Jun 19
9
“Whose heart-the Lord opened.”—Acts xvi. 14.
It is always blessed to trace mercies to their source! And blessed when,
through grace, we are enabled to give God his glory, and not put down to
man’s merit what wholly originates in God’s grace. The opening of the
heart can only be the province of Him that made it. Renewing work, as
well as creating work, is his. He that hath the key of David, is he
alone “that openeth, and none shutteth; and shutteth, and none
openeth.”
What a beautiful illustration hath the Holy Ghost given the church of
this precious truth, in the instance of this woman, whose heart the Lord
opened! We are told in her history, that she was of the city of
Thyatira, a place remote from Philippi, where this sovereign act of
mercy was shewn towards her. How long she had remained in a state of
unrenewed nature, or what predisposing providence it was that brought
her to Philippi, with other circumstances which we might have thought
interesting to inquire after, we are not informed: the grand feature in
her character is summed up in this short, but blessed account, “whose
heart the Lord opened.” The Holy Ghost hath indeed recorded her name and
occupation, by way of making this testimony concerning her: – “a certain
woman, named Lydia, a seller of purple.” Behold, my soul! what blessed
instruction ariseth out of it, for thine evening’s meditation. What
honourable mention is made of her, from this one blessed act, which the
Lord wrought upon her. Poor and inconsiderable as she was in herself;
small and of no reputation, yet her name is in the book of life! Pause,
and contemplate the rich mercy which the Lord hath also accomplished in
thee. Hath not he that opened Lydia’s heart, opened thine? And is it not
his province also, that first opened it by his grace, to keep it open by
the daily influences of his Holy Spirit? Is it not his to renew, to
refresh, to comfort, to strengthen, and to confirm unto the end? And
wilt thou not, my soul, with the close of day, and the opening of the
morning, look up for these precious manifestations? Lord! do thou open
mine eyes, mine heart, my whole soul, to the enjoyment of these gracious
renewed visits of thy love: and let no night or morning pass, without
receiving fresh and increasing evidences from my Lord, that Christ hath
both opened my heart, and is “formed in my heart, the hope of glory!
Robert Hawker. The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening Portions.
It is absolutely impossible for any sinner to preach the gospel unless
God sends him for “how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Rom
10:15) God is pleased to save by preaching so God who cannot lie
promises, “I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall
feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 3:15). Where ever God
has one of his lost sheep, God emboldens his messenger like he did Paul
at Corinth when he said, “I have much people in this city. And he
continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among
them” (Acts 18:10, 11). If the Lord has a Lydia from Thyatira he can
bring her to Philippi and forbid his servant from preaching in Asia,
direct his steps to that child as he did Paul who said, “assuredly
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto
them” (Acts 16:10). If the Lord has an Ethiopian to call out God will
cross his path with the gospel by directing one of his Philip’s by
saying, “Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down
from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.” (Acts 8:26) The reason it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe is
to the glory of Christ Jesus, the Word, the Power and Wisdom of God as
well as to stain the pride of the wise and prudent, “because the
foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.” (1Co 1:25) Men who can willfully disregard the
hearing of God’s own Son’s holy honor proclaimed in truth through the
foolishness of preaching are also prone to disregard searching the
scriptures themselves to see the truth of God’s righteousness in his
Son. When sinners have a heart problem with one thing that pleases God
they generally have a problem with everything that pleases God.
Miracle of Grace
Paul likens the new birth as; “Christ be formed in you” Gal. 4:19. Then
in Col. 1:27 he speaks of, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. In 2 Cor.
13:5, we are admonished to examine ourselves whether we be in the faith,
“how that Christ is in you, except you be reprobates”.
Christ being formed spiritually in the heart of a sinner is no less a
miracle than Christ being formed physically in the womb of a virgin.
Like Mary we; “knew no man”. “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall overshadowed thee”. The “Holy Thing” in
us was conceived by the Holy Ghost. Just like Mary, God sent an angel
(messenger) to inform us of his favor. “Hail thou art highly favored”.
Like Mary, we are “troubled” to know how this could be for us. To which
God says; “with God nothing shall be impossible”. Like Mary, we rest our
hope on the word of God. “Be it unto me according to thy word”. Luke
1:26-38 ~Greg
OPTIONS
Have you ever made a phone call and a voice comes on and says push 1 or
2 or 4, then when you push that number it starts all over again. How
frustrating. In every part of life there are too many things to choose
from, in going to a restaurant, in choosing a car, what kind of computer
should I get, on and on it goes.
But there is one thing in which there are no options. SALVATION from sin
and condemnation. God in His Holy Word has made it plain and
straightforward; “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.”
God says there is ONE WAY to come unto Him, One who has the power to
give eternal life, One who has the power to make God the Father known,
One in whom a sinner can be accepted. The Holy Scriptures tells us there
is One Righteousness; One Savior of sinners, One Mediator between God
and men, “The man Christ Jesus.” One who has the power to give life and
quicken whom He will. God says there is One whom He appointed heir, One
by whom He will be addressed by, One by whom He will address sinners by,
One JUST ONE.
God will give no man any wiggle room here, freewill won’t do, works
won’t do, merit has no place, and law keeping won’t be accepted. The
Lord God said it this way, “He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life:
but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36).
I am so thankful that God the Father brought me to the place where there
was no way out from under the guilt and condemnation of my sin and
revealed the ONE WAY in which He would accept and make me righteous.
That Way is through and by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Donnie Bell
WONDERFUL METAPHORS
O the wonder, the glory and beauty of God’s Word. It is beyond our
ability to fully understand and appreciate. But we marvel at what we do
understand. God uses many things to describe His Word; everyday,
ordinary, yet wonderful and necessary things. He likens His Word to
things such as: Light, Bread, Milk, Honey, Meat, Fire, Water, Hammer,
Sword, Plough, Seed, Rain, Dew, Treasure, Gold, Net, Mirror, a Kiss! All
this and more is God’s Word for His people. – Paul Mahan
DISCERNMENT
“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in
knowledge and all judgment.” – Philippians 1:9
The word judgment in this verse is used only here in the New Testament.
It means discernment. Paul does not pray that our knowledge and
discernment will abound. He prays that our love to the person of Christ
will abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment. The more
I love Christ, the more I will know of Him. He said, “Learn of Me.” The
more I love Him the more clearly I will recognize that which is not of
Him and that which is contrary to Him. Discernment is born of love to
His Person. Love to His Person hates that which is contrary to Him and
loves that which glorifies Him! A supposed knowledge and judgment we
have that is not born of a love to His Person is useless knowledge and
discernment. May the Lord grant us more love to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Todd Nibert.
“This is a faithful(true)saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” –
I Timothy 1:15
There is a lifetime of preaching in this verse but there are two points
of great importance which are sometimes overlooked: the truth of the
saying and the worth of it! To discover the Truth of the Gospel is to
find true peace of mind and to discover the worth of the Gospel is to
find true peace of heart.
1. The truth of it. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (I John 5:11). I believe the
record that God hath given concerning Christ; therefore, I am not
troubled and confused by other voices or other claims. Let God be true
and every man a liar. The apostle summed it up this way, “To whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). My mind is
satisfied!
2. The worth of it. If I have Christ, I need nothing else, either in
this life or in the life to come. I am complete in Him, redeemed in Him,
accepted in Him, and already seated with Him in glory. I have ceased
from all my labors and efforts to secure divine favor. His redemptive
work is not only effectual but is sufficient for the greatest sinner,
the poorest sinner and the weakest sinner. “My grace is sufficient for
thee”(II Cor. 12:9). Does this not leave your heart in a state of rest
and peace? If not, then you have not yet discovered the worth of His
great atonement.
Henry Mahan
Christ is more than a Saviour; He is salvation itself! David said, “The
Lord is my light and my salvation.” It is well to see salvation in the
work, life, and death of Christ; but we must never forget that the
essence of salvation lies in His Person. HE HIMSELF IS SALVATION! It is
WHO He is which gives virtue to WHAT He does. We are bidden to come, not
to His work, but to HIMSELF. The Gospel loses much of its sweetness when
the Person of Christ is put in the background and honor given only to
His work. – C. H. Spurgeon
In the new birth there is nothing changed in the flesh…it is still
sinful flesh. But in that same new birth, there is an imparted new man
born from heaven that is holy and does not sin. – Marvin Stalnaker