The Motive which Prevails with God

Book of Jeremiah

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The motive which prevails with God to forgive the ungodly is that "he delighteth in mercy". There are two brief but powerful devotionals by William Gurnall which address the subject of salvation. The first is called, The Joy in Pardoning Sinners and the second is aptly titled, The Cost of Refusing.

In the first, Gurnall writes:

God's strictness emphasize the seriousness of delivering His message faithfully. Paul trembled at the very thought of laziness: "Woe is me if I preach not." And Christ reached deep into His own heart to persuade Peter: "Lovest thou me?........Feed My sheep" (John 21:16) It is as if he said, "Peter, you are crying and feeling guilty because cowardice made you deny Me; but there is still one way to demonstrate your love - feed My sheep. Do this and stop worrying about the traitor of the past." Once again, Christ showed more care for His sheep than for Himself.
-William Gurnall

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As followers of Christ we must follow His example and think about the lost sheep whom Jesus is calling - even now. This is not the complete message from Gurnall.

Gurnall Continues,

God expresses joy when sinners accept His peace. Joy is the highest testimony which can be given to our peace. Love is to joy as fuel is to fire. If lover gathers only a few scraps of kindling - only small desires in the heart - then the flame of joy that will come out of it will not be very hot. Now because God takes such great joy in pardoning sinners, His affection is also great in His offer of peace. In fact, the motive which prevails with God to forgive the ungodly is that "he delighteth in mercy."

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. - Micah 7:18

-William Gurnall

In closing, Gurnall presents the following analogy:

If you ask a fisherman why he stands with his hook in the water all night he will tell you it is because he enjoys fishing. Now you know why God waits for sinners - months, years - preaching to them. He delights in forgiving them by His grace and mercy. Now and then a government official will pardon an offender more to please others than himself: but God forgives to make his own heart glad. Thus when Christ came to reconcile sinners to God, His ministry was called "the pleasure of the Lord" (Isaiah 53:10)

The Christian in Complete Armour - August 22 - The Joy in Pardoning Sinners - read more devotionals from William Gurnall at
William Gurnall -- The Christian in Complete Armour
 
William Gurnall -- The Christian in Complete Armour

The other sermon - is called - The Cost of Refusing and here, Gurnall writes:

You might own all the empires of the world, and have nations creeping to your feet, as the animals came to Adam; and your lease on life might be twice as long as Methuselah's span to enjoy all this, without one cloud of trouble. But if you lack peace, I would rather be the worm under your shoe or the toad in the ditch than you in your palace.

Just one small thought about approaching death and the torment awaiting you can immediately destroy all your present happiness.

This refusal to accept God's peace on Gospel terms makes the great leaders of the world - in fact, all unreconciled sinners, high and low - go to their graves as bears go down a hill - backwards.

One glance forward might cause them to die of fright as they see where they are going.

They are headed there without a breastplate, the persuasion of peace with God.

What should you do next then?

Shut yourself up as a condemned sinner, apart from flattering friends who would lullaby your soul into senseless security - the cradle which the devil rocks souls in, to their utter destruction.

Instead, send for those who dare to be faithful, like Samuel, to tell you every word God has against you, hiding nothing. Read your own sentence with your eyes on the Word; take your condemnation from God's mouth, not from man's. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isaiah 57:21) Meditate on that Scripture until it cleaves to your soul like a plaster to a sore and draws out the core of pride and carnal self confidence which have hardened your heart. By this time the anguish of your own spirit will prompt you to want peace with God more than anything else in the world. This is what God has been waiting to hear from you.

-William Gurnall
 
Listen to this message about a prophecy concerning the judgment of God coming to America - this video was made many, many years ago. Today we see the signs all around us - of what Brother Dumitru Duduman told the people. The hour is late and it is time for people to come to Jesus Christ. Come out of sin and live holy unto the LORD. If you are not saved - today is the day of Salvation. Read Romans 10:8,9.

 
Another quote from William Gurnall:


God's mercy declares his righteousness. Everyone believes God is merciful to forgive, but it is harder to believe how He can be righteous forgiving sinners. "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he miight be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26) God was saying, I know why it seems so incredible that I should pardon all your iniquities. You think because I am a righteous God that I would rather damn a thousand worlds of sinners than justify My name under the least suspicion of unrighteousness. I would indeed damn them over and over again, rather than stain the honor of My justice - which is Myself. But I command you and the greatest sinners on earth to believe it: I can be just and yet the justifier of those sinners who believe in Jesus.
-William Gurnall
 
It's funny how God is credited with all the good in this world, yet humankind is faulted for all the bad because in the eyes of God we are imperfect.

I tired of the merry-go-round bullshit long ago.

Jerms, you really do need a different hobby.
 
I do not have a hobby. I'm a servant of the Lord. It's you that have the problem. Not me, Mr. H. Your accusations against God are baseless. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world but to save it. If you reject that salvation it's your own fault for where you are at today. Torment is of the devil. Not God. You'll have to accept that as part of what you've signed up for.

If you don't like the message of Jesus Christ - don't visit the religion forum. This is a big board. I'm sure you already have figured that out.
 
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