Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The man who treasures gold
and silver will normally seek gold and silver according to
the degree with which he loves it. The man who loves travel
will generally order his life in such a way as to facilitate
that travel. That man who places great value
in acquiring property will usually be about the business of obtaining
it. Whatever a man considers his greatest priority is that
which he will pursue with all of his heart. If he is unable
to gain that which he most desires, he will be most miserable. Such
is the pathway of the natural man, as the Lord directs his
steps to either fill himself with the delights of this world
or be sorrowful as he sees them slip from his grasp. The natural
man is delighted with such things as he can obtain in the realm
of his fleshly existence. This even carries over into the
realm of his earthly religion. There is a spirituality which
is of the flesh because it is tied to the enjoyment of this
flesh even when the supposed pursuit appears to be beyond
this present world. Take, for instance, the Muslim
terrorists who were willing to lay down their own lives, it
seems, for an altruistic cause. Yet when examined, their motivation
is really to be exalted through their martyrdom and to gain in
their twisted mind great blessings in heaven, such as 70 virgins.
This mindset is in reality no different than that which is
proposed by these modern-day hucksters who impress men to
sow their seeds of money, by faith of course, into their coffers.
The payoff is always some great blessing, either now or the promise
of one yet to come, as these sowers reap great rewards in
heaven one day because of their faithfulness. In fact, most all
modern day religious activity is motivated by a desire and
belief of personal benefit yet to be derived. It is quite common
to hear men masquerading as gospel preachers, trying to impress
men to serve the Lord for the great rewards which are presently
being earned by them now and or in heaven for them by every
act of obedience they perform. Biblical Christianity is indeed
buttressed by great and precious promises of great gain which
is to be had by those who are given grace to believe. Paul
said, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. He also said,
if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable. Yet those who are true believers
are compelled to believe by the faith implanted in them by the
gift of the Holy Ghost, and they can do nothing else. We hear
men all the time pressing men to believe the gospel in order
to escape a burning hell forever. An escape from the destruction
of hell is not granted to men on the basis of whether or not
they obey the Lord. or believe the gospel, but that
deliverance is granted on the basis of the righteousness of
Christ being imputed to their account because he has paid their
sin debt in full. What could a man ever do to earn
or gain such an escape? True faith in Christ is not exhibited
by those who think they have gained something by believing,
but by those who simply are compelled to worship at his feet regardless
of what may befall them in this life or that which is to come.
The children of God are not turned aside from following the Lord,
even though they are aware that it is his hand that has directed
their afflictions and caused their pain. The greater their
affliction, the closer they are drawn to him. They can really
do nothing else. The religious world recoils in
horror at such a thought, and would mimic the sentiments of
Job's wife, as she was incredulous that Job would continue to worship
God, even though his hand was laid harshly upon him. The world
follows Christ for the loaves and fishes, but the true sons
of God are compelled by His grace to follow Him, even in famine.
This does not appear any great treasure to the natural man,
even as Simon the Pharisee spoke in disgust of the woman who bathed
the Lord's feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs
of her head. The great treasure of this woman was not seen in
some benefit that she derived as a result of performing this
act of worship, but was in the very act of worship itself, though
she gained no comfort by it and was overwhelmed with the thought
of her own sin. Only those who by God's grace
are privileged to be given the gift of faith can ever have any
comprehension as to the greatness of this treasure. The sons of
God often go through this world with very little comfort, as
the world might judge. Yet, as James said, hath not
God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the
kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Our Lord
said, Simon, seeest thou this woman? I entered into thine house,
thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my
feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou
gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath
not ceased to kiss my feet. Do you follow Christ for the
loaves and fishes, or simply because you love him and his
way? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to for the poor at windstream.net.