One recent, early morning I was enabled to use the sleeplessness that seems so common to me these days for a time of study in the ultra-quiet of the hour. Sometimes those wee hours can be a bit spooky; you know, things that “go bump in the night.” But this was a morning energized by the Lord prompting me to study and pray for the people I love most dearly—that would be you!
My intention was to read and pray with an emphasis on our current Sunday morning study in Jude’s great little epistle. And this I did, my heart finally coming to rest in a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon on April 10, 1881, titled “The Common Salvation.” His title came from his text, which was that summary verse of Jude, verse three, that reads, Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Most of what I discovered in that wonderful gem of a sermon has found its way into the daily devotional e-mail we send out (subscribe to DailyRain@me.com). But there was one point our brother Charles made that brought Elim to my mind over and again. As he wrote of the blessings of our common salvation in Christ, he said,
The Lord has also delivered us from that cowardly fear of man which brings a snare, and holds men as slaves to evil customs. He has also brought us out of the dark dungeon of spiritual ignorance, and renewed us in knowledge; thus has he broken the dominion of the former lusts of our ignorance, and given us liberty to serve him with godly fear. Pride, too, is laid in the dust, and we are saved from that dreadful tyrant. The dominant power of selfishness is destroyed, and we have learned to love. The woes of others afflict us, the joys of others rejoice us, our soul flows out beyond the narrow confines of our own ribs. Our heart is enlarged with love towards God and to all his creatures. Blessed salvation this! And it is common to all believers (I added bold for emphasis).
Perhaps it was the fact that I was prayerfully reading this through on the morning after one of our Thursday night Bible studies at which those who attended (may more of you take advantage of this life-affecting study) ministered to me in ways that I greatly needed. Or maybe it was because the reading followed on the heels of a few new volunteers for ministry needs making themselves known in our midst. I am fairly sure that part of the quote’s impact on me was fueled by the words of an e-mail I had read shortly before reading the sermon. An “Elim-ite” who has been going through a particularly hard stretch wrote to me of how the church was busy being the church, and she wrote, “What a blessing to have such wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord. Just wanted to share the blessing with you.”
All of these things worked together in my heart and mind so that when I saw what Spurgeon wrote regarding one of the blessings of our common salvation, I cried out (in my heart—remember it was early and my wife was blissfully asleep), “That explains Elim!” And I really do believe that.
For some time now God has been bringing some wonderful new folks our way to worship at Elim and to enrich our life as a body. In fact, if all of you who call Elim “home” would behave correctly on Sunday mornings and attend worship regularly as you should, we would be quite full in the building! One thing that has characterized most of those who have visited and stayed around has been their voiced pleasure and surprise at how the people of Elim genuinely love and care for one another! In fact, one couple told me to my face, “At first, we did not think this place could be for real!”
Now, I do not believe we are complete in this grace, and we will always have room for growth and improvement, but we are for real! Not because of anything good within us, but because of what Spurgeon explained 128 years ago, that the Lord is making us a people among whom the woes of others afflict us, the joys of others rejoice us. Our Master, by His Spirit, is enabling us (at least those of us who are seeking to walk with Him and please Him) to fulfill the command of His Word that says, Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another.
Brothers and sisters, this is what “normal” in Jesus Christ is supposed to look like! Our love for Him is expressed by our show of love for one another. We do not hold others at arm’s length until they prove themselves worthy of our attention. Nor do we seek to spread a superficial sentiment that we mislabel “love” among all peoples the same. Rather, when we have brought into our midst or come across those who demonstrate that they belong to our Lord, we love and embrace them with the shared truths of Scripture and the sure actions of love to which Christ calls us. This is an outgrowth of our common salvation, and I pray that it continues to be seen in our midst with increasing measure!
Posted on March 1st, 2009 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Pastor’s Pen