I accidentally pushed stop when I was recording. So there are 2 parts to today’s voice note.

Voice Note Part 1:

Voice Note Part 2:

Links: Henry Scougal: Life of God in the Soul of Man – Christian Classics Ethereal Library

“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” by Walter C. Smith – Learning to Live by Faith

“I Shall Be Like Him” by William A. Spencer – Learning to Live by Faith

Transcript:

[00:00] Hi Thank you for listening. I hope that you can hear me.

I was planning to talk today about a sermon by George Whitefield. It’s called Walking with God. And we’ve been working with that imagery of seeing ourselves as sheep with a shepherd.

walking on that pathway with God. There’s a lot of really helpful information in that sermon. When I went to look it up, I was looking up about George Whitefield, and I remembered that he said, it’s said about him that, It was by reading this letter called The Life of God in the Soul of Man. That he was converted. That was part of his conversion when he read that letter. It reminded me of that letter. So then I went to look that up. And it has some things in there that I think I’ll talk about that today first.

So this is what I’ll do. It’s like…I had posted those chapter reviews earlier on the website. I’ll go through the chapter. We’re only going to go through a little bit of it today. So again, this is called The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal. I think that’s how you pronounce his last name. It’s S-C-O-U-G-A-L. I’ll post a link of it on here. It has three parts to it. Part one is called On Religion, The Natural and Divine Life.

and the exemplification of divine love in our blessed Savior.

And As I’m trying to get my thoughts together to explain why I was going to want to talk about this today. I was talking in earlier posts about we’re trying to get a real clear image in our head of what we’re doing. who we are, who God is, who we are. what we’re waiting for here. So we’re humans. We’re part of the fallen human race. We’re here. In this life, we’re offered that free pardon, free grace from God to be forgiven of all of our sins. We’re adopted as His children, brought into His kingdom, and our reward is we get to go to heaven and live forever with God in heaven. So, right now. So we’re here on Earth. As a result of the fall of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden, for humankind, our spiritual understandings were darkened. And so it’s the Holy Spirit that convinces us of our own sin and our need of God. and then at regeneration, this new principle of divine life is implanted in you. And that’s where you get your desire for spiritual things. I think George Whitefield talks about this in his sermon Walking With God, that’s why I was going to talk about that sermon today.

But then I remembered this letter. I think it might be important first. to again just work on forming that concept in your mind that right now we’re on earth And the spiritual world is invisible to us. So… God is…God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Son, Jesus, is our mediator, mediating in between us and God. And so. there’s that verse that says, “now we know in part, then we will know in full, even as we are fully known.” So, sometimes it helps to think of things in human terms and you can apply it to God. So…If there was this invisible person that was living in a house, and you went to that invisible person’s house, Let me say first, like, the concept that I’m still learning about is we’re supposed to be seeking God. We’re supposed to be wanting to learn about Him and know Him. So he’s not, I remember how I said I thought of him as a help-line, and he is, but, so he is someone to contact in times of distress, but we’re also supposed to have this relationship to Him. The benefits of our salvation are that we’re brought into this covenant with God.

[05:00] Where he’s a father to us and we’re sons and daughters to him. And while we’re not in heaven yet, we don’t have our full reward. We can start here. living that life of having the communion that we can have with him while we’re on earth. That’s what we’re supposed to be seeking. So again, if you think of it in human terms, if there was an invisible person living in the house and you went to go visit them, You would be wanting to get to know them, you would ask questions about them. You would be wanting to talk to them. You want to know, who is this? And it’s the same thing. That you’ll hear about in the older commentaries. Like, I would think to do that with a person, but for some reason it doesn’t click with your mind that you’re supposed to be doing that about God. So sometimes when you think of it that way, then you can say, ah yes, that is what we’re supposed to be doing. We’re supposed to be inquiring about him, wanting to know who he is. You know, if you meet a new person, you want to know, okay, what do they like? What are their interests? What is important to them? And God tells us all of that in the Bible. And you can be hearing from him when you’re praying to him. He does still speak to us. He answers us. You can get a sense in your heart of a response from him. So, that’s one thing to remember that…

And remember, one of his attributes is that God is love. So, we have this loving Father that we’re supposed to be building communion with. rather than like an angry God that we’re trying to appease with what we’re doing. So I think we’re aware of our sinfulness. And we expect God to be angry with us, but remember it’s free grace by free grace that we’re saved, and he wants us to be in that relationship with him.

So I’ll read to you the sentence that stood out to me in this writing of the Life of God in the Soul of Man. It’s a letter where he’s going to be writing about what true religion is. And he was saying that, and he starts out by talking about that few people understand what it really means, what true religion really means. If they’re giving an account of their religion, they often list out duties or performances of religion. or what they so he’s saying that these things which have any resemblance of piety at the best are but means of obtaining it, or particular exercises of it, frequently mistaken for the whole of religion.

So as I’m having trouble getting my thoughts together here but this is again what I’m trying to work on to get my brain working again uh he was saying that people were listing out external duties of religion. Like If you’re frequently praying or going to church or giving offerings, those are means like ways of obtaining piety or exercises of religion frequently mistaken for the whole of religion. What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to know God. And there’s one phrase that they use in the older commentaries that You’re supposed to operate and everything you’re supposed to be doing is out of love for God. And If you’re like me, then when I heard that phrase, I thought, what do you mean? It’s not that I didn’t love God, it’s just that I knew they were talking about something more than what I was familiar with or another way of thinking of it or a more expanded way of thinking of it. And what he’s saying is that you don’t want to be following the law the law of God just because there is a law. You’re supposed to Be admiring the law and love it because of its holy and righteous and good. And you want to follow God because you love him. You’re praising him for his righteousness and all of his attributes, and you’re joyfully following him out of love to him, and everything you’re doing is out of love to him.

[00:00] So I think that the point that I’m trying to make is that we’re remembering that Jesus has already offered the atoning sacrifice for our sins. So everything that we’re doing in religion, it’s not to redeem ourselves or to make up for anything that we’ve done. or to appease God like that. Jesus has already made that sacrifice for us, what we are doing is we’re trying to know God, we’re following Him, we’re following our loving Father, and we’re trying to get to know Him. We’re wanting to commune with Him. And There’s a lot of verses in the Bible about meditating on God’s law day and night, and in the Psalms you read about it says, …I love the law of the Lord, it’s righteous and good. And it’s supposed to be joyful to us to be following after him.

And this goes along with the next chapter, if you’ve been able to read the chapter summaries from the book by Hannah Whittal Smith, the God of all comfort, that the next chapter in there she’s going to be talking about God as a Father. So it’s this concept that we’re working on getting in our minds of instead of an angry God that has requirements of us. You have this loving Father that wants to spend time with you. but he already knows you. That’s one thing to think about when you’re meditating on God on his throne. You’re meditating on the Almighty God on His throne. And remember that He knows your name. Like he knows your name. He’s watched over you your entire life. And he’s a loving father to you.

And that’s what they’re talking about in terms of everything that you’re doing throughout your life. Every day is motivated by…Love to God and love…your thankfulness for what he’s done for you, your wanting to follow him.

So one thing Matthew Henry talks about it, I think, and they all talk about it. When you’re praying, are you experiencing God? Because everything that he’s laid out for us to do like as we’re going through the sanctification process like scripture reading prayer when you’re spending time with God it’s so that’s we’ll be blessed by it. we’re transformed by it. It’s there for our benefit. So that’s one thing that helped me to be learning about them, because you know where I started out when I was in, you know, fourth or fifth grade. leading up to studying and then I’m still learning about it through life you’re wondering about uh It’s that thing if something in your life wasn’t prevented or if you have things that you’re going through If you have chronic illnesses you’re struggling with your health, there’s a sense that I know God loves me and it’s that you’ve got to really feel that. And

There’s a verse where Jesus says, “Abide in my love.” And I’m learning how to do that. Really knowing and feeling that God loves us. and living our lives out of, you know, our love to him. Everything’s motivated by that.

So it took me a while to get my thoughts going on that one, but I think I was able to explain what I was hoping to talk about.

And why that sentence stood out to me, let me find it here, was that he was saying that the… the…

Duties of religion are, he says again, thus are these things which have any resemblance of piety. And at the best are but means of obtaining it, or particular exercises of religion, frequently mistaken for the whole of religion. So That’s that thing, is again, for some reason when I’m reading the sentence, I’m forgetting what I’m trying to say. But It’s saying that if you spend. So.

This is what I found when I started studying the Bible on my own and really spending time with it. Saying that…

Have you experienced God in those exercises? Are you praying, getting to know him when you’re reading the Bible?

[05:00] Are you reading it? waiting to feel a leading of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you have to wait, and spend a little more time with it, and then make sure. Have you experienced God in what you are doing? That’s what you’re going for, and once you have a moment of that, you’ll know what it is, and then…uh you can keep seeking after that. Because when I started reading the Bible, I was only in about the sixth grade, I think it was the sixth grade. And I knew when I read through it the first time that I was not understanding everything. But I was communing with God, and the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. So you’re hearing his voice. You’re getting familiar with the voice of God. You’re spending time with him. And he speaks to you through his word. He’ll show you things in there. And that was happening. One thing, the first time I read through the Bible, that stood out to me especially when you get to the books of the prophets. They’re there at the end of the Old Testament, uh I was recognizing that this is the same voice of God that’s there in the New Testament so they, there’s harmony, they go together, and if you get to those books when you’re reading through them. The prophets were giving a message from God, so those books are filled with “Thus saith the Lord” that happens throughout the Old Testament. God would speak and so you’re getting familiar with his voice. And again, it’s where he reveals He reveals his character to us throughout the scriptures. You’re getting familiar with that as you read through his word and you’re spending time with him. And you’re interacting with him, you’re feeling that movement of the Holy Spirit. That’s when you can be growing in confidence and assurance that God loves you, and that He’s there, and just in spending that time with Him. So that’s what I would encourage you if you’re just starting out reading the Bible or if you’re just starting out with reading it all the way through. is that you’ll be experiencing God, and remember that that’s what we’re trying to do when we approach the Bible. Everything is we’re trying to have that communion with Him. And get to know Him. And He’ll bless you when you spend time with Him.

And as you keep studying over time, it is, you know, it’s also important, you know, to be spending time with these commentaries. But again, why? Why are we wanting to know more? It’s not just about memorizing things or anything. Remember what…What’s God’s goal in giving us, or His desire for us in giving us the scriptures is for us to know Him. And so…

you can just start out by, you know, just trying to spend that time with him, see what he shows you through the scriptures. And then over time, as you’re reading it more, um It’s so interesting to learn more about it because you’re learning more about him and you’re growing in your communion with him. So, there was one more quote from this. He’s going to be explaining in this letter what true religion is. He’s saying they know by experience that true religion is a union of the soul with God, a real participation of the divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul, or, in the Apostles’ phrase, it is Christ formed within us.

So that’s something to talk about more over time. So it’s Christ formed within you and there’s this process going on. We were mankind, Adam and Eve, were created in the image of God. Then there was the fall of man with Adam and Eve’s sin. There was the entrance of sin which corrupted human nature, so we’re born with this sin nature. and then at regeneration, you have this new principle of life implanted in you, and it’s this What he’s saying here is a real participation of the divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul, or in the Apostles’ phrase, it is Christ formed within us.

[10:00] And we’re made more and more like Christ as we go throughout life if we’re going through that sanctification process, we’re made perfect in heaven. There’s a Bible verse that says about heaven. “It is not yet known what we shall be, but we shall be like him.”

So there’s even more that we’re waiting for to see. You know Right now we get to live in communion with God. In heaven, we don’t know yet what we’re going to be like, but we’re going to be like him. Not equal to him, but I think I posted a hymn on here. The title of it is something like, I shall be like him. and that would be a good one to listen to. So, remembering. That was one thing I had to change my mindset about. We’re not trying to appease an angry God. Jesus has already offered that sacrifice for us. We’re reconciled to God through Him. We’re taken into covenant with God. He’s our loving Father. We’re sons and daughters to Him and everything we’re doing.is operating out of love to him. and with that desire to know him more and more. And then that great reward that we’re waiting for, the full reward will be that we’re going to be living in heaven with God. We’ll be able to see him face to face. I think it was Matthew Henry that said, What makes heaven heaven? Well, it’s Jesus. It’s his presence there. We’re going to be living with him without any…um you know, darkened understanding. He won’t be invisible. He’ll be visible to us there. That’s our reward that we get to live in heaven with God. So again, it took me a while there to get my…thoughts going on that to try and think of what the point was that I was trying to make, but hopefully I was able to explain that.

And you can work with that imagery. And I recorded a hymn today that you might have heard. It’s called Immortal Invisible. And if you…Reading this letter today made me think of that and think of what we’re talking about. Let me look at the first verse of it here. The first verse says, Immortal, invisible, God only wise in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of days, Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise. So in your meditation time today, as you’re working with forming this imagery, You can think of that. He’s the invisible God. And. He’s in light and inaccessible. Hid from our eyes. So. He’s there. We can’t see him right now, but we know that he’s there.

So, I also recorded a few other hymns that I might post. There’s a lot of imagery with that. So I’m going to be posting those on here, and I hope you find them helpful. And again, thank you for listening, and I’ll post again sometime soon. Thanks.