I love the way God revealed His glory in the coming of Jesus 700 years and more before the arrival of Jesus. We know that John records Jesus’ words about Himself in his gospel; “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”” (John 8:12). Jesus offered this light to any people group anywhere!
Isaiah looks forward to these words and says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2). Darkness in the souls of mankind had prevailed since the fall of Adam, but Isaiah proclaimed a child would be born and a son given who would bring a different kind of light, a light of deliverance from darkness - sin. “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). John goes on to declare that anyone who “walks in the light” will have fellowship with God and know that “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). There are millions of souls today who have never heard about this light. We call them the “unreached people groups.” They are living “in a land of deep darkness” where the light of Jesus has never been carried. Who will be a ‘light carrier” and bring them this powerful deliverance? "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men"" (John 1:4).
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Let us return to a Scripture that we are familiar with, ““Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23). This sin-cursed earth never had such a divine visitation, God in the human form of Jesus. For thirty-three and a half years this world had the opportunity to receive God-come-near and be saved from their sins. As John says, this life “we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands…the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us” (1 John 1:1-2). Clearly, He was “Immanuel…God with us.”
Note that Scripture never uses the name Immanuel for Jesus in the New Testament except in Matthew 1:23 and is associated with His birth, the beginning of His earthly journey. Why was it not used later, and especially after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension? Jesus told the disciples as he left earth, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:20). Mark closes his gospel by saying “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (Mark 16:19–20). How would His presence be here when He ascended to heaven? Answer: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). Verse 17 goes on to say, “the Spirit of truth…you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” Yes, Jesus is here, dwelling by the Spirit in those who received Him. One of the harvest fields that always brings us great joy is Nicaragua. David has sacrificed much to share what he has learned from God’s Plan for His Disciples and God’s Plan for His Church wherever he can. Now he is training in other Central American countries. Earlier this month he did a training using GPHD. Here are his comments regarding the event. “God is good. During this training I had with several small group leaders together on December 8; it was a great time because the brothers renewed their strength and vision through the study of God’s Word. It was 8 hours of training, and we didn’t even feel tired or realize how much time passed. We have the desire to fill Central America with the gospel of grace.” Jonathan will be with David this week in El Salvador. We are praying that the same effective ministry will take place there. I was given a very special gift earlier this month and we attended a live performance of Handel’s Messiah. After the opening score, the tenor and chorus sang Isaiah 40:1-5. After all the years of hardship, God was sending a message of comfort to His people with promises through the “voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord” (3 and Luke 3:4-6).
In a similar way that Israel experienced oppression from surrounding nations and discipline from the Lord for their idolatry and disobedience, the church today is going through dark times in many places. There is a need for comfort. It will come from only one source – the Lord. Our hearts need to “prepare the way of the Lord” so His solution is received, not comfort the way we want it. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lordhas spoken”” (Isaiah 40:5). God has sent His comfort in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. He did not come the first time to correct all the ills of humanity or world governments, but to comfort us by His sacrifice for our sins. He came “to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Have you “received Him”? If you have, then you have His comfort in the Holy Spirit (14:16). Today has been interesting. I had time alone doing work not requiring sharp mental attention, so my mind wandered off into aspects of preaching. What drives my thinking as I am preparing a sermon or even deciding what topic to preach on? As I look back on some of the messages I have given, they grew out of known conditions in a church that needed to be addressed or topics that were popular at the time. How I wish there was a way to rewind history and “redo” those times.
John Piper in his book, The Supremacy of GOD in Preaching, makes some valuable observations that have challenged my thinking as I prepare a message. “We are simply pulling rank on people when we tell them and don’t show them from the text. This does not honor the Word of God or the work of the Holy Spirit. I urge you to rely on the Holy Spirit by saturating your preaching with the Word that He inspired” (page 45). Preaching with this approach – the Holy Spirit moving from the inception of selecting a topic and Scripture(s), through crafting the message under His inspiration, to the delivery under His control is the only way to be effective. Be sure to think about your audience. Flowery presentations achieve nothing when the congregation is a tribal group with little or no education. Make eye contact with those you address and speak from your heart, not just your mind. Above all things, make sure that every aspect of preaching has one objective – the glory of God! How often I have fallen short of this goal because there was some hidden agenda the God was not in or where I was not representing Him as I should. It has been said that God’s great goal throughout all ages has been to “uphold and display the glory of His name.” How is this done? Is the focus on missionary work among all people part of the way God secures His glory “to the ends of the earth”?
Do we see the answer to this question in Paul’s references to his own calling and apostleship? “Jesus Christ our Lord through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5). Notice the double purpose for the coming of Jesus; “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised [the Jew] to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles, and sing to your name”” (Romans 15:8–9). No wonder Paul felt called to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. To achieve the great purpose of God, His glory, the gospel is preached so that through the salvation of men, women and children, God receives glory. Do you want to increase His glory? Preach the gospel to those who have never heard. As we spent time last evening praying for what God is doing in many places around the world, I noted how many of these places are marked by persecution, suffering, and poverty. In some places the pastors don’t have their own Bible. In others, there is continual danger of arrests and death for sharing the gospel. Yet, these brothers and sisters persevere in sharing the gospel though they face opposition on a daily basis.
What can God do in circumstances like this? It was not long after Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego willingly were thrown into a burning fiery furnace for their steadfast faith, that king Nebuchadnezzar “was astonished…and said, “I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt.” From this experience, the king proclaimed: “It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominionendures from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:2–3). If God could convict the heart of this pagan king nearly 600 years before Christ’s birth, why should we not “endure as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27)? It is possible that through our steadfast faith, we provide the opportunity for the unsaved and unreached to see God in a way that otherwise would be impossible. There are moments in this ministry that cause our hearts to be bowed in worship for what God is doing without our prompting or even suggestions. The publication, God’s Plan for Young Disciples (GPYD), has been translated into a language used in S. E. Asia. This resource was created to establish children and young people in truth of the gospel and God’s Word. As they begin to print these books, leaders there sent us their plans. “Our plan for 2023-2024 is to train 120 teachers from many different churches. After that, they will teach and guide young people in their local church. Our desire is that our God will open doors in 2023 to 2024 so we can train 5,000 to 6000 children through the study of GPYD.” As you pray for these leaders, teachers, and children, think of the potential this will have in bringing others to know Jesus as Savior. Jesus knew this potential in children. “Jesus called them to Him, saying, “Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). They may be the leaders of the next generations who carry the gospel to the unreached. In this blog site I have written about many subjects, all of them bring me joy. There are a few blogs which have produced an awe in my soul that nothing else can do; those that relate directly to the person and work of Divine Persons always bring extra exhilaration and worship to my spirit.
I feel the ecstatic pleasure Paul must have had in a prison cell as he wrote the letter to the Ephesians. Seven times in this letter he uses the word “mystêriõ” in its different noun forms. It refers to the content of a “secret which has not been known before, but which has been revealed.” It is impossible for me to unpack these verses, but please take time and meditate on their glory.
The coming of Christ and the Holy Spirit filling persons like Paul made it possible for us to understand these glories that God planned before the foundations of the world! I am humbled to worship in the presence of such majesty! Our hearts are always turned in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord when we see hunger for God’s Word growing out of our introductions. Tim and Terry introduced God’s Plan for His Disciples in early October of this year in India. Since then, the Hindi translation has spread to many areas, especially to parts of this country where persecution is a common experience. Yet, they continue to disciple others in local communities, so their souls are strengthened and established in the faith. As you look at this picture, please pray for them. We may not be able to relate to their circumstances, but we have hearts that can hunger for what has eternal value as theirs do. |
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