JUNE RADIO MESSAGE ENJOYING SALVATION O ne thing I enjoy is to look at par ticularly interesting verses ' of Scripture to find many precious les sons from them. I think of Jeremiah 12:5, “If thou hast run with the foot men, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?” There is a good appli cation here for those who go to church just because they have to. After about 10 minutes they start yawning, looking at the clock to compare it with their watches. If all one has is a passing interest in spiritual things, why should he think he would enjoy heaven? Maybe you sit there wishing the preacher would hurry up and get through. You are figity and wearied with it all. If you were with people who are really spiritual, loving their Bibles, singing songs of Zion, praising God and wor shipping Him, it would be as “run ning with horses.” Now, if “running with footmen” (weak religious teach ing) bothers you, what would you do when the real thing comes along. The prophet also talks about “the land of peace.” This is where you have everything anyone could want. There is plenty of money, a good salary is coming in, the home is paid, the children are all well, the automo bile is covered with insurance, and the chickens are all laying. If in this kind of an atmosphere the things of God weary you, whatever would do if you went to heaven? This is what the swelling of Jordan represents. This portion of the Bible deals with hypo crites. These are people who want only enough religion to keep them out of hell, but not so much as to affect or to impede their daily lives. These peo ple only profess to be Christians; it is merely a “show.” I knew a woman who seemed to be
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a wonderful Christian. One day her husband fell dead in the front yard. In a matter of days she had turned against the Lord, putting her Bible on the shelf, and stopping any church attendance. She dropped out of every thing. What would this woman do in heaven? In the gloryland, Christ, not our own self, occupies all the atten tion. Beloved, when one is really saved, God gives him a brand new life and an entirely different nature. As a re sult, he loves the things of Christ. His personal likes and dislikes will be completely changed. This is one of the miracles of salvation. If it has never been your portion, you need to make it so today. Since the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is given to you this is the rea son you love to live the life of God. The more spiritual the church is, the better you will like it. The more spir itual the preacher is, the more you love him. The sweeter the songs are, the more you love to hear them. Your whole soul, mind and heart are occu pied with heaven. It is impossible, apart from redemption, to get a sinner to live like a saint. He may put on a front for a few hours Sunday morn ing, but the rest of the week it is a different story. Man must have a new nature which only God can give. If the Lord Jesus has given you the gift of eternal life, it must manifest itself. One time I mentioned over the air that beans are left handed; they grow up a pole from left to right. (Peas do just the opposite.) Several weeks later, I received a letter from a woman near San Diego who wrote, “You may know something about your medicine, and you may know your Bible, but frankly, you don’t know beans. I have some in my backyard which grow from right to left. What do you say to that?” I wrote back a kind note, thanking her, saying, “I ’m so glad 13
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