A Remedy for the Self-Consumed Heart

How would you like to take a dose of hope today? The most common problem man has is looking unto himself instead of looking unto Jesus. He is also the most hopeless and helpless man, with no control over his natural desires and the pressures his world imposes on him. Whoever desires to save his life will end up losing it. The good news is that whoever is willing to lose his life by looking to Jesus will find it. Here's a basic case study which outlines the steps God gives to turn around a self-consumed sinner. There's quite a bit of Scripture involved, but I have often felt that too many references makes reading difficult. If you'd like a list of all the references I used to construct this list, ask me for it by leaving a comment.

1. No one hates himself. "Love your neighbor" is predicated on loving one's self as a reference point which all people can relate to. The same is used as an illustration for a man to care for his wife.
2. Man's problem is that he spends too much attention on himself. God's will for man in this cursed world is taking up the cross. A man who loses his life will find it, but one who spends his life finding himself will eventually lose it. A sincere friend like-minded to Jesus will care for his brethren.
3. There is no neutrality: either a man seeks his own, or the things of Christ Jesus. Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. A man cannot store his treasure in the air, as it were. The natural man worships himself, focuses on his desires, and considers such desires worthy. His path leads him to 2 Timothy 3:15. The righteous man stores up his treasure in heaven, and receives everything he needs from that source.
4. In order to understand ourselves, we must understand ourselves in the context of Christ. A man must examine himself using God's Word as a lamp. "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble." As God enables us, we learn that when we think about ourselves, we need to think God's viewpoint about ourselves. In this way we accept what God has given us and do not think of ourselves in a way that is higher and unseemly.
5. We must trust ourselves (including all attempts at goodness) to God. First, He is the author of our faith, and also the finisher. "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". In this way, we a) do not become self-sufficient, b) we take on God's viewpoint of ourselves, and c) we make an effort to obey God's commandments, because He is able to do the work of producing the fruit.
6. This is where the promises of Romans 8 come in, so that we can trust God instead of ourselves. We know we have:
   a) everything from God pertaining to life and godliness because He did not spare His own son for our behalf.
   b) the Providence of God which works out all things for our good, whether we sin or not.
   c) the guarantee because every sinner who is predestined to the elect will be glorified - no sheep gets permanently lost.
   d) God for us in His will and good pleasure.
   e) the judgment of God in our behalf, so that no one can bring a charge against us or condemn us.
   f) the love of Christ which cannot be separated from us, for inasmuch as God has created all things, nothing can usurp His power to separate us from Him.
7. In order to lay aside every encumbrance and run the race, we must look unto Jesus as the pattern, who endured the cross and hostility from sinners, and persevered, loving His own in the world until both the end of His life and the end when we are resurrected.
8. What do we do when we look to God and see ourselves as we should from God's perspective? We glorify God instead of ourselves; we also consciously determine that we will glorify God whether we exist, eat, or drink.
9. We determine that although we may not immediately find joy in glorifying God, but may feel pain as we are deprived of our pleasures (Hebrews 12:5-11); but this is eventually removed because our peace and joy are not from this world, but from above. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, etc, all of which lead to a productive and cheerful life in which we no longer require ourselves to be about the business of serving ourselves, nor do we constrain others to serve us.
10. As we receive the payoff of glorifying God, we look more and more into the glory of God so that we can do it better.
11. This leads us to the reformation of institutions and culture; we glorify God with the responsibilities He has invested in us.

"The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above."
Proverbs 14:14

It works!

Quote

"Spiritual sorrow will sink the heart if the pulley of faith does not raise it. As our sin is every before us, so God's promise must be ever before us. As we much feel our sting, so we must look up to Christ our brazen serpent. Some have faces so swollen with worldly grief that they can hardly look out of their eyes. That weeping is not good which blinds the eye of faith. If there are not some dawnings of faith in the soul, it is not the sorrow of humiliation but despair."
-- Thomas Watson

Therapy

Christianity has gradually adopted the worldly means of therapy. Worldly therapy involves self-help: the circumstances aren't so bad; they can be met by adopting a positive outlook. Self-worth can be found by looking deeply into ourselves to see the good there. Foster the good outlook, sift out the bad.

All of this may seem good at first, except for one problem: worldly therapists are liars. We don't bear good fruit. Our desires are rotted by sin. Attempts to twist them to good only twist them more. So where do we look? What do we depend on? I have come to realize that I don't feel weak when I'm depending on God. Depending on God is the remedy. God turns our trials to our benefit through His mercy. He completes what He starts. He builds us up together as a body through our struggles. His Spirit inside us grows the good fruit. That's a positive outlook that stands up and walks in the pain life brings, because it can look the truth square in the eye.

I can't imagine that what I'm writing now is new to the readers. But in the course of everyday events, what do we really do? In spite of all our good intentions, how do we help each other? What do we point our friends to when they come to us broken down?

"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all."

On 'Of Plymouth Plantation'

I read through Of Plymouth Plantation once before, and as my memory is not always sufficient, I decided to read through it again. I wish all history books were written like it. Bradford was a straightforward writer who did not attempt to make the history of his settlement anything more than it was. In spite of that fact, his constant reliance on God shines through, and he is not averse to giving advice to those who come after, knowing that experience learned from God is not in vain (as some who take humility to un-christian bounds think).
I'm somewhere near page 240. I have learned this so far:

A. Take heed lest we fall. Several men who survived the "starving time" and were close confidants of Bradford and other worthies fell into a snare when God blessed the general faithfulness of these Pilgrims with riches (such as Isaac Allerton). The tightly-knit church began to disperse when maximizing their material wealth became more important than fellowship, accountability, guidance, and mutual edification.

B. Don't give unworthy trust; know that a man only stands as God permits him. It is a pain to note how Bradford and the council sometimes did not operate with wisdom, but permitted unrighteous or back-sliding men to take advantage of them time and again.

C. Uphold the law. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." It is good that Bradford mixed a great measure of mercy with his judgment, but the extent to which he did so caused a great deal of harm to his community, as in the events surrounding Mr. Morton. His judicial pattern is much more lenient than the pattern upheld in Exodus - Deuteronomy and Romans 13. (To prevent an unnecessary effusion of commentary, know that I believe repentance a part of justice in certain instances, but trust must come with a re-assigning of authority.)

D. Tell the truth. The many letters inserted into the narrative are instructive. At the end of the day, I wish the writers would make less room for proclaiming how they were "unfeigned friends", "dear friends", etc, but rather told the truth and worked hard for the benefit of their friends. Proverbs 20:6 comes to mind: "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?"

Of Plymouth Plantation is good history. I commend the book for all those who have not read it.

The Effects of Death Upon the Living

Our scene opens upon two young men conversing together. One is of very earnest and animated countenance, with a manly bearing and the stamp of virtue upon his face; the other is of a manner more carefree and inclined to enjoy the youthful pleasures of life without considering the more sober, but necessary elements. We come upon Joseph, the former, speaking sincerely upon the matter of death.


“The voice of a dying man seems to be more readily hearkened to than that of his lusty neighbours. Perhaps this is on account that death strips away vanity from his thoughts, and he is given new eyes to shun that which is of no account in the ever-approaching light of the world to come. Death! How it banishes the thoughts of vain pleasures and the care for esteem of men. For who so foolish as  to seek the acclaim of masses when his soul is quickly departing to the Presence of the One before whom the opinions and esteem of men hold no weight?”

Joseph paused his elaborations. Charles rested a firm chin in his hand and gazed across the fielded meadows and hills below. “But,” he answered, “I have known men to die in very different states than such as you have described. Why, John Cosper not a year ago, with the knowledge of his impending death, spent his last days carousing and drinking until he was laid so low that he was unable to rise from his bed, and even then kept up his profane speech.”

“This,” said Joseph with a smile mingled with sadness, “is too often a manifestation of the effects of death upon the unconverted soul. They cannot bear the agony of their spirits which should surely attend them should they allow themselves one moment’s solemn reflection. So, to quench such uncomfortable thoughts from their minds, they throw themselves into as much distraction and gratification as they can. Indeed, I have known men who are not faced with death to behave so. It is not uncommon— no, for it is the very nature of every man to have a void in his soul which clamours to be filled. And only one thing can fill it!”

Joseph rose to his feet and walked about excitedly. “Only one thing can satisfy the deepest want that lies in the bosom of every man since Adam. And that thing is the Lord Jesus.”
“I knew it would come back to that,” said Charley whimsically. “You always manage to cram a great deal of religion into your lectures, Joseph.”

Joseph was not swayed by the carelessness of his companion. “Death is said to be man’s enemy, but I cannot help but think that the Lord has also given him the touch of a friend. For, though many men reject his calling, he bids them to take a close inspection of their lives and see whether they will pass muster on the final day. Death sometimes merely passes the door of a man, giving him a good shaking-up before passing on, which gives a renewed view of life, its brevity, and the importance of seeking those things which hold eternal value.”

“It’s all very well for you to speak so,” returned Charley, “but I have no thoughts so morbid as those which you seem to find pleasant companions. The way you talk, one would think that you derive pleasure from an evening at the grave-yard, among the foreboding stones.”
“As well I do, after a fashion,” replied Joseph, smiling. “I have often improved an idle hour by taking my books to the quiet solitude of gravesides to reflect upon the brevity of life and to prepare my soul for the life to come. It is not an unwholesome practice as it might seem, Charley. Oh, it could be rendered so by such modern thinkers as regard death with a sort of worship, considering those things that are manifestations of the Fall and sin as worthy of much contemplation and study. They are lacking the very element that makes such reflections profitable- and that is looking always upward to the Cross of our Savior and King. All studies must ultimately point there. If they do not, no matter how highly regarded, they are worthless and destructive. The light of the Cross alone gives wisdom, and no scholar or university can profess to know anything apart from it.”

Proverbs 31

 This post is copied with permission from another blog:

 We all know Proverbs 31 is the example for Christian women to emulate.  So, herein I intend to break it up in smaller bits to be better evaluated.

 Here I intend to put together a "check list" of sorts, so we can evaluate just how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go.
 To label specifics so to speak, so we can better focus on improvement in certain areas.

 Proverbs 31:10-31

1) - Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
 The goal is to be virtuous. The question to ask is, Am I virtuous?

2) - The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
 Now, most of us are not married yet, so we tend to think the Proverbs 31 is not for us until then. Wrong.
 The goal here is to be honorable so that our husband (now, or in future) can safely trust in us.
 Am I honorable?

3) - She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
 Am I doing good? or am I not really caring about the outcome of my actions?

4) - She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
 Am I working willingly? Do I work at whatever task comes my way, and doing it willingly? Am I willing to try new things for the good of others?

5) - She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
 Do I feed my family properly?
 Am I looking out for their health?

6) - She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
 Am I willing to be up all night, or get up early... essentially to give up sleep in service to others?

7) - She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
 Am I creating a home industry that will support my family?

8) - She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
 Am I keeping in good enough health to be of use?

9) - She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
 Am I making quality things, putting effort into them to make them good enough? Or am I slapping it together to save time?
 Am I willing to work long hours to support my family?
 Am I willing to keep my home open to any who are in need? Keeping an hospitable light shining?

10) - She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
 Am I skilled in the necessary things to clothe my family properly? and to make the things they need?

11) - She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
 Am I willing to her whoever God sends my way, regardless of rank, social standing, cleanliness.... or whatever?
 Do I reach out to the needy, and meet them where they are at?
 Do I love others unconditionally?

12) - She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
 (A different twist here) Am I fearing things other than God?
 Am I looking to make thing comfortable for my family?

13) - She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;her clothing is silk and purple.
 Am I taking care of how I, myself dress?
 Am I being certain it is modest and covering, enough to not cause others to stumble?
 Or am I settling for second best, and not really caring how I represent my Lord?

14) - Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
 Am I backing my God given authority in his endeavors?
 Am I being supportive of him, and giving him a good name?

15) - She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
 Again; am I being industrious and helping to provide for my family?
 Am I being productive and therein making the world better for others?

16) - Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
 Am I clothing myself with strength in the Lord?
 Am I bringing honor to my God and husband/father?

17) - She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
 Am I watching everything I say, and being certain I say only good things?
 Am I being kind in what I say?
 Is what I'm about to say wise? or is it better left unsaid?

18) - She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
 Am I making sure my home runs smoothly, and keeping busy about my work spreading the love of Christ?

19) - Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
 Am I (going to be) raising my children to love and respect their elders?
 Am I being a good influence on them, or the children of others?

20) - Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
 Rather than thinking - I'm doing better than others... - am I following the highest standard to the best of my ability, caring nothing for this world; but striving to be like my Lord?

21) - Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
 Am I fearing only God, and striving to be like Christ, rather than getting caught up in the vain favor of the world?
 Or am I trying to be pretty, and gain the favor of men rather than God?

22) - Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
 If the works of my hands could be known to all around, would they bring me shame? or would they be praiseworthy?

 Now that it is divided out, and broken up as a task list, we can see exactly what we have left to do, and can therefore focus our efforts on those things a bit better.

 How are you doing on the list? Are you surprised at how much you do have of it? or are you disappointed at how much you don't have? (no need to answer this here, you are to ask yourself this question)

 You see, filling the role of a woman is far from boring. There is so much we as women are to do. Why do we compete with the men for their role, when there is so much for us to do?

 I'm certain you wouldn't "translate" some of it the way I did... but you get the idea of what I mean.

Advance to the Battle

The Kingdom Advance is a page meant to - 

Educate: Proverbs 9:9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 

 Proverbs 16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. 

 Proverbs 16:23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

Encourage: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

 To do as they Israel did in Judges 20:22

 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.

 As David did in 1 Samuel 30:6

....but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

And

Strengthen God's people for the battle: Isaiah 35:3

 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

1 Samuel 23:16

 And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.

Job 4:3-4

 Behold thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

Psalm 27:14

 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Psalm 31:24

 Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

 1 Timothy 6:12

  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.