Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Smoke of a Thousand Villages

"I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages--villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in this world."
[Robert Moffat, Missionary to South African Interior, 19th Century]

This man saw a need, a very great need. As he peered towards the sky daily he would gaze upon smoke that ascended from the villages of tribes of men who were unknown to men and unreached for Christ. This alone kept him in the dangerous South African Interior for over half a century as he labored joyfully for the Lord, and although often at times he never met the men of these tribes he sought to reach with the Gospel, he loved them. He almost daily faced opposition and death, but such things were minor obstacles that he simply trusted in the Lord to get him through. Rough terrain, dangerous countryside, foreign tongue, extreme climates, and cannibals would not halt him in bringing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ unto lost men who were without Christ, without God, and without any hope in this world. "He had withstood medicine men like Elijah had withstood the prophets of Baal at Carmel."

Although that was almost a century ago, the smoke continues to rise, and it is rising here in our own hometowns. It is rising from the souls of men who are without Christ, without God, and without any hope in this world, and it is our duty to bring to them the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Young man. Young woman. Give up your life to Christ and spend your days laboring for Him and His glory bringing the Gospel unto lost men. We have one chance to do this.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Sweet Hour of Prayer

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
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-William Watford, 1845 [hymn]

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Heart of the Matter

I love lost men. There is absolutely nothing that can describe my deep passionate love for lost young men and woman. But the other day I was pondering this thought: how do I love them so? It is something I never really thought about or tried to give and answer to. But through prayer and studying the Word I have drawn a conclusion, and it is my desire to share with you the secret that compells a man to give up his life so that another might live.

When a man comes to Christ he denies himself, completely. The selfish and lustful man he once lived for is dead and now he lives to glorify Christ and Christ alone and his desires of are no longer His desires but rather the desires of God. And,

"God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth."
[1 Timothy 2:4]

Therefore since it is the desire of God for men to be saved it instinctively becomes the desire of the believer. The love that God has for lost men the believer now also have. But it is not just this that creates the obsession of the believer to lead others to Christ. You see, God not only loved us and desired for us to obtain salvation, but he completely gave up himself so that we might live.

"He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." [Philippians 2:7-8]

It is none other than true and absolute love that compelled our Lord to leave His glorious throne in Heaven to come to sinful earth and give His life so that sinful man might live. That is true love, for He gave up His own life that we might die to sin and live to righteousness through Christ [1 Peter 2:24].
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And just as it was the obsession of God for us to be saved, it is also our obsession to see other men saved. And just as love was so great for us that Christ was willing to die on a Cross for us, so also is our love so great for lost men that we are willing to go anywhere and suffer anything so that they may find life, true life in Christ.

"Greater love has none than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
[John 15:13]

Thursday, November 11, 2010

On Your Knees

The day has been tiring, wearisome, and long. You are tired and simply desire rest. It is late and you must wake early the next morning, so you begin making excuses to yourself as to why you should sleep. But in the middle of your selfishness a thought comes to mind, a thought of a friend, a thought of a dearly lost beloved friend who is without hope, without love, and without Christ.

And then suddenly your heart is burdened. Thoughts of eternal judgement strike pangs in your heart and your once drowsy eyes are now fully awakened. And then you hear a whisper calling, calling you to your knees.

So you fall upon your knees. The hours fly by, but you are pleading with God so intimately for the deliverance of this soul that you heed not the time. You keep praying, fighting sleep, fighting the flesh, for your love for this person has captivated your heart. But there are physical limitations, and without cause you fall asleep, still on your knees.

Time passes on and you awake and are started to find that you have drifted off. But there is not much more you can do, so you slip into bed fully trusting Christ for everything in the day to come.

Your alarm clock rings. It's early morning, before dawn, your set-apart early morning prayer time with the Lord. You quickly arise and are surprised to find strength for you thought you would be tired for you received not much sleep. But the Lord instead gave strength and zeal, so you again fall, right back on your knees.

The morning wanes on and daylight dawns and the day begins. You then see that person, that dear friend of yours to whom you love and spent the night in fervent prayer for. They pay not much attention to you, maybe a simple hey or a quick conversation about past events. But time is short and they move on.

They may never know of your love for them and your extreme longing for them to find freedom in Christ. But that is OK, for you have concluded that nothing is for yourself but rather all for them and the Glory of Christ. Deliverence is all you long for them to have, deliverence from this world and freedom in Christ.

And the day ends, night comes, and there you are again, on your knees.
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much." [James 5:16]

Monday, October 11, 2010

Revival

"The things that are impossible with men are possible with God." [Luke 18:27]

Revival through man is impossible. There is simply nothing we as men can do to lead lost men to Christ without the almighty power and aide of God Himself. For our Lord said,

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." [John 15:5]

My greatest desire is to see men be saved. I long to see young men and woman give their lives to the One who deserves all glory, to thrust everything they have and everything they are upon Him, to surrender their lives into His glorious hands and to live their every last day in utter dependence upon Him and Him alone. I long for them to say what the apostle Paul said,

"...whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." [Philippians 3:7-8]

I long to see men let go of this world and cling to Christ and Christ alone. I long for them to view all temporal things of this world as rubbish and set their hearts and minds on eternal things alone. But the only way that we shall see these things come to pass, to see men saved, and to see and take part in Revival is through Christ and Christ alone. The old hymn sings,

"In Christ alone my hope is found."

He is our only hope. There is absolutely nothing we can do to save men, nevertheless lead a Revival. Salvation is a supernatural working of God through the Holy Spirit and it is nothing that our feeble hands can bring forth. We can't even point men to Cross without aide from Him on High. But did not the apostle Paul say,

"I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me." [Philippians 4:13]

Only through Christ can we point men unto the Cross. Only through Christ can men be saved. Only Christ can bring Revival. We must hope, we must have faith, and we must pray without ceasing for His Spirit to come amidst us and to fall on us. Only He can open the eyes of men's hearts to to see His mighty saving hand and their desperate need of a Savior.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." [Isaiah 41:10]