Sunday Night Meditations 09 Message and Song - 1950's — Welcome Detweiler

Greetings, radio friends. The purpose of this radio program is to present the gospel in simplicity and in truth. In the world of fears and uncertainties, God has a message of good news that will enable you to face the future with a deep, abiding calm.

To those who know him, he gives rest in the midst of unrest, peace in the midst of threatenings, joy in the midst of gloom. When all earthly sources of these precious supplies have failed, you have the privilege to draw some of heaven's rich storehouse, where rest, peace, and joy are unlimited and free.

If you have never felt your need of the Lord Jesus Christ before, I trust that God will be pleased to bless this program to your soul. This is Welcome Detweiler, inviting you now to listen to the Gospel Center Choir.

The Titanic and the Limits of Human Achievement

Forty-two years ago, the White Star Liner, the majestic Titanic, left the port of Southampton, England, for America. That palatial ship was the masterpiece of human achievement. She was the biggest boat ever built.

She was a floating city, a floating palace. The Titanic was hailed as the greatest creation of the glory of man. She was supposed to be unthinkable and carried everything imaginable to cater to the comfort and pleasure of her passengers.

On board the vessel on that maiden voyage were some of the richest and most noted of persons. The whole world was interested in the sailing of the glorious Titanic. When the ship left the English Channel, there rode upon the waters of the great Atlantic the token of what man had done by the might of his power and for the glory of his majesty.

Every bosom heaved with pride as the flag-waving vessel commenced the greatest voyage the human beings had ever embarked upon. Not a person in the world expected the tragedy that lay ahead among the ice flows of the ocean.

It is reported that a sailor had scribbled on the hull of the ship before she was launched, God Almighty could not sink this ship. What happened on April the 15th, 1912, is history now. That mighty ship with more than 1 ,500 souls went down beneath two miles of water, 1 ,600 miles from New York, her destination.

It was a voice from heaven. They that walk in pride he is able to abase. The sinking of the Titanic was the first of a series of momentous happenings that have shattered the dreams of men of a golden age of prosperity and peace in a world where sin and lawlessness are unrestrained.

Some of those 1 ,500 souls were no doubt prepared, and while their bodies went to a watery grave, their souls went to be with Christ. Those who were not prepared to meet God had very little time to think of their soul's deep need.

Such sudden catastrophes happen daily, perhaps on a smaller scale, but they carry men and women out into eternity. This is all the more reason why everyone should be prepared for any event, for it is a fearful thing to fall into.

The Earth's Suspension and God's Creative Power

The hands of the living God, unprepared. It is contrary to nature for anything to hang on.

Nothing. If it does appear to hang on nothing, we expect that it must do so by some trick. We are accustomed to accept the law of gravity as affecting all material objects, with the result that it is impossible to find anything in this world that hangs on nothing.

Yet we are told in the Bible, in Job 26, the world itself hangs on nothing. It whirls through space with nothing to hold it up. The ancients didn't believe this, so that the ancient Greeks, probably the most enlightened of early people, invented the myth of a giant called Atlas holding the world on his shoulders.

Atlas, in turn, was believed to stand on a tortoise, and then you remember the weight of the world got so heavy that Atlas had a desire to turn into a stone so that he would not be able to feel the weight of the world.

It is doubtful if any of the ancients had any better explanation of the earth's suspension to offer. There is no better explanation than that which we find in the Bible, he hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Here is enshrined a piece of knowledge known only to civilized people for the past 500 years, nor is it an entirely isolated truth, for the Bible also tells us about God sitting upon the circle of the earth.

Now, if the one piece of information about the earth hanging upon nothing has been proved to be correct, what about the other one? And Job says that this miracle of the earth hanging upon nothing is due to the mighty Creator.

Christ's Incarnation and the Power of Salvation

In the intervening centuries since God hung the earth upon nothing, much has happened upon it. Many have been the tragedies that have been enacted upon earth. Its story has been a long, sad one. There have been the constant struggle leading to the survival of the fittest, but there's a very bright side to the world's history, and the best of all is concerning God coming down in the person of his Son to visit the earth.

The truth is that the Prince of Glory hasn't only visited our planet, but his sweat and blood has mingled with its soil. He was so much concerned about it having got out of tune with heaven that he visited it in person in order to recover it, and he actually died upon it in order that he might redeem its citizens.

Jesus Christ wants to rescue us from a future fraught with danger. He wants to deliver us from the impending destruction of this planet. His marvelous power hung the world upon nothing. His marvelous love has provided salvation for all who have a desire to be saved.

Have you opened the door of your heart and let this wonderful Creator and Savior come in? Unless you do that, you'll perish. You should have respect for the marvelous power of the one who hungeth the earth upon nothing by letting that power of the gospel, his salvation, be the power that will produce a new change in your life.

I trust you'll take seriously the fact that we have a great God. He has done wonders. His power is unlimited, and he wants to display that power in your life by bringing you to know his Son as Lord and Savior.

By doing that, he will change your life, and he will give you a new outlook, and you can really be able to say, life has become worthwhile since I have come to know this wonderful Savior. 100 and verse 4.

Thanksgiving, Guidance, and Communion with God

Be thankful unto him and bless his name. It pleases God when we cherish a thankful spirit and when we express our gratitude on bended knee before him. How much we have to thank him for. There are the benefits which he daily loads us.

There are all the spiritual blessings that he has made ours in Christ, and above all, there is the fact that those of us who are saved can say, he is our God and Father, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior.

Problems have to be faced and decisions made. We have perhaps too readily depended upon our own wisdom. It pleases the Lord that we should consult him about these things and seek definite guidance from him.

The outer life is not of much account unless it is the reflex of an inner life that is lived with God in secret. Service is of little value in his sight unless it be the outcome of communion with him behind the scenes.

God grants that the future may witness a larger measure of intensity in regards to all of these things. We shall never pass this way again, nor if we lose the months of this year, can we ever regain them.

Every day spent in communion with God doing his will means reward at the judgment seat of Christ. Every day spent in spiritual distance from God doing our own pleasures means loss. Tremendous issues hang on the question of how we spend our time.

Let us thank God, then, for fresh opportunities and seek grace to use them for his honor and for his glory.

The Futility of Seeking Satisfaction in Things

The story is told of an old Quaker who advertised that he would give 40 acres of rich farmland.

To anyone who was perfectly satisfied with that which he had. One man came and tried to put in his claim. Are thou perfectly satisfied with what thee hast? Yes, replied the hopeful guest. Then why dost thou want this land, was the old Quaker's reply.

The dictionary defines satisfaction as filling up the measure of a want, to gratify fully the desire of, to make content, to supply to the full, or so far as to give contentment with what is sought or wished for.

How many persons in these days do you think are living truly satisfied lives? Take a moment to look at the faces of men and women as they walk the streets of the city. How very few reflect true satisfaction.

Why is this? Because most people mistakenly look for satisfaction in things, and things can produce nothing but misery. A perfect description of one who is truly satisfied is found in the Bible, a well-known verse, Psalm 23, verse 1.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. True and complete satisfaction can be found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The satisfied life finds its source only in Him, not merely in the many, many blessed things that He gives, but in Himself.

One of the great Christian leaders of long ago said, O God, Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts shall never find rest until they rest in Thee. God the Father felt perfect satisfaction in Christ.

Did He not say, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased? And Christ is satisfied with His own finished work as the Saviour. Multitudes have received Christ as Lord and Saviour, and He realizes that His sacrifice was not in vain.

Eternal Life and the Satisfied Life in Christ

Yes, there is a life that satisfies. It is not in things, not in pleasure, or wealth, or education, or business, but only in the Lord Jesus. And the one who finds the Lord Jesus as Saviour finds not only the satisfied life here below, but finds the glorious promise of eternal life.

For those blessed words that fell from the lips of the Saviour Himself are, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. The truly satisfied heart, the heart which has found its fountain of true contentment in the person of Christ, will overflow in a life of obedience to the word of God, and in loving, and humble, and fruitful service in His name to those who need the Saviour round about them.

Christ Makes Life Worth Living

In 1952 there were 16 ,999 recorded suicides in the United States. Nearly 17 ,000 people came to the conclusion that life wasn't worth living. Some took poison, others jumped from bridges or apartment houses, while others resorted to firearms.

Were these people right? Is life worth living after all? Listen to a few testimonies. Jay Gould, the multimillionaire, said, I am the most miserable man on this earth. Ivor Kruger, wealthy head of the world's largest monopoly, committed suicide.

Here's another one. I walk up and down thinking I am happy, and knowing I am not, said the famous essayist Charles Lamb. Stephen Foster, composer of the old Black Joe, Swanee River, and other plantation songs, died a drunkard's death at the age of 38.

Edgar Allan Poe, famous poet, drank himself to death. Napoleon died a lonely, horrible death on the isle where he was exiled. Hannibal took poison. Julius Caesar was assassinated. Mussolini was executed.

After years of pleasure, Robert Burns wrote, pleasures are like as poppies spread. You seize the flower, the bloom is shed. Lord Byron, who lived a life of sinful pleasure, lived and died an unhappy man.

In contrast to all of these, listen to the educated Apostle Paul, who says, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Yes, all folks who go through life without having Christ as the main objective find that there is nothing in life for which to live.

But Christ makes life worth living. First of all, he forgives all your sinful past. As long as you have past sins bothering you, a joyous life is impossible. Second, he gives hope and help for the present.

My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, that's Philippians 4 .19. And third, Christ promises everlasting life and an eternal home for you. As many as received him, that's Christ, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Christ's Promise of an Eternal Home

In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also.

Long ago in the school of Socrates, it was customary at the beginning of the term for each student to bring him a present. After all, the others had given their gifts, a very poor lad flung himself at the feet of the great teacher and said, O Socrates, I give thee myself.

What that one did, you can do now as a poor, lost, and needy sinner. Throw yourself at Christ's feet and say, God be merciful to me, O sinner. O Christ, I give myself to thee. If you will do this in simple faith and in sincerity, Christ will make your life worth living.