25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
"Unless we know what God has said, it will be folly to say, "do as thou hast said." Perhaps there is no book more neglected in these days than the Bible. I do truly believe there are more moldy Bibles in this world than there are of any sort of neglected books. We have stillborn books in abundance; we have innumerable books which never see any circulation, but we have no book that is so much bought, and then so speedily laid aside, and so little used, as the Bible." -- C. H. Spurgeon
Much neglect of the Scripture leads to much trouble in our lives. Heartaches are left without a remedy, and the bleeding soul has nothing to staunch its flow. Oh, that we would rediscover the power in the promises! For with those very promises, we can take them right to the throne and plead with God concerning them, "do as thou hast said!" God is obliged to fulfill His promises.
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Promises don't get answered when we spew them from a cold, hard heart. It's not that God is lying, it's just that He knows our duplicity. Wasn't it James who said, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." The King James translators put a marginal reading for lusts in that verse, and it reads pleasures. That ye may consume it upon your pleasures. He refers to selfish, evil desires that only have one person in mind when praying, and not considering the whole of God's will in the matter. This type of prayer is a lump of cold, damp coal. It cannot be lit by us throwing it before the throne (if it makes it that far) and expect any answer.
Promises must be birthed in a lively heart and warmed in the fiery oven of our inmost affections, set ablaze the Spirit of God.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
See how the promise must be petitioned with the fervency of the Spirit of God, kindled by the love of God, and dependent upon the mercy of Christ? The person that so prays will be about having "compassion" for others, "making a difference," and pulling lost souls "out of the fire." Yes, the promises of God, IN HIM are yea, and amen!
So we see that our failure often to secure the answer from heaven isn't on God's part, but our own. What can we do about it?
We can review the condition of our hearts before God and review the promises of God. It is in our remembering that we can recall the promises and relay them to the Mercy-seat. We can reckon on the faithfulness of God, who, "Hears the right, attends to our cries, and gives ear to our prayers when they are spoken in an honest and sincere heart." David essentially said this,
1 Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned [a hypocrite's] lips.
And then we can rejoice. We can rejoice when we sense the burden of our soul lifted as we know that secret communion that only the saints of God enjoy, that unique assurance that God has heard and God has answered, albeit by faith, having yet to see the actual fulfillment.
Then and only then can we say, "Do as thou hast said!"
Reviewing, Reckoning, and Rejoicing!
06/23/2020
Day 175: Reviewing, Reckoning, and Rejoicing!
2 Samuel 7:25 (AV)
25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
"Unless we know what God has said, it will be folly to say, "do as thou hast said." Perhaps there is no book more neglected in these days than the Bible. I do truly believe there are more moldy Bibles in this world than there are of any sort of neglected books. We have stillborn books in abundance; we have innumerable books which never see any circulation, but we have no book that is so much bought, and then so speedily laid aside, and so little used, as the Bible." -- C. H. Spurgeon
Much neglect of the Scripture leads to much trouble in our lives. Heartaches are left without a remedy, and the bleeding soul has nothing to staunch its flow. Oh, that we would rediscover the power in the promises! For with those very promises, we can take them right to the throne and plead with God concerning them, "do as thou hast said!" God is obliged to fulfill His promises.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (AV)
20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Titus 1:2
2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Promises don't get answered when we spew them from a cold, hard heart. It's not that God is lying, it's just that He knows our duplicity. Wasn't it James who said, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." The King James translators put a marginal reading for lusts in that verse, and it reads pleasures. That ye may consume it upon your pleasures. He refers to selfish, evil desires that only have one person in mind when praying, and not considering the whole of God's will in the matter. This type of prayer is a lump of cold, damp coal. It cannot be lit by us throwing it before the throne (if it makes it that far) and expect any answer.
Promises must be birthed in a lively heart and warmed in the fiery oven of our inmost affections, set ablaze the Spirit of God.
Jude 20–23 (AV)
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
See how the promise must be petitioned with the fervency of the Spirit of God, kindled by the love of God, and dependent upon the mercy of Christ? The person that so prays will be about having "compassion" for others, "making a difference," and pulling lost souls "out of the fire." Yes, the promises of God, IN HIM are yea, and amen!
So we see that our failure often to secure the answer from heaven isn't on God's part, but our own. What can we do about it?
We can review the condition of our hearts before God and review the promises of God. It is in our remembering that we can recall the promises and relay them to the Mercy-seat. We can reckon on the faithfulness of God, who, "Hears the right, attends to our cries, and gives ear to our prayers when they are spoken in an honest and sincere heart." David essentially said this,
Psalm 17:1 (AV)
1 Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned [a hypocrite's] lips.
And then we can rejoice. We can rejoice when we sense the burden of our soul lifted as we know that secret communion that only the saints of God enjoy, that unique assurance that God has heard and God has answered, albeit by faith, having yet to see the actual fulfillment.
Then and only then can we say, "Do as thou hast said!"