My Responsibility
What we need in our churches to give them power and the highest usefulness - is the grasping and realizing of the thought of individual responsibility. A church is nothing but an aggregation of individuals. The life of the church is simply the life of all its individual members working together in one organized body. The zeal of a church, is simply the zeal of all its members fused and burning together. The devotion of a church is a hundred, or a few hundred, coals glowing upon one altar. The good works of a church are simply the extent of his own power - every member, even the humblest, is responsible for the life, activity, prosperity, and usefulness of the church to which he belongs.
Take up a single point of responsibility from the many that attach to individual church membership. The truth should be realized that all revival and spiritual quickening in the church, must come through individual hearts. We deplore the coldness of the church, its languishing devotion, its diminishing fervor and zeal, its spiritual deadness and lethargy. We sing revival songs. We pray revival prayers. We preach revival sermons. yet we wonder why revival never comes.
But how is it in the individual hearts - has the revival begun there yet? Everybody is looking after the condition of the church so intently - that he has no time to look after his own heart. We need more Nathans to talk parables to our delinquent Davids, and by their pungent home-thrust, "You are the man!" - to drive them to their closets, to their Bibles, to their God, and to the care of their own hearts!
The best thing any man can do toward the cultivation of a state or country - is to cultivate well his own farm, or his own field or garden. He would not be a very useful man who would spend his time in finding fault with his neighbor's farming, or with the general state of agriculture - and allow his own field to become overgrown with weeds and thorns.
And the same is true of the church. The only revival that will bless the church - is that which shall begin in the individual hearts of the church membership. And the very first thing for every Christian to do, is to secure the quickening and reviving of his own spiritual life.
Hence every Christian owes it to the Master and to his church, to live in close communion with God, to walk in the Spirit, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The great river that flows through the valley, and bears a nation's wealth on its bosom - is born of the ten thousand springs that flow out upon the hillside and mountains, and burst up in the meadows and fields.
In the same way, the great power of a strong and noble Christian church - is born of the hearts of its individual members. The springs which compose it flow out of the secret closets, and from under the family altars of the people.
There is nothing therefore, which tells so fatally upon the spirituality of a church - as its decay of home religion and closet devotion. It affects the river. Every Christian owes it then, to Christ to make his home religion holy and heavenly. It is to be feared that the family altar is crumbling down in too many Christian households, that the old Bible is gathering dust on the shelf, and that home piety is losing its vigor and life.
A traveler tells of tarrying for a night in a village among the mountains and lakes of Scotland, and witnessing this beautiful scene. At nightfall, suddenly, every villager disappeared from the streets. There was scarcely one to be seen. And when he asked where they had all gone, the answer was, "They have gone to family prayers, sir." What a holy scene - a whole village bowing at the same hour in their evening prayers! Could this be realized in all the homes of every Christian church in the land - what rich blessings would flow out into the churches!
Then still behind the family altar, as a spring of spiritual power - is the secret closet of prayer and communion. Many a precious revival, which has resulted in the most glorious blessing for the church and to the world - has been the open answer to the secret cries of the closet. What a mighty power would a whole church of wrestling Jacobs be!!
It is back in these hidden springs, that revival must begin - and out of these secret fountains, that spiritual power in the church must flow. Revival is a personal matter. Every member is responsible for the life of the church. Every member should look well to his own heart. Let each keep his own little garden - and there will be no neglected spots in the great vineyard of God!
~J. R. Miller~
(The End)
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Luke Chapter 21 # 10
Luke Chapter 21 # 10
Let us learn secondly from these verses - the exceeding suddenness of our Lord's second coming. We read, "that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!" It will come as a trap falling suddenly on an animal, and catching it in a moment - as the lightning flash shining suddenly in the sky, before the thunder is heard - as a thief coming suddenly in the night, and not giving notice that he will come - so sudden, so instantaneous will the second coming of the Son of man be!
The precise date of our Lord Jesus Christ's return to this world, has been purposely withheld from us by God. "Of that day and hour - no man knows." On one point however, all the teaching of Scripture about it is clear and unmistakable. Whenever it shall take place - it will be a most sudden and unexpected event. The business of the world shall be going on as usual. As in the days of Sodom, and the days before the flood - men shall be "eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage." Few, even among true believers, shall be found completely alive to the great fact, and living in a state of thorough expectation.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the whole course of the world shall be stopped. The King of kings shall appear. The dead shall be raised. The living shall be changed. Unbelief shall wither away. Truth shall be known too late by myriads! The world with all its trifles and shadows shall be thrust aside. Eternity with all its solemn realities shall begin. All this shall begin at once, without notice, without warning, without note of preparation. "That day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!"
The servant of God must surely see that there is only one state of mind which befits the man who believes these things. That state is one of perpetual preparedness to meet Christ. The Gospel does not call us to retire from earthly callings, or neglect the duties of our stations. It does not bid us to retire into hermitages, or live the life of a monk or a nun. But it does bid us to like like men who expect their Lord to return! Repentance toward God, faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and holiness of conduct - are the only true habitual preparations required. The Christian who knows these things by experience - is the man who is always ready to meet his Lord.
Let us learn, lastly, from these verses - the special duties of believers in the prospect of the second coming of Christ. Our Lord sums up these duties under two great heads. One of these two is watchfulness. The other is prayer. "Watch therefore," He says, "and pray always."
We are to "watch." We are to live on our guard like men in an enemy's country. We are to remember that evil is about us, and near us, and in us - that we have to contend daily with a treacherous heart, an ensnaring world, and a busy devil! Remembering this, we must put on the whole armor of God, and beware of spiritual drowsiness. "Let us not sleep as other do," says Paul, "but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. 5:6).
We are to "pray always." We are to keep up a constant habit of real, sincere prayer. We are to speak with God daily, and hold daily communion with Him about our souls. We are to pray especially for grace to lay aside every weight, and to cast away everything which may interfere with readiness to meet our Lord. Above all, we are to watch our habits of devotion with a godly jealousy, and to beware of hurrying over or shortening our prayers.
Let us leave the whole passage with a hearty determination, by God's help, to act on what we have been reading. If we believe that Christ is coming again - then let us get ready to meet Him. "If we know these things - happy are we if we do them" (John 13:17).
~J. C. Ryle~
(The End)
Let us learn secondly from these verses - the exceeding suddenness of our Lord's second coming. We read, "that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!" It will come as a trap falling suddenly on an animal, and catching it in a moment - as the lightning flash shining suddenly in the sky, before the thunder is heard - as a thief coming suddenly in the night, and not giving notice that he will come - so sudden, so instantaneous will the second coming of the Son of man be!
The precise date of our Lord Jesus Christ's return to this world, has been purposely withheld from us by God. "Of that day and hour - no man knows." On one point however, all the teaching of Scripture about it is clear and unmistakable. Whenever it shall take place - it will be a most sudden and unexpected event. The business of the world shall be going on as usual. As in the days of Sodom, and the days before the flood - men shall be "eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage." Few, even among true believers, shall be found completely alive to the great fact, and living in a state of thorough expectation.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the whole course of the world shall be stopped. The King of kings shall appear. The dead shall be raised. The living shall be changed. Unbelief shall wither away. Truth shall be known too late by myriads! The world with all its trifles and shadows shall be thrust aside. Eternity with all its solemn realities shall begin. All this shall begin at once, without notice, without warning, without note of preparation. "That day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!"
The servant of God must surely see that there is only one state of mind which befits the man who believes these things. That state is one of perpetual preparedness to meet Christ. The Gospel does not call us to retire from earthly callings, or neglect the duties of our stations. It does not bid us to retire into hermitages, or live the life of a monk or a nun. But it does bid us to like like men who expect their Lord to return! Repentance toward God, faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and holiness of conduct - are the only true habitual preparations required. The Christian who knows these things by experience - is the man who is always ready to meet his Lord.
Let us learn, lastly, from these verses - the special duties of believers in the prospect of the second coming of Christ. Our Lord sums up these duties under two great heads. One of these two is watchfulness. The other is prayer. "Watch therefore," He says, "and pray always."
We are to "watch." We are to live on our guard like men in an enemy's country. We are to remember that evil is about us, and near us, and in us - that we have to contend daily with a treacherous heart, an ensnaring world, and a busy devil! Remembering this, we must put on the whole armor of God, and beware of spiritual drowsiness. "Let us not sleep as other do," says Paul, "but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. 5:6).
We are to "pray always." We are to keep up a constant habit of real, sincere prayer. We are to speak with God daily, and hold daily communion with Him about our souls. We are to pray especially for grace to lay aside every weight, and to cast away everything which may interfere with readiness to meet our Lord. Above all, we are to watch our habits of devotion with a godly jealousy, and to beware of hurrying over or shortening our prayers.
Let us leave the whole passage with a hearty determination, by God's help, to act on what we have been reading. If we believe that Christ is coming again - then let us get ready to meet Him. "If we know these things - happy are we if we do them" (John 13:17).
~J. C. Ryle~
(The End)
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Luke Chapter 21 # 9
Luke Chapter 21 # 9
Let us turn from the study of these verses with a deep conviction that the second coming of Christ is one of the leading truths of Christianity. Let the Christ in whom we believe be not only the Christ who suffered on Calvary - but the Christ who is coming again in person to judge the earth!
Section 125. Watch and Pray! Luke 21:34-38
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear Him.
These verses from the practical conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ's great prophetic discourse. They supply a striking answer to those who condemn the study of unfulfilled prophecy, as speculative and unprofitable. It would be difficult to find a passage more practical, direct, plain, and heart-searching than that which is now before our eyes.
Let us learn from these verses - the spiritual danger to which even the holiest believers are exposed in this world. Our Lord says to His disciples, "Watch out! Or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life - and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!"
These words are exceeding startling. They were not addressed to carnal-minded Pharisees, or skeptical Sadducees, or worldly Herodians. They were addressed to Peter, James, and John, and the whole company of the Apostles. They were addressed to men who had given up everything for Christ's sake, and had proved the reality of their faith by loving obedience and steady adhesion to their Master. Yet even to them, our Lord holds out the peril of carousing, and drunkenness, and worldliness! Even to them He says, "Watch out!"
The exhortation before us should teach us the immense importance of humility. There is no sin so great - but a great saint may fall into it.
There is no saint so great - but he may fall into a great sin. Noah escaped the pollutions of the world before the flood - and yet he was afterwards overtaken by drunkenness. Abraham was the father of the faithful - and yet through unbelief he said falsely that Sarah was his sister. Lot did not take part in the horrible wickedness of Sodom - and yet he afterwards fell into foul sin in the cave. Moses was the meekest man on earth - and yet he so lost self-control that he spoke angrily and unadvisedly. David was a man after God's own heart - and yet he plunged into most heinous adultery.
These examples are all deeply instructive. They all show the wisdom of our Lord's warning in the passage before us. They teach us to be "clothed with humility." "Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall." (1 Peter 5:5; 1 Cor. 10:12).
The exhortation before us should teach us the great importance of an unworldly spirit. The "cares of this life" are placed side by side with carousing and drunkenness.
Excess in eating and drinking, is not the only excess which injures the soul! There is an excessive anxiety about the innocent things of this life - which is just as ruinous to our spiritual prosperity, and just as poisonous to the soul.
Never, never let us forget - that we may make spiritual shipwreck on lawful things - as really and truly as on open vices! Happy is he who has learned to hold the things of this world with a loose hand, and to believe that seeking first the kingdom of God, "all other things shall be added to him!" (Matthew 6:33).
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 10)
Let us turn from the study of these verses with a deep conviction that the second coming of Christ is one of the leading truths of Christianity. Let the Christ in whom we believe be not only the Christ who suffered on Calvary - but the Christ who is coming again in person to judge the earth!
Section 125. Watch and Pray! Luke 21:34-38
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear Him.
These verses from the practical conclusion of our Lord Jesus Christ's great prophetic discourse. They supply a striking answer to those who condemn the study of unfulfilled prophecy, as speculative and unprofitable. It would be difficult to find a passage more practical, direct, plain, and heart-searching than that which is now before our eyes.
Let us learn from these verses - the spiritual danger to which even the holiest believers are exposed in this world. Our Lord says to His disciples, "Watch out! Or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life - and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap!"
These words are exceeding startling. They were not addressed to carnal-minded Pharisees, or skeptical Sadducees, or worldly Herodians. They were addressed to Peter, James, and John, and the whole company of the Apostles. They were addressed to men who had given up everything for Christ's sake, and had proved the reality of their faith by loving obedience and steady adhesion to their Master. Yet even to them, our Lord holds out the peril of carousing, and drunkenness, and worldliness! Even to them He says, "Watch out!"
The exhortation before us should teach us the immense importance of humility. There is no sin so great - but a great saint may fall into it.
There is no saint so great - but he may fall into a great sin. Noah escaped the pollutions of the world before the flood - and yet he was afterwards overtaken by drunkenness. Abraham was the father of the faithful - and yet through unbelief he said falsely that Sarah was his sister. Lot did not take part in the horrible wickedness of Sodom - and yet he afterwards fell into foul sin in the cave. Moses was the meekest man on earth - and yet he so lost self-control that he spoke angrily and unadvisedly. David was a man after God's own heart - and yet he plunged into most heinous adultery.
These examples are all deeply instructive. They all show the wisdom of our Lord's warning in the passage before us. They teach us to be "clothed with humility." "Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall." (1 Peter 5:5; 1 Cor. 10:12).
The exhortation before us should teach us the great importance of an unworldly spirit. The "cares of this life" are placed side by side with carousing and drunkenness.
Excess in eating and drinking, is not the only excess which injures the soul! There is an excessive anxiety about the innocent things of this life - which is just as ruinous to our spiritual prosperity, and just as poisonous to the soul.
Never, never let us forget - that we may make spiritual shipwreck on lawful things - as really and truly as on open vices! Happy is he who has learned to hold the things of this world with a loose hand, and to believe that seeking first the kingdom of God, "all other things shall be added to him!" (Matthew 6:33).
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 10)
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Luke Chapter 21 # 8
Luke Chapter 21 # 8
However terrible the signs of Christ's second coming may be to the impenitent - they need not strike terror into the heart of the true believer. They ought rather to fill him with joy. They ought to remind him that his complete deliverance from sin, the world and the devil - is close at hand; and that he shall soon bid an eternal farewell to sickness, sorrow, death and temptation!
The very day when the unconverted man shall lose everything - shall be the day when the believer shall enter on his eternal reward. The very hour when the worldly man's hopes shall perish - shall be the hour when the believer's hope shall be exchanged for joyful certainty and full possession.
The servant of God should often look forward to Christ's second coming. He will find the thought of that day to be a cordial to sustain him under all the trials and persecutions of this present life. "Yet a little while," let him remember, "and he who shall come - will come and will not tarry.' The words of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, "He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces - and will remove the disgrace of His people." One sure method for a patient spirit, is to expect little from this world, and to be ever waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We see, thirdly, in this passage - how needful it is to watch the signs of the times in the prospect of the second coming of Christ. Our Lord teaches this lesson by a parable, "Behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening - you know that the kingdom of God is near!" The disciples ignorantly supposed that Messiah's kingdom would be ushered in by universal peace. Our Lord, on the contrary, tells them that the signs which shall immediately precede it shall be wars, confusions, perplexity, and distress.
The general duty which these words should teach us, is very plain. We are to observe carefully the public events of the times in which we live. We are not to be absorbed in politics - but we are to mark political events. We are not to become prophets ourselves - but we are to study diligently the signs of our times. So doing, the day of Christ will not come upon us entirely unawares.
Are there any signs in our own day? Are there any circumstances in the world around us which specially demand the believer's attention? Beyond doubt there are very many. The drying up of the Turkish empire - the revival of the Roman church - the awakened desire of the Protestant churches to preach the Gospel to the heathen - the general interest in the state of the Jews - the universal shaking of governments and established institutions - the rise and progress of the subtlest forms of infidelity - all, all are signs peculiar to our day. All should make us remember our Lord's words about the fig tree. All should make us think of the text, "Behold, I am coming quickly." (Revelation 22:7).
We see, lastly, in this passage - how certain it is that all our Lord's predictions about the second coming will be fulfilled. Our Lord speaks as if He foresaw the unbelief and incredulity of man on this mighty subject. He knew how ready people would be to say "Improbable! impossible! The world will always go on as it has done." He arms His disciples against the infection of this skeptical spirit by a very solemn saying. "Heaven and earth shall pass away - but My words shall never pass away."
We shall do well to remember this saying, whenever we are thrown into the company of those who sneer at unfulfilled prophecy. The sneers of unbelievers, must not be allowed to shake our faith. If God has said a thing - then He will certainly bring it to pass. The probability or possibility of it, are matters which need not trouble us for a moment. That Christ should come again in power to judge the world and reign - is not half so improbable as it was that Christ would come to suffer and die. If He came the first time - then much more may we expect that He will come the second time. If He came to be nailed to the Cross - then much more may we expect that He will come in glory and wear the crown. He has said it, and He will do it. "His words shall never pass away."
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 9)
However terrible the signs of Christ's second coming may be to the impenitent - they need not strike terror into the heart of the true believer. They ought rather to fill him with joy. They ought to remind him that his complete deliverance from sin, the world and the devil - is close at hand; and that he shall soon bid an eternal farewell to sickness, sorrow, death and temptation!
The very day when the unconverted man shall lose everything - shall be the day when the believer shall enter on his eternal reward. The very hour when the worldly man's hopes shall perish - shall be the hour when the believer's hope shall be exchanged for joyful certainty and full possession.
The servant of God should often look forward to Christ's second coming. He will find the thought of that day to be a cordial to sustain him under all the trials and persecutions of this present life. "Yet a little while," let him remember, "and he who shall come - will come and will not tarry.' The words of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, "He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces - and will remove the disgrace of His people." One sure method for a patient spirit, is to expect little from this world, and to be ever waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We see, thirdly, in this passage - how needful it is to watch the signs of the times in the prospect of the second coming of Christ. Our Lord teaches this lesson by a parable, "Behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening - you know that the kingdom of God is near!" The disciples ignorantly supposed that Messiah's kingdom would be ushered in by universal peace. Our Lord, on the contrary, tells them that the signs which shall immediately precede it shall be wars, confusions, perplexity, and distress.
The general duty which these words should teach us, is very plain. We are to observe carefully the public events of the times in which we live. We are not to be absorbed in politics - but we are to mark political events. We are not to become prophets ourselves - but we are to study diligently the signs of our times. So doing, the day of Christ will not come upon us entirely unawares.
Are there any signs in our own day? Are there any circumstances in the world around us which specially demand the believer's attention? Beyond doubt there are very many. The drying up of the Turkish empire - the revival of the Roman church - the awakened desire of the Protestant churches to preach the Gospel to the heathen - the general interest in the state of the Jews - the universal shaking of governments and established institutions - the rise and progress of the subtlest forms of infidelity - all, all are signs peculiar to our day. All should make us remember our Lord's words about the fig tree. All should make us think of the text, "Behold, I am coming quickly." (Revelation 22:7).
We see, lastly, in this passage - how certain it is that all our Lord's predictions about the second coming will be fulfilled. Our Lord speaks as if He foresaw the unbelief and incredulity of man on this mighty subject. He knew how ready people would be to say "Improbable! impossible! The world will always go on as it has done." He arms His disciples against the infection of this skeptical spirit by a very solemn saying. "Heaven and earth shall pass away - but My words shall never pass away."
We shall do well to remember this saying, whenever we are thrown into the company of those who sneer at unfulfilled prophecy. The sneers of unbelievers, must not be allowed to shake our faith. If God has said a thing - then He will certainly bring it to pass. The probability or possibility of it, are matters which need not trouble us for a moment. That Christ should come again in power to judge the world and reign - is not half so improbable as it was that Christ would come to suffer and die. If He came the first time - then much more may we expect that He will come the second time. If He came to be nailed to the Cross - then much more may we expect that He will come in glory and wear the crown. He has said it, and He will do it. "His words shall never pass away."
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 9)
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