Fed by Christ ~ Bread of Life & Fountain of Living Water

"He who eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." -John 6:57 [KJV]

Why is the meek Saviour so very wroth against self-righteous people, while He is nothing but love and tenderness to poor sensible sinners? Why does He stamp the highest indignity and contempt on the character of the former, while He receives the publicans and harlots with open arms? Is it not hard, because a man esteems his own righteousness, and values his own perfection, that the Saviour should reject him? Are we not to do good, to be very good, yea, to strive to be as righteous as an angel? Yes, we are to have a better righteousness than angels ever had. 

But if we think that righteousness is to be obtained by us, to cover our wicked nature, to recommend us to God, and to justify us either first or last, in whole or in part, we deceive ourselves—the truth is not in us—there is the pride of the devil at the bottom of all this. Woe unto us, we are full, but we shall hunger, (see Luke 6:25.) If full of a proud conceit, and high opinion of our own righteousness, our souls will famish and starve. “The full soul loatheth the honeycomb,” (Proverbs 27:7.) 

It has no appetite to feed upon Christ, and to live by Him, as its only food and clothing. “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled,” (Matthew 5:6.) That soul is truly convinced of sin, by the Spirit, who sees he has no righteousness of his own, is sensible, that he must perish everlastingly, without a perfect, spotless righteousness; knows this is only in Christ, and therefore hungers and thirsts after His righteousness. This is the soul who eats Christ— feeds upon Him, and shall live by Him. 

A hungry soul is a self-emptied soul. Is yours such? Does it go out after Christ, as a hungry appetite does after food? Will nothing satisfy you, but the flesh and blood, the righteousness and atonement of the Son of God? Bless the Lord, you have David’s experience, “I will go in the strength of the Lord God.” He fed on Christ, and received his strength from Him. “I will make mention of His righteousness, even of His ONLY. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto Thee, and my soul which Thou hast redeemed,” (Psalm 71:23.) 

Holy Paul’s language is yours: I count all things but loss for the excellency of Christ Jesus my Lord. I esteem all things but dung, that I may win Christ. The whole and sole desire of your soul is, to be found in Him, (see Philippians 3:9.) You have the sure word of Christ. You shall live by ME. Live by His grace in time: live with Him in glory to all eternity. 

 

‘Tis sweet to live and daily feed 

On Jesus’ flesh and blood: 

His flesh and blood are drink indeed, 

To all who’re by Him lov’d. 

Lord, may I love Thee more and more, 

For every word Thou saith: 

Increase my hunger ev’ry hour, 

To feed on Thee by faith.

 

-preacher Wm. Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Putrid Cup of Tolerance: When Evil Poses as Progress

"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." -Psalm 97:10 [KJV] "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." Thomas Mann's chilling words pierce through the fog of modern moral relativism like a shard of ice. It's a warning that echoes through the blood-soaked pages of history, a truth we ignore at our peril. The Seduction of False Neutrality We live in an age where tolerance is held up as the supreme virtue, the golden idol before which we must all bow. We're told to accept everything, question nothing, and embrace a faux-unity that sacrifices truth on the altar of political correctness. But what happens when this tolerance becomes a blindfold, obscuring the stark reality of evil lurking in our midst? Like a ravenous wolf, evil doesn't care for our carefully crafted social constructs. It doesn't respect boundaries, it doesn't play fair, and it ce...
Read more

JESUS - Rock of Ages

Jesus remains the same in all ages. He is the One who is constant when everything and everyone else fails. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is our R ock [I SAMUEL 2:2 ] . In the Old Testament, in Exodus 33, Jesus is pictured as the Cleft Rock. In that chapter, verse 18 and following, Moses desired to see the glory of the Lord, but was told, "You cannot see My face; for there shall no man see My face and live.” And the Lord said, “There is a place by Me, and you shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." Notice that as Moses stood upon the rock, the Lord hid him in the cleft. This wonderfully applies to us today! Believers are both standing on and hidden in Christ [COLOSSIANS 3:3 ] . We are both in and on the Rock. As life with its many bitter events presses upon us, ...
Read more

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s...
Read more