On this day in 1555, during the reign of Queen Mary I, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burned at the stake in Oxford, England for heresy. Christian biography always serves as a good and necessary reality check and a challenge; that's why I periodically remind you to read good Christian biography (please see my note below). I found the account of these two faithful saints of the English Reformation to be a fitting, humbling, and challenging follow-up to my blog from a couple days ago in which I'd written about Margaret Durham, who "danced and skipped for joy" during the time of the Persecution in Scotland in the following century. In that post, I shared my experience of fighting for joy from three years ago:

On October 9, 2009, sitting in a coffee shop, I began to embrace the promises of God and to seek the face of God in earnest so I might experience Habakkuk 3 joy no matter what:  no matter my circumstances, no matter my feelings, no matter what others might say about me or do to me, no matter the amount of fruit (or no fruit) in my ministry, etc. I was seeking to know and to experience joy in the Lord so I might be sustained to carry on and persevere in and through all God had in store for me. I was asking, seeking, and knocking for God-breathed joy such as that which the first century Church possessed (or should I say the joy which possessed them?!) – Habakkuk 3 joy which enabled the early Christians to rejoice and sing in hardship and persecution. I was seeking the joy of the Reformers who would not relent and sang in triumph as they were martyred, and the joy which the Scottish Covenanter Mrs. Durham exhibited (a portion of her story is recounted below).

Reading the account of these two men, we find living proof of how God showered His grace upon and manifested His mighty power in and through Ridley and Latimer, in accordance with Paul's prayer in Colossians 1 to ...

fill these men with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so they walked worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increased in the knowledge of God; Ridley and Latimer were strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made them meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light... (adapted)

When you who are Christians begin to argue that such patience and longsuffering with joyfulness isn't possible for you, I'll say, "Yes, in one way it isn't." For apart from the mighty power of God at work in you, it is impossible. But remember: the things that are impossible with man are possible with God! God's will for us is to be strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness and thanksgiving. My brothers and sisters, this is part of our inheritance along with all the saints, along with Master Ridley and along with Master Latimer! I pray that as you read the accounts below, you'd remember that Ridley and Latimer and countless saints like them were all men with natures like us (James 5:17). Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (~ Ephesians 3:20-21). Ask, seek, and knock. Ask God to increase your faith, ask the Holy Spirit to descend upon the Word of God, that you might no longer read the Bible's promises as a dead letter but as the living word of God for you, so you might embrace the promises and trust and hope in and plead to this God –– the God who brings life to the dead, the God who calls things into existence that never were! Our God is able to perform that which He promises (~ Romans 4:16-21).

Here were the articles which were being disputed for which Master Ridley and Master Latimer were brought to trial, and which led to their condemnation and martydrom, for these two men (along with Thomas Cranmer) answered "No" to all three:

First, Whether the natural body of Christ be really in the sacrament, after the words spoken by the priest, or no?

Secondly, Whether in the sacrament, after the words of consecration, any other substance do remain, than the substance of the body and blood of Christ?

Thirdly, Whether in the mass be a sacrifice propitiatory for the sins of the quick and the dead?

The night before he [Master Ridley] suffered, his beard was washed and his legs; and, as he sat at supper, the same night, at Master Irish's, (who was his keeper,) he bade his hostess, and the rest at the board, to his marriage; "for," said he, "to-morrow I must be married" and so showed himself to be as merry as ever he was at any time before.

In describing the time of imprisonment of Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, Foxe wrote

... they were most godly occupied, either with brotherly conference, or with fervent prayer, or with fruitful writing.

Albeit Master Latimer, by reason of the feebleness of his age, wrote least of them all in this latter time of his imprisonment; yet in prayer he was fervently occupied, wherein oftentimes so long he continued kneeling, that he was not able to rise without help...

And here was one of the "principal matters he [Latimer] prayed for":

That as God had appointed him to be a preacher of his word, so also he would give him grace to stand to his doctrine until his death, that he might give his heart blood for the same....

... concerning his constancy, even in the most extremity the Lord graciously assisted him. For when he stood at the stake without Bocardo-gate at Oxford, and the tormentors about to set the fire to him, and to the learned and godly bishop Master Ridley, he lifted up his eyes towards heaven with an amiable and comfortable countenance, saying these words, "God is faithful, which doth not suffer us to be tempted above our strength." And so afterward by and by shed his blood in the cause of Christ, the which blood ran out of his heart in such abundance, that all those that were present, being godly, did marvel to see the most part of the blood in his body so to be gathered to his heart, and with such violence to gush out, his body being opened by the force of the fire; by the which thing God most graciously granted his request, which was, that he might shed his heart blood in the defence of the gospel.

I could stop there, but I want to give you some further excerpts... beginning with the time when these two dear saints, of whom the world was not worthy, were heading to the stake...

Then Master Ridley, looking back, espied Master Latimer coming after, unto whom he said, "Oh, be ye there?" "Yea," said Master Latimer, "have after as fast as I can follow." So he, following a pretty way off, at length they came both to the stake, the one after the other, where first Dr.  Ridley entering the place, marvellous earnestly holding up both his hands, looked towards heaven. Then shortly after espying Master Latimer, with a wondrous cheerful look he ran to him, embraced, and kissed him; and, as they that stood near reported, comforted him, saying, "Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame or else strengthen us to abide it."

            With that went he to the stake, kneeled down by it, kissed it, and effectually prayed, and behind him Master Latimer kneeled, as earnestly calling upon God as he. After they arose, the one talked with the other a little while, till they which were appointed to see the execution, removed themselves out of the sun. What they said I can learn of no man. . .

Dr. Ridley and Master Latimer kneeled down upon their knees towards my Lord Williams of Thame, the vice-chancellor of Oxford, and divers other commissioners appointed for that purpose, who sat upon a form thereby; unto whom Master Ridley said, "I beseech you, my Lord, even for Christ's sake, that I may speak but two or three words." And whilst my Lord bent his head to the mayor and vice-chancellor, to know (as it appeared) whether he might give him leave to speak, the bailiffs and Dr. Marshal, vice-chancellor, ran hastily unto him, and with their hands stopped his mouth, and said, "Master Ridley, if you will revoke your erroneous opinions, and recant the same, you shall not only have liberty so to do, but also the benefit of a subject; that is, have your life." "Not otherwise?" said Master Ridley. "No," quoth Dr. Marshal. "Therefore if you will not so do, then there is no remedy but you must suffer for your deserts." "Well," quoth Master Ridley, "so long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord Christ, and his known truth: God's will be done in me!" And with that he rose up, and said with a loud voice, "Well then, I commit our cause to Almighty God, which shall indifferently judge all." To whose saying, Master Latimer added his old posy, "Well! there is nothing hid but it shall be opened." And he said, he could answer Smith well enough, if he might be suffered.

            Incontinently they were commanded to make them ready, which they with all meekness obeyed. Master Ridley took his gown and his tippet, and gave it to his brother-in-law Master Shipside, who all his time of imprisonment, although he might not be suffered to come to him, lay there at his own charges to provide him necessaries, which from time to time he sent him by the serjeant that kept him. Some other of his apparel that was little worth, he gave away; other the bailiffs took.

            He gave away besides, divers other small things to gentlemen standing by, and divers of them pitifully weeping, as to Sir Henry Lea he gave a new groat; and to divers of my Lord Williams's gentlemen some napkins, some nutmegs, and rases of ginger; his dial, and such other things as he had about him, to every one that stood next him. Some plucked the points off his hose. Happy was he that might get any rag of him.

            Master Latimer gave nothing, but very quietly suffered his keeper to pull off his hose, and his other array, which to look unto was very simple: and being stripped into his shroud, he seemed as comely a person to them that were there present, as one should lightly see; and whereas in his clothes he appeared a withered and crooked silly old man, he now stood bolt upright, as comely a father as one might lightly behold.

            Then Master Ridley, standing as yet in his truss, said to his brother, "It were best for me to go in my truss still." "No," quoth his brother, "it will put you to more pain: and the truss will do a poor man good." Whereunto Master Ridley said, "Be it, in the name of God;" and so unlaced himself. Then, being in his shirt, he stood upon the foresaid stone, and held up his hand and said, "O heavenly Father, I give unto thee most hearty thanks,  for that thou hast called me to be a professor of thee, even unto death. I beseech thee, Lord God, take mercy upon this realm of England, and deliver the same from all her enemies."

            Then the smith took a chain of iron, and brought the same about both Dr. Ridley's and Master Latimer's middle: and, as he was knocking in a staple, Dr. Ridley took the chain in his hand, and shaked the same, for it did gird in his belly, and looking aside to the smith, said, "Good fellow, knock it in hard, for the flesh will have his course." Then his brother did bring him gunpowder in a bag, and would have tied the same about his neck. Master Ridley asked what it was. His brother said, "Gunpowder." "Then," said he, "I will take it to be sent of God; therefore I will receive it as sent of him. And have you any," said he, "for my brother;" meaning Master Latimer. "Yea, sir, that I have," quoth his brother. "Then give it unto him," said he, betime; lest ye come too late." So his brother went, and carried off the same gunpowder unto Master Latimer.

            In the mean time Dr. Ridley spake unto my Lord Williams, and said, "My Lord, I must be a suitor unto your Lordship in the behalf of divers poor men, and specially in the cause of my poor sister: I have made a supplication to the queen's Majesty in their behalfs. I beseech your Lordship, for Christ's sake, to be a mean to her Grace for them. My brother here hath the supplication, and will resort to your Lordship to certify you hereof. There is nothing in all the world that troubleth my conscience, I praise God, this only excepted. Whilst I was in the see of London, divers poor men took leases of me, and agreed with me for the same. Now I hear say the bishop that now occupieth the same room, will not allow my grants unto them made, but, contrary unto all law and conscience, hath taken from them their livings, and will not suffer them to enjoy the same. I beseech you, my Lord, be a mean for them: you shall do a good deed, and God will reward you."

            Then they brought a faggot, kindled with fire, and laid the same down at Dr. Ridley's feet. To whom Master Latimer spake in this manner "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

            And so the fire being given unto them, when Dr. Ridley saw the fire flaming up towards him. he cried with a wonderful loud voice, In manus teas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum: Domine recipe spiritum meum. And after, repeated this latter part often in English, "Lord, Lord, receive my spirit;" Master Latimer crying as vehemently on the other side, "O Father of heaven, receive my soul!" who received the flame as it were embracing of it. After that he had stroked his face with his hands, and as it were bathed them a little in the fire, he soon died (as it appeareth) with very little pain or none. And thus much concerning the end of this old and blessed servant of God, Master Latimer, for whose laborious travails, fruitful life, and constant death, the whole realm hath cause to give great thanks to Almighty God.

            But Master Ridley, by reason of the evil making of the fire unto him, because the wooden faggots were laid about the gorse, and over-high built, the fire burned first beneath, being kept down by the wood; which when he felt, he desired them for Christ's sake to let the fire come unto him. Which when his brother-in-law heard, but not well understood, intending to rid him out of his pain, (for the which cause he gave attendance,) as one in such sorrow not well advised what he did, heaped faggots upon him, so that he clean covered him, which made the fire more vehement beneath, that it burned clean all his nether parts, before it once touched the upper; and that made him leap up and down under the faggots, and often desire them to let the fire come unto him, saying, "I cannot burn." Which indeed appeared well; for, after his legs were consumed by reason of his struggling through the pain, (whereof he had no release, but only his contentation in God,) he showed that side toward us clean, shirt and all untouched with flame. Yet in all this torment he forgot not to call unto God still, having in his mouth, "Lord, have mercy upon me," intermingling his cry, "Let the fire come unto me, I cannot burn." In which pangs he laboured till one of the standers-by with his bill pulled off the faggots above, and where he saw the fire flame up, he wrested himself unto that side. And when the flame touched the gunpowder, he was seen to stir no more, but burned on the other side, falling down at Master Latimer's feet; which, some said, happened by reason that the chain loosed; others said, that he fell over the chain by reason of the poise of his body, and the weakness of the nether limbs.

            Some said, that before he was like to fall from the stake, he desired them to hold him to it with their bills. However it was, surely it moved hundreds to tears in beholding the horrible sight; for I think there was none that had not clean exiled all humanity and mercy, which would not have lamented to behold the fury of the fire so to rage upon their bodies. Signs there were of sorrow on every side. Some took it grievously to see their deaths, whose lives they held full dear: some pitied their persons, that thought their souls had no need thereof. His brother moved many men, seeing his miserable case, seeing (I say) him compelled to such infelicity, that be thought then to do him best service, when he hastened his end. Some cried out of the fortune, to see his endeavour (who most dearly loved him, and sought his release) turn to his greater vexation and increase of pain. But whoso considered their preferments in time past, the places of honour that they some time occupied in this commonwealth, the favour they were in with their princes, and the opinion of learning they had in the university where they studied, could not choose but sorrow with tears, to see so great dignity, honour, and estimation, so necessary members sometime accounted, so many godly virtues, the study of so many years, such excellent learning, to be put into the fire, and consumed in one moment. Well! dead they are, and the reward of this world they have already. What reward remaineth for them in heaven, the day of the Lord's glory, when he cometh with his saints, shall shortly, I trust, declare.

To read more on the Marian persecutions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Persecutions

Related posts:

My other letters on assurance & fighting for joy including:

Letter 17 on assurance and fighting for joy (will we be diligent to enter into His joy?)
asking a hard thing (letter 84 on assurance & fighting for joy)
five years ago ~ for your joy (AND an inheritance | Richard Sibbes & the Sealing of the Spirit) ~ Letter 136
Three Years Later: Dancing & Skipping with Mrs. Durham | Letter 147 on fighting for joy

Why not pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit
"The Christian should not just believe the truth, and know it..." | the Father's assurance
Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly

the best Mother's Day present: to see my children rebel
Reformation Sunday: Luther-"Just an individualist who never co-operated" or Contender for the truth?
the church reformed, always being reformed, lest we become deformed (Reformation Day)
Reformation Rebels: Are you willing to be a rebel for the sake of the Church?
the church reformed, always being reformed, lest we become deformed (Reformation Day)
"the infinite significance of the eternal Kingdom"

postcards from England: we're never to give way to false gospels
A little child shall lead us: Christ died for our sins (precious penal substitution)
"All My Heart This Night Rejoices" - the Lamb ... full atonement maketh
How could we? (Bible Reading - Leviticus 22)
the priest shall make atonement

Regarding Christian biography: Please see my tags marked bio. Also, if you're not sure where to start in regard to Christian biography, I'd suggest your checking out John Piper's biographical messages found at http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/biographies/by-title. Some of these are now available in PDF as well as ebook format; please check here: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/by-title.

Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Photo credit: I edited the image found here: http://magicstatistics.com/wp-content/pictures/art/Ridley_Latimer.jpg / Originally from Foxe's Book of Martyrs / {{PD-Old}}

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
(Martin Janus, tr. to English by Robert S. Bridges)

Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.

Is Jesus the joy of your desiring?

Are you drinking from deathless springs – or lifeless cisterns?

This is eternal life:  that you might come to Him, believe on Him, drink of Him, live by Him, desire Him, be filled with Him, enjoy Him, and be satisfied in Him –– to the glory of God!

John 6:35  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst...53  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

Isaiah 55
1  “Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3  Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.

Dearly-beloved Brethren,—Grace, mercy, and peace, from our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, be greatly multiplied to you. I remember you every day in my prayers before God, giving thanks to Him who called you out of darkness to His marvellous light.

It is true that formerly you were children of darkness, dragged along to eternal perdition by the prince of darkness; but now ye are children of light, being born of the Spirit by the Word of the living God. Walk in a way worthy of the Father of lights, who shone into your hearts to enlighten you in the knowledge of His divine glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Walk constantly, very dear brethren, after our beloved Lord Jesus Christ; for He assures you, in the Gospel of John, viii. 12, 'I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' It is evident, then, that we cannot walk in the saving light which brings us eternal life, without continuing to walk after Christ. Light, life, salvation, the hope of glory, all spiritual and eternal blessings, are found in Christ Jesus our Lord; neither can they be found anywhere else. Christ is the storehouse of all the heavenly goods—Christ is the treasure of all the riches of Divine goodness—Christ is the fountain from which rivers of living water are always flowing—Christ is the sea, without either bottom or shore, which makes all the waves of grace, mercy, and love, pass on the believing soul—Christ is the Sun of the highest heavens, which scatters and throws all the rays of Divine wisdom and knowledge both among the angels above and the believers below. Whatever blessing you need, seek from Christ Jesus. It hath pleased the Father that in Him should be fully, and abundantly, all things. In Christ dwelleth all the grace and glory of the Godhead bodily. It is in Him that ye are full.

~ Excerpt from W.H. Hewitson's pastoral letter, written in 1846 to his flock in Madeira, Portugal. Found in "Memoir of the Rev. W.H. Hewitson: late minister of the Free Church of Scotland at Dirleton by the Rev. John Baillie," 4th edition, (London: James Nisbet & Co, 1853), 229-230, emphasis mine.

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”
And let the one who hears say, “Come.”
And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Zechariah 10
16  On that day the LORD their God will save them,
as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17  For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
Grain shall make the young men flourish,
and new wine the young women.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Photo credits:

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_drunkard_Glyptothek_Munich_437_n1.jpg /CC BY-SA 3.0

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_and_the_Samaritan_woman_%28Jruchi_Gospels_II_MSS,_Georgia,_12th_cent.%29.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0 / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mineral_Water_,_Tian_,_Azna.jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0

I was saved in November 1982, but only a few years ago I came to a point in my Christian life when I began to be challenged by the Spirit of God to possess the land, much like what was happening in the book of Joshua...

Joshua 13:1 Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. This is the land that yet remains..."

Joshua 18:1 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them.  2  But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. 3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?

To explain, it wasn't a physical land I was being challenged to go in and possess, but rather a spiritual land – the spiritual inheritance God has given me in Jesus Christ.

This is a summary accounting of that gracious activity of God in my life, and His activity and my pursuit of Him is ongoing. As you read my words, I pray God's Spirit might bless you to see the land that has yet to be possessed, and by His grace at work in you, may you be strengthened to go up and possess it...

2007:  Meeting Jonathan Edwards and coming face to face with my lukewarm affections

It was in the late spring/early summer of 2007 that I'd begun reading through "Devotional Classics" (edited by Richard Foster & James Bryan Smith) along with a friend. [As way of disclaimer, I don't fully endorse either the book or Foster and Smith, but the book does provide a bird's-eye view of the varied streams of Christianity (it's really a supplement to Foster's larger work, "Streams of Living Water.")] To clarify, the various section headings in my book (an older used edition I'd picked up at the used bookstore  - I LOVE used bookstores!) include: The Prayer-Filled Life, The Virtuous Life, The Spirit-Empowered Life, The Compassionate Life, and The Word-Centered Life. Each chapter includes excerpts from the writings of an individual from Church history, along with an applicable Scripture text, reflection questions, suggested exercises, and reflections, as well as a short bibliography for further reading. The book can be useful as a check for us, so we don't get unbalanced in the Christian life.

One of the first readings in that book included excerpts from Jonathan Edwards' "Religious Affections." Well, if you're at all familiar with Edwards, you know that's a most wonderful place to start! Yes, I'm pretty sure I'd read his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in high school, but given that my heart was hard and I was still dead in my sins, those words fell on the wayside; they meant nothing to me since the Holy Spirit hadn't chosen to breathe upon them. And though after becoming a Christian, I'd come across Edwards here and there prior to this time, there was something uniquely different in this encounter with Jonathan Edwards. Just a little note:  Foster & Smith did use an edited paraphrase, which does make Edwards more accessible, but after having read Edwards himself, I find it lacking. Therefore, I'm going to quote Edwards directly, even though I realize his thought process and his writing stretches the reader, and I'm the first to confess here that I'm no intellect. I would hope and pray that God's Spirit might work in you as you read these words, as He did me, that He might provoke you and begin to give you a glimpse of and a desire for what Lloyd-Jones speaks of as the "great and glorious possibilities of the Christian life."

Edwards wrote that it was his desire "to observe some things that render it evident, that true religion, in great part consists in the affections." And then Edwards continues...

And here...

1. What has been said of the nature of the affections makes this evident, and may be sufficient, without adding anything further, to put this matter out of doubt; for who will deny that true religion consists in a great measure, in vigorous and lively actings of the inclination and will of the soul, or the fervent exercises of the heart?

That religion which God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless wishes, raising us but a little above a state of indifference: God, in his word, greatly insists upon it, that we be good in earnest, "fervent in spirit," and our hearts vigorously engaged in religion: Rom. 12:11, "Be ye fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Deut. 10:12, "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord the God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul?" and chap. 6:4, 6, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy might." It is such a fervent vigorous engagedness of the heart in religion, that is the fruit of a real circumcision of the heart, or true regeneration, and that has the promises of life; Deut. 30:6, “And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live."

If we be not in good earnest in religion, and our wills and inclinations be not strongly exercised, we are nothing. The things of religion are so great, that there can be no suitableness in the exercises of our hearts, to their nature and importance, unless they be lively and powerful. In nothing is vigor in the actings of our inclinations so requisite, as in religion; and in nothing is lukewarmness so odious. True religion is evermore a powerful thing; and the power of it appears, in the first place in the inward exercises of it in the heart, where is the principal and original seat of it. Hence true religion is called the power of godliness, in distinction from the external appearances of it, that are the form of it, 2 Tim. 3:5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it." The Spirit of God, in those that have sound and solid religion, is a spirit of powerful holy affection; and therefore, God is said "to have given the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," 2 Tim. 1:7. And such, when they receive the Spirit of God, in his sanctifying and saving influences, are said to be "baptized with the Holy Ghost, and with fire;" by reason of the power and fervor of those exercises the Spirit of God excites in their hearts, whereby their hearts, when grace is in exercise, may be said to “burn within them;" as is said of the disciples, Luke 24:32.

I'd encourage you to read the rest here...http://m.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/affections.toc.html

It was at that point, I began to see that my understanding and experience of the Christian life was sorely lacking. More accurately, because my understanding of the Christian life was sorely lacking (i.e. - lack of solid doctrinal rooting), my experience of the Christian life was sorely lacking. My affections were nothing at all close to what Edwards described. Along with other events in my life, Edwards' writing was working to tear down my façade of thinking that I was doing fairly well as a Christian, and began to get me wondering what I was missing and what more there was to the Christian life.

2008:  Martyn Lloyd-Jones quoting Spurgeon:  "There is a point in grace ... " ~ approaching holy ground

The following spring, while away on a private retreat, I listened to a portion of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Ephesians 3:16

There are many ways we can keep track of the Ebenezers in our lives. And included in those for me are my own personal journals and my blogging.

In my post dated May 29, 2008, I'd referenced a quotation which ML-J gave from Spurgeon in that sermon:

There is a point in grace which is as much above the ordinary Christian as the ordinary Christian is above the worldling.

This morning, I looked through my journals (my spiral notebooks which are "filed" in a cardboard box in the corner of the bedroom ), and I found the notebook from that time with the quotation written down along with some notes I'd taken from the sermon. No, there was no lightning bolt at the time, but a seed was planted: a deeper desire and hunger and thirst for Christ had been imparted into my soul through the Holy Spirit. I vividly remember the day when I sat on the bed in that retreat center and listened to that sermon and then knelt down by the bed. I had heard something that day that did further shaking to my complacent, safe, self-sufficient, works-oriented, lukewarm Americanized Christianity. Even though I knew my present reality at that point in time was so very far from that point in grace, and even though I knew I was approaching holy ground to even consider such a possibility, yet all the same, that possibility began to captivate me and my hunger and thirst grew. I knew there was more to Christianity than I'd imagined... I was slowly coming to the realization, much like Oswald Chambers wrote:  "But I knew that if what I had was all the Christianity there was, the thing was a fraud." (Please see my post here for more on that.)

2010:  A hot summer night in Wyoming ~ Show me Your glory! Grace upon grace: Yea, even for ME!

It was in the summer of 2010 that we were on a vacation out west. We were staying at a wonderful refurbished old hotel in Wyoming. Our room, however, didn't have air conditioning, so I wasn't sleeping all that well, and I finally headed out to the sitting room. It was there I opened John Baillie's "Memoir of the Rev. W.H. Hewitson," and I can't explain this to you at all, but suddenly, those "great and glorious possibilities" were opened to me! By God's grace I was enabled to begin to grasp that those great and glorious possibilities of the Christian life were actually FOR ME. They were no longer distant, they were no longer just a theological construct, they were no longer just a theoretical concept, and they were no longer just Martyn Lloyd-Jones' words, but at that point I had the sense that they were truly within my grasp, if I would take hold of Him, as Jacob did, and not let Him go until He blessed me.

The thing that was so odd about all of that is that prior to this time, I'd already received a felt assurance of forgiveness of sins, and I had already begun to enter into and experience into joy in Christ that I'd not thought possible (see my post here); however, above and beyond all of that blessedness, and I say this humbly, there was still more to be had ... there was more spiritual land remaining to be possessed! In other words, I had come to see that I didn't want to be like the Israelites, who'd become negligent (or slack, in the KJV). Their example is set forth as a warning to us – to me. And I knew I could no longer remain content with getting out of Egypt and getting into the promised land. I couldn't even be content with those blessed experiences God had already given my soul (O! don't get me wrong! I thank and bless Him for all He has given me, all He is to me!) –– however at that point, and since that time, my heart has been crying out to possess all the land God has ordained to give me – for there is land that still remains! How can there not be? Our God and the inheritance He has given to His children is infinite! Now, don't misunderstand me – I realize that there is unholy discontentment, but to pant and thirst and long for the courts of the Lord, that He might be the one thing we seek, to long for the deep things of God to be imparted to our souls –– all of that can only be described as a holy discontentment (keeping in mind that God is sovereign, and He alone chooses how, when, and where to pour out His grace upon us).

There was a footnote on page 12 of the book; it was an excerpt from an essay Hewiston had written, "Imagination," which included these words:

Why is man endowed with imagination––why made susceptible of poetic rapture?––That he may discover God in all things––God's image in his own soul––God's image in the hosts of heaven––God's image in the creations of earth––God's greatness in all that is great––God's loveliness in all that is lovely––God's glory in all that is glorious...

I'm pretty sure it was at that point, as I was reading that last phrase: "God's glory in all that is glorious," that I recalled Moses prayer to God in Exodus 33 (where Moses asked God to show him His glory), and so I looked up the passage, which I'd read countless times before, had studied in BSF at least a couple times, plus I'd also read Lloyd-Jones' sermons on it (and had listened to some of those as well) –– but that night those words in Exodus 33 came alive to me in a way they hadn't before, particularly verse 13:

Now therefore I pray if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight, and consider that this nation is your people.

I found this mind-boggling and exhilarating... Here is Moses, who has already found grace in the eyes of God. But Moses is not content with that. He's found grace, but there he is asking to find grace! There's that holy discontentment! He's going back to God and importunately pleading: "I want to know You! I want to receive more grace from You!" And then, if you keep reading the passage, God grants Moses his request, but even at that point, Moses doesn't stop, he pleads with God to show him His glory! I can't explain it you, but the Rock just split open for me at that moment. Now the perplexing thing to me, as I said above, is that I'd heard these things all over the place in Lloyd-Jones teachings for a couple years prior to that time, but all of a sudden my heart and my eyes were opened, and now they were made to be real possibilities for ME – much like Paul had been praying for the Ephesians in chapter 1. I found myself embracing those possibilities and promises with all my might. The Spirit blows how, when, and where He wills! O! Rejoice with trembling before this sovereign, good, and gracious God of glory! And then examine the content of the prayers you are regularly praying. How do they compare to Moses' prayer here? How do they compare to Paul's prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3?

"You have taught me ... and to this day I declare your wondrous works."

Psalm 71
14 But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.

Like the Psalmist here, God has taught me, though not from my youth, so now I feel I'm making up for lost time. And I don't certainly know all, far from it, but I am pressing on to know Him and to take hold of that for which He has taken hold of me. And, all glory to God, I am learning to know Him, love Him, and praise Him yet more and more! I am older, though still not really grayheaded (though a few hairs of gray are appearing). My purpose in writing all this to you, and my purpose in much of my writing here, is to tell of God's righteousness and salvation, to declare God's strength and power, that is, to remind you that there are streams of Living Water abundantly available to all the saints. To declare to you that in Christ there is an infinite spring of life (not a limited well) – but all too often we fail to ask, seek, and knock for these things because we don't even understand they are available to us. I see far too many of you hewing and drinking of broken cisterns and strange waters. I am writing to urge you to pray for a holy discontentment such as Moses had and to seek to know and to experience the great and glorious possibilities of the Christian life.

And, dare I say it, and I don't mean to sound unthankful at all, and I don't want to be misunderstood here –– but so often we settle for first grace, and we don't press in and onward and upward to ask for more! Jesus Christ gave Himself in our place, and through His body and blood He has made a way for all believers to begin to experience infinite grace, glory, love, light, life, comfort, and joy –– but what are we doing about it? My brothers and sisters, there IS spiritual land to be possessed! Are you being negligent like the Israelites? No wonder so many of you are weary, fainting, and languishing. We can't expect to run the race set before us apart from God's supplies. Can you really expect to flourish in times of famine, to be sustained in the Valley of Baca (the thirsty or weeping valley), to persevere with joy, or to bubble up with living water to a thirsty world if you aren't drinking of Christ and if you aren't seeking to drink deeper and deeper of Him?

Caleb's example to this 54-year old:  Don't stop satisfied!

One of the greatest dangers of the Christian life is for us to stop short of possessing and enjoying all of the spiritual inheritance God has for us. I have a close spiritual friend and one of the exhortations that we constantly bring to one another is this:  "Let us not STOP SATISFIED!" Why do we do that? Because we know that each of us, no matter who we are, no matter our previous experiences, is in grave danger of stopping satisfied. I'm turning 54 years old today, and I love the account of Caleb I've cited below, the man who at 85 years of age is still pressing in and onward and upward for more of Christ. Why? He kept remembering the promises of God and he continued to embrace them –– for a full forty-five years!

Joshua 14:6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim).

However long I live in this earthly tent, I am praying for God's grace to continue to abound to me so I might be pressing on in the same way Caleb did! O! God! Let me not stop satisfied! Give me this mountain!

What kind of life are we really living if we stop satisfied? Having received a sight of God's glory, are we not given freedom by the Holy Spirit to go from glory to glory? Having received grace, ought we not to be pleading for more grace? Like Joshua, I am old, and advanced in years compared with many of you, but I am praying God will grant me grace to possess all the land He has yet for me! The thought thrills me, for I am increasingly convinced that, as the Scripture tells us:

... the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
(Proverbs 4:17)

As I said, that was only a summary, but I hope it gives you a better idea as to why I'm blogging as I am, and it may also help you make more sense of my repeated exhortations to you that in addition to the Scripture, you should read good Christian books, as well as listen to and/or read good sermons.

My deepest desire and prayer is that along with me, you would not stop satisfied, but that God would grant you an enlarged and enhanced understanding of the inheritance He has for you, and along with that, an ever-increasing hunger and thirst to know Him. And I'll tell you this, as God does this for you, He will give you a desire to use it to His glory, for He always blesses us to bless others. As we freely receive, we are called to freely give. (That's a whole other huge topic, which I'm not going to begin to tackle here...)

"... not only a possibility for all Christians, it is the duty of all Christians ... The question we must face therefore is..."

To close, I'd like to share with you the first portion of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Ephesians 3:16.

'That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.'

Ephesians 3:16

The Apostle now tells us that he is praying that the inner man may be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit. I must emphasize that this prayer is offered for those who are already Christians. He is praying for the people whom he has been describing in the first and second chapters, where he said some very remarkable things about them, such as, 'In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession'. Not only so! The Apostle has already offered a great prayer for them in Chapter 1, namely, 'that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him'. But still he is not satisfied. He goes on praying for them, and he lets them know that although he is in prison and far away from them, he is bowing his knees, he is praying in the presence of God, he is looking into God's face on their behalf, and he is praying that in the inner man they may be strengthened with might by the Spirit of God.

I emphasize the fact that he offers this prayer on behalf of Christians because the experience of forgiveness and of salvation is merely the beginning of the Christian life. It is only the first step, an indication of entry into the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately there are many Christians who stop at that point; they are concerned only about their personal security and safety; their sole concern is to belong to the Kingdom of God. They are anxious to know that their sins are forgiven, that they will not go to hell, that they have a prospect of going to heaven. But the moment they have had this initial experience they seem to rest upon it. They never grow, and you cannot detect any difference in them if you see them fifty years later. They are still where they were. They think they have everything, and there is no indication whatsoever of any development.

Now that is very far removed indeed from what we find here about the Christians. There are great and glorious possibilities for Christians. One of them is 'that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith' and that they may come to know something about God's love in its 'breadth and length and depth and height'; indeed that they 'might be filled with all the fulness of God'. These words indicate something of what is possible for the Christian; and we must underline the face that it is possible for all Christians. The Apostle is not writing a circular letter to apostles, he is not concerned here only with some very exceptional persons; he is writing to the ordinary church members of the Church of Ephesus. We do not know their names, we know nothing about them; they are people whom we describe (if there is such a thing) as ordinary Christians. Yet Paul is praying for them, and he prays that they may experience all these blessings, leading to the almost incredible climax, 'that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God'.

This is not only a possibility for all Christians, it is the duty of all Christians to be in this position. The great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, dealing with this matter, once said, 'There is a point in grace as much above the ordinary Christian as the ordinary Christian is above the worldling'. In other words, there is a stage in the Christian life, in the development of the Christian, 'which is as much above the ordinary Christian as the ordinary Christian is above the worldling'. That states the matter in a very striking and strong manner, but it is right and true. We all know the difference in level between the non-Christian and the Christian. The Christian is on a higher level, a higher plane than the non-Christian. But Spurgeon reminds us that there are higher reaches in the Christian life which are as much above this ordinary Christian level as the Christian is above the non-Christian. We must accept that, if we really believe that Christ can dwell in our hearts, that we can know this love of God and of Christ in all its dimensions, that we may be filed with all the fulness of God. Clearly, that is as much above the ordinary Christian level as that level is above the non-Christian.

The question we must face therefore is: Have we reached this level to which Spurgeon refers? Do we conform to the description which the Apostle gives here of what is possible to the Christian? Is Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith? Have we looked into this great 'cube' of God's eternal love? Have we been staggered as we have looked at its dimensions? Do we know what is meant be being 'filled with all the fulness of God'? Do we know the God who is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we either ask or think? Have we reached that level, that height? Are we dwelling there? Or are we still down on the ordinary Christian level? There is always the danger of imagining that because we have been converted we can rest upon our oars, or simply become active, busy workers always rushing into activities.

Having dealt with this matter we must obviously go on to the next question. If we feel that we are still on this ordinary level, how can we reach the higher level? There is but one answer to that question, it is the answer given by the Apostle's prayer. We must be 'strengthened with might by (God's) Spirit in the inner man'...

Like the apostle Paul, I am praying for you, and by God's grace, I will continue to exhort you to ask, seek, and knock that you might not stop satisfied, that you might not neglect going in and possessing your full inheritance in Christ, but that you would begin to understand and experience the "great and glorious possibilities" of the Christian life!

For your joy and for Christ's glory (Isaiah 61:1-3),
Karen

Information about ML-J's sermon ~ This sermon was preached in 1956 during Lloyd-Jones' Ephesians series, which he began in 1954. The text was taken from "The Unsearchable Riches of Christ:  An Exposition of Ephesians 3:1-21" by D.M. Lloyd-Jones (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980), chapter 10 "Strengthened with Might," 130-132, emphasis mine.

Updated 2/12/2013:  Thanks to the MLJ Trust (http://www.mljtrust.org/), you can access for free this sermon, as well as over 1600 sermons of the late Dr. Lloyd-Jones from the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Audio Library here: http://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/.The sermon title is "The Importance of Spiritual Growth," sermon 10 of ML-J's sermons on Ephesians 3, and can be downloaded here:  http://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/the-importance-of-spiritual-growth/.

A weekly broadcast/podcast of ML-J's sermons is available at http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/living-grace/listen/ At the beginning of 2012, they began posting sermons from the Ephesians series.

Related:

Why not pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Herein is love ... Vast as the ocean ~ And let him that is athirst come!
Two Fountains ~ Where are you drinking? What is flowing? Don't waste your drinking!
God works through bad economies for good: A retrospective (my testimony)

my posts on Christian hedonism, including:

Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor
Advent # 7 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might be satisfied with Him
Finding pleasure in Him
Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from Jonathan Edwards
Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from George Whitefield
How's your spiritual appetite? (Jonathan Edwards)
Second Sunday after Christmas: Is your religion true religion? (Henry Scougal)
this earthly manna ~ the Christian hedonist's plea
Happy Birthday, John Piper ~ reflections on year-ends, aging, fruit bearing & Christian hedonism
The Father's Inheritance (Eleven days' journey ~ A lamentation & an exhortation)
"The honeycomb I lift!" ~ Will you join me? I Samuel 14:24-30

more from Lloyd-Jones:

postcards from England: are we excited over a dead fish and a car wreck? (considering the glorious possibilities)
The Christian should not just believe the truth, and know it..." | the Father's assurance
update w/ excerpt: Lloyd-Jones' sermons on the role of experience in Christianity (includes an excerpt from Hewitson)

more from Hewitson:

In which circle do you take your stand? ~ Hewitson's holy ambition ~ Are you a true disciple?

my posts on assurance & fighting for joy, including:

Letter 10 on assurance and fighting for joy (joy is for ALL!)
Letter 18 on assurance and fighting for joy (my testimony of joy)
Keep me away from the paths of the destroyer that I might behold Your face. (Psalm 17) - letter 67
Remembering the pit & bog so I might rejoice in Him & you might also! (Psalm 40:1-3) | letter 74
asking a hard thing (letter 84 on assurance & fighting for joy)
five years ago ~ for your joy (AND an inheritance | Richard Sibbes & the Sealing of the Spirit) ~ Letter 136
Canaan's Cluster, Eschol's Vine | Letter 138 on assurance & joy

Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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