SOVEREIGN
GRACE LIFE
March 2005
#1
Lasaro Flores /
E-mail
Address: lasaro@academicplanet.com
As I start out this
newsletter, there
is a fourfold purpose for it: It goes out for Revival, for Renewal, for
Restoration, and for Reformation. Perhaps to some this means the same
thing,
yet I believe that there are four aspects of a Life that experiences
the
Sovereign Grace of God that will be manifested when believers
experience these
four things in it. It is my desire that “the God of all grace” (1 Peter
5:10)
will be pleased to use the articles, not only for His awesome Glory,
but also
to “revive
(His) work in the midst of the years” (Habakuk 3:2); and as a
result, we should be willing to “endure all things for the elect’s
sakes, that
they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory”
(2 Timothy 2:10).
Therefore, pray with
me that God will be pleased to command the clouds to rain again (cp.
Isaiah
5:6), so that “in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in
the
desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty
land
springs of water” (Isaiah 35:6,7), as the “showers of blessing” descend when He “causes the shower to come
down in his season” (Ezekiel 34:26). Oh, how we need to pray like
David: “O
God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for
thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To
see thy
power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary” (Psalm
63:1)! We
can be sure that whenever that happens, not only will we be Revived
from our
deadness without Him, but also Renewed in our desires of Him, Restored
in our
fellowship with Him, and Reformed in our walk before Him. Amen!
By
Lasaro
Flores
I have sometimes heard
one say, “Show
me your friends, and I will show you who you are,” is a very true
saying that
discovers what is in our hearts. Although it is true that we can hide
what is
in our hearts from those around us, yet in a sense, it is also true
that we can
reveal what is in our hearts by the attitude we manifest, by the words
we
speak, and by our actions. “Our friends” can be anything or anyone with
whom we
have a close and intimate relationship; and so therefore, we “walk”
with them.
Lately, by the grace of
God, I have
been brought to ask myself with whom am I walking as my friends; and as
people
around me come in contact with me, who do they see to be my friends.
Can I
honestly say that people will see that I am Walking With God? Perhaps
some will
say that I am religious, either because I go to church, or I carry a
Bible, or
do things like that; but beyond that, do they “see” God in my life? Can
they
“see” that God is my Friend; and that I walk with Him? If I can show
this in my
life, then people will see Who is my Friend!
In Genesis 5:24 it is
said that “Enoch
walked with God”; and also that “Noah walked with God” (6:9). In other
words,
these two individuals had a close relationship with God in their walk
with Him.
Of course, this could be not true unless they walk in agreement with
each
other; for how “can two walk together,
except they be agreed”
(Amos 3:3)? This, beloved, is the “normal life” that exists between one
who has
experienced the Grace of God in their
lives, and the One who is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), who of
His
Free and Sovereign Grace has converted those who “were enemies,…”, and
“reconciled to (Him) by the death of his Son,…shall be saved by his
life”
(Romans 5:10), which Life is in all of His friends. Now, who is a
friend of
God? Is it not one who walks in agreement with Him?
But alas! Sadly we have
to say, that
there are times that the friends of God turn against Him, and no longer
walk
with Him. It could even be said of them that they have “left their
first love”
(Revelation 2:4), which He is when they first became His friends and
started to
walk with Him. Now the flame of love for their Beloved and Friend (cp.
Song
5:16) has almost gone out; their fervent desires for Him and His
blessings have
diminished (cp. Isaiah 26:8); they are no longer conscious of a
intimate
relationship with Him (like David in 2 Samuel 12); and most definitely,
their
way of living is no longer in the ways of the Lord. Surely, such a life
no
longer manifests a strength because of “the joy of the LORD” (Nehemiah
8:10),
it no longer exudes the sweet fragrances of the flowers of grace; no
longer are
there offered “sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven”
(Ezra 6:10);
and most certainly, such a life no longer “walks worthy of the Lord
unto all
pleasing” (Colossians 1:10). Such a life needs to be Revived, Renewed,
Restored,
and Reformed!
EVIDENCES
OF A BACKSLIDDEN CONDITION
From Revival
By
Richard Owen Roberts
Backslidden Christians
are evident
everywhere. They are in the churches and out of the churches. They are
in the
pews and in the pulpits. They are on boards and are bored. They are on
committees and teach Sunday School. The backslidden seem to be more
numerous
than the upright and their influence throughout the world vastly more
profound.
While backsliders do not all manifest the same traits, evidences of
their
condition are not difficult to pinpoint. The following characteristics
merit
our serious attention.
1.
When prayer ceases to be a vital part of a professing Christian’s life,
backsliding is present. It is shocking to realize that many
churches
have no
public prayer meetings of any kind. More upsetting is the fact that
many
individual Christians have no regular stated seasons of private prayer
during
which they commune alone with God. How can a person be both Christian
and
prayerless? However, prayer does not need to be entirely lacking from a
person’s life for backsliding to prevail. When prayer becomes
perfunctory and
without moral earnestness, there is more than ample evidence of
backsliding.
Some who say their prayers every day never pray. The formulation of
thoughts
and ideas along religious lines, the mouthing of words, the bowing of
the head
and body and the repetition of phrases, do not in and of themselves
constitute
real prayer. If the heart does not earnestly commune with God, no
genuine
prayer is present. The mere repetition of written prayers, no matter
how
beautifully constructed or seemingly sincere, does not guarantee
genuine
prayer. When the heart of man and the heart of God meet in communion,
there is
prayer. Prayerlessness and mere formality in saying prayers are
unmistakable
marks of a backslidden condition.
(To
be continued)
________________________________________________________________________
“See,
I have this day set
thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull
down, and
to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jer. 1:10).
Of this six-fold
commission, four injunctions are destructive and only the latter two
are
constructive. “To build and to plant” surely a great work. But it had
to be
preceded by a rooting-out and a pulling-down, destruction and
demolishing.
Surely this sounds drastic! Yet it was very necessary, as the
historical
background shows. The Jewish kingdom had become overgrown with weeds,
overbuilt
with traditional superstructures. They had to go first. Some iconoclasm
was
necessary. Some destruction was required.
Let us look in
the garden
for a parable. We walked round a beautiful garden which occupied a
former piece
of waste land. The gardener showed us round. “Those are beautiful
roses,” we
said to him. “I planted them,” replied the gardener, with justified
pride.
“What a beautifully-cut hedge,” we remarked next. “I trimmed that,” he
said.
“Who is responsible for that lovely Sweet William border?” Again the
gardener
smiled and claimed the credit. We passed on, thinking to ourselves that
this
gardener had created a grand testimony to his skill in gardening.
At the garden
gate, we
found an old fellow watching a smoking heap of refuse. “What have you
been
doing?” “Working at the garden,” he said. “Well, then, what have you to
show
for your labor?” “Nothing, Sir,” he replied. “Then you cannot have been
working!” We told him. “Sir,” he asserted. “When we came here, this
garden was
a piece of waste land, overgrown with weeds, full of stones and sand,
swampy in
one corner, and pretty hopeless all round.” We got interested. “Well
sir,” he
went on, “I broke up the land, and I destroyed the weeds, and dug out
the
stones, and carted away the sand, and it was my job to drain the swampy
comer.”
We listened with growing appreciation. “I am saying nothing against the
other
fellow who planted the garden. He did his job well. But where would his
planting come in if I hadn’t first rooted out and destroyed the weeds?”
Both
men’s labor was necessary, but the rooting out and destruction of weeds
preceded the planting of flowers and shrubs.
Let us remember
the first
work of rooting out the weeds and utterly destroying them. One of the
great
weaknesses of many forms of ministry today is the attempt to sow good
seed
among thorns. The thorns generally continue springing up, and the seed
is
choked thereby, despite the good intention of the human sower. Seed
sown in a
prepared ground requires only the action of the elements to produce
fruit in
season. Seed sown by the wayside, or in stony places, or among thorns,
will
have its prospects of life severely threatened almost immediately.
Likewise,
changing the mode of illustration, a Christian who is in proper
relationship
with God is generally hungry for the great truths and affirmations of
the
Gospel. A constructive message is then not only desirable, but
necessary. Good
food, the finest of the cream of the wheat of the Gospel of Christ, is
eagerly
assimilated by the Christian who lives in harmony with God.
Yet all
Christians are not
in proper relationship with their Lord. The present obvious dearth of
revival
is largely due to the fact that the majority of Christians are out of
touch
with the source of Divine power. Even at conventions, the first work
needed is
to get things put right in the lives of those attending. To give a sick
stomach
an overdose of cream is to risk indigestion. Even a sick stomach
prefers the
taste of cream to the flavor of the bitter medicine. Still the bitter
medicine
is necessary, and it does not prevent the enjoying and digesting of
good food
afterwards-rather it creates the actual appetite of good health, which
is quite
distinct from the false cravings of indigestion.
For instance, the
glorious
message of the position of every believer in Christ is a comfort to
many souls.
Yet it cannot bring much blessing to a stubborn Christian living in
disobedience
and conscious sin. He needs to act on the teaching of repentance and
confession
and cleansing FIRST, and then he may comfort himself with other truths.
I heard
once of a church which had the cream of doctrine given within its
walls, week
in, week out. Judging from the quality of uplifting ministry given
there, one
would have expected to find the church members on the highest heavenly
plane.
But in this instance, they had a church quarrel which resulted in the
bread and
wine being spilled in a scuffle, and the police were called in to
restore
order. They obviously needed more than cream. Medicine was wanted
badly.
Positional truth cannot be profitably taught until conditional teaching
has had
its effect. Cast no pearls before swine. So great is this problem, that
when
the preacher strikes out against sin among believers and urges purity
of life,
critics cry “Introspection,” and some insist that he is trying to
divert the
eyes of the people away from Christ towards self and shortcomings.
It was my happy
experience
once, to speak at a great convention well-known in
By contrast, I
was speaking
at another convention, not so far away. It was a convention of good
standing. I
felt led to speak first of the shortcoming of believers and the need of
getting
right before enjoying the good things of the feast. The next speakers
seemed to
doubt the worth of such a method, and their message seemed to be: “You
are complete
in Christ, so don’t worry about these trifles. God accepts you in the
Beloved,
and you needn’t mind.” For days there was that cross-current of
message. I
believed with all my heart in the truth of their message, but I thought
that
the time was unripe for its application.
With a burdened
heart, I
prayed for clear guidance regarding continuing my message. The Lord put
a text,
a “new” text for me, into my heart, and I preached it. Before I
preached it, a
speaker dwelt on the glorious promises of God, promises meant for
obedient
children. Then followed my opportunity. “Having therefore these
promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). It gave
the connection
at last, but we had no great revival. It drove home many truths to me.
Let us
comfort one another with the grand truths of our position in Christ.
But let us
not make excuse by saying that our “completeness” in Him permits us to
wink at
known sin.
Reference
Used: The Church Must First Repent by J. Edwin Orr
_____________________________________________________________________________
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