Scripture Truth. Vol.50

292 Pages·2011·13.78 MB·English

by  C Curry

SCRIPTURE TRUTH
VOLUME FIFTY
1989 1990 1991
Editor
COLINCURRY
Scripture Truth Publications
Central Bible Hammond Trust Ltd.
30 South Road, Wooler, Northumberland
England NE71 6SP
INDEX
Study Series
Blackbum, J. S. BIBLE STUDY - JOSHUA
11: "And the Land had Rest from War" 52
Curry,Colin BEYOND OUR DEPTH - Introduction 145
1: Alone, and yet Not Alone 146
2: Sin - Exceeding Sinful 187
3: Sovereign Choice 273
Girard, Martin A TE~LE GREATER THAN SOLOMON'S
1: The Church as a Building 12
2: The Church, which is His Body 21
3: The Bride, the Lamb's Wife 36
Hughes, Gordon BEHOLD MY HANDS AND MY FEET
1: The Hands ofJesus 65
2: The Feet ofJesus 86
3: The Ears ofJesus 103
Menzies, Bos FROM WEAKNESS TO WINNING
1: Despair 2
2: Detennination 26
3: Decisive Victory 41
Spratt, Gordon THE BREAKING OF BREAD
1 : His Personal Request 161
2A: The Expression of our Unity 183
2B: The Expression ofourUnity - Problems 202
3 : An Act ofTestimony 245
4A: Leading into the Sanctuary 262
4B: Leading into the Sanctuary (continued) 278
Spratt, Gordon THE THREE MINISTRIES
1: The Kingdom - Part 1 90
2: The Kingdom - Part 2 136
3: The Kingdom - Part 3 150
4: The Church - Part 1 217
5: The Church - Part 2 (to continue D.V.) 227
Wallace, Frank FULNESS OF TIMES IN THE N.T.
1: Part 1
2: Part 2
General Ministry
Bames, lohn Bring me a Minstrel 55
Green Pastures 166
One Man 254,261
Blackbum, J. S. A Question Answered (Reprint) 238
Brett, Jeffrey Christ the Firstfruits, the Forerunner,
the Firstbom 132
Briem, Christien The "Our Father" (from the Gennan) 81
Creeth, R. A. Devotedness to Christ 17
The Christian's Calling 129
A Remarkable Prophecy 257
Two Men ofRemarkable Faith 177
Curry, Colin Factors in Spiritual Increase 120
From the Top to the Bottom 69
The Burning Bush 60
The Mediator 110
The Middle East 232
The Upward Spring 33
Willing and Doing 196
Davison, Donald The Obedience ofOne 225
Davison, Mark Ambassadors for Christ 142
Service Godward 5
Service Godward (concluded) 29
The Voice ofthe Bride 209
Dronsfield, W. R. Why did the Lordchoose Judas? 277
Foot, Paul Unfinished? 107
Goodwin, Arthur Real Respect for God 8
Harrow, lames My Outlook 215
Hill, Andrew The transfonning power ofChrist 173
(continued) 180
Hodson, D. S. A Voice in the Wilderness 116
Kerr W. A Call to Faithfulness 194
Our Good Land 49
McCann, AIlan SelfOffering 98
Nunn, Andrew Keeping your Balance 45
Ondrejack, L. J. The Rat Race 124
Pulman, Dayjd An Encounter with God - Adam 200
Remwick, Slephen Facets ofa Servantof God 170
Retallick, Allan David'sGod 73
Losing Sight of the Promises 251
More Precious than Gold 113
"Ye Would Nol!" 283
Tyson, Tom The Mountain of Ministry 153
Wallace, Frank The Times and Seasons 220
Wilson Smith, J. Devotion to Christ 140
White, NeviUe Commitment(4) 287
Wolf, J. W. "He shall testify to Me" 156
Miscellaneous
Baptism in the Spirit Extract (Ed.) 77
Other Calendar Extracts, with Comments. See Below.
IncompilingthisindexI am impressedbythesheerrangeorsubject-matter
covered by the Volume. It ranges (rom substantial articles, worthy ofthe
closeststudyandattention,totheshortestofpieces,mostlybutnotallormy
selection,which,bytheirstyleand quality ofexpression,seemed tocallfor
inclusion. Theseare toonumberousfor detailed recognition ina listorthis
or
kind. The vastness the material we handle humbles one in facing tbis
task,andGod sgraceandyourprayerfulinterestandsupportarecontinu
t
ally needed.
(Editor).
Scri ture Truth
Incorporating Words of Help JANUARY, 19~9
J look not back - God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning and regrets;
I leave them all with Him who blots the record,
And graciously forgives. and then forgets.
I look not forward - God sees all the future,
The road that, short or long, will lead me home;
And He will face with me its every trial,
And bear for me the burden that may come.
I look not round me - then would fears assail me,
So wild the tumult of life's restless seas;
Nothing I see but failures and shortcomings,
And weak endeavours crumble into dust.
But I look up - into the face of Jesus!
For there my heart can rest. my fears are stilled.
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.
Contributors to this issue may seem to many readers ofScripture Truth
like new names as writers, but only Mark Davison is truly in this role. I
welcome him to these pages. His paper, as received, was of length which
Q
requiredsome division. Ihave left over his third section, 'Power in Christian
Service: to the next issue. Arthur Goodwin wrote one previous article, 'A
Man in the Glory' in 1980. Isuggested to him the title for the present paper,
and he has responded in way which stresses how vitally important is
Q
respect for God in all our ways before Him. Martin Girard has only lately
appeared in these pages. His paper here is the first in a sequence ofthree
- 'The Church - as Building, Body and Bride'.
Bos Menzies wrote a few papers long ago, in 1968/72, and I welcome
his return. His article also begins a short sequence - but Iparticularly pick
itout to stand on its own at the start ofVolume 50. I believe we must begin
by recognising the plain truth of some of his statements here. (Ed.)
I
2
SCRIPTURE TRUTH
From Weakness to Winning
BOS MENZIES
Part 1 Despair
"As Iread the biographies of Christians of bygone days and distant lands,
Isometimes feel despondent. God does not seem to work so dramatically
where I live, nor amongst the people I know." Does this strike a chord
in your heart? Many of us, no doubt, are longing to see the Lord's work
prosper. "If only more people would come along to the Gospel Meeting,"
we say. "If only people had more respect tor God." But sophisticated
twentieth century citizens seem to be heedless of God. They seem to
prosper without God; and our small assemblies seem to dwindle in
powerlessness.
In our time . ..
There are some people who would point to the warning which Paul
wrote to Timothy about evil-doers in the last days. Peter and Jude, too,
make clear that there will be scoffers and deceivers. Is it not therefore
only to be expected that the church of God will be under pressure now?
Is it not to be expected that there should be signs of smallness? To me
this is a "counsel of despair". Paul makes quite clear in his writings that
there is a fight to be fought and a race to be run. He does not say: "In
the last days the church will be small and weak, and you must expect to
dwindle into insignificance."
Even if we take the letter to Philadelphia as applying to God's people
under pressure in the last days, we cannot overlook the positive statement:
"Thou hast a little strength". Too readily we emphasise the words - "a
little", and thus miss the important word - "strength". "Behold," says the
Saviour, "I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it:
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied
my name" (Revelation 3:8).
Peter writes of our privilege as chosen people, a royal priesthood,
and focuses attention upon the activities which should engage us: "ye
should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness
into His marvellous light." Jude also emphasises a practical and energetic
response to the evils of the last days: "Be merciful to those who doubt,
snatch others from the fire and save them." Of course, we need to be wary
of the darkness around us. "Show mercy," says Jude, "mixed with
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FROM WEAKNESS TO WINNING
fear." But to be sitting in our empty rooms, fearful of the world and hiding
from it, seems to be accepting defeat. It reminds me of Gideon's early life.
A man of faith
Gideon is one of the people listed in the letter to Hebrew Christians as
an example of a man of faith. His story is one of transformation from the
bitter and fearful experience of weakness to the elation of winning. Often
we focus our attention on the victory over the Midianites, but the start
of the story was as unpromising as our contemporary predicament, and
is instructive.
The promised land, miraculously handed to His people by the all
powerful God was now over-run by enemies. The Midianites certainly had
the Israelites on the run. Those to whom the land had been given were
so hard pressed that they were living in caves in the countryside. Terrified
to take up their heritage, they cowered away from the marauding invaders.
When the Israelites had sown their crops, the Midianites and Amakelites
came and reaped the harvest. They came with their cattle and their tents,
and encamped around the Israelites looking just like a swarm of
grasshoppers. There was barely enough food for the Israelites to survive.
I can imagine Gideon regretting that the amount of grain which he
had managed to keep should be so small; he was determined that no one
should snatch it away. He took his paltry portion and hid in a wine press.
There he threshed the grain with fear in his heart. Perhaps he was saying
to himself: "It is a day of small things; I should be glad to have any grain
at all. I'll have to keep it to myself, though. There's not enough to share,
and if I let anyone know about it they will surely snatch it away."
The wrong idea
Whatever Gideon thought as he worked in secret, he was soon to be
startled out of his reverie by the voice of a stranger who said, "The Lord
is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." Gideon could hardly believe
his ears. The stranger seemed to have made two mistakes.
"Oh, my lord," said Gideon, "If the Lord is with us, why has all this
befallen us?" Gideon knew all about God's power. He had heard all about
the deliverance from Egypt, but that was now historical detail. He had
no experience of God at work in his day, so he felt defeated. Anyone
nowadays who spends all the time thinking about the wonderful things
the Lord used to do is in danger of Gideon's error. We remember huge
Sunday Schools, we remember powerful addresses by well-known speakers
in well-packed halls. But what is happening now? We take the words
4 SCRIPTURE TRUTH
of Revelation 3:8, "thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word and
hast not denied my name" - and we guard these words as Gideon guarded
his grain. We hide in a wine press, and feel helpless.
Gideon thought that the stranger had made two mistakes. First, he
seemed to think that the Lord was with Gideon. Gideon did not feel God's
power. He could only see breakdown and weakness, the strength of the
enemy and the despair of his people. Secondly, the stranger imagined that
Gideon was a mighty man of valour. Gideon told him that this was not
true. From an insignificant family, Gideon reckoned that he was about the
most insignificant person in it. And yet, Gideon's action in guarding his
grain and being determined to survive in the land which God had given
to his ancestors really was a sign of strength. He knew what God's promise
had been, and he was doing his best to realise it.
A challenge
Dare we identify with Gideon? If we keep God's word, and if we do
not deny His name, then we are holding on to the only secure foundation
for survival in this age, or the age to come. But like Gideon, we feel weak;
we fail to perceive that what we have could be shared and could become
a plentiful harvest. This is partly because we settle for a day of small things.
Greater is He that is in you . . .
God is good to us, and we enjoy fellowship together over His word.
It is a privilege for us to meet with our Lord and to remember Him as
we break bread together. Together we offer our praise and worship to
Him for what he has done. We know that we are His, and that because
we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts so
that we can call out to Him - Abba! Father!
We have the pleasure of intimacy with the Father Himself. We are secure
in our relationship with God. (More secure, in fact, than Gideon was.) We
are favoured, and we are glad; but we are not very effective. We dissociate
ourselves from the disobedient Israelites in the wilderness who said, "Is
the Lord among us or not?" Of course, He is among us. He promised that
He would be with us right up to the end of the age. It seems strange that
we forget the power which is His. We must never forget that our God is
real, He has supernatural power, and this power is not diminished in this
age. We are certain that He will never leave us nor forsake us. that being
so, perhaps we are ready for the next part of the message to Gideon:
"Go in this thy might ... have not Isent thee ... surely [ will be with
thee."
SERVICE GODWARD 5
Service Godward
MARK DAVISON
(t) Our responsibility in Service
(ii) Our motivation to Service
The thoughts which I share with you below have been very much in the
front of my mind in the last few days. As Iwrite, Ihave just returned from
a week at a children's camp. On the Thursday evening, we were feeling
a great concern that none of the children had openly shown any response
to the Gospel message. The following morning, I had the task of giving
a 'thought for the day' to the officers and the Lord gave me thoughts from
which the following has developed. I trust that the Lord will bless these
things to all who are active in the service of the Master and particularly
to any who are feeling discouraged in their service.
(1) Our responsibility in Service
In 1Corinthians 3:5-8 we have clearly laid out before us the responsibility
which is laid to the door of every sincere servant of the Lord. The first
thing which strikes me in these verses i~ that the work which we do, IT
IS GOD'S WORK. The work which God does is totally outside of our ability
- it is initially the saving of souls and subsequently the building up of
believers in their faith. According to verse 6, He is the one who gives the
growth. If you are a gospel preacher, a Sunday-school teacher or speak
at Women's meetings, never forget that this is God's work which you are
doing. What an immense honour we should consider it to be - a part of
His working. He need not use us, His Word is all-powerful and yet in His
grace, God uses such as you and me.
What then does this mean for us as servants? Exactly that - we are
Servants of the Master. In a large, wealthy household, the servant does
his allotted task or whatever the master asks him to do. It may be that
the required task is something totally puzzling to the servant but he must
nonetheless carry it out. He may not have any idea why that thing must
be done, but do it he must. Why? Because the master has said that it should
be done AND HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHY! So it is with God. We know
well the hymn which begins: "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders
to perform", and often we cannot understand why He should require
something to be done. But it must be carried out just the same. Have you
ever thought what went through the minds of the children of Israel when
6 SCRIPTURE TRUTH
they brought an animal for sacrifice? Why should God find the system of
sacrifices satisfactory? As we look back from our position in time, we can
see quite clearly why it was. For what greater picture could there be for
us at the death of the Lord Jesus? Similarly, Ioften think how inexplicable
the words of Isaiah 53 must have been to the Prophet and yet what
profound meaning they have to us.
The work which we do must always have God's interests at the centre.
We are merely instruments in His hand and as such should crave no glory
for ourselves. How satisfying I often find it when a person comes up to
me after a gospel meeting and says how much they have enjoyed it. I
wonder what God thinks of me at that moment? He works through the
servant and all the glory and honour must be His. Paul says in verse 7
"Neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, BUT GOD
GIVETH THE INCREASE". It would seem clear from verse 4 that divisions
were occurring in the assembly at Corinth. Believers were taking sides
against fellow believers - what a familiar story in the history of the church
down through the centuries. Paul, therefore, finds it necessary to emphasise
to them in verse 23 that the servant is nothing but Christ is everything.
None of us are any greater than another in the sight of God.
Finally, I come to the very heart of the matter of our responsibility.
The Lord lays a task at our door to be carried out. We do it, and then
leave it with God to bring the fruit. It may be that we never see the fruit
of the work, BUT WE HAVE FULFILLED OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD
AND MUST LEAVE THE OUTCOME TO HIM. Whilst at the camp of which
I spoke above, one lad gave testimony to the fact that he had accepted
Christ as his Saviour at camp two years previously. We had known nothing
of this until then. What evidence this is to the fact that Eternity alone
will tell of the fruits of our service to the Master.
Note that there is no credit given to Apollos or Paul in this scripture
for the fruit. The latter's eyes were firmly fixed on his Lord and Master
and saw His hand working in everything. (We will consider this in greater
depth when we look at our Motivation to service.) Philippians 2:16 says
this: "Holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain, nor laboured in vain". There was nothing for
Paul to be proud of whilst in this world but rather, at the judgment seat
of Christ, then will he be rewarded according to his faithfulness in carrying
out his responsibility to God. Do not, therefore, look around for results
and become discouraged when you see none, rather, KEEP YOUR EYES
FIRMLY FIXED ON CHRIST and be encouraged in the fact that you are
serving Him.
In the light of the scriptures then, I challenge you to ask the