Unity # 22: One Way
Dear Father,
Oh, the depth of the riches both of Your wisdom and knowledge! How
unsearchable are Your judgments and unfathomable are Your ways! (Rom 11:33) How
can we keep our way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word. (Ps 119:9)
Thank You for Your Word. We have chosen the faithful way; we have placed Your
ordinances before us (Ps 119:30). Enlarge our hearts so that we may run in the
way of Your commandments (Ps 119:32). May we consider our ways and turn our
feet to Your Testimonies (Ps 119:59). Jesus, You have made the Way, You are the
Way, and knowing You is all along Your Way. Yes, this Way is eternal Life.
Jesus Christ is Lord and He has come in the Flesh.
In Jesus Christ’s Name,
Amen
Dear Beloved,
In last week’s letter, we
spoke of divine restoration, the act of the Trinity to bring about repentance
when we have strayed, to restore our fellowship with Christ, and to produce the
ongoing bearing of fruit and conformance into His Image. Though we often stray,
He has never stopped doing good to us, and thus, the harvest of His restoration
more than makes up for what we seemed to have lost. Thus, in spite of all our
failures, we are all surely being progressively sanctified and transformed into
His Image with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord who is the
Spirit.
This week’s letter is about
the one
Way which all
of the true saints walk in. Our God is pleased with those who walk in this Way.
He is the Rock; His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of
faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He (Deut 32:4).
His eyes are on the faithful of the land that they may dwell with Him; He who
walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to Him (Ps 101:6). God
tells us to do homage to His Son, that He not become angry, and we perish in
the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge
in Him! (Ps 2:12). The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but God
loves the one who pursues righteousness (Prov 15:9). When King David gave his
charge to his son Solomon, he said that the Lord would carry out His promise
concerning him. God had told him that if his sons are careful of their way, to
walk before Him in Truth with all their heart and soul, he would not lack a man
on the throne of Israel (1 Kings 2:4). After King Solomon finished building the
temple of the Lord, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Solomon prayed for
the people saying that when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain
because they have sinned against God, and they pray towards this place and
confess His Name and turn from their sin when He afflicts them, then may God
hear in heaven and forgive the sin of His servants and of His people Israel,
and, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk and send rain on
His land, which He has given to His people as an inheritance. (1 Kings 8:35-36)
God proclaims, “Oh that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would
walk in My ways!” (Ps 81:13) King David says, “Oh that my ways may be established to
keep Your statutes!” (Ps 119:5) The people of God wait for the Lord and keep His way. He
exalts them to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off they will see it.
(Ps 37:34) The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches
his way preserves his life (Prov 16:17). Those who are wise and discerning
understand and know that the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will
walk in them, but transgressor will stumble in them (Hos 14:9). They make
straight paths for their feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put
out of joint, but rather be healed (Heb 12:13). Those who run in a race all
run, but only one receives the prize. We must run in such a way that we may win.
We exercise this self-control to receive an imperishable reward. Therefore we
run in such a way, as not without aim; we box in such a way, as not beating the
air, but we discipline our body and make it our slave, so that, after we have
preached to others, we ourselves will not be disqualified. (1 Cor 9:24-27) Dear
saints, the Lord tells us, “Behold, I set before you the way of
life and the way of death” (Jer 21:8). He tells us “Stand by the ways and see and ask for
the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find
rest for your souls” (Jer 6:16).
For there is a way that
leads to death. This is the way which seems right to a man, but its end is the
way of death (Prov 16:25). Jesus tells us to enter through the narrow door;
for many, will seek to enter and not be able to (Luke 13:23-24) and to enter
through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads
to destruction, and there are many who enter through it, for the gate is small
and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matt
7:13-14).We at one time were as those who walked in this way of death. We were
as the greedy dogs which are not satisfied, the shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way, each one to his unjust gain, to the last
one (Is 56:11). Jesus gave us the parable of the wedding feast of the king for
his son to describe the wicked ways of mankind. They paid no attention and went
on their way, one to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized the
king’s slaves, mistreated, and killed them. Prior to his conversion, Paul was
like those who mistreated God’s servants. If Paul found any belonging to the
Way, both men and women, he bound them and brought them to Jerusalem to kill
them (Acts 9:2) The slaves eventually followed the king’s instructions to
invite those on the main highways, both good and evil, and the wedding hall was
indeed filled with dinner guests. (Matt 22:1-10) Dear saints, we have followed His invitation to belong to the Way.
In God’s New
Covenant, He promises to give us one Way. He has gathered us out of all the
wicked slavery that we remained in under His anger, wrath, and great
indignation; and He has brought us to Himself and made us to dwell in safety.
He calls us His people and He declares that He will be our God. He gives us one
heart and one way, that we may fear Him always, for our own
good and the good of our children after us. He has made an everlasting Covenant
with us that He will not turn away from us, to do us good; and He will put the
fear of Himself in our hearts so that we will not turn away from Him. He will
rejoice over us to do us good and will faithfully plant us in the land of
Himself with all His Heart and Soul. (Jer 32:37-41). We will ask for the way to Zion, turn our faces in its direction, and
come that we may join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting Covenant that
will not be forgotten (Jer 50:5). This Covenant was established by Jesus
Christ, preceded by John the Baptist referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he
said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the Way of the
Lord, make His paths straight!” (Matt 3:3) and “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of
You, who will prepare Your way before You” (Matt 11:10). Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the
Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Him. God has raised
up His Servant Jesus and sent Him to bless us by turning every one of us from
our wicked ways (Acts 3:26). There is a Highway
of Holiness for us to walk upon; yes, this is the narrow way. The unclean
will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools
will not wander on it. No lion will be there, nor will any vicious beast go up
on it; these will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the
ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with
everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow
and sighing will flee away. (Is 35:8-10)
In order to be saved, we must remain on the
narrow path. We must continue in the one Way. Yet, in the abundance of His
grace He guards our way and keeps us on His path. Our Redeemer, the Holy
One of Israel is the Lord our God who teaches us to profit in the heavenly
realms, and He leads us in the way we should go (Is 48:17). We are saved by His
grace alone. By His grace we are enabled to stay in the straight way. He guards
the paths of justice, for in His justice He has forgiven us, promised to
conform us into the Image of His Son, and given us eternal Life in knowing
Christ. He preserves the way of His Godly ones. (Prov 2:8) His righteousness
guards the one whose way is blameless, but wickedness subverts the sinner (Prov
13:6). The way of the righteous is smooth; He is the Upright One who makes the
paths of the righteous level (Is 26:7). The Lord longs to be gracious to us,
and waits on high to have compassion on us. The Lord is a God of justice and
how blessed are all those who long for Him. We will weep no longer. He will
surely be gracious to us at the sound of our cry; when He hears it, He will
answer us. Although the Lord has given us the bread of privation and the water
of oppression, He, our Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but our eyes will
behold our Teacher. Our ears will hear a word behind us, “This is the way, walk
in it” whenever
we turn to the right or to the left. And we will defile our graven images
overlaid with silver, and our molten images plated with gold. We will scatter
them as an impure thing and say to them “Be gone!” (Is 30:18-22) He restores our soul; He
guides us in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake (Ps 23:3). All the
paths of the Lord are loving-kindness and Truth to those who keep His Covenant
and His Testimonies (Ps 25:10). He leads the blind by a way they do not know,
in paths they do not know He will guide them. He will make darkness into Light
before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things He will do, and
He will not leave them undone (Ps 42:16). For He has made known to us the ways
of life and made us full of gladness in His Presence (Acts 2:28). He is
leading us, even now, by a straight way, to go to an inhabited city which has
foundations whose Builder and Architect is God (Ps 107:7, Heb 11:10).
Righteousness has gone before our Savior and He makes His own Footsteps into a
Way for us. We follow Him as we walk in His Footsteps. We are like King David
who asked God to establish his footsteps in His Word, and to not let any
iniquity have dominion over him (Ps 119:133). We have been called for this
purpose, since Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example for us to
follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:21). The apostle Peter tells us that they did not
follow cleverly devised tales when they made known to us the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, but they were eyewitnesses of His majesty (2 Peter
1:16).
With regard to
the other saints, we are not to judge one another in an angry and carnal way,
but rather determine not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s
way (Rom 14:13). We must be like Samuel who said, “Moreover, as for me,
far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for
you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way” (1 Sam 12:23). We are to take care, dear
saints, that there not be in any of us an evil, unbelieving heart that falls
away from the living God. But we are to encourage one another day after day, as
long as it is still called today so that none of us will be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin. For we have become
partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until
the end. Today if we hear His Voice, we must not harden our hearts. (Heb
3:12-15). Therefore we must urge one another, by the mercies of God, to present
our bodies as living and holy sacrifices, acceptable to God, which is our
Spiritual service of worship. And we must not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may prove what the will
of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:1-2)
9 “With weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by streams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will not stumble;
For I am a father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by streams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will not stumble;
For I am a father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare in the coastlands afar off,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. Jer 31
And declare in the coastlands afar off,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. Jer 31
Excellent
Messages:
Approaching the End
of God’s Grand Design Essay by Jonathan Edwards
Love in Christ,
Preethi
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