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Volume 2, No. 7
July-August 1990
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"God, Who is rich in mercy, hath quickened us...raised us up...made us sit together
in heavenly places...that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His
grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For our light affliction, which is
but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Now
unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Eph. 2:4-7; 2 Cor. 4:17; Eph.
3:20-21).
In our country, we have been taught that excess is bad. Excess baggage costs you when you
fly. Excess eating gives you excess indigestion, excess weight, and as a result, excess
exercise. In general, when you hear of excess, it has a negative connotation.
In these three passages from the Word of God, however, we find that God's excesses are
only positive for His people. First, in Eph. 2:4-7, we see that His marvelous grace
exceeds all our sin and our guilt, for "even when we were dead in sins," He
saved us and brought us into a relationship with Himself that allows Him to manifest the
superabundance of the riches of His grace. "For where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound."
Second, in 2 Cor. 4:17, we find that our suffering is exceeded by the weight of glory that
awaits us. Recently, while in the hospital, I received a note that closed with these
words: "One advantage of being on your back is that you're looking in the right
direction. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth,' the apostle
writes. That's the kind of mind-set we all desperately need." And how true that is!
As long as our heart is set in the heavenlies, the sufferings we can too often blow out of
proportion pale in significance to the coming manifested excellence.
And finally, in Eph. 3:20-21, we find that our expectations are exceeded. The disciples
expected to end up at the bottom of the sea, but instead discovered the Master of ocean
and earth and skies. Mary expected to find the Lord Jesus in the tomb, and instead was
blessed with a vision of the risen Lord. The early saints expected to hear of Peter's
death in the morning, but instead were blessed with his personal visit that night. Too
often we sell the Lord short. I heard of one woman who prayed, "Lord, if only one
person could be saved tonight!" and that's all that got saved -- just one! Brethren
and sisters, we have access by faith to the throne of the living God, Who speaks and it is
so, and Who is not limited by time or space or any other thing. Let us not sell Him short,
but let us expect the unexpected, for He is able! Let us revel in our God of excess, Who
delights to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think."
David Van Ryn
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***The Time Of Their Coming***
"The swallows observe the time of their coming." Jer. 8:7
One day my wife called me to the front window of our house to see the telephone wires
black with swallows. The birds seemed excited and restless, and no wonder. They were about
to leave for a warmer country. To leave chilly England with its fogs and smogs and
unpredictable climate is surely enough to cause anyone a little excitement, to say the
least! How did the birds know the route to take? How did they know the time to leave? God,
Who takes care of the birds and feeds them, gave them the instinct.
We shall soon leave this cold and miserable world, for we are strangers and pilgrims in
it, travelling to a Better Country, that is, a heavenly. We have within our hearts more
than instinct -- we have Christ in us, the Hope of Glory!
Bernard Fell
Solihull, England
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***The Place To Be***
"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. No man
hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He
hath declared Him." (John 13:23; 1:18)
The place of affection, closest to the heart, is this place where we find the Apostle John
with the Lord, and also our Lord with the Father -- "Who is in the bosom of the
Father." This is a continuous state, one without beginning or end, or ever a break in
between. We never read of the Son leaving this blessed position. "For in Him all the
fullness [of the Godhead] was pleased to dwell." (Col. 1:19) "For in Him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Col. 2:9)
In Ps. 22:1 we read, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far
from helping Me, and from the words of My roaring?" Notice here it is not "My
Father, my Father." Here we have God in His government forsaking the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord Himself bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, being made a curse
for us, and glorifying God in all!
Brothers and sisters, as has been so beautifully brought out by others, never was the Son
more precious to His Father than during those hours on that terrible cross when He hung
there in perfect obedience to His Father's will. "Father, if Thou be willing, remove
this cup from Me: nevertheless, not My will, but Thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)
"It is finished." (John 19:20b) "And when Jesus had cried with a loud
voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave
up the ghost." (Luke 23:46)
May we, as with the beloved apostle, ever rest on Jesus' bosom, being in that place of
closest communion with Him, and seeking His will in our lives while on this wilderness
journey, His Word being indeed a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.
Walter Van Wyck
Shelton, CT
Keep us, Lord, O keep us cleaving
To Thyself and still believing,
Till the hour of our receiving
Promised joys with Thee.
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***The Greatest Person We Know***
"We Know Him!" (1 John 2:3)
Only a triplet of words, nine letters in all, each word a distinct syllable that can be
uttered by a single effort of the voice, yet the summa cum laude of Christian education!
John always presents THE PERSON OF CHRIST! In his Gospel he says to the world, "YOU
NEED HIM!" To the family of God he writes, "YOU NEED HIM!" And to the Jew,
Gentile and Church in Revelation he again declares, "YOU NEED HIM!"
More than seminaries, schools, conferences, convocations, etc. we need the PERSON OF
CHRIST! On the road of doubt, despair, discouragement and disillusionment, we read that
"JESUS HIMSELF DREW NEAR." (Lk. 24:15) From "Moses and all the prophets, He
expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning HIMSELF." (Lk.
24:27) At the close of that first Resurrection day, the Great Shepherd re-gathered His
disciples and "JESUS HIMSELF STOOD IN THE MIDST." (Lk. 24:36) They were again
around HIM!
Beloved, by the Holy Spirit we have been brought to a PERSON! "We know HIM!" It
is true Jesus said, "No man knoweth the Son but the Father" (Matt. 11:27) and as
one servant of God wrote - "There is that both in the life and death of Christ which
God alone can comprehend. Our part is to stand with unshod feet and adoring hearts, as we
gaze at this great MYSTERY,' God manifest in the flesh, not attempting to define what is
indefinable, or gauge what is incomprehensible to creature minds." Nevertheless,
John, by the Spirit, writes, "WE KNOW HIM." God in His Word has revealed some
great glories of His Son for our knowledge and blessing, such as He writes in Heb. 1:1-6
describing them to us. Meditate on these:
1 - HE IS THE FUTURE RULER OF THE UNIVERSE - The "appointed heir of ALL things"
- See Eph. 1:10. Who can estimate the vastness of this rulership? Let us worshipfully say
from our hearts, in gratitude and praise, that "WE KNOW HIM."
2 - HE IS THE CREATOR OF THE WORLDS - "By Whom ALSO He made the worlds." See
John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 11:3. Men vainly seek to discover the origin of the universe,
but each believer knows his or her Creator and can say, "WE KNOW HIM!"
3 - HE IS THE BRIGHTNESS OF GOD'S GLORY - All divine attributes of God dwell in the Person
of Christ and the moral glories of His Being! See John 12:45; John 14:9. Though far beyond
our limited comprehension, yet in humble adoration we say, "WE KNOW HIM!" (Col.
1:19; 2:9)
4 - HE IS THE SUSTAINER OF THE UNIVERSE - "Upholding ALL things by the word of His
power," for "by HIM all things consist (hold together)." (Col. 1:17) We
ourselves are safe in HIS mighty, omnipotent hands! See John 10:28. Why? Because "WE
KNOW HIM!" Hallelujah!
5 - HE IS THE GREAT SIN-PURGER - "By HIMSELF He purged our sins." This is HOW we
came to know HIM! We received a PERSON - HIM! (John 1:12) He took our sins away! Then we
began to say the precious truth - "WE KNOW HIM!" Let us keep saying it with
praise to HIM!
6 - HE IS THE EXALTED MAN IN THE GLORY - He "sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high". Man - the GOD MAN - The MAN, CHRIST JESUS! (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:11)
No earthly glory was given Him, but HEAVENLY GLORY! - and we can still say, "WE KNOW
HIM!"
7 - HE IS THE COMING KING - "He bringeth AGAIN the first- begotten into the
world" etc. HE IS COMING AGAIN! Will HE be a stranger to us? NEVER - "WE KNOW
HIM!" and even now we say, "EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS!"
We would earnestly pray that the Holy Spirit will raise up Christ-centered ministry that
will restore the value of HIS PERSON to HIS PEOPLE! Then it will be possible to say and
prove the words of John 20:20: "THEN WERE THE DISCIPLES GLAD WHEN THEY SAW THE
LORD."
John Bramhall
Florence, South Carolina
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Volume 2, No. 8
September/October 1990
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It seems as if the days of grace are drawing to a close. The Scriptures are coming alive
as we look to the Middle East. One has only to think a moment and consider what the world
would be like without oil. We would be without electricity, plastics, automobiles, jet
travel, trains, many medicines, etc. It would be a different world indeed. The Apostle
Peter in summarizing these issues said, "Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy manner of life and
godliness." (2 Peter 3:11)
It is interesting to notice in the book of Daniel the circumstances we find for four men
there. Their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and were changed to
Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Lord had allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take
over Judah and its inhabitants. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the prince of the eunuchs to bring
certain of the children of Israel, some of the king's seed and some of the princes. They
were to have no blemish, be well favored, skillful in all wisdom, cunning in knowledge,
understand science and such that had ability in them to stand in the king's palace.
(Daniel 1: 6, 7, 3 and 4).
Today, billions are spent on blemish-removers and beauty-enhancers, and we've never had so
much information, science and knowledge. But these things do us no good if we do not
acknowledge our sin and need of the Lord Jesus Christ, receive Him as our own personal
Saviour, and then daily walk with Him. It is only as we trust Him that we will ever be
delivered from this present evil age.
Without Christ there is no life, for He has said, "I am the life!" (John 14:6).
These four men of God knew this. We see in vs. 17 that God gave them their wisdom. It was
their devoted love and obedience to Him in their walk before earthly kings that made all
the difference in the tough times they were about to go through.
First, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to the image Nebuchadnezzar had
erected. He got so angry, he threw them into the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter
than usual. But, as we see, there was a fourth man like unto the Son of God who walked
with them in the midst of the fire, and not one hair was burned. (Dan. 3) Oh, praise the
Lord, He walked with them! Then, of course, Daniel continued his life of daily prayer,
which resulted in his being thrown in the lion's den. It was because "he believed in
his God" (Dan. 6:23) that he was delivered.
Oh, Christians, are we going through tough times? Do we bow down to earthly idols? Have we
forgotten to pray? Do we believe God? Is not the Lord with us as He was with these? Are we
walking with Him? The devil seeks to discourage us, but we're on the winning side. The
Lord Jesus won for us the victory at Calvary. We have a responsibility to walk with the
Lord Jesus here, to obey Him and honor Him as these men did.
The days are short. My friend, if you're not yet a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
recognize that you are a sinner, please...please, accept Him today. Tomorrow may be too
late. To those who are saved, may our lives be marked by a daily walk with Him so we may
know His presence and His saving grace as these four did.
Keith Van Ryn
Atlanta, Georgia
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***Elijah's Prayer***
" He stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said,
O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's soul come into him again.'" (1 Kings
17:21)
Elijah had been walking in a path of complete trust and obedience to the will of God. So
far as we know in reading chapter 17, he was exactly WHERE God wanted him and doing
exactly WHAT God wanted him to do. Yet even in such circumstances the problems of
every-day life can weigh heavily upon us. What are we to do? Just what Elijah did --
"take your burden to the Lord and leave it there," for "no one understands
like Jesus." Elijah didn't advertise his doubts and questions, and neither should we.
He simply poured out his heart to the Lord.
Our attitude can quickly spread to others. "What man is there that is fearful and
fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as
well as his heart." (Deut. 20:8) Elijah was persistent - he prayed three times, and
God chose to answer according to his request. May we learn to lean on Him, especially when
times of doubt and question come upon us. "Let us come boldly unto the throne of
grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help (aid or assist) in time of need
(unbelief)." (Heb. 4:16)
Bill Gustafson
Waynesboro, Georgia
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***Today The Lord Will Appear***
In Leviticus 9 Moses told the children of Israel to bring a sin offering, a burnt
offering, peace offerings, and a meal offering and offer them before the Lord. Why? Was
there some gross sin? No! Was the whole congregation disobedient to God? No! Well, then,
why? "For today the Lord will appear unto you!"
What about today, 1990? Have we offered our sin offering unto the Lord? Not an animal
sacrifice, but the "sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips" to God for
Jesus, our sin offering. (Heb. 13:15) Have we offered our burnt (voluntary) offering?
"But to do good and to share forget not, for with such sacrifices God is
well-pleased. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice." (Heb. 13:16; Rom. 12:1) Have we brought our peace offering of
thanksgiving? "Abounding with thanksgiving" (Col. 2:7) for the One Who has made
"peace (with God) through the blood of His cross." (Col. 1:20) Now the God of
peace Who made peace possible to us wants a meal (holy) offering. Perhaps our offering
would be to allow "the God of peace" to "make (us) perfect in every good
work to do His will, working in (us) that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ," (Heb. 13:21) and "be ye holy, as I am holy." (1 Pet. 1:16)
May we sacrifice praise to God today for His Son, our lives today for Him, and the
sacrifice of thanksgivings to the God of peace, as He makes us holy through the Lord Jesus
Christ! Why? "For today the Lord will appear unto you!"
Calvin Fritchey
Pembroke Pines, Florida
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***Does God Answer Prayer?***
I suppose the Divine answer to this question can be found in Isaiah 58:9. In this portion,
we are encouraged by the prophet's words, "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall
answer; and thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am." However, we are reminded
that answers are conditional. Here the prophet exhorts us, "If thou take away from
the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity."
There are many reasons for unanswered prayer in God's Word, and the chief one is sin.
Does it seem like you've been praying for a certain thing and your prayers have been
unanswered? When we look at 2 Cor. 12:7-10, we see that Paul prayed for a removal of a
thorn from his flesh. Here we see that God did answer Paul's prayer, but not in the way
Paul prayed that He would. So let's not be quick to judge ourselves, others, or even God's
grace. Again, we are assured of God's answer to prayer, but the answer may be slow to come
for reasons which we do not understand.
Dear saints, we must be encouraged to continue to pray and we can be assured through the
Scriptures that our prayers will be answered. But we must be patient and discerning to
recognize the answer, especially if it is an answer we do not expect. Be encouraged and
continue to pray!
George Phillpot
Man-O-War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas
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***The Beauty of the Rose***
I walked past a garden the other day and gazed at the beautiful roses, all in varying
sizes and degrees of aroma. I smelled those that had been open for quite some time, and
the aroma had gone. Then I smelled the mature roses and was entranced by their scent.
I was reminded how the Lord Jesus Christ, just like a rose, was cut off at the peak of His
life. "He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my
people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His
death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an
offering for sin, He shall see his seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be
satisfied." (Isaiah 53:8-11)
He is the Fairest of fair ones, He is the Lily, the Rose,
Rivers of mercy surround Him, Grace, love, and pity He shows.
Why do I sing about Jesus? Why is He precious to me?
He is my Lord and my Savior, Dying He set me free.
My garden passing inspired me to think of our Savior and how He is the Rose of Sharon. How
important it is for us to meditate on His beauty. So often our thoughts are on this scene
which is clouded with problems and cares. How refreshing it is to dwell on His beauty, and
the aroma of His, our Rose's, loveliness.
William Bradford
Miami, Florida
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***The Honor Of The Name***
"Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold
him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain." (Ex. 20:7) "Thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbor." (Ex. 20:16)
God protects by these laws the honor of His Name and the honor of our names. "A good
name is rather to be chosen than great riches," and to misrepresent either His or our
neighbor's name is a terrible sin.
God has been pleased, by His grace, to put His Name on each of His children. Only His
children, in a very real sense, can take the name of the Lord "thy God" in vain,
for He has not given His Name to any other. He is not the God of the dead, but of the
living. Every unbeliever is without God and without hope in this world. Only His children,
who bear His Name, can dishonor that worthy Name by which they have been called. (Jer.
15:16; Acts 11:26) The early disciples rejoiced because they "were counted worthy to
suffer shame for His great Name's sake." It is true that the unbelieving world uses
His Name as a curse word, but they do not dishonor His Name in so doing, but dishonor
their own.
God has given His Son a Name which is above every name. We should seek grace daily to
honor that worthy Name. The Lord Jesus specifically declared that many who have preached
in His Name and done many wonderful works in His Name never had His Name at all.
"Depart from Me, I never knew you," are His condemning words to all who lay
claim to a name that is not theirs. It is true that the worst enemy of a good cause is the
one who badly misrepresents it. Christ's professed followers, who are not His at all, as
well as those who truly are His but fall into sin, both do dishonor to His Name. The
prayer of Charles Wesley should be ours daily:
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To tell through all the earth abroad,
The honors of Thy Name.
It is wickedness to dishonor His Name, but it is also wickedness to dishonor our
neighbor's good name. We can do this by deliberate or even unintentional gossip. We can do
this by adding or subtracting from the truth. Exaggeration is a form of lying. By judging
our brother's motives, appearances, or hear-say we can do a grave injustice to our
brethren.
There is nothing better that we can pass on to our children than a good name, and there is
no better way that we can represent the Lord Jesus than to pass on His Name honorably by
lives devoted to Him, so that others seeing us may see Him manifested in our mortal
bodies. Let us never forget that we have two names to protect -- His and our neighbor's.
He will not hold us guiltless if we misrepresent either.
Elliot Van Ryn
Hialeah, Florida
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