The Lord is No Man’s Debtor Mark 10:28-31

Text: “Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.  For (a Spiritual conclusion) with the same measure that ye mete (weigh out, measure out) withal shall it be measured to you again.”

Luke 6:38.

Good morning, unselfish Christian!  Having being given all the wealth of God’s Eternal Salvation – in Christ Jesus, and through His Sacrifice at Calvary’s Cross – you have been blessed with a generous and giving heart, and a deep compassion for the needs of other fellow sinners.  Praise God it is so!  The new nature you and I have been granted through Spiritual regeneration, has lifted us up out of the ‘valley of dried bones’; out of the world of DEAD SPIRITS; and made us to stand as generous-spirited followers of Christ Jesus – ‘…an ‘exceeding great army’ indeed. (See the Doctrine of Regeneration on the Basic Christian Doctrines button www.ulsterchristians.org)

“Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.  So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, and exceeding great army.”  (Ezekiel 37:9-10)

In Ezekiel chapter 37:1-10, we find a wonderful TYPE illustration of Spiritual Regeneration, being ‘born again’ of the God the Spirit.  The Lord God showed the prophet Ezekiel a valley of dried bones, bones that were, of course, obviously not only completely dead, but very dry also; brittle bones, ready to disintegrate into the dust from which they came, and blow away into nothingness.

The Lord then asked Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?”  Ezekiel had no clue as what to answer, it was just all too deep a question for his mortal mind to contemplate.  Such is the Lord’s generous gift of Eternal Salvation to dead, dry bone sinners such as thee and me.

“Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live…and ye shall KNOW that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:5-6)

Take heed to what happened next, dear Reader, and comprehend the miraculous process of God’s Eternal Salvation: “So I prophesied (preached the Gospel) as I was commanded: and as I prophesied (preached), there was a noise, and behold (look, and fully understand) a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.  And when I beheld lo sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.”  (Ezekiel 37:7-8)

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

The Lord God is the Divine Giver of Eternal life – God the Holy Spirit breathes life into us, ‘His people’, and the elect of God receive His gift of saving faith when we are caused to hear the Gospel of Christ and Him Crucified for our sins, and arisen to justify us in the sight of our Holy and Heavenly Father God. 

“And you hath He quickened (made Spiritually alive), who were dead (as the dried bones) in trespasses and sins…Even when we were dead (as the dried bones) in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved;) and hath raise us up together and made us to sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”           (Ephesians 2:1-6)

God’s generous gift to us ‘His people’, grants us the ability to believe (trust) in Christ and Him Crucified for our sins – we can never be saved, or decide ourselves to be saved, without God’s gift of saving faith.  God only grants that Salvation gift to those He, as Sovereign Lord God, chooses. (John 15:16)

Having received God’s generous gift of Eternal life, we become unselfish Christians.

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“THE first thing which demands our attention in these verses, is the glorious promise which they contain. The Lord Jesus says to His apostles, “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or, brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the Gospel’s; but he shall receive an hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with perse­cutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

“There are few wider promises than this in the word of God. There is none certainly in the New Testament which holds out such encouragement for the life that now is. Let everyone that is fearful and faint-hearted in Christ’s service look at this promise. Let all who are enduring hardness and tribulation for Christ’s sake, study this promise well, and drink out of it comfort.

“To all who make sacrifices on account of the Gospel, Jesus promises “an hundred-fold now in this time.” They shall have not only pardon and glory in the world to come. They shall have even here upon earth, hopes, and joys, and sensible comforts sufficient to make up for all that they lose. They shall find in the communion of saints, new friends, new relations, new companions, more loving, faithful, and valuable than any they had before their conversion. Their introduction into the family of God shall be an abundant recompense for exclusion from the society of this world. This may sound startling and incredible to many ears. But thousands have found by experience that it is true.

“To all who make sacrifices on account of the Gospel, Jesus promises “eternal life in the world to come.” As soon as they put off their earthly tabernacle, they shall enter upon a glorious existence, and in the morning of the resurrection shall receive such honour and joy as pass man’s understanding. Their light affliction for a few years shall end in an everlasting reward. Their fights and sorrows while in the body, shall be exchanged for perfect rest and a conqueror’s crown. They shall dwell in a world where there is no death, no sin, no devil, no cares, no weeping, no parting, for the former things will have passed away. God has said it, and it shall all be found true” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark.)

Thought: Having received such Divine generosity – let us be kind to one another.