As we continue to think about our call to be "a voice crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" we will consider four people from the Bible and how they carried out that mission as well as what their focus was while doing so. We will begin this week with Jesus, who came to call God's people to repentance by calling them to Himself.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2
Jesus alluded to this passage when He told His followers that they were the light of the world. But the light we shed on the world finds its source in Jesus, who said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12). It is His light which we have beheld and which is now found in us through the Holy Spirit. As we begin to think in a missional way as a church, we can begin by remembering that Jesus, the light of the world, has called us to be light as well, so that those who live in darkness may find their way to the Lord..
The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
Jesus is our light and our salvation, and His perfect love casts out fear. The only person we need fear is the Lord, and that "fear" is nothing more than the reverence, awe and respect one would expect to have towards the Creator of all things. That fear leads us to recognize, as Isaiah did, that we are unclean ("Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'"; Isaiah 6:5). The only right response, when we realize that truth, is repentance. And when we have repented, the Lord will relent and extend grace to us as our light and salvation.
In one of my Bibles Psalm 27 is called an "Exuberant Declaration of Faith" - an understatement He IS my Light - He IS my Strength. At a time when I had no idea what lay ahead for me, I CLUNG to His promises - I held onto the thought that, ok, He knew. I "just" (really not that simple) needed to stay close and listen. I find in the Psalms a truth that renews me. Through the cries of despair and the singing of praise scripture comes alive and tells me that a deep relationship with God is actually attainable. Praise God!
My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:11-13)
Sometimes even the early church needed to repent of its sin. Here we see Paul confronting the church in Corinth regarding their confusion as to whose "camp" or "body" they were part of. There is only one body, and that body has only one head, Jesus Christ. If they were to follow the one true light, they would need to abandon their factions and come together as one family, united in Christ, their head. That was one of several things the Corinthians needed to repent of in order to be in full fellowship with the body and with its head, Jesus. As we consider Christ's call to repentance, His 'mission' of repentance, we would do well to examine our own hearts and consider what we are called to leave behind as we move forward with the Lord.
"From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)
Sure, that was easy for Jesus to say. He wasn't stuck in the midst of an obstinate, stiff-necked people who were unaware or worse, uncaring about their sin. Oh, wait...
Even so, we have to be careful how we go about sharing the gospel with those around us. "Turn or burn" won't suffice. Nor will "Get right or get left," "Fly or fry," or any variation thereof. We can't tell people the good news is that they're going to hell, either. We have to find some way that honestly confronts sin without condemning those who sin. Doing that is tricky, however, but Jesus shows us the way in this passage. He does that by [ please attend worship Sabbath morning for complete details].
In Matthew 4:16, Matthew reaches back to his base: "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death LIGHT HAS DAWNED." And at this point Jesus calls men to follow Him - the Light of the World, The Truth as He begins His ministry in Galilee. He calls us to repent - ask forgiveness - for the sins that Light reveals to us - and then to follow and to serve.
"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)
The light of the world is Jesus, and His coming heralded the coming of grace and peace to all who belong to Him. But as Bev notes above, the first step is to repent, and then to follow. The repentance isn't a precursor to grace, however. It is the result of grace. God extends His grace to we who are enslaved to sin, who are unable to repent without the Lord's intervention on our behalf. Having received that grace we are free to repent and do so out of gratitude for God's grace. Even so, getting to repentance is hard, and leading others to repentance even harder. But more on that tomorrow.
Happy Sabbath! As we gather for worship today, let us sacrifice with shouts of joy, gathering at His tent to sing and make music to the Lord. See you in church!
As we continue to think about our call to be "a voice crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" we will consider four people from the Bible and how they carried out that mission as well as what their focus was while doing so. We will begin this week with Jesus, who came to call God's people to repentance by calling them to Himself.
ReplyDeleteThe people walking in darkness
ReplyDeletehave seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2
Jesus alluded to this passage when He told His followers that they were the light of the world. But the light we shed on the world finds its source in Jesus, who said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12). It is His light which we have beheld and which is now found in us through the Holy Spirit. As we begin to think in a missional way as a church, we can begin by remembering that Jesus, the light of the world, has called us to be light as well, so that those who live in darkness may find their way to the Lord..
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
ReplyDeletewhom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
Jesus is our light and our salvation, and His perfect love casts out fear. The only person we need fear is the Lord, and that "fear" is nothing more than the reverence, awe and respect one would expect to have towards the Creator of all things. That fear leads us to recognize, as Isaiah did, that we are unclean ("Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'"; Isaiah 6:5). The only right response, when we realize that truth, is repentance. And when we have repented, the Lord will relent and extend grace to us as our light and salvation.
In one of my Bibles Psalm 27 is called an "Exuberant Declaration of Faith" - an understatement
DeleteHe IS my Light - He IS my Strength. At a time when I had no idea what lay ahead for me, I CLUNG to His promises - I held onto the thought that, ok, He knew. I "just" (really not that simple) needed to stay close and listen. I find in the Psalms a truth that renews me. Through the cries of despair and the singing of praise scripture comes alive and tells me that a deep relationship with God is actually attainable. Praise God!
My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:11-13)
ReplyDeleteSometimes even the early church needed to repent of its sin. Here we see Paul confronting the church in Corinth regarding their confusion as to whose "camp" or "body" they were part of. There is only one body, and that body has only one head, Jesus Christ. If they were to follow the one true light, they would need to abandon their factions and come together as one family, united in Christ, their head. That was one of several things the Corinthians needed to repent of in order to be in full fellowship with the body and with its head, Jesus. As we consider Christ's call to repentance, His 'mission' of repentance, we would do well to examine our own hearts and consider what we are called to leave behind as we move forward with the Lord.
"From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)
ReplyDeleteSure, that was easy for Jesus to say. He wasn't stuck in the midst of an obstinate, stiff-necked people who were unaware or worse, uncaring about their sin. Oh, wait...
Even so, we have to be careful how we go about sharing the gospel with those around us. "Turn or burn" won't suffice. Nor will "Get right or get left," "Fly or fry," or any variation thereof. We can't tell people the good news is that they're going to hell, either. We have to find some way that honestly confronts sin without condemning those who sin. Doing that is tricky, however, but Jesus shows us the way in this passage. He does that by [ please attend worship Sabbath morning for complete details].
In Matthew 4:16, Matthew reaches back to his base: "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death LIGHT HAS DAWNED." And at this point Jesus calls men to follow Him - the Light of the World, The Truth as He begins His ministry in Galilee. He calls us to repent - ask forgiveness - for the sins that Light reveals to us - and then to follow and to serve.
Delete"The people living in darkness
ReplyDeletehave seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)
The light of the world is Jesus, and His coming heralded the coming of grace and peace to all who belong to Him. But as Bev notes above, the first step is to repent, and then to follow. The repentance isn't a precursor to grace, however. It is the result of grace. God extends His grace to we who are enslaved to sin, who are unable to repent without the Lord's intervention on our behalf. Having received that grace we are free to repent and do so out of gratitude for God's grace. Even so, getting to repentance is hard, and leading others to repentance even harder. But more on that tomorrow.
Happy Sabbath! As we gather for worship today, let us sacrifice with shouts of joy, gathering at His tent to sing and make music to the Lord. See you in church!
ReplyDelete