Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. One of the most diabolical
of all of Satan's schemes is to trap men in their own quest
for happiness. The preamble to the Declaration
of Independence even proposes that the pursuit of happiness
is one of man's inalienable rights bestowed upon him by his creator.
Man believes that premise and has sought out many devices in
order to secure his own happiness. Satan has tapped into that natural
desire of men and provided many sources for a man to find pleasure
and contentment in the fulfillment of his own fleshly desires. Left
to themselves, men would go shipwrecked soon enough in this burning desire
to fulfill their quest for the holy grail of happiness. But
Satan has learned to provide many pitfalls wherein to snare
the feet of the sons of men who were already sliding toward the
pit. Satan's goal is the destruction
of Christ and it is this natural enmity which was ordained by
God to be used even for the benefit of his elect as Judas was moved
by Satan to betray the Lord Jesus and deliver him up to the Jews
that he might be slain as a sin substitute in the behalf of his
bride. Since he has natural enmity towards Christ, it also follows
that he hates the elect of God. He cannot know who they are until
they are revealed, but he is determined to destroy the human
race that he might obliterate the seed of Christ. In Satan's
quest to destroy the people of God, he has adopted a very sinister
plan of infiltrating among those who are the children of God and
sowing terrors among the wheat. He has often transformed himself
into an angel of light or one who seems to be speaking the
truth in order to confuse the people of God and to cast stumbling
blocks in their path. He has a whole arsenal of underlings
who go about spreading lies while they think they are preaching
the gospel. One of his tried and true tactics, which has all
but swallowed up the present generation, is to send forth
preachers who are proclaimers of happiness and whose main message
is one designed to help men have a fulfilled and happy life. The
printing presses run day and night to spew out books which
teach men how to be happy in all walks of life, from finances
to marriage, business to entertainment. It is almost required that these
preachers be comedians and entertainers in order to hold the attention
of their hearers and keep them asking for more. The hearers
of their messages are encouraged to give of their money to ensure
their happiness by tapping into God's reward system, which pays
out heavy dividends to the faithful. Appeals are constantly made to
men to believe the gospel or let Jesus into your heart so
that they can find true happiness. Many so-called churches have
built recreation facilities that rival the city rec department
in this quest to bring happiness to men, women, boys, and girls.
Churches are full of happy people who are entertained with drama,
professional sound systems, and artists who know how to use them.
Various promotions and gimmicks are employed to keep folks coming.
After all, folks want a place where they can come and be happy,
and the happy preachers are glad to oblige. Now, we are quite
certain that the Lord has determined to bring happiness to His own
sons and daughters. Yet this happiness is not the
bliss and pleasure that the world seeks after, nor is it that which
modern religion promises to give. The psalmist said, blessed, that
is, happy, is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.
The only way this brings happiness to a man is if he has been made
painfully aware of his dire need for the Lord's action. The natural
man is not overtly concerned with sin until he is quickened
by the Spirit and made to know the sinfulness of sin. Modern
preachers gloss over the absolute wickedness of men and their utter
inability to approach unto an absolutely holy God by constantly
telling them that all they need to do is decide for God. Only
the born again sons of God can find true and complete happiness
in a consideration of the imputed righteousness of Christ to their
account. By such, they are indeed blessed and fully satisfied.
He has forgiven their transgression. Transgression in the scripture
is more than just the committing of an act of sin. Transgression
in the context of 1 John 3, 4 is a total disregard and hatred
of the law of God. Man has not only committed acts
of sin, but he has continually thumbed his nose at God, who
has established his law. in the earth. Yet Jesus Christ
has forgiven or removed the condemnation of that attitude and has reconciled
his reborn sons to his person and his way. They are indeed
blessed. He has covered their sin. Those
acts of sin which they have committed have been covered from the view
of the justice of God by the shedding of his blood. He has
taken away the guilt of his elect. There is no legal ground left
whereby they may be condemned. He has expunged their record
in the courts of heaven. They are forever justified by
the work He performed on Calvary's cross. They are indeed blessed
beyond measure. Happy is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Do you find your happiness in
the Lord alone? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.