Notes on an Address from Mark 8:10-2810And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha. 11And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. 13And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side. 14Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 17And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? 22And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. 23And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. 26And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. 27And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. (Mark 8:10‑28).
What I find in every one's history is this: that first he has to learn that Christ gave Himself for him, and next he has to learn that he must give up everything for Christ. Our history is that double thing; but in one sense we may say the first is readily acquired, though it be a long time before you find that, as a thoroughly ruined one, Christ is absolutely for you. The day will come when we shall have nothing but Christ. In that moment of terror, when you find out the emptiness of everything. He is the One who in the darkness that surrounds you, alone is for you.
In type you see it in Jonah. It was not that Jonah was not converted before, but he had to be brought into the depths where no one but God could save him.
First of all I have Him as the Savior. To be devoted I must find that He is absolutely for me. Now when He taught Peter that in the 5th of Luke, how did He teach him-at what point?
It was when the boat was full of fish-that-most exciting moment to a fisherman-that Peter found himself in the presence of God good for nothing. "I am a sinful man, O Lord!"
. Look at that man fallen down there at Jesus' knees, he who had given his time and his boat to the Lord, like a religious man now who gives his money for the spread of the gospel. One knows what it is to have gone on in that floating way for years.
There is a moment in your history when you must be sensible of the thorough insufficiency of everything. and of the thorough sufficiency of Christ. These disciples at the most trying moment for fishermen, brought their ships to land, and forsook all and followed Him.
What is a death bed? How beautiful it is at times, It is simply that there you have a person saying, " I have tasted the insufficiency of everything, but I have sound the all-sufficiency of Christ." Does not your heart respond? The day is come in that person's history, when Christ is found sufficient. But he must first be known by the soul, and this Peter's history declares.
There is a darker lesson we have to learn. We have to learn that there is death upon everything. lf you consider the Scriptures, you will find it brought out in every history. The Gospels are the school; the Epistles set forth our standing. Christ is now teaching His disciples death and glory.. The point is this, Is He sufficient for everything? He sighed deeply in his Spirit. He sighed deeply at the nation's unbelief.
"Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf." You cannot imagine anything more resource less than their condition, without bread, and in a ship upon the sea. What. the Lord brings out is this-His own sufficiency. He does not make the bread a hit more, but He tests their faith. "Am I sufficient for you when there is a dearth of everything? I have made myself known to you in power, how is it that ye do not understand?"
Do not be pained; mercies are very often given you that you may learn to do without them-that you may learn the Person who gave them, and then find Him sufficient. It is not the gifts that gave a color to Him, but He that gives a color to the gifts. What had Jonah to learn? Not only that there is death in himself, but that there is death in everything here.
I have two things to learn-life in the Son of God, and death down here. "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus. might be made manifest in our body." Do not shrink from it-do not be afraid; faith never looks at difficulties, but at-the One who is sufficient for the difficulty.
Men of faith do no end of rash things. Look at Moses.. When he came down from the Mount he confronts 600,000 men, as if they were nothing. He stands for God. He never thought of them; he never took into account-the odds against him. He calculated on God only! The disciples have not rested upon Him. They ought to have-shown skill about Him. What I mean by "skill" is power properly applied-faith's use of power. This is the difference between David and Jonathan; Jonathan-might be the stronger man; David, the -man of skill and not afraid of Goliath.
You will find in your own private history that you have to learn His sufficiency, and not to be a bit disheartened by what. you see around-not a bit disheartened because there is no bread in the ship. The turning point of my history here is, that as I am traveling through this scene I have to do with the risen Christ, no matter what the circumstances that may arise. Practically this is what comes out; I have no resources. I am not a bit disheartened. I have Christ. Like Paul who could say before the greatest tribunal in the world " all men forsook me"-there was no bread in the ship; "nevertheless the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." 2 Tim. 4:16,1716At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. 17Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. (2 Timothy 4:16‑17). Do not he disheartened. Do not do what people are always trying to do, they are always trying to relieve themselves by change of circumstances. You will never reach a brighter point of strength than saying " Blessed God, make me equal to it, make me rise above it;" instead of saying "alter it, do remove this thing or that thing."
The old era was that everything was greater than man; the new era is that man in Christ is greater than everything.
It your child is ill and you pray for its recovery, and it is given back to you, you have not the same knowledge of God as if you had risen superior to the trial. While I am resting in the Lord, let Him do what He will Christ is sufficient. It is not " resignation." That is a poor thing-only putting up with a thing because I cannot help it.
"The man that walks by faith must be faithful "-nothing truer has been said. I believe if we are walking by faith, in simple dependence on Christ, nothing could be brighter than our faith. There is only one path of life, and if you are walking by faith you are in it.
If we have "skill" we shall not be like the sons of the prophets, bringing the wild gourds into the pot, then death is brought into it.
God cannot demonstrate His love by giving you this thing or that thing. He demonstrates His love in glory, where your destitution is fully met. But I say, practically do not shrink from it. Do not be afraid. We all have a pressure. It is not that I want you to be unfeeling about it. But there is all the difference between the ring of the soul that is dependent on mercies, and the soul that is learning to walk according to God without mercies.
Do you say, " Oh, He would put me to toe much trial 1" I reply; "He loves me ten thousand times more than I love myself, and if you say otherwise you have not learned salvation and the love of His heart."
I know what pressure is. What is it for? It is to bring me to Him, so that "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding," may keep my heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Relief from the thing pressing may not be known, but you have the blessedness of Himself between your soul and the pressure, and " the peace of God that passeth all understanding" keeping your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The Lord lead us to understand this side of our history as walking through the world.
One's heart sometimes trembles seeing people making themselves so happy here. I say " Oh, the gourd will die some day, and you will learn the lesson-death is upon everything, and Christ is all-sufficient." It is- no sorrow at all if you find that you have a better one in place of it all.
I deny that Mary was not satisfied with the presence of Christ, when walking to the grave of Lazarus.
You have to learn the sufficiency of Himself in the wretchedness of a scene like this, and then you will move on cheerfully and faithfully to the praise of His name.
" Jesus! I rest in Thee,
In Thee myself I hide,
Laden with guilt and misery,
Where can I rest beside?
'Tis on Thy meek and lowly breast
My weary soul alone would rest.
" Thou, Holy One of God,
The Father rests in Thee,
And in the savor of that blood,
That speaks to Him for me,
The curse is gone, through Time I'm blest,
God rests in Thee-'in Thee I rest.
The slave of sin and fear,
Thy truth my bondage broke;
My willing spirit loves to bear,
Thy light and easy yoke '
The love that fills any grateful breast,
Makes duty joy, and labor rest.
"Soon the bright, glorious day,
The rest of God shall come,
Sorrow and sin shall pass away,
And I shall reach my home;
Then, of the promised land possessed
My soul shall know eternal rest."
G. V. W.