Sunday, February 19, 2012
Led by Eric Gintert
Read the following letter written by Robert Murray M'Cheyne...
TO ONE AWAKENED
Call upon a soul to choose Jesus
DUNDEE, September 1842.
MY DEAR G.,—I was glad indeed to see, by the line you sent me, that
though your mind is dark and troubled, you have not gone back to the
world. Ah, it is a false, deceiving world! It smiles only to betray. Fain
would I lead you to taste the peace that passeth understanding, and that it
is only to be found in Jesus. You are quite wrong in thinking that I do not
understand your misery. I know it well. It is true Jesus does give me
peace. He washes me from all sin in his own blood. I often feel Him
standing by my side and looking down upon me, saying, “Thou are mine.”
Yet still I have known more misery than you. I have sinned more deeply
than you. I have sinned against more light and more love, and yet I have
found mercy; why may not you? Remember what James Covey said: “Tell
poor sailors that none of them need to despair, since poor blaspheming
Covey found mercy.” I was interrupted just while writing this, by a very
little girl coming to ask, “What must I do to be saved?” Poor thing, she has
been weeping till I thought her heart would break. She lives several miles
off; but a companion was awakened and told her, and ever since she has
been seeking Christ with all her heart. I was telling her that sweet verse:
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the
chief.”—1 Tim. 1:15. It will answer you also, dear friend. Christ Jesus was
God’s dear Son. He made all things,—sun, moon, and stars, men and
angels. He was from all eternity in the bosom of the Father, and yet He
came into the world. He did not say, “I will keep my throne and my
happiness, and leave sinners to die and perish in their sins.” No; “He came
into the world.” He became a babe, and was laid in a manger, for there
was not room in the inn. The inn was like your heart; it was filled with
other lodgers, and had no room for Jesus. He became “a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief.” He bore our sins upon His own body on the
tree. While we were sinners, “Christ died for us.” Why did He do all this?
Ah! it was to save sinners. Not to save good people—not to save angels—
but sinners. Perhaps you will say, “But I am too bad a sinner;” but Paul
says, “of whom I am the chief.” Paul was the chief of sinners, and yet he
was saved by Christ. So Christ is willing and able to save you, though you
were the chief sinner on the face of the earth. If Christ came into this
world and died to save such as you, will it not be a fearful thing if you die
without being saved by Him? Surely you have lived long enough without
Christ. You have despised Jesus long enough. What has the world done for
you, that you love it so much? Did the world die for you? Will the world
blot out your sins or change your heart? Will the world carry you to
heaven? No, no! You may go back to the world if you please, but it can
only destroy your poor soul. “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she
liveth.”—1 Tim. 5:6. Read these words in your Bible, and mark them; and
if you go back, that mark will be a witness against you before the great
white throne, when the books are opened. Have you not lived long enough
in pleasure? Come and try the pleasures of Christ,—forgiveness and a new
heart. I have not been at a dance or any worldly amusement for many
years, and yet I believe I have had more pleasure in a single day than you
have had all your life. In what? you will say. In feeling that God loves
me,—that Christ has washed me,—and in feeling that I shall be in heaven
when the wicked are cast into hell. “A day in thy courts is better than a
thousand.”—Ps. 84:10.
I do not know what is to be the result of your anxieties. I do not know
whether you will be drawn to Christ, or driven back into the whirlpool of a
perishing world; but I know that all will soon be settled for eternity. I was
in a very wicked family to-day, where a child had died. I opened my
Bible, and explained this verse to them over the coffin of their little one:
“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” Heb.
9:27. Solemn words! we have only once to die, and the day is fixed. If you
die wrong the first time, you cannot come back to die better a second time.
If you die without Christ, you cannot come back to be converted and die a
believer,—you have but once to die. Oh! pray that you may find Christ
before death finds you. “After this the judgment.” Not, after this
purgatory. No further opportunity to be saved: “after this the judgment.”
As death leaves you, so judgment finds you. If you die unsaved, you will
be so in the judgment. May I never see you at the left hand! If I do, you
will remember how I warned you, and prayed for you, and besought you
to come to the Lord Jesus.
Come to Jesus,—He will in nowise cast you out.—Your affectionate
friend, etc.
- 1 John 5:13 - Some say that you won't know until the judgement day whether you are a child of God or not. According to this scripture you will know and by reading the entire book of 1 John you can examine yourself to see if Christ be in you.
- Daniel 11: 32 - The people that KNOW their God will be strong and do exploits.
- Matthew 7:16-23 - God will cast out those whom He never knew. You shall know those who KNOW God by their fruits. It will be evident.
- Revelation 20:11-15 - Whoever is known of God will be with Him and whoever is not known of God will be cast away from Him on Judgement Day.
Spiritual Discipline
Do you have spiritual discipline in your life just as an athlete has physical discipline? An athlete must be disciplined in how and what he eats, when and how long he practices, etc. A truly devoted athlete will give his life for his sport/team... every waking moment is given to studying the game, practicing and keeping a close eye on their physical fitness. Do you have this same sensitivity and loyalty in your spiritual life? Do you give every waking moment to God, learning how to better improve your service to Him? Do you watch what you take into your temple (body, mind, heart, and soul)?
- 2 Peter 3:14 - We are to be diligent that we be found of God without spot and blameless, in peace. Are we complacent with our current state or are we constantly working to improve our lives in service to God in order to bring Him more glory?
- 2 Timothy 4:2 - To be instant is to be enduring, ready, and active even when you're "out of season"... Have you been spiritually disciplined so that when something comes your way "out of season" you are still ready to serve the Living God? To preach here is not about getting behind a pulpit, but ready to display Christ in your life.
- Matthew 24:12 - He that shall endure until the end shall be saved. You will know who truly is of Christ by whether they endure till the end or not. If you find someone who has not endured but profess to be born again... they have not lost their salvation... they were never born again in the first place.
- Revelation 14:8-12 - The patience of the saints is seen in their endurance till the end.
- Isaiah 40:29-31 - God's children will grow weary and endure trials and tribulations but, because they truly are God's children, they will endure.
- Mark 12:30 - What are we doing to prepare our hearts to endure? Even an athlete must prepare himself for a big game or event.
- 2 Timothy 2:15 - The truly born again can come to know God closer and closer through studying His word. A workmen, or laborer, will be approved before God. It takes work but it's worth it in the end.
- John 5:39 - If you want to know God, search the scriptures... all you need to know is right there!
Ron J. - gout in his foot, shoulder pain
Jasmine M. - recovering from being sick
Carol G. - job interview on Wednesday, losing current job in April
Corinne G & baby - labor and delivery; doctors and nurses
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