And Can It Be That I Should Gain / Charles Wesley / Thomas Campbell
And can it be, that I should gain
An interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shoulds't die for me?
He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace,
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race:
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me!
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMCOyY0Rlus
Then, when I went out to the kitchen, another song, “I Will Uphold You,” also began playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Hebrews 4:
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
My Understanding: Before I was really able to delve into this passage of scripture this morning, my husband sat down in the living room with me, and he began sharing with me what the Lord was teaching him this morning. He shared with me that the Lord woke him up this morning with a song in his head, “How Deep the Father’s Love For Us,” by Philips, Craig and Dean. The last words of the song are:
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV2zMZ-nZ7k
I immediately recognized how this song and the hymn I had playing in my mind this morning paralleled each other, i.e. the songs were in complete agreement with each other. Then, my husband told me how God had spoken to him through his reading of Psalms 2 and 3. Psalms 2 speaks of nations conspiring against the Lord and against us, his servants. God laughs at the nations. He rebukes them in his anger. God the Father has made the nations to be Jesus Christ’s inheritance. He will rule them with an iron scepter and he will dash them to pieces like pottery. Yet, blessed are those who take refuge in the Lord.
Psalms 3 continued with this theme of physical enemies. David lamented to God concerning the number of his foes and the many that were rising up against him. This is a common theme in the Psalms of David. People were mocking him, saying that God would not deliver him. Yet, his confidence was in knowing that God was a shield around him, and that when he cried aloud to his God, that God would answer him. As well, he understood that he was in the Lord’s care and that nothing could happen to him but what the Lord had allowed it. He could lie down and sleep at night, and wake again because it was the Lord who sustained him. He did not need to fear the tens of thousands that were drawn up against him on every side, for the Lord was his comfort, joy, crown, deliverer, Rock, fortress and salvation.
As I considered the words to these two Psalms, I saw how they, as well, were in complete agreement with this second song the Lord had placed in my mind this morning.
I Will Uphold You / An Original Work / November 4, 2011
Based off of Isaiah 41:8-20; Ephesians 6:10-18
You are My servant; I’ve chosen you.
I’ve not rejected you; I’ve been true.
Do not be fearful; I am with you.
Don’t be alarmed, for I am your God.
I will give you strength, and will help you.
I will uphold you with My right hand.
All who’re against you will be disgraced.
Those who oppose you, they will perish.
Enemies you search, but will not find.
They war against you; nothing will be.
I am your Lord God, who takes your hand;
Says, “Do not fear, for I will help you.”
The poor and needy, water they need.
Their tongues are thirsty; no drop to drink.
I will give answer; not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow from within.
My living water I will outpour
On those who seek Me; and Me adore.
Jesus provided the sacrifice;
For our sins blood bought; He paid the price,
So we’re forgiven all of our sins,
When we invite Him to come within.
He cleanses us from our impure hearts.
His life within us gives a new start.
http://youtu.be/i0LFPI-isSU
A Sabbath-Rest
The Sabbath-Rest being spoken of here in Hebrews 4 is not the Sabbath-Rest under the old covenant of God with his people. This Sabbath-Rest is under the new covenant, and the rest being spoken of here is our salvation, i.e. our eternal rest with God, which begins at the point when we make the decision to enter that rest through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. There is a warning or a cautionary statement here to be careful that none of us are found to have fallen short of it. This reminds me of Romans 3:23 where it says: “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our sins separate us from God, and it is only by the grace of God, through faith, that we are made right with God and we can enter into his eternal rest.
And, then the writer of Hebrews continued by describing for us what that genuine “faith” looks like. He said that the gospel message is of no value to us if we do not combine it with faith. For those who have had the gospel message preached to them, yet did not enter into God’s eternal rest, they did not enter because of their obedience. So, we can take from this that faith = obedience to God. This passage continues by stating that we should not harden our hearts against the voice of God, so we can take from this that faith = open and receptive hearts to God’s voice, his conviction, instruction, commands, etc. And, we show our reception to his words through obedience to all that he commands. So, again, faith = obedience to God.
Then, the writer went on to explain that, just as God rested from his work on the seventh day, our entering into God’s eternal rest means we rest from our own work. I don’t know that I ever noticed this before, but what struck me here is that, if this is speaking about a spiritual rest, not a physical one, which it is, then the work that we are to rest from comprises our own human efforts to try to attain God and his salvation. So, from this we can ascertain that faith is not something we earn or work to attain, but faith is a free gift from God, by his grace, and by the power of the Holy Spirit within us in cleansing our hearts from sin and in transforming us into new creatures in Christ Jesus. We can never be good enough. Our good will never outweigh our bad. No amount of good deeds will ever gain for us this eternal rest. So, when we enter into God’s rest, we rest (cease) from trying to please God in our own flesh, and instead we rest in God’s saving grace. And, then the author encourages us to enter this rest, which is free from human effort, so that none of us will fall by following the example of disobedience. So, it appears to me that if human effort is to be equaled with disobedience, then entering into a relationship with Christ by his grace, through faith, should equal obedience to Christ and to his commands.
Then, the author began his next paragraph with the word “for…,” which is a word that refers back to the previous statement or statements, and is “indicating a reason why something happens or is done” (Encarta). The last phrase of the previous paragraph stated that we must be careful to make every effort to enter God’s eternal rest, so that we will not fall short of it by following an example of disobedience. For the word of God is… and then it goes on to explain that because God’s word is sharper than any double-edged sword and is able to penetrate even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and because it judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts, and because we must all give an account to God one day, we should make sure that we have truly entered into God’s eternal rest through faith. Yet, what this also says to me is that faith here has to do not only with obedience to Christ and his commands, found in his word, but that faith is equivalent with repentance, i.e. with turning from our sins, i.e. the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts that stand in opposition to God.
Lastly, we, because of what Jesus Christ did for us in paying the price for our sins so that we could be free from the control of sin in our lives, are encouraged to hold firmly to the faith we profess. A profession of something can be a false profession as well as it can be genuine, but the common theme is that it is a claim we make openly before men that may be supported by our lives or it may not be. So, we need to make sure that our lives match our profession. If we claim to have been saved from sin and yet we continue willfully in sin, then that does not say much for our profession. Some people might use the excuse that they are just weak and they can’t help themselves, and yet the word of God disputes that excuse over and over again. Jesus was a man and he was tempted, yet he did not sin, so he sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, yet he never condones sin on the basis of human weakness. He has provided a way out if we will take it. We can come to him in prayer and he will give us the grace we need to not yield to sin in our lives.
So, in summary, faith equals obedience to Christ and his commands, it is equivalent to hearts that are open and receptive to hear God’s voice speaking to us, we cannot earn salvation through our own human effort, faith is equivalent with repentance, i.e. with turning from our sins, i.e. the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts that stand in opposition to God; it does not allow for or make excuses for sin, and true faith is evidenced through how we conduct our lives, and in whether or not our talk (profession) matches our walk. May we all make sure today that we are found to have true faith that enters into God’s eternal rest, and that we are not found to have fallen short of it.
The Ransom / An Original Work / September 8, 2011
Jesus paid the ransom, so we’d be forgiven;
Purified from our sin, so we’d be set free.
Crucified on a tree; took on him our sin.
Buried our sin with Him; rose in victory.
Jesus calls us to Him; asks that we flee from sin;
Obey His commandments; live eternally.
God our Father loves us, which is why He gave us
His Son to die for us on a cruel tree.
God created us to walk in fellowship
With Him, daily trusting in His righteousness.
He has a plan for us to abide in His grace;
Be transformed in our hearts; live for him always.
Won’t you trust in Jesus? Be your Lord and Master?
He wants to forgive you; give you victory
Over sin and yourself; Jesus set you free.
Daily walking with Him, live victoriously.
Invite Him in your heart. He’ll give you a new start.
Your old life behind you, a new creature be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8itooCN1I3k
No comments:
Post a Comment