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JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 2

ADVENT WEEK TWO – PEACE

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isa 9:7 ESV). “This was prophesied about Jesus more than 700 year before his birth.”1

“‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Luke 19:38 ESV).

“The Advent of Jesus is the arrival of peace. He not only made peace with God for us, but he became our peace. [N]ot only are we no longer in conflict with God, but much more in that God has restored us to a state of wholeness.”2

“The most basic meaning of shalom is not ‘peace’ but ‘complete’ or ‘whole.’”3 “Peace is not just the absence of war or conflict, but the positive presence of something else.”4

Psalm 46 declares with confidence, ‘We will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea’ (v.2). Our world, like the psalmist’s world is in collapse: racial injustice, wildfires, hurricanes, floods. Our earth is giving way and the mountains are falling into the sea.5

“And [JESUS] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39 ESV). “His trust was so great that he could rest amid the crashing waves. Such supernatural peace is available to any of us who knows who God is.”6

“’Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:14 ESV).

“The ‘peace’ announced at the first Christmas is a unique peace that only the Messiah Himself can offer, but it’s for anyone who will take it.”7 “Now He doesn’t offer peace on our terms but His. And His terms are this: total surrender, turning away from any sort of self-trust or self-righteousness.”8 “Confession and being made right with God (justification) is our starting point to having peace with God.”9

“And He gives it to those who do it like a kid—humble, wide-eyed, maybe even hesitant or through tears. Jesus gives peace to those who come to the point they truly believe HE is the answer to what they are looking for.”10

[W]here the guilt of the past is forgiven; where the trials of the present are overcome; and where our destiny in the future is secured eternally. This kind of peace has a name. We celebrate during this season that ‘to us a child is born, to us a son is given.’ His name is the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.11

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ENDNOTES

(2) Prince of Peace

            1. Jimmy Larche, “Advent Devotions (Week 2): Peace and Shalom,” 6 December 2019, Abiding in Him Devotional, 17 March 2021 https://www.jimmylarche.com/advent-devotional-week-two/.

            2. “Advent: Week 2 Peace,” Feed the Nations, 17 March 2021 https://feedtheneed.org/tabletalk/advent-week-2-peace/.

            3. “Advent: Week 2 Peace.”

            4. Jim Lewis, “Advent Week 2 – Study Guide,” 6 December 2020, River Community Church, 17 March 2021 http://www.rivercc.org/2020/12/06/advent-week-2-study-guide/.

            5. Carmen Joy Imes, “Monday: Peace in the Storm,” 6 December 2020, Christianity Today, 17 March 2021 https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/november-web-only/advent-week-2-gods-presence-and-his-promises.html.

            6. Imes.

            7. Alli Patterson, “10 Minutes to More Peace (Advent: Week 2),” 7 December 2020, Crossroads, 17 March 2021 https://www.crossroads.net/media/articles/10-minutes-to-more-peace-advent-week-two.

            8. Allen S. Nelson, “Jesus Deserves Praise,” 2 December 2019, Things Above, 17 March 2021 https://thingsabove.us/2019-advent-devotionals-week-2/.

            9. Jim Lewis, “Advent Week 2 – Study Guide,” 6 December 2020, River Community Church, 17 March 2021 http://www.rivercc.org/2020/12/06/advent-week-2-study-guide/.

            10. Alli Patterson, “10 Minutes to More Peace (Advent: Week 2),” 7 December 2020, Crossroads, 17 March 2021 https://www.crossroads.net/media/articles/10-minutes-to-more-peace-advent-week-two.

            11. “Advent Week 2: Peace,” 5 December 2016, Rivertree Church, 17 March 2021 https://myrivertree.org/church-life/2016/12/5/ravpqh4mn96r54polijbxmcmyny4m7.

            12. “. . . we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:11 ESV).

            13. John Piper, “Advent Week 4 Prince of Peace,” 20 December 2020, Faithlife Sermons, 17 March 2021 https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/676674-advent-week-4-prince-of-peace.

            14. Piper.

            15. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”  (Isaiah 9:6 ESV).

            16. “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”  (Ephesians 2:14 ESV).

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WEEK 1

ADVENT WEEK ONE – HOPE

“Happy New Year! The Christian year begins with the season of Advent.”1 “Advent anticipates the ‘coming of Christ’ from three different perspectives: the physical nativity in Bethlehem, the reception of Christ in the heart of the believer, and the eschatological Second Coming.”2

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer 33:14 ESV).

The Christian story is essentially one of daring hope, and we proclaim it boldly during Advent. All our senses tell us that God is not here, that the world is encompassed in darkness, cold, and pain. Yet we proclaim during this darkest, coldest time that He is here, tangibly born in the flesh, present with us still today.3

If you read the Bible cover to cover, you will discover there is a lot of waiting done by God’s people. Even though God made them wait, He didn’t allow them to wait without hope. He made covenants, anointings, and promises with his people while they waited, which gave them hope.4

“Hope, in the Bible, exists as a secure assurance, a trust placed in a trustworthy God. God has not failed us in the past, and therefore, if he claims he will do something in the future, we can have a hope that he will fulfill that claim.”5

“We aren’t alone in hope for an improved political climate. The Jewish people living more than two thousand years ago were hoping for the arrival of the Messiah to rescue them and bring about a just and peaceful kingdom.”6

Revelations initial recipients were living in two overlapping realities: their assurance in the sovereign reign and glorious return of Christ; and their earthly, everyday experience of waiting and suffering. Some two thousand years later, we still live amid these overlapping realities. Here, between Christ’s first coming and his glorious return, our lives may also feel like a mix of kingdom and confidence alongside waiting and suffering.7

“In this day and age, where evil abounds and all seems lost, we can also hope that the prophecies about Jesus’ second arrival to earth will also be fulfilled.”8

“[W]ait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:7-8 ESV).

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ENDNOTES

(1) In Hope Assured

            1. “Hope is a Verb: Salt’s Lectionary Commentary for Advent Week One,” 27 November 2018, Salt, 9 March 2021 https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/advent-week-one-lectionary-commentary.

            2. “Advent,” Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 9 March 2021 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent.

            3. Catherine McNiel, “Advent Week One: A Hope Made Sure,” 2 December 2019, Awana, 9 March 2021 https://www.awana.org/2019/12/02/advent-week-one-a-hope-made-sure/.

            4. Dori, “Advent Week 1 Hope: Family Devotional,” 1 December 2018, This Full Life 5, 9 March 2021 https://thisfulllife5.com/week-1-advent-family-devotional/.

            5. Hope Bolinger, “What is the Candle of Hope for Advent? Week 1,” 6 December 2019, Christianity, 9 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-the-candle-of-hope-for-advent-week-1.html.

            6. Matt Tullos, “Advent Devotional (Week 1): Faith,” 25 November 2015, Lifeway, 9 March 2021 https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/devotions-christmas-advent-week-one-faith.

            7. Kelli B. Trujillo, “Advent Week 1: He Will Come Again in Glory,” 29 November 2020, Christianity Today, 9 March 2021 https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/november-web-only/advent-week-1-he-will-come-again-in-glory.html.

            8. Hope Bolinger, “What is the Candle of Hope for Advent? Week 1,” 6 December 2019, Christianity.com, 9 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-the-candle-of-hope-for-advent-week-1.html.

            9. Robb Redman, “What is Advent?” 17 December 2020, Worship Leader, 9 March 2021 https://worshipleader.com/calendar/advent-day-19-with-steve-angrisano/.

            10. “. . . Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees”  (Romans 8:24 ESV)?

            11. Justin Holcomb, “What is Advent?” 6 November 2020, Christianity.com 9 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/christmas/what-is-advent.html.

            12. Holcomb.

            13. Arthur S. Way, Letters of Paul, Hebrews and the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1926, 1981) 208.

            14. “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:33 ESV).

            15. Mark 13:33.

            16. Charles Wesley and Henry T. Smart, “Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending,” 1758, Hymnary, 9 March 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/lo_he_comes_with_clouds_descending_once.

            17. Wesley and Smart.

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WEEK 53

CHRIST THE KING DAY

“On the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. [T]his feast is designed to give special recognition to the dominion Christ our Lord has over all aspects of our lives.”1 “Even though it was created by a pope less than a hundred years ago, some Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians celebrate the feast.”2

“[T]his feast reminds us that whatever earth powers may do or ask of us, Christ is the true king that should reign in our hearts.”3

This feast is a fitting way to send us into Advent, the season of preparing our hearts to better recognize and receive God who comes to us in the person of Jesus. Jesus will come to us at the end of time to usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom, and it reminds us to recall that Jesus comes to us every day as well.4

“[T]he kingship of Christ overturns the systems of power, wealth, and force which rule over the world.”5 “[He] will return to take back the earth from the usurper and establish His kingdom.”6

“[W]hen the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” (2 Thes 1:7-9 ESV).

“Christ, as Savior, is also the universal Judge, who will one day pass judgment on all people according to their deeds.”7 “God’s righteous judgment will be fully manifest when Jesus returns. At that time unbelievers will be condemned and believers will be saved.”8

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10 ESV).

“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,” (Joel 2:1 ESV).“[T]he ‘day’ refers to a final judgment upon the nations.”9 “God judges and ends this world system in its present form.”10

“CHRIST the King Day” is also called, “The Judgment Day” is some churches.  It is a perfect occasion to seriously evaluate where we will be in the next life.

The only thing that will deliver you from the eternal wrath of God is the eternal Gospel of God. God’s eternal and undiluted wrath was poured out on Christ at the cross. He drank the whole cup of the full fury of God’s justice against sin. If you trust in Jesus, he drank that cup for you. You will either trust in Christ or you will drink that cup for yourself.11

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ENDNOTES

(53) CHRIST the King

            1. D. D. Emmons, “The Solemnity of Christ the King,” Simply Catholic, 12 August 2021 https://simplycatholic.com/the-solemnity-of-christ-the-king/.

            2. ChurchPOP editor, “8 things You Didn’t Know About the Feast of Christ the King,” 23 November 2014, ChurchPOP, 12 August 2021 https://www.churchpop.com/2014/11/23/8-things-didnt-know-feast-christ-king/.

            3. ChurchPOP.

            4. “Feast of Christ the King,” FaithND, 12 August 2021 http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=38228.

            5. “Feast of Christ the King.”

            6. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 506.

            7. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2221.

            8. ESV Study Bible, 2315.

            9. ESV Study Bible, 1643.

            10. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 506.

            11. James Hamilton, Revelation, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012) 288.

            12. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 78.

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WEEK 52

JOYFUL SINGING

“His joy is my joy. My experience of joy must be emanating from His experience of joy.”1

Before the foundation of the world, our names were engraved on the Savior’s hands. In Christ, we have always been redeemed by His precious blood, always been preserved by the power of God, always been secure of the heritage given; therefore, let us always be grateful. If we are not always singing with our lips, let us always be singing with our hearts.2

Singing will often make the heart rise. The song, though at first it may appear to drag, will soon be fitted with wings that lift the spirit. Sing more and you will sing more still, for the more you sing, the more you will be able to sing the praises of God.3

The good tidings of great joy have reached us; as we, by His grace, have believed them, He has saved us from sin and death and hell. He has not simply promised to do it someday, but He has already done it. Sing to Him with a grateful heart, saying, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord.’4

‘Delight thyself also in the LORD’ (Psalm 37:4). This is His command, and is it not a lovely one? So greatly does God desire us to rejoice in Him that to the command is added a promise: ‘and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ [D]elight becomes a duty, to be happy is to be obedient to a command!5

“The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart.”6 John Piper

“[Y]ou always sing best when you are most spiritually focused. If you cannot sing artistically, never mind, you will be right enough if you sing from the heart and pay attention to it.”7

“It glorifies God when we delight in him, expressing the joy of knowing him and being known by him. [E]xpressions of delight point to God’s worth.”8 “The joy is ours. The glory is his.”9

“Only Jesus himself can bring us into God’s presence, and he has done it through a single sacrifice that will never be repeated—only joyfully recounted and trusted in.”10

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ENDNOTES

(52) Joyful Singing

            1. Doug Newton, Fresh Eyes on Famous Bible Sayings (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2018) 94-95.

            2. Charles Spurgeon, The Power of Praising God (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1998) 12.

            3. Spurgeon, 24.

            4. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 136-137.

            5. Spurgeon, 136.

            6. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 65.

            7. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 52.

            8. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 66.

            9. Kauflin, 150.

            10. Kauflin, 74.

            11. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 159.

            12. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 161.

            13. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 161.

            14. “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2 ESV).

            15. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 160.

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WEEK 51

JESUS – MEEKNESS AND MAJESTY

“For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] ‘Yes’” (2 Cor 1:20 AMP).

“One shows one’s greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between.”1 C.S. Lewis

“In the Person of Christ we see infinite majesty and transcendent meekness come together.”2

JESUS is the most incomparable Person—One who deserves our constant praise.

“[T]he glory of Christ is his combining of attributes that would seem to be utterly incompatible in one Person. The worth and beauty of the Son come not just from his majesty, nor just from his meekness, but from the way these mingle in perfect proportion.3

One of the sermons of Jonathan Edwards that God used to kindle the Great Awakening in New England in 1734-1735 was titled ‘The Excellency of Christ.’ In it Edwards unfolds the glory of God’s Son by describing the ‘admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Christ.’4

Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is so high, that he is infinitely above any needs of us; above our reach, that we cannot be profitable to him; and above our conceptions, that we cannot comprehend him. And yet he is one of infinite condescension. [H]is condescension is sufficient to take a gracious notice of the most unworthy, sinful creatures to become their friend, to become their companion, to unite their souls to him in spiritual marriage, to take their nature upon him, to become one of them, that he may be one with them.5

Some of us may have a strong sense of the transcendent glory of Jesus—as vital an aspect of who he is as any. We tremble at the thought of him. His resplendent greatness looms over our daily consciousness. We approach him with reverence and awe. As we should. But he who is both Lion and Lamb is both transcendent and immanent, both far and near, both great and good—both King and Friend.6

Even in Christ’s present state of exaltation in heaven, we see the attributes of both the lion and the lamb! In his exalted state, he most eminently appears in strength of a great lion, but he still appears as a lamb. Though Christ be now at the right hand of God, exalted as King of Heaven, and Lord of the universe, yet as he is still in the human nature, he still excels in humility! [H]e is a lamb still, even amidst the throne of his exaltation, and he that is Shepherd of the whole flock is

himself a Lamb.7

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ENDNOTES

(51) Shout to the LORD

            1. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 35.

            2. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” 16 March 2016, Monergism, 08 April 2021 https://www.monergism.com/blog/jonathan-edwards-excellency-christ.

            3. John Piper, The Pleasures of GOD (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1991) 29-30.

            4. Piper, 30.

            5. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.

            6. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 27.

            7. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.

            8. Edwards.

            9. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 32.

            10. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.

            11. Edward Perronet, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” 1780, Hymnary, 08 April 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/all_hail_the_power_of_jesus_name_let.

            12. Perronet.

            13. “Praise the LORD . . . praise him in his mighty heavens” (Psalm 150:1 ESV)!

            14. “The LORD will reign forever . . .” (Psalm 146:10 ESV).

            15. “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD . . .” (Psalm 112:1 ESV).

            16. “For great is his steadfast love toward us . . .” (Psalm 117:2 ESV).

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WEEK 50

DWELL SPIRIT IN OUR HEARTS

The Holy Spirit is our Guide, not only to show us the way, but to go with us by continued aids and influences. To be led into a truth is more than barely to know it; it is not only to have the notion of it in our heads, but the relish, and savour, and power of it in our hearts.1

“[T]he Helper, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things.” (John 14:26 ESV).

‘The abiding Indweller, the Spirit, is perpetually admonishing, leading, drawing, and constraining the soul.”2

It is the Holy Spirit who guides us into the right path for us to walk and convicts us of our sin if we stray from that path. It is the Holy Spirit who reminds us of the truth of God’s Word and teaches us how to apply God’s Word to our daily lives. It is the Holy Spirit who works in us to conform us to the image of Christ Jesus, and who works through us to minister the presence and power of Christ to others.3

“We are lacking in great doctrinal hymns concerning the Holy Spirit and His work. [T]hese hymns that beseech Him to come into the Church and to come upon us, and to do this and that – are thoroughly unscriptural.”4

The below hymn “which as a plea for spiritual realism, responsiveness, repentance, righteousness, and reviving of spirit in and through Christ is as near perfect as we are ever likely to get.”5 The verses are almost verbatim from the hymn, “Come, Holy Spirit, Come.”

Come, Holy Spirit, Come

Dwell Spirit in our hearts, show us that loving Man

The Lord of Hosts, the Mighty God, the Eternal Prince of Peace.

Convince us of our sin, then lead to Jesus’s blood,

And to our won’dring view reveal the secret love of God

‘Tis thine to cleanse the heart, to sanctify the soul,

to pour fresh life in ev’ry part, and new-create the whole.

Revive our drooping faith, our doubts and fears remove.

Then shall we know, and praise, and love, the Father, Son, and Thee.6

“Humans become like what they adore. The Spirit works to foster adoration of Christ so that people will become like him. Thus, sanctification flows from adoration, and both are accomplished by the Spirit in the believer’s life.”7

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ENDNOTES

(50) Go With the SPIRIT

            1. Matthew Henry, “Complete Commentary on John 16,” 1706, Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, 09 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhm/john-16.html.

            2. Octavius Winslow, Evening Thoughts (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2005) August 9th.

            3. Charles F. Stanley, Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005) ix.

            4. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Great Doctrines of the Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2003) 2:6.

            5. J.I. Packer, Keep in Step With the Spirit (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1984) 261-262.

            6. Joseph Hart, “Come, Holy Spirit, Come,” 1759, Hymnary, 09 April 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/come_holy_spirit_come_let_thy_bright_bea.

7. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2521.

            8. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. . . .” (Psalm 127:1 ESV).

            9. “ . . . all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. . . .” (Isaiah 64:6 ESV).

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WEEK 49

THE NARROW GATE

 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few”(Matt 7:13-14 ESV).

One way to conclude whether our conversion-to-salvation experience is GOD-pleasing or not is to review our love for Him. Are our affections increasing or have they stopped now that we are satisfied we are Christians in good standing?

“The Scriptures everywhere represent the seeking, striving, and labour of a Christian, as being chiefly after his conversion, and his conversion as being but the beginning of his work.”1 “[M]any have all their striving and wrestling over before they are converted; and so having an easy time of it afterwards, to sit down and enjoy their sloth and indolence.”2

[T]hese false affections make him confident. [T]here are no more earnest longings. The man now is far from appearing to himself a poor empty creature. [H]e is rich and hardly conceives of anything more excellent than what he has already attained to. [T]here is an end to their crying and striving after God and grace.3

They have embraced “[c]heap grace that emphasizes emotional wholeness over spiritual maturity, self-esteem over self-denial, peace of mind over peace with God. It is a false gospel that presumes upon God to accept them on their terms and obligates him to reward them for their sincerity and good intentions.”4

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt 7:21 ESV).

So, our “spirit-check” is to ask ourselves if we are content with our interaction with GOD. True Christians are never content. They labor to cast out selfishness in order to please their heavenly FATHER—“Nothing short of the complete denying of self is what He claims from every one who would have communion with Himself.”5

The more a true saint loves God the more he hates sin, the more he desires to hate it, and laments that he has so much remaining love to it; the more he mourns for sin, the more he longs to mourn for sin; the more his heart is broke, the more he desires it should be broke: the more he thirsts and longs after God and holiness, the more he longs to long.6

“We are to come constantly to the Throne of Grace, that we may there find grace to help us repudiate and turn away with loathing from everything which is abhorred by God.”7

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ENDNOTES

(49) The Narrow Gate

            1. Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (Carlisle, PA: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, 2004) 306.

            2. Edwards, 307.

            3. Edwards, 306.

            4. Denny Johnson, “Sermon on the Mount, Part B,” New Hope Church sermon notes, 14 November 2021: 7-8.

            5. Arthur W. Pink, “The Narrow Way,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (January 1932) : 22.

            6. Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (Carlisle, PA: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, 2004) 303.

            7. Arthur W. Pink, “The Narrow Way,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (January 1932) : 24.

            8. Denny Johnson, “Sermon on the Mount, Part B,” New Hope Church sermon notes, 14 November 2021: 7-8.

            9. Johnson, 3.

            10. “Draw me after you; let us run” (Song of Solomon 1:4 ESV).

            11. “Behold, you are beautiful, my love” (Song of Solomon 1:15 ESV).

            12. “We will exult and rejoice in you” (Song of Solomon 1:4 ESV).

            13. “[W]e will extol your love more than wine” (Song of Solomon 1:4 ESV).

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WEEK 48

THIS JESUS—

WHAT HE DID FOR ME_2

  • JESUS pities my weaknesses: (Heb 4:15).

“Jesus is able to identify with his people because of his human experience and the sufferings he endured while being tempted.”1

  • My sin was assigned to CHRIST and His righteousness to me: (2 Cor 5:21).

“God has imputed the believer’s sin to Christ and likewise imputes Christ’s righteousness to the believer.”2

  • In CHRIST I am blessed with every spiritual blessing: (Eph 1:3).

“God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in which life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel,”3 “in things suited to prepare us for heaven.”4

  • JESUS gave me the HOLY SPIRIT: (Titus 3:5-7).

“I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you’ (John 15:5-7).”5

  • I have fellowship with the FATHER and the SON: (1 Cor 1:9).

Only upon the broad basis of His Law honored, His holiness secured, and His justice satisfied, can God, in the way of mercy, have communication with the sinner. Here we see the great glory of Jesus as the God-Man Mediator. His atoning work opens a channel through which God, without compromising a single perfection of His nature, can communicate the saving and sanctifying power of His grace to the soul.6

  • He saved me from GOD’s wrath: (1 Thes 1:10).

“Christians go beyond avoiding God’s wrath and actually rejoice in the same God who would pour our wrath on them were it not for Christ.”7

  • CHRIST gives me eternal life: (Heb 9:12).

“[T]he Lord Jesus obtained eternal redemption for His people, and, by rising as the Representative, gave pledge that they too should rise after His example, through His merits and power.”8

  • The believer’s participation in the divine nature of Christ: (2 Pet 1:4).

“From Christ as from a fountain sanctification flows into the souls of the saints.”9

As was the Master, so must the servant be. On His way to the cross, He looked round and said, ‘Follow me’ (Joh 12:26). On his way to the throne, after He had passed the cross, He said the same (Joh 21:22). To the cross and to the crown alike, then, we are to follow Him. It is one way to both.10

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ENDNOTES

(48) JESUS Is the Mediator

            1. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2367.

            2. ESV Study Bible, 2231.

            3. Adam Clarke, “Commentary on Ephesians 1:3,” 1832, Adam Clarke Commentary, 2 March 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/ephesians/1-3.html#verse-acc.

            4. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on Ephesians 1:3,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 2 March 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/ephesians/1-3.html#verse-bnb.

            5. Arthur W. Pink, “The Exaltation of Christ,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (August 1932) : 2.

            6. Octavius Winslow, “Christ and Sanctification,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 15.

            7. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2166.

            8. Arthur W. Pink, “The Exaltation of Christ,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (August 1932) : 1.

            9. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 51.

            10. Horativus Bonar, “Let Us Then Shine!,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 42.

            11. “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant . . .” (Hebrews 9:15 ESV).

            12. “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 ESV).

            13. “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant . . .” (Hebrews 9:15 ESV).

            14. “For it is witnessed of him, ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’” (Hebrews 7:17 ESV).

            15. “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22 ESV).

            16. “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14 ESV).

            17. “ . . . the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26 ESV).

            18. “. . . the Lamb . . . is Lord of lords and King of kings . . .” (Revelations 17:14 ESV).

            19. “ . . . Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:5 ESV).

            20. “ . . . To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18 ESV).

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WEEK 47

THIS JESUS—

WHAT HE DID FOR ME_1

“Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God” (1 Pet 1:19-21 ESV).

“CHRIST indeed finds His people entirely destitute of holiness and of every desire after it, but He does not leave them in that state. He produces in them a sincere love to God and a real pleasure in His ways.”1

JESUS delivered me out of this present evil age (Gal 1:4). He became to me wisdom from GOD (1 Cor 1:30). 

A Christian finds that there is enough in Christ to make him holy, that, in simply taking his sins to Jesus, they are pardoned; in taking his strong infirmities, they are subdued; in taking his wants, they are supplied. In a word, he finds Christ to be his ‘wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.’2

He is my sanctification and redemption (1 Cor 1:30). Through Him I am filled with the fruit of righteousness (Phil 1:11). In CHRIST I have been made complete (Col 2:10).

JESUS has been appointed for me (Acts 3:20). He suffered for me (1 Pet 2:21). He forgives all my trespasses (Col 2:13) and cancels my certificate of death (Col 2:14).

JESUS suffered that He might bring me to GOD (1 Pet 3:18). I am reconciled through His fleshly body through death. He presents me before GOD blameless and above reproach (Col 1:22). Salvation is not found in anyone else; in no other name but JESUS can I be saved (Acts 4:12).

I have been raised with CHRIST (Col 3:1). GOD makes me alive together with Him (Col 2:13). I have died and my life is hidden with CHRIST in GOD (Col 3:3).

Eternal life is the life of Jesus in us. He who has the son, has the life. And Jesus himself has promised, ‘I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you.’ He imparts his life to us through the Holy Spirit as an act of his sovereign grace when he miraculously regenerates us, cleanses us from all sin, gives us a new heart and a new spirit and causes us to be born again.3

He is in me (Col 1:27); it is no longer I who live but CHRIST lives in me (Gal 2:20). CHRIST is my life (Col 3:4). He will sustain me to the end, guiltless (1 Cor 1:8). And I will be revealed with Him in glory (Col 3:4). 

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ENDNOTES

(47) This JESUS, Has Made Me Alive

  1. Abraham Booth, “The Motive of Sanctification,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 30.
  2. Octavius Winslow, “Christ and Sanctification,” Free Grace Broadcaster 215 (2011) : 17.

            3. Denny Johnson, “Going On to Maturity,” NHC sermon notes, 11 July 2021: 7.

            4. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him,”(Colossians 2:13 ESV).

            5. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3 ESV).

            6. Colossians 3:3.

            7. “ . . . that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,” (Acts 3:20 ESV).

            8. “ . . . wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV).

            9. “And you . . .God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,” (Colossians 2:13 ESV).

            10. “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 ESV).

            11. “  . . Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father . . .” (Romans 6:4 ESV).

            12. “. . . Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2 ESV).

            13. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’” (Acts 4:12 ESV).

            14. “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” (Colossians 1:22 ESV).

            15. “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” (1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV).

            16. “and you have been filled in him . . .” (Colossians 2:10 ESV).

            17. “ . . . the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5 ESV).

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WEEK 46

NO LONGER WILLINGLY HABITUALLY DISOBEDIENT

“The genuine Christian finds clear evidence of two natures, two contrary principles at work within him.”1

Before I believed in CHRIST through faith, I was enslaved, giving all my body to sin as instruments for unrighteousness (Rom 6:13). But now, having been set free from sin that entangles my natural flesh, I am able to present my new-nature self as a slave to righteousness (Rom 6:18-19). 

My fleshly nature still lives and tempts me to choose unrighteousness even though I have the desire to do what is right (Rom 7:18). 

He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. [T]he act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. [H]e who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and by design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion, or excitement, or temptation, or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul.2 

I have died to trying to obey GOD’s law with my natural flesh and now walk in the new way of living in the SPIRIT (Rom 7:5-6).

“We are progressively becoming more and more like Christ as we go on in the Christian life. Paul tells the Colossians they have ‘put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator’ (Col 3:10).”3

When we repudiate all idols, surrender to Christ as Lord, and trust in the efficacy of His sacrifice, the heart is prepared for the Spirit to enter and take possession for Christ’s use. When we give up ourselves to Christ, He owns the dedication by making our bodies the temples of the Holy Spirit, there to maintain His interests against all the oppositions of the Devil.4

When Jesus commands us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matt 5:48), this simply shows that God’s own absolute moral purity is the standard toward which we are to aim and the standard for which God holds us accountable. The fact that we are unable to attain that standard does not mean that it will be lowered; rather, it means that we need God’s grace and forgiveness to overcome our remaining sin.5

“Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom 13:13-14 ESV).

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ENDNOTES

(46) I Recognize the Sin in Me

            1. Arthur W. Pink, “The Exaltation of Christ,” Studies in the Scriptures XI (September 1932) : 29-30.

            2. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on 1 John 3:6,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-john/3-6.html#verse-bnb.

            3. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 749.

            4. A.W. Pink, 1 John, Part Two (Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2005) 83-84.

            5. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994) 751.

            6. R.C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible (Orlando, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2005) 1624.

            7. Arthur S. Way, Letters of Paul, Hebrews and the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1901) 242.

            8. “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18 ESV).

            9. “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22 ESV).

            10. Matthew Henry, “Complete Commentary on Romans 7:14,” 1706, Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/romans/7-14.html#verse-mhm.

            11. Albert Barnes, “Commentary on Romans 7:15,” 1870, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/romans-7.html.

            12. Theodore Beza, “Commentary on Romans 7:15,” 1599-1645, The 1599 Geneva Study Bible, 08 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/romans/7-15.html#verse-gsb.