Milo

7 JUNE

God’s promise for believers

‘… For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.’ Genesis 13:15–17
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Colossians 1:9–14

The promise: to thee and to thy seed. This was Israel’s security. How often did they forfeit it by disobedience, but it was promised before to Abraham. Herein we have a type of a better covenant with Jesus, which is sure to all his seed. What Lot had was by choice, but Abraham’s by promise—therefore his right was preferred when the other’s was lost. There is no security like the promise of God.
The command: arise and walk. The promise was not completely fulfilled to Abraham, for it terminated in his seed. In the meantime he was to take a survey, and by faith call it all his own. Thus believers should contemplate the full meaning of gospel promises respecting time and eternity and say, The lines are fallen to me in a pleasant place [Psalm 16:6]. Whatever the Lord has said shall be fulfilled. What an inheritance then is the believer’s? The Lord is his Sun and Shield [Psalm 84:11]. Thy Maker is thy Husband [Isaiah 54:5]. The Lord is thy portion [Lamentations 3:24] and heaven is thy home.
FOR MEDITATION:
‘Thou hast my promise, hold it fast,
‘A pillar there, no more to move,
The trying hour will soon be past;
Inscribed with all my names of love;
Rejoice, for lo! I quickly come,
A monument of mighty grace,
To take thee to my heavenly home.
Thou shalt for ever have a place.’

         Such is the conqueror’s reward,
         Prepared and promised by the LORD!
         Let him that has the ear of faith,
         Attend to what the Spirit saith.

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 26 [2/2], GENESIS 13:14–18

June 6th

Work out what God works in

Work out your own salvation. Phil. 2:12–13 .

Your will agrees with God, but in your flesh there is a disposition which renders you powerless to do what you know you ought to do. When the Lord is presented to the conscience, the first thing conscience does is to rouse the will, and the will always agrees with God. You say—‘But I do not know whether my will is in agreement with God.’ Look to Jesus and you will find that your will and your conscience are in agreement with Him every time. The thing in you which makes you say ‘I shan’t’ is something less profound than your will; it is perversity, or obstinacy, and they are never in agreement with God. The profound thing in man is his will, not sin. Will is the essential element in God’s creation of man: sin is a perverse disposition which entered into man. In a regenerated man the source of will is almighty, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” You have to work out with concentration and care what God works in; not work your own salvation, but work it out, while you base resolutely in unshaken faith on the complete and perfect Redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposed will to God’s will, God’s will is your will, and your natural choices are along the line of God’s will, and the life is as natural as breathing. God is the source of your will, therefore you are able to work out His will. Obstinacy is an unintelligent ‘wadge’ that refuses to be enlightened; the only thing is for it to be blown up with dynamite, and the dynamite is obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe that Almighty God is the source of my will? God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.

June 6

“Watch unto prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7)

GO not, my friend, into the dangerous world without prayer. You kneel down at night to pray, drowsiness weighs down your eyelids; a hard day’s work is a kind of excuse, and you shorten your prayer, and resign yourself softly to repose. The morning breaks; and it may be you rise late, and so your early devotions are not done, or are done with irregular haste.
No watching unto prayer! Wakefulness once more omitted; and now is that reparable! We solemnly believe not.
There has been that done which cannot be undone. You have given up your prayer, and you will suffer for it.
Temptation is before you, and you are not ready to meet it. There is a guilty feeling on the soul, and you linger at a distance from God. It is no marvel if that day in which you suffer drowsiness to interfere with prayer be a day in which you shrink from duty.
Moments of prayer intruded on by sloth cannot be made up. We may get experience, but we cannot get back the rich freshness and strength which were wrapped up in those moments.—Frederick W. Robertson.
If Jesus, the strong Son of God, felt it necessary to rise before the breaking of the day to pour out His heart to God in prayer, how much more ought you to pray unto Him who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, and who has promised all things necessary for our good.
What Jesus gathered into His life from His prayers we can never know; but this we do know, that the prayerless life is a powerless life. A prayerless life may be a noisy life, and fuss around a great deal; but such a life is far removed from Him who, by day and night, prayed to God.—Selected.

6 JUNE

No loser

‘And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.’ Genesis 13:14–15
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Romans 8:28–39.

Happy is he who has the God of Israel for his help … [Psalm 146:5]. Whatever changes or trials he may meet, he has a sure resource. From these verses we may take note of the time: after Lot had separated.
Observe:
(i) Abraham had given up something for the sake of peace—now he is made amends. It is good to be willing to suffer for the Lord’s sake and to commit our cause to him. Such shall be no losers.
(ii) Abraham had lost the company of a dear friend and associate. But the Lord visited him. We are liable to be separated from those we love, by many things, but who shall separate from the Lord? Communion with him can make up the want of creature converse and creature assistance.
(iii) The land was designed for Abraham’s family, not Lot’s—it was necessary that Lot should settle elsewhere, yet his own fault was the immediate occasion. Thus the Lord overrules the mistakes as well as the good intentions of his people, and in general the actions of mankind, to his own glory (Genesis 45:8; Luke 2:1). When Lot was gone, the promise was confirmed.

FOR MEDITATION:
Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine is food;
Though painful at present,
’Twill cease before long,
And then, oh! how pleasant,
The conqueror’s song!

SERMON SERIES: GENESIS, NO. 26 [1/2], GENESIS 13:14–18

June 5th

God’s say-so

He hath said … so that we may boldly say … Hebrews 13:5–6 .

My say-so is to be built on God’s say-so. God says—“I will never leave thee,” then I can with good courage say—“The Lord is my helper, I will not fear”—I will not be haunted by apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s say-so. I will be full of courage, like a child ‘bucking himself up’ to reach the standard his father wants. Faith in many a one falters when the apprehensions come, they forget the meaning of God’s say-so, forget to take a deep breath spiritually. The only way to get the dread taken out of us is to listen to God’s say-so.
What are you dreading? You are not a coward about it, you are going to face it, but there is a feeling of dread. When there is nothing and no one to help you, say—‘But the Lord is my Helper, this second, in my present outlook.’ Are you learning to say things after listening to God, or are you saying things and trying to make God’s word fit in? Get hold of the Father’s say-so, and then say with good courage—“I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in the way, He has said—“I will never leave thee.”
Frailty is another thing that gets in between God’s say-so and ours. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God becomes a nonentity. Remember God’s say-so—“I will in no wise fail you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s key-note? Are we always possessed with the courage to say—“The Lord is my helper,” or are we succumbing?