Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
From a sermon by Pastor John in 1980
“Behold, God is my helper.”
Psalm 54:4
“Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.”
Psalm 63:7
There is no earthly standard by which heavenly matters can be judged. Whenever ancient Israel forsook God’s standard of the Law to embrace heathen standards of living, destruction and death followed. The Lord is the help of His people, and countless times He warned His people by the prophets not to think anything else. “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help,” He said through Isaiah, “and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!” (Isa. 31:1). It seemed always exceedingly difficult for God to persuade His own chosen people to trust only in Him. Just a few in Israel in each generation had the wisdom to pray as David prayed when he faced great difficulties: “Make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord” and “Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man” (Ps. 70:1; Ps. 108:12).
God warned His children that the only safe covering for their souls is His Spirit (Isa. 30:1), and Paul was correct when he stated that the ancient prophecies were written for us (Rom. 15:4). But if Isaiah’s words were written for us, what do they mean for us? They mean that it is unwise to trust anything but the holy Ghost to take sins away and to bring the covering of salvation upon us. As simple a truth as this is, in this New Covenant it is still exceedingly difficult for God to persuade His people of it.