Month: June 2022

To the question, “… Where is the LORD God of Elijah? … ” (2 Kings 2:14), we answer, Where He has always been- on the throne! But where are the Elijah’s of God? We know Elijah “…was a man subject to like passions as we are…” (James 5: 17), but alas, we are not men or prayer as he was. One praying man stands as a majority With God.

God is by-passing men today, not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient. Brethren, our abilities are our handicaps, and our talents our stumbling blocks. Elijah came on the Old Testament stage, out of obscurity, a full-grown man.

Queen Jezebel had routed the priests of God and had replaced them with groves to false deities. Darkness covered the land, and gross darkness the people, and they were drinking iniquity like water. The land, fouled with heathen temples and idolatrous rites, saw smoke curling from a thousand cruel altars every day. All among a people who claimed Abraham as their father, and whose fore bearers had cried unto the Lord in their trouble and had been delivered out of all their distresses. How is the glory departed? The salt lost its savor? The gold become dim?

In the midst of this measureless backsliding, God raised up a man- not a committee, not a sect, nor an angel, but a man a man of like passions as we are! As then, so now, God says, “… I sought for a man …”, not to preach but to “…stand in the gap …” (Ezekiel 22:30).

Abraham and now Elijah both stood before the Lord. The blessed Holy Spirit wrote the life summary of Elijah in two words, “he prayed.” No man can do more for God or for men than that. If the church today had as many agonizers as she has advisers, we could have revival!

Praying men are our national benefactors. Elijah was such; he had heard a voice, seen a vision, tasted a power, measured an enemy, and, with God as partner, wrought a victory. The tears he shed, the soul agonies he endured, and the groans he uttered are all recorded in the book of the Chronicles of the things of God.

Then he emerged to prophesy with divine infallibility. He knew the mind of God. He – one man – strangled a nation and altered the course of nature. He stood as majestic and immovable as the mountains of Gilead as he shut up the heavens with a word. Wonderful indeed it is, when God lays hold of a man! Earth can know only one greater wonder just now, and that is when a man lays hold of God. Let Moses in the spirit groan, and God cries out, “… let me alone …” (Exodus 32:1 0). We follow Paul in doctrine, but not in suffering. We would Elijah’s accomplishments, but not his banishments.

Brethren, if we all do God’s work, in God’s way, at God’s time, with God’s power, we shall have God’s blessing. When God opens the windows of Heaven to bless us, the devil will open the door of Hell to blast us. God’s smile means the devil’s frown.

The preacher may help anybody and hurt nobody. He may go with the crowd; the prophet goes against it. A man freed, fired, and filled with God will be branded unpatriotic if he speaks against his nation’s sins. He will be labeled unkind because his tongue is a two edged sword, and unbalanced because the weight of preaching opinion is against him.

The preacher will be heralded, the prophet hounded. We love the old saints, missionaries, and martyrs and will read their biographies, reverence their memories, frame their epitaphs – do anything except followtheir example. We cherish the last drop of their blood, but watch carefully the first drop of our own.

John the Baptist did well to evade prison for six months. He and Elijah would not last six weeks in the streets of our modem cities. They would be cast into prison or some mental institution for not muting their message. The difficulties to world evangelism are legion, but difficulties give way to determined men.

Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?

Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through?

God specializes in things thought impossible,

And He can do what no other one can do.

The price is high. God does not want partnership with us, but ownership of us. Elijah lived with God, thought like God about sin, grieved over sin, and spoke against sin. He was all passion in his prayers, and passionate in his denunciation of evil in the land. He did no smooth preaching. Passion fired his preaching, and his words were on the hearts of men as molten metal would be on their flesh.

Do you lack faith? The great nineteenth century English preacher, C. H. Spurgeon, described it this way:

Knowledge comes first. Drink deep of the doctrine that Christ died in our behalf; for therein lies the sweetest possible comfort to the guilty, since God “… made him to be sin for us … that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Believe that these things are true; that His sacrifice is complete and fully accepted, so that he that believeth on Jesus is not condemned. Believe the witness of God, just as you believe the testimony of your own father or friend. “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater … “ (1 John 5:9).

One more ingredient is needed – trust. Rest your hope on the gracious Gospel; trust your soul to the dying and living Saviour. Faith believes that Christ will do what He has promised; that since He has cast out none that came to Him, it is certain that He will not cast us out if we come to Him.

The great matter is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ at once. There are, no doubt, many at this hour in Hell who understood the doctrine of faith, but did not believe. On the other hand, not one who has trusted the Lord Jesus has ever been cast out. Receive the Lord Jesus into your soul, and you shall live forever! “… He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).

Is not wild or careless.

“Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you” (Titus 2:8).

Is not off-color.

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks” (Ephesians 5 :3-4).

Is not mere idle chatter.

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

Is characterized by simple honesty.

“But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:12).

Is marked by conscious restraint.

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain” (James 1 :26).

Is not abusive.

” … whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22).

Is pleasant and good humored.

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31 ).

Is worth while.

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

A prayer we all need to pray.

“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear tohear as the learned. The Lord Goo hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back … For the Lord GOD will help me … and I know that I shall not be ashamed” (Isaiah 50:4-7).

These verses relate directly to our Lord Jesus Christ. They show His marvelous adequacy as God’s representative among men, and they show the method by which He became so proficient as God’s servant. This revelation, however, has also a very practical lesson for you and me, for it sets a pattern for us as human servants of the Lord Jesus. We find here how He became a servant, and learn how to follow in His way and become something of what He was among men. These verses set before us the law of spiritual proficiency – proficiency in spiritual conquest-in the actual task of winning men to Christ.

We find first of all a remarkable statement, ” … that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary … ” (verse 4). How much we need that ability this very day! The statement reveals the meaning of spiritual proficiency, for it unveils wisdom on the highest plane, working as we meet men in the daily contest. It does not speak of knowledge alone. We need not only to know; we need to know how if we are going to become efficient servants for Jesus Christ. How few Christians today exhibit in any real degree the “know-how” set forth in our text!

SPIRITUAL “KNOW-HOW”

True spiritual adequacy is a combination of three factors: first of all, knowledge; second, discernment; and third, expression. The knowledge of the facts is first, that is, the knowledge of God and His Word. Then comes discernment – the ability to see which facts apply to a given case of need, to know God’s Word for the hour in dealing with a soul. Then lastly, the ability to express the facts applicable to the case in hand.

These three factors are all set forth in the text. “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue ... ” – these words were uttered primarily concerning the Lord Jesus. He had the authority to express the truth of God clearly and fully. Second, it is” … the tongue of the learned … ” that God has given. Some people possess a tongue, but what they say is absolutely empty. Here is the tongue of one able to express facts that are spiritual, that move hearts, being bound up in the Word of God. Lastly, He has ” … given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how … ” That requires spiritual intuition – the ability to say the thing that has to be said at the moment, the ” … word in season ... ” for the specific need.

Our verse states that the Lord wakens me daily, ” … morning by morning … ” He wakens mine ear ” ... as the learned.” In other words, God instructs me through prayer and communion with Himself. That which makes a man able to meet the needs of others is first of all a consistent and constant prayer life. You may not have thought that your failure to meet the need of a soul was because you had failed to have your own private devotions before the living God, but men who do not pray do not win souls.

Those whom God has greatly used to help and instruct others spiritually have been men and women of prayer. We acclaim them, we honour them, we speak of them often; yet we seldom follow their footsteps. Think of Moses, of whom the Bible record states, ” … he fell upon his face” (Numbers 16:4) in prayer before the Lord. Paul, in practically every epistle, writes something like this, ” ... making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:16) ” … with many tears … ” (2 Corinthians 2:4). Unless we deliberately make room for prayer, our lives are going to be inadequate in influencing souls and reaching them for Christ.

It is said that George Muller spent from 4 A.M. to 6 A.M. everyday alone with God in prayer. The rising sun in China never found Hudson Taylor in bed. “Praying” Hyde while in England, went to hear Chapman who was a great preacher. Mr. Hyde rented a room and gave himself to prayer. God sent a mighty revival. If we would have the ” … word in season … ” for him that is weary, we must respond to the call of prayer.

You can be a winner of souls! If you will discipline yourself to wait upon God, He will give you intimacy with Himself that will be your sufficiency in the hour that you need it. You must wait on the Lord, not only to have fellowship with Him and to obtain wisdom in the hour of need, but also to obtain direction.

For effective Christian service, we must be in the will of God. God has a place for each of us, but how shall we know that place? On our faces before Him, that which is hidden becomes light. He instructs our ear, and then, on our part, comes the discipline of obedience. ” … I was not rebellious … “, says the writer, ” … neither turned away back.”

Do you follow the Lord’s direction? Have we learned obedience? God will never make the pathway so concrete that we shall not need to take a step of faith. We must launch out, trusting God. He will give the whisper in our ear, and we will have sufficient guidance.

Unless you are willing to take His way, you will have no capacity to respond to a soul in need. Jesus ” … must needs go … ” (John 4:4) by way of Samaria to meet and win the woman at the well. Philip must needs leave even a revival and move southward till He came into contact with the Ethiopian eunuch. God lead him directly to a soul in need.

UNEMBARRASSED FREEDOM OF SPEECH

There is a further indispensable law for proficiency in communicating spiritual life. ” … I hid not my face from shame and spitting … ! set my face like a flint…” God unveils Himself in spiritual power when we meet with unbendable courage the opposition that comes to us in the work of reaching the lost for Christ. We need unembarrassed freedom of speech. Men are going to oppose what we say. That very fact upsets us so that we cannot speak. We are bound by fear of being treated impolitely by others. God is able to strengthen us so that we can stand up to these things and to real persecution, if need be, for His name’s sake.

Do we know the discipline of courage? Some people carry their feelings so much on the surface that the slightest little thing off ends them. The Lord can produce in us an unbending, non-critical attitude, so that even if exposed to scorn and reproach, we will be able to take it. Can you take it?

Sometimes right at home, in the most intimate relationships of life, we need to be victorious and to receive from God a freedom from self so that we can witness.

Abounding, living confidence in God is a final qualifying factor for proficiency in spiritual conquest – abounding confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and His ability to meet the needs of men through the preaching of the Word of God.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Gon, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11).

If there was ever a time in our history when men needed to hear and heed the Word of God, it is today. If God forbid! If the Word of God isn’t enough to bring God’s people to the house of God, nothing else should be used in its place. What we need is not a change of our church services, but a change of heart. We don’t need entertainment in our churches, we need old fashioned “hell-fire-and-brimstone” preaching, and a dedicated, consecrated, and repentant congregation to take the words into their heart. Church members who think they are doing God a favour by being in church need to wake up to the fact that it is a precious privilege to hear God’s Word proclaimed, and to be careful not to be caught up in the great famine of the day: a famine of the Word of God. There ever was a time when the preacher needed to proclaim the “whole counsel of God,” it is today. Instead, there is a famine in the land. Folks who used to love to come to church and hear God’s Word preached, no longer care for it. People who used to be able to quote passages of Scripture without hesitation, can hardly find the books of the Bible. Why? Because the average church member has no hunger for spiritual things any more. Evidence of this is our evening attendance. Evidence of this is the cold, blank, ignorant stare the preacher gets when preaching on even the simple, basic doctrines of the Bible.

The church member who reveals a deep, sincere hunger for Bible preaching is the exception to the rule now-a-days. Some churches have gone into the entertainment business. They put on a “show” for those who come. Other churches have great “give-away” schemes, giving prizes to those who attend, in order to show a “big” attendance

for the day.

God forbid! If the Word of God isn’t enough to bring God’s people to the house of God, nothing else should be used in its place. What we need is not a change of our church services, but a change of heart. We don’t need entertainment in our churches, we need old fashioned “hell-fire-and-brimstone” preaching, and a dedicated, consecrated, and repentant congregation to take the words into their heart. Church members who think they are doing God a favour by being in church need to wake up to the fact that it is a precious privilege to hear God’s Word proclaimed, and to be careful not to be caught up in the great famine of the day: a famine of the Word of God.