Sunday Night Meditations 11 Message and Song - 1950's — Welcome Detweiler

Greetings to our radio listeners, this is Welcome Dead Finalist speaking, inviting you to relax and listen as we seek to proclaim the gospel of God's grace. Our program begins with a song of praise, and I trust that your present condition of soul is such that you can join us in singing the praises of our blessed Savior.

Finding Refuge in God's Presence

The members of the Gospel Choir are ready to sing to God be the glory. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be removed, and be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof?

Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease under the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in thunder. He burneth the chariot in the fire.

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Fill just now and know the sweetness of that blessed overflow of love divine, which Christ the Lord will cause to fall on thee, that he his image in thine own might see his face in thine.

Be still and feel the impulses of love that he within thy depths will cause to move this very hour, the yearning that will not be satisfied with aught but an overwhelming holy tide of heavenly power. Be still, my soul, and on his promised day, though earth's foundations crumble and decay, his word is sure, and though all else should fail, thou canst depend upon that word of truth which to the end shall still endure.

Be still, my soul, be still, so very still, so yielded to thy father's will that he may trace the very likeness of himself in thee, his tender love, his perfect purity, his matchless grace.

Jesus the Redeemer Who Saves and Satisfies

Jesus saves, satisfies, takes away my sadness. Guilt is gone, peace is mine, peace like to a river. Jesus is wonderful, mighty to deliver. Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus is to me. Counselor, Prince of Peace, mighty God is he, saving me, keeping me from all sin and shame.

Wonderful is my Redeemer, praise him. Once a slave, now I'm free, free from condemnation. Jesus gives liberty and the full salvation. Now the sins of the past have been all forgiven. And my name is inscribed in the book of heaven.

Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus is to me. Counselor, Prince of Peace, mighty God is he, saving me, keeping me from all sin and shame. Wonderful is my Redeemer, praise him.

Thanksgiving for Christ's Salvation

Our gracious Father, we thank thee that all the things that we can truly call wonderful come from thyself. That name was given to thy blessed son. Even before he came to the earth, his name shall be called wonderful.

We thank thee for the wonderful salvation he has provided to his death and his resurrection. We thank thee for the wonderful gospel message. We thank thee for the peace that he has given to all who have trusted him.

And we pray for those who are still outside, who have never known this wonderful Savior. We pray thy blessing as we seek to exalt him in the future. We have just entered another year, and it should certainly be with notes of praise and thanksgiving upon our lips and in our hearts.

How fitting to exclaim, how good is the God we adore, our faithful, unchangeable friend, whose love is as great as his power, and knows neither measure nor end. It is Jesus, the first and the last, whose Spirit shall guide us safe home.

We'll praise him for all that is past, and trust him for all that's to come. It seems as though the beginning of a new year always makes us think of some things which we do not think about so seriously at any other time of the year.

Life's Measured Years and the Journey to Eternity

First of all, it reminds us of the fact that our lives are measured by years, and while no exact number of years are allotted to men, still the Scriptures say, the days of our years are threescore years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

So the beginning of another year marks another milestone on our journey from time into eternity. I suppose there have been times when all of us have wished that we knew what would be ahead in the new year, but God, who always has our good in mind, has not been pleased to reveal all the details regarding our pathway during the coming year, and I am sure that it would yield little profit to know.

God's Promises for the Coming Year

The saved person faces the new year with confidence, knowing that he who is for us is greater than he who is against us. The many precious promises in the Bible are the foundation upon which the Christian's confidence rests.

I want to remind you of at least one of these precious promises, trusting that it will be a blessing to our souls, and behold, I will be with thee, and will keep thee whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

This promise was made to Jacob by the God of heaven at a time when Jacob was just about to begin a new year, or at least a new era in his life. Jacob was by no means an angel, and this promise was not given as a result of Jacob's obedience to God, but rather because God sought an occasion to show His grace to the undeserving.

If God only blessed those who deserve to be blessed, scarcely anyone would be blessed. God seems to find pleasure in blessing the least deserving in order to magnify His grace. This promise, I will be with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, may be claimed by every child of God for the coming year.

The claiming of this promise removes all fears and foreboding. In the blessed knowledge of God's continual presence, the believer marches into the days, the weeks, the months of another year with a peace of mind which is so necessary in these days of outward stress and strain.

The Emptiness of Life Without God

I must remind you that this promise is made to Christians exclusively. No unsaved one can claim this promise. In sharp contrast to the Christian, the unsaved one must face the future alone, without God, without Christ, having no promise of His presence, utterly alone.

It is little wonder that unsaved ones express the drudgery of life, the long days of unrest. A year is a long time to live, especially when God is ignored, and His blessed Son is rejected. Anyone who attempts to live independent of God is asking for a dull year.

You have already experienced too many of these, and it is absolute folly to continue in a course that you honestly admit does not bring the satisfaction you desire. No question could more profitably engage your meditation than this one.

Shall I continue to live in this same manner as before, without being saved, without the blessed consciousness of a Savior's divine presence each moment of the day, living continually in danger, or being lost for all eternity, annoyed by the constant fear of death?

Is this life? Will I someday regret that all my days were spent away from God? Or shall I begin a new year with one desire above all the rest, that I might come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and Lord?

God will surely recognize the honest, sincere desire of anyone who wants to be saved. Some of you will have to admit that the reason you are not saved is because you have never told God that you wanted to be saved.

Christ's Presence in Trouble and Suffering

You may always be mindful of this, that while your little ship is tossing on the waves of a troubled sea, without a chart, without a captain, you might be enjoying the blessed calm and peace of sailing with Christ at the helm, and reminding you daily, I am with thee, and will keep thee whither thou goest.

I will not leave thee. The Christian has his share of sorrow and disappointments, testings which almost overwhelm the soul, but the knowledge of an omnipresent Savior fortifies the Christian to the extent that he can actually thank God for all things, even those things which seem so unpleasant to the flesh.

The Christian has proved the faithfulness of God, not only during the days of smooth sailing, but also in the days of adversity. During such days of testing, the child of God is sustained by the sympathy, the compassion, the comfort, and the grace of a wonderful Savior.

The unsaved one has no one to turn to while passing through similar experiences. He must either collapse, or resort to Satan's cruel suggestions. Smother your troubles by sinking deeper into sin, which will lead to more trouble.

Unsaved friend, you need Christ in view of the days of trouble, of which you may expect a certain share in the new year. You may even be inviting days of trouble by your willful rejection of the Savior.

Many have witnessed to the fact that days of extreme sorrow and grief were used by God to awaken the slumbering soul, bringing them to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. A reasonable question may arise in your mind, How can I become a child of God, so that I may be able to claim the presence of Christ during the untrodden year?

Receiving Christ as the Way of Salvation

To answer this important question, we are not permitted to project our own opinion. The question is far too serious, and the word of God is the only safe source to find the answer. In John 1 and verse 12, the answer is given in its simplest form, but as many as received him.

To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. There is no salvation apart from Christ. God's condition is the only condition, and it is as many as received him.

In other words, there must be a definite moment when the convicted sinner confesses before God that he is lost, and that he is ready to accept or receive the man who took his place in death, and died as a substitute to satisfy the claims of a holy God.

As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. I tried many times to become a child of God by promising God that I would live a Christian life, but I never became a child of God on that basis, for a bankrupt sinner is not in a position to promise God anything.

Others are trying to become children of God by working for God, as if it could be obtained by works, but sad to say they never become children of God on that basis. To receive Christ and enter into the good of his accomplished redemption is the one and only way that anyone can become a child of God.

To receive him means eternal life. To neglect to receive him means eternal death. Whatever choice you may make during the early days of the new year, none can bring to you more satisfaction than to receive him which makes you the possessor of eternal life.

Then you may immediately claim the promise made to Jacob, I am with thee, and will keep thee whither thou goest. To know that nothing can happen in the new year but what has been planned by God for my good and his glory gives peace and lasting satisfaction.

Trusting God for the Unseen Future

I know not what awaiteth me as dawns another year. The path untrod I cannot see, yet knows my heart no fear. Though dark the path may be, or light, a smooth or rugged way, I ever shall be led aright while I for guidance pray.

I know not whether short or long my pilgrimage may be. I'll daily praise my Lord in song for all his love to me, and as the years shall onward roll and day by day be mine, I'll seek to lead some precious soul to Christ the way divine.

My God shall be my strength and stay while journeying here below. He will supply my need always, his word assures me so. With joy I greet the opening year. It cannot bring me ill since Christ my Lord is ever near, my soul with peace to fill.

We ask thee, gracious Father, to bless thy word to every listening heart, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.