Milo

June 19

“Bread corn is bruised.” (Isa. 28:28.)

MANY of us cannot be used to become food for the world’s hunger until we are broken in Christ’s hands. “Bread corn is bruised.” Christ’s blessing ofttimes means sorrow, but even sorrow is not too great a price to pay for the privilege of touching other lives with benediction. The sweetest things in this world today have come to us through tears and pain.” J. R. Miller.
God has made me bread for His elect, and if it be needful that the bread must be ground in the teeth of the lion to feed His children, blessed be the name of the Lord.
—Ignatius.
“We must burn out before we can give out. We cease to bless when we cease to bleed.”
“Poverty, hardship and misfortune have pressed many a life to moral heroism and spiritual greatness. Difficulty challenges energy and perseverance. It calls into activity the strongest qualities of the soul. It was the weights on father’s old clock that kept it going. Many a head wind has been utilized to make port. God has appointed opposition as an incentive to faith and holy activity.
“The most illustrious characters of the Bible were bruised and threshed and ground into bread for the hungry. Abraham’s diploma styles him as ‘the father of the faithful.’ That was because he stood at the head of his class in affliction and obedience.
“Jacob suffered severe threshings and grindings. Joseph was bruised and beaten and had to go through Potiphar’s kitchen and Egypt’s prison to get to his throne.
“David, hunted like a partridge on the mountain, bruised, weary and footsore, was ground into bread for a kingdom. Paul never could have been bread for Caesar’s household if he had not endured the bruising, whippings and stonings. He was ground into fine flour for the royal family.”
“Like combat, like victory. If for you He has appointed special trials, be assured that in His heart He has kept for you a special place. A soul sorely bruised is a soul elect.”

19 JUNE

Finding true happiness

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ Matthew 5:3
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 5:1–12

The desire of happiness is natural to man, but all are bewildered and disappointed in the present, except those who are enriched and taught by the Spirit of God to seek it by Christ Jesus. He came down from heaven that by his doctrine in life and death he might correct our mistakes concerning happiness and show us wherein it consists, how it is to be attained, and remove every obstacle that would deprive us of the possession. Full happiness is not upon earth, it is only to be expected in the kingdom of heaven, and true happiness in any degree is restrained to them who by his grace are brought into his appointed way to that kingdom. His people are happy here in comparison with others and shall be happy for ever. They derive their title from his blood, their temper and characters from his Spirit. These heavenly and gracious tempers are enumerated here, but they are never found singly or separate. Whoever has truly one, has received the seeds of them all, though they are not equally called out to lively exercise at all times and in all persons. Whoever is entirely destitute of any one, is destitute of the rest. May the Spirit of God help us to examine ourselves by this test for our consolation, conviction, and instruction in righteousness.

FOR MEDITATION: But I find among these illiterate and uninformed people, some who are truly wise, wise unto salvation. They know themselves, they know the Lord. The know the summum bonum, the true happiness of man, wherein it consists and how it is to be obtained. They have learnt to taste the goodness of God in their brown bread, to be content and satisfied with a low estate—to cast all their cares upon God, and to be assured that he careth for them. They know how to obtain an audience of the King of kings. They have more in hand than the world can either give or take away.151
John Newton to William Wilberforce, 19 June 1794

SERMON: MATTHEW 5:3 [1/3]

June 18th

Don’t think now, take the road

And Peter … walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid. Matthew 14:29–30 .

The wind was actually boisterous, the waves were actually high, but Peter did not see them at first. He did not reckon with them, he simply recognized his Lord, and stepped out in recognition of Him and walked on the water. Then he began to reckon with the actual things, and down he went instantly. Why could not our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves as well as on the top of them? Neither could be done saving by recognition of the Lord Jesus.
We step right out on God over some things, then self-consideration enters in and down we go. If you are recognizing your Lord, you have no business with where He engineers your circumstances. The actual things are, but immediately you look at them you are overwhelmed, you cannot recognize Jesus, and the rebuke comes: “Wherefore didst thou doubt?” Let actual circumstances be what they may, keep recognizing Jesus, maintain complete reliance on Him.
If you debate for a second when God has spoken, it is all up. Never begin to say—‘Well, I wonder if He did speak?’ Be reckless immediately, fling it all out on Him. You do not know when His voice will come, but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon. It is only by abandon that you recognize Him. You will only realize His voice more clearly by recklessness.

June 18

“Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” (Heb. 12:12, 13.)

THIS is God’s word of encouragement to us to lift up the hands of faith, and confirm the knees of prayer. Often our faith grows tired, languid, and relaxed, and our prayers lose their force and effectiveness.
The figure used here is a very striking one. The idea seems to be that we become discouraged and so timid that a little obstacle depresses and frightens us, and we are tempted to walk around it, and not face it: to take the easier way.
Perhaps it is some physical trouble that God is ready to heal, but the exertion is hard, or it is easier to secure some human help, or walk around in some other way.
There are many ways of walking around emergencies instead of going straight through them. How often we come up against something that appalls us, and we want to evade the issue with the excuse:
“I am not quite ready for that now.” Some sacrifice is to be made, some obedience demanded, some Jericho to be taken, some soul that we have not the courage to claim and carry through, some prayer that is hanging fire, or perhaps some physical trouble that is half healed and we are walking around it.
God says, “Lift up the hands that hang down.” March straight through the flood, and lo, the waters will divide, the Red Sea will open, the Jordan will part, and the Lord will lead you through to victory.
Don’t let your feet “be turned out of the way,” but let your body “be healed,” your faith strengthened. Go right ahead and leave no Jericho behind you unconquered and no place where Satan can say that he was too much for you. This is a profitable lesson and an intensely practical one. How often have we been in that place. Perhaps you are there today.
—A. B. Simpson.

Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible. Plough ahead as a steamer does, rough or smooth—rain or shine. To carry your cargo and make your port is the point.
—Maltbie D. Babcock.

18 JUNE

Providential preparation

‘The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.’ Isaiah 40:3–4
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Luke 2:1–20

A way was prepared for the Messiah in providence:
(i) by Alexander’s conquests, which spread the knowledge of the Greek language among many nations—and the Scriptures being afterwards translated into Greek became more common. An expectation of some Great Deliverer was raised far and wide, and the Messiah became in this sense the desire of many nations.
(ii) by the establishment and growth of the Roman power, which was in its height at our Lord’s birth; the principal part of the then known world was united in one empire—and as all the provinces were connected with Rome, an intercourse was opened on every side for the reception of the truth.
(iii) by John’s ministry and its effects. These were so great that John himself seems to have been astonished at the numbers and character of those who came to his baptism.
It was to Judea our Lord came, and there especially were the great obstructions to be removed. For he came:
(i) to exalt the valleys—to preach the gospel to the poor, to fill the hungry with good things, to save the chief of sinners, to open the kingdom to publicans and harlots; likewise to correct the low thoughts the Jews had indulged of the law of God, the office and kingdom of the Messiah.
(ii) to bring low every mountain and hill—to detect the wickedness and confound the pride of the Pharisees and rulers, to pour contempt on all human glory, and to show that the το ὑψηλον of man is abomination in the sight of God (see chapter 2[verses 11, 17], or 10:4–6).
(iii) to rectify the perverse disposition of the hearts of men—to soften and subdue their spirits and to make them willing in the day of his power.

FOR MEDITATION: ‘And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it’ (Isaiah 40:5).

SERMON SERIES: MESSIAH, NO. 2 [4/4], ISAIAH 40:3–5