August 23, 2015
Let’s look at several verse in Isaiah 6:1-3. Sometimes we think of God as a thrice holy God. And you wonder, is thrice better the once holy? Are there degrees of holiness? Isaiah is being inspired to write this scene with the Seraphims. They are speaking about a triune God, with a Holy Father, Holy Son, and a Holy Spirit. Surely this makes us bow as it did Isaiah, showing us how far away we are from that. But this morning we have been reminded that we can draw near to Him as He draws near to us. May it make us more holy and may we have more to do with Him!
Lord’s Day August 23, 2015
Children’s Meeting - Norman Burgess
Hymn 343 - Jesus is our Shepherd
Prayer
We’ve been on the subject of “Jesus is my…” We have discussed “Jesus is my Saviour”, and “Jesus is my Lord”. Today I will talk on “Jesus is my Shepherd.”
A shepherd keeps sheep. He cares for them. “Jesus is my Shepherd” is a figure of speech. The way a shepherd takes care of his sheep is how Jesus takes care of us.
Psalm 23
The writer begins by saying, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” Who is the writer? It is David. Well, when David was young he was a shepherd. He was a good shepherd because he protected his sheep. If you were a little sheep and had to choose a shepherd, David would be a good choice. But David is saying that, even with how brave he was with his sheep, the Lord was his Shepherd. And we can see from the Psalm, he found it wonderful.
As we go through the psalm and discuss it, we can ask ourselves the question, what does this really mean to me?
In verse 1, we see that our Shepherd provides anything we need. “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Can you imagine a sheep in the desert? You won’t find sheep there. Sheep like green pastures of grass. Our Shepherd wants us to lie down in green pastures. So in the first part of verse 2, we see that He gives us rest.
“He leadeth me beside still waters.” Sheep, like any other animal, would die without water, but they can’t drink at turbulent waters. The soft waters bring refreshment to the sheep. Our Shepherd gives us refreshment.
Have you ever gotten “out of sorts” with God? God says, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin.” “He restoreth my soul.” He can give us restoration.
We also see in the second half of verse 3, that He leads us. He shows us the path, and guides us.
What does it mean to walk in the valley of the shadow of death? Well, it is just the shadow of death - not death itself. It’s like walking through a valley where people are dying; but, having God’s hand of protection over us, we come through safe. We are given His presence, and He gives us courage.
“Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort my.” Our Shepherd gives us comfort.
In preparing a table before our enemies, we see that He gives us protection.
“Thou anointest my head with oil.” He gives us satisfaction.
He gives us joy. Having your cup running over is like saying, “I’ve got more than I can enjoy.”
In the first part of verse 6, we find that our Shepherd cares for us. And in the second part, He gives us eternal hope.
When we say “Jesus is my Shepherd”, it means all these blessings are ours. We can come in need to the Lord, and get to know our good Shepherd. He is the Great Shepherd of the Sheep.
Ephesians 3:4-13
God didn’t spill the beans on the body of Christ in the Old Testament. He waited until the New Testament before raising up Paul as a special messenger to teach the principle. He revealed it to him and the other apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit, not by Scripture. You can’t validate this truth by the Old Testament; it’s not there. Verse 8 tells us that these things are unsearchable; this was “new” truth. You couldn’t be like the Boreans and search it out.
The Gospel is a promise and we get many verses about that promise. It comes out here in verse 6: “that [they who are of] the nations should be joint heirs, and a joint body, and joint partakers of [his] promise in Christ Jesus by the glad tidings.” (Darby Translation.) We are made joint heirs, a joint body, and joint partakers of the gospel promise when we accept Jesus as Saviour. We are made part of the One Body. Gentiles haven’t just been brought up to the level of Jews; both Jews and Gentiles have been brought up to a new level in Christ.
Paul had been given the truth of the One Body, and the responsibility to pass that truth on to others. Before his conversion, he had tried to stop the Body from growing; afterwards he was raised to be the main teacher about it. In order to teach the saints, God gave him the power of grace—the same mighty power that raised Jesus back in chapter one. This power didn’t go to Paul’s head, though. Verse 8 shows how it humbled him, for he considered himself less than the least of all saints. This power not only enabled him to teach, but also to make all men see the fellowship (administration) of the mystery of the Christ. That’s the practical aspect of the Body: the fact that we are all joint heirs and members with each other; that we are all one body. We can’t walk with all other believers, but they are all our brethren.
The phrase “unsearchable riches” shows what God thinks of his work forming us into a Body. The One Body started at Pentecost and is based solely on the work that Christ did: becoming incarnate, living in holiness, dying, rising, and finally ascending. Think of that work! It was only after that that God could send the Holy Spirit to form the Body that will one day be displayed in beauty and glory. It’s amazing, what can compare to it? What else do we have that has the closeness, relationship, and intimacy that this brings us into? God has even given us a physical type—marriage—so that we can have a small picture of the relationship we have with the Lord. These truly are unsearchable riches!
We get another New Testament revelation—another “now”—in verse 10. We find how all this effects God; His purposes in it all. We might think that we see His manifold wisdom in creation, and we do. His wisdom is displayed everywhere in the world, and it’s incomprehensible. God has principalities and powers—good principalities and powers in this case—who were there at creation, and thought it was amazing. However, those same principalities and powers now look at us and say, “Wow! God can pick up people like that and change them!” He worked all of redemption to show His glory; and it does that better than creation does. May we be sensitive to that. This is no mindless, purposeless process! Our God has picked us up, saved us, and allowed us to have boldness and confidence to come into His presence. May we be there by faith!
Hymn 162 — O Lord ‘tis joy to look above
Prayer