SLEEP is as imperative for our physical well-being as is food and drink, and the one is as much the GIFT of our heavenly Father as is the other.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF SLEEP A.W. Pink A. W. Pink A. W. Pink “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep”. [Psalm 127:2] How often is it now lost sight of that the Lord cares for the bodies of His saints as well as for their souls. This is more or less recognized and owned by believers in the matter of food and clothing, health and strength, but it is widely ignored by many concerning the point we are here treating of. SLEEP is as imperative for our physical well-being as is food and drink, and the one is as much the GIFT of our heavenly Father as is the other. We cannot put ourselves to sleep by any effort of will, as those who suffer with insomnia quickly discover. Nor does exercise and manual labour of itself ensure sleep: have you ever lain down almost exhausted and then found you were “too tired to sleep”? sleep bed restSleep is a DIVINE GIFT, but the nightly recurrence of it blinds us to the fact. When it so pleases Him, God withholds sleep, and then we have to say with the Psalmist, “Thou holdest mine eyes waking” (77:4). But that is the exception rather than the rule, and deeply thankful should we be that it is so. Day by day the Lord feeds us, and night by night He “giveth His beloved sleep.” Thus in this little detail—of Elijah’s sleeping under the juniper tree—which we are likely to pass over lightly, we should perceive the gracious hand of God ministering in tenderness to the needs of one who is dear unto Him. Yes, “the Lord pitieth them that fear Him,” and why? “for He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust” (Ps. 103:14). He is mindful of our frailty, and tempers His winds accordingly; He is aware when our energies are spent, and graciously renews our strength. It was not God’s design that His servant should die of exhaustion in the wilderness after his long, long flight from Jezreel, so he mercifully refreshes his body with sleep. And thus compassionately does He deal with us. Alas, how little are we affected by the Lord’s goodness and grace unto us. The unfailing recurrence of His mercies both temporally and spiritually inclines us to take them as a matter of course. So dull of understanding are we, so cold our hearts Godward, it is to be feared that most of the time we fail to realize WHOSE loving hand it is which is ministering to us. Is not this the very reason why we do not begin really to value our health until it is taken from us, and not until we spend night after night tossing upon a bed of pain do we perceive the worth of regular sleep with which we were formerly favored? And such vile creatures are we that, when illness and insomnia come upon us, instead of improving the same by repenting of our former ingratitude, and humbly confessing the same to God, we murmur and complain at the hardness of our present lot and wonder what we have done to deserve such treatment. O let those of us who are still blessed with good health and regular sleep fail not daily to return thanks for such privileges and earnestly seek grace to use the strength from them to the glory of God. [Quoted from A.W. Pink’s ‘Life of Elijah’] http://confessingbaptist.com/category/theology/page/10/ THE CONFESSING BAPTIST Reformed Resources from a 1689 Perspective About Contact Guidelines | T&C | FAQ Podcast Interview Headlines Book Review Categories News Theology Culture Audio Video Events Bapti-Bot Roundup CATEGORY: THEOLOGY POSTED ONNOVEMBER 24, 2014 The Church of Christ, who upon Confession of Faith have bin Baptised: Hercules Collins & Baptist Ecclesiology [PDF] By Steve Weaver Hercules Collins Below is the PDF of the paper that Steve Weaver presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Diego, California on November 19, 2014. You may purchase the audio for $3 here. The Church of Christ, who upon Confession of Faith have bin Baptised: Hercules Collins and Baptist Ecclesiology [19-Page PDF]: Download (PDF, 440KB) [source: Steve Weaver] POSTED ONNOVEMBER 22, 2014 ‘Reformed Baptist Trumpet’ e-journal [PDF] Vol.5 No.3 Jul.-Sep. 2014 out now The latest edition of the Reformed Baptist Trumpet, the e-journal of the Reformed Baptist Fellowship of Virginia, is out! Reformed Baptist Trumpet2 In this issue: – Editorial: Keach Conference: 2014 Reflections and 2015 Prospects – Article: “The Glory of the Mediator” by Jim Savastio – Article: “The Knowledge of God” by W. Gary Crampton – Book Review: John D. Currid’s Against the Gods by Jeffrey T. Riddle – Paradosis: Keach Sermon excerpt: “The Blessedness of Christ’s Sheep” 22 Page PDF: Download (PDF, Unknown) – Reformed Baptist TrumpetThe Reformed Baptist Trumpet is the quarterly e-journal of the Reformed Baptist Fellowship of Virginia (RBF-VA), a network of ministers, church officers, and congregations in Virginia committed to promoting renewal and reformation in congregations throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. The RBF-VA gladly affirms the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. The Reformed Baptist Trumpet editorial committee: Steve Clevenger, Pastor, Covenant Reformed Baptist Church, Warrenton, Virginia; Jeffrey T. Riddle, Pastor, Christ Reformed Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Virginia; W. Gary Crampton, Elder, Reformed Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia. The Editor is Jeffrey T. Riddle. POSTED ONNOVEMBER 19, 2014 Geoff Thomas’ ‘The Prayer of Daniel’ & ‘Lessons from the Lord’s Prayer’ sermons [TEXT] from the 2014 UK Banner of Truth Borders Conf. banner bordersconf2014 Geoff ThomasHere are both of Geoff Thomas‘ addresses given at the Banner of Truth Borders Conference in Carlisle, Cumbria on November 7 & 8, 2014. The conference theme was ‘Teach us to pray’. The Prayer of Daniel: …Daniel proceeded to pray one of the most complete and extraordinary prayers found in the Scriptures. It is recorded for us in Daniel chapter 9… Why is this such a perfect prayer? it begins and continues in a spirit of worship there is no attempt to blame others for the misery they are in Daniel is concerned for the honour of God’s Name – Lessons from the Lord’s Prayer: You must become God’s children How we talk with God HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME. MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME. GIVE US EACH DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. FORGIVE US OUR SINS. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION. POSTED ONNOVEMBER 17, 2014 “For David speaks concerning him….”: Christ in the Psalms [Riddle] Christ-in-the-Psalms Pastor Jeff Riddle offers some concise thoughts on finding Christ in the Psalms: While preaching last evening at Bells Grove on a section from Peter’s Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:22-31) wherein Peter exposits Psalm 16 as a prophesy of Christ’s resurrection, I was struck by these words, “For David speaks concerning him….” (v. 25). This statement is a reminder: 1. That the Old Testament speaks about Christ… 2. The Psalms, in particular, speak of Christ… Rightly then, does Peter say, “For David speaks concerning him….” (Acts 2:25). Read the full post here: stylos: “For David speaks concerning him….”: Christ in the Psalms. POSTED ONNOVEMBER 14, 2014 The 1689 Baptist Confession & Its Influence on Early American Missions & Church Planting [PDF] by Steve Weaver Steve Weaver Steve Weaver Steve Weaver: Today I am in Indianapolis, Ind. where I am presenting a lecture at 1:30 pm today on “The 1689 Baptist Confession and Its Influence on Early American Missions and Church Planting” at the Baptist, Confessionalism and the Providence of God, 1689-2014 conference. Some have expressed interest in seeing the paper, so I have uploaded it here in PDF format. There are plans to post audio and video of the conference in the near future. You can check www.1689conference.org for the latest details on media availability. [22-Page PDF]: Download (PDF, 392KB) POSTED ONNOVEMBER 14, 2014 Are You Trying or Training for Godliness? [Jeffery Smith] 1 Tim 4 7-8 train godliness sanctification Pastor Jeffery Smith Pastor Jeffery Smith Jeffery Smith: There are many things that cannot be accomplished without training. You can try to do them but you won’t be able to do them if you’ve not been engaging in the discipline of training. For example, you may try to run a marathon but you won’t be able to, no matter how hard you try, if you haven’t been training for it. Spend six to twelve months training for it and you might be able to do it in a decent time. Running long distances requires the discipline of running on a fairly regular basis to build up your stamina. You may try to bench press 250 pounds but most men are not able to do that by simply walking into a gym one day and giving it a try. To get to the place where you can bench press 250 pounds normally requires the discipline of regular weight lifting to build up your strength. I may try to lose weight but, again, if I really want to lose weight and keep it off in the long term I must train to lose weight. I need to develop disciplines of exercise and proper eating. Read “Are You Trying or Training for Godliness?” POSTED ONNOVEMBER 11, 2014 On Not Revolting [Engel] You rebel scum... You rebel scum... You rebel scum… CJay Engel, the Reformed Libertarian, muses on Romans 13, submission to authority, political revolution, and the spread of the gospel: Neither our command as Christians to submit to earthly authorities, nor the fact that God has ordained all actual authorities by his decretive will, leads to the conclusion that the evil deeds of those individuals in government power are somehow morally justifiable. For besides God’s decretive will, there exists his preceptive will, also known as his eternal moral law which binds all men. Not only does God ordain all evil, including totalitarian governments, but we are also called to “arrange ourselves under” (hypotassō -see here) the same; therefore obedience to government seems generally wise and prudent even when government acts wrongly (socialized medicine) unless we are explicitly ordered by the government to do something that contradicts God’s moral law. The point is that yes we are commanded to arrange under, and yes God has decreed all things, but the government agents are still morally responsible for their actions. On the day of judgement no bureaucrat or President will say to the Lord that the evil deeds done were done while in office, and are therefore exempt from the standard so ordained by God. This serves to silence both the State’s ardent defenders who use Romans 13 to justify all sorts of evil activity and also the specific type of anti-State proponent who desires to physically take matters into his own hands and overthrow current government power by rebellion. We might follow Ron Paul’s message that political influence must take place in the realm of ideas and debates and speaking the truth; not by forceful and violent revolution. This method is the same as the method required for spreading the gospel. Source: On Not Revolting | Reformed Libertarian POSTED ONNOVEMBER 10, 2014 Preaching From the Choir [Tom Chantry] Tom Chantry Tom Chantry Tom Chantry: When the Psalms are sung, the minister never leaves without hearing a sermon. Psalms are amazing compositions; we would expect nothing else from inspired Scripture. They dig down to the root of truth and press in on the heart of the believer. They apply truth to our condition by urging us to trust and praise the Lord. Each Psalm is a sermon in verse, expounding and applying the truth of God. Those of us who minister, particularly in small churches, very often go to the assembly several times on a Lord’s Day and preach the word every time. We could go months at a time without hearing the preaching of the Word. But because my church opens each week with a Psalm, I hear a sermon, ‘preached’ by the choir (which in solid, Reformed fashion is made up of all the congregants singing together). I cannot say how often I am moved beyond expression by the message of the Psalm. I do not feel the lack of a ministry dedicated to my own spiritual needs, my people supply that by singing the Psalm in my direction. Read “Preaching From the Choir” POSTED ONNOVEMBER 7, 2014 ‘The Parable of the Wheat & Tares Opened’ by Benjamin Keach [Free eBook Friday] Wheat Tares Benjamin Keach Benjamin Keach Brandon Adams: The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares was a series of sermons published by Benjamin Keach in 1701. Keach was a particular baptist. This parable was the central text in the debate over religious liberty, or liberty of conscience. We’re posting it here because an edited text version does not exist online. Here is a PDF version. A bit about Keach… Read [2 hour readout] POSTED ONNOVEMBER 5, 2014 The Case for Credobaptism from a 1689 Federalism perspective [Sam Renihan] place for truth header Brandon Adams over at 1689Federalism.com writes: Place for Truth: A Voice of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals posted two articles recently. One arguing for paedobaptism [link], the other for credobaptism. Sam Renihan Sam Renihan Samuel Renihan wrote an excellent summary of 1689 Federalism’s case for credobaptism. I highly recommend reading it, printing it, and saving it. Consequently, there has never been a covenant wherein “believers and their children” constituted the paradigm for covenant membership. POSTED ONOCTOBER 31, 2014 Reformation Day Roundup [Audio, Video + more] Happy Reformation Day! Here is a roundup of previous post which may be of particular interest to y’all this day: Short Luther Bio & Reading of His 95 Theses by Curt Arend [Audio]: luther reformation Hear Pastor Curt Arend (who we interviews on episode 24 of our podcast) give a short biography on Luther and read his 95 Theses, the spark of the Reformation! 24 minute audio: Audio Player 00:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. – 4 Short Video Interviews with Michael Haykin on Martin Luther: haykin on luther video prevCredoMag: In celebration of Reformation Day we are pleased to post the following video interviews with Michael A.G. Haykin, professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and contributor to Credo Magazine. In the first video Haykin explains how Martin Luther was converted, in the second video Haykin tells us how Luther came to post the 95 theses, in the third video Haykin tells the story of Luther’s famous “Here I Stand” speech at Worms, and in the fourth video Haykin addresses the contemporary question, “Is the Reformation Over?” Michael Haykin on Luther’s Conversion: – Michael Haykin on the 95 Theses: – Michael Haykin on Luther at Worms: – Michael Haykin: Is the Reformation Over?: – James White’s “A brief review of Reformation Day“ [4:23 – 12:37]: – How Printing Gave Us The Reformation Printer_in_1568-ce by Eric Ayala – Nurturing Congregational Song (& what does the Reformation have to do with it?) Luther singing by Ken Puls – + MORE! POSTED ONOCTOBER 30, 2014 400-Year-Old Lessons from English Baptists & Persecution [Michael Haykin] Haykin: PersecutionPersecution and martyrdom are perennial features of the Church’s existence in this world. Numerous New Testament passages bear out this fact (see, for example, 1 Peter 4:12–19; Acts 14:19–22; John 15:18–21). The experience of the Church down through the centuries has indeed been one of persecution and its concomitant, martyrdom. And although my focus is going to be on one period of this history, we need to recognize that this is not merely an issue of the past. It has been estimated that currently there are thousands martyrs every year around the world. Now, the period that I wish to look at concerns the era of Particular (or Calvinistic) Baptist origins in the mid-seventeenth century… Let us look briefly at some of those persecuted to see what we can learn regarding how we should respond to persecution. THE EXPERIENCE OF JOHN BUNYAN (1628–1688)… THE EXPERIENCE OF WILLIAM MITCHEL (1662-1705)… THE EXPERIENCE OF ABRAHAM CHEARE (D.1668)… Read “400-Year-Old Lessons from English Baptists and Persecution”. POSTED ONOCTOBER 27, 2014 ‘New Testament Use of the Old Testament’ [Roger Nicole] 14-page PDF Roger Nicole Roger Nicole Check out Reformed Reader‘s edited and summarized version of Roger Nicole’s “The Old Testament in the New Testament.” article from volume one of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (ed. Frank Gaebelein): “One very notable feature of the NT is the extent to which it alludes to or quotes the OT. It appeals to the OT in order to provide proof of statements made, confirmation for positions espoused, illustration of principles advanced, and answers to questions raised. …[There is] a very close relationship between the Testaments. Eight propositions clarify this relationship.” 1) The NT writers assumed that the OT in its entirety was meaningful and relevant for their own time. 2) The NT writers were convinced that many of the events of the life of our Lord and indeed of the beginnings of the Christian church had been prophesied in considerable detail by OT writers. 3) The ground of the NT writers’ faith in the prophetic vision of the OT was their conviction, frequently and variously expressed, that the OT is the Word of God. 4) Because they viewed the OT as the Word of God, the NT writers did not hesitate to interpret its statements, not merely in terms of what the human authors could have thought, but in terms of what God himself meant in speaking through the prophets. 5) In many cases the NT writers, illumined by the Holy Spirit, perceived with greater clarity than the OT writers themselves God’s intended meaning behind some prophecies. What the prophets had seen only dimly and in terms of general principle, the NT writers saw in the glowing light of fulfillment in a perspective in which a wealth of details fall into place. 6) The NT writers had such a deep insight into the fullness of God’s redemptive purposes that they could perceive foreshadowings and parallelisms where others might easily have missed them altogether. In many such cases it is not necessary to hold that the OT writers completely understood the way their pronouncements would relate to their fulfillment in the NT. 7) In a number of cases the NT authors saw a significant relationship between a diversity of OT passages. Sometimes they made this plain by a juxtaposition of quotations; in other cases, they appear to have united two or more passages in an illuminating combination. 8) While the NT writers draw attention mainly to the meaning of OT passages, they did not hesitate to build an argument on one word of the original text. This method of quoting the OT manifests a supreme confidence in the divine authority of even then minutest details of Scripture. – PDF: This isn’t the exact same as the above reference but looks to be very similar: Roger Nicole, “New Testament Use of the Old Testament,” Carl F.H. Henry, ed., Revelation and the Bible. Contemporary Evangelical Thought. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958 / London: The Tyndale Press, 1959. pp.137-151.: Download (PDF, 52KB) POSTED ONOCTOBER 17, 2014 The Blessedness of Sleep [A. W. Pink] THE BLESSEDNESS OF SLEEP A.W. Pink A. W. Pink A. W. Pink “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep”. [Psalm 127:2] How often is it now lost sight of that the Lord cares for the bodies of His saints as well as for their souls. This is more or less recognized and owned by believers in the matter of food and clothing, health and strength, but it is widely ignored by many concerning the point we are here treating of. SLEEP is as imperative for our physical well-being as is food and drink, and the one is as much the GIFT of our heavenly Father as is the other. We cannot put ourselves to sleep by any effort of will, as those who suffer with insomnia quickly discover. Nor does exercise and manual labour of itself ensure sleep: have you ever lain down almost exhausted and then found you were “too tired to sleep”? sleep bed restSleep is a DIVINE GIFT, but the nightly recurrence of it blinds us to the fact. When it so pleases Him, God withholds sleep, and then we have to say with the Psalmist, “Thou holdest mine eyes waking” (77:4). But that is the exception rather than the rule, and deeply thankful should we be that it is so. Day by day the Lord feeds us, and night by night He “giveth His beloved sleep.” Thus in this little detail—of Elijah’s sleeping under the juniper tree—which we are likely to pass over lightly, we should perceive the gracious hand of God ministering in tenderness to the needs of one who is dear unto Him. Yes, “the Lord pitieth them that fear Him,” and why? “for He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust” (Ps. 103:14). He is mindful of our frailty, and tempers His winds accordingly; He is aware when our energies are spent, and graciously renews our strength. It was not God’s design that His servant should die of exhaustion in the wilderness after his long, long flight from Jezreel, so he mercifully refreshes his body with sleep. And thus compassionately does He deal with us. Alas, how little are we affected by the Lord’s goodness and grace unto us. The unfailing recurrence of His mercies both temporally and spiritually inclines us to take them as a matter of course. So dull of understanding are we, so cold our hearts Godward, it is to be feared that most of the time we fail to realize WHOSE loving hand it is which is ministering to us. Is not this the very reason why we do not begin really to value our health until it is taken from us, and not until we spend night after night tossing upon a bed of pain do we perceive the worth of regular sleep with which we were formerly favored? And such vile creatures are we that, when illness and insomnia come upon us, instead of improving the same by repenting of our former ingratitude, and humbly confessing the same to God, we murmur and complain at the hardness of our present lot and wonder what we have done to deserve such treatment. O let those of us who are still blessed with good health and regular sleep fail not daily to return thanks for such privileges and earnestly seek grace to use the strength from them to the glory of God. [Quoted from A.W. Pink’s ‘Life of Elijah’] – [HT: Heavenly Worldliness] POSTED ONOCTOBER 16, 2014 On pastoral (dis)qualification & other things [Jeremy Walker] preacherJeremy Walker: [P]astoral qualification is never merely a matter of apparent giftedness and effectiveness. It has at its root a question of character… He concludes with a sober, always needed, reminder: Finally, let there be no gloating: “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12). You may believe you saw this coming. You may have mourned over the painful trajectory that developed, and perhaps the failure of those who publicly applauded phases of Mark’s career publicly to address the change in tack. You may have your suspicions and fears about what comes next. But to revel in the sin of another is a demonic thing. To rejoice in a man’s public downfall is to join Satan’s company. When you see another man, any man, sinning and stumbling, remember that – but for the grace of God – that is you, and pray with tears that it might never be. Read entire post. Posts navigation Previous pagePage 10 Next page Search for: Search … Search FOLLOW: *: Enter your email address: Subscribe - Subscribe to just the podcast via RSS reader, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or by Email* (*email is only sent out once per day) BAPTI-BOT BLOG ROUNDUP Iron Sharpens Iron Podcast Logo September 21, 2017 Show with Jeremy Walker on “What is Repentance?” Theme: September 21, 2017: Jeremy Walker, Pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church of Crawley in West Sussex, England, author & blogger @ Reformation 21 & The Wanderer, will address: “What […] Fri, Oct 06, 2017 Iron Sharpens Iron Podcast Logo September 6, 2017 Show with Marc Grimaldi on “The Importance of Calvinism for Biblically Faithful Evangelism: What it Prevents & What it Preserves” Theme: September 6, 2017: Marc Grimaldi, a pastor @ Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, NY, will address the theme: “The IMPORTANCE of CALVINISM For BIBLICALLY […] Fri, Oct 06, 2017 Archbishop of Canterbury Can’t Answer Direct Questions, More on the I Am Sayings of Jesus Snuck a quick DL in today, covering Justin Welby’s inability to answer a direct question on the nature of sin, and then spending most of our time continuing the discussion […] Fri, Oct 06, 2017 Introduction to “Getting the Garden Right: Adam’s Work and God’s Rest in Light of Christ,” coming soon from Founders Press Introduction This book, in one sense, concentrates on hermeneutics and theological method. I contend that New Covenant Theology (NCT) gets the covenant of works and the […] Fri, Oct 06, 2017 Final page of last lecture for Southern California Reformed Baptist Pastors’ Conference ‘17 You can register for the conference here. Psalm 104:30 says, “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.” Here both […] Fri, Oct 06, 2017 Endorsements for “Getting the Garden Right,” coming soon from Founders Press Nothing shapes how we interpret and apply the Bible as much as our understanding of covenant. Richard Barcellos offers us a helpful blend of biblical exegesis and theological reflection […] Fri, Oct 06, 2017 RECENT COMMENTS Rich Barcellos on One Thing I Did Right in Ministry… [Blog Series | Founders] Jason on ‘Honey Out of the Rock’ by Thomas Wilcox [Free E-book] Jason on What is the Importance of Believer’s Baptism? Fred Malone Answers [5 min. VIDEO] Hesbon on July 7-9, 2015 “Pathway to Power” Metropolitan Tabernacle School of Theology feat. 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