Unity # 8: A Royal Priesthood

Unity # 8: A Royal Priesthood

Theme Song: This Kingdom Come

AND

Dear Father,

     I praise You that You are our Lord, Master, and King. You have complete control over all that we are, and we surrender our spirits into Your righteous and just hands. We trust that You will continue to make us more like Your Son and that You are working, even through our trials and failures, to bring holiness to completion in us. Please teach us to fear You and to pray. I hear of Your great saints who have spent enormous amounts of time in prayer. These saints have been filled with Your power to advance the Gospel and to have a boldness during the crucifixion of their flesh, knowing by Your past training of their souls that You have been consistently good each and every time. Satisfy us with Your goodness and teach us to submit to You until the End. You will, Father.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

Dear Beloved,

As we continue daily in our belief in the Gospel of our salvation, we are remembering Jesus, who continues forever and upholds His priesthood permanently. Because He is our eternal high Priest, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25). We have no portion among the inheritance of the desires of the flesh, because the Priesthood of our Lord is our inheritance. (Josh 18:7). Indeed our inheritance is the knowledge of Christ!

            Now that we have been granted this eternal covenant through His blood, we, as living stones, are being built up as a Spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up Spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). What kind of sacrifices do we offer? We offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God as our reasonable service (Rom 12:1). We offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, the fruit of our lips which confess His Name (Heb 13:15). Christ has offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins, and now as His people, we offer ourselves to Him. We are not conformed to the pattern of this world, but we are transformed daily by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2). We are a CHOSEN RACE, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a PEOPLE for GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

            As a royal priesthood, we follow in the footsteps of Christ. His Spirit is on us and He has anointed us to preach good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the Day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant the mourners in our midst, the garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. We will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. We will rebuild the ancient ruins of godlessness, Gospel-ignorance, and the aimless traditions passed down from our fore-fathers. We will rise up these former devastations and repair the ruined cities and the desolations of many generations. Strangers and foreigners will stand and pasture our flocks and be our farmers and vinedressers in the Spiritual Kingdom. That is, many will be brought to faith. We will be called the priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. We will eat the wealth of the nations (souls brought into the Kingdom), and in their riches we will boast (the riches that Christ has granted them). Instead of our shame, we will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation we will shout for joy over our portion. Everlasting joy will be ours. For the Lord loves justice, and hates robbery. He will faithfully give us our recompense and He has given us an eternal covenant. Let us rejoice greatly in the Lord and may our souls exult in our God. For He has clothed us with garments of salvation and wrapped us with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up from us before all the nations. (Is 61:1-11)

The purpose of our priesthood is to declare the Excellencies of Christ (1 Peter 2:9). The Scriptures, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU” (Gal 3:8). We are to proclaim the Gospel and have a heart’s compulsion: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16). Jesus told us that the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come (Matt 24:14). He commissioned all of His followers to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded us. And behold, He is with us always, to the end of the age. (Matt 28:19-20). The Lord stands by us and strengthens us so that the proclamation might be fully accomplished. He rescues us from the lion’s mouth. He will rescue us from every evil deed, and will bring us safely to His heavenly Kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. (2 Tim 4:17-18)

We are not ashamed of the Gospel, for It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Rom 1:16). Jesus told us that whoever is ashamed of Him and His Words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels (Luke 9:26). We are not ashamed because we have been granted the Spirit of faith. Because we truly believe we are able to speak; deep in our hearts we know that God who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with the saints before Him. The grace of the Gospel is spreading to more and more people and causing the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. (2 Cor 4:13-15).

True faith in the Blood of the Lamb results in the proclamation of His Gospel. Thus we overcome the evil one by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony (Rev 12:11). In our hearts we honor Christ the Lord as holy, and we must be always prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us; yet we do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). For as we preach the Gospel, we are not serving ourselves, but our Lord and His chosen people by His Holy Spirit sent from heaven (1 Peter 1:12). At the time of the End, an angel will fly in midheaven, having an eternal Gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, tongues, and people (Rev 14:6).

As we share our faith, the fellowship of our faith becomes effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in us for Christ’s sake (Philemon 1:6). There are blessings of our sonship that we will come to know as we share the Gospel! The apostle Paul charges us in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His Kingdom: preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction (2 Tim 4:1-2).

As a royal priesthood, we offer prayers up to God for the saints. If one among us suffers, we must pray. Our prayers offered in faith bring restoration, healing, and forgiveness. Thus, we are to confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that we may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:13-16) If someone among us strays from the Truth and we turn him back away from the error of his way, we will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20). We must show mercy to those who doubt, save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 22-23).

To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— ⁶ and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.  Rev 1

Excellent Messages:

Anand’s Sermon on The Missions Effort at Battleground Bible Church (10/21)

(starts at minute 11 after a clip from Paul Washer)

Let us Walk in the Light of the Lord Sermon by John Piper

The Nature of Saving Faith Sermon by John MacArthur

Love in Christ,

Preethi

Unity # 7: Persecution For the Sake of Righteousness

Unity # 7: Persecution For the Sake of Righteousness

Theme Song: We are Free

Dear Father,

      We praise You for authenticating us by allowing the righteousness that comes by faith to arouse hostility in those who do not love Your Truth. I have undergone almost no persecution compared to Your saints and Your Son. We know that as we increasingly reflect the character of Your Son, we will be an aroma of death and the stench of condemning Light to those who stand in opposition to Your Kingdom. Please help us to be active in sharing our faith and in revealing Your glorious righteousness. And as the persecution comes, please grant us abundant joy. Grant such joy and strength to our fellow saints throughout the world who undergo persecution now. Our hope does not disappoint us because You have poured Your love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We believe in what we desire and we desire what we believe in: Your unfailing love.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

Dear Beloved,

We are, like our patriarch Issac, children of promise. Issac was born according to the Spirit, but his brother, Ishmael, was born according to the flesh. The one born of the flesh persecutes the one born of the Spirit. But we know that those who are born according to the flesh are not heirs with us of eternal Life. (Gal 4:28-30) Indeed, all who desire to live Godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. We follow the examples of those Christians who reflect Godly teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings. The Lord rescues His people from all of the persecutions which they endure.  (2 Tim 3:10-12)

            Why are we guaranteed persecution? We are persecuted because we carry the stumbling block of the cross. And had we preached a gospel of works, that is, the false gospel exhibited in every other world religion, or if we desired to make a good showing in the flesh, this stumbling block would be abolished. (Gal 5:11, 6:12) But we have been called to do what is right and to suffer for it with patient endurance. We are called for this purpose because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example for us to follow in His steps. He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. While He was reviled, He did not revile in return. As He suffered, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds we were healed. We were continually straying like sheep, but now we have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls. (1 Peter 2:20-25)

            As we seek to follow in His steps, we remember His Words “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:10-12).

“The best way to deal with slander is to pray about it: 
God will either remove it, or remove the sting from it. 
Our own attempts at clearing ourselves are usually failures; 
we are like the boy who wished to remove the blot from his copy, and by his bungling made it ten times worse.”

-- C.H. Spurgeon

How should we regard those who persecute us? We are commanded to bless those who persecute and revile us and not to curse them, but rather to endure (Rom 12:14, 1 Cor 4:12). Christ told us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, so that we may be sons of our Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If we love those who love us, what reward do we have? For even the people of the world are able to love one another in an earthly way. If we greet only our brothers we would be just like the people of the world around us who maintain a form of affection for those close to them. God wants His people to be perfect, just as He is perfect. (Matt 5:43-48) If our heavenly Father shows grace to the wicked, those who do not see His infinite worth and who do not praise or seek Him, then we know that to be perfect, we must do the same to our persecutors. We have a great hope that our persecutors will someday see the Truth and repent. The apostle Paul used to persecute the Way of righteousness to death by binding and putting both men and women into prisons (Acts 22:4). But he finally preached the faith that he once tried to destroy and the people of God glorified God because of him (Gal 1:23-24).

We are promised persecution. Christ told us that we would be hated by all because of His Name (Matt 10:22). He tells us that a slave is not greater than his Master. If they persecuted Him, they will persecute us. If they kept His Word [many of them did not], they will keep ours. They do all of these things for His Name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Him. (John 15:20-21) Let us consider the prophets, wise men, and scribes. All of them were persecuted. Those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One were betrayed, scourged in the synagogues, persecuted from city to city, and murdered. (Acts 7:52, Matt 23:34). Christ told us that before the End, our enemies will lay their hands on us, persecute us, deliver us to the synagogues and prisons, and bring us before kings and governors for His Name’s sake. IT WILL LEAD TO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR TESTIMONY. (Luke 21:12-14)

Christ gave His disciples instruction for their response to persecution. He told them that when they are persecuted in one city, they should flee to the next (Matt 10:23). He tells us that when we are brought to trial we should make up our minds not to prepare beforehand to defend ourselves; for He will give us utterance and wisdom which none of our opponents will be able to resist or refute.  Not a hair of our head will perish. By our endurance we will gain our lives. (Luke 21:14-18)

The Holy Spirit and the Word of Christ are the treasure that we carry in the earthen vessels of our bodies. In this way the surpassing greatness of our power will be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the Life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh. So as death works in us, life works in our fellow Christians who see the Life of Christ revealed in us. (2 Cor 4:7-12)

May we trust in our Lord and say “You are our God. Our times are in Your Hand. Deliver us from the hand of our enemies and from those who persecute us. Make Your Face to shine upon Your servant. Save us in Your lovingkindness. We are persecuted by the arrogant, those who are not in accord with Your Law. All of Your commandments are faithful; They have persecuted Your people with a lie. But we cry out for help and do not forsake Your precepts. Princes persecute us without cause, but our hearts stand in awe of Your Words. (Ps 31, 119:161) Let those who persecute us be put to shame, but as for us, let us not be put to shame. Let them be dismayed, but let us not be dismayed. (Jer 17:18)”

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!
² And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
³ For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
⁴ Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is appalled within me.

⁵ I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land.  Selah.

⁷ Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let me hear Your loving kindness in the morning;
For I trust in You;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul.
⁹ Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.

¹⁰ Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
¹¹ For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me.
In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
¹² And in Your loving kindness, cut off my enemies
And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am Your servant. Ps 143

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Eph 6:12

Excellent Messages

The Gospel of Our Salvation Study Guide by Paul Washer (recommended by Anand)

100 Quotes on Sanctification by Desiring God

The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur (recommended by Mr. Edwards)

Love inChrist,

Preethi

Recalling a Piece from 2010

The echo of these words has only become stronger in my mind and heart since then.
The Lost Battle: Written in the Name and Power of My Lord Jesus Christ to His glory for the Sake of His Elect
by Preethi David on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 10:53am 

The lost battle with sin echoes within the minds of many as struggles are fought against a particular sin, lifestyles of sin, the cravings of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boastings of what one has or does. Victories often times seem rare, somewhat of an ideal whose mystery lies deep within some hidden truth about God and His incomprehensible power. This power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, releasing Him from the snares of sin and death and seating Him at the right hand of God in heaven, is meant to dwell within His people, those who trust in His salvation and Godship. If this exact power is truly with us, why then does it seem that temptations run too far for us to resist, too deep for us to forgo? The very omniscient God who searches the hearts and minds of men and who understands the depth of our depravity, how is it that He would ask us to live a holy life in His power? Why would He put upon us a seemingly impossible task of being perfect as He is perfect?

The answer may be probed by examining the manner in which Jesus Christ lived as a man here on this very same earth. When He came to dwell here He was given a carnal body: flesh complete with its imperfections and frustrations. He was given an earthly body prone to sickness and decay. He was given a physical hunger which could be satiated by food. He was given a heart whereby He could weep and sweat tears of blood. He was given a mind that could grow in understanding and knowledge. He was given a spirit by which He could pray and pour out His soul to His Father, His God, the One with whom He was One. When Jesus approached the time of His ministry and departure, He was led by the Spirit into the dessert to be tempted by the devil. We note that Christ was tempted in every way as we are yet He was without sin. EVERY WAY. This means that not only were all temptations all humans have ever undergone delivered to Him but also the extent and intensity of those temptations as well. In this world the real hearts of men are visible to God. To the world, however, a less than accurate picture is given of our hearts before men. For any given sin there is a level of temptation at which some (most perhaps) would falter and some would stand firm in the power of their God which enables them to resist all temptations that come their way. However this utmost level of temptation is delivered to select individuals of the sin-fallen majority and many are left seemingly unscathed, left with nothing evident to the world but that minor sin which has been uncovered by more trivial temptations. Temptation is somewhat of a stripper of the mask that lays over our true nature. When the utmost temptations arise, the cover is completely blown off and our hearts are laid bare to ourselves as we acknowledge the extent of our wickedness and in many cases to those around us who observe our sin. Some day the hearts of all men will be laid bare before the One to whom we are accountable to, but even in this world, much of the sin reality within ourselves and those around us eventually becomes evident. Jesus, there in the dessert, faced hunger and fatigue. It is possible that the devil showed him all sorts of mirages to appeal to His visual lusts (e.g. all the kingdoms of the world). He was fasted; He was not in an earthly position to have physical strength to resist. BUT HE RESISTED EVERY TEMPTATION. Where did the power come from? It came from the Holy Spirit by which He lived, and moved, and breathed. Unless we live by this very same Spirit, we have absolutely no hope of resisting temptation. Why? Because apart from Him our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Temptation of any kind will ultimately (though not necessarily temporarily in the sense that some of the lost seem to be able to resist some temptation) lay us bare. And bare we are, so very bare. We would die in our spiritual poverty if not for Him who was tempted as we are yet did not sin.

To address the matter of inner response to one’s own sin the matter of remorse versus repentance must be addressed. The law of God has been written on every man’s heart making it clear to all that we have broken His law to the utmost. However apart from the conviction of the Holy Spirit, there is only guilt or human attempts at justification of one’s own sin. To God, sinning is disobedience to His commands to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength and to love to neighbors as ourselves, and to not do what we know is right. Apart from Him we are likely to become hardened (and perhaps are hardened this way since birth) into a state in which we would almost feel no sorrow over having sinned because we refuse to acknowledge God’s law written within us. Others are indeed filled with sorrow, but not the right kind. They are filled with remorse, a deep bitterness and fear of God’s just judgment, and yet a rejection of and even hatred towards the true mercy and grace of God. Sometimes some may discount the very power of God and its ability to cause us to avoid sin and walk in God’s light and truth. The right kind of sorrow, Godly sorrow, leads to repentance. Repentance is a change of mind and behavior and we CANNOT do it in our human selves. Many a soul has tried and failed to avoid temptation thinking they were calling upon the power of Christ when indeed they had all along been trying to conquer sin in their own “wisdom and strength”. IT IS NOT THE POWER OF GOD THAT HAS FAILED THEM. WE FAIL WHEN WE REFUSE TO RECEIVE HIS POWER. “But Lord how then” we would ask “do I use your power. How can I forgo my own attempting and rely upon the One and only solid Rock?” God would reply, “Live by my Spirit and you will not satisfy the desires of the flesh”.
“But how can I live by Your Spirit?”
“If you acknowledge that Jesus has come in the flesh you have been born of God. Put on My full armor that you may be able to take your stand against the evil one. For your battle, my child, is not against flesh and blood, but against evil spirits. I have given you armor and you must wear it. Put on My helmet of salvation. I have saved you. If you receive Me I have given you the right to be my child as you believe in My Name. My eternal promise of love to you will guard your mind as you take every thought captive to make it obedient to Me. Take My breastplate of righteousness to cover your wickedness in My sight and to protect your heart from evil. It is not because you have done right that you are able to stand before Me but because of My righteous white robe that I have given you to wear. Take My belt of truth. I tell you that if you confess your sin I am faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I tell you to forgive your neighbor as many times as he repents. I too will forgive you though you have repented of this same sin many times in the past and may commit it again later. I know all things. I know what you have done and what you will do and yet I give you My power and My grace. Put on My belt of trust. I know those who are mine. My Words and My power are true. Do not base your beliefs on what you see in yourself and those around you. Depend upon Me. Take refuge in Me. Look at what I have done for My people in My Word. I have removed hearts of stone replacing them with hearts of flesh. I have destroyed My enemies and upheld the cause of My beloved ones. I and not some other God has extended My own arm to work salvation for you, to draw you to myself. Believe in My power. It is true. I AM TRUE. Take up the shield of faith, My gift to you. Believe that every temptation is a lie from the evil one that may appeal so strongly to your earthly mind, flesh, and body. I love you with an everlasting love and I myself will draw you to Myself and protect you from the temptations you face. My child, do you believe Me that no temptation is too much for you to handle in Me? On your own you can barely stand. But in Me, do you believe that no temptation can rule over you? Do you believe this? Or would you shrink back in fear as you look at the wind and waves of your own past failure and fears of future failure. When you fail, I will lift you up. I will uphold your cause. I will honor you if you honor me. Do not fear the men around you who are but grass. If you seek your own approval before men I will humble you. Seek My approval and live. Have faith in My mercy and grace even in the face of the condemnations and accusations coming from others and from within you. I have given you My sword of the Spirit. As you come to know My Word and hold strongly to It you must use these Words to counter the temptations you face. First submit to Me, resist the devil by proclaiming that Words which My Holy Spirit will remind you of at the opportune time, and HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU. I will train you to be free from evil. I will sanctify you and show myself as holy each time you come to Me. Do not look at fallen souls around you and lose hope. Look to Me, seek Me and live. Finally you must abide in Me to bear any good fruit at all. Apart from Me you can do nothing. Abide in Me and you will bear much fruit. You say that you seek Me. But do you truly seek Me with all your heart. Are you willing to give up everything for Me? Would you at least commit your entire life and all that it contains to Me that I may purify you completely in My time and remove from you every evil desire? Will you give yourself over to Me completely for My own working? Surely I tell you that your sin and this world with all its lusts and carnality will pass away, but I promise you that if you do MY will you will live forever. If you refuse to repent you will be destroyed. My demand is moral perfection and I am displeased with all forms of hatred, anger, malice, greed, lust, deceit, hypocrisy, and disbelief. If you follow Me you will be set free and become a slave to righteousness leading to holiness. Look not around and behind you, LOOK TO ME. I will fight for you. Your lost battle is a lost battle. You have lost and I have won. You will see that you have crossed over from death to life on the day that I return and your flesh is destroyed. The battle has been lost. But I have not lost. Sin and death have lost. The battle is Mine. I will be the Victorious One. My child, be on My side, and stay there. You are more than a conqueror in My Name. Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your soul.


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Rachel Edwards and Paul Chang like this.
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Rachel Edwards absolutely breath-taking.
thank you for that beautiful reminder. we Christians should never lose faith because of lost faith in ourselves or other Christians..
it is God alone to whom we are accountable and God alone who will give us strength to accomplish all that He requires of us... reminding us always of the gift of salvation through Christ His Son ♥
January 14, 2010 at 12:31am · Like

Unity # 6: The Perseverance of the Saints

Unity # 6: The Perseverance of the Saints

Theme Song: There is a Fountain Filled With Blood

Dear Father,

    Thank You that Your Son is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of Your throne. Thank You that as we consider Him who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, we do not grow weary and lose heart, but rather lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles. Help us to run with endurance the race set before us as we fix our eyes on Your Son. May it be that one day you will say that we have persevered and endured for Your Name’s sake until the end.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

Dear Beloved,

By a single offering our Savior has perfected for all time us who are being sanctified (Heb 10:14). We are being sanctified right now, all of us who are His chosen people, regenerated by the Spirit and Word. His call to us each day is to endure until the end. Jesus promised us that in the last days brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. He told us that we will be hated by all men because of His Name, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matt 10:21-22). If we do not endure in our faith, we will not be able to endure in the days when God deals with mankind in His fierce, righteous, and just anger against the wicked (Ez 22:14). Our goal is to have hearts that are as the good soil which hear the Word of God, accept and retain it, and bear fruit 30, 60, and 100-fold. He does not want us to fall away when trials, persecutions, and the deceitfulness and pleasures of the world come our way. (Mark 4)

As truly regenerated servants, we cannot remain the same. Rather, His Spirit of freedom transforms us into Image of the God with ever-increasing glory (2 Cor 3:17-18). This transformation is created by the Spirit, though we could not bring it about on our own, He works in us to will and to act according to this good purpose of His for our ongoing and certain transformation into His Image: SANCTIFICATION.

His Spirit continually convicts us of our sins; both willful and hidden sins are brought into the Light as we abide in Him. When we forsake His Law and do not walk in His judgments, when we violate His statutes, and do not keep His commandments, He punishes our transgressions with His Rod and our iniquity with stripes (floggings). Our Savior has been wounded, flogged, and crushed by His Father for our sakes, and the discipline which we endure is nothing compared to His infinite suffering for our sakes. We endure through His chosen types of discipline, because in them, God treats us as His own children. What beloved child is not disciplined by his Father? But if we are not being disciplined, we would be illegitimate children and not sons. Through His discipline, He does not break off His loving kindness from us, deal falsely in His faithfulness towards us, nor alter the utterance of His lips. For He has sworn long before by His own holiness, which never changes because He cannot lie, that the throne of David, that is, the throne of our Lord Christ, will endure forever like the sun and moon before Him. The witness in the sky is faithful. His discipline is for our good, and it is effective, because we have a perfect Father. The result of His discipline is that we share in His holiness, the same holiness that He swore by. All discipline seems sorrowful rather than joyful at the moment, but when we are trained by it, it yields a peaceful fruit of righteousness. And thus we are not continuing in sin, but we are being made into His Image. (Ps 89:30-37, Heb 12:7-11). We know that in our struggle against sin, no temptation has overtaken us but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that we will be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13).  The love which He pours into our hearts by the Spirit bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things (1 Cor 13:7).

For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. I Peter 2:20

Paul wrote to the Thessalonian saints about the persecutions and afflictions that they endured. He said that these trials were a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that they would be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which they were suffering. It is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict us, and to give us relief when we are afflicted as well as when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. At this time He will deal our retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not OBEY the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. (I Thess 1:3-10)

¹¹ To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, ¹² so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess 1

Do we truly suffer as it has been appointed for us as followers of Christ? God has exhibited the apostles last of all as men condemned to death, a spectacle to the world, to both angels and men. They are fools for Christ’s sake, weak, without honor, hungry, thirsty, poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless, toiling, and working with their own hands. When they are reviled, they bless. When they are persecuted, they endure. When they are slandered, they try to conciliate. They have become the scum of the world and the dregs of all things, even to this day. (I Cor 4:9-13) After we are enlightened through the Spirit, we endure a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who are so treated. We ought to show sympathy to the prisoners and accept joyfully the seizure of our property, knowing that we have for ourselves a better possession and a lasting one. So, we should not throw away our confidence, which has a great reward. (Heb 10:32-35) Remember Moses who, by faith, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, but chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward: Abraham’s Shield and very great Reward. By faith he left Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king, he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. (Heb 11: 24-27) But we are blessed when we persevere under trial, for when we are approved, we will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

  

Why do we persevere? We pay close attention to ourselves and what we speak, persevering in His Word, for as we do this we will ensure salvation for ourselves and our hearers (1 Tim 4:16). We endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the Gospel of Christ (1 Cor 9:12). We imitate one another as we endure and share in the sufferings of Christ. We endure all things FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO ARE CHOSEN, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory (2 Tim 2:10)

¹⁰ As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. James 5

Excellent Messages:

1.     What is the Gospel? by Paul Washer, 10 minutes

2.     Preaching Practical Holiness by John Piper

3.     God Abides in the One who Loves and the One who Confesses by John Piper

4.     The Doctrine of Man by Paul Washer

5.     Recalling a Piece from 2010: “The Lost Battle” by Preethi

Praise: God helped Anand to give an excellent sermon (10/7) at Battleground Bible Church (his church in IN) on preaching the Gospel in the community.

Love in Christ,

Preethi 

Happy is He who Does not Condemn Himself by what He Approves

Unity # 5: Looking Together For the Day of His Return

Unity # 5: Looking Together For the Day of His Return

Theme Song: This Kingdom Come

Dear Father,

The unfolding of Your Word brings Light; it brings understanding to the simple. Thank You that though the work of the cross and the work of the Spirit is incomprehensible, You chose to bring simple spirits to Life. Because You have awakened us, we are awakened to Your glory and Your Spirit teaches us Your Words. Who are we that You care to guard the deposit that we have entrusted to You? We are saved by Your purpose and grace. Thank You for all of Your people who have blessed me recently.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

Dear Beloved,

Our Father has disciplined us and caused us to return. He has removed our hearts of stone and placed in us hearts of flesh. He has made an eternal Covenant with us by which He never stops showing us His goodness. He has inspired us to fear Him. He gives us singleness of heart and action so that we will never turn away from Him. He faithfully plants us in His Kingdom with all of His heart and soul. (Jer 32:29-31) Dear saint, do you love Him with all of your being? Has your desire for Him been increasing in the recent days? Has He brought your spirit to life? Last week’s letter was about the peace that we experience in the salvation boat of Christ in spite of our temporary differences.

This letter is about the unity that is present among us as we look for the Day of the Lord’s return. There are no other people in the world who are looking forward to the return of Christ except for the saints. And He has surely commanded His beloved to watch and pray so that we will not fall into temptation. He reminds us that the Day will come at an hour that we do not expect and when the worldly people are engrossed in their worldly affairs. The Day when the heavens and elements are destroyed in intense heat comes like a thief (2 Peter 3:10). Ever since Christ ascended, God’s purpose for us is to look forward to the Day of His return. This eager anticipation has an effect of purifying our hearts and causes us to number our days so that we may present to Him a heart of Christ’s granted wisdom (John 3:3, Ps 90:12).

¹³ “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. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matt 7

The people around us who do not fear God care nothing about His coming. They are busy like the people living in the time of Noah; their hearts are set on what they will do here on earth and on the earthly pleasures that they seek (Matt 24:28). The Day of His return will come upon them unexpectedly like a trap in the midst of drunkenness, dissipation, and the anxieties of life (Luke 21:34). Dear saint, will His coming fall on you unexpectedly like a trap? Yes, we can think of many times in the past week where we would have been ashamed before Him at His coming. But we have a great hope. Our hope is that He will remain faithful even when we are faithless (I Tim 4:13). Does this mean that we may remain faithless? No, He remains faithful to His Word and to His Covenant. His Covenant includes the aid of the Holy Spirit in our guarding of the deposit which we have entrusted to Him (2 Tim 1:14). He has promised to keep us firm until the end so that we will be blameless at His coming (1 Cor 1:18). His faithfulness to His people and to the glory of His Name causes us to stand firm until the end. Trust the One who is able to keep us from stumbling and to cause us to stand in the Presence of His glory blameless and with great joy (Jude 24). We cannot do it on our own! We would fail miserably in our prostitution, double-mindedness, and the idolatry of the sinful flesh, but He is able to do it!

He calls us to be on our guard so that our hearts are not weighed down by these types of earthly attachments. He tells us to keep on the alertat all times, praying that we may have strength to escape all the things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:35). Since everything will be burned up, He calls us to be a sort of people with a holy conduct and godliness as we look for and hasten the coming of this Day. We ought to look forward to His promise of a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:11-13). He calls us to be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and to regard His patience as salvation for those who have yet to believe (2 Peter 3:14-15). We know for sure that false prophets and teachers are in the world today and He tells us to be on our guard so that we are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from our own steadfastness. He tells us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18). The hour has come for us to wake up because our salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. We must lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of Light; we must PUT ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom 13:11-14)

Persecution is ahead of us. We will be delivered to tribulation, some of us will be killed, and we will be hated by all the nations because of the Name of our Lord Jesus. Many are going to fall away because they never belonged to us. Many will betray and hate one another. False prophets are arising and misleading many. Because the Law of God is trampled daily around us, most of the people’s love has already grown cold. Can we stand firm in the midst of physical torture? As Corrie Ten Boom’s father told her, “Just as I do not give you your train ticket until the train arrives, when the time of persecution comes, though you feel that you could not bear such suffering now, God will provide”. When the persecution comes, the true sheep will be kept from denying Him by His strength. Together we will endure to the end and be saved. The Gospel will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come. (Matt 24:9-14)

What are we looking forward to? God tells us that He is jealous for His people. He will return to her and dwell in her midst. The New Jersusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of host will be called the Holy Mountain. Old men and women will sit in the streets and each man will have his staff in his hand because of age. The streets will be filled with boys and girls playing. This is not too difficult for God to bring about. He is saving all of His people throughout the world, from the east and the west, He is bringing His people to Himself. He will live in their midst and they shall be His people; He will be our God in Truth and Righteousness (Zech 8:1-8). To have God in our midst with His full glory on display, to be united perfectly as His Bride, to worship Him forever, to have Him be our everlasting Light, to have been set free from the presence of the sinful flesh, and the consequences of sin…what more do we long for? Nothing! Dear saints may we be united in our longing for His Day when the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him (Dan 7:27).

Much tribulation, persecution, testing of our faith, and Spiritual warfare must occur before that Day. The strength of the evil one will wage war against the saints and overpower them until the Ancient of Days comes and judgment is passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the times arrive when the saints take possession of the Kingdom (Dan 7:21-22). He will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. It will come about that whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:30-32).

He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. ³ So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ⁴ But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.  Rev 3

            Oh Father, there is a depth and intensity of Spiritual passion, love, fervor, devotion, and single-mindedness that you have intended for us.  We cannot conform to the complacency, shallowness, hypocrisy, and the infinite SOPs. You have removed these hearts of STONE and given us hearts of FLESH which can feel the hidden recesses of Your glorious heart poured out in Your Words. There is a Spiritual intensity of love and a depth of fellowship that we long for with You and with Your people. I do not want to die without seeing it. I do not want to die before I know what it is to share in the sufferings of Christ, becoming like Him in His death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection of Your Son. I am trusting You to fulfill my dream. I have asked and imagined unspeakable fellowship with You and Your people in Your love. You said that You are able to do IMMEASURABLY more than all we ask or think according to Your power that works in us. I feel You giving me a single-mindedness for Your glory that I have never experienced. My eyes are on You. And I see You working in the sheep. I see You removing the shroud of death from over their heads. I feel You calling dead bones to Life by the breath of Your Spirit through the Word. I feel Your Spirit being poured out among us. I sense You instituting the purpose of Your great Commission in our hearts. I do not want to die without experiencing everything I have dreamed. Maybe this requires your slayings. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. I Cor 11:32

Excellent Messages:

Sanctification and Discipleship: Christian Options?Article by Bob Dewaay

Sometimes the Lord Slays His Loved Ones Article by John Piper

The Truth Video by Al Martin (deep Agape may appear harsh like Martin’s voice here)

Desiring God 2012 Conference Messages on Sanctification Audio by John Piper

Everything A song that hits the heart chords right where it burns

Love in Christ,

Preethi

Praise God for Anand and Prasanna’s baby girl.