Sunday Morning Podcast September 17, 2017. Bro. Dave Goble.
TEXT: ISAIAH 32:1-8
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
Kings can only reign by the grace of God. This refers to a power from God. So many times people cannot see the Savior God because of conditions of sin in their lives. Righteousness brings peace, a resting place.
What happens when we can’t find a quiet resting place? Jesus should be our quiet resting place. For saints He should not be hard to find. Even when troubles, crisis, etc. times come against them. The world is looking for it, and God’s people have it. But what happens when “they” can’t find it either? This should be a warning and admonition. We must never take that resting place for granted, or we will be adversely affected. The progression from that resting place will come, seeming as “not so bad,” …to really bad. So much so, that they may not be recovered. It will bring them to a dangerous spiritual place. There’s still in existence that quiet place, but you might have come to deny yourself that rest. There’s a danger to be surrounded with God’s Truth and help, but then because of unbelief you can no longer rest in God. There’s always going to be opposition to you in locating this quiet resting place. It’s serious to ensure you ‘still’ find it!
Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Martha had taken on too many cares. So much so, that she couldn’t really rest in Jesus. So often we also are not resting close to Jesus. We become too heavy with out trials and cares. You can’t be close to Jesus if He is not your quiet resting place. You have to move out of the “kitchen” of cares to draw close at the feet of Jesus. Mary had chosen at Jesus’s feet, a quiet resting place. Jesus appreciated (not criticized Martha) but exhorted that she was too much burdened with the cares, and pointed to how Mary had chosen the good part. That good part was that humble quiet resting place at His feet. A place that could not be taken away from Mary! Jesus wanted Martha to know that those earthly cares were not as needed as resting in Him.
In Luke 15:11-32, is the parable of the younger son, the prodigal. The younger son asked for his inheritance and left home to squander it. That son had left the resting place of home, to sow seeds in the depths of sin. This son had lost the health of his mind, before he finally saw his depraved condition. Only when he came to himself to return to his father’s house, did he find a redemption, and rest from all the sins he had wallowed in. Only then was he able to find a quiet resting place in victory over his past. This same resting place is for both the sinner and saint alike. The sinner, to be saved from all the sins they have committed. The saint, (or christian), a resting place from all his cares so that he can continue to rest in the inheritance Jesus has so freely given.
It is dangerous to devalue that quiet resting place found only at Jesus’s feet. A place found only by humility. For there is no place otherwise to keep your soul. Whether we are near or far, we can lose this place of rest from the flesh. If we do lose this resting place, God can restore us also, just as He did the prodigal. Am I in a quiet resting place? Or troubled about by many things? Self and sin can plague, but we can come back to a quiet resting place in Jesus. If we return to that place, there will be a change in our life that will testify of it.
A Quiet Resting Place….