Milo

18 JULY

Is anything too hard?

‘Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ Genesis 18:14
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Isaiah 40:27–31

Convinced souls are hard to be persuaded of forgiveness. Yet they have a sure ground to wait for it. The promises are many and explicit. But the nature of their sins, and the views they have of his justice and holiness, make them question, if not for others, yet for themselves. It is observable the mercy of God is spoken of in connection with his power—he is mighty to save, he shall come with a strong hand. Consider what the power of God has done in giving his Son, raising him from the dead, pardoning the vilest—such as Manasseh and the thief upon the cross. In the conflict with indwelling sin, some are so sorely beset, they are ready to give up hope; but read Isaiah 40:28–31. He can uphold, and he will, and show himself strong in behalf of the upright of heart. Some are distressed about their own conversion. ‘How long have I heard, how many have I seen called before me? I sometimes think, if the gospel was quite new to me, surely I should not sit so stupid under it. But I have attended so long, that it seems a thing of course.’ Come, take courage and listen again—it is a hard thing, but not too hard for the Lord. He can yet make the desert a fruitful field. Others are distressed for their friends. ‘I have prayed and hoped for my child—for my husband—but the prospect grows darker; they seem more hardened, more obstinate. Formerly the Word seemed to touch them, but now they are sermon-proof.’

FOR MEDITATION: Fear not—he will not despise the day of small things or quench the smoking flax. All things shall work together for your good. Your love to him shall sweeten all your difficulties, his love to you shall enable you to hold out, make you more than conquerors in the end and bestow on you the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love him and wait for his appearing.
Sermon on Romans 8:28, The Searcher of Hearts

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 37 [3/4], GENESIS 18:14

July 17th

The miracle of belief

My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words. 1 Cor. 2:1–5 .

Paul was a scholar and an orator of the first rank; he is not speaking out of abject humility, but saying that he would veil the power of God if, when he preached the gospel, he impressed people with his “excellency of speech.” Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the efficacy of Redemption, not by impressiveness of speech, not by wooing and winning, but by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of the Redemption comes through the preaching of the Gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher. The real fasting of the preacher is not from food, but rather from eloquence, from impressiveness and exquisite diction, from everything that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God—“as though God did beseech you by us.” He is there to present the Gospel of God, not human ideals. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the Gospel will end in making me a traitor to Jesus; I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.
“I, if I be lifted up …, will draw all men unto Me.”

July 17

“I will be still, and I will behold in my dwelling place.” (Isa. 18:4, R. V.)

ASSYRIA was marching against Ethiopia, the people of which are described as tall and smooth. And as the armies advance, God makes no effort to arrest them; it seems as though they will be allowed to work their will. He is still watching them from His dwelling place, the sun still shines on them; but before the harvest, the whole of the proud army of Assyria is smitten as easily as when sprigs are cut off by the pruning hook of the husbandman.
Is not this a marvelous conception of God—being still and watching? His stillness is not acquiescence. His silence is not consent. He is only biding His time, and will arise, in the most opportune moment, and when the designs of the wicked seem on the point of success, to overwhelm them with disaster. As we look out on the evil of the world; as we think of the apparent success of wrong-doing; as we wince beneath the oppression of those that hate us, let us remember these marvelous words about God being still and beholding.
There is another side to this. Jesus beheld His disciples toiling at the oars through the stormy night; and watched though unseen, the successive steps of the anguish of Bethany, when Lazarus slowly passed through the stages of mortal sickness, until he succumbed and was borne to the rocky tomb. But He was only waiting the moment when He could interpose most effectually. Is He still to thee? He is not unobservant; He is beholding all things; He has His finger on thy pulse, keenly sensitive to all its fluctuations. He will come to save thee when the precise moment has arrived.—Daily Devotional Commentary.
Whatever His questions or His reticences, we may be absolutely sure of an unperplexed and undismayed Saviour.

“O troubled soul, beneath the rod,
Thy Father speaks, be still, be still;
Learn to be silent unto God,
And let Him mould thee to His will.

“O praying soul, be still, be still,
He cannot break His plighted Word;
Sink down into His blessed will,
And wait in patience on the Lord.

“O waiting soul, be still, be strong,
And though He tarry, trust and wait;
Doubt not, He will not wait too long,
Fear not, He will not come too late.”

17 JULY

The promise confirmed

‘Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ Genesis 18:14
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 145:1–21

The design of this visit [by the three men] was to give a final confirmation to the promise, which was now near to an accomplishment and took place the next year. Abraham and Sarah were now both old and Sarah expressed her unbelief in a manner which showed she thought it was now impossible. For this she was reproved and weakly attempted to deny what she had said. The words of my text are added to satisfy both Abraham and Sarah that it should surely be so.
The observation that offers is this: the consideration of the power of God to make good his promises, is the great stay and support of faith under all difficulties. This was actually the support of Abraham. He staggered not because he considered that he who had promised was able also to perform [Romans 4:20–21]. And most of the fears and mistakes of the Lord’s people are owing to their not knowing or not considering the Scriptures and the power of God. Our expectations from the Lord’s power must, however, be limited by his promises, or we shall surely be disappointed. We are often so inconsistent that while we give up the hope of what is promised, we are looking for what is not. Some disquiet themselves because they cannot attain to such a complete deliverance from the effects of indwelling sin as the Scripture does not warrant us to look for. Some expect to be led just in the way they think others are led, or else suppose they cannot be right. But where has the Lord promised this as to particulars? Let us then notice how the promises run, how objections rise against them, and how we should arm ourselves with the question in my text.
FOR MEDITATION:
Yes! since God himself has said it,
As to all the doubts and questions,
On the promise I rely;
Which my spirit often grieve,
His good word demands my credit,
These are Satan’s sly suggestions,
What can unbelief reply?
And I need no answer give;
He is strong and can fulfil,
He would fain destroy my hope,
He is truth and therefore will.
But the promise bears it up.

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 37 [2/4], GENESIS 18:14

July 16th

The notion of divine control

How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? Matthew 7:11.

Jesus is laying down rules of conduct for those who have His Spirit. By the simple argument of these verses He urges us to keep our minds filled with the notion of God’s control behind everything, which means that the disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.
Notion your mind with the idea that God is there. If once the mind is notioned along that line, then when you are in difficulties it is as easy as breathing to remember—Why, my Father knows all about it! It is not an effort, it comes naturally when perplexities press. Before, you used to go to this person and that, but now the notion of the Divine control is forming so powerfully in you that you go to God about it. Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct for those who have His Spirit, and it works on this principle—God is my Father, He loves me, I shall never think of anything He will forget, why should I worry?
There are times, says Jesus, when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but trust Him. God will appear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural Father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not. Keep the notion of the mind of God behind all things strong and growing. Nothing happens in any particular unless God’s will is behind it, therefore you can rest in perfect confidence in Him. Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. “Ask, and it shall be given you.”