Isaiah 62:1-3 ESV
“For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
If we apply these truths to the church, the body of Christ,
today, and if I were to make application specifically to the church here in
America, or to what is called “church,” as a general rule, but not as applying
this to everyone or to every congregation, I would say that we, as followers of
Jesus Christ, are to not be silent when it comes to sharing the gospel and the
truths of God’s Word, for so much of today’s “church” is living so worldly that
there is not much of a distinction between the church and the world.
Now we should never be silent when it comes to sharing the
truths of God’s word, and especially his gospel message. But in the times we
live in here in America, the church, overall, has lost her saltiness and has
hidden her light under a bushel and she has (they have) gone the way of the
world and not the way of righteousness and holiness. And so she needs to be
revived so that her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation
as a burning torch. She should stand out as godly and not be worldly.
And for the nations to see her righteousness and all the
kings of the earth her glory, there is going to need to be a radical and
spiritual transformation of the hearts of those who are confessing Jesus as
Lord of their lives here in America. So when I use the term “revived,” I mean
transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God in true repentance (turning
from sin) and true walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New
Covenant). I am not speaking of emotional experiences which don’t produce real
change.
Now the “new name,” if this is to be at all considered a
prophecy regarding the Messianic age and the New Covenant God has with his people,
would be Christian or the body of Christ. For under the New Covenant God’s
people are all those who have believed in Jesus with God-given faith, whether
Jew or non-Jew by physical birth. We are those who have died with Christ to
sin, and who are now walking in righteousness and holiness, in obedience to our
Lord, and not in sin, in practice. For if we walk in sin and not in obedience
to Christ, we do not have the hope of eternal life with God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSzcOZSkeQ0
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Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh,
to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This
is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly
I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus,
Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh,
to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving,
forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping
the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking
the wandering sinner to find.
O
to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy
and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly
enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing
to suffer others to save.
O
to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour
out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make
me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit
me for life and Heaven above.
Oh,
to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd
Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come
in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp
Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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