His Joy....Lingering On

"This is the day which the Lord has made." The words came from the Bible. But that morning in late autumn, I heard them from the lips of my high school senior English teacher. As she closed the door of the classroom, she leaned her back against it, clutching our research papers to her breast, and finished the verse, "Let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118.24) I guess she had reason to rejoice. After the entire class had failed the outlining assignment three times, we'd finally gotten it right. Quoting Scripture was, for Dr. Jordan, a classic way of expressing her delight in our accomplishment.

And isn't that another meaning of real joy? An expression of delight. A response to the Lord whose very presence fills our spirit with joy. Real joy is a deep, abiding sense of the presence of God in your life. But who can keep such an awareness to himself? When we sense His presence, we frequently respond to it with praise and delight. And we frequently share with others that which brings us delight, that which we love with more than a passing devotion. "Joy is not just the experience of God...," Lewis Smedes observed, "though being with Him in the sight of His beauty will be the ultimate joy.... There is an earthly joy, a joy of the outer as well as the inner self." This joy of the outer self is a visible expression of the joy of the inner self. It is the active rejoicing in God's presence and in His creation that we often associate with praise because praise is an expression of our delight in the Lord. "Let us rejoice and be glad!" Or as the Apostle Paul expressed it, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4.4) Or "Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice!" (Psalm 105.3b)

Furthermore, we know joy not only as God's presence and God's praise, but also as God's pleasure. On more than one occasion, God said to Jesus, "This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3.17; 12.18; 17.5). Why was He well pleased with Jesus? For at least two reasons. First, naturally, because Jesus was His Son; and in the very relationship, God found pleasure. Our own joy, the joy of the Christian life flows from our relationship with Jesus, and overflows into our relationships with others in Jesus Christ.

In John 15, Jesus taught the parable of the vine and the branches, stressing that such a relationship with Him is both foundational and vital. Flowing from that relationship, His joy fills our spirit and our life. He said, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15.11). He focused on two necessary features of this relationship: first, we must abide in Him (John 15.4). Basically, this means to take up residence, to continue to be present, or not to depart from Him. If we, as branches, are attached to Him, we must stay there. Second, we must abide in His love (John 15.9); and as a result of abiding in His love, we must "love one another, just as I have loved you" (John 15.12). You see, the dynamic of the relationship is mutual, Christ-like love. In fact, joy, to exist, depends on that love. God delights in His Son because He loves Him. Jesus delights in us because He loves us. We delight in Him and in each other because we love Him and we love one another.

Joy is a flower that grows only in the soil of love. Love gold, and gold will give you joy for a season. Love God, and God will fill you with His joy.

Jesus also found pleasure in His Father's eyes through obedience. And the same applies to us. Jesus said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love" (John 15.10). Obedience to His commandments deepens our love which in turn deepens our experience of His joy. Eric Liddell, winner of the gold medal in the 400 meter race of the 1924 Olympics, told his sister, "I believe that God made me for a purpose. For China. But He also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure." When we do what God created us to do, we, too, will feel His pleasure; and we will sense His presence. In both, we will know His joy. And remember, it is His presence, His praise, His pleasure.Therefore, His joy! And we will express that joy in praise and rejoicing through His name. "This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

The Whole of Man

I love a good mystery!  When I was growing up, I cut my teeth on Sherlock Holmes and Perry Mason. In fact, I still love an occasional Perry Mason rerun. But there is a mystery in the universe that makes a Sherlock Holmes adventure look like a child's puzzle. That mystery is the Lord Himself. He is inscrutable (Isaiah 40.28).  He is incomprehensible (Job 37.5). He is unknowable (Job 36.23).  He is awesome, majestic, full of wonder (Exodus 15.11). He is limitless (Job 11.7).  His ways are beyond us (Isaiah 55.9). Great minds, past and present, have tried to penetrate the mystery of God, to fathom its depths, to comprehend His ways. Scientists have tried to explain His ways while philosophers have treated Him as a quaint idea. But after centuries of inquiry, God is still a mystery.

God is far too complex for the scientist and far too deep to satisfy the philosopher.  By now, you have probably sensed some of my own struggle with this mystery. Larry Crabb said men inevitably have difficulty handling mystery; and he's right. So please bear with me as I consider once more the question how then should we respond to Him?  The wisest man in history suggests the only appropriate response a finite person can give to the infinite God:  "Here is the  conclusion, when all has been heard: fear God and observe His commandments, because this is the whole of man" (Ecclesiastes 12.13, my translation).  We have already seen a little of what the fear of the Lord means [See the chapters "Never Alone," "The Beginning of Wisdom" and "The Grace of Fear," in my book Candle Drippings-Meanwhile, continue reading.], but what does it actually involve?  How does it become a reality in our experience?

In his conclusion, Solomon focuses not on fear and obedience, important as they may be, but rather on God and His commandments.  The Hebrew is more emphatic, reading like this: "God fear and His commandments keep!"  When we focus our attention on the Lord Himself, our response follows spontaneously. And that response is essentially one of fear and trembling.  Albert Martin suggests several ingredients that comprise the fear of the Lord. Let's look at two of them.  One is a pervasive sense of the presence of God. And this is perhaps the most important one. If you are conscious of the presence of God manifest around you and in your life, you will naturally respond with fear. Let me suggest (if we are not too proud to receive it) a modern example from Kenneth Grahame's delightful tale, The Wind in the Willows.

Rat and Mole are approaching the mythical creature Pan on some island in their world, speaking to each other about him as if he were God. "'Rat,' he found the breath to whisper, shaking, 'Are you afraid?'

'Afraid?' murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love.  'Afraid?  Of Him?  O never, never, never.  And yet---and yet---O Mole, I am afraid.'"

When we enter the presence of God, our response is much the same.  We are not afraid and yet we are. A.W. Tozer calls this one of the paradoxes of the Christian faith, to fear and not to be afraid. We enter His presence in fear and we walk with Him until our fear matures into fellowship. But ultimately the fear lingers when we're in His presence.  Remember Jacob?  When he awoke from his dream, he said essentially, "The Lord is here and I did not know it.  I'm scared." (cp. Genesis 28.16-17).  The presence of God alone generates godly fear of the Lord.

Martin offers a second ingredient, a correct concept of the character of God.  Even a brief glimpse of Who God is should send us trembling to our knees. When King Uzziah died, Isaiah experienced the presence of God and a glimpse of His character at the same time. His response to both was to fear the Lord. He saw the Lord sitting on a throne, surrounded by angelic beings. The temple was filled with smoke, the doors trembled on their hinges, the seraphim covered their faces with their wings and cried to one another, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6.3).  The entire scene radiates the holiness of God.  As a result, Isaiah feared for his life.  He fell on his face and cried out, "Woe is me, for I am ruined!  Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts" (Isaiah 6.5).

You see, God is a God of holiness, a God of majesty.  A God of transcendent glory.  Our God is an awesome God.  Perhaps the greatest title of honor we can place upon the Lord, however, is that of holiness.  God is a God of love, no doubt.  The Bible says so.  He is a God of light and of wrath.  But holiness reflects the majesty of His very name.  Holiness reflects the venerableness of His name.  The beauty of the Lord glows through His holiness.  Over three hundred years ago, Stephen Charnock said of all the attributes applied to the name of God, holy is the most frequently used.  The holiness of God, he adds,  is "the glory of every perfection in the Godhead; as His power is the strength of them, so His holiness is the beauty of them; as all would be weak without almightiness to back them, so all would be uncomely without holiness to adorn them...." According to Charnock, God's purity is the splendor of every attribute in the Godhead. The majesty of God stands for His purity, His truth, His holiness, His justice, and every expression that indicates the moral supremacy of the Lord. And it is the moral purity, the holiness of God that moves us to fear Him.  And Solomon said this is the very essence of our being ---to fear the Lord is "the whole of man."

"You know it ain't quotin' the Bible that makes a man. It's livin' it."     ~~ Will Sonnett (Walter Brennan), The Guns of Will Sonnett, "Chapter and Verse" Episode.

Our God Reigns!

Did you know that these words are really a part of a proclamation of salvation?  Does that mean I have to recognize that God is Lord before I can receive Him as Savior?  On the other hand, how can I receive Him as Savior without recognizing Him as Lord?  A. W. Tozer answers, "Nowhere are we led to believe that we can use Jesus as a Savior and not own Him as our Lord.  He is the Lord and as the Lord He saves us."  Several weeks ago, I learned that fact again when I heard my pastor say, "When you meet the Savior, He stands before you as Lord."  When you search the Scriptures, you find the same thing.  You see, these titles are more than theological labels.  They are descriptions of who He is!  He is Lord, as we have already seen.  But also, He is Savior!  From the beginning, it is the Lord who redeems and delivers and saves.  And He redeems because He reigns supreme.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan started with Eve, telling her that if she ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, she would be just like God; and as a result, she and Adam would be lords of their own lives.  Why let God run your life when you can run it yourself with the same wisdom and knowledge that He has?  Eve bought the pitch.  So did Adam.  He was right there with her.  He heard the temptation.  All of it.  And he evidently believed it, too.  With one bite, the appointed lord of God's creation abdicated.  But the real Lord of creation didn't abdicate.  Instead, He came searching for Adam and Eve.  When He found them, the Lord made coats of skin to cover the nakedness of their sin, clothing them with His special robes.  The Lord also provided the promise of a future deliverer who with royal power would destroy the enemy serpent.  The Creator became the Redeemer without relinquishing His lordship.

In the Old Testament, Isaiah is the prophet of salvation.  More than once, the eloquent prophet identifies the Lord of Israel as their Savior.  Quoting the Lord Himself, Isaiah declares, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! ...for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...." (Isaiah 43.1-3).  "I even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides me" (Isaiah 43.11).  In another place, He said, "Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob" (Isaiah 60.16; cp. 49.26).  He is Lord and Savior.

In the New Testament, the message is the same.  Hear the praise of Mary: "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1.47).  The first proclamation of the gospel by Jesus Himself was "the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1.14)  George Ladd defines the kingdom of God as "the authority to rule, the sovereignty of the king."  In other words, in the Word of God, a kingdom is primarily the act of reigning rather than a geographical realm over which the king reigns.  Ladd also indicates that  the phrases "the Kingdom of God" and "the Kingdom of Heaven" are interchangeable with each other, as well as interchangeable with eternal life. This simply means that to receive eternal life is to receive the Kingdom of God at the same time, or rather to receive eternal life is to receive the reign of God in your life at the same time.  To believe the gospel, to receive Jesus as Savior is to recognize Him also as Lord.  "The Lord will not save those," says Tozer,  "whom He cannot command....He would not be who He is if He saved us and called us and chose us without the understanding that He can also guide and control our lives."  He is Lord and Savior.

As previously noted, the words "Our God Reigns" are an essential part of a proclamation of salvation.  Isaiah, again quoting the Lord, declares, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" (Isaiah 52.7)  In Romans 10, the Apostle Paul discusses salvation in detail, quoting this passage as part of his Biblical support (verse 15).  He says, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10.9-10).  The confession that results in salvation is Jesus is Lord!  In verse 13, he adds, "whoever will call upon the name of the Lord, will be saved."

Finally, the words Lord and Savior appear together only four times in the Bible, all of them in 2 Peter (1.11; 2.20; 3.2; 3.18); but in all four places, they appear in that order: Lord and Savior.  He was Lord before He was Savior.  When He became Savior, He did not cease to be Lord.  Our great joy comes not only in recognizing Him as Lord and Savior, but in declaring to the world and to each other in song, "Our God Reigns!"

"If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants."          ~~ William Penn

The Cup of Praise

This article was the 100th Issue of the original newsletter Candle Drippings, and was issued on April 24, 1998. For some reason that escapes me at this time, it did not make it into the book. So, I share it with you here. Enjoy! And, as one of my fictional heroes (NCIS New Orleans  Agent, Dwayne Cassius Pride) is fond of saying: "Learn things."

Although we naturally grieve the loss of a loved one, for Christians, the time of their departure is really a time for celebration.  As an example, I recently attended the funeral of my brother-in-law, Slim Fulton, in Pennsylvania.  So many people had gathered at my niece's house afterward to grieve his death and to glorify God, I was amazed.  But my mind lingered on the words of the minister when he reminded us all that "while, indeed, we have sorrow over his earthly departure, we also have the joy of knowing that the real Slim--the one you know and love--has never been more alive."  That is why we celebrate.  Our loved one has entered the presence of the Lord to share in His life.

The Lord Himself set the precedent.  Just before His death, He initiated a ceremony for celebrating - of all things, His death.  Why not His resurrection?  Maybe that's included.  Let's check it out and see.  In 1 Corinthians 10.16, the Apostle Paul says, "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?  Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?"  From just these words, it's clear he's talking about communion, the Lord's supper.  But since both his expressions suggest the death of Christ, how does the resurrection fit in?  And how does this reflect blessing much less a cause for celebration?

By focusing on the cup and its meaning, I believe I can answer these questions.  When Jesus initiated the Lord's supper, He was right in the middle of the Passover celebration.  He took both the cup and the bread from the Passover table during the Passover observance.  The cup of the Passover became the cup of Communion.  But which cup of Passover?  there are at least four.  Let's look at all four for a minute.  From them, we may learn about the one cup and why Paul calls it the cup of praise!

The first of the cups is the Cup of Remembrance.  As they drink it at the Passover, the participants remember the mighty acts of God on their behalf as well as the mighty God who acts on their behalf.  Remember that you were once slaves to the world and its powers (Deuteronomy 15.15).  Remember the name of the Lord your God (Psalm 20.7), its majesty, its beauty, its glory, its power, its gentleness.  Remember the Lord who is great and terrible (Nehemiah 4.14).  Remember the day of deliverance when He brought you out of bondage (Deuteronomy 16.3).  Remember the marvelous works of the Lord (Psalm 105.5).  And when He first took the cup, Jesus blessed it and said, "This do in remembrance of Me." (1 Corinthians 11.24)

The second cup is the Cup of Redemption.  It naturally follows and is inextricably linked with the first cup because it, too, focuses on remembering, in this case remembering the redemption of the Lord.  First, there is focus on the Redeemer Himself.  The Lord is our Redeemer (Isaiah 43.14).  The Holy One of Israel is our Savior (Isaiah 43.3).  Then there is the need - yea, the requirement of the redeemer to be a kinsman (cp. Ruth 4; Deuteronomy 25.5).  So much of Biblical society revolved around the family unit, the extended family to include all who were related by blood.  Before He acted as our Redeemer, Jesus became one of us, one of the sons of Adam (yet without sin), becoming our kinsman so He could make us one of the kinsmen of God (Hebrews 2.14, 17).

The third cup, the Cup of Salvation, is closely linked with the second cup, because it is the cup of salvation.  It, too, reflects on the redemption of the Lord in its effects.  It is filled until the wine flows over the rim of the cup onto the table, so we could say with the Psalmist, "My cup runneth over...." (Psalm 23.5).  It reveals God's salvation, so great there is no vessel on earth that can contain it.  Like the Lord Himself who is our salvation, of whom it is said, "if the heaven, even the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee, how much less this house [the temple, Solomon's or even the temple of our body]."  (1 Kings 8.27)  Like the wine in the cup, the presence of the Lord in us should so overflow from our lives that it spreads to the "table" around us (cp. Matthew 5.16).

The fourth cup looks forward to the coming of the Lord.  It is the Cup of Messiah.  This cup focuses on the return of the Lord to complete His conquest of the enemies of His people and to establish His reign over the whole earth (Daniel 2.37; 7.13-14; 1 Corinthians 15.23-25).  It brings the message of the cups full circle, drawing our attention to the completion of the glory of God in His final redemption of His people (Revelation 11.15).

But which cup is the cup of Communion?  Actually, the one I believe He took was a fifth cup known as the cup of Elijah.  When each of the other cups was filled, some of their substance was also poured into the cup of Elijah, so that in a very real sense, this cup contains the substance of all the cups.  Thus the message of each is summed up in this cup.  When we drink it, we show the Lord's death (for redemption and salvation) until He comes (as Messiah of Israel and Redeemer of the world).  When this cup is drunk, it is the only time in the service that Gentiles are invited to share in the celebration of deliverance, in the worship of and praises to the God of Israel.  So, this cup is for all the nations, for all mankind, just as the blood of Christ was shed for the deliverance of all mankind.  No wonder, Paul calls it the cup of Praise!

Building Bridges with Love!

An old Welsh proverb says, "He that would be a leader must be a bridge."  Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 20.26).  When I engage in intercessory prayer, I fulfill both these statements.  Not that I become great or even a leader, but I serve my brothers and sisters through prayer and build a bridge.  You see, it begins by recognizing the importance of others, the value of their needs over my own.  One of the most important features of intercession is its other-centeredness.  In Philippians 2.3, the Apostle Paul says for us to "do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself."  Then, he encourages us to think the way Jesus thinks, by adding these words, "Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." (vs. 4).  Through intercession we extend our influence into the lives of others.  We not only serve them in ways none of us could even imagine, but we also build bridges that link their needs with our Father's resources.

The two greatest examples of intercession in the Bible are the Lord Jesus Himself and the Holy Spirit.  The prophet Isaiah tells us about Jesus's example.  He said, the Lord was "numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53.12)  This is the first reference in most translations of the Bible to intercession; and the word Isaiah uses is our old friend pagha.  Remember Joshua indicating that pagha meant to establish boundaries?  At the time, he established the boundaries of the inheritance of Israel; in intercession, we establish boundaries of protection for our brethren.  But in Isaiah, we discover a slightly different meaning.  In his excellent commentary on this passage, J. Alec Motyer says, "The base meaning is 'to cause to reach' and hence 'to cause someone's plea to reach someone's ears' (to intercede)...."  More specifically, through intercession, the Lord Jesus causes the needs of transgressors to reach the ears of His Father, thus building a bridge between them and God.  By intercessory prayer, we become the bridge Jesus uses to link God and His people within the boundaries of their inheritance in Him.  By His love and power, both we and those we pray for become stronger in Him through prayer.

In Romans 8.26, the Holy Spirit provides another example of intercession.  There Paul tells us that "in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."  What an example! First, He helps our weakness.  What does that mean?  That word "helps" translates a foot-long Greek word that essentially means "to take hold of anything with another."  He takes hold of one end of our burden -- naturally the heaviest end -- and bears it with us in such a way that it is no longer a major burden.  The Lord exhorts us that we should follow this example in that we should "bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6.2).

But how can we intercede effectively when we don't know how to pray for each other?  I recently read a story that may show how this kind of intercession could work.  Two men planted olive trees in their respective fields.  Later one of them prayed, "Dear Lord, my trees need water.  Please send rain."  Shortly came the showers.  Then he prayed, "Lord, they need sunshine, too." And the Lord bathed them in sunlight.  Finally, he prayed, "Lord, my trees need something to make them hardy.  Please send a frost tonight."  That night a frost came and killed all his trees.  The next day, he went to the other man's grove  only to find it flourishing.  "How can this be?" he cried.  The other man said, "When I prayed, I didn't ask for rain or sunshine or frost.  I just said, 'Lord, You made these trees.  You know what they need.  Just send what is best!'"  Often, that's all we can pray for our friends.

The Spirit also intercedes for us. Here the Apostle uses a Greek word not dissimilar to pagha.  However, this New Testament word includes the meaning to go to someone "on behalf of another."  Even though we may not know what to pray for, we fulfill the Word of God by simply taking our brother's needs in our hands and placing them before the Throne of God.  Then the Holy Spirit acts as an advocate on our behalf to "plead our case" for us.  Not only the Holy Spirit, but Jesus too "is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us" (Romans 8.34).  Never before have God's people so needed the intercession of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as today.  Never before have God's people so needed the mutual support of one another in intercessory prayer.  Folks, not only is intercessory prayer the greatest need of the evangelical church today, but, as Warren Wiersbe reminds us, "We are never more like the Lord Jesus Christ than when we are interceding for others, because that's what He is doing in heaven today" (cp. Hebrew 7.24-25).  What an example!