Charles Spurgeon Sermon - The Loved Ones Chastened

STRONG IN THE DAY OF BATTLE

STRONG IN THE DAY OF BATTLE
[Harry Foster]

"Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" (Joshua 1:7-9).

"Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. And if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, except he have contended lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be the first to partake of the fruits. Consider what I say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel" (2 Timothy 2:1-8).

THERE is a very striking similarity between the exhortations found in the second letter to Timothy and the charge given to Joshua: "Be strong and of a good courage" -- 'Thou therefore, my child, be Strong ...'. Joshua was not a child, but he was the child, the successor, of a previous generation. The words in this first chapter were not spoken actually by Moses. In Deuteronomy 31 there are very similar words in the charge which Moses himself gave to Joshua. This was a new generation, not called upon to begin a new work, but to finish a work which had been begun.

Now, passing over into the New Testament, nor is Timothy a child, and I suppose by the time this letter was written to him he was not exactly what we would call a young man, but he too represented a new generation, a succession. Paul looked to him, and to those who were like him, to carry through the work, the testimony, that had been begun. And if you read on to chapter 3 you will immediately find the scope of this charge reaching right into the last days.

So this letter is written for all saints, but it has a special emphasis and a peculiar message to those who find themselves called upon to be a new generation, to be the instrument of pursuing a purpose [28/29] already begun, and of carrying it right through unto the last days. So the whole thought bound up with these two charges, the one to Joshua and the other to Timothy, has special reference to us who find ourselves, as undoubtedly we are, in the last days.

THE DAY OF BATTLE

The first thing that we look at for a moment is to see the circumstances which surround them, the characteristics of the time. In Joshua's case, of course, there was only one issue, only one occupation at that particular time. He was the leader of a fighting nation; and Paul, writing to Timothy, lays special emphasis on this same fact, that one of the characteristics of the hour is to be conflict, and he makes no apology for taking up as a metaphor the wars which men pursue and the occupation of a soldier -- "a good soldier of Jesus Christ". There is a battle on, nay, more than a battle. You will have noticed, if you have an Authorised Version, that it says: "No man that warreth." But the Revised Version speaks of "No soldier on service" -- no soldier on active service. There are two words used in Scripture about conflict in this military sense. One speaks of a battle, one decisive engagement fought through to a finish and then it is over, but the other (and this is the word which is used here) speaks of a campaign -- if you like, a war -- with its many phases and its many aspects, and it is that which is typical of the whole age in which we live and peculiarly characteristic of the last days. Conflict, not a straightforward 'ding-dong' battle, but with all the skirmishing, the subtlety, the long drawn-out endurance of a campaign. We are in that, but the difficulty is (and I speak for myself in this case) we so often forget what we are in. Every step that we take, especially when it has something of special value to the Lord in it, every movement, is fraught with opposition, not necessarily of the straightforward brutal kind, but opposition as of the skill, the cunning, the guiles and the force of a whole army. That tremendous army is not ranged against us alone, but we are in the battle and we very often become focal points round which it rages.

Now our difficulty is just this: we think something has happened to us, and we often get offended about it, and do not recognize, or recognize only too late, that that circumstance -- it may have been some small, irritating thing -- is only a part of a great conflict. If we hug to ourselves our own particular grief or grievance, and wonder why this has happened to us, or why we are here and why others are not in our position, we come to an absolute standstill and virtually, on that particular front, there is defeat. If we rise up and realize that this sorrow, however crushing, or this problem, however acute, or this irritation, however annoying, is just a part -- but a very real part -- of a great world-wide, nay, universal, battle, it makes it so much easier. We realize that it is not that we are being hardly dealt with by the Lord, but we have been entrusted with a definite position to hold for Him. It revolutionizes your mental outlook. For lack of that many of us have failed very badly.

And so conflict is one of the great features of the time. It will come in any kind of way, most particularly in the way which we do not expect and which we do not desire. We do not expect the enemy to choose out that particular trial that we could bear best; if we do, we have mistaken his nature. I speak out of my own heart. How true it is that we are blind and forgetful and taken off our guard again and again because we regard incidents and circumstances as things in themselves, and fail to realize that the whole scene as it is now set is one of a great, complicated campaign, and we are soldiers in the ranks.

ENDURE HARDSHIP
The next note that is sounded so much in this letter is that of suffering. If you go through the second letter to Timothy there is no cloaking of the fact, no attempt on Paul's part to make light of his own experiences, or in some cheap optimism to encourage Timothy. On the contrary, it is, again and again, to bear in mind the sufferings of his great predecessor, and himself to be prepared to suffer, as it is all a part of the campaign. Some natures can enjoy a good 'ding-dong' fight, and there is an appeal even in the word 'conflict' when it is looked upon in certain aspects. Get down to pray and deal with the thing, and you may find some satisfaction in feeling you have given the enemy a bad time. Well, that may be a part of the battle, but so often our fighting is suffering, and a case of enduring the hardness of a long drawn-out, and to us, very mysterious campaign. You cannot expect the One who is Himself at the head of His forces to take us into His confidence as to the whole of the thing that He is doing, or even, perhaps, as to our little part in it.

Things which the angels desire to look into

RICHES of J. C. PHILPOT

(Choice devotional selections
 from the works of J. C. Philpot)

Things which the angels desire to look into

"Things which the angels desire to look into." 1 Peter 1:12

To the carnal, earthly, debased, degraded mind of man—the mystery of the Person of Christ, of the cross, of the sufferings, blood-shedding, and death of Jesus, whereby He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself—is foolishness. He sees no beauty, blessedness, or glory in the Person of the Son of God—nor any wisdom or grace in atoning blood and dying love.

But not so with these bright and pure beings! They see in the Person and work of Christ not only the depths of infinite wisdom in the contrivance of the whole plan of redemption, and of power in its execution and full accomplishment—but they see such lengths, breadths, depths, and heights of love as fill their minds with holy wonder, admiration and praise. They see in His incarnation, humiliation, sufferings, blood-shedding, and death—such unspeakable treasures of mercy and grace as ever fill their minds with wonder and admiration.

What shame and confusion should cover our face that we should see so little beauty and glory in that redeeming blood and love, which fills the pure minds of the angelic beings with holy and unceasing admiration—and that they should be ever seeking and inquiring into this heavenly mystery, that they may discover in it ever new and opening treasures of the wisdom, grace, mercy, truth, and love of God—when we who profess to be redeemed by precious blood, are, for the most part, so cold and indifferent in the contemplation and admiration of it.

ON COURSE

ON COURSE
[W. E. Thompson]

"That ye may put difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean"(Leviticus 10:10).

"Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moved upon the earth. For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beast, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten" (Leviticus 11:43-47).

"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may prove the things that differ; that ye may be sincere and void of offense unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).

LOST in space could have been the fate of Apollo 13. This small craft, manned by its three occupants in a completely alien environment, depended almost entirely on external forces to which it was related to bring it safely home. Here we saw a massive combination of the knowledge centred in 'Mission Control' and the responsive judgment and actions of those within the craft. The one supreme objective was to keep it on course, which was essential to its safe arrival home.

The drama and suspense were heightened by the possible breakdown in the transmission and receiving of a mass of detail upon which action was to be based. Contact in a number of realms, moral and electronic, was vitally essential to the course being maintained.

Herein lies an important parable for the Church today. We live in a dangerous atmosphere of dishonest enquiring: 'Why should I?' 'Why shouldn't I?' 'What does it matter?' 'Who says [80/81] this is important?', etc. For the Apollo astronauts such an attitude towards 'Mission Control', or to the importance of details -- much of which they might not have understood! -- would have meant a losing of the way and a consequent death in a wilderness of space.

God has provided for us against this. In Exodus He acts; the 'blast off' is by His power alone. He delivers His people by a mighty hand. Against the humanly insuperable, gravitational pull of Egypt they are thrust forth by His power alone. But in Leviticus -- now launched -- God demands . The onus for action shifts to the vessel -- to men in an alien atmosphere destined for the place where they belong. To be kept on course means action based on an external, concentrated source of knowledge and power. 'In Him' -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- 'are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' (Colossians 2:3).

It is for this reason that the Book of Leviticus, with its massive concern for detail, is vital to the purpose of God. For those who doubt its validity or relevance, we find it quoted forty times in the New Testament. It is a fount of spiritual knowledge and truth. Cowper regarded it thus:

"Israel in ancient days

   Not only had a view

Of Sinai's blaze,

   But learned the Gospel too.

The types and figures were a glass

In which they saw the Saviour's face."

A powerful New Testament summary of its content and purpose is found in Philippians 1:9, concentrated in those three key words: 'knowledge ' (external detail), 'discernment' (inward moral choice based on knowledge), 'proving the things that differ' (putting to the test, doing the things judged to be right).

What, then, does Leviticus contain and mean?

(A) A MASSIVE CONCERN FOR DETAIL
Concerning the 'whole man', his spiritual worship and soul salvation: Chapters 1 - 4; his social behaviour and conduct: Chapter 5; his property: Chapter 6; his food: Chapter 11; his health and hygiene: Chapters 13 - 15; his family and progeny: Chapter 18; his security: Chapter 19: and so on, throughout the book.

(B) A DISTINCT RECOGNITION OF PRIORITIES
It begins where all relationships with God begin -- with true worship. This is the governing core of attitude and behaviour. This explains the God of the meticulous -- He is altogether different from His creatures. This explains the vast amount of detailed instruction as to how He is to be approached and worshipped, which relieves man of any ground for his own imagination. All must proceed from God, and this alone is found in Christ who is one fullness of the Godhead bodily, and who alone meets all the Divine requirements. Worship or prayer which disregards the Divine detail is 'strange fire' which is as destructive as the true fire is effective.

To what purpose is this waste?--Mat 26:8

 
George H. Morrison - Devotional Sermons




Today's Devotional

      Love's Wastefulness
     
      To what purpose is this waste?--Mat 26:8
     
      A Strange Deed Lives Forever
     
      The scene was Bethany, and the time was near the end. A few more days and the earthly life of Jesus would be over. Jesus and His disciples are seated at their evening meal, when a woman, whom from other sources we learn to have been Mary, did this strange deed that is to live forever. It is not always true that "the evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones." The harm that Mary did, if she did any, lies sleeping with the other gossip of the street of Bethany. This deed still lives, like a choice framework for her heart and hand. 'Tis one of those countless actions of the just, that smell sweet and blossom in the dust.
     
      A Simple Act to Express Love
     
      And the deed, however unforeseen, was very simple. It was the breaking of an alabaster box, and the pouring of the ointment on the feet of Christ. How much this Mary owed to Jesus, perhaps we shall never know. We cannot tell what a new peace had stolen upon her heart, and what a new glory had fallen upon her world, when first this guest entered her brother's home. But when her brother died, and Jesus came, and called him from the dead, and gave him back to Bethany and to Mary, why then, by any passionate thankfulness we have felt in getting back our kindred from the gates of death, we can touch the fringes of the gratitude of Mary. And that was the motive and meaning of her act. She loved Him so, she could not help it. Christ's love had broken her alienated heart. Now let it break her alabaster box. The best was not too good for Him, who had given her a new heart and a new home.
     
      This Was a Deed Only Christ Could Understand
     
      But there are deeds so fine only Christ can understand them. There are some actions so inspired, that even the saintliest disciple, leaning on Jesus' bosom, will never interpret them aright. And this was one of these. Peter, and James, and John--they understand it now, but they did not understand it then. They were indignant. It was a shocking extravagance of an impulsive woman. What need to squander so a year's wages of a working man--for the ointment never cost a penny less. If it were not needed now for Lazarus, it might have been sold and given to the poor.
     
      You call them narrow? And you are irritated by their lack of insight? Stay, brethren, there were some noble features in their indignation. And had you and I been lying at that table, I almost hope we should have fallen a-fretting too. These men could not forget, even at the feast, the gaunt and horrid form of destitution that sits forever in the chamber of the village pauper, crying aloud for clothing and for bread. It may be, too, that at their evening worship they had been reading that he who gives to the poor lends to the Lord. And had they not had it from their Master's lips that He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister? Till in the light of that, and in the remembrance of the woes of poverty, their hearts began to burn with a not so dishonourable indignation. And each began to ask his fellow, "To what purpose is this waste?"
     
      Her Wastefulness Was the Expression of Her Love
     
      But these disciples had forgotten one thing. They had forgotten that this woman's wastefulness was the native revelation of her love. There is a wasteful spending that is supremely selfish. There is a lavish giving that is disowned in heaven, because the giver is always thinking of himself. But God suspends the pettier economies, and will not brook a single murmur, when He detects the wastefulness of love. It is the genius of love to give. It is love's way to forget self and lavish everything. And Mary's way was love's way when she brake the box and poured the ointment on the feet of Christ. And being love's way, it was God's way too.

"There they dwelt with the King for His work" (I. Chron. iv. 23).

 
Days of Heaven Upon Earth Today's Devotional

      "There they dwelt with the King for His work" (I. Chron. iv. 23).
     
      It is easy for water to run down from the upper springs, but it requires a divine impulse to flow up from the valley in the nether springs. There is nothing that tells more of Christ than to see a Christian rejoicing and cheerful in the humdrum and routine of commonplace work, like the sailors that stand on the dock loading the vessel and singing as they swing their loads, keeping time with the spirit of praise to the footsteps and movements of labor and duty.
     
      No one has a sweeter or higher ministry for Christ than a business man or a serving woman who can carry the light of heaven in their faces all day long.
     
      Like the sea fowl that can plunge beneath the briny tide with its beautiful and spotless plumage, and come forth without one drop adhering to its burnished breast and glowing wings because of the subtle oil upon the plumage that keeps the water from sticking, so, thank God, we too may be so anointed with the Holy Ghost that sin, sorrow and defilement will not adhere to us, but we shall pass through every sea as the ship passes through the waves, in, but above the floods around us.

I the Lord, which Sanctify you. Lev 21:8, Lev 21:15, Lev 21:23

 
Our Daily Homily

Today's Devotional

      I the Lord, which Sanctify you. Lev 21:8, Lev 21:15, Lev 21:23
     
      This chapter is full of restrictions and cautions against anything that might defile the priests, the sons of Aaron. The holiness of God was set in a clear light by the care that there should be no ceremonial pollution or personal defect in those who ministered before His presence. What Aaron and his sons were in the ancient typical worship, that Jesus and His people are in the spiritual dispensation which has taken its place. "Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession."
     
      How holy we should be "in all manner of living"! What may be innocent and natural for others would be wrong and inconsistent in us. Even the pointing of the beard after the fashion of the nations around, and for appearance' sake, was forbidden them; and contact with death in the home of domestic mourning. These, with many such like cautions, indicate that our spiritual separation for the service of God must enter into the minutest details. The clothes we wear, the books we read, the amusements we engage in, the details of the home-life - will all be affected by the thought, "I have been set apart for God; the anointing of the Spirit is on me; I am called to offer Him the bread of a holy life; I may not do as others, who have not realized the sacredness of life, as I do; and who may permit without compunction what I forego."
     
      This is a high ideal; and it is only practicable to those who realize the thrice-made announcement of our text, that God will sanctify us: setting us apart for Himself - by the precious blood of Christ, by the anointing of the Spirit, and by the separation of our thoughts, and aims, and practices.