His Sovereign Nobility

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“…And the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6b

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Jesus was born a king.  Scripture says “…the government shall be upon His shoulder.”  In verse 7 of this chapter, this is fleshed out.  “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.”  

How is this going to happen?  “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”  This little baby was born a king and He is a King.  We didn’t elect Him and, friend, we’ll not impeach Him.  He is King.  He is Lord.

ACTION POINT:

Some people say, “Have you made Him the Lord of your life?”  Too late for that. God has already declared Him Lord.  This is His sovereign nobility.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords.  If you miss that, you miss the meaning of Christmas.  You have to take the cradle, the cross, and the crown together, or you don’t have the true story of Christmas.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Jesus’ Supernatural Nature

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The apostle John, who wrote these words, had lived and walked with Jesus for three years. He had seen Jesus in all manner of situations. Years have passed. Now Jesus has gone back to heaven, and John is an aged man. As a Jew, John would have an ingrained resistance to any kind of idolatry. Yet he said of the Lord Jesus Christ that He is fully God and calls Him “the Word.”

What is a word? A word is an expression of an invisible thought. You can’t hear my thoughts, but you hear my words; therefore you know my thoughts. You can’t see my thoughts. My thoughts are invisible. But my word makes the invisible known to you.

Everything that God is, Jesus is. Everything that God has, Jesus has. Everything that God does, Jesus does. Jesus is God. He is fully God. He is not part-God and part-man. He’s not all God and no man. He’s not all man and no God. He is the God-man. Jesus makes the invisible God known to man. He is the very Word of God. He is God’s Word to this human race. He is God in human flesh.

ACTION POINT:
There has never ever been another like the Lord Jesus Christ with a supernatural nature.
Read John 1:1-18 today. Have you acknowledged Him, Jesus is the One and Only?

John 1:1-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")
16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side,he has made him known.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

How Old Was Jesus When He Was Born?

BIBLE MEDITATION
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger….” Luke 2:7 “And great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh.”
 1 Timothy 3:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
I love 1 Timothy 3:16, “…God was manifest in the flesh.” You may not understand that. The apostle Paul said, “I don’t understand it.” Great is the mystery. God stepped out of heaven and came to this earth through the portals of a virgin’s womb.

Jesus did not have His beginning at Bethlehem. When the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word,” it’s not talking about a start but a state. There never was a time when Jesus was not. There never will be a time when Jesus is not. A billion years for now He will still be God. He is God from everlasting to everlasting.

When Jesus was born, He was older than His mother and as old His Father because He was the Son from heaven. Jesus did not begin in a manger. He came to earth and was manifest in a manger.

This little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes was the great, eternal, uncreated, self-existing Word made flesh. The little baby in Luke 2 is the mighty God of Genesis 1. He is the One who made it all. Before Him “there was nothing that is made.” That little baby lying in the straw with dimpled feet is the One who swung planets into space. The little baby boy playing with shavings in Joseph’s carpenter shop is God of very God. God manifested in the flesh.

ACTION POINT:
Ponder this truth today: What good is it to know history and the events of history and not know Jesus? For it is in Him we live and move and have our being. He is fully God, forever God.

Dr. Adrian Rogers LWF.org

The Promise of His Coming

Isaiah 9:1-7
1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.


The promise of Christ’s coming brought…
Light into darkness. (Isaiah 9:1-2)
The light of the gospel transforms gloomy places
into glorious places. (Is. 9:1-2; cf. Jn. 1:46; 7:41,52; Acts 2:7)
The light of the gospel transforms gloomy people
into glorious people. (Is. 9:2; cf. Mt. 4:12-17; Jn. 1:1-9; 3:19-21;
8:12-20; 9:5; 12:35-36,46; 2 Cor. 4:6; 1 Pet. 2:9)
Hope into hopelessness. (Isaiah 9:3-5)
The hope of the gospel means inclusion in a family.
(Is. 9:3; cf. Zech. 2:11; 8:23; Jn. 14:12-14; Col. 1:5-6)
The hope of the gospel means celebration of joy.
(Is. 9:3; cf. Lk. 2:10)
The hope of the gospel means freedom from bondage.
(Is. 9:4; cf. Mt. 11:28-30)
The hope of the gospel means peace with God.
(Is. 9:5; cf. Is. 9:6-7; Ezek. 39:9; Lk. 2:13-14; Acts 10:36; Rom. 5:9-10;
Eph. 2:14; Col. 1:20)
God into godlessness. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
The Jesus of the gospel is the Wonderful Counselor.
(cf. Lk. 7:20-22; Jn. 7:31; 14:10-11; Acts 2:22; 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 2:3)
The Jesus of the gospel is the Mighty God.
(cf. Is. 10:20-21; Jn. 1:1-2; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus 2:13; 1 Jn. 5:20)
The Jesus of the gospel is the Everlasting Father.
(cf. 2 Sam. 7:12-16; Is. 9:7; Jn. 8:48-59)
The Jesus of the gospel is the Prince of Peace.
(cf. Lk. 2:14; Jn. 14:27; Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20)
The Jesus of the gospel is the Promised Savior.
(Is. 9:7; cf. 2 Sam. 7:12-16; Mt. 1:1; 28:18; Lk. 1:32;
Acts 2:29-33; Eph. 1:20-22; Phil. 2:9-11)

Thanks Pastor Jim!

THE CROSS AND CHRISTIAN GENEROSITY

2 Corinthians 8
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,
2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,
4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints--
5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.
7 But as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you--see that you excel in this act of grace also.
8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it.
11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.
12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness
14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
15 As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."
16 But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.
17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord.
18 With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.
19 And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will.
20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us,
21 for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.
22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you.
23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.
24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men.

2 Corinthians 9
1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,
2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.
3 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated--to say nothing of you--for being so confident.
5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
9 As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.
15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!


How We Give in the Church…
As members of the church…we will give cheerfully and
generously to the support of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread
of the gospel through all nations.
We give out of an abundance of grace.
We give willingly.
We give based upon God’s blessing.
We give (at least) according to our ability.
We give generously.
Generous giving to God…
Results in greater giving from God.
God gives enough for us…
And He gives excess for others.
We give cheerfully.
We are not forced by God to give.
We are freed by God to give.
We give as a demonstration of the gospel.
We sacrifice our rights for others.
We spend our resources on others.
We give to promote thanksgiving to God.
Giving unites the people of God.
We give regularly to the church.
The church deals responsibly with our gift.
Giving exalts the goodness of God.

Thanks Pastor David!

The Forgiven and the Unforgiven Sinner--Godly Fear

You are a sinner!
Romans 3:21-23
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Nothing but the Spirit of God will change that!
You must become a new creation!
God in His mercy sent His precious Son to bring forgiveness to the sinner!
Romans 3:24-26
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
2 Cor.5:17
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

He is calling us to repentance!
Acts 2:38-39
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

If you confess your sin, God is faithful to forgive!
1 John 1:9-10
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

You must turn from sin!
Acts 26:18
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Are you forgiven?
Christ said "when I die, I will draw all men to Me"!
He is calling!
John 12:30-32
30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

God will not be merciful to the ones who deny Him!
Ps. 49:7-9
7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,
8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit.
Mark 9:3-37
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Jude 1:4
God will unleash His wrath on the unforgiven sinner!
2 Peter 2:1-11
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked
8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);
9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,
11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.
Titus 1:16
16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
1 John 2:22-25
22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.

25 And this is the promise that he made to us--eternal life.

Godly fear and what it can produce:
Ps. 34:9-14
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Ps. 33:18-20
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
Ps. 103:11-18
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,

18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
2 Cor. 7:1
1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Ps. 128:1-4
1 Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
Prov.10:27
27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Deut. 5:29
29 Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!
Ps. 103:17-18
17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,

18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
Ps. 86:10-11
10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
Ecc. 12:13
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
2 Sam.23:3
3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God,
Joshua 24:14
14"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

THE CROSS AND CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

2 Corinthians 5:11-21
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;
15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Cor.6:1-10
1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you."Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
3 We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,
4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,
5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;
6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;
7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;
8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.


As Members of the Church …
May the fear of God captivate us.
May the love of God control us.
Contemplate the immensity of His love for all.
Meditate on the intensity of His love for (your name).
May the gospel of God connect us.
In our sin, we were separated from God as His enemies.
Through our substitute, we have been reconciled to God
as His friends.
God is the author of reconciliation.
He is the giver of the gospel.
He is the gift of the gospel.
He is the goal of the gospel.
Christ is the agent of reconciliation.
He suffered our separation.
He secured our salvation.
We are the acceptors of reconciliation.
We have an entirely new identity.
We have an entirely different perspective.
Of each other in the church.
Of others in the world.
May the mission of God consume us.
We have been authorized to speak for God.
To persuade people to be reconciled to God through Christ.
To plead for people to be reconciled to God through Christ.
We are now privileged to work with God.
With Christlike joy in a world of suffering.
With Christlike purity in a world of sin.
Willing to do whatever we can for people to be
saved by His grace.
Willing to sacrifice whatever He requires for people to know His glory.
Thanks Pastor David!