Tuesday, August 25,
2015, 7:13 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Songs in the Night.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 21:1-8 (NASB).
The First Things (vv.
1-4)
Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the
tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be
His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no
longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
When God created all things, there was no sin curse. Humans
were in perfect relationship to God. But, then mankind (Adam and Eve) sinned
against God, and now they knew sin, and thus God put a curse on them and on the
earth, and he banished them from his presence. Since that time, all humankind
has been born with sin natures, separated from God, and doomed to eternity in
hell. So, God the Father sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth
to take on human form, to suffer like we suffer, and to be tempted in like
manner as we are also tempted, yet without sin. He also sent him to the earth
to die on a cross for our sins. When he died, our sins died with him, and were
buried with him. When he was resurrected from the dead, he rose victorious over
sin, hell, Satan and death. Amen!
By God’s grace, via Jesus’ blood shed on the cross for our
sins, through our faith in him, we can be forgiven of our sins, be made
righteous in God’s sight, be restored to fellowship with God, and have the hope
of eternal life with God, both now and forevermore.
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to
sin, and we are resurrected of the Spirit of God with Christ to newness of
life, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See: Eph.
4:20-24). Peter said that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24). Paul said that Jesus died that we might no longer
live for ourselves but for Jesus who gave himself up for us (2 Co. 5:15). He
also said that Jesus died that the righteous requirements of the law might be
fully met in us who walk (conduct our lives) no longer according to the flesh,
but according to (in agreement with) the Spirit. And, John said that if we say
we have fellowship with God, but we continue (persist) to walk (conduct our
lives) in darkness (in living according to our sinful flesh), we are liars (1
Jn. 1:6). We will die, unless by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the
flesh (Ro. 8:1-14).
Yet, many people on this earth do not yet know Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior of their lives. As well, many who claim to know him do not
live like they have been set free from slavery to sin, but they are involved in
addictive sinful behaviors, and have wandered off to follow after the gods of
this world. So many people have been deceived by Satan’s lies, and have
followed after the lies, instead of seeking the truth. So, God has planned a
time at the end of time where he will judge his adulterous people and the
people of this sinful world so that he can renew them and restore them to a
right (correct) relationship with him (See: Rev. 2-3). Yet, God is not confined
merely to these final years on the earth to discipline those he loves, for he
does that on a consistent basis. One of the ways in which he disciplines is by
exposing the people’s sins. I think here of this recent news event, whether
real or orchestrated, I do not know, where a website provided for people to
have extra-marital affairs has now been exposed. If this is real, it is
certainly one way of disciplining the wayward in order to bring them to their
senses, so that God can heal them.
During this time of judgment, God’s people (the elect), who
are living in spiritual adultery and self-indulgent behavior (See: Rev. 2-3),
will lose their shirts, i.e. they will suffer great financial loss and loss of
possessions. There will be consequences for their sinful behaviors, yet they
will not be lost for eternity. God will change their hearts, they will repent
of their sins, forsake their idols, and he will restore them to fellowship with
him. When God completes his time of judgment on the people of this earth,
through which time his church will be revived (made ready for her husband), and
people from all nations, tribes, and languages will stream to Jesus Christ, he
will roll up the heavens and the earth like a garment, and they will all be
changed (See: Heb. 1:10-12). The curse of sin and death will be gone, and we
will be in perfect relationship with God, like Adam and Eve were in the Garden
of Eden. There will be no more tears, no sin (hallelujah!), no pain and no
death, for the old order of things (under the curse) will have passed away.
Amen! And, Amen!
Everything New
(vv. 5-8)
And
He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He
*said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It
is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give
to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He
who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be
My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and
immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be
in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
I see here in this writing a sense of both present and
future, i.e. of the time we still have on this earth, when we can come to the
spring of living water, and when we can overcome, through faith in Jesus
Christ, the temptations of our flesh, but also a promise of a future renewal of
all things, when the old order of things will have passed away, and all things
will become new.
For us to come to Christ and to his salvation, we must
thirst for him. We must realize our need of him and of his life-changing Spirit
living within us, and we must desire that changed life, of the Spirit of God.
We must turn from (repent of) our sins, be transformed in heart and mind of the
Spirit of God, and be given new lives in the Spirit to be lived for the glory
of God, where we walk daily in fellowship with God in his holiness and
righteousness. Yet, we can do none of this in our own flesh. There is nothing
we can do to earn or to deserve our own salvation. We can never be good enough
to win God’s approval. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ, and in what he
did for us in dying for our sins, that we can be made righteous and have
eternal life with God. Even the ability to repent and to believe and to walk in
obedience to our Lord is of God, and can only be done in his power within us,
as we cooperate with and participate with him in death to sin and living to
righteousness.
As well, we must be overcomers. True faith in Jesus Christ
is continuous, persistent, enduring and lasts until the end. We are not saved
based on past belief. Eternal life is only promised to those who believe
(present tense) on Jesus Christ. There are many people who believe a person can
pray a prayer to “receive” Christ, then live how they want, and still have
eternal life guaranteed them, even if they deny Christ by their lives. This is
not what the Bible teaches. Yet, I don’t believe scripture teaches sinless
perfection, either, for we read in I Jn. 2 that these things were written that
we might not sin, but if any of us do sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, who speaks to God in our defense. That is why we are being saved,
being made holy, and being conformed into the likeness of Jesus, and why we
must die daily to sin and self, because we are still a work in progress.
Yet, for those who choose to continue (persist) in walking
(conducting their lives) according to their sinful flesh (in darkness), they
will not have eternal life, but they will die in their sins. So, if you think
you have heaven guaranteed just because at some point in your life you made a
decision to “receive” Christ, but you do not obey Christ, but you continue to
go your own way, then think again, because your life depends on you walking in
the truth.
Songs
in the Night / An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
And
the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord,
I praise You forevermore.
You,
my Savior, I now adore.
Hope
in heaven awaiting me,
Because
You died at Calvary.
I
have been forgiven,
And
I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus
set me free from
All
my sin, I say.
I
will praise Him always!
Lord,
I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame
death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus
saved me, and now I’m free!
I
rejoice in His love for me.
I
will walk in vict’ry!
My
sin is but hist’ry!
I
am free to please Him
With
my life today.
I
will love Him always!
Lord,
I thank You for giving me
A
new life bought at Calvary.
Loving
Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender
mercies now flow within.
Lord,
I am so thankful;
Through
my Lord, I’m able
To
sit at His table;
Fellowship
with Him.
I
will thank Him always!
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