J.C. Ryle: The Remedy for Thirsty Men

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

(John 7:37-38)

"'If any man thirst,' says our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, 'let him come to me, and drink.'

"For what is the sum and substance of these simple words?  It is this.  Christ is that Fountain of living water which God has graciously provided for thirsting souls.  From Him, as out of the rock smitten by Moses, there flows an abundant stream for all who travel through the wilderness of this world.  In Him, as our Redeemer and Substitute, crucified for our sins and raised again for our justification, there is an endless supply of all that men can need: pardon, absolution, mercy, grace, peace, rest, relief, comfort, and hope.

"This rich provision Christ has bought for us at the price of His own precious blood.  To open this wondrous fountain He suffered for sin, the just of the unjust, and bore our sins in His own body on the tree.  He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21).  And now He is sealed and appointed to be the Reliever of all who are laboring and heavy laden, and the Giver of living water to all who thirst.  It is His office to receive sinners.  It is His pleasure to given them pardon, life, and peace.  And the words of the text are a proclamation He makes to all mankind, 'If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.'"  (Holiness, J.C. Ryle)

J.C. Ryle: Are You Already With Christ?

Do you find yourself content?  Not the contentment of peace with God, but the contentment of "I've made it."  This kind of contentment puts every believer in the place of laziness, selfishness, and closed eyes to the world around us.  It is a contentment which looks forward to the coming of the Son while forgetting those in the present who have yet to experience forgiveness, mercy, and grace which comes only from the Father.

The words of J.C. Ryle below are a tack-on-the-chair of every believer, every disciple of Jesus Christ. Care for those in need, but please don't forget their eternal state.  For what good is it to feed a poor man to delay his physical death if his eternal destination is everlasting death?  Those of us "with Christ" are called to look beyond the physical and see the spiritual.  Are we, in the words of J.C. Ryle, "Awake to a deeper sense of the sorrowful state of those who are 'without Christ'?"  May his words speak directly to us as God's people.

"If you have become one of Christ's friends already, I exhort you to be a thankful man.  Awake to a deeper sense of the infinite mercy of having an almighty Savior, a title to heaven, a home that is eternal, a Friend that never dies!  A few more years and all our family gatherings will be over.  What a comfort to think that we have in Christ something that we can never lose!

"Awake to a deeper sense of the sorrowful state of those who are 'without Christ.'  We are often reminded of the many who are without food or clothing or school or church.  Let us pity them, and help them, as far as we can.  But let us never forget that there are people whose state is far more pitiable.  Who are they?  The people 'without Christ!'

"Have we relatives without Christ?  Let us feel for them, pray for them speak, to the King about them, strive to recommend the gospel to them.  Let us leave no stone unturned in our efforts to bring them to Christ.

"Have we neighbors without Christ?  Let us labor in every way for their soul's salvation.  The night comes when none can work.  Happy is he who lives under the abiding conviction that to be in Christ is peace, safety, and happiness; and that to be 'without Christ' is to be on the brink of destruction."

Spiritual Wholeness

Recently, I found a puzzle piece in the cushion of our chair at home.  The piece came from one of my children’s puzzles, which had been thrown out months before.  Why did we throw out the puzzle?  It wasn’t complete.  It wasn’t whole.  The purpose of a puzzle is to put it completely together in order to enjoy the whole picture.  But a puzzle that is incomplete is not fulfilling its purpose as a puzzle and so isn’t worth putting together.

Over the past number of months we have been wading through the book of James and have addressed issues from listening to and doing the Word of God, showing favoritism, taming the tongue, submission to God, and prayer.  Like a puzzle without all its pieces, so a disciple of Christ is not whole or complete without addressing each of these issues in their life.  Unlike a puzzle without all its pieces, God does not throw us away.  Instead, He works through trials and circumstances to create the pieces needed to become whole.  This week we will attempt to bring the words of God through his servant James together to help us as disciples of Christ to understand what it means to be spiritually whole and spiritually mature.

But we must all be warned, for growing into spiritual maturity is humbling, difficult, time consuming, and painful.  But in the end the disciple of Christ will be made whole.  Not by our own effort or merit, but by the work of the Spirit within our hearts and lives.

Join us this week as we discover God’s command to grow into spiritual maturity and wholeness.  May God use this time together to bring us to Him in a deep and mighty way, for His glory and greatness alone.

True Wisdom Brings Peace

“Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals.  Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business.  If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival.  One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, ‘I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much.  Would you be rich?  You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy.  Do you wish to live a long and healthy life?  You can, but his life will be longer and healthier.  What is your desire?’  The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, ‘Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!’”  (Thomas Lindberg)

Jealousy is nothing new to the human race.  Selfish ambition has plagued mankind for generations since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden.  James, the brother of Jesus, takes special care in James 3:13-4:3 to address the problems that were evident in the churches of his time and still afflict the church today.

The opposite of jealousy and selfish ambition is wisdom, but not just any type of wisdom.  What is this wisdom?  How can the true Christian and disciple of Christ live out this wisdom?  What is the root cause of jealousy and selfish ambition?  Where does God’s intervention come into play?

Join us this Sunday as we dig into James’ words of encouragement and conviction.  Prayerfully be prepared for the Holy Spirit’s movement in your own life and in the life of the church as a whole as we look into the Truth of God’s Word.

All or Nothing

The University of Buffalo football team has been invited to a bowl game only once in its 102 year history.  In 1958 the team had a record of 8-1 and was invited to play Florida State University in the 13^th annual Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida.  But before they could get fitted for their new sports coats for the trip down south they were informed that two players on the team could not play in the game.  The lease holder for the stadium prohibited any African-American athlete from playing on the field.

The players gathered together in the basement of the university to take a vote on whether to play the game without two of their players.  Just before the slips of paper were handed out the players verbally voted not to go.  In essence, their vote said, “We bring all the team or none of the team.”  They had an “all or nothing” view on the issue.

In James 2:8-13 we see the same mentality when it comes to true and genuine Christianity.  It is an “all or nothing” deal.  If obey the entire law of God but fail at one small point we have failed at the law in its entirety.  We either obey the entire law or disobey the entire law.  There is no middle ground.  So, where does this leave us as believers?  How do I view my own sin?  How are we called to view our sin?  What hope is there for those of us who continue to struggle to obey the law of God?  What reassurance does God give our faith in this passage?

I would encourage us all to read through the first two chapters in James in preparation for what God is going to say to us this Sunday.  May He speak truth into us and may we grow in spiritual maturity through the hearing and doing of His Word.

Wholeness Requires Wisdom

“Knowledge is exploding at such a rate – more than 2000 pages a minute – that even Einstein couldn’t keep up.  In fact, if you read 24 hours a day, from age 21 to 70, and retained all you read, you would be one and a half million years behind when you finished” (Campus Life, February, 1979).

Though this statement was made over thirty-five years ago it is still applicable today.  But it is not the idea of knowledge on which we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, should focus.  Knowledge can be a wonderful and helpful thing to attain, but it is not knowledge which is required for the disciple of Christ to grow into spiritual maturity.  Far too many people equate knowledge with wisdom and even far too many more equate biblical knowledge with biblical wisdom.  Biblical knowledge can be achieved through consistent study of the Word.  Biblical wisdom is only given by God.

James 1:5-8 addresses the need the disciple of Christ has of wisdom and the consequences for the one who doubts that God will give wisdom.  What does this wisdom look like on a practical level as a disciple of Christ?  How should we react when doubts creep into our minds?  Why is wisdom so important for the disciple of Christ?  As we explore this next passage of James may the wisdom of God truly be upon us and may we be open and excited for the work of the Spirit in us?

The Pursuit of Spiritual Wholeness

As we begin our message series on the book of James I feel it necessary to remind us all of the implications which we are about to encounter.  James, the half-brother of Jesus, is not one to beat around the bush or candy-coat his words.  And in so doing he very easily goes directly to the heart of many matters.  In studying this book in-depth we will encounter the actual state of our faith, hearts, thinking, and priorities.  This encounter may very likely cause us to become uncomfortable, defensive, or perhaps even angry through the conviction of God’s words through His servant James.  But those experiences should not discourage us but encourage us.

As we discovered a few weeks ago, the main focus of the book of James is the spiritual wholeness of the believer.  As James 1:2-4 tells us, this wholeness comes at a price.

Gold is a natural metal which does not come in a pure state.  The purer the gold the more it is worth, but to make gold more pure takes high temperatures, time, great effort, and a special devise called a crucible.  This crucible is made of metal or clay which can withstand great heat.  The gold is placed into the crucible and the temperature is raised to great amounts in order to melt the gold into a liquid form.  Once liquefied, the impurities found within the gold float to the top where they can be removed thus making the gold more pure.  The gold is cooled and if needed or desired run through the process a second, third, or fourth time.

James 1:2-4 speaks of trials in our life as a crucible where the end goal of this process is spiritual wholeness.  So, what is spiritual wholeness?  How can I be sure that the crucible of my life leads

towards spiritual wholeness and not bitterness or spiritual immaturity?  What is my role as a believer in this process?

May God speak to each of us who are His children and disciples to use this passage in our personal spiritual growth as well as our corporate growth as His church.  May we be prayerfully prepared to hear God’s Word and act upon His call for our lives.

Growing in Maturity

As we grow older in age most of us tend to grow in maturity.  What used to be humorous to us at ten years old seems silly and immature at thirty years old.  This is the natural course of life.  The older we get the more mature we become.  But do we view our spirituality in the same light? 

The idea of growing in spiritual maturity is not a new concept.  In fact, it may seem obvious to some of us that growing in spiritual maturity should be the natural course of our faith in Christ. But in the same way that we must work to become more mature in character as we grow older in age, spiritual maturity does not come naturally or easily.  Hebrews 5:12-14 speaks to this:

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (ESV)

In this passage the writer of Hebrews is exhorting the spiritual maturity of his readers.  He desires that they grow in spiritual maturity but realizes that they lag far behind the curve.  They should be mature in their walks with Christ, but something has kept them as spiritual infants who need milk and not solid food.

In this week’s passage Paul and Barnabas are on the last leg of their first missionary journey where they revisit the cities where they have preached the Good News.  While in these cities they work to guide these new believers into spiritual maturity.  What did they do?  My encouragement to us all is to read Acts 14:21-28 before worshipping together this week and be prayerfully prepared for what God has in store for us.