Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The scripture is very plain
that all blessings which are bestowed upon the sons of God
are the result of His grace and not paid out as a bonus based
on the degree of service one may render to the king. Paul
summed it up quite well when he said, For who maketh thee
to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? What success
can any man enjoy that is not directly the result of God's
blessing? Who chooses the country into which he is born? Who selects
his race or his level of intelligence? Who determines what skills, abilities,
and imaginations that he may possess? Where do new ideas come
from? Solomon knew the answer when
he said, the preparations of the heart in man and the answer
of the tongue is from the Lord. Now this is just with the consideration
of the success that a man may enjoy in fleshly pursuits. How
much more is this true in a consideration of the spiritual blessings that
the elect are the recipients of? Paul said, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. This would
indicate that the source of all of the blessings of the sons
of God flow to them from one source. God's blessings are not
stored in a bank which men may or may not discover the key to
access them. Rather, the Lord has secured
all blessings which He bestows on His children as He sees fit,
according to His sovereign purpose. Many would tell us that God's
blessings are conditional, meaning that God pays out bonuses based
on the degree of obedience that His children walk in. Yet they
miss the whole meaning of grace by failing to see that even the
very obedience of the sons of God is the direct blessing of
God upon them. This is in keeping with His promise.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put My laws
into their mind and write them in their hearts. And I will be
to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people. And they shall
not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord. For all shall know Me, from the
least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities. I will
remember no more." The Lord demonstrated this promise as He brought the
nation of Israel into the promised land. He sent the hornets before
them. Very few things will cause men
to scatter more quickly than a wasp or hornet's nest when
it's stirred up. David said, Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. In the beauties of holiness
from the womb of the morning, thou hast the dew of thy youth.
In this illustration, he used the hornets to cause the inhabitants
of the land to flee from the presence of the children of Israel.
He made them willing to leave. When he is pleased to send his
spirit to quicken his elect sons, he also makes them willing to
come to him as he stings them with the knowledge of a broken
law and soothes that wound with the balm of Gilead in the gospel.
There is no activity on their part. They are but the recipients
of that which he is pleased to give. He also gave them a land
upon which they bestowed no labor. The promised land which the nation
of Israel was brought into was a place which was secured by
the hand of Him who prepared it for them. They inhabited it
not because they used bow and sword to secure it, but they
were moved to use bow and sword because He had given them the
land and already had defeated their foes. Their victories were
the result of His blessing and not the cause of it. But I have
said unto you, ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it
unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
I am the Lord your God, which has separated you from other
people. They occupied cities which their hands had not built.
Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build
it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but
in vain. The dwelling places of God's
children are constructed by Him, and He has built for them a city
with a firm foundation. There is no remodeling needed
in this city, because He causes all things to work together for
their good. They ate grapes from vines and
olives from trees which they did not plant. Every good gift
and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow
of turning. All of our blessings are in Him
who is the true vine and the tree of life, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,
which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. Do you rejoice in the blessings
of His grace? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net