In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord is teaching about the kingdom of God and is describing the characteristics of the citizen of the Kingdom. After saying that the blessed person is poor in spirit, Jesus declares, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)” I want to take some time to consider this topic of mourning and understand what Jesus is teaching us. We will see that there is great blessing concealed in mourning.

Now as we consider this passage, it would seem that mourning could only be a blessing if there was a remedy for the mourning. In other words, if there was a remedy or a relief from what caused the mourning, then in some sense this might be considered a blessing.

But that is not what Jesus is saying here. Here in this verse, Jesus is saying that there is a certain kind of mourning which actually produces blessing. O, how can this be? How can there be a mourning that produces blessing? For mourning is a groan from the depths (Psalm 130:1). We mourn over those events and circumstances that hit us at the very core of our emotions. We feel utter despair and yet we feel helpless to change the thing bringing despair.

Misery and wretchedness and aching grief are the feelings which are associated with mourning. Then how can we mourn to produce blessedness? What manner of mourning is this?

But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, declares, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” How can this be? The answer is as profound as it is straightforward. To paraphrase: “Blessed are those who mourn over their own personal sin, for they will be forgiven of their sin, they will be cleansed of their unrighteousness and they will be reconciled to the Holy One.” Jesus is talking about the blessing that comes from that initial mourning over personal sin and the subsequent repentance that results in the salvation of the sinner.

This mourning that produces blessing is a mourning over sin both tangible and palpable. It is a misery and a guilt that is felt at the bottom of your soul. As we would mourn over catastrophe and devastating loss, so we must mourn over our sin.

Mourning is an emotional experience, and he who would experience the blessing of forgiveness must first endure the wretchedness of bearing and acknowledging the guilt of his sin.

This mourning is the goad that leads to repentance. Indeed, Paul refers to this mourning as “being ‘made sorrowful to the point of repentance.’” (2 Cor. 7:9-10) Mourning and repentance overlap, with repentance almost inevitably and irresistibly following genuine mourning over sin.

This mourning over sin demands relief. “Who will set me free from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24).” “God, be merciful to me, the sinner. (Luke 18:13)” The crushing weight of my personal sin cannot be borne long. “Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips. (Isaiah 6:5)” When I have seen the blazing holiness of the Lord God and then have felt the depths of my utter unholiness, I am led to mourning. When my sin and wickedness were hidden from my awareness, their weight could be easily borne, but when I have acknowledged my sin (Psalm 32:5) and I have thus brought all my iniquity and my evil into the light, I quickly realize that the weight of my sin and shame is overwhelming and I cannot bear that weight. I must find deliverance. I must give the burden of all that sin to someone who is able to bear it, and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is able to bear all my sin so that I do not.

So I mourn my sin, which leads me to confession and repentance and faith in Christ, which transfers my sin to my glorious Savior and conveys to me the blessing of forgiveness and righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

It is mourning over sin that makes my scarlet sins as white as snow and my crimson iniquity as white as wool. Isaiah 1:18

It is mourning that sets me free from sin. 1 Peter 4:1; Romans 6:7; John 8:36

It is this mourning over my sin that justifies me before a holy God. Luke 18:13-14

Have you ever mourned over your sin? Have you ever felt the misery and the wretchedness of your iniquity? Have you ever lamented your own sin to the point of crying out to God for mercy and forgiveness? If not, realize that today is the day of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ declares that those who mourn are blessed. I urge you to receive that blessing today.      SDG     rmb     10/29/2016

Here in this Bible passage from the gospel of John (John 6:35-40), Jesus teaches how important it is to come to Him and to believe in Him. Let’s look at this story carefully to see what it teaches us and how we should respond.

John 6:35-40 English Standard Version

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

DISCUSSION OF THE BIBLE PASSAGE:

In 6:35, Jesus proclaims, “I am the bread of life.” What does Jesus mean when He says that He is the bread of life? Bread is, of course, a food that is known world-wide as a source of daily sustenance. We all need our “daily bread.” But the bread that any person gives you will only last a short time. Ordinary bread will not sustain for long nor satisfy for very long. But when Jesus says that He is the bread of life, He is not talking about physical bread and physical hunger. You see, all people come into the world spiritually hungry, seeking meaning and purpose and hungering for answers about life and death. When Jesus declares that He is the bread of life, He is saying that He is the only one who will satisfy all of your most basic longings. Jesus is the bread who will satisfy your spiritual hunger. If you will come to Jesus, He promises you that you will never hunger.

What will Jesus, as the bread of life, give to those who come to Him?

• If you will come to Him, Jesus will give you peace. Only Jesus can give you peace with God and peace with yourself. If you will come to Jesus, you will know peace. Your strivings for meaning or happiness or significance or purpose will be satisfied by the peace that Jesus gives.
• If you will come to Him, Jesus will give you joy. As the bread of life, Jesus will give you an inner joy that will overflow into all of your life.
• If you will come to Him, Jesus will give you hope. There is a kind of hope that is little more than a wish. This hope says, “I know that things look bleak and appear to be getting worse, but if I just keep up my hope, maybe it will all turn out okay.” This is NOT the hope that Jesus gives. Jesus gives you hope that is an anchor for the soul, a hope that is both sure and steadfast, because Jesus is God and therefore has the power to keep His promises. If you come to Jesus, He will give you the hope of His presence in this life and the sure hope of heaven when your life on this earth is over.

After declaring that He is the Bread of life, Jesus goes on to tell how anyone can receive eternal life.

6:37  If you will come to Jesus, He promises to receive you and to save you from the judgment of God. Jesus will receive anyone who comes to Him for salvation. No matter what your past and no matter what your present, if you will come to Jesus Christ, He will receive you and will change your future.

6:38  Jesus is the Son of God and has come down from heaven on a mission to do the will of God the Father. And what is the will of God the Father?

6:39  Jesus has come down from heaven to save and to give eternal life to all those who come to Him and to raise them up to heaven.

6:40  It is the will of God that everyone who hears about Jesus Christ and believes in Him will have eternal life.

The Bible says that this life with Jesus Christ and all the blessings that come with knowing Jesus begin by coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus.

So what does it mean “to come to Jesus”? It means realizing that you are a sinner and that you have not obeyed our holy God as He requires. “To come to Jesus” means acknowledging that you deserve God’s judgment, but that you are asking Him for His mercy and forgiveness instead. “To come to Jesus” means making a life-long commitment to follow Jesus and to obey Jesus, no matter where He leads you for the rest of your life.

And what does it mean “to believe in Jesus”? It means to trust Jesus as the promised Messiah, the one who has come to save His people from their sins. It means to believe the facts about Jesus: His sinless life, His atoning death on the cross, His glorious resurrection from the dead, and His soon-coming return in power and glory. It means to believe that He is who He claimed to be, the Savior and Redeemer. He is the Son of God and He is God the Son. But to believe in Jesus means more than just to believe facts. “To believe in Jesus” means to commit all of your life, body and soul, to Him and to trust in Him and to live your life from now on for His glory.

Jesus has offered Himself to you as the bread of life and has issued you the invitation to come to Him for eternal life. Will you come to Him? Will you believe? Will you be saved?

If you want to learn more about this, please let me know.   SDG    rmb   10/14/2016

Asa built . . . because the LORD had given him rest.

In 2 Chronicles 14 we meet Asa, king of Judah, and in 14:2 the Scripture says, “Asa did good and right in the sight of the LORD his God.” King Asa, therefore, is going to be a good example to us, a role model for us to follow, so we will look for things that Asa did and then do likewise, at least in principle.

When we reach 2 Chronicles 14:6, we discover that Asa acts with great wisdom and demonstrates a principle that all believers would be wise to emulate. The Scripture reads:

“He (Asa) built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the LORD had given him rest.” 2 Chron. 14:6 (NASB)

PRINCIPLE: When the LORD gives you periods of rest and relative peace, use those times to build your spiritual strength so that you are ready for future battles.

At the beginning of his reign, Asa had a period of ten years when the land was undisturbed (14:1) and he made great use of that time. He removed much of the idolatry from Judah and he commanded the people to return to the LORD God (14:3-5). But Asa also built fortified cities and surrounded them with walls and towers, gates and bars (14:6-7). “So they built and prospered.”

Now let us consider what our brother Asa did during the time of peace and rest and learn what the Scripture is teaching us through his example. Notice that Asa found himself the new ruler of a kingdom in which there was rest and prosperity. There was no war and there was no real strife or conflict. Now in that situation Asa could have simply indulged himself and created more luxury and opulence in Jerusalem. That was what the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel had done and the results had been bad. But Asa knew that, as the LORD gives rest, He may also allow or bring war and conflict. Since the future is unknown and since the king should prepare his kingdom for war, Asa used the time of rest to build his strength. And so Asa firmly and clearly established the fact that his reign would be marked by obedience to the LORD. He also took practical steps to strengthen his kingdom’s defenses and to fortify his cities. In other words, instead of squandering ten years of peace, Asa used that time for edification to the glory of God.

The APPLICATION for the believer is clear. When the Lord brings you into a “broad place” where there is peace and prosperity, use that time to “fortify your own cities,” figuratively speaking. When the Lord gives you rest for a season, invest that season so that you will be strong in a time of battle.

What are some practical examples?

When the Lord gives you rest, LEARN TO PRAY WITH URGENCY AND WITH POWER so that you will be ready to pray in the midst of the fire. Make sure that heaven is very familiar with your voice.

When the Lord gives you rest and “no one is at war with you,” use that time to ATTACK ANY REMAINING OR INDWELLING SIN in your life. David said, “Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). Seasons of rest are excellent times to examine yourself and weaken the flesh. Target specific areas of sin or places where you are vulnerable to temptation and confess and repent and deepen your holiness. During those times of peace, allow the Holy Spirit to search you and show you any wicked ways and then bring that into the light. Don’t waste those times of rest, but rather use them to strengthen the purity of your walk with the Lord.

When the Lord gives you rest, DEEPEN YOUR TRUST in the Lord. Know and be confident that the Lord is worthy of your complete trust. Then you will be ready when the serious threats arise and when Satan whispers doubts in your ears.

When the Lord gives you rest, make the most of that time by using it to BECOME GROUNDED IN THE WORD OF GOD. Know the promises that God has given so that they will be available in time of trouble. Know biblical doctrine and theology so that you won’t be shaken when persecution or heresy arises.

PRAYER – PURIFY – TRUST – SCRIPTURE. Becoming strong in these spiritual disciplines during times of rest will prepare you to stand firm and steadfast in the battles.

SDG      rmb      10/12/2016

One of my favorite authors is J C Ryle, an English pastor from the nineteenth century, and perhaps his best book is entitled Holiness. In his chapter on sanctification, Ryle comes to the point in his treatise where he presents how sanctification and justification differ. This is a masterpiece of writing and is typical of the direct style of Ryle. Here are his points:

1. Justification is the reckoning and counting a man to be righteous for the sake of another, even Jesus Christ the Lord. Sanctification is the actual making a man inwardly righteous, though it may be in a very feeble degree.
2. The righteousness we have by our justification is not our own, but the everlasting perfect righteousness of our great Mediator Christ, imputed to us, and made by our own faith. The righteousness we have by our sanctification is our own righteousness, imparted, inherent and wrought in us by the Holy Spirit, but mingled with much infirmity and imperfection.
3. In justification our own works have no place at all, and simple faith in Christ is the one thing needful. In sanctification our own works are of vast importance, and God bids us fight, and watch, and pray, and strive, and take pains, and labor.
4. Justification is a finished and complete work, and a man is perfectly justified the moment he believes. Sanctification is an imperfect work, comparatively, and will never be perfected until we reach heaven.
5. Justification admits of no growth or increase: a man is as much justified the hour he first comes to Christ by faith as he will be to all eternity. Sanctification is eminently a progressive work, and admits of continual growth and enlargement so long as a man lives.
6. Justification has special reference to our persons, our standing in God’s sight and our deliverance from guilt. Sanctification has special reference to our natures and the moral renewal of our hearts.
7. Justification gives us our title for heaven and boldness to enter in. Sanctification gives us our qualification for heaven and prepares us to enjoy it when we dwell there.
8. Justification is the act of God about us, and is not easily discerned by others. Sanctification is the work of God within us, and cannot be hid in its outward manifestation from the eyes of men.

Many obstacles in discipleship and evangelism can be avoided by understanding how these two theological concepts differ. We would all do well to make sure we were clear on these truths.     SDG      rmb      10/10/2016

In this series of blogs on “trust in the storm,” we are now exploring ways that we, too, can become people who trust the Lord, even in the midst of the storms and the threats of our lives. Jesus is our perfect example of trust, and we as His disciples must learn how to live by faith and walk by trust in the Lord in the midst of all our circumstances so that we walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6).

Strategy 2: Know that God is sovereign and that He loves His children

Knowing the great doctrines of our faith will greatly strengthen our ability to trust the Lord in times of storms. Two of the great truths taught in Scripture are 1) that our holy God is completely sovereign over all events that take place in His universe and He has ordained all that comes to pass; and 2) that our holy God loves His (adopted) children as He loves His Son Jesus. Together these two truths give the believer tremendous encouragement and a rock solid basis for trusting the Lord. Let me explain.

It may come as a surprise to you, but there are no coincidences or chance occurrences in this universe, because the universe is run and completely controlled by the sovereign God who created the universe. “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3). Whatever occurs happens because God has planned it and ordained it to happen. He does whatever He pleases and there is no one and nothing who has the power to stop or alter what God has decreed. God opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens (Revelation 3:7). The Bible declares that God “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). And all things means ALL THINGS. There is nothing that occurs that takes place without God ordaining it to happen. This is what it means for God to be sovereign. God is the absolute ruler of His universe and it is by His decree that events unfold.

Taken by itself, this doctrine of God’s sovereignty could inspire more fear than trust. After all, when something unpleasant or frightening happens in my life, knowing that God was the one who decreed that it would happen does not give me much comfort nor does knowing about God’s sovereignty elicit my trust. Yes, this God is certainly infinitely powerful, but I am not sure I can trust that His power will produce my good. In other words, there is a missing piece. There is something in addition to God’s sovereignty that I need to know.

That missing piece is the doctrinal truth that the Creator-God who is sovereign over His universe is the same God who loves His children. The Bible declares that God the Father loves His children even as He loves Jesus Christ (John 17:23). This truth is almost too good to be believed, but these words are from the lips of Jesus. Through Isaiah, God says, “You are precious in My sight, you are honored and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4). These are the extravagant words of a lover to his beloved and yet we read that God is using these expressions about His love for us. The mind boggles. In the Psalms the Word declares that “the Lord delights in those who fear Him” (147:11) and “the Lord takes pleasure in His people” (149:4). Supremely God has demonstrated His love for His people by sending the Lord Jesus to earth to die on a cross for our sins (Romans 5:8). The Bible thunders the amazing doctrinal truth that the God who is powerful enough to ordain and superintend every event big or small in His entire universe is also the God who loves His people passionately and unconditionally with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

Now when we pair these doctrines together and understand that the God who is sovereign over all the events of our life is also the same God who loves us enough to send His Son to the cross to die for our sins, we have a powerful combination that should generate strong trust in the Lord. My God is powerful enough to control every circumstance and event in my life. By His sovereignty He has planned and ordained all that happens to me. Thus I can trust in His power exercised on my behalf. Romans 8:28 declares that “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:31 asks the rhetorical question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The answer is, “No one of consequence.” Because He is sovereign, God has the power to cause all things to happen exactly according to His plan and purpose. And because He loves me, I can trust that the events He chooses to bring into my life will be good and are for my good. His love for me is expressed in His sovereign control of all of my life so that I give Him the glory due His name.

I challenge you to think on these things. Meditate on God’s power and His sovereignty, which He chooses to expend on behalf of His children. And consider His love for you, which He has already shown you by sending Jesus into the world and by delivering you from the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13). Let these two doctrines fuel your trust in the Lord.

SDG      rmb      10/10/2016

In Part 1 of this series of blogs on “trust in the storm,” we examined the perfect trust demonstrated by Jesus Christ in the storm on the lake and thus understood in a deeper way the glory and the perfection of our Savior, the God-Man Jesus Christ. Now I want to explore ways that we, too, can become people who trust the Lord, even in the midst of the storms and the threats of our lives. Jesus is our perfect example of trust, and we as His disciples must learn how to live by faith and walk by trust in the Lord in the midst of all our circumstances so that we walk as Jesus walked.

Strategy 1: Prepare for the Storm Long before there is a Storm

Before the storm even begins building on the horizon, before there is even the threat of a storm, increase your faith and your trust in the Lord. As the disciples cried out to Jesus, “Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Ask the Lord to increase your faith before the storm appears. Build your house on the rock of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24-25) so that, when the rains and the winds of life burst against your house, the structure will stand firm. Before the storm is forecast, make sure that your house is anchored to Christ, that He is your Rock (Psalm 18:2). If your faith is firm in Christ, “Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach you” (Psalm 32:6). The truth is that we all live on a flood plain, so we must build our faith on the strong pillars of the word of God and the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior. The Lord cannot be defeated! The weakest saint has access to all the limitless power of the Lord of hosts. Therefore, since we are weak and face opponents who are too strong for us (Psalm 142:6), let us quickly learn how to access the Lord’s power and quickly learn to trust Him.

Make it a daily discipline to trust the Lord more. Seek to increase your trust in the Lord every day. If your faith is firm and securely anchored to Jesus Christ, you will be able to entrust your storms, your winds and your waves to the One who alone has the power to say, “Hush! Be still!”      SDG      rmb      10/9/2016

Hezekiah was one of the best kings that Judah had. He was righteous and followed the LORD and brought about many reforms in Judah. Then it is perhaps somewhat puzzling, at the very peak of his reign, immediately after effecting reforms in Judah and turning the people back to the LORD, that Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, comes to him with the word of the LORD, saying, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” (2 Kings 20:1) I believe there is a message here for every believer, in that we, too, need to “set our house in order” so that we will be more fruitful as followers of the Lord Jesus.

First we must understand the urgency of setting our house in order. Observe that Hezekiah was told that he was going to die. While it may seem obvious, the reality is that all of mankind is going to die, and that includes believers. Like Hezekiah, all people must deal with the fact of their own death and consider that then they will stand before the judgment seat (Hebrews 9:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Romans 14:10). All the details of this judgment are not clearly described in the Bible, but the fact that all who are living in the flesh are continually subject to death (even Christ – Romans 6:9) is perfectly plain from Genesis onward (Genesis 2:17). Since we do not know the day of our death and since there is nothing that guarantees that our death is not imminent, there is an urgency in setting our house in order. So do it now.

Next we should understand the reason for setting our house in order. The reason we are to set our house in order is not because we fear death and are desperately trying to delay our death. Those who are of the world fear death and do everything in their power to postpone death and give themselves one more heartbeat. By contrast, those who have placed their faith in Christ have been delivered from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15; Matthew 10:28; 1 Cor. 15:54-55) and so they view death very differently. For the believer, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21). For the one who has trusted in Jesus, death is merely falling asleep (Acts 7:60; 1 Thess. 4:13). After death, the believer is immediately and always with the Lord (Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:17-18). Since all these things are true, what is the reason that the believer is to set his house in order? The believer is to set his house in order so that he or she can run hard after the Lord with reckless abandon in this life. You and I are to set our house in order so that we are not hindered from pressing toward the prize. If the affairs of this life are settled and we have taken care of what will happen when we are gone, then we can be fully focused on fruitful labor (Phil. 1:22) and can be intent of being useful to the Master (2 Tim. 2:21). Our full energy can be aimed at doing the good works that God has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14). Therefore, set your house in order now so that you can serve Christ with undistracted devotion.

Here, then, are some suggestions for setting your house in order. These are in two categories: the eternal and the temporal. Setting your house in order obviously begins with being certain of your eternal destiny. Begin, then, by being certain of your salvation. Have you trusted in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? But then, once your destiny is certain, consider your legacy. What works has the Lord given you to do that only you can accomplish? Jesus said that He had glorified the Father by accomplishing the work that He had given Him to do (John 17:4). Jesus had been given the calling to be the sin-bearer and the sacrifice for all His people, but I believe that all disciples of Jesus have been given a unique calling that are theirs alone to do. Is it writing or proclaiming or evangelizing or praying or leading or giving? What has the Lord called you to do before He calls you home? It is good to give a lot of energy and time to those good deeds or those tasks which the Lord has assigned to you alone. These good deeds will be your legacy in eternity.

Finally there are some very practical things that you can do in the temporal realm that clear away concerns about unfinished business. Have a life insurance policy that provides finances for your family which you would have provided. Prepare your will and other documents that prevent a mess with your affairs when you die. Plan out your funeral. Give someone you trust a copy of your personal testimony declaring your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so that, even though you are dead, you will still speak (Hebrews 11:4). Talk about your death with your loved ones so that they will be comforted when you die.

Hezekiah was not ready when he was told he was going to die (2 Kings 20:2-3), but the follower of Jesus Christ is told to always be ready to meet the Lord (Matthew 24:42, 44; 25:13). Part of being ready is setting your house in order so that you can wait expectantly for your appointment with the King.                                                            SDG   rmb   9/28/2016

This is the first of a series of meditations on the parable of the nobleman and his minas in Luke 19:12-27. While there are many points to be gleaned from this parable, I want to spend time on the most prominent and obvious of all the features of the parable. In fact, this feature is so obvious that it could almost be missed altogether. It is the feature of the parable on which all the other features depend. Without this feature, the parable ceases to make sense or to have meaning. What feature am I talking about? Simply this: The nobleman will certainly return. Whether he is gone to receive a kingdom for a short time or a long time, the nobleman will certainly return. There is nothing in all of existence that can prevent the nobleman’s return.

Notice the ways that the nobleman’s return is assumed and guaranteed. In 19:12, the verse explicitly says that the nobleman will return. As certainly as he goes on his journey, the nobleman will certainly return. In 19:13, he tells his slaves to “do business with this (mina) until I come back.” Again, the nobleman will certainly come back to assess how well his slaves invested the minas they were given. But make no mistake about it; the nobleman will be back. Finally in 19:15, the parable states, “When he returned . . .” As he left and declared to his slaves that he would return, so the nobleman has now returned. He declared it and his word required it, so now the nobleman has fulfilled it. At no point in the parable is there any possibility that the nobleman will not return. The timing of his return may be in question, but he will definitely and irresistibly return. It cannot be prevented.

The nobleman, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Greek of this passage, “the nobleman” (19:12) is literally “the man of high and noble birth,” and there is no one of higher or nobler birth than the Lord Jesus. Talking about future events which will shortly come to pass in Jerusalem, Jesus uses the means of the parable to describe the reason why He will ascend to heaven following His resurrection (“to receive a kingdom”) and makes clear that some period of time will pass before He returns (“the nobleman went to a distant country”).

But like the nobleman in this parable, Jesus will certainly return. This is something on which all believers can confidently rely, that Jesus, the nobleman, will return for His own. The word of God declares it. Jesus Himself promises it. The judgment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous require it. Jesus must fulfill all that is written of Him in the Scriptures, for the Scriptures cannot be broken, and the Scriptures proclaim that Jesus will return in power and in glory for judgment.

So let this be an encouragement for you and an anchor for your soul; that Jesus is coming back. There is nothing in heaven above or in earth beneath that can prevent Jesus’ return. When things are difficult and dark, remember that the Lord of glory is going to come back for you, and He cannot and will not be stopped. The most noble man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is coming back for His own. Be ready to meet Him when He comes.

SDG    rmb    9/11/2016

CONTEXT: In 1 Samuel 15 the prophet Samuel gives Saul explicit commands from the LORD of hosts to bring judgment on the Amalekites as a recompense for their treatment of Israel when the nation was coming up from Egypt. Saul is told to “strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him, but put to death” everything (15:3). Stated in four different ways, the command could not be clearer, yet Saul does not carry out the command. Instead he saves some of the sheep for sacrifices and spares Agag the king of Amalek.

This is the third and final installment in a brief series of blogs on this chapter (1 Samuel 15) and on what we can learn from the negative example of Saul.

Meditation 3

“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”

The final and most critical area in which Saul was casual and careless was in regard to the sacrifices which God has ordained to provide for atonement, propitiation and forgiveness. In the Old Testament Law, God had graciously provided sacrifices that allowed His righteous wrath against sin to be directed against an innocent animal instead of against the sinner. Saul did not regard the sacrifices of the LORD as holy, but instead viewed them as a part of the Hebrew religious system. Here are some of the ways that I believe Saul erred:

• He believed that any sacrifice was an acceptable sacrifice and that the LORD would receive any sacrifice. He did not understand that the LORD only accepted those sacrifices that He Himself had deemed to be acceptable;
• He believed he could decide what sacrifice to offer and when he could offer it, but it is the LORD who decides what sacrifice can be offered and when;
• Saul did not understand how serious sacrifice was, that blood must be shed for sin;
• He did not understand the purpose and the necessity of sacrifice. God’s holiness had been violated by man, the disobedient creature. God’s wrath has been kindled by man’s sin and a death was required.
• Saul trivialized atonement, which is using the God-ordained means of blood sacrifice to propitiate God’s wrath against a person’s sin;
• Saul did not understand that God’s provision of an acceptable sacrifice is an act of His grace. God is providing the death of an innocent substitute as a means of covering man’s sin;
• Saul assumed that God’s provision of a sacrifice was a right that Saul could exercise whenever he chose.

Many of these ideas overlap and may sound redundant, but I am trying to capture the essence of Saul’s attitude toward sacrifice. In summary, Saul despised the holiness of a God-ordained sacrifice and instead treated sacrifice as a common thing, as simply a part of the Hebrew religion or even as part of his own self-made religion.

Why was the act of a blood sacrifice so significant and Saul’s attitude so wrong? We must realize that every God-ordained sacrifice pointed forward to the final, glorious, awesome sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Every lamb, ram, bull and goat sacrificed under the Law was but a foreshadow of Calvary’s crucified Lamb. Thus to treat as casual or trivial or common any of the Old Testament sacrifices was to despise the One to whom all those sacrifices pointed. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). All the rivers of blood that ran from the temple in Jerusalem down into the Kidron ravine could not by themselves atone for one single transgression, but every drop of that blood was holy to the Lord, for every drop anticipated the lash and the crown of thorns and the nails of the King of glory.

Instead of destroying the Amalekites, as he was commanded by the word of the LORD to do, Saul thought to sacrifice the best of the sheep of this cursed people to offer to the LORD as a means of worship. In so doing, Saul revealed his real view of both obedience and sacrifice. He has a casual view toward obedience, he trivialized the LORD’s sacrifice and he despised the LORD’s glory and grace.

How should we respond to this and what are the lessons that we can take away from Saul’s failure? The disciple of Jesus Christ must understand the beauty and the holiness and the power of the one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that takes away the believer’s sin. Unlike Saul, the disciple should understand the offense of sin and grasp the grace of our holy God who has provided a sacrifice to cover sin. Yes, God’s grace is supremely manifested in His gift of the sacrifice of His Son. Unlike Saul, the disciple must never despise the blood of the sacrifice, but should regard this sacrifice as holy and embrace this Sacrifice as the means of salvation and forgiveness.    SDG    rmb     8/27/2016