Grace Audio Treasures

"For you are a holy people who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure!" Deuteronomy 7:6God highly prizes His people. Yes, it is impossible to say how highly He prizes them. Those are wondrous words, "For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own special treasure!" Psalm 135:4Did the shepherd prize his flock? God calls His people, "His flock, His beautiful flock." Does the miser prize his wealth? God says of His people, "You shall be a special treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine."Does the prince prize his jewels? God says of His people, "They shall be Mine, in that day when I make up My jewels!" Does the bridegroom prize his beloved and dearly purchased bride? It is written, "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you!" Does the reigning monarch prize his crown? God has said, "You shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." What wondrous love, such expressions as these represent! How precious must the Lord's people be to Him! Truly they are His special treasure!God chose them to be special unto Himself. He chose them out from among others. He chose them in preference to others.He chose them out from others, on purpose that they may be a special people unto Himself. And in so doing, He acted FREELY. It was not on account of anything He saw in them, or on account of anything He expected from them; but in the exercise of His most free and holy sovereignty, He chose them to participate in the glory of His Son!In choosing them, He acted also

Colossians 4:2, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."The condition of a church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer-meetings. If the spirit of prayer is not with the people, the minister may preach like an angel, but he cannot expect success. If there is not the spirit of prayer in a church, there may be wealth, there may be talent, there may be a measure of effort, there may be an extensive religious machinery--but the Lord is not there!It is a sure evidence of the presence of God, that men pray--as the rising of the thermometer is an evidence of the increase of the temperature. In the same way, the prayer-meeting is a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among His people. God is always working in a praying church. And if God is not there, then one of the first tokens of his absence will be slothfulness in prayer."O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1

Information as to the future in Scripture is generally very indistinct in arrangement, and though many attempts have been made to form a consistent scheme of prophecy, not one has been even moderately successful. There are in the Word of God, many clear testimonies as to distinct events in the future, but these cannot easily be arranged in order so as to harmonize with other events; neither will the most accurate observer ever make a consistent series of them, so as to map them down. They are perfectly consistent, and their order is divine, but we shall need the actual fulfillment to make the plan clear. So intricate is the architecture of future history, that the Architect himself alone knows where this stone, and that stone, and the other stone, are ordained to stand. It is not for us to fling any one of the stones away, or censure it as poorly shaped. We are but children, and our little plans of house-building, like children with their toy bricks, are very simple and elementary indeed; but God's architecture is of a high class, and we cannot, therefore, conjecture where this event will come in, or where that marvel will find its place. But that each one will follow in an orderly manner upon the other, we may rest quite assured. Instead of puzzling our brains over how all the prophecies fit together, we may be quite satisfied to take each of the prophecies separately as we find them, believingly expect them, and above all, deduce from them their legitimate practical conclusions. The right way of knowing anything, is to know how to act in consequence of it. In spiritual things a man knows nothing until he lives what he knows. If you and I know the truths with regar

All that occurs in His wide empire!(You will find it helpful to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below. Or you may want to WATCH the Video on either YouTube or SermonAudio)["The Sovereignty of God in Calamity!" Delivered on September 20, 1857, by Ebenezer Rogers--two days after the steamship 'Central America' sank during a hurricane. 560 of the 626 people on board lost their lives!]Upon the whole history of this solemn event, is stamped the record of the absolute sovereignty of God. It is not an enemy who has done this! God is sovereign, and this is the hand of God!All that occurs in His wide empire, from the falling of a leaf--to the extinction of a race; from the death of a sparrow--to the blotting out of a star; is only the fiat of Him, who is from everlasting to everlasting God--whose counsel shall stand and who will do all His good pleasure. There is a God who reigns in the earth! "Affliction does not come forth from the dust; neither does trouble spring out of the ground"--but "the Lord God omnipotent reigns!"God is sovereign on His throne! All the powers and processes of nature, are but the ministers who do His pleasure. Rising above the roaring of the ocean, above the moaning of the blast, above even the shrieks of drowning men--is heard the solemn voice of the Almighty, saying in tones of overwhelming majesty, "Be still and know that I am God!" Psalm 46:10Let us enthrone above these scenes of apparent disorder and arbitrary infliction--a Sovereign God, a God of wisdom, a God of power, a God of love, who sees the end from the beginning, and orders all things according to the counsel of His will--and here at least we have an anchorage for Fait

("The Sovereignty of God in Calamity!" Delivered on September 20, 1857, by Ebenezer Rogers--two days after the steamship 'Central America' sank during a hurricane. 560 of the 626 people on board lost their lives!)Upon the whole history of this solemn event, is stamped the record of the absolute sovereignty of God. It is not an enemy who has done this! God is sovereign, and this is the hand of God!All that occurs in His wide empire, from the falling of a leaf - to the extinction of a race; from the death of a sparrow - to the blotting out of a star; is only the fiat of Him, who is from everlasting to everlasting God - whose counsel shall stand and who will do all His good pleasure. There is a God who reigns in the earth! "Affliction does not come forth from the dust; neither does trouble spring out of the ground" - but "the Lord God omnipotent reigns!"God is sovereign on His throne! All the powers and processes of nature, are but the ministers who do His pleasure. Rising above the roaring of the ocean, above the moaning of the blast, above even the shrieks of drowning men - is heard the solemn voice of the Almighty, saying in tones of overwhelming majesty, "Be still and know that I am God!" Psalm 46:10Let us enthrone above these scenes of apparent disorder and arbitrary infliction - a Sovereign God, a God of wisdom, a God of power, a God of love, who sees the end from the beginning, and orders all things according to the counsel of His will - and here at least we have an anchorage for Faith, a place where she can cling, and look up amid the jarring elements, and say, "Even so, Father, for so it seems good in Your sight!"Who would not prefer, if called on to sub

"The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare! Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and desire its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat!"These facts ought to be allowed to exert a deep and abiding influence on us, to induce us to lead holy lives. We should feel:that there is nothing permanent on the earth; that this poor world is not our abiding home; and that our great interests are in eternity. We should be serious, humble, and prayerful. We should make it our great object to be prepared for the solemn scenes through which we are soon to pass. A habitual contemplation of the truth that all that we see is soon to pass away--would produce a most beneficial effect on the mind. It would make us serious and sober-minded. It would repress worldly ambition. It would lead us not to desire to accumulate what must so soon be destroyed. It would prompt us to lay up our treasures in Heaven. It would cause us to ask with deep earnestness whether we ourselves are prepared for these amazing scenes, should they suddenly burst upon us!"The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." Romans 13:11

Psalm 371. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2. for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 3. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 371. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 2. for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 3. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. 7. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

You may want to read the TEXT, as you listen to the audio:https://gracegems.org/SERMONS/1-4b.htm

You may want to read the TEXT, as you listen to the audio:https://gracegems.org/SERMONS/1-4b.htm