Spiritual Growth and Reward

"For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 1:11

No struggle will be regarded as too severe, no self-denial will be regretted, no toilsome patient victory will be remembered as too trying, but these very things will constitute the exquisite joy and recompense of our eternal home-coming. "For so," he says, "an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." How it lights up this whole passage with a wondrous glory to remember that the Greek word used here to describe our entrance into the kingdom is the very same Greek word used with respect to the "adding " to our faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, godliness, and all the train of heavenly graces. It is not that an abundant entrance merely shall be ministered unto us, but the idea is that a whole chorus of heavenly voices and harmonies will sing us home, and that we shall enter like warriors returning in triumphal procession from a hard-won and glorious victory. It is not merely that a chorus will meet us, but it is the very same chair that we ourselves gathered around us in our earthly conflict. The graces, the virtues, the victories, the triumphs of patience and love that we won and perhaps had quite forgotten will all be waiting yonder like troops of angels, and all shall gather round us and fit into the chorus of joy that shall celebrate our home-coming.

Growth, Grace, and Provisions

"According as His divine power hath given unto as all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to His glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." 2 Peter: 1-3

God has provided all the resources necessary for a holy and mature Christian life. These resources are provided for us through the graces and virtues of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we are called to receive and share. "He hath called us," not to our glory and virtue, but "to His glory and virtue." It is the same thought which the same Peter expresses in his first epistle, 2:9, "That ye should show forth the excellencies of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." Not, "the praises of Him," which is obviously a bad translation, but "the excellencies." We are to display the excellencies of Jesus to the world, or, as it is here, "The glory and virtue of Jesus." He clothes us with His character and in His garments, and we are to exhibit them to men and to angels. And these provisions of grace are brought within our reach through all "the exceeding great and precious promises," which we may claim and turn into heavenly currency for every needed blessing.

Peace, love, and faith

"Peace be to the brethren, and love and faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."—Eph. 4:23.

Peace, love, faith; these are the three things which the apostle desired for the brethren; remembering, no doubt, what had come to himself,—"the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 1:14) This threefold blessing comes directly from the Father and the Son, through the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.

"I need peace." Yes; and it is this that the Father gives. It is this that Jesus gives. Both Father and Son desire that you should have it. Allow them to give it.

"I need love." Yes ; and it is this which the Father and the Son bestow. They hold it out to you. They will not only teach you their own vast love, but also to love in return.

"I need faith." Yes, surely you do; and the whole Godhead presents it to you. "It is the gift of God." Lord, increase our faith! Lord, help our unbelief!

Go, then, trustingly to God; to the Father and the Son; that you may get at once the peace, the love, the faith which you need so much. Confide in the free love of the Godhead. You will find in this simple confidence the cure of all spiritual diseases, the channel of all health and blessing. Distrust will do nothing for you. It will only make you worse. Unreserved confidence will do everything for you. God asks this. Give Him his request.

He is our peace

" He is our peace."—Eph. 2:14.

It was peace that we needed; for sin had thrown us out of peace, by troubling the conscience, and coming in between us and God. It was peace that we needed; for without peace what is life?

It is peace that Christ has made. He has not left it for us to make. He has made it on the cross, leaving nothing that is needful for our peace undone. Faith simply apprehends what Christ has made. Unbelief tries to make peace; but faith takes it as already made, and rejoices in it. All that hindered our having peace has been taken away; and all that could cause trouble of conscience has been fully met by the work of the Great Substitute upon the cross.

The cross is the display of righteous love,—love coming to us from God in a righteous way. We lift up our eyes to the cross, and see the Son of God there bearing sin. Then does the love flow in to us. The more that we allow the thoughts of this free love to find their way into us, the deeper and more abiding will be our peace. We are like men placed in an atmosphere filled with fragrance and health. We have only to inhale it. The gospel has surrounded us with this atmosphere of free love. Let us open our mouths, and breathe this blessed air. It will at once revive and refresh us. We shall find what health and vigor it can impart to our Souls and Bodies.

Have peace in Jesus

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace"—John 16:3.

There is peace for us; yes, Peace even in a world of evil and unrest. Whatever shadows may fling themselves across our path or rest above our dwellings, there is peace. We do not need to be troubled or sad.

The Son of God makes known the awesome truth. He says "there is peace" and He tells us where it is found,—in Himself. "He is our peace," and the "peace which passeth all understanding" is in Him alone. "In me ye shall have peace." "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you."

Yet again, He tells us that it is through what He has spoken to us that we are to get this peace which is in Him. His words are the words of peace. They lead us to Himself. They make known the grace that is in Him. They tell us what He is as well as what He has done. To listen to the words which Christ has spoken, is to drink in the peace of which He is the fountain. In hearing Him, peace flows in upon us like a river. It is only by closing the ear against Him, and against His words, that we can shut out the blessed peace.

How little do men know how much they lose in not listening to His voice! and how much they would gain in listening!

l am among you as he that serveth

"l am among you as he that serveth."— Luke 22:27.

In the kingdom of Christ, the lowest place is the place of honor. It was this that He himself stooped to when He took upon Him the form of a servant.

It was in lowly love that He thus came to serve us; and what is there that He is not willing to stoop to in order that He may supply our need? He has already stooped to the cradle, and the cross, and the tomb; and what is there, after these, that He will shrink from or refuse, in the way of service for us?

He has taken on Him this special office, and will He not perform it well? What want is there, be it great or small, that He will not supply? In going to Him for this supply, we are not taxing His patience, we are not making undue demands upon Him, we are not making too free with His love or condescension. We are only employing Him in the very way in which He delights to be employed. We are only making that use of His condescension which the Father designed, when He filled Him with the Spirit without measure, and sent Him to us, that He might "supply all our need, according to His riches in glory." We cannot be too needy, or too empty. He is as unwearied in His service as in His love.

Trust in Him at all times.

"Trust in Him at all times."—Ps. 62:8.

One of God's heaviest complaints against us is, that we will not trust Him. There is nothing that He desires so much as this; there is nothing that honours Him so much as this; there is nothing that would bring so many blessings to ourselves; yet we do not trust Him. We speak of Him, but we do not trust Him. We pray to Him, but we do not trust Him.

Have we any good reason for this distrust? Is God's character such as to repel our trust? Has He shewn us so much ill-will that we dare not trust Him? Surely there are no reasons in Him for distrust! His whole character and acts towards us are such as to draw out our most hearty trust. His love, His grace, His long-suffering,—all these revealed and pledged to us in the gift of His beloved Son,—shew us what a God we have to do with, and how entirely worthy of our trust He is.

Nor can anything in us, however evil, be a reason for not trusting Him. Our sins may be many, our hearts may be hard, our wills may be crooked, our ways very rebellious; but all these together are no reason for distrusting God. To distrust Him because of these, would be adding sin to sin. He is "rich in mercy;" He is the "God of all grace;" let us "trust in Him at all times." Simple trust in Him as the God of all grace would do for us what nothing else could do. We shall be no losers by our confidence.

Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.

"Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."—Ps. 55:22

We do not need to bear our own burdens any more than we need to bear our own sins. God has provided for the bearing of both. He takes them upon Himself. The work of burden bearing is as completely His as is the work of sin-bearing. His love has removed all necessity for our attempting to bear either the one or the other.

Even if we could, then, why should we bear them? It is not wise ; nay, it is foolish beyond measure; and it is as useless as it is foolish.

But more than this, it is sinful. To try to be our own sin-bearers, is to make void the work of Christ as such; so to try to be our own burden-bearers is to make void His work as such. We see the sin of trying to bear our own guilt, let us learn to see as clearly the sin of seeking to bear our own burdens. Let us understand the sin of not casting our burden on the Lord.

What is there about these burdens that we should be so unwilling to part with them? Or what is there about God that should make us unwilling to cast them on Him? His love, and power, and faithfulness, all invite us to do this. Not to do it is to suspect and distrust Him. He delights to bear the whole undivided weight; shall we not, then, give up every burden to Him who wants us to be "without carefulness," because He careth for us! What sweet and holy lightness of spirit would then be ours! The burden is not lessened in itself, but it is borne by the Mighty God!

The Lord is my refuge!

"And the Lord shut him in."—Gen. 6:18.

He who shut Noah in, did by that very act, shut out all evil . He shut out the flood, he shut out the storm, he shut out death. He gave a pledge to his faithful servant that all would be well.  Above, there was darkness; beneath, the tossing wave; around, the moaning wind; far off and near, the cries of dying multitudes; yet Noah was secure.  Jehovah had shut him in and Jehovah kept watch.

Then was he safe indeed.  No peril could reach him, no enemy could find access, no sudden mischance could surprise him.  He was as safe in the midst of the rolling waters as was Enoch in the presence of that Lord to whom he was caught up, that he might be taken away from the evil to come.

It is Jehovah who "shuts in" His Noahs, with their families, in the day of evil. He has His chambers provided for them; He leads them into these when danger threatens; He secures them against enemies; He himself stands sentinel at the gate.

In stormy times let us call to mind this security. The name of the Lord is our strong tower; let us run into it and be safe. He bids us enter; He shuts us in ; He keeps watch without. Though the whole world, like a mighty flood, rise against us, as if to overflow and overwhelm, He who shuts us in will keep us. We shall not be moved. Jesus is our ark, and He who shuts us in is the Father.

Spiritual Peace

The birth of Christ was celebrated by a multitude of the heavenly host, whose song on that memorable occasion was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,” Luke 2:14. The interesting message which God has sent us by his commissioned servants the apostles, is justly termed the gospel of peace, Rom. 10:15.  Jesus Christ, whose authority and power in the church are absolute and unchangeable, is styled the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6. And one effect, or fruit, of the Holy Spirit’s influence, is said to be peace.  Ever since the first entrance of sin, the world has exhibited a scene of disorder and confusion, a field of blood and carnage. But those who cordially receive the gospel, who become the subjects of the King of Zion, who are habitually led by the Spirit, are made partakers of true peace.

Spiritual peace consists in that sweet and calm serenity of conscience, which arises from a well-grounded persuasion of our reconciliation to God.

How awful is the condition of man in a state of depravity and guilt! “ Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them,” Gal.3:10. The law, insists upon obedience perfect in all its parts; perfect in every degree; and, in each of these respects, perpetual.  While, therefore, any one continues under the law, a stranger to himself, and an enemy to God by wicked works, he must be destitute of true peace.  The terrors of Divine justice are set in array against him, and a condemning sentence is prepared to fix his eternal doom. In this state, no creature can afford deliverance. But “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,” Rom. 5: 6. 

We must look to Calvary for the first glimpse of hope.  There we see the moral law in the highest degree honored, and all its demands fully answered.  There we see the most striking display of inflexible justice and eternal mercy.  There we behold the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world! There our peace was made and ratified by the blood of the everlasting covenant.  Paul says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,” Gal. 3:13. “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself,” Col. 1:19, 20.  Peter declares, that “ Christ hath suffered, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,” 1 Pet. 3: 16. These, and many other Scriptures, clearly show the divinely appointed method of reconciliation for guilty, apostate man. Glorious, and ever to be admired, is the grand scheme of human redemption.

How the Joy of the Lord is maintained.

The joy of the Lord is sustained by His word and nourished by His "exceeding great and precious promises." "I rejoice in Thy Word," exclaims the Psalmist, "as one that findeth great spoil." Oh, the rich delight of beholding in the light of the Holy Spirit, the heavenly landscape of truth open before the spiritual vision, like some land of promise shining in the glory of the sunlight, the whole Bible seeming like the vision Moses saw from Pisgah's top! We have found great spoil, and it is all our own. "We have received the Spirit that we may know the things that are freely given us of God," and we can truly say like the same Psalmist again, "Thy testimonies are the joy and rejoicing of my heart." How sweet the voice in which the Spirit speaks the promises to the sorrowing heart and makes this precious word a living voice from our Beloved!

It is the joy of prayer. Its element is the closet, and its source the Mercy-seat. No prayerless life can be a happy one. "They that wait upon the Lord shall mount up on wings as eagles." "Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."

It is the joy of meekness and love. "For the meek shall increase their joy in the Lord," and the loving spirit ever finds that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." Selfishness is misery, love is life and joy. The gentle, lowly, chastened spirit shall find all the flowers in bloom and the waters flowing in the valleys of humility. The unselfish heart shall never fail to prove the promise true, "If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, the Lord shall satisfy thy soul in drought, and thou shalt be like a watered garden and a spring of water whose waters fail not." 

It is the joy of service and especially of winning souls. All true work is a natural delight, but work for God in the true spirit and in the power of the Holy Ghost, is the very partnership of His joy, whose meat and drink it was to do the will of Him that sent Him and to finish His work.

The secret of the Joy of the Lord

It springs from the assurance of salvation. 

It is the joy of salvation. 

Its happy song is

 "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,

Oh, what a rapture of glory Divine 
Heir of salvation, purchased of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long."
If you would know it you must accept His promise with full assurance of faith, and rest upon His word without a wavering or a doubt.

It is the joy of the Holy Ghost. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy." It is not indigenous to earthly soil; it is a plant of heavenly birth. It belongs to the kingdom of God, which is "righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." To know it we must receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in full surrender and simple faith. It is the characteristic of all who receive this baptism that they know the joy of the Lord, and until we do receive this eternal fountain in our heart, all our attempts at joy are but surface wells ; they are waters often defiled and their bottom often dry. This is the great Artesian stream, the "well of water" Jesus gives "springing up unto everlasting life."

It is the joy of faith. "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing." There is indeed a deep delight when God has answered prayer, and the joy of fulfillment and possession overflows with thankfulness, but there is a more thrilling joy when the heart first commits itself to His naked promise, and standing on His simple word in the face of natural improbability, or even seeming impossibility, declares, "though the fig-tree shall not blossom nor fruit be in the vines, yet will I rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation." If you are doubting God you need not wonder that your joy is intermittent. The witness of the Spirit always follows the act of trust. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee," but it is just as true, "Surely, if ye will not believe, ye shall not be established."

The Joy of the Lord is our strength for the body.

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." This is the divine prescription for a weak body. And so on the other hand, despondency and depression of spirits are the cause of nervousness, head-ache, heart-break, and low physical vitality. A word of cheer and an impulse of hope and gladness will often break the power of disease. 

It is true there is a deeper cause and a diviner power than the mere natural influence of joy. Incurable disease can only yield to the actual touch of Divine omnipotence, but joy is the channel through which the healing waters flow, and the overflow of the life of Christ in both soul and body.  If you would live above your physical conditions, if you would renew your strength continually and "mount up on wings as eagles, and run and not be weary, and walk and not faint," if you would carry in your veins the exhilaration and zest of unwearied youth and freshness, if you would know, even here, in all its fullness, the foretaste of the resurrection life in your body, if you would be armed against the devil's shafts of infirmity and pain, and throw off his arrows upon your body as the heated iron repels the water which will not lie upon it, then, beloved, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and. again I say, Rejoice."

The Joy of the Lord is our strength for temptation.

"Count it all joy," James says, "when ye fall into divers temptations." One reason for this is because it is the best way to meet them. The devil always gets the best of a melancholy soul. Despondency will always bring surrender. Satan is so little used to joy in his own home that a happy face always scares him away. Amalek got hold of the hindmost of Israel's camp, the discouraged ones who were dragging behind and fretting about the hot weather and the hard road they had to travel. Such people always find the way harder before they get through. The fiery serpents, which were the devil's scouts, stung the murmuring multitudes, and it was an upward look to the brazen serpent that healed them. Jehoshaphat's armies marched to battle and victory with shouts of faith and songs of praise, and so still the joy of the Lord is the best equipment for the great conflict. But the apostle also means, no doubt, that temptation is no cause for despondency, but rather a great opportunity of spiritual progress. It is the proving of our armor and an evident token that the devil sees something in us worth trying to steal, and we may be very sure where the army of the enemy is encamped there the army of the Lord is also near. "The trying of our faith worketh patience, and let patience have her perfect work." Let us go through all the discipline and learn all that it has to teach us, and "when we are tried we shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love Him."

Let us then go forth into the conflicts which await us without a fear or cloud, and when we cannot feel the joy, but "are in heaviness through manifold temptations," let us "count it all joy," and say, "I will rejoice in the Lord, and I will be joyful in my God."

The Joy of the Lord in trials

The joy of the Lord is our strength for the trials of life. There are two ways of bearing a trial; the one is the spirit of stoical endurance, and the other through the counteracting forces of a holy and victorious joy. It was thus that Christ endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him, and then He could despise the shame and not even allow the smell of fire to remain upon His garments. We read in the first chapter of Colossians the prayer of the apostle for a company of saints who had already reached such a measure of holiness that they were made partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; but there was something higher and better for them, namely, that they should be ''strengthened according to His glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness." "Patience" to endure the trials that come from the hand of God, and "long suffering" to endure those which come from men, and both to be endured with real joyfulness. In fact, there is nothing to endure when the heart is full of joy. It lifts us wholly above the trial, and we do not realize that we are being afflicted or wronged. The blessedness of true self-sacrifice is in being so filled with God that we will not have any sacrifice. What luxury of grace it is thus to be lifted above all that could even try the heart! The rocks are not taken from the bottom of the stream, but the blessed tides rise so high that the ships sail far above them in the current of God's great joy. And so the apostle explains his self-sacrifices for the Philippians, "Though I be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all."

The joy of the Lord always counts on something better than we lose, and remembers that there is one above who is the great Recompenser and Restorer, and will give a thousand times more by-and-by for one victory of patience and love than all the world is worth to-day.  Yes, the joy of the Lord is our strength for life's trials, And lifts the crushed heart above sorrow and care,

Like the nightingale's song, it can sing in the darkness, And rejoice when the fig tree is withered and bare.