Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Man is not only neutral
footing when it comes to a consideration of God's Word. By nature, all
men hate the truth of God and are enemies of it unless that
rebellious spirit is broken and the heart open to receive the
Word of God. The greatest of orators may stir
the emotions of men, but only the Lord can change the heart.
Saul of Tarsus was not convinced by men of the truth of the risen
Lord. However, the Lord was able to persuade him that it was he
who was the master. God is able to raise up the stones
to praise his name, so we should not think it any sort of necessity
on his part to use man in the proclamation of the gospel. However,
it has pleased him to convey the sweet message of the gospel,
not on the wings of seraphs or angels, but through the preaching
of the gospel by the lips of men. It is common for men to
think that God is able to use only those who are trained in
a certain way or that possess certain skill levels in this
endeavor. The true communication of the gospel, however, is in
no sense enhanced by the innate skill of a man, nor is it in
any way lessened by the relative weakness of any vessel in which
the Lord is pleased to place his message. Paul continually
said that he was no great orator, but the word of God moved in
him mightily, and his preaching was a demonstration of the Lord's
power. Modern evangelism centers its
efforts in skillful presentations and in persuading men to do something.
They are persuaded by many methods, sometimes even trickery and appealing
music, but most often with great amounts of emotional appeals
to step out, step up, walk the aisle, escape hell, let Jesus
into their heart, give the Lord a chance, or make a decision
to be saved. On the other hand, those who
are true preachers of the gospel are simply that, preachers of
the gospel. The persuasion that they are
involved in is a clear declaration of what Jesus Christ has done
in the behalf of sinners. Their only desire is to magnify
Him who has purchased eternal redemption for that which was
lost. Paul never asked those he preached to to do anything.
He preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He said, since
we have the fear of the Lord, we persuade men by proclaiming
the truth of God, which He is able to convince men of. We are
persuaded that the Lord has cleansed all things for His people. I
know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus Christ that there
is nothing unclean of itself. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is unclean. The Lord satisfied and fulfilled
every jot and tittle of the law in the behalf of his elect bride,
and there is nothing in the earth that can bring her into condemnation. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are persuaded
that the Lord calls His children by name and makes them new creatures
in His own time. And I myself also am persuaded
of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled
with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. The
Lord not only purchased for us an eternal redemption, but He
has begun a good work in us, which He will perform to the
end. Eternal life is begun in those who are called by His grace,
and they shall never die. We are persuaded that this faith
wherein we stand is that which has been the hope of God's children
in all ages. We read in the 11th chapter of
Hebrews, These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. God has never set forth any means
of salvation for His elect in any age except that which has
been accomplished by Jesus Christ. The Old Testament saints died
without the full realization of the finished work of Christ,
whereas we have been made aware that He has actually paid the
purchase price in time, our sin having been imputed to Him and
His righteousness to us. Those who were the heirs of the
promise in ages past are just as much partakers of that purchased
redemption as we are. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the faith once delivered to the saints. We look for no
other. We are persuaded that Jesus Christ
alone is the hope and expectation of the true believer. For the
witch calls, I suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. The
sons of God look for no other deliverer than Christ, and they
are persuaded that His redemptive work is sufficient for their
salvation. Of what are you persuaded? For
a free CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email
to forthepoor at windstream.net.