Make God Your Portion Psalms 73:24-26 1 Kings 4:29 Psalms 18:19 Deuteronomy 33:26-27 Psalms 16:1-2 Proverbs 18:10 Isaiah 40:28-31 Philippians 3:7-11 Psalms 18:1-2 Lamentations 3:21-24 Psalms 31:14-15 Jonah 2:8 09.28.20

 

MAKE GOD YOUR PORTION

BREAD

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalms 73:24-26 (NIV)

 

²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.  1 Kings 4:29 (NIV)

 

¹⁹ He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.  Psalms 18:19 (NIV)

 

²⁶ “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:26-27 (NIV)

 

¹ Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.  ² I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  Psalms 16:1-2 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)

 

²⁸ Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)

 

⁷ But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV)

 

¹ I love you, O LORD, my strength.  ² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.  He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalms 18:1-2 (NIV)

 

²¹ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:21-24 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”  ¹⁵ My times are in your hands.  Psalms 31:14-15 (NIV)

 

⁸ “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”  Jonah 2:8 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world’s tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, ‘It is I, be not afraid.’ He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, ‘If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.’ ‘We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.’ The Christian does not merely hold this as a theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Everything has worked for good as yet; the poisonous drugs mixed in fit proportions have worked the cure; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing. Every event as yet has worked out the most divinely blessed results; and so, believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes. The believer can in the spirit of true resignation pray, ‘Send me what thou wilt, my God, so long as it comes from Thee; never came there an ill portion from Thy table to any of Thy children.’”   C. H. Spurgeon

“Martin Luther wrote in his book, Table Talk:  ‘The greater God’s gifts and works, the less they are regarded.’  We tend to exhibit a degree of thanksgiving in reverse proportion to the amount of blessings we’ve received.  A hungry man is more thankful for his morsel than a rich man for his heavily-laden table.  A lonely woman in a nursing home will appreciate a visit more than a popular woman with a party thrown in her honor.  If the birds only burst into song once a year, we’d all pay close attention.  But because they are singing every morning, we scarcely bother to listen.”    Robert J. Morgan

“Live today.  Tomorrow we are not given.  Yesterday we cannot change.  Grace is given in exact proportion for the day and need we are in – never more or less - the right now and time of the moment - for every heir of mercy - just as manna was.  It will be there tomorrow – and worry will not get it there.  It is always bestowed by the gracious, faithful Hand of God.”  BHY 

“Even faithful people will go through the wilderness, even faithful people will have to surrender the most precious things.  Yet because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed. We are not consumed by our circumstances. We are not consumed by rejection. We are not consumed by cancer or divorce or infertility or trauma or abuse or anxiety or fear or even death. Because of His great love, we are not consumed.  We open our hands. We offer him the entire portion of Hard. Every last bit of it. Our anger, too? Yes, even our anger.  We say, ‘Here it is. All of it. It’s a horrible mess. I cannot do anything here that will make this better. So I’m opening up my hands and I’m giving you the whole tangle.’ And then we do it again. And again. And again.  A few times every hour, if needed. After all, His mercies are new, His compassions never fail. We choose to open our hands when what we’d rather do is clamp shut, protect, defend. We offer instead of hide.  This is the only way I know to make the journey.  You are held. It is all held. You are not lost. You are not broken. You are not disqualified. You are not sidelined. You are not silenced. You are not swallowed whole. You are held. Benevolently. Faithfully. Held.  There is always a hand reaching toward you.  There is always grace available. And there is always a chance to begin again.”   Leeana Tankersley

“When you have God for your portion, you have more than everything else put together. In Him every need is met, whether in life or in death. With God for your portion you are rich indeed, for He will supply your need, comfort your heart, relieve your grief, guide your steps, walk with you in the dark valley, and then take you home to enjoy Him as your portion forever.  ‘I have enough,’ said Esau; this is the best thing a worldly man can say, but Jacob replied in essence, ‘I have everything,’ which is a note too high for carnal minds.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“The world is our passage, not our portion.”  Matthew Henry

“Jesus knows the human heart. He made it, and then he took one himself when he became man. He knows, as both God and man, how to furnish courage to a fearful heart. He knows how to parcel joy to a sad heart. He is adept, and proven, at giving strength, in perfect portion, to a weak heart; peace to an anxious heart; forgiveness to a guilty heart; and wholeness to a broken heart.  And how does he choose, over and over again, to do so? He speaks. What would he have us do when our hearts are wilting? Rehear his words.”  David Mathis

“If the Lord calls you to suffering, do not be dismayed. For with it he will provide a deeper portion of Christ.”   Samuel Rutherford

“God carries His children through this world through a variety of conditions.  Sometimes we lack, and at other times we abound.  This allows our graces to be tested.  We will find that God’s love is stable, certain, and constant in a variety of conditions.  God does not change, and His love is constant however our lives might change.  We must learn not to quarrel with God’s government.  Let God do as He pleases as He brings us to heaven.  It is no matter what the way is like, or how rugged it is, as long as He brings us there.  God’s grace is able to carry His children above all conditions.  A man of grace is not overly dejected with abasement or overly lifted up in abundance, but carries himself in a uniform manner.  He is able to abound or lack without yielding to the temptations of those estates.  He can abound without pride and lack without impatience.  God is His portion…Those that are not brought up in Christ’s school are not able to do this.  If they abound, they are proud, and if they are cast down, they murmur, fret and are dejected, as if there were no providence to rule the world.  This is the excellency of a Christian; he has learned to abound and lack without being trapped by their snares.”  Richard Sibbs

HEART SAVOR

·         God’s children lack no good thing.

·         When God is your strength and portion you have all that you need.

·         “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6 

 

God Is All Good Things And Every Good Thing Deuteronomy 32:4 2 Samuel 22:31 Psalms 16:2 Psalms 16:11 Psalms 19:7-11 Psalms 89:14-17 Matthew 19:17 Mark 10:18 Luke 18:19 John 10:11-15 Psalms 42:5-6 09.25.20

GOD IS ALL GOOD THINGS AND EVERY GOOD THING

BREAD  

⁴ He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.   Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV)

 

³¹ “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”  2 Samuel 22:31 (NIV)

 

² I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”  Psalms 16:2 (NIV)

 

¹¹ You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.   Psalms 16:11 (NIV)

 

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. ¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. ¹¹ By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.  Psalms 19:7-11 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. ¹⁵ Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. ¹⁶ They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.  ¹⁷ For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.  Psalms 89:14-17 (NIV)

 

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”   Matthew 19:17 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good--except God alone.”  Mark 10:18 (NIV)

 

¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good--except God alone.”  Luke 18:19 (NIV)

 

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.”   John 10:11-15 (NIV)

 

⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and ⁶ my God.  Psalms 42:5-6 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

 

“If the world’s darlings enjoy many good things, they lack all without Christ.  God is all good things, and every good thing.  He is self-sufficient, alone-sufficient, and all-sufficient.  If God were your portion, you would find in Him whatsoever your heart could desire, and tend to your happiness.  Are you ambitious?  He is a crown of glory.  Are you covetous?  He is unsearchable riches and righteousness.  Do you desire pleasure?  He is rivers of pleasures and fullness of joy.  Are you hungry?  He is a feast of wine on the lees and the fat things full of marrow.  Are you weary?  He is rest, a shadow from the heat, and a shelter from the storm.  Are you weak?  He is everlasting strength.  Are you doubting?  He is marvellous in counsel.  Are you in darkness?  He is the Sun of righteousness.  Are you sick?  He is the God of your health.  Are you sorrowful?  He is the God of all consolations.  Whatever your calamity, He can remove it. Whatever your necessity, He can relieve it.  He is silver, gold, honour, delight, food, raiment, house, land, peace, wisdom, power, beauty, father, mother, wife, husband, mercy, love, grace, glory, and infinitely more than all these.  There are all sorts of delights in Him.  He is the tree of life bearing all manner of fruits, and a variety of all comforts.  See God, and you see all.  Enjoy God, and enjoy all.”  George Swinnock

“God alone can bless His people, keep them, look on them with favor (make His face shine and turn His face toward them), be gracious to them, and give them peace.”  The Bible Knowledge Commentary

“We have every reason to hold on firmly to the faith we profess, for He who has called us is faithful!  It is Jesus who saves us, lives to intercede for us, allows us to approach the throne of grace with confidence, and grants us His abundant grace, mercy, and peace.”   BHY

“No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ:  Jesus reveals Himself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“When Naomi arrived in Bethlehem after her sorrowful sojourn in Moab, she could not see a harvest from her tears. It all looked like a tragedy; like ‘vanity and striving after wind’ (Ecclesiastes 1:14).  That’s how it looked. That’s how it felt. But that’s not how it was.  In reality, all of the ups and downs in Naomi’s life—the famine, the move to Moab, the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion, Ruth’s loyalty, Naomi’s return at barley harvest, Boaz, and the kinsman who chose not to redeem Ruth—all of these events played parts in God’s plan to redeem millions and weave a Moabite into the royal, Messianic bloodline.  The bigger story of redemption was far bigger than they imagined. Even though they were in the middle of the story, none of them could see it from their vantage point.  We must remember this perspective in our times of desolation, grief and loss.  How things appear to us, and how they actually are, are rarely the same.  Sometimes it looks and feels like the Almighty is dealing “very bitterly” with us, when all the while He is doing us and many others more good than we could have imagined.  God’s purposes in the lives of His children are always gracious. Always.  If they don’t look like it, don’t trust your perceptions.  Trust God’s promises.  He is always fulfilling His promises.”   Jon Bloom

“We can wait in eager expectation rather than wringing our hands in worry as God has promised to cause all things to work together for our good and we can trust Him in any and every circumstance.  He is ever faithful to His promises and loving towards all He has made.  He loves us with an everlasting love and His eye is ever on us.  He was faithful in the past, He is faithful today and He will be faithful tomorrow.  What a gracious and loving God we serve.”   BHY

“When the goodness of Christ and the character of Christ and the Word of Christ are evident in the church, people in the world will be drawn to Him.  This is why we guard the Truth so people will be saved by it.   This is why we live with purity so people see the difference Christ makes.  This is why we train for godliness so people see in us the majesty of Christ.  May everything we do draw people to our great Savior.”   David Platt

“Today, remember you are a child of God.  Receive these good gifts from your heavenly Father.  Savor the goodness of the Gospel and watch as it draws you to deeper faith – not through fear or obligation, but through delight.”  Michael Youssef   

“In American Christianity, we have bought into the lie that if it is good, then it cannot be hard.  That goodness must exclude suffering.  This is not true.  In Jesus’ upside-down gospel good and hard totally coexist and weave together for our goodness and His glory.”   Jay and Katherine Wolf    

“Every dark place on the landscape of our lives is a place where we can realistically hope to see God’s goodness and glory break through. That’s just how He rolls.”  Laura Story

“Praise to the Lord, Who does prosper thy work and defend thee; Surely His goodness and mercy Here daily attend thee.  Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, If with His love He befriend thee.”  Joachim Neander

 

“Do we entertain Christ to our loss? Doth he come empty? No; he comes with all grace. His goodness is a communicative, diffusive goodness. He comes to spread his treasures, to enrich the heart with all grace and strength, to bear all afflictions, to encounter all dangers, to bring peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost. He comes, indeed, to make our hearts, as it were, a heaven.”  Richard Sibbes

“The most dangerous mistake that our souls are capable of is, to take the creature for God, and earth for heaven.”  Richard Baxter

HEART SAVOR

·         God satisfies our hearts with good things.

·         There is fullness of joy in His presence.

·         Taste and see that the Lord is good.

      

The Holiness Of God Exodus 15:11 Isaiah 40:25 Isaiah 46:5 1 Samuel 2:2 Psalms 77:13 1 Chronicles 16:28-29 Psalms 96:3-10 Isaiah 6:1-4 Leviticus 19:1-2 1 Peter 1:13-16 09.23.20

 

   THE HOLINESS OF GOD

BREAD

¹¹ “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?  Who is like you--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?  Exodus 15:11 (NIV)

 

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.  Isaiah 40:25 (NIV)

 

⁵ “To whom will you compare me or count me equal?  To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?”  Isaiah 46:5 (NIV)

 

² “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”  1 Samuel 2:2 (NIV)

¹³ Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?  Psalms 77:13 (NIV)

 

²⁸ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, ²⁹ ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.  Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.  1 Chronicles 16:28-29 (NIV)

 

³ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. ⁴ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. ⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. ⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. ⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. ⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. ⁹ Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.  ¹⁰ Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”  The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.  Psalms 96:3-10 (NIV)

 

¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  ⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  Isaiah 6:1-4 (NIV)

 

¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.’”  Leviticus 19:1-2 (NIV)

 

¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”   1 Peter 1:13-16 (NIV)

BUTTER 

“There is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God, but the intense, blazing holiness of God.”   Oswald Chambers

 

“His holiness is a pledge for the assurance of His promises.  Power is His hand, omniscience His eye, mercy His heart, eternity His duration, but holiness His beauty.  It renders Him lovely and gives beauty to all His attributes.  Every action of His is free from all hints of evil.  Holiness is the crown of all His attributes, the life of all His decrees, and the brightness of all His actions.  Nothing is decreed by Him and nothing is acted by Him that is not consistent with the beauty of His holiness.”  Stephen Charnock

“That which will elevate the soul must be more excellent than the soul.”  George Swinnock

“It is not the constant thought of their sins, but the vision of the holiness of God that makes the saints aware of their own sinfulness.”   Anthony Bloom

“The pervasive sinfulness of human beings becomes evident when contrasted with the radiant holiness of God.”  Richard J. Foster

“A true love of God must begin with delight in His holiness…; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.”   Jonathan Edwards

“The nature of divine holiness is freedom from all evil.  God is separate from every shade of evil.   He acts according to the likeness of His own excellence and abhors everything contrary to it.  There is no darkness in His understanding, and no spot in His will.  His mind is possessed with all truth, and there is no deviation in His will from it.  He loves all truth and goodness, and He hates all falsity and evil.  He loves righteousness and has no pleasure in wickedness.  He values purity in His creatures, and detests all impurity whether inward or outward.  He knows what is right, and must do what is just.”  Stephen Charnock

Regarding the pursuit of holiness, Scottish Pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne writes:  “I know you will apply hard to German, but do not forget the culture of the inner man – I mean of the heart.  How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his saber clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with greatest care.  Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument – I trust, a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name.  In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success.  It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus.  A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”

“It is one thing to love the ways of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to hold to them in the face of discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap and easy, but the practical clinging to the Lord, which must show itself in holy devotion to truth and holiness, is no small matter.”   Alistair Begg

“To love Jesus is to love holiness.”   David Smithers

“All we ever want for you is to be: radical about grace and relentless about truth and resolute about holiness and vows and the real hills worth dying on.” Ann Voskamp

“Professing Christian, is sin subdued in you? If your life is unholy, your heart is unchanged; and if your heart is unchanged, you are an unsaved person. If the Savior has not sanctified you, renewed you, given you a hatred of sin and a love of holiness, He has done nothing in you of a saving character. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people not in their sins but from them ". . . for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."¹ "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."² If not saved from sin, how shall we hope to be counted among His people? Lord, save me now from all evil, and enable me to honor my Savior.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“If you are really the chosen of God, and beloved by Him, do not allow all this lavish treasure of grace to be wasted on you. Pursue holiness; it is the Christian's crown and glory. An unholy church is useless to the world and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell’s laughter, heaven's abhorrence.”   C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.”   Robert Murray M’Cheyne

HEART SAVOR

·         God has called us to holiness through His power for His glory, for our good.

·         As believers in Jesus, our hearts are the sanctuary of the living God and as such we are to display His fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  This manifests His holiness to a watching world.

·         God is so totally other and He has no equal.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Not Ones Genius But Jesus Acts 4:12-13 John 7:14-18 John 12:47-50 Luke 12:11-12 Isaiah 40:12-17 Job 38:18 Job 40:6-14 2 Timothy 2:14-15 09.21.20

 

NOT ONES GENIUS BUT JESUS

BREAD

¹² “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  ¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.  Acts 4:12-13 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”  ¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. ¹⁷ If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.”  John 7:14-18 (NIV)

 

⁴⁷ “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”  John 12:47-50 (NIV)

¹¹ “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”  Luke 12:11-12 (NIV)

 

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? ¹⁴ Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? ¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. ¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. ¹⁷ Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.  Isaiah 40:12-17 (NIV)

 

¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.  Job 38:18 (NIV)

 

⁶ Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: ⁷ “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. ⁸ “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? ⁹ Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? ¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. ¹¹ Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, ¹² look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand.  ¹³ Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. ¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.”   Job 40:6-14 (NIV)

 

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:14-15 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“Spiritual truth is discernible only to a pure heart, not to a keen intellect.”   Oswald Chambers

“The true secret to all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of the God of the Gospel. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zech.iv.6)   It is well for all ministers (and believers) to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give constant freshness to their ministry (and lives).  A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Spirit can never become barren. If a man is drawing on his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Spirit be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness. How important then, that all who minister (and live) in the gospel…should lean continually and exclusively on the power of the Holy Spirit. He knows what souls need, and He can supply it. But he must be trusted and used. It will not do to lean partly on self and partly on the Spirit.”  C H Macintosh

 

“For years I hid the inadequacy I felt as a counselor behind a professional demeanor, technical jargon, and sound psychological methods of treatment.  Recently I’ve made a truly liberating discovery.  I am inadequate.  My sense of inadequacy is not the effect of deficient intellect or poor training, nor is it a symptom of emotional disorder.  It is the painful admission of what is true.  On my own, I can make nothing of importance happen.  I can help no one.  But if I abide in Christ, if I present myself before God’s Spirit for searching and filling, if I study and ponder the Scriptures and live my life in brokenness before a grace-dispensing community, I can transcend my inadequacy, I can find myself as I worship.  I can struggle on behalf of others with the energy of Christ powerfully working in me.”   Larry Crabb

 

“Whoever you are, good reader, and whatever your education may be, if you be the Lord’s, be assured you will find no rest in philosophizing divinity.  You may receive this dogma of one great thinker, or that dream of another profound reasoned, but what the chaff is to wheat, that will these be to the pure word of God.  All that reason, when best guided, can find out is but the A B C of truth, and even that lacks certainty, while in Christ Jesus there is treasured up all the fullness of wisdom and knowledge…..Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect when He is believingly received, but apart from Him the mind of the regenerate discovers no rest.  ‘The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge.’  ‘A good understanding have all they that do His commandments.’”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“We judge things by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences.  If we could do the same we would be perfectly of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk according to their own wisdom.”  John Newton

 

“His wisdom’s vast, and knows no bounds, a deep where all our thoughts are drowned.”  Isaac Watts

“Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken, and let all the precious ointment of your affection come streaming onto His pierced feet. Let your intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon what you read. Stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be not as the swallow, which touches the brook with her wing, but as the fish, which penetrates the lowest wave.”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

 

“All religion rests on authority. Someone or something always has the last word. Nobility is what you do with the Word of God. Beware of coming to church and being stirred but not changed. Our behavior with the Bible is indicative of our belief in the Bible.”  Kevin DeYoung           

 

“God alone knows the depth and riches of His Godhead, and divine wisdom alone can declare His secrets.”   Thomas Aquinas

HEART SAVOR

• ·         In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
• ·         We are to do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved,  an unashamed workman correctly handling the Word of Truth.
• ·         Who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed Him as His counselor?