Deuteronomy 8:2-3: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God
led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee,
to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or
no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna,
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee
know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
For the past several weeks we have studied these two verses. Last week I pointed
out what we mean that man does not live by bread alone. In a spiritual sense, as
well as in a natural sense, we want to realize that you could sit alongside the
greatest mountain of food and die of thirst. You could sit by a river of the
most pure water and die of starvation. You need air, food, water and exercise if
you are going to live and be healthy.
You cannot live by His bread alone. We also need the blood, which is a type of
cleansing. We need His body for our justification, and we need His blood for our
sanctification. We must be cleansed from the power of sin as well as
justification from the penalty of sin.
The Lord Jesus is teaching us throughout the Scriptures the essentialness of a
balanced gospel. We must preach the whole counsel of God.
We made reference to Ezekiel 37, where it speaks about the dry bones and how
they came together in the Valley of Slaughter. Then the sinews came upon the
bones as he prophesied, but they still lay dead in the valley. Then the Lord
said, Prophesy to the winds that the winds might blow upon the slain. Then the
breath of life entered them, and they stood upon their feet and there was a
great army.
I want to point out that we may have these three elements and still not have a
healthy spiritual condition. We still need exercise. We may have that breath of
life. We may have the Spirit of Christ breathed into our souls. “Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). We may have the
work of sanctification. We may have a claim on the pardon, but we still will not
have a healthy spiritual life until that faith is put into exercise.
We read in 2 Peter 1:4-7: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside
this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness
charity.”
See the fruit of these three elements. We cannot stop by merely having faith. We
must add to our faith. When faith is put into exercise, we see the fruit of
spiritual life coming into exercise. This is essential if we are going to have a
healthy spiritual body.
This exercise of faith is what I want to speak about this morning.
As I pointed out earlier, the Lord uses circumstances to reveal what is in our
hearts.
When the children of Israel stood on the shore of the Red Sea, they could sing
the songs of redemption. They sang the Song of Moses as we see in Exodus 15.
They sang of the victory they gained over Egypt, the things of this world. They
gained the victory over the power of sin. The circumstances the Lord led them
through taught them what was in their hearts. He brought them into circumstances
where they became thirsty. Three days after they sang the song of redemption,
they were brought into a set of circumstances whereby the thoughts of their
hearts were revealed showing their murmuring, their lack of faith.
They had faith, but it was infant faith. Faith can be genuine in its infancy,
but many times circumstances overcome our faith. As we become mature in faith,
as we become established in faith, our faith overcomes our circumstances.
This is what the Lord is telling us when He says “that he might make thee know
that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
We must not settle on a passage of scripture out of its context. We must feed
upon all the Word of God. We may not be satisfied by saying, Well, now I have
justification, but I still do not have sanctification. Sanctification and the
exercise of saving faith are equally essential to having justification.
As we have pointed out, faith is established by putting into exercise “every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD” as we see from 1 Peter
1:14-15: “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the
former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be
ye holy in all manner of conversation.”
See how the work of sanctification is being set forth here. When we speak of
conversation, we are not only talking about the words we speak. What we are
speaking of is that which traffics our minds. The conversation of our hearts is
that which occupies our minds. I can be going down the field on a tractor, not
speaking a word to anyone, yet the conversation of my heart is what we are
speaking of here. That which traffics our hearts and minds must be centered on
holiness, on the things of the Lord. My heart can be meditating on bitterness
and hatefulness and spitefulness, not having said or done a thing, yet my
conversation is not communicating in a holy manner.
The conclusion of what we learn from God’s purpose in leading us these 40 years
(or this lifespan) in this humiliating, proving ground of our lives, is that His
dear children might become established in the faith by putting their faith into
exercise. It is to wean us from that which is by nature against the will of God.
We read in 1 Peter 1:22-23: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the
truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love
one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
See how sanctification is as equally a part of salvation as justification. This
unfeigned love of the brethren means that we prefer others ahead of ourselves.
Sanctification is that crucifying of the flesh, that crucifying of that old
nature of sin that lies within us by nature.
See the second table of the law in these verses: love God above all, with your
heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. It is by putting that
commandment into exercise that we exercise saving faith. We put into exercise
the faith God has given us by showing us what is in our hearts. We see the
selfishness. We see bitterness. All these things develop through the
circumstances the Lord brings us through. These things have to be mortified.
Through the work of the grace of the Spirit in our hearts we start preferring
others ahead of ourselves.
Our text says that we are not to live by bread only, but by every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God. We have a selfish nature. We want what is for
our profit. I want to be justified. I want to go to heaven. I want to escape
hell. That, however, is not the whole gospel. In fact, that is not the gospel.
The gospel is being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by
the Word of God.
The Lord is telling us, Take what I have taught you and put it into exercise.
When the Lord had brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea, they
seemed to have great faith as they sang the Song of Moses, that is, the song of
redemption from the power of Satan and the world. Faith must overcome
circumstances. They had been redeemed from Egypt, which is a type of the world
and a type of the power of sin.
See their apparent assurance of entering the promised land by faith in Exodus
15:17: “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine
inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in
the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established.”
They were so sure they were going to enter the promised land, but if we know the
history, then we know that those very people who sang the song of redemption did
not enter the promised land because of unbelief. They were not willing to put
into exercise what the Lord had shown them. When it came to entering the
promised land, they did not have the faith to go forward. They perished in the
wilderness because of unbelief.
I want you to see the necessity of putting faith into exercise. The lesson they
had to learn by the circumstances through which the Lord would lead them these
40 years in the wilderness was that even though they had “tasted that the Lord
is gracious,” they still needed to learn what was in their hearts by nature.
When they left this place on the Red Sea, and for the next three days they
entered that wilderness, the first thing they did was that they allowed the
circumstances to overcome their faith. They were thirsty. They did not have
water. They began to murmur against the Lord.
In 1 Peter 2:1-3 we read: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious.”
The Apostle Peter is saying that if we have tasted that the Lord is gracious, if
we have His promises, if we believe we have hope for eternity, then put this
faith into practice by doing these things that accompany salvation.
Notice the growing in faith and grace shown in these verses. We need to see that
we can have genuine but infant faith. It must be established. It must grow.
Through those circumstances that followed, Israel was to learn that they were
yet infants in faith. Sometimes we can think that we are such established
Christians in faith, but the Lord brings circumstances upon us. Do we overcome
those circumstances by faith, or is our faith overcome by those circumstances?
This will help us know whether we are truly established in faith or whether we
are infants in faith.
They allowed their circumstances to overcome their faith, even as Jesus’
disciples did. I want you to follow me through some scriptures to see what they
teach us about infant faith and how it is overcome by circumstances. Watch this
in Matthew 8:24-26: “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea,
insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his
disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he
saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and
rebuked the winds and the sea; and
there was a great calm.”
Here are a set of circumstances the Lord brought upon these disciples to test
their faith. Jesus rebuke them for their little faith because these
circumstances had overcome their faith.
When Jesus said, “O ye of little faith,” He did not rebuke them for unbelief. He
recognized the existence of true living faith, but in its infancy. The
admonition is not to allow our faith to remain in its infancy, but we must
become established in faith so established faith overcomes our circumstances.
We come through this set of circumstances, and we come through the next set of
circumstances. Every trial the Lord sends is going to be a little stiffer than
the one we had before, because we are growing in faith. The first trial in which
the Lord tries our faith may be minor compared to the ones we may have in later
years. As we become established in faith, we overcome these circumstances by
faith.
It is through the exercise of saving faith that we grow in our dependency on our
God and learn to live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the
LORD.” We come to the point where we do not look at self. We no longer look at
circumstances. When Peter walked on the sea, as long as his eyes were fixed on
Christ, he could walk on the waves, but as soon as he took his eyes off of
Christ and looked at the boisterous sea, he began to sink.
This is what the Lord will teach you and me in the way of salvation. We must
take our eyes off of circumstances and keep our eyes on Him. Through this we
learn to understand, as our text says, we live not by bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We do not live by temporal things but
our eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who have truly become fathers in grace understand what Jesus said in
Matthew 18:3-4: “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
See what happens as we grow in faith. Have you ever noticed how a little child
will sit at the table without the slightest concern about how the food got
there? They have no concern about who is paying the taxes. They have no concern
about who is paying for the heat and the lights. It has never entered their
minds. They sit there with the faith of a child that their father has provided.
When you and I grow in faith we will be able to look to the Lord, in spite of
all circumstances, for His providing hand. That is being established in faith.
We grow smaller and smaller and smaller within ourselves. We become nothing
because the Lord becomes everything. We become as little children. We come to
the point where we can trust the Lord in every circumstance.
John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Let me explain to you the lesson we learn from the prophet Elisha. The king of
Syria sent an army to take him. Elisha’s servant said unto to Elisha, What shall
we do? We read in 2 Kings 6:16-17: “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be
with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD,
I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the
young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire round about Elisha.”
The Syrian army could not take Elisha, because Elisha prayed that the Lord would
blind their eyes.
We read in verses 18 to 20: “And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto
the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote
them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha saidunto them,
This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you
to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when
they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men,
that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold,
they were in the midst of Samaria.”
They were encircled by the army of Israel. Elisha’s faith overcame the
circumstances, but his servant had infant faith. All he could see were the
horses and chariots of Syria. He could not see those on the other side.
Those who are still in their infancy in faith need the admonitions Jesus gives
about beinganxious about those things we should trust to our heavenly Father’s
care.
We read in Matthew 6:31-33: “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we
eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after
all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.”
When we can take our eyes off of the temporal things, and have our eyes fixed on
the kingdom of God, that is, on His service, that our heart’s desire is to serve
the Lord, then all these temporal things are no longer our concern.
Jesus uses the term, “little faith,” in five places in the New Testament as a
loving rebuke for losing the single eye concept (taking our eyes off of the Lord
Jesus Christ and looking to the temporal things that are overcoming us), letting
faith be overcome by circumstances, instead of overcoming circumstances by
faith.
Jesus uses the term, “little faith,” when Peter lost that single eye concept,
looking at circumstances instead of Christ, in Matthew14:28-31: “And Peter
answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on
the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid;
and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Why did you take your eyes off of me and start worrying about these boisterous
waves? This is what Jesus is telling you and me. As we are walking upon this
boisterous sea, through this life journey, if we take our eyes off of Christ,
and we start having our minds and hearts fixed on these boisterous waves, we get
that sinking feeling, and we begin to realize that we are sinking in the
circumstances.
However, if our eyes are fixed on Christ, we can walk over these circumstances.
It does not mean that the circumstances change, but the faith by which we walk
over them is what changes.
Jesus also used the same term as a loving rebuke in Matthew16:8: “Which when
Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among
yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?”
He had told them in verse 6: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”
See how Jesus said this to teach them that “man doth not live by bread only, but
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD.”
Continuing in verses 9 to 12 we read: “Do ye not yet understand, neither
remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread,
that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then
understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of
the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”
The Pharisees were looking at the outside of the platter. They were looking at
the dos and the don’ts. They made 630 laws from the law of God, which had only
Ten Commandments. The Lord Jesus broke the Law down into two: love God above all
and your neighbor as yourself. In so doing, He said, you have kept the whole
law.
Little faith sees God’s hand in greater things. Established faith sees God’s
hand in the smallest things. I can tell you of a man who was a professed atheist
who sold a refrigerator he said was guaranteed against anything but an act of
God. I asked: What do you mean an act of God? He replied: Well, like a
thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning or a tornado that would strike it and break
it. Even an atheist can see God’s hand in great things, but it takes faith to
see God’s hand in the little things. One time I drove up and my father said to
me, Ralph, you have two sparrows in the grill of your car. I looked at it and
said, Yes, Dad, it was the Lord’s good pleasure that two sparrows fell to the
ground. When we learn to see the Lord’s hands in these things, that is
established faith.
Everyone can see God’s hand in a tornado. When a hurricane strikes, even common
people call it an act of God, but can you see God’s hands in the little things
of your life? That takes established faith.
We read in Zechariah 4:10: “For who hath despised the day of small things?” We
must see the Lord’s hands in the little things in our lives. We must ask, Lord,
what are you doing in my life? What will you have me to do in my life in
response to what I see happening in that person’s life? I am not looking at what
that person said or what that person is doing. I am looking at what the Lord is
doing. What is the Lord’s purpose in what is happening in that person’s life?
Putting our faith into exercise is essential to becoming established in faith.
The Apostle Paul admonishes those who had failed to put their infant faith into
exercise in Hebrews 5:12: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye
have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles
of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”
If you and I have infant faith, the only way it grows is by putting it into
exercise. The Apostle Paul was reproving the church because they had not put
their faith into exercise, and they were still babes.
Even though Paul was well-established in the faith, and had many and rich
experiences, he stresses the importance of pressing forward. There is never a
time that you and I become so established in faith that we come onto a plateau
and say, OK, now I can rest there. We read in Philippians 3:14: “I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This is
perfection. You and I never will reach perfection in this life, but we must
strive for it.
This striving for perfection is the high calling of everyone who names the name
of Christ. If you and I profess to be Christians, if we walk under the banner of
Christ, we must strive for perfection. I want you to see this in Philippians
3:15: “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any
thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”
See how Paul laments over those whose faith is not put into exercise by living
by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD,” that is, whose
walk does not compare with their profession.
The walk of some does not compare with their profession, and we see this in
Philippians 3:17-19: “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which
walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of
Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose
glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”
The Lord is teaching us that our walk of life is the measuring stick whereby we
measure our exercise of faith.
The Lord led His dear children those 40 years through trying circumstances to
teach them what was in their hearts. The circumstances the Lord leads us through
are lessons in faith to teach us to know our own hearts.
Then we learn to realize that little faith is enough to see the mountains of
sin, but not enough to see the Sun of righteousness who shall arise over them.
As we grow in grace, we must not only have our eyes fixed on ourselves and the
corruption of our own evil hearts, but we must see the Sun of righteousness
rising over that mountain of sin.
We read in Malachi 4:2: “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow
up as calves of the stall.”
The holy Sun of righteousness arises with healing in His wings that comes from
that balm of Gilead, that blessed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that has that
cleansing power. As we see the malignity of our own hearts, we see the cleansing
power in the blood of Christ.
The Lord leads us through these humbling circumstances to prove us, whether we
will put our faith into exercise to grow in grace, whether by faith we can
overcome these corruptions, whether by faith we can overcome the bitterness that
is in our hearts, by looking away from circumstances and looking to the blessed
redemption we have in Christ. He has come to redeem us from all iniquity.
Now we come to where we start gaining the victory over these circumstances
through the Lord Jesus Christ.
We read in 2 Peter 3:17-18: “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things
before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall
from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
We must beware lest we be led away by the nature of our old human heart, that we
allow our old bitterness, hatred and superstitions to rule in our hearts. As we
grow in the knowledge of Christ and what He has done to redeem us from the power
of sin, and as we learn to understand that blessed atonement, and how the Father
was so pleased with the obedience of His dear Son even unto death, the death of
the cross, we learn to understand how we must also die to ourselves. We must be
obedient unto death, that is, death to self, sin and the old man of sin.
It is so essential to grow in grace through the exercise of saving faith because
infant faith’s hope lies in its feelings. We do not live by bread alone. We do
not live just by being justified. That in itself is not salvation. We need
sanctification. We need the Spirit of Christ. We need to put that Spirit of
Christ into exercise. When we begin to have faith, that faith is centered in our
own feelings.
When feelings are warm, hope is high. When feelings are cold, hope is in
despair. That is infant faith.
James says in James 1:6: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he
that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” This
is infant faith. We must overcome these things by having our eyes fixed on the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Little faith has its anchor of hope cast in its own ship, that is, in its
feelings, circumstances and prayers. If you feel that you have an opening in
prayer, then your feelings are warm. Established faith, however, has its anchor
hidden in Christ, and it is unmovable. Whether our feelings are warm or whether
our feelings are cold, our faith does not falter. Our faith is anchored in the
solid Rock of Christ, because Christ is the anchor of our faith. It is not
centered in our feelings or in our frame.
Hebrews 6:19 says, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” The veil of the
Temple was torn in two from top to bottom when the Lord Jesus Christ died. This
opened the way for us to enter into the presence of God. We can come before the
Lord with our needs and our wants. Our hearts are centered in that anchor, in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now our hope is within the veil. Our hope is in the
presence of God.
It is through that blessed sacrifice of Christ that the way was opened for you
and me to come within the veil We read in Matthew 27:50-51: “Jesus, when he had
cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of
the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did
quake, and the rocks rent.”
Only the high priest could go in through the veil into the immediate presence of
God, where the ark of the covenant was. This was entering the Holy of Holies.
Now this way is open to us, and this is where our hope lies. Now our hope is in
the Lord.
In Hebrews 11 the monuments of established faith are listed to urge us on to
mature in faith. The established faith of Moses could see over those mountains
of earthly pleasure and honor, to see the Sun of righteousness with divine
healing in His wings.
We see this in Hebrews 11:24-26: “By faith Moses, when he was come to years,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in
Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”
Moses could look over the top of this and see the blessedness there is in
suffering affliction with the people of God because that is where the true
riches are. He desired to be conformed to the blessed image of Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ led His disciples through many trying circumstances to
humble them, to prove them and to teach them what was in their hearts. This is
what the Lord is doing to you and me as He leads us through this wilderness
journey. He brings us through these trying circumstances that crucify our flesh.
Our hope is not in the things of this life.
We read in Mark 6:48: “And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was
contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them,
walking upon the sea.”
He had sent His disciples out to sea. The wind was contrary, and the wind is a
type of the Holy Spirit. In the Spirit, everything seemed to be contrary to
them. This teaches us that in the darkest time of our trials, the Lord will open
our eyes to see that it is He walking upon those waves. He was the one who sent
that trial. Instead of looking at the circumstances, we start seeing Christ in
the trial.
When their eyes of faith were opened to see that Sun of righteousness, there
was healing in His wings.
We read in verse 50: “For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately
he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not
afraid.” When you and I come into the midst of our struggles, and when our eyes
are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we hear Him saying, “Be of good cheer: it is
I; be not afraid.”
Continuing in verse 51 we read: “And he went up unto them into the ship; and the
wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and
wondered.” When the Lord Jesus comes on board in our hearts, the winds cease.
This means the trial is over. It does not mean that the circumstances change,
but the trial is over. We have peace in those circumstances. We can give it all
over into the hands of the Lord and unconditionally surrender to Him. In those
circumstances they were still out in the sea, but the wind ceased.
Sometimes it leaves such a vacuum. When the Lord Jesus comes on board, it seems
that all of a sudden, the whole trial is over. We wonder sometimes how it all
happened. It was by faith, by having our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Little faith can only see that tumultuous sea, but established faith sees Jesus
walking on those waves. We can see that we have a problem. We see our sins. We
see all these things that mount up against us, but we are unable to look over
the top of that mountain to see that blessed Redeemer, that Sun of
righteousness. We cannot see that precious cleansing blood. Now we see that all
the filthiness of our hearts is washed away.
As faith grows, the anchor of our hope is cast more and more out of self and
into Christ, “both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the
veil.” It brings us now into the presence of God. It brings us to where our
hearts can bask in the sunshine of His righteousness, that our hearts can now
bathe in the sunshine of His love.
David, the man after God’s own heart, found that his salvation, his very life
itself, was found in living “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
the LORD.” It is by that Word of God in our hearts that flows as a fountain.
We read in Psalm 119:173: “Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy
precepts,” in other words, your Word. I want you to see how He lived by every
word that proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord.
Continuing in verse 174 we read: “I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and
thy law is my delight.” He had such delight in the will of God. His own will was
totally dissolved in the will of God.
David said in verse 175: “Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let
thy judgments help me.” To live means to walk with the Lord. It means to walk in
the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We read in verse 176: “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant;
for
I do not forget thy commandments.” David, the man after God’s own heart, had
gone astray. He saw how his own heart was filled with the things of the flesh.
He had strayed from God’s commandments. He had done so many things contrary to
God’s Word, yet he had not forgotten the Word of God. He strayed from it so
often. He was looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Shepherd and Bishop
of his soul.
As we become established in faith we are admonished to overcome the
circumstances by the exercise of saving faith. We read in 1 Corinthians 3:2: “I
have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear
it, neither yet now are ye able.”
The Apostle Paul is telling them they are not growing in faith because their
hearts are still filled with carnality. They must grow. They must overcome this
carnal heart and these carnal actions and these carnal desires. They must strive
against them. They must take their eyes off from the things of the flesh, and
fix their eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 3 he said: “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” They
had not overcome these things. They had not yet come to enough self-denial to
overcome these divisions and strife.
Therefore Peter said in 1 Peter 2:1-5: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and
all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, As newborn babes,
desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have
tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone,
disallowed indeed of
men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ.”
This is how the Lord is going to build His spiritual house. You, the lively
stones, have overcome all these things by the blood of the Lamb. You have been
able to look away from yourselves and look to Christ. To become a holy
priesthood means that you have been able to put self on the altar of sacrifice.
This is where we have a priesthood, the sacrificing of that ugly monster I.
Those spiritual sacrifices you and I must offer up are those wrong attitudes,
those things that please the flesh. We must put on the altar everything of the
flesh. You and I would never be accepted in ourselves outside of the perfect
sacrifice of Christ being imputed to us. In that precious blood of Christ, we
have that atonement made, which is the pardon of our sins. Therein we become
acceptable, and therein we must see that our offering of our spiritual
sacrifices is only acceptable in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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