If My People Which Are Called By My Name Shall Seek My Face! - Part 2805

"Ye that fear the Lord hope for good; and for everlasting joy and mercy. Look at the generations of old, and see, did never any trust in the Lord and was confounded? Or did any abide in His fear and was forsaken? Or, whom did He ever despise that called upon Him? For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering and very pitiful, and forgives sins and saves in time of affliction." (Ecclesiasticus 2:9-11)

Where else in the scriptures do we see the Lord is full of compassion?

"He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion." (Psalm 111:4)

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous." (Psalm 112:4)

"The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy." (Psalm 145:8)

What else does the Lord do? He saves us from our enemies.

"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;3 the God of my rock; in Him will I trust:
He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Saviour; Thou save me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." (II Samuel 22:2-4)

And He gives us everlasting joy!

"... and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 35:10)

"Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away." (Isaiah 51:11)"For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them." (Isaiah 61:7

Moreover, the Lord showers those who fear Him with endless hope for good! The prophet Isaiah speaks to this point, when he writes: "Art Thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. 

I, even I, am He that comforts you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forget the Lord thy Maker that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy and where is the fury of the oppressor?

The captive exile hastens that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, "Thou art My people!" (Isaiah 51:10-25)

And again, "And I will sow her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to [them which were] not My people, "Thou art My people;" and they shall say, "Thou art my God." (Hosea 2:23)

And just in case we missed it, let's hear the Lord's promise to His beloved one more time.

"And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, "Thou art My people." (Isaiah 51:16)

This is why we can take comfort in the Lord's promises to His people.

"If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)

Lots of good scripture to meditate upon. Stand in the offering plate.

Alleluia; Salvation, And Glory, And Honour, And Power, Unto The Lord Our God - Part 2804

" ... for to shew in thee My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth." (Exodus 9:16)

A question arose at Bible Study last evening -- a valid inquiry as to where all the mighty warriors for the Lord Jesus might be. Most certainly, we who believe understand the times in which we live. Indeed, it's a quick read of Revelation to know how this world will end. However, at the same time, we already know who wins the war. That is the King of kings and Lord of lords -- the risen Jesus -- who is both |Lord and Christ; Alpha and Omega; the first and the last; the beginning and the ending. (Acts 2:36-41; Revelation 1:8, 11)

The same Lord who has reigned from the beginning of time, optimistic that we who profess to believe will come into the full knowledge and understanding of His goodness and grace and mercy. 

"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as Head above all. Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reign over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all." (I Chronicles 29:11-12)

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:11)

It is in this context that we understand that the same God who created the world in the beginning was in fact also in the world. He came unto His own but His own received Him not. (John 1:10-11) Why not? Because He came as a suffering servant -- not as the Messiah or King that the people were looking for. 

Do you remember how Jesus is described in Isaiah 53 ? 

"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opens not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:1-12)

Yes, the Lord God of our fathers -- the God of the heaven and earth who created us in the very beginning -- His flesh body (the Word made flesh / yet without sin) had to be stricken, His precious, holy blood shed on a cross so that you and I might experience abundant life in Him. He paid the price once and for all so that you and I could find our purpose for living. 

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives. Whereupon neither the first [testament] was dedicated without blood." (Hebrews 9:8,14-18)

This is why we proclaim: 

"O Lord God of our fathers, art not Thou God in heaven? and rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in Thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee?" (I Chronicles 20:6)

This is why Jesus declared, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." (Mathew 28:18)

"... who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." (Colossians 1:15-17)

"... which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set [Him] at His own right hand in the heavenly [places], far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all [things[ under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church ..." (Ephesians 1:20-22)

  "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." (Revelation 5:13)

Know too -- the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him." (Ezra 1:8) 

From herein comes our hope! Stand in the offering plate. 

That Ye May Stand Perfect And Complete In All The Will Of God.- Part 2803

"Be still and know that I am God. Know too that there is no other Lord and Saviour beside Me." (Isaiah 45:1,5-6, Isaiah 43:11, Isaiah 44:6)

",,, And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power:" (Co.lossians 2:10)

What does it mean to be complete in God our Saviour -- His name JESUS in this current dispensation of grace? Given the times in which we live, the idea of being complete -- regardless of the circumstances around us -- might seen unachievable. And yet, we can be complete if we stand perfect in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12)

How can we know this completeness? From stepping into by faith a personal relationship with the One and Only who is Jesus. As the scriptures declare, "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world." (I John 2:2)

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Thessalonians 5:23)

 

Similar to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and by extension all humanity -- you and I -- our Lord God and Saviour desires that we become complete in Him as a consequence of His grace and mercy. Fulfilled. Joyous. Complete in the knowledge and wisdom that our Lord God and Saviour Jesus loves us beyond measure.

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man [or woman] that trusts in Him." (Psalm 34:8)

Moreover, when we believe in Jesus, we can be confident in this God-intended completeness that has been decided since the beginning. Indeed, even before the universe as we know the salvation plan was shaped. This is why -- when we open the scriptures, we begin to understand that the written Word -- God in the flesh-- established Jesus the Christ as the Head of the church. The scriptures similarly establish that Jesus alone saves.

That it is in Him -- Jesus our Lord God and Saviour -- that the safety of the members of His body depends. For it is Jesus the Christ who loves the church -- His betrothed bride. It was Jesus the Christ that surrendered His own sinless body of flesh up to death for His betrothed. It was Jesus the Christ who counted His own sinless flesh body to be incomplete without the companionship of His betrothed.

Certainly, creation alone could not break the shackles of sin that had engulfed His one and only love. We know this from the prophecies and journeys elaborated on within the Old Testament.

We also know that salvation required -- indeed demanded -- that any redemption plan that would save humanity had to include a pure righteous man. This is why Jesus laid down His sinless flesh on a cross for you and I. In so doing, Jesus rescued His betrothed, sanctifying and cleansing her.

His betrothed church body -- holy -- purifying and consecrating her. As a consequence, Jesus made her body free from all sin. The Spirit of God washed His own redeemed betrothed church body with the washing of the water of His indwelling. Loving words of His declared promises. She in turn willingly submitting to His words of love, and even following Him to death.

The Spirit of God then -- desirous to present to Himself a glorious church-body. His betrothed as a beautiful splendid bride -- a bride who has not one spot or wrinkle, blots or disfigurements. This redeemed church body -- the betrothed bride of Christ -- became His purchased possession. Now born again. Now faultless and perfect. The Spirit of God which was in Christ loves His betrothed body. He loves His betrothed bride even as He loved His own flesh. For indeed, she was His own flesh. She was created in the beginning for Him. She was the flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone.

Furthermore, there were no limits to His love. There was no orders to her to do this or else. In fact, Jesus did not just talk the talk. He also walked the walk too. For the God who created us, there was no mountain high enough or valley deep enough to keep His holy Spirit from His betrothed. So Jesus sacrificed His own natural body in order to woe her back from the house of bondage. He willingly sacrificed His own sinless body. He endured all things. Now that is love.

The good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep.  

That is, He brought His grace to man. Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. His divine love so that you and I would be the betrothed bride of Christ. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20) 

 Stand in the offering plate.