Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-30

He promised them victory. How
should one chase a thousand, and two
put ten thousand to flight except their
Rock had sold them, and the Lord had
shut them up?"
He promised them honor, And it
shall come to pass, If thou shalt hearken
diligently unto the voice of the Lord
thy God. to observe and to do all his
commandments which ] command thee
this day that the Lord tfy God will set
thee on high above all nations of the
earth"
And the Lord shall make thee the
head, and not the tail; and thou shalt
be above only. and thou shalt not be be-
meath: If that thou hearken unto the
commandments of the Lord thy God,
which I command thee this day, to OBJ
serve and to do them"
Such were a few of the numberless
promises that God, through the prophets
of old had given to the people and the
people desired these promises.
So desirable were they, that no sane
man or woman could fail to long for
their fulfillment, and yet by the people
these things were not possessed. In
stead of God pouring down the early and
latter rain for three years and six
months, IL did not rain drop and the
dew never fell.
instead of 10Y, there was sorrow and
affection: instead of prosperity. there
was adversely; instead of victory, there
was defeat; and instead Of honor, there
was dishonor.
"sins Have withholden
Good Things Prom You"
They went into captivity and paid
tribute to a foreign nation. What was
the reason for this? Was God bankrupt?
Did God make promises intending to
fulfill them. and then conditions arose
that made It impossible for him TO do
It? Oh, no. A thousand times no!
You've got to look for the explanation
Of the failure from a different source
than that, and jeremiah knew where II
belonged, and he laid the blame in the
right place, when he said, in the words
of nv text. as he addressed 1T to the
people Your iniquities have turned
away these things, and your sins have
withholden good things from you"
II you want to know why it doesn't
rain-it lsf your fault. IF you want TO
know why there is no JOY, it is your
fault If you want to know why there
is no peace, It is your fault. If you
want to know why there is no prosper
ity. It IS your fault. If you want to
know whv there's no victory. 1t is your
fault. IF you want to know why you
are in captivity, II is your fault.
II YOU want to know why you are
iniuuitous, IL is your fault. If you want
to know why God keeps the good things
from you, it's your fault. It's not UNI
faithfulness on Gods part. But in the
sins of the people was found the expla-
nation for the failure.
: Now as ministers of the gospel or
Jesus Christ, we are sent to proclaim
Gods message to the people, and as
messengers of God, we are asked to
come and speak Gods message. Now.
7 find certain things promised for us
TO proclaim. :
giveness. Verify, verify, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believ-
eth on him that sent me, hath everlast-
ing life. and shall not come into con-
demnation: but is passed from death
unto life"
God has promised peace, These
things I have spoken unto you, that In
me We might have peace. In the world
We shall have tribulation; but be or
good cheer; I have overcome the
world"
God has promised fullness of joy.
"The God of hope fill you with joy
and peace in believing"
He has promised emancipation from
sin. For sin shall not have dominion
over YOU: for We are not under the law,
but under grace"
He Is promised ,.-ory, There hath
no temptation tale, lou but such as Is
common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you TO be tempted
above that We are able; but Will with
the temptation also make a way to es-
cane. that We may be able to bear IT."
God Is Not Trif1ing
with His People
He has promised provision for every
need. But my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus" Not all you
want! You may want a great many
things YOU don't need. God says, Il
will supply all your need according to
my riches i'm glory" You may want
Toe cream, but you can get along with
out It, See? ''I will supply all your
need according to my riches in glory"
Such are a few of the numberless
promises which make the life of the be-
lever full of glory and full of peace.
To us. as believers, they are promised;
as believers they should be desired with
a yearning which daily and hourly in
creases with intensity. We ought to
long for the fulfillment Of these things,
and let me ask you, are they possessed?
There are thousands of people today
who have had the higher and richer
experiences of "a Christian life who are
absolute strangers to the church. They
do not know the A B C's out of which
to write Gods peace; they do not know
perfect forgiveness; they have no per-
sonal assurance of salvation; they have
no perfect peace. Their lives are con-
slant prey to anxiety; circumstance up
set them; they have no experience as
to the keeping power OF Jesus Christ; in
the hour Of temptation, they are not
filled with joy. but they are gloomy.
They are not victorious, but they are
defeated, and their cry seems to be,
"Oh, wretched man that l am! Who
shall deliver me?' For the law Of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death"
1t is just the opposite from that.
And let me ask you another question.
Is the Christian life as pictured in the
Bible toe high for human attainment?
oh. no! Did God tell you to do some
thing that he knew you could never
achieve? Don't you have the audacity to
say that is true. That is lie.
God did not put the Christ life too
high for human attainment When God
commands all men TO repent. God knows
all men can repent, or God would not
command their. to DO it. Gods promises
are never meant to be unfulfilled. Is
God trif1inc with His DeoDle3 No1