finish

This week we begin worship with:

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Paul did not win.  He finished.  

• With a thorn that kept him from being conceited (2 Corinthians 12:7), he finished.
• While under a constant barrage from the enemy (2 Corinthians 11:23–28), he finished.
• Without even the victory over the flesh (Romans 7:13-25), as a "wretched" man, he finished.

To those that finish, there is a prize . . . a crown (stephanos).  But it is not the temporary wreath awarded an athlete:

1 Corinthians 9:25

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Rather, it is a permanent crown of righteousness, not of their accumulated works, but of Christ's perfect righteousness.  Being right with God is not accumulated.  You can't be right with God a little more each day.  You are either right with God or you are not.  

It is a royal gift given to all who finish.

word

 This morning we begin worship with:

Romans 10:14-17

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

While the mind of many a reformed believer goes to sovereignty of God and "Unconditional Election" and "Irresistible Grace", when the missionary mandate is mentioned.  That does not make Paul's question moot!  Somebody must deliver the message, that without God's grace we are all dammed.

These two things (God's sovereignty and our actions) come together beautifully in that last sentence:

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

While faith must be preceded by hearing the gospel, our passage explains that not all who are told the gospel respond.  That response is only at the voice of our Shepherd, "the word of Christ".

John 10:3b-4 
The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Rest

 This week we begin worship with:

Exodus 33:13-14

[And Moses said to the LORD] "Now therefore, if I have found favor in your

sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find

favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said,

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Dumbstruck by the idea that he may have been granted favor in God’s sight, Moses asks for proof.  Proof in the form of  direction, so that he could find favor in God’s eyes. 

You can hear the striving, the confusion, the effort-without-direction, all to win favor.

In response, God basically said ‘No’ to the idea that Moses could earn favor.  And instead God took away the striving, for with God’s presence comes rest (nûaḥ).

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

name

 This week we begin worship with:

Numbers 27:15-17

Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

Our LORD Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.

John 10:1-5

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 

He is calling us by name and knows the way to a green pasture (Psalm 23).

very present

 This week we begin worship with:

Psalms 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

Our God, our protector, is a “very present help”.  Is He here now?  Yes.  Now? Yes.  Now? Yes!!!

So, during a time of trouble we will not fear.  Yes, you read that correctly.  We won’t fear.  This is not a command that we are to do our best not to fear, it is a fact that we will continuously not fear during times of trouble.  Why?

Philippians 4:5b-7

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In a way that we cannot phantom (“surpasses all understanding”), the peace of God will “guard” or “keep” our hearts and minds.  These are military terms.  It is how an army is garrisoned (phroureō) or how a guard is set.  

But for a guard to be effective, they must be there in advance.  So, we must continuously (yes, even in the good times) place our anxiety about the future at His feet. So, when an actual time of trouble does occur, we will be covered by the peace of God.  

Fight anxiety with prayer.  Anxiety is fear about a future that has not occurred.  And it will be a future where God will be “very present”!

Lamb

This week we begin worship with:

John 1:26–29

John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Those that heard this announcement must have been stunned.

Under the Law, when a person sinned they were bound by the priest to make atonement.  They themselves would sacrifice in a literal sense, because the animal that would be sacrificed would come from their flock.  But John declared that this Lamb was "of God".  

Our atonement would be at His cost.

Also striking is the use of a lamb, for goats that were used for atonement.  Even on the annual Day of Atonement, it was a living goat that would be sent into the wilderness carrying the guilt of the nation.  Lambs are not associated with guilt and were only used when a sin was unintentional. 

Our Lord Jesus would be a sacrifice without guilt.

 

with all my heart and all my soul

This week we begin worship with:

Jeremiah 32:37b, 41

I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 

I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

This pair of verses are part of a prophecy in response to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.  It is God's promise to remove His wrath from them and restore them to what will then be an everlasting covenant.

Jeremiah 32:40

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

But, it concludes uncharacteristically using terms that describe God's joyous response to that reconciliation as if He were a man.  That is, "with all my heart and my soul".  God has no need for either a "heart" (lēḇ) or a "soul" (nep̄eš).  For He is spirit.

These words describe the moment God's wrath was completely assuaged, when our Lord Jesus Christ, God-incarnate, rejoiced and cried "It is finished" (John 19:30).

mercy

 This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 103:2-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

    who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

This is not the “Blessed” of the Beatitudes (makarios), which describes the favored state of a person.  This is bāraḵ, which like the Greek eulogeō, praises someone worthy of adoration.

Our God is worthy of praise because of what He does and because of what He will do.  

He forgives all our iniquity.  This is not an event in the past or an event we are waiting for, this is happening now.

But the other benefits that the Psalmist lists must wait.  They will happen, because we are forgiven, on the Last Day.  We will be healed.  We will be raised up from the grave.  Our youth that we once enjoyed will be renewed.  

For that is when we will receive the Crown of Life (James 1:12).  Not because of us, but because of a love that is so steadfast that it will show even us mercy.

sown

 We begin worship this week with:

Psalm 97:11-12

Light is sown for the righteous,

    and joy for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

    and give thanks to his holy name!

When dawn ends the night, the benefit of the sun is for everyone.  But not so here.  When one sows (zāraʿ) a seed it lands in a very specific location.  This light is sown only in the righteous.

Likewise, joy.  Joy is not the result of the light but rather a second miraculous seed which is also sown in the upright.

We often forget, those of us who have been filled with this light and this joy for many years, that others around us have no light and no joy.  They celebrate Halloween in an effort to chase away the curse of death that awaits them.  But the believer celebrates death, knowing the resurrection is to come.

We are instead told:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Please connect "will of God" to "circumstances", and not to rejoicing and giving thanks.  That is, we are not to rejoice because that is what God wants us to do, but rather because our circumstances are specifically designed (sown) for us. 

glory

This week we begin worship with:

Luke 2:8-14

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 

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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  

“Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

The angel's announcement ended a very dark period.  It is sometimes called "Time of God's Silence".  

In 586 BC Solomon's temple was destroyed, for it was no longer protected by God's presence.  A few years prior, the prophet Ezekiel witnessed the Glory of God departing the temple:

Ezekiel 10:18-19

Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

God was silent until the shepherds were given the privilege of witnessing its return, for it was not the glory of the angel that shown around them, it was "the glory of the Lord".   In Jewish tradition, it is called the "Shechinah" glory, which comes from the Hebrew šāḵan, which means to dwell:

Exodus 25:8

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

This is why, Jesus would be called "Immanuel" (ʿimmānû'ēl), as Matthew explained from Isaiah 7:14:

Matthew 1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us).

 

uphold

This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 9:6–7

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. Of the increase of his government and of

peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to

establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time

forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

What is zeal (qin'â)?  Is it power and might?  No.  Is it holiness and purity?  No.  Zeal is passion.  Sent in the wrong direction it is envious and jealous.  Sent in the right direction it can motivate a young person, build a family, or unify a nation.

What is God zealous for?  The translators highlight the answers by the little word “to”.  God wants to establish and to uphold the kingdom through which He will rule with justice and righteousness, under this child, our Lord Jesus Christ.

To “establish” (kûn) sets the foundation, but to “uphold” (sāʿaḏ) includes the comfort and assurance of regularly sitting down to a well set meal.  The best example in scripture of this was Nehemiah who daily fed 150 at his table (Nehemiah 5:16-18) while he was rebuilding Jerusalem.  But God wants to do even better:

Revelation 19:6-9

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

    the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult

    and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

    and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself

    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

 Pass the plate!