LEAN HARD!<\/p>\n
“Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you.” Psalm 55:22<\/p>\n
It is by an act of simple, prayerful faith we transfer our cares and
\nanxieties, our sorrows and needs, to the Lord. Jesus invites you come
\nand lean upon Him, and to lean with all your might upon that arm that
\nbalances the universe, and upon that bosom that bled for you upon the
\nsoldier’s spear! But you doubtingly ask, “Is the Lord able to do this
\nthing for me ?” And thus, while you are debating a matter about which
\nthere is not the shadow of a shade of doubt, the burden is crushing your
\ngentle spirit to the dust. And all the while Jesus stands at your side
\nand lovingly says, “Cast your burden upon Me and I will sustain you. I
\nam God Almighty. I bore the load of your sin and condemnation up the
\nsteep of Calvary, and the same power of omnipotence, and the same
\nstrength of love that bore it all for you then, is prepared to bear your
\nneed and sorrow now. Roll it all upon Me! Child of My love! Lean hard!
\nLet Me feel the pressure of your care. I know your burden, child! I
\nshaped it\u2014I poised it in My own hand and made no proportion of its
\nweight to your unaided strength. For even as I laid it on, I said I
\nshall be near, and while she leans on Me, this burden shall be Mine, not
\nhers. So shall I keep My child within the encircling arms of My own
\nlove. Here lay it down! Do not fear to impose it on a shoulder which
\nupholds the government of worlds! Yet closer come! You are not near
\nenough! I would embrace your burden, so I might feel My child reposing
\non My breast. You love Me! I know it. Doubt not, then. But, loving me,
\nlean hard!” Octavious Winslow<\/p>\n
Weary?
\n(J. C. Philpot, “The Laborer’s Rest” 1845)<\/p>\n
“Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you
\nwho are weary and carry heavy burdens,
\nand I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28<\/p>\n
The Lord’s purpose in laying burdens upon
\nus is to weary us out. We cannot learn our
\nreligion in any other way. We cannot learn
\nit from the Bible, nor from the experience of
\nothers. It must be a personal work, wrought
\nin the heart of each; and we must be brought,
\nall of us, if ever we are to find rest in Christ,
\nto be absolutely wearied out of sin and self,
\nand to have no righteousness, goodness, or
\nholiness of our own.<\/p>\n
The effect, then, of all spiritual labor is to bring
\nus to this point: to be weary of the world, for we
\nfeel it, for the most part, to be a valley of tears;
\nto be weary of self, for it is our greatest plague;
\nweary of professors, for we cannot see in them
\nthe grace of God, which alone we prize and value;
\nweary of the profane, for their ungodly conversation
\nonly hurts our minds; weary of our bodies, for they
\nare often full of sickness and pain, and always
\nclogs to our soul; and weary of life, for we see
\nthe emptiness of those things which to most
\npeople make life so agreeable.<\/p>\n
By this painful experience we come to this point:
\nto be worn out and wearied; and there we must
\ncome, before we can rest entirely on Christ.<\/p>\n
As long as we can rest in the world, we shall
\nrest in it. As long as the things of time and
\nsense can gratify us, we shall be gratified in
\nthem. As long as we can find anything pleasing
\nin self, we shall be pleased with it. As long as
\nanything visible and tangible can satisfy us,
\nwe shall be satisfied with them.<\/p>\n
But when we get weary of all things visible,
\ntangible, and sensible–weary of ourselves,
\nand of all things here below–then we want
\nto rest upon Christ, and Christ alone.<\/p>\n
“Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you
\nwho are weary and carry heavy burdens,
\nand I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28<\/p>\n
Isaiah 40: 28: Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the
\neverlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
\nfainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his
\nunderstanding. 29: He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have
\nno might he increaseth strength.
\nHast thou not known? hast thou not heard? Do you have any idea how big
\nGod is and how tiny we are? The true and living God is the everlasting
\nGod. God is immutable, unchanging and unchangeable. His gifts and
\ncalling are without repentance (Rom 11: 29.) Salvation is by his grace,
\nnot of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of his mercy. The
\nLORD\u2014Jehovah\u2014is the self-existent, self-wise, all knowing, all powerful
\nGod of heaven and earth. He rules all things in heaven and in earth.
\nThere has never been nor shall ever be at any given point in time one
\nthing whether it be good or evil that God has not been in absolute
\ncontrol of. God is the Creator of the ends of the earth\u2014the Maker and
\nUpholder of all things\u2014even to the extremities of the earth.<\/p>\n
Have you heard how that salvation, calling, keeping, is all of God,
\nthat, salvation is of the Lord? God is the Comforter of his people.
\nChrist is the Captain of our warfare and that warfare is accomplished.
\nGod has rewarded his people righteousness and eternal life when the only
\nwages we have earned are the wages of sin, death. (Isaiah 40: 1-2) Our
\nGod is the mighty Savior, whose glory is his reward, his recompense the
\npeople who are his workmanship (v. 10). He is the good Shepherd who laid
\ndown his life for his sheep. He feeds us, clothes us, protects us, and
\nprovides for us. (v11) This same Savior is the omnipotent, omniscient
\nGod our Creator. (vv. 12-14; Rom. 11:33-36) Compared to him all the
\nnations and peoples of the earth are nothing, less than nothing, and
\nvanity. (15-17) God is the self-sufficient God and the whole world has
\nnothing to offer him. (v. 16) So great is our God that nothing can be
\ncompared to him. Idolatry is foolish nonsense! (vv. 18-20) God is
\nsovereign Monarch ruling the entire universe (vv. 21-26).<\/p>\n
Have you heard that \u201cHe fainteth not, neither is weary?\u201d Man who puts so
\nmuch confidence in his strength, sleeps; man who puts so much confidence
\nin his will, grows weary. God never sleeps or grows weary. The Creator
\nof the whole world, upholds all things by the word of his power, and all
\nthings are held in store and operate according to his power.<\/p>\n
Have you heard that \u201cthere is no searching of his understanding?\u201d We may
\nbecome depressed, cast down, and find ourselves thinking \u201cMy way is hid
\nfrom the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God.\u201d But God
\nknows. There is no searching of his understanding. Often the ways God
\ngoes about to perform our good does not appear to be good to us at all,
\nbut even sometimes appears to work against us. Though we may encounter
\nperplexing providences God is fulfilling his promises. (Rom. 8:28).<\/p>\n
He is all-gracious to his children. \u201cHe giveth power to the faint; and
\nto them that have no might he increaseth strength.\u201d (v29) He gave his
\nonly begotten Son; he gave us freely his spotless garment of
\nrighteousness; he gave us freely justification from all our sin; he gave
\nus freely eternal life; he gives us freely his protective hand of
\nprovidence; he gives power to the faint; he increases strength to them
\nthat have no might. \u201cHe that spared not his own Son, but delivered him
\nup for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
\nthings?\u201d (Rom 8: 32) He even gives us the thorn. But what gracious
\ngiving even this is! (2 Cor 12: 7-10) He gives it to teach us we are
\nutterly weak but \u201cI can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
\nme.\u201d (Phil 4: 13)<\/p>\n
So let us not look not upon our circumstances, let us not let our sins
\nmake us think they are too much for God to forgive us for the sake of
\nhis Son. Instead, look to our immutable, everlasting God and flee to
\nChrist in faith
\nClay Curtis.<\/p>\n
A man may be weary of life, but never of Divine love. Histories tell us
\nof many that have been weary of their lives, but no histories can
\nfurnish us with an instance of any one that was ever weary of Divine
\nlove. As the people prized David above themselves, saying, \u201cThou art
\nworth ten thousand of us;\u201d so they that indeed have God for their
\nportion, oh, how do they prize God above themselves, and above
\neverything below themselves and, doubtless, they that do not lift up God
\nabove all, they have no interest in God at all.
\nThomas Brooks<\/p>\n
The fight!
\nSeptember 1764
\nMy dear Madam,
\nI understand something of your warfare. Paul describes his own case in
\nfew words, “Conflicts on the outside, fears on the inside.” Does not
\nthis comprehend all you would say? And how are you to know
\nexperimentally, either your own weakness\u2014or the power, wisdom and grace
\nof God, seasonably and sufficiently afforded\u2014but by frequent and various
\ntrials? How are the graces of patience, resignation, meekness and faith,
\nto be discovered and increased\u2014but by the exercise of trials?<\/p>\n
The Lord has chosen, called, and armed us for the fight! Shall we wish
\nto be excused from the battle? Shall we not rather rejoice that we have
\nthe honor to appear in such a cause, under such a Captain, such a banner
\nand in such a company?<\/p>\n
God has graciously provided:
\na complete suit of armor,
\nformidable weapons,
\nprecious balm to heal us\u2014if we receive a wound, and
\nprecious cordials to revive us\u2014when we are in danger of fainting!<\/p>\n
Further, we are assured of the victory beforehand! O what a crown of
\nglory is prepared for every conqueror, which Jesus, the righteous Judge,
\nthe gracious Savior\u2014shall place upon every faithful head with His own hand!<\/p>\n
So let us not be weary and faint, for in due season we shall reap! The
\ntime is short! In a little while, the struggle of indwelling sin, and
\nall the conflicts surrounding us, shall be known no more! “Be faithful,
\neven to the point of death\u2014and I will give you the crown of life!”
\nRevelation 2:10
\nJohn Newton<\/p>\n
HIM AND THEM
\nThat precious saving faith which unites the sinner to Christ, also
\nunites the sinner to all of those who belong to Christ. To be one with
\nhim is to be one with them. Loving and serving Him has something to do
\nwith loving and serving them; likewise, loving and serving them has
\nsomething to do with loving and serving Him (Matthew 25:31-46). Saving
\nfaith says that there is one Savior. Saving faith also says that there
\nis only one household, one family, one body, one vine tree, etc. \u201cI
\n(Christ) am the vine, ye are the branches\u201d\u2026(John 15:5). Pastor Maurice
\nMontgomery<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LEAN HARD! “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you.” Psalm 55:22 It is by an act of simple, prayerful faith we transfer our cares and anxieties, our sorrows and needs, to the Lord. Jesus invites you come and lean upon Him, and to lean with all your might upon that arm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4117"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4119,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4117\/revisions\/4119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}