in any sense, for he who dwells in us is greater
than him. He is God's devil, and like a
dog on a leash can only go as far as our Father permits him
to go. These things I have spoken unto
you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. Do you rest in Christ? For a
free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net.