In the Great Congregation

 “I will tell of your name to my brothers;

    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he has not despised or abhorred

    the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

    but has heard, when he cried to him.

“From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

    May your hearts live forever!

“All the ends of the earth shall remember

    and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

    shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

    and he rules over the nations.” (Psalms 22:22-28)

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

We who believe in Jesus Christ are to be those who are proclaiming the truth about Jesus Christ and his gospel of salvation, and of his plans and purposes for his people, i.e. for those who fear (revere, respect, obey) the Lord, and throughout the world. And we are to be those who are talking about the Lord and the teachings of the Scriptures to one another within the family of God for our mutual encouragement and edification in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. And this isn’t just locally, but it is far and wide, too.

And with the invention of the internet, and with cell phones, we are able to speak with people all over the world in many nations all at once so that we can share with them the truth of the gospel of our salvation and of what God has planned for those who love and obey him. And with the invention of the internet, our language differences should no longer be an obstacle, either, for there are many ways in which we can find translations into other languages or from their languages to ours so that we can hear one another.

And we who believe in Jesus Christ should make use of this tool we have been given for sharing the truth about Jesus Christ and his gospel of salvation and in order to encourage the body of Christ far and wide in the ways of the Lord. For to this we are all called. And we should be doing this daily. And if you are on social media, right now that is a great tool for sharing the gospel and for encouraging the body of Christ in the ways of the Lord and in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living.

And the Lord knows who is listening and who needs to hear what and when. And so this is something we should pray to the Lord about, and ask him for the messages that he would have for us to share, and be available to him to hear from him so that we know what to say and when and where. For we are all called of God to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in sharing Jesus Christ and his word with the people of the world. And we are all to proclaim the excellencies of him who took us from darkness to light.

And what are our vows that we are to perform? Well, when we receive Jesus Christ into our lives to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we enter into a spiritual marriage covenant with the Lord Jesus, and he becomes our husband, and we become his bride. But this is more like the biblical Jewish marriage covenant between man and woman, which was more like a period of engagement where the groom went to prepare a place for his bride and then he came and got her and then they consummated their relationship.

And right now Jesus Christ is preparing a place for us in heaven, and when he returns one day he is going to take his faithful ones, those who fear him, to be with him for eternity. And that is when our marriage to him will be consummated, i.e. that is when our salvation will be complete and not until then. In the meanwhile we are more like in an engagement period with the Lord and we must remain faithful to him in obedience to his commands and in holy living and in service to him until he returns to take us home.

And a big part of our service to the Lord is in taking the truth of the gospel to the people of the world and it is in ministering to the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but not just their physical or emotional needs, but their spiritual needs. And this is why the Scriptures teach us that we are to be exhorting one another daily so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, and why we are to be speaking the truth in love to one another so that none of us is lead astray by people in deceitful scheming.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 7:13-14; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

And the goal of what we do and why we do it is not only in obedience to our Lord, but it is out of genuine love and concern for all who proclaim faith in Jesus Christ and for all those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus. And the goal is that we might be used of the Lord in the lives of other believers in Jesus to encourage them in their walks of faith and obedience to the Lord and so that people all over the world will turn their hearts to Jesus Christ, deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands.

For this is what is required of us to have life in Jesus Christ and to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. We must all be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign in our bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if righteousness and obedience to God are what we obey, that leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God.

So, this is to encourage you, not only to make certain of your salvation, that you have died with Christ to sin and that you are now walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, but that you are proclaiming the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, before the great congregation, and that you are not hiding your light under a bushel, and that your salt has not lost its saltiness, and that you are living and teaching the narrow road to heaven, and not the broad road to destruction.

[Matt 7:13-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

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 

Caution: This link may contain ads