VIDEO You Raise Me Up When I Am Down

Jun 27, 2012

You Raise Me Up, when I am down. Sung by Josh Groban

The Teaching of Adversity

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world —John 16:33

The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling . . .” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.

God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life . . .” (Revelation 2:7). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.

by Oswald Chambers

God Knows What You Need

John 4:1-16

One reason we at times have a weak faith is because our view of God is faulty. That’s not totally surprising—after all, He is so big, how could we ever truly get an accurate picture of what He looks like, how He acts, or how He feels about us personally?

Knowing that we would need a way to understand Him, our heavenly Father revealed Himself through His Son. And so “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The better we get to know Jesus, the more we will understand the Father (14:9).

And when we take a look at the way Jesus treated the people around Him, we get a good illustration of God’s love. Think about the woman at the well in today’s Scripture passage. This was a person who had been outcast by society. The fact that she came to draw water during the heat of the day (4:6)—a time when no one else would be around— indicates that her exclusion from the townspeople was not just their idea; she herself felt the need to stay isolated.

But what did Jesus do? He loved her. He accepted her. He gave her what no one else would give: attention and respect. That is what He does for us as well. The Lord does not want us burdened by guilt, shame, or heartache. Nor does He want us to be secluded from other people. Instead, He calls us to become active participants in His kingdom.

Have you cut yourself off from those around you? Take hold of your Savior’s hand today, and start experiencing the joy of His acceptance.

Philosophy and Vain Deceit

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

It is bound to be significant that, in the only place where the Scriptures even mention philosophy, we are warned to beware of it! Likewise, the only philosophers mentioned were evolutionary humanists who called the apostle Paul a “babbler . . . because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18).

The word “philosophy” literally means “love of wisdom,” and every philosophy—ancient or modern—is essentially a humanistic devotion to man’s wisdom for its own sake.

But such wisdom is false wisdom. It derives in type from “the tree of knowledge,” through the “vain deceit” of Satan, who tries to persuade us that partaking of it would “make one wise” and that “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 2:17; 3:5-6). It has “indeed a shew of wisdom” (Colossians 2:23), but “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19), and eventually all “the wisdom of this world, . . . [and] of the princes of this world, . . . [will] come to nought” (1 Corinthians 2:6).

Genuine wisdom, on the other hand, is as our text reminds us, “after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:8-10). For in Him “are hid [literally ‘stored up’] all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

The Lord Jesus Christ is “the truth” (John 14:6), and is both “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). This true wisdom is freely available to all who desire it. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Therefore, we need never waste our God-given time on human philosophy. HMM

Walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him.—Deuteronomy 13:4.

GOD visits a soul when He brings before it a new vision of truth or duty, a new range of opportunities, a new endowment of force as well as insight, at some time to which all that precedes has led up, and from which all that follows
depends in its solemn history. No Divine visitation leaves us where it found us; it always leaves us better or worse; if not better, then certainly worse. HENRY PARRY LIDDON.

The issues are with God, and His servants know not the word disappointment, for they are incapable of reading His designs. Only this they know, that the slightest hesitation in obeying what they believe to be a divine impulse, produces a suffering more intense than any consequences which may accrue to them from the world. LAURENCE OLIPHANT.

Never shrink from deep devotion, because you fear its trials or its sacrifices. Paul, in martyrdom, was unspeakably happier than God’s half-hearted servants. WILLIAM R. HUNTINGTON.

I have trodden the winepress alone

I have trodden the winepress alone. Isaiah 63:3

Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? — He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him;
and his righteousness, it sustained him. — Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. — Being made a curse for us.

O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. — Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. — He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. — We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. — They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.

Exodus 15:11. Isaiah 59:16. 1 Peter 2:24. Galatians 3:13. Psalm 98:1. Colossians 2:15. Isaiah 53:11. Judges 5:21. Romans 8:37. Revelation 12:11.

The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world

The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8

Your lamb shall be without blemish, … and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it, …
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. — The blood of sprinkling. — Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. — Being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. —According to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Exodus 12:5-7, 13. Hebrews 12:24. 1 Corinthians 5:7. Acts 2:23. 2 Timothy 1:9. Ephesians 1:7. 1 Peter 4:1,2.