Christ Is Fully All To Him Now

Pastor David Wilkerson died on April 27th in a car accident. He knows for sure now that to die is gain as he enjoys paradise with his precious Savior. His last blog post is a good word. He wrote:

To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God and is most acceptable. Jesus said to Thomas, “You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those that do believe and have not seen” (John 20:29).

Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence of an answer to prayer—who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.

Someone has come to the place of hopelessness—the end of hope—the end of all means. A loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. Death seems inevitable. Hope is gone. The miracle prayed for is not happening.

That is when Satan’s hordes come to attack your mind with fear, anger, overwhelming questions: “Where is your God now? You prayed until you had no tears left. You fasted. You stood on promises. You trusted.”

Blasphemous thoughts will be injected into your mind: “Prayer failed. Faith failed. Don’t quit on God—just do not trust him anymore. It doesn’t pay!”

Even questioning God’s existence will be injected into your mind. These have been the devices of Satan for centuries. Some of the godliest men and women who ever lived were under such demonic attacks.

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

HT: David Wilkerson

Jesus Christ: The Good Above All Goods!

‎Thomas a Kempis wrote:

What can the world profit thee without Jesus? To be without Jesus is the nethermost hell, and to be with Jesus is sweet paradise. If Jesus were with thee, no enemy could hurt thee. He who findeth Jesus findeth a good treasure, yea, good above all good; and he who loseth Jesus loseth exceeding much, yea, more than the whole world. Most poor is he who liveth without Jesus, and most rich is he who is much with Jesus.

Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 1886.

Christ: The Very Essence Of All Delights!

John Flavel said:

Christ [is] the very essence of all delights and pleasures, the very soul and substance of them. As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is congregation or meeting-place of all waters in the world: so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet . . . His excellencies are pure and unmixed; he is a sea of sweetness without one drop of gall.

John Flavel, The Method of Grace, from Sermon XII.

HT: Justin Taylor

Show Them The Glory Of God's Christ!

Dr. Tony Curto passionately preached:

What do you need to do to motivate the congregations [to carry the Gospel to the nations]? Do you need to make them feel guilty? No! Do you need to tell them great stories? No! Do you need to beg and plead with them? No! What you must do . . . you must show them the glory of God's Christ! You must show them the glory of God's Christ!

Tony Curto, "The Motive Of The Church," GPTS Conference 2006.

Christ Our True Rest!

Christina Rossetti prayed:

O Lord, Jesus Christ, who art as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy weak creatures weary of labour, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self; in thine abundant compassion, and fellow feeling with us, we pray Thee, give us Thy rest.

Great Trials - Great Mercies!

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

Believer, you are not exempt from trials, but you have sufficient grace for any trouble. God's choicest love letters are sent in black-edged envelopes. The envelope frightens us, but if we know how to break the seal we will find riches for our soul. Great trials are the clouds from which God showers great mercies. Frequently, when the Lord has an extraordinary mercy to send, He employs His rough and grizzled horses to drag it to our door. The smooth rivers of ease are usually navigated by little vessels filled with common commodities, but a huge ship loaded with treasure crosses deep seas.

Charles Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, ed. Roy H. Clarke, 1999), 100.

His Comforts Delight Our Souls!

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

Some of you are perplexed with a multitude of anxieties about your life. You do not know what to do. One plan was suggested, and for a time it seemed the best action. But now you have doubts. You are bewildered and you cannot see Providence's clue. You are lost in a maze. Indeed, at this moment, you are depressed.

You have tried various ways and methods to escape your present difficulty. But you have been disappointed and distracted. Your thoughts have no order; they drag you in opposite directions. The currents meet and twist as if you were in a whirlpool.

My perplexed friend, remember the children of Israel at the Red Sea. The sea was before them, rocks were on either side, and the cruel Egyptians roared in the rear. Imitate Israel's actions. "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today" (Exodus 14:13). You reply, "I cannot be quiet. I am agitated, perturbed, perplexed, tossed, and distracted. What shall I do?"

"In the multitude of my anxieties with me, Your comforts delight my soul" (Psalm 94:19). Turn your eyes to the deep things of God. Cease from anxious consideration of seen things, which are temporary, and gaze by faith on things that are eternal.

Remember, your way is ordered by a higher power than your will and choice. The eternal God has fixed your every step. All things are fixed by the Father's hand. He who loved us from before the foundations of the world has immutably determined every step of our pilgrimage.

It is a blessed thing, after you have been muddling and meddling with your anxieties, to throw your burdens on the Lord and leave them there.

Charles Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, ed. Roy H. Clarke, 1999), 95.

One Sight Of Christ And All Our Desires Will Be Fulfilled!

Stephen Altrogge writes:

When we see Christ, we'll realize that all our earthly longings were really longings to see and be with Christ. When we look upon Jesus, the battle for contentment will come to an end, and we'll finally have all that we ever desired.

Stephen Altrogge, The Greener Grass Conspiracy (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011).

All Glory, Laud, And Honor Be To Christ Alone!

A monk rebuked Richard Wurmbrand for his pride in the following parable:

On Palm Sunday, when the Lord entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, He was received with shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David!" and with the waving of palm branches. That evening the donkey told his fellow donkeys in the stable: "If only you could have seen with what honor I was acclaimed in Jerusalem!

They called me "Son of David, King of the Jews." I had never before known the name of the donkey who was my father. I was very pleased to find out that he was called David. And the crowd seemed very determined to make me king! They threw their clothes before me on the road in order that I might walk on softness.

I suppose they will come tomorrow to enthrone me. I imagine that when a donkey becomes king, he gets plenty of hay and is not made to carry burdens anymore!"

As the monk finished the story, he looked at me significantly. "There are quite a few such donkeys. Young pastors are prone to believe that the honor they receive is for them."

Richard Wurmbrand, "Preaching for Eternity," Ministry (July 1994), 16.

Here's Martin Luther on this point:

If, however, you feel and are inclined to think you have made it, flattering yourself with your own little books, teaching, or writing, because you have done it beautifully and preached excellently; if you are highly pleased when someone praises you in the presence of others; if you perhaps look for praise, and would sulk or quit what you are doing if you did not get it—if you are of that stripe, dear friend, then take yourself by the ears, and if you do this in the right way you will find a beautiful pair of big, long, shaggy donkey ears.

Then do not spare any expense! Decorate them with golden bells, so that people will be able to hear you wherever you go, point their fingers at you, and say, “See, see! There goes that clever beast, who can write such exquisite books and preach so remarkably well.” That very moment you will be blessed and blessed beyond measure in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, in that heaven where hellfire is ready for the devil and his angels.

Martin Luther, LW 34:287-288.

HT: Justin Taylor

No Mercy, Comfort, Or Privilege Withheld In Christ!

Commenting on this verse:

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32

John Flavel wrote:

Surely if He would not spare his own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever He should, after this, deny or withhold from His people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them.