Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. One of the first and foremost
lessons that the Spirit of God is pleased to teach His people
is that they have no strength of their own. Daniel relates
that he had not strength when the Lord appeared. Isaiah experienced
the same thing when he was given a glimpse of God's holiness.
Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone. Job testifies in a similar
fashion when the Lord appeared to him in the whirlwind. I have
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye
seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and
repent in dust and ashes. So it was with John on the Isle
of Patmos when the Lord revealed himself to him. And when I saw
him, I fell at his feet as dead. The blessed apostle Paul was
struck blind and made to cry out in his weakness and anguish,
Who art thou, Lord? The work of God in this revelation
is totally unaided, nor is it precipitated by men. It is God
alone who can convince a man of his utter inability to help
himself. This concept is absolutely hated by the religious do-gooders
of the world, who rely on men to do their fair share in the
work of God, and especially in letting God save them. Men will
continue on their merry way, attempting and doing great things
for God until such time as He is pleased to show up on the
scene and leave them speechless and clamoring for breath at the
revelation of the depths of their own depravity and the vast divide
that is between them and the true and living God. Many are
convinced that they can believe in Him whenever they wish, but
those whom He has taught to believe must acknowledge their own inability
to do even that. Even as the father of the demon-possessed
child confessed, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. So we
address ourselves to all of those little children who mourn for
their sin. who see themselves as unworthy of the least of the
Lord's mercies, who know themselves to be worthy of being cast away
forever, those who tremble at the mention of the Lord's name
and fear to even approach His throne. To them we come with
the sweet message of the gospel wherein He says, Come unto Me,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Are you weighed down under the heavy load of your sin and find
not one shred of worth within yourself? Have you heard men
say, Just believe, but you sadly confess, I can't? The gospel
reveals someone who is exactly suited to a sinner's need. Jesus
Christ the righteous has everything and more for those who cannot
help themselves, for those who are without strength. He is yet
strong. Salvation, oh, the joyful sound,
his pleasure to our ears, a sovereign balm for every wound. a cordial
for our fears. His voice is strength to his
people. Daniel said, when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith is the gift of God. He is blessed to speak to his
people through the promises of the gospel, and to apply them
to his elect, but is now made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
It is the sweet gospel that informs the mourning children of God
that Jesus Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, has prevailed
in their behalf, and has obtained eternal redemption for them,
apart from any effort on their part. He is their champion and
is pleased to give them the kingdom. His strength is strength to his
people. Daniel said, Thou hast strengthened
me. Daniel did not think that it was by his own power that
he could stand. Paul told the Corinthians, We need that constant
reminder, for we know that he is our strength. The reason we
can stand is not because he has made us strong enough to stand
in our own strength, but because he is continually our strength.
Paul knew that it is our weakness that causes the strength of Christ
to be made manifest. Vain is the man who hopes to
stand one day in his own strength. He is destined to fail. Blessed
is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the
ways of them. His help is strength to his people.
Daniel said, Let my Lord, my Sovereign, speak. He knew that
this was his help and hope. The psalmist said, The Lord preserveth
the simple. I was brought low, and he helped
me. He has come to the aid of his elect bride. And when I passed
by thee, I saw thee polluted in thine own blood. I said unto
thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. Yea, I said unto thee,
when thou wast in thy blood, live. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Oh, the
depths of his mercy and the glory of his strength to deliver his
people, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and
I will not fear what men shall do unto me. For a free CD containing
15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at
windstream.net.