JESUS! In Word and Song

WEEK 5

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

“Christmas is the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ’s birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church. The traditional date goes back as far as A.D. 273.”¹

When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the moment in history when prophecy was fulfilled. God came to be with us. It was the beginning of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. An act He didn’t have to take part in but He chose to out of love.²

The central truth of the Christmas story is this: the Child of Christmas is God; Christmas is not about the Savior’s infancy; it is about His deity. The humble birth of Jesus Christ was never intended to conceal the reality that God was being born into the world. Without forsaking His divine nature or diminishing His deity, He was born into our world as a tiny infant. He was fully human, with all the needs and emotions that are common to us all. Yet He was also fully God—all wise and all powerful.³

It was only in the Babe of Bethlehem that the whole of God’s character shone forth, that men might not merely find Him and bow before Him, but trust in Him and love Him, as one who could be touched with the feeling of their infirmities. A God in need! A God weak! A God fed by mortal woman! A God wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger! God has been through the pains of infancy from the nature of the babe on its mother’s bosom, to the nature of the full-grown and full-souled man, fighting with all his powers against the evil of the world. All this is His, and He is all; that no human being, from the strongest to the weakest, from the oldest to the youngest, but may be able to say, “What I am, Christ has been!⁴

Christmas is not about pretending that everything is great and we don’t struggle or suffer. Christmas is about acknowledging that sometimes things are not great and we do struggle and suffer, even at Christmas—and that God knows this, God hears us, and God has got involved for us. You live in a world that has been visited by its Maker. God showed up. God didn’t send Moses. God came himself. That’s how committed he is to your good.⁵

[W]e are all poor and desperate, so we all need the promise bound up in that baby. We are in need of a way out of our poverty of soul and the desperate state of our human condition. We find it in this child lying in a manger, who was and is Jesus Christ, the long-promised Messiah, Seed, Redeemer, and King.⁶

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Cor 1:20 ESV).

ENDNOTES

(5) Shepherds Rejoice

1. Rachel Dawson, “What is Christmas: Understanding the History and Origin,” 03 November 2020, Crosswalk, 06 April 2021 https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/what-is-christmas-understanding-the-history-and-origin.html.

2. Brittany Rust, “What is the Meaning of Christmas?” 01 December 2020, Crosswalk, 06 April 2021 https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/what-is-the-true-meaning-of-christmas.html.

3. “What is the Real Meaning of Christmas?” Grace To You, 06 April 2021 https://www.gty.org/library/questions/QA70/what-is-the-real-meaning-of-christmas.

4. C. Kingsley, “Commentary on Luke 2:7,” 1905-1909, StudyLight, 06 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/luke-2.html.

5. Matt Chandler, An Even Better Christmas (thegoodbook company, The Village Church, 2018) 25.

6. Stephen Nichols, “The Real Meaning of Christmas,” 04 December 2020, Ligonier, 06 April 2021 https://www.ligonier.org/blog/real-meaning-christmas/.

7. Isaac Watts, The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997) 292.

8. Watts, 497.

9. John W. Work, adapter, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” Hymnary, 06 April 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/while_shepherds_kept_their_watching.

10. Nahum Tate, “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” 1700, Hymnary, 06 April 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/while_shepherds_watched_their_flocks_by.

11. Isaac Watts, The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997) 497.

12. “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1 ESV);

13. John Gill, “Commentary on Isaiah 9:6,” The New John gill Exposition of the Entire Bible, 06 April 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/isaiah/9-6.html#verse-geb.

JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 4

ADVENT WEEK 4 – LOVE

Love is the greatest of all the virtues on the Advent wreath and encompasses Jesus’ entire purpose for being on earth. Christ connects all the Advent candles. Through him, we can have hope, peace, joy, and love.¹

“It was a holy night. God’s glory came to earth and wrote a love letter to the world in the form of a newborn baby.”² “God made His love visible.”³

And certainly the greatest truth about Christmas is that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. Christmas is really the effect of which God’s love is the cause. God’s love for mankind then is evident in the offer of the gospel to all people. And the path to the gospel has been given to everybody.⁴

This was the most loving act ever performed in history, for there has never been and can never be a gift greater than the life of the Son of God given for the “sins of the whole world.” Without God’s Spirit indwelling them, people cannot look to the love they have for others or even the “love” they have for God as an example to be emulated for we are born self-centered and remain so unless the Holy Spirit changes our hearts.⁵

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son” (1 John 4:10 ESV).

Christian love comes from God Himself. This love is not natural to fallen humanity. It originates in God and is a divine gift to His people. When we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given a capacity for this supernatural love that has God as its source and foundation. [N]ot every human being who loves another is born of God. The kind of love of which he speaks comes only from regeneration. Without the Holy Spirit’s transformation of the human heart, no one has this capacity for love. No unregenerate person has this kind of love, and no regenerate person lacks such love. Therefore, a person who does not have the ability to love in the way John describes has not been born again. “Anyone who does not love [in this manner] does not know God.”⁶

The Father sent his Son to make his worst enemies into beloved children, and yet he’s crowded out by other, more earthly details — the kind of details that can be finely painted on ornaments. [W]e have an almighty Father of infinite wisdom and relentless love, a Father who authored that first Christmas and every one since. Nothing compares to the Creator of the universe sending the radiance of his own glory, the exact imprint of his nature, into his creation. Let Christmas remind you that the Son was sent, in love, from heaven, and that you are sent, in love, on earth.⁷

ENDNOTES

(4) GOD Came to Us

1. Hope Bolinger, “What is the Candle of Love and the Christ Candle for Advent. Week 4,” 21 October 2020, Christianity, 26 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-the-candle-of-love-and-the-christ-candle-for-advent-week-4.html.

2. Matt Tullos, “Advent Devotional (Week 5): Christ,” 25 November 2015, Lifeway, 26 March 2021 https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/devotions-christmas-advent-week-five-christ.

3. Mary Brack, “Advent Week 4: Love,” 18 December 2016, Grace Church, 26 March 2021 http://gracetoledo.org/2016/12/advent-week-4-love/.

4. John MacArthur, “The Love of God, Part 1” 4 Dec 1994, Grace to You, 22 October 2021 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-77/the-love-of-god-part-1.

5. “The True Love of God” 2 June 2010, Grace to You, 22 October 2021 https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/true-love-god.

6. R.C. Sproul, “The Holy Love of God” 25 June 2014, Ligonier, 22 October 2021 https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/holy-love-god.

7. Marshall Segal, “The Forgotten Giver of Christmas” 5 December 2020, Desiring God, 22 October 2021 https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-forgotten-giver-of-christmas.

8. Quina Aragon, “Advent Week 4: A Savior is Born,” 16 December 2020, Christianity Today, 31 March 2021 https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/november-web-only/advent-week-4-savior-is-born.html.

9. Frederick M. Lehman, “The Love of God,” 1917, Hymnary, 31 March 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/the_love_of_god_is_greater_far.

JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 3

ADVENT WEEK THREE – JOY

“Advent is a journey to joy, but it is not we who are traveling. Joy is coming to us.”¹

This third week in Advent, let us remember that the good news of Jesus’ birth has the power to bring us great joy this Christmas season. [J]oy that flooded the hearts of the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, the hosts of heaven, and Mary and Joseph is the joy that still has the power to overwhelm our hearts with rejoicing.²

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10 ESV).

“The words are expressed in the same kind of language that was used by kings and emperors when a new heir was born. It was the Birth Announcement of a King.”³

“The angel opens his discourse by saying, that he announces great joy. By calling it great joy, he shows us that this blessing is so great and boundless, as fully to compensate for all the pains, distresses, and anxieties of the present life.”⁴

“We find joy in the truth of what God has already done and in the anticipation of what is to come, in the expectancy of God’s faithfulness. Joy overtakes uncertainty when we see how God works in unexpected ways to fulfill promises.”⁵

[T]he distinguishing nuance of joy is that it lasts beyond the moments of happiness. It can be present when the shine of Christmas cheer dulls or even tarnishes. Biblical joy is an attitude that God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances, but because of our hope in God’s love and promises.⁶

“We find joy in our current circumstances by choosing to remember the joy that Jesus’ redemption of our lives brings, redemption that is only possible through his birth, death, and resurrection.”⁷

“Let us learn to be so delighted with Christ alone, that the perception of his grace may overcome, and at length remove from us, all the distresses of the flesh.”⁸

In our present challenges, we anticipate the returning King, who with ‘salvation and power and glory’ will bring the hope of the fulfilled kingdom into being. We look around us at the brokenness of our world, and in the power of Jesus’ life and love, choose joy anyway.⁹

“You made known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps 16:11 ESV).

ENDNOTES

(3) Earth Receives Her CHRIST

1. John Piper

2. Hope Bolinger, “What is the Candle of Joy for Advent? Week 3,” 16 December 2019, Christianity, 23 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-the-candle-of-joy-for-advent-week-3.html.

3. Peter Pett, “Commentary on Luke 2:10,” 2013, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, 23 March 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/2-10.html#verse-pet.

4. John Calvin, “Commentary on Luke 2:10,” 1840-57, Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible, 23 March 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/2-10.html#verse-cal.

5. “Advent Week 3 – The Candle of Joy,” 13 December 2020, Mill City Church, 23 March 2021 https://millcitychurch.com/advent-week-3-the-candle-of-joy/.

6. Kala, “Advent Week 3: Joy,” 13 December 2020, The Porch Followers of Jesus, 23 March 2021 https://www.porchsf.com/devotionals/2020/12/13/advent-week-3-joy.

7. “Advent Week 3 – The Candle of Joy,” 13 December 2020, Mill City Church, 23 March 2021 https://millcitychurch.com/advent-week-3-the-candle-of-joy/.

8. John Calvin, “Commentary on Luke 2:10,” 1840-57, Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible, 23 March 2021 https://www.studylight.org/commentary/luke/2-10.html#verse-cal.

9. “Advent Week 3 – The Candle of Joy,” 13 December 2020, Mill City Church, 23 March 2021 https://millcitychurch.com/advent-week-3-the-candle-of-joy/.

10. Hymn tune, “ST. PETER.”

11. Hymn tune, “WINCHESTER OLD,” modified.

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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

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).

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

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

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.

JESUS! In Word and Song

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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

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).

JESUS! In Word and Song

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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

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 9^th.

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).

JESUS! In Word and Song

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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

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).

Bonnie's Prayer Affair

Keeping myself in CHRIST

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song

JESUS! In Word and Song