Milo

April 30th

The spontaneity of love

Love suffereth long, and is kind … 1 Cor. 13:4–8 .

Love is not premeditated, it is spontaneous, that is, it bursts up in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of mathematical certainty in Paul’s category of love. We cannot say—‘Now I am going to think no evil; I am going to believe all things.’ The characteristic of love is spontaneity. We do not settle statements of Jesus in front of us as a standard; but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard without knowing it, and on looking back we are amazed at the disinterestedness of a particular emotion, which is the evidence that the spontaneity of real love was there. In everything to do with the life of God in us, its nature is only discerned when it is past.
The springs of love are in God, not in us. It is absurd to look for the love of God in our hearts naturally, it is only there when it has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we do not love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, it comes naturally. In looking back we cannot tell why we did certain things, we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love in us. The life of God manifests itself in this spontaneous way because the springs of love are in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 5:5.)

April 30

“And the ill favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well favored and fat kine … and the thin, ears swallowed up the seven rank and full ears”
(Gen. 41:4, 7)

THERE is a warning for us in that dream, just as it stands: It is possible for the best years of our life, the best experiences, the best victories won, the best service rendered, to be swallowed up by times of failure, defeat, dishonor, uselessness in the kingdom. Some men’s lives of rare promise and rare achievement have ended so. It is awful to think of, but it is true. Yet it is never necessary.
S. D. Gordon has said that the only assurance of safety against this tragedy is “fresh touch with God,” daily, hourly. The blessed, fruitful, victorious experiences of yesterday are not only of no value to me today, but they will actually be eaten up or reversed by today’s failures, unless they serve as incentives to still better, richer experiences today.
“Fresh touch with God,” by abiding in Christ, alone will keep the lean kine and the ill favored grain out of my life.
—Messages for the Morning Watch.

30 APRIL (PREACHED 30 APRIL 1775)

Jesus, our gracious Mediator

‘… Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant …’ 2 Samuel 23:5
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 1 Timothy 2:5–6

This covenant of grace was established with and in our Lord Jesus Christ for the recovery and salvation of all that should believe in his name. The Scripture speaks of transactions between the Father and the Son before the foundation of the world. If we understand it of the divine persons in the Trinity, it intends a mutual consent that the work of our redemption should be brought about in such a way. But if we understand it of the God-man Christ Jesus, the Word made flesh, appearing in our nature and cause, we may say that the covenant of grace to us was to him a covenant of works, strictly speaking. He was the Mediator between God and sinners. He engaged for men to God and for God to men. He engaged to God on the behalf of men, to vindicate the honour of his broken law by his voluntary obedience unto death, fulfilling all the commands of God in his own person and making atonement for transgression with his own blood. He received authority on the behalf of God, to bring many sons to glory, even all who should embrace the message of his love and put their trust under the shadow of his wings (John 12:30; Isaiah 53:11). He is our surety, on whom our debt was charged, and, having paid it, he proclaims a free discharge to every weary, wounded soul. When their hearts are pricked with a sense of those sins which caused his death, he, like another, Joseph, says by his gospel, ‘Let it not grieve you that your sins brought sorrow and death upon me—for so God appointed, and so I readily engaged to save your lives and to preserve your souls from death.’ Jesus is the sum and substance of the everlasting covenant.
FOR MEDITATION:
Thus dragged by my conscience, I came,
But oh! what surprise when he spoke,
And laden with guilt, to the Lord;
While tenderness beamed in his face;
Surrounded with terror and shame,
My heart then to pieces was broke,
Unable to answer a word.
O’erwhelmed and confounded by grace:

‘Poor sinner, I know thee full well, By thee I was sold and was slain;
But I died to redeem thee from hell, And raise thee to glory to reign.’

SERMON SERIES: 2 SAMUEL 23:5, NO. 2 [1/2]

April 29th

The graciousness of uncertainty

It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 1 John 3:2.

Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere. Common sense says—‘Well, supposing I were in that condition …’ We cannot suppose ourselves in any condition we have never been in.
Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God, and do the duty that lies nearest, He packs our life with surprises all the time. When we become advocates of a creed, something dies; we do not believe God, we only believe our belief about Him. Jesus said “Except ye … become as little children.” Spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, but uncertain of what He is going to do next. If we are only certain in our beliefs, we get dignified and severe and have the ban of finality about our views; but when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy.
“Believe also in Me,” said Jesus, not—‘Believe certain things about Me.’ Leave the whole thing to Him, it is gloriously uncertain how He will come in, but He will come. Remain loyal to Him.

April 29

“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are.”
(James 5:17)

THANK God for that! He got under a juniper tree, as you and I have often done; he complained and murmured, as we have often done; was unbelieving, as we have often been. But that was not the case when he really got into touch with God. Though “a man subject to like passions as we are,” “he prayed praying.” It is sublime in the original—not “earnestly,” but “he prayed in prayer.” He kept on praying. What is the lesson here? You must keep praying.

Come up on the top of Carmel, and see that remarkable parable of Faith and Sight. It was not the descent of the fire that now was necessary, but the descent of the flood; and the man that can command the fire can command the flood by the same means and methods. We are told that he bowed himself to the ground with his face between his knees; that is, shutting out all sights and sounds. He was putting himself in a position where, beneath his mantle, he could neither see nor hear what was going forward.
He said to his servant, “Go and take an observation.” He went and came back, and said—how sublimely brief! one word—“Nothing!”

What do we do under such circumstances?

We say, “It is just as I expected!” and we give up praying. Did Elijah? No, he said, “Go again.” His servant again came back and said, “Nothing!” “Go again.” “Nothing!”

By and by he came back, and said, “There is a little cloud like a man’s hand.” A man’s hand had been raised in supplication, and presently down came the rain; and Ahab had not time to get back to the gate of Samaria with all his fast steeds. This is a parable of Faith and Sight—faith shutting itself up with God; sight taking observations and seeing nothing; faith going right on, and “praying in prayer,” with utterly hopeless reports from sight.

Do you know how to pray that way, how to pray prevailingly? Let sight give as discouraging reports as it may, but pay no attention to these. The living God is still in the heavens and even to delay is part of His goodness.—Arthur T. Pierson.
Each of three boys gave a definition of faith which is an illustration of the tenacity of faith. The first boy said, “It is taking hold of Christ” the second, “Keeping hold” and the third, “Not letting go.”