The Yoke of Christ (Christian devotional reading)

James Smith - The Yoke of Christ (Christian devotional reading)

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A Treasury of Ageless,
Sovereign Grace,
Devotional Writings http://www.gracegems.org/

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

James Smith was a predecessor of Charles Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel in London from 1841 until 1850. Early on, Smith's readings were even more popular than Spurgeon's!

The habit of laying up a text of Scripture in the morning, to be meditated upon while engaged in the business of this world through the day—is both profitable and delightful. It is as a refreshing draught to a weary traveler!

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Christian Praise and Worship in Songs, Sermons, and Audio Books

A large video collection of classic hymns, contemporary Praise and Worship songs, and the works (audio books, devotional readings, and sermons) of men greatly used of God, such as: Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink, John Owen, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, John MacArthur, E.M. Bounds, John Bunyan, George Whitefield, and many more, covering topics on many aspects of the Christian life. May your time spent here be blessed.

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The Greatness of Being a Slave (Mark 10:35-45) John MacArthur

http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/41-54

Open your Bible to Mark chapter 10 verses 35 through 45, next to the last section in chapter 10 and tonight we'll wrap it up in the final section. This message in verses 35 to 45 may seem a little bit like an echo because our Lord is working on communicating a very important spiritual truth to His disciples and they are fighting against it, resisting what He is endeavoring to teach.

We really would almost start our understanding of this section by going back to chapter 9 for a moment and verse 33. Still at the end of the ministry in Galilee, they came to Capernaum. He was in the house and He began to question them...what were you discussing on the way? But they kept silent for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. "Sitting down He called the Twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.'"

Just a few weeks ago when we talked about that, and it's just a few weeks later in the life of our Lord and His disciples as they are about to enter in to Jerusalem for His death and resurrection that the subject is addressed again. And I hate to tell you, but this won't be the last time either. The subject will come up during the Passion Week. It will still be on their minds when they are at the Last Supper, the night of our Lord's betrayal. Luke 22:24, "There arose a dispute among them as to which of them was regarded to be the greatest. And He said to them, 'The king of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors, but it is not this way with you that the one who is the greatest among you must become like the least and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table, but I am among you as one who serves.'"...

Slaves for Christ, Pt. 2 (John MacArthur)

We're going to turn to a subject in the New Testament that as I think about it is largely ignored and overlooked. And I've been made aware of that in recent months. It was not too many months ago that I was flying on one of those jumbo jets from Los Angeles to London, in the process reading a book that dealt with the issue of slavery in the New Testament time and in the New Testament text. It set me thinking in all kinds of directions. I actually finished the book on the flight I was so rapt in my attention to this particular theme.

Being a slave of Christ may be the best way to define a Christian. We are, as believers, slaves of Christ. You would never suspect that, however, from the language of Christianity. In contemporary Christianity the language is anything but slave language. It is about freedom. It is about liberation. It is about health, wealth, prosperity, finding your own fulfillment, fulfilling your own dream, finding your own purpose. We often hear that God loves you unconditionally and wants you to be all you want to be. He wants to fulfill every ambition, every desire, every hope, every dream. In fact, there are books being written about dreams as if they are gifts from God which God then having given them is bound to fulfill. Personal fulfillment, personal liberation, personal satisfaction, all bound up in an old term in evangelical Christianity, a personal relationship. How many times have we heard that the gospel offers people a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

Slaves for Christ, Pt. 1 (John MacArthur)

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/80-321

We're going to turn to a subject in the New Testament that as I think about it is largely ignored and overlooked. And I've been made aware of that in recent months. It was not too many months ago that I was flying on one of those jumbo jets from Los Angeles to London, in the process reading a book that dealt with the issue of slavery in the New Testament time and in the New Testament text. It set me thinking in all kinds of directions. I actually finished the book on the flight I was so rapt in my attention to this particular theme.

Being a slave of Christ may be the best way to define a Christian. We are, as believers, slaves of Christ. You would never suspect that, however, from the language of Christianity. In contemporary Christianity the language is anything but slave language. It is about freedom. It is about liberation. It is about health, wealth, prosperity, finding your own fulfillment, fulfilling your own dream, finding your own purpose. We often hear that God loves you unconditionally and wants you to be all you want to be. He wants to fulfill every ambition, every desire, every hope, every dream. In fact, there are books being written about dreams as if they are gifts from God which God then having given them is bound to fulfill. Personal fulfillment, personal liberation, personal satisfaction, all bound up in an old term in evangelical Christianity, a personal relationship. How many times have we heard that the gospel offers people a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

Submission

Submitting to authority is one of the single most effective ways you can make the gospel attractive. And even though submission is clearly the will of God, too many Christians seem to think it's optional. That's a reproach to the gospel, the church, and the Lord Himself. It's God's will that we lead peaceful, quiet lives, submit to the laws of the land, and be a blessing to church leadership. We are to submit. That is God's will. Here's John MacArthur to explain...
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Slaves of Christ

Playing Mercy with Jesus

By: Tyler Kenney @

When I was a kid I would sometimes play a game called “Mercy.” A friend and I would interlock hands and try to put each other into painful, inescapable positions. When one of us couldn’t handle any more we would cry “Mercy!” and the game would be over.

Stupid game, huh? But reading in Luke 18 recently I noticed a similar theme in Jesus’ parables and practice.

First, he tells the story of a widow who was seeking justice. Even though the judge was unrighteous, he heard the widow’s case because of her persistence. Jesus applies the parable, saying, “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?”

Next, he talks about the Pharisee and the tax collector who both prayed in the temple. Unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector went home justified, because he recognized his unworthiness and cried out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

The chapter ends with Jesus’ encounter with a blind beggar who would not quit calling out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Others were telling him to be quiet, but Jesus stopped and asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?” At the man’s request, Jesus restored his sight.

In each of these instances the Lord answered prayer—prayer of a certain type: a cry for mercy, desperate and persistent. And this is how he still deals with his people.

The Lord is pleased to help us in our distress, but he doesn’t always answer us right away. Sometimes it feels like we’re playing Mercy with him and he’s going to twist us until all that’s left is for us to beg for help.

He doesn’t have to insist that we ask for justice a hundred times like the judge does to the widow. He could answer after just one prayer. Jesus could have healed the blind man without waiting for him to scream out twice. But often the Lord keeps us under some weighty trial so that we can better see our great need for him and cry for mercy.

Paul notes this in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9:

[W]e were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Paul was pushed to the limit, and it was by God’s design. The Father’s purpose in burdening us and making us wait for him is the same as it was for Paul: he wants to make us humble. He wants us to rely not on ourselves but on him.

He wants us to rely on the one who can break our addictions, make us more patient, free us from anxiety, open our hearts to our enemies, open our family members’ hearts to the gospel, and give us greater affection for our Savior (to name a few things I’d like to see happen in my life).

Therefore God, in his mercy, sometimes bends us into painful, inescapable positions so that we will learn to cry “Mercy!” to him for every relief that we seek, and so that we will rely more on him who is able to cure every sorrow and pain.