Isaiah 62:1-3 NIV
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
In the Messianic age Jesus Christ is Zion and we who are his
followers are also Zion. We are also called Christians, and we are the beloved
of God, his chosen people, his called out ones. And our salvation has come
about via Jesus’ death and resurrection. For in his death on that cross he who
knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.
And he put our sins to death with him in order that we might die with him to
sin and live to him and to his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24).
Now, our salvation from sin is not just forgiveness of sins
and the promise of heaven when we die. By faith in Jesus Christ we are
crucified with him in death to sin and we are raised with him to walk in
newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness. Our old self is put to death with him that the body of sin might be
brought to nothing so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and
to his righteousness. For if we remain slaves to sin, we will die in our sins
(Romans 6:1-23).
So, as those who are believing in Jesus, and who are his
followers, we are to no longer live in sin to gratify the sinful cravings of
the flesh. Now we are to walk in holiness and in righteousness, in the power of
God, in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). Our lives are to reflect
Jesus in the things that we do and say for the glory and praise of God. It doesn’t
mean we are now perfect in every way, but sin should no longer have mastery
over our lives. Now Jesus Christ should be our only Lord and Master.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 15:1-11; Romans 8:1-14;
Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 4:17-24; Ephesians 5:3-6;
Colossians 3:5-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:5-9; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Isaiah 62:4-5 NIV
“No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,
and your land Beulah;
for the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.”
Prior to us coming to faith in Jesus Christ via God the
Father drawing us to Christ, and us responding in the faith he provides, in
submission to Christ as Lord of our lives, we are dead in our sins, born into
this world with sin natures in the image of Adam. And we all fall short of
attaining God’s divine approval and acceptance. For we can nothing in our own
flesh to be approved by God and to be saved from our sins. Only through
God-given faith in Jesus Christ can we be saved and have eternal life with God.
But when we believe in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin,
and we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to
walk in newness of life in him, in walks of obedience to our Lord, we enter
into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. And this covenant relationship
is patterned after a Jewish marriage as described for us in the Scriptures. So,
it is a marriage contract but it is also like an engagement period, for our
marriage to Christ will not be consummated until we go to be with him once he
returns to take his full bride to be with him for eternity.
So, we need to see our salvation from sin in this light.
Salvation is not a one-time thing which takes place in our lives and then we
live our lives and one day we die and go to heaven. We are saved (past), we are
being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ
returns to take us to be with him forever, but provided that we walk not
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, and we not continue in
deliberate sin, and that we walk in obedience to our Lord, steadfast until the
end.
[Rom 3:23; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49;
Rom 8:24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; Eph
2:8-10; Heb
12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Acts
5:32; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 4:17-24; Lu 9:23-26;
Matt 7:21-23; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 11:17-24; 1
Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 2:24-25]
Isaiah 62:6-7 NIV
“I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.”
There are many (or some) of us who have been called to be
watchmen (and women) by the Lord to give out his messages to the church, both
day and night, in a time when not many are teaching the truth anymore, at least
here in America. And I am not speaking of us being in any positions of
authority over anyone, though some of you may be in such positions.
For me, my assignment is to write out what the Lord teaches
me through his word each day and to post it on the internet. And I do this
full-time all different hours of the day or night. The Lord leads me to a song
and then to a passage of Scripture, and then he teaches me what he wants me to
get from it and what he wants me to share. And so that is what I do.
I believe this was God’s calling on my life from even before
I was born, and that he took me through many hardships in my life to train me
and to prepare me for “such a time as this” when he would call me to this
ministry, which was eighteen years ago this month. And I have a feeling that
this is what I will be doing until the day that I die, but that is all in God’s
hands.
But the purpose of it all, I believe, is to get out the
truth of the gospel, and to expose the lies for what they are, and to encourage
the church, the body of Christ, to follow Jesus in obedience and in walks of
holiness and righteousness. For not many pastors are doing that anymore. So
many of them have compromised the truth to not offend the world.
But one day Jesus is going to return and so it is critical
that we get out the truth and that we expose the lies for so many people are
being led astray by lies, and they are not following the truth. And thus many
are going to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of
lawlessness.” Please don’t be one of them. Please surrender your lives to Jesus
today.
In
the Sweet By and By
Sanford F. Bennett / Joseph P. Webster
There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blessed;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.
To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer our tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zWZu-QupWU
Caution: This link may contain ads
No comments:
Post a Comment