Days of Heaven Upon Earth Part 28

JULY 8.

"Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh" (Gal.

iii. 3).

Grace literally means that which we do not have to earn. It has two great senses always; it comes for nothing and it comes when we are helpless; it doesn't merely help the man that helps himself-that is not the Gospel; the Gospel is that G.o.d helps the man who can't help himself. And then there is another thing; G.o.d helps the man to help himself, for everything the man does comes from G.o.d. Grace is given to the man who is so weak and helpless he cannot take the first step. That is the meaning of grace-a little of the meaning of it; we can never know the fulness it has. Now, this river is as free as it is full, but you know some people have an idea when they get a little farther on they have got to pay an admission, and reserved seats are very high, and they shrink back from the higher blessings of the Gospel; ordinary Christians scarcely dare to claim them. If I understand the meaning of this, G.o.d has not put the higher blessings apart for a separate cla.s.s who somehow are nearer to Him. G.o.d is no respecter of persons.

JULY 9.

"Cast thy burden on the Lord" (Ps. lv. 22).

Dear friends, sometimes we bring a burden to G.o.d, and we have such a groaning over it, and we seem to think G.o.d has a dreadful time, too, but in reality it does not burden Him at all. G.o.d says: It is a light thing for Me to do this for you. Your load, though heavy for you, is not heavy for Him. Christ carries the whole on one shoulder, not two shoulders. The government of the world is upon His shoulder. He is not struggling and groaning with it. His mighty arm is able to carry all your burdens. There is power in Christ for our sanctification. He is able to sanctify you.

Yes, yes, the Lord can sanctify, the Lord can heal, the Lord can do anything. You must have faith in G.o.d. If you come to this river this morning, it will take you as your Niagara would take a little boat, and just bear you down-to a precipice? Oh, no, but to the bosom of love and blessing forever.

Oft there comes a wondrous message, When my hopes are growing dim, I can hear it thro' the darkness Like some sweet and far-off hymn.

Nothing is too hard for Jesus, No man can work like Him.

JULY 10.

"That we might know the things that are freely given to us of G.o.d" (I.

Cor. ii. 12).

The highest blessings of the Gospel are just as free as the lowest; and when you have served Him ten years you cannot sit down and say, "I have got an experience now and I count on that." How often we do that; we say, "Now I know I am saved, I feel it." And so we are building a different foundation-we are building on something in ourselves. Always take grace as something you don't deserve, something that is freely bestowed. The long, deep, boundless river is free; it is as free at the mouth as it is at the little stream, and free all the way along, and anybody can come and drink, and anybody can come and bathe in its boundless waters. Are you going to believe it?

G.o.d has given us His Holy Spirit that we may "know the things that are freely given of us of G.o.d." It is a hard thing for the poor child to look in through the window and see a fire, and the happy family sitting around the table when it is starving. What is the good of knowing that there is warmth, and love, and light, if it is not free? G.o.d has freely given all the goodness of His grace and love.

JULY 11.

"For it is G.o.d which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13).

A day with Jesus. Let us seek its plan and direction from Him. Let us take His highest thought and will for us in it. Let us look to Him for our desires, ideals, expectations in it. Then shall it bring to us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Let Him be our Guide and Way. Let us not so much be thinking even of His plan and way as of Him as the Personal Guide of every moment, on whom we constantly depend to lead our every step.

Let Him also be the sufficiency and strength of all the day. Let us never forget the secret: "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." Let us have Jesus Christ Himself in us to do the works, and let us every moment fall back on Him, both to will and do in us of His good pleasure. Let our holiness be "the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus." Let our health be the "life of Jesus manifest in our mortal flesh." Let our faith be "the faith of the Son of G.o.d who loved us." Let our peace and joy be His peace and joy. And let our service be not our works, but the grace of Christ within us.

JULY 12.

"When ye pray, believe that ye receive" (Mark xi. 24).

Consecration is entered by an act of faith. You are to take the gift from G.o.d, believe you have, and confess that you have it. Step out on it firmly, and let the devil know you have it as well as the Lord. When once you say to Him boldly, "I am Thine," He answers back from the heavenly heights, "Thou art Mine," and the echoes go ringing down through all your life, "Mine! Thine!" If you dare confess Christ as your Saviour and Sanctifier He has bound Himself to make it a reality, but you must stand behind His mighty Word. It is the essence of testimony to tell of what Jesus has promised to become to you. It is right to have glorious words of thanksgiving, but these are not exactly testimony. G.o.d would have us put our seal on the promises, and lift up our hands and acknowledge them as ours.

Then you are to ignore the old life and reckon it no longer yours if it should come up again. Every time it appears say, "This is from the under world. I am sitting in the heavenly places with Christ."

JULY 13.

"Even Christ pleased not Himself" (Rom. xv. 3).

Let this be a day of self-forgetting ministry for Christ and others. Let us not once think of being ministered unto, but say ever with Him: "I am among you as He that doth serve." Let us not drag our burdens through the day, but drop all our loads of care and be free to carry His yoke and His burden. Let us make the happy exchange, giving ours and taking His. Let the covenant be: "Thou shalt abide for Me, I also for thee." So shall we lose our heaviest load-ourselves-and so shall we find our highest joy, divine love, the more blessed "to give" than "to receive." Let us do good to all men as we have opportunity. Let us lose no opportunity of blessing, and let us study ingenious ways of service and usefulness. Especially let us seek to win souls.

The Days of Heaven are busy days, They serve continually, So spent for Thee and Thine, our days, As the Days of Heaven would be.

The Days of Heaven are loving days, As one they all agree, So linked in loving unity May our days as Heaven be.

JULY 14.

"Men ought always to pray" (Luke xviii. 1).

Let this be a day of prayer. Let us see that our highest ministry and power is to deal with G.o.d for men. Let us be obedient to all the Holy Spirit's voices of prayer in us. Let us count every pressure a call to prayer. Let us cherish the spirit of unceasing prayer and abiding communion. Let us learn the meaning of the ministry of prayer. Let us reach persons this day we cannot reach in person; let us expect results that we have never dared to claim before; let us count every difficulty only a greater occasion for prayer, and let us call on G.o.d, who will show us many great and mighty things which we know not.

And let it be a day of joy and praise. Let us live in the promises of G.o.d and the outlook of His deliverance and blessing. Let us never dwell on the trial but always on the victory just before. Let us not dwell in the tomb, but in the garden of Joseph and the light of the resurrection. Let us keep our faces toward the sun rising. Arise, shine. Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks. Praise ye the Lord.

Lord, give us Thy joy in our hearts which shall lift us to lift others, and fill us so we may overflow to others.