Isaiah 4
Seven women want one husband verse 1
And IN THAT DAY seven women shall take hold of one man
saying
We will eat our own bread – and wear our own apparel
ONLY let us be called by your name
to take away our reproach
Christ is the branch of the LORD verse 2
IN THAT DAY shall the branch of the LORD
be beautiful – glorious
AND the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely
for them that are escaped of Israel
Christ cleanses Jerusalem verse 3- 4
AND it shall come to pass – that he that is left in Zion
and he that remains in Jerusalem – shall be called HOLY
even everyone that is written among
the living in Jerusalem
when the Lord shall have WASHED AWAY the
filth of the daughters of Zion
and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem
from the midst thereof
by the spirit of judgment
and by the spirit of burning
Christ will create a proper environment verse 5- 6
AND the LORD will create
upon every dwelling place of mount Zion
and upon her assemblies
a cloud and smoke by day
and the shining of a flaming fire by night
for upon all the glory shall be a defense
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow
in the daytime from the heat
and for a place of refuge
and for a covert from storm and from rain
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach. (2781 “reproach” [cherpah] means shame, rebuke, scorn, disgrace, reviling, taunt, a state of dishonor or contempt.)
DEVOTION: Here we have a description of socialites and their plight. All the men would have been killed in battle leaving the women alone.
Their reaction is that they want to be married to one man and promise to support themselves as long as they can carry a name of the one man. The reason given for this action is that they didn’t want to be unmarried and childless.
This was a judgment on the women of Zion because of their action of causing the men to move away from the LORD to false gods.
We find that today men are easy to stray from their wives because there our other women inviting them to join them. It is a sin.
God’s plan was for one woman to marry one man and produce children that will honor and glorify HIM. This was not happening in Israel and it is not happening even now in our world.
The church needs to preach the truth of one man with one woman for life to raise children that will honor and glorify the LORD with their lives and actions. Our churches would be stronger and our witness would be stronger.
CHALLENGE: God’s plan is for one man to marry one woman and raise a family that will glorify the LORD. This needs to happen today in the church.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. (8597 “comely” [tiph’ereth] means ornament, beautiful, honor, bravery, majesty, glory, or splendor.
DEVOTION: The first verse of this chapter deals with the subject of the last chapter: the decline and judgment of Jerusalem. This judgment is because of sin. Seven women are going to ask one man to be their husband because the men are gone. It is a great judgment.
In the New Testament the great judgment is called the Tribulation period of seven years. After that comes the reign of Christ for a thousand years or a millennium.
The next five verses describe this time period. It is a time when the Branch will reign over Jerusalem. The Branch of the LORD is the Messiah or Jesus Christ. There will be the washing away of the firth or sin of Israel.
A remnant will enter the millennium because they are holy. The LORD will purge the remnant of their sin. There will be twenty-four hours of protection and daylight during HIS reign.
Our verse instructs us that the LORD Jesus Christ is beautiful. HE will be given glory. HE will have a fruitful land. It will be excellent. It will be full of splendor.
The day is coming. Are we preparing for it? Are we witnessing for the LORD? Are we searching the Scriptures to see what is going to happen next? The Bible teaches us that the LORD has a plan and HE is working HIS plan. Let us be a part of the plan!!! Let us tell others of the greatness of our God!!!
Finally, the LORD promises those who are follower of HIM will reign with HIM during the Millennial period. We will be given special responsibilities during that time period. It is a great promise. Our future with the LORD is sure. We can start preparing for our time in the future by serving HIM in the present. Don’t wait to serve the LORD. Don’t sit in a pew waiting for your time to reign with HIM. Act like a good steward now with the gift that HE has given you for service. It will make a difference both now and in the future.
CHALLENGE: Prepare to reign with Christ now. Watch your attitude and actions now. Encourage others to do the same.
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: 4 When the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. (1740 “purged” [duwach] means wash, rinse, cleanse, forgive sin, remove guilt, or wash the blood off.
DEVOTION: After the seven year Tribulation period we find that Jerusalem needs to be cleansed. There will be a time of restoration. Who is going to do the restoration? All three persons of the Godhead are going to be involved.
The first verse deals with the facts at the end of the tribulation. There are going to be less men available to marry. Those who enter into the Millennium period will be called holy. So we realize that all those who have rejected the message of the Messiah given by the two witnesses in Jerusalem and the 144,000 Jewish witnesses throughout the rest of the world will not be around during this time period. There will be children born in the Millennium and they will have a time to choose who they will serve. Many will choose to not follow the LORD. Remember that there will be temptations from the world or the devil, only the flesh. These individuals will live in a kingdom with Christ as the ruler. Satan will be in chains for the thousand years.
The rest of the chapter describes the preparation of the city of Jerusalem at the beginning of the Millennium. Remember that the battle at the end of the Tribulation will be great and there will be blood all over Jerusalem.
So the city has to be cleansed of the filth of idolatry. It has to be washed clean of all the blood was spilled. Who is going to be involved in this cleansing? The Holy Spirit will be involved. The Son of God or Christ will be the branch of the LORD. The Father involved in the cleansing of the city. The Holy Spirit is will judge and burn.
In the New Testament we find the Holy Spirit will be sent by Jesus Christ after HIS departure to “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” HE is involved in the restoration of the world for the reign of Christ.
Today we find HIM involved in our personal restoration after our confession of sin. HE is involved in our life to help us live the way the LORD has commanded us to live.
Everyone needs the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit in their life to remain in fellowship with the LORD so HE can bless us each day we are here on this earth. Our salvation is assured once we repent of our sins and become a follower of the LORD but fellowship is a daily activity that happens as we confess our sin and ask the LORD for “fresh oil” from HIM to serve HIM properly.
CHALLENGE: We need to keep short accounts with the LORD. Confession on a daily basis gives us the assurance of blessing in our life.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. (2646 “defense” [chuppah] means chamber, closet, canopy, (fig) divine protection, a covering that shelters an area from the weather, or sheltering roof.)
DEVOTION: The time of this is still future. It is a promise from the LORD that HE is going to restore Israel and protect Israel for all of her enemies. As HE protected them in the wilderness HE at a future date is going to protect them from the attacks of Satan during the Tribulation time period. HE is going to restore HIS people to a position of power in this world. It won’t happen until the seven years of Tribulation are over. HE will establish HIS millennial reign her on this earth in the city of Jerusalem.
God always keeps HIS promises to HIS people whether they are Old Testament saints of Israel or New Testament saints in the church. HE loves HIS people. HE wants them to be protected as they worship HIM.
HE promises to never leave us or forsake us. It is a great promise. HE still disciplines us today to keep us close to HIM. We need to realize that our sin does separate us from HIS blessings. Confession restores our blessings.
HE wants us to grow closer to HIM so it is always a challenge to keep our eyes on HIM and not on what is happening in our world. If we are living right in HIS eyes HE still will prune us to make us stronger believers.
Each correction or pruning is for our good. We don’t like it as Israel didn’t like it in the Old Testament but it is necessary for a proper relationship with HIM.
CHALLENGE: We need to realize that once we are a genuine believer, HE is watching over us each day for OUR good in HIS service.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Tabernacle verse 6
For a shadow in the daytime from the heat
Place of refuge
Covert from storm and rain
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 5
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner) verse 4
Create in Zion
cloud and smoke by day
shining of a flaming fire by night verse 5
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Branch of the LORD verse 2
Beautiful verse 2
Glorious verse 2
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit of judgment verse 4
Spirit of burning verse 4
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Woman verse 1
Man verse 1
Daughters of Zion verse 4
Assemblies verse 5
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Be a reproach verse 1
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Holy verse 3
Wash away the filth verse 4
Purged the blood of Jerusalem verse 4
Defense verse 5
Refuge verse 6
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Israel verse 2
Zion verse 3- 5
Jerusalem verse 3, 4
Washed away the filth of day verse 4
Assemblies verse 5
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that day verse 2
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QUOTES regarding passage
Isaiah (4:4) picks up this image in describing the future cleansing of Israel. God will wash away their sins, transgression and idolatry when through affliction and judgment they repent and turn to him. (Stigers, H. G. (1999). 412 דּוַּח. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (185). Chicago: Moody Press.)
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5. The Lord also provides the perfect environment for those whom (4) he has cleansed: a new act of creation. Create (√bārā’) is used in the Old Testament only of acts of God, things which by their greatness or newness or both absolutely require a divine agent. This supreme new reality is the Lord’s own presence, signalled by the ancient symbols of cloud … by day … fire by night (Exod. 13:21–22; 19:18). His presence is of the most intimate nature, for over all the glory will be a canopy. Canopy (ḥuppâ) is the ‘marriage chamber’ in Psalm 19:6 and Joel 2:16, the canopy providing privacy as bridegroom and bride come together in love and union. Glory is either the Messiah united in love with his bride-people, or the holy people of Zion joined in consummated love with the Lord under the overshadowing tokens of his presence. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 68). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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5. create—The “new creation” needs as much God’s creative omnipotence, as the material creation (2 Co 4:6; Eph 2:10). So it shall be in the case of the Holy Jerusalem to come (Is 65:17, 18).
upon—The pillar of cloud stood over the tabernacle, as symbol of God’s favor and presence (Ex 13:21, 22; Ps 91:1). Both on individual families (“every dwelling”) and on the general sacred “assemblies” (Le 23:2). The “cloud” became a “fire” by night in order to be seen by the Lord’s people.
upon all the glory—“upon the glorious whole”; namely, the Lord’s people and sanctuary [Maurer]. May it not mean, “Upon whatever the glory (the Shekinah spoken of in the previous clause) shall rest, there shall be a defense.” The symbol of His presence shall ensure also safety. So it was to Israel against the Egyptians at the Red Sea (Ex 14:19, 20). So it shall be to literal Jerusalem hereafter (Zec 2:5). Also to the Church, the spiritual “Zion” (Is 32:18; 33:15–17; Heb 12:22).
tabernacle—Christ’s body (Jn 1:14). “The Word ‘tabernacled’ (Greek for ‘dwelt’) among us” (Jn 2:21; Heb 8:2). It is a “shadow from the heat” and “refuge from the storm” of divine wrath against man’s sins (Is 25:4). Heat and storms are violent in the East; so that a portable tent is a needful part of a traveller’s outfit. Such shall be God’s wrath hereafter, from which the “escaped of Israel” shall be sheltered by Jesus Christ (Is 26:20, 21; 32:2).
covert—answering to “defense” (Is 4:5). The Hebrew for defense in Is 4:5, is “covering”; the lid of the ark or mercy seat was named from the same Hebrew word, caphar; the propitiatory; for it, being sprinkled with blood by the high priest once a year, on the day of atonement, covered the people typically from wrath. Jesus Christ is the true Mercy Seat, on whom the Shekinah rested, the propitiatory, or atonement, beneath whom the law is kept, as it was literally within the ark, and man is covered from the storm. The redeemed Israel shall also be, by union with Him, a tabernacle for God’s glory, which, unlike that in the wilderness, shall not be taken down (Is 38:20). (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 433). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
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4:5–6. In this yet-future time of blessing for redeemed Israel the glory of God will be evident in Jerusalem (Mount Zion). As God’s glory was visible to Israel in the Exodus from Egypt in a cloud … by day and fire by night (Ex. 13:21–22; 40:34–38; cf. 16:10), so also will His glory be visible when the redeemed nation will be in her land of promise. God’s glory, like a tent, will provide safety and peace. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1041). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The Branch of the Lord (Isa. 4:2–6). The prophet looks beyond the “Day of the Lord” to that time when the kingdom will be established on earth. “Branch of the Lord” is a messianic title for Jesus Christ who came as a “shoot” from the seeming dead stump of David’s dynasty (11:1; 53:2; see Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12). God will cleanse His people (Isa. 4:4; see Zech. 12:10–13:1), restore the fruitfulness of the land, and dwell with them as He did when He led them through the wilderness (Isa. 4:5–6; Ex. 13:21–22). Not just the temple, but every dwelling will be blessed by the presence of the Lord! Unlike Isaiah’s day, “in that day” the people will be holy (set apart), and the land will be beautiful and glorious. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 24). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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When times are darkened, deliverance will come through the Branch of the Lord, the promised Messiah of Israel, and the loveliest of the sons of men. Those left in Zion and remaining in Jerusalem will be the special objects of His favor and will be set apart to the Lord who will wash away their filth in His own blood and cleanse their hearts with the spirit of burning, in accordance with the promises made through many other prophets.
Then Mount Zion and Jerusalem will become a center of blessing to the whole earth, and the glory of the Lord that once was seen over the sanctuary of old will be as a cloudy pillar over all the homes of the redeemed city, both as a glory and a defence. “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (verse 6). Thus, like Israel in the wilderness so long ago, will the restored nation be under Jehovah’s gracious care when He has cleansed them from their iniquities and turned their hearts back to Himself. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (p. 28). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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A year ago, Biden administration officials standardized a radically new interpretation of the word gender. In a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services, officials mandated all employers must cover the cost of so-called “transgender medicine” in their health insurance plans. In response, the Christian Employers Alliance sued HHS on behalf of a coalition of Christian-owned businesses. A few weeks ago, a federal district court ruled for CEA and halted the Biden mandate.
Many media outlets, in their coverage of this story, referred to the CEA as a “religious liberty group,” identifying them not by what they do but by their legal argument. To be sure, forcing an employer to pay for harmful hormones and violent surgeries on healthy bodies, against their deeply held beliefs, is to violate their religious freedom. All citizens of the United States have an unambiguous right, thanks to the First Amendment, to not just worship inside a church or synagogue or mosque but to order their lives outside of those buildings according to their deeply held beliefs. Whether the belief comes from religion, conscience, or some mix of the two, the ideas that men and women are real and distinct things and that their bodies shouldn’t be experimented upon is widely held across cultures, religions, scientific disciplines, and human history.
Legally speaking, then, it was perfectly sound for the Christian Employers Alliance to argue that forcing employers to subsidize those experiments violates their religious freedom. And, by doing so, the CEA wasn’t arguing to protect their own rights, only. They are fighting for the common good.
Often, the term religious liberty is cynically thrown around in cultural discourse by those critical of the legal or social arguments for religious liberty. Religious people are accused of being ignorant or selfish, of only caring about their own rights, or of “clinging to their guns and religion.” At the same time, some Christians wrongly talk about religious liberty as if it’s only for Christians, or as if religion should be kept personal, private, and out of the public square.
These views are somewhere between incomplete and flat-out wrong, misunderstanding what religious liberty is and why it matters. The lawsuit filed by the Christian Employers Alliance against the federal government offers helpful clarity. Christians care about the religious freedom of others, not only in the sense that protecting our religious freedom helps others maintain theirs, which in itself is a moral good. Christians care about religious freedom because we believe Christian claims about life and the world are true, true for everyone, and the world is better off when we are not denying those truths.
If men and women are real things, made by God for a purpose and with a good design, to deny that goodness or mutilate that design is harmful, whether or not the person doing it believes in Jesus. Though being a Christian might determine whether or not someone accepts the truth, it doesn’t make the truth more or less true. And, if loving our neighbors includes keeping them from harm whenever we can, we’ll want to keep the freedom for truth to remain in the public square.
The cultural tidal wave of “trans medicine” can rightly be characterized as medical malpractice, even abuse. Medical institutions are prescribing puberty-blocking hormones and, increasingly, sterilizing surgeries to adults and children at skyrocketing rates. Refusing to be co-opted in this kind of abuse is not some sort of “don’t tread on me” self-defense.
(BreakPoint)
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HINDRANCES TO REVIVAL
And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. Genesis 26:17-18
This incident in the life of Isaac has much to teach us in our consideration of the whole question of revival. The picture is one of Isaac in trouble, in a difficulty. If you read the context, you will find that he had been living in another part of the country, and God had blessed him in a very striking manner. So much so that Isaac had become the object of envy of those who were living round and about him, and they had forced him to move. “And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we” (Genesis 26:16). And so Isaac was compelled to move with his family and all his servants, possessions, and belongings. Then he came to the valley of Gerar and decided that he would dwell there.
Of course, the moment he arrived he was confronted by an urgent and a very desperate need—the need of water. I do want to emphasize that because this was the need for something that is absolutely essential to life, in addition to being essential to well-being. He was not merely confronted by the problem of seeking some beautiful spot where he might pitch his tent or erect some kind of dwelling-place for himself. He was not looking for entertainment or for luxuries; he was not looking for any kind of accessory to life. The whole point of the story is that he was looking for something that is an absolute essential and without which life cannot be maintained at all.
I emphasize that because the first thing that we must realize about the situation we are in today is its desperate character.
A Thought to Ponder
The first thing that we must realize about the situation we are in today is its desperate character. (From Revival, p. 21, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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There is a proper time and procedure for every delight. ECCLESIASTES 8:6
If you were to point your car southwest of Cortez, Colorado, drive exactly 38 miles along Highway 160 and then hang a right on Four Corners Monument Road, in about a half mile you’d run into the only spot in America where you can be in four states at the same time: the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. It’s out in the middle of an empty desert, surrounded by dust, rocks and boulders. But that doesn’t stop upwards of 2,000 people a day from visiting Four Corners and waiting in line just for the thrill of having their picture taken standing in four states at once. Truly the American way, huh—trying to be four places at one time! Truth be told, it’s a picture of the way many of us elect to live our lives. We are constantly pulled in several different directions. Our pressure-filled, rush-rush, hurried lifestyle has a way of leaving us winded, dazed and addicted to the next item on our activity list.It leaves us little time for serious spiritual reflection. Little time for anything more than snap judgments. Little time to share our dreams with each other as a couple. Little sense of where we’ve been and where we’re going. What’s more, I fear that by crowding out any room for meaningful communication, original thought or spiritual insight in our family schedules, we’re fueling in our children a raw addiction to activity, constant motion, continuous noise and endless sensory stimulation.I urge you to stop and check the speed limit on this road you’re on. Imagine a life that allows for real living . . . the kind you’ll never find at Four Corners. (Moments together for couples by Dennis & Barbara Rainey)
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Brethren, we have been declared “not guilty!” by the highest court in all the universe. Still there are honest Christians, earnestly seeking the face of God, who cannot seem to break loose and find real freedom. (p 5, I Talk Back to the Devil by A. W. Tozer)
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If you think that there is anyone in the world so good that God could do something for that person’s sake, you don’t know sin; and if you think there is anything that God will not do for you for His sake and for His name, you don’t know God! (p. 7, I Talk Back to the Devil by A. W. Tozer)
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Revelation 3
Jesus gives prophetic messages to three additional churches.
INSIGHT
To the church in Sardis, Jesus offers a strong rebuke. He calls them “dead” and warns them to recall their initial response to the Gospel and repent. However, He also commends those few who have not defiled themselves. The Lord also commends the church in Philadelphia for having kept His command to persevere. Because of that, He will keep them from the hour of trial that will come upon the whole world. Perhaps the most frightening message goes to the church at Laodicea. Because their works are “neither cold nor hot” but lukewarm, Jesus says He will spew them out of His mouth. Their wealth has made them complacent and Jesus urges them to repent. (Quiet Walk)
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REPENTANCE
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1
Certain things must happen before a man can experience the great salvation that is found in the Christian gospel. There are certain things that we must realize, we must grasp, we must believe, and the first of these is repentance.
We must be clear about the whole question of repentance. Read the case of any convert you can find in the Bible, and you will always find that this element of repentance comes in. Read the lives of the saints, read the history of men who figure in the church of God in past ages, and you will find that every man who has really known the experience and the power of the grace of God in his life is always a man who gives evidence of repentance. I do not hesitate, therefore, to make the assertion that without repentance there is no salvation. The need for repentance is one of the absolutes about which the Bible does not argue. It just says it. It just postulates it. It is impossible, I say, for a man to be a Christian without repentance; no man can experience salvation unless he knows what it is to repent. Therefore I am emphasizing that this is a very vital matter.
John the Baptist when he began his ministry went out and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. It was the first message of the first preacher. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are told by Mark, went about and preached that men must repent. Repentance is absolutely vital. Paul went about and preached repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost the first sermon under the auspices of the Christian Church, and when he had finished certain people cried out, “What shall we do?” “Repent!” said Peter. Without repentance there is no knowledge of salvation, there is no experience of salvation. It is an essential step. It is the first step.
A Thought to Ponder: Without repentance there is no salvation. (From Out of the Depths pp. 17-18, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Set Apart
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart…Mattew 11:29
In November 1742, a riot broke out in Staffordshire, England, to protest against the gospel message Charles Wesley was preaching. It seems Charles and his brother John were changing some longstanding church traditions, and that was too much for many of the townsfolk.
When John Wesley heard about the riot, he hurried to Staffordshire to help his brother. Soon an unruly crowd surrounded the place where John was staying. Courageously, he met face to face with their leaders, speaking with them so serenely that one by one their anger was assuaged.
Wesley’s gentle and quiet spirit calmed an angry mob. But it wasn’t a gentleness that occurred naturally in his heart. Rather, it was the heart of the Savior whom Wesley followed so closely. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). This yoke of gentleness became the true power behind the apostle Paul’s challenge to us: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
In our humanness, such patience is impossible for us. But by the fruit of the Spirit in us, the gentleness of the heart of Christ can set us apart and equip us to face a hostile world. When we do, we fulfill Paul’s words, “Let your gentleness be evident to all” (Philippians 4:5). (By Bill Crowder (Our Daily Bread)
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When God Became Man
“Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.” (Hebrews 2:7)
We cannot comprehend what it meant for the infinite Creator God to become finite man, even coming “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). Nevertheless, we can, and must, believe it, for “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God” (1 John 4:3).
The Scriptures have given us a glimpse of the “emptying” that His incarnation required—the setting aside of certain outward aspects of His deity. He had been “so much better than the angels” (Hebrews 1:4), but He had to be “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9)—“put to death in the flesh” (1 Peter 3:18).
The eternal Word “was God” (John 1:1), but it was necessary that “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). “The world was made by Him” (John 1:10), but “the princes of this world . . . crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8).
He “being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6). That is, He was not fearful of losing His deity and, therefore, did not have to cling to His divine nature and attributes as He became man. Thus, He “made himself of no reputation” (emptying Himself of the outward form of God) “and took upon him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).
Yet that was only the beginning. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He suffered hell for us, that we might enjoy heaven with Him.
Because He was willing to be so humiliated, He will one day be crowned with glory and honor. “God also hath highly exalted Him, . . . that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:9, 11). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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