Thursday Theology ~ The Holy Spirit, a systematic study of Pneumatology by Dr. Mike Fabarez

The Holy SpiritPastor Mike Fabarez of Compass Bible Church is doing a phenomenal series on the Holy Spirit. If you live close by (Orange County, California Area) I highly recommend you come join us. If not, watch it live each Thursday night on Live Stream.

Compass Night 2013

Our Creator has revealed himself to us in the Bible as a triune being—one Essence eternally existing in three Persons. While it is perhaps easier for us to grasp the inherent distinctions between the roles of the Father and Son, we often fail to comprehend and appreciate the unique role and ministry of the Holy Spirit. In this important twelve-part lecture series Pastor Mike will help us broaden our understanding and deepen our gratitude for the daily operations of the Holy Spirit. Join us this fall on Thursday nights for Compass Night as we engage in a systematic study of Pneumatology.

– September 12 – The Personhood & Deity of the Holy Spirit (See below for notes)
– September 19 – The Titles & Emblems of the Holy Spirit
– September 26 – The Holy Spirit in Creation, Revelation & Inspiration
– October 3 – The Old Testament Ministry of the Holy Spirit
– October 10 – The Holy Spirit & Christ’s Ministry – Dinner: Beach Pit BBQ
– October 17 – Common Grace and the Holy Spirit
– October 24 – Special Guest: Pastor Mike Elliott
– October 31 – OFF for Fall Fest!
– November 7 – Special Guest: Pastor Pete
– November 14 – The Regenerative Work & Baptism of the Holy Spirit
– November 21 – The Indwelling & Sealing of the Holy Spirit
– November 28 – OFF for Thanksgiving
– December 5 – The Holy Spirit & Spiritual Gifts
– December 12 – The Filling of the Holy Spirit

Compass Night starts with a family-style dinner at 6:00p. AWANA and Thursday night KIDS Club are available for those attending Compass Night or Thrive. Parents or guardians MUST remain on campus when children are in KIDS Club.

Click here for details and registration for AWANA & KIDS Club.

NOTES FOR THE FIRST STUDY

THE HOLY SPIRIT #1
a systematic study of pneumatology

1. THE WORD “PNEUMATOLOGY”

Components:                      Pneumato                         /        logy

Hebrew & Greek:               Ruach or Pneuma             /     logos

Occurrences:  OT 375 times. NT 379 times  /. 339 times

Definitions & Imagery:  Wind, breath, spirit.  / word, speech, study

2. Or study of Pneumatology

A. What we will cover

1. Who the Holy Spirit is
2. What the Holy Spirit does
3. How we interface with the Holy Spirit

B. Why this is so important today

1. Lots of unbiblical teaching regarding the Holy Spirit
2. Lots of dangerous practices regarding the Holy Spirit
3. Lots of misunderstanding regarding the Holy Spirit’s role

C. The importance of “Roles” in the Trinity

1.  School Yard Illustration
Small town. Only 3 adults in the school. You have been taught to respect them each as the authority. They all and different roles. You need to function under their authority.

~ The Father is the Principal
Admin, planning, oversight

~  The Son is the Teacher
Instructs, leads, directs students

~  The Holy Spirit is the Custodian
Facilitate, repair, protects, sets up

 

4. The Holy Spirit is a Person

A. Personhood

Personhood                               The Holy Spirit
Intellect, reason, logic.             Isaiah 11:2

Isaiah 11:2 (ESV)
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Emotion, feelings, passion.    Ephesians 4:30

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Will, volition, purpose.            1 Corinthians 12:11

1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV)
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

B. He takes personal action.

HE GUIDES
John 16:13

HE HEARS
John 16:13

HE SPEAKS
John 16:13

HE DECLARES
John 16:13

HE CONVICTS
John 16:8

HE CARRIES
Acts 8:39-40

HE HELPS
Romans 8:26

HE INTERCEDES
Romans 8:26

HE DECIDES
Acts 15:28

HE TEACHES
1 Corinthians 2:13

C. He is described as a person

~. HE IS OUTRAGED
Hebrew 10:29

~. HE IS LIED TO
Acts 5:3

~. HE IS BLASPHEMED
Matthew 12:31

~. HE IS OBEYED
Acts 10:19-21

~. HE IS A HE
John 16:13-14

 

5. The Holy Spirit is God

A. The Holy Spirit is ascribed divine attributes

~ HE IS OMNISCIENT
Isaiah 40:13

~ HE IS OMNIPRESENT
Psalm 139:7

~ HE IS ETERNAL
Hebrews 9:14

~ HE IS CREATOR
Genesis 1:2 and Job 33:4

B. The Holy Spirit is engaging in divine actions

~ WORKED MIRACLES
Hebrews 2:4

~ AGENT OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH
Luke 1:35

~ DIVINE CAUSE OF SCRIPTURE
2 Peter 1:21 and Revelation 2 & 3 “hear what the Spirit says to the Churches”

C. The Holy Spirit is described as “Another”
John 14:16
He is not a modalists. Meaning he does not wear various hats.

D. Associated with the Father and Son

~ WITH THE FATHER
1 Corinthians 6:11

~ WITH THE SON
Acts16:7

~ WITH BOTH
Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14

E. Bears Divine Titles

1. GOD
Acts 5:3-4

2. LORD
1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Wednesday Worship ~ Attributes of God ~ God Is Omniscient!

You are all knowing. You know the good. You know the bad. You are all knowing. You even know the decisions you are going to make before you make them. My question lies in the idea that all you know and all you are is good. How then did evil get into the world if you are not evil? If you created everything, then why did you create evil? Isn’t it against your nature? I confess that I am so small brained compared to you. You know everything. But this is where I get really messed up. I hope some day soon I will be able to understand this question. I do not know everything, you do. So you can answer that question some day. I am sorry for this twisted thought. I know Satan uses it in my mind. Forgive my doubt. I know you are true. I know you are here. I can feel your prescience and know your works in my life and others. I know based on the prophets and the testimony of Jesus by the apostles. I know all is true. I see dimly through the glass and want so badly to bring it all into focus. The type-A personality that you have given me wants the hardest questions answered now. I long for that day when your perfect work in me will be completed in you.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. – Psalm 139: 1-4

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” – Romans 11:33-34

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Eph. 6:24)
Maranatha! (Come, Lord Jesus!)

~ Jen O’Sullivan
www.HolyJustLove.com

DBR Thought of the Day ~ Those who are Heavenly Minded are no Earthly Good by Jen O’Sullivan

I am one of those people who really cannot wait to see Heaven. I think about it all the time. It is said that people who are heavenly minded are of no earthly good, however the more heavenly minded a person is, the more good on Earth they want to do. The Bible tells us that those who read Revelation out loud will be blessed. Stop reading this right now and go read, out loud the book of Revelation.Do it as often as you can. You will get excited to do more for the Kingdom of God than you ever thought possible. I pray that the fire of Jesus gets ignited in you today!

~ Jen O’Sullivan

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Daily Bible Reading ~ Isaiah 59-61 and 1 Thessalonians 4

DAILY BIBLE READING LINK FOR OCTOBER 16, 2013

Pastor’s Note:

As we near the closing chapters of Isaiah we see again with clarity the problem of sin, which caused our need for redemption and deliverance. The ultimate redemptive work of God seen in today’s reading clearly stretches beyond the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian captivity. May we be encouraged by these sweeping and far-reaching promises. In 1 Thessalonians 4 we see the call to engage in the work of Christian sanctification in light of Christ’s forthcoming return.

– Pastor Mike Fabarez of Compass Bible Church and Focal Point Ministries

Isaiah 59-61

Evil and Oppression

59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs;
they weave the spider’s web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.

9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Judgment and Redemption

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him [1]
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream, [2]
which the wind of the Lord drives.

20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.

21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

The Future Glory of Israel

60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult, [3]
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,
and I will beautify my beautiful house.

8 Who are these that fly like a cloud,
and like doves to their windows?
9 For the coastlands shall hope for me,
the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel,
because he has made you beautiful.

10 Foreigners shall build up your walls,
and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you,
but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
11 Your gates shall be open continually;
day and night they shall not be shut,
that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
with their kings led in procession.
12 For the nation and kingdom
that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons of those who afflicted you
shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord,
the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever,
a joy from age to age.
16 You shall suck the milk of nations;
you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace
and your taskmasters righteousness.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.

19 The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light; [4]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory. [5]
20 Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
21 Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified. [6]
22 The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
in its time I will hasten it.

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; [7]
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [8]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. [9]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
and in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

8 For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong; [10]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.

1 Thessalonians 4

A Life Pleasing to God

4:1 Finally, then, brothers, [11] we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: [12] that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body [13] in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, [14] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 59:15 Hebrew and it was evil in his eyes
[2] 59:19 Hebrew a narrow river
[3] 60:5 Hebrew your heart shall tremble and grow wide
[4] 60:19 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Targum add by night
[5] 60:19 Or your beauty
[6] 60:21 Or that I might display my beauty
[7] 61:1 Or afflicted
[8] 61:1 Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind
[9] 61:3 Or that he may display his beauty
[10] 61:8 Or robbery with a burnt offering
[11] 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 10, 13
[12] 4:3 Or your holiness
[13] 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel
[14] 4:15 Or by the word of the Lord

Quote of the Day ~ God is Not God if God is not Sovereign by R. C. Sproul

“Everything that happens must at least happen by his permission. If he permits something, then he must decide to allow it. If he decides to allow something, then in a sense he is foreordaining it. Who, among Christians, would argue that God could not stop something in this world from happening? If God so desires, he has the power to stop the whole world. To say that God foreordains all that comes to pass is simply to say that God is sovereign over his entire creation. If something could come to pass apart from his sovereign permission, then that which came to pass would frustrate his sovereignty. If God refused to permit something to happen and it happened anyway, then whatever caused it to happen would have more authority and power than God himself. If there is any part of creation outside of Gods sovereignty, then God is simply not sovereign. If God is not sovereign, then God is not God.”
R. C. Sproul, Chosen by God

Monday Modern Parable ~ The Muddy River by Charles Stanley

Picture a muddy river, swollen with rain and rushing over rocks. You’ve fallen into that dirty water and cannot fight the current for long. Your head goes under once, then twice, and both times you come up sputtering after swallowing some of the filth. A third dunking might kill you. Suddenly, from the shore, someone throws a life preserver, which floats past your chest. Will you grab it?

The answer seems obvious—of course you would! But too often people drowning in the world’s fast-moving current refuse to grab onto the spiritual life preserver: Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for all of humanity, but individuals have a responsibility in salvation. A person must recognize his or her own helplessness and acknowledge the need for Christ. That means the new Christian accepts Jesus’ sacrifice as true and personal, believing that there is no other way to be rescued.

It isn’t necessary to understand everything about faith and the Bible in order to be saved—God will ensure that His children learn whatever they need from the Holy Spirit. However, it is critical to realize that we cannot save ourselves.

Can you point to a time in your life when you received Jesus Christ as your Savior? God is calling, longing for you to recognize your need for Him and to pray for rescue from sin. He is faithful to answer by saving you and making you blameless before Him.

God is offering you a life preserver and waiting to pull you to eternal safety. The choice is yours. Will you choose Christ and live?

by Charles Stanley

Daily Bible Reading ~ Isaiah 50-52 and 1 Thessalonians 1

DAILY BIBLE READING LINK FOR OCTOBER 13, 2013

Pastor’s Note

The editorial heading in our reading of Isaiah 50 aptly captures the contrast: “Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience.” May we be grateful to God that though his people are often unfaithful, he demonstrates his faithfulness in his merciful plan to provide for his own (cf. 2Tim.2:11-13). I trust we will be motivated and encouraged as we begin our reading of the heartening letter to the faithful church in Thessalonica.

– Pastor Mike Fabarez of Compass Bible Church and Focal Point Ministries

Isaiah 50-52

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

50:1 Thus says the Lord:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce,
with which I sent her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
2 Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”

4 The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.

7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.

The Lord’s Comfort for Zion

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.

4 “Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law [1] will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; [2]
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”

9 Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?
11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
15 I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,
establishing [3] the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

17 Wake yourself, wake yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl, the cup of staggering.
18 There is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
19 These two things have happened to you—
who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you? [4]
20 Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over.”

The Lord’s Coming Salvation

52:1 Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I.”

7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
9 Break forth together into singing,
you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

11 Depart, depart, go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
12 For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Wounded for Our Transgressions

13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; [5]
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle [6] many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.

1 Thessalonians 1

Greeting

1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly [7] mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers [8] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 51:4 Or for teaching; also verse 7
[2] 51:6 Or will die like gnats
[3] 51:16 Or planting
[4] 51:19 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text how shall I comfort you
[5] 52:13 Or shall prosper
[6] 52:15 Or startle
[7] 1:2 Or without ceasing
[8] 1:4 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church

Quote of the Day ~ R.C. Sproul on Prayer

“Prayer does change things, all kinds of things. But the most important thing it changes is us. As we engage in this communion with God more deeply and come to know the One with whom we are speaking more intimately, that growing knowledge of God reveals to us all the more brilliantly who we are and our need to change in conformity to Him. Prayer changes us profoundly.”
― R.C. Sproul, The Prayer of the Lord

Wednesday Worship ~ Attributes of God ~ Sovereign

NailFor want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

God is Lord of lords, King of kings. He is above all and is supreme! His sovereignty gives me peace knowing everything is in control. He is the authority. He is the author. God has created all things and is the owner of all things. He has rights to everything he has created which means he can do anything he pleases. God is God BECAUSE he is sovereign.

God doesn’t have to worry about a horseshoe nail messing up his plans. There is nothing that can impede the sovereign will of God! Nothing!

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. – Psalm 103:19

The LORD of hosts has sworn, “As I have planned, so it shall be, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.” – Isaiah 14:24

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Eph. 6:24)
Maranatha! (Come, Lord Jesus!)

~ Jen O’Sullivan
www.HolyJustLove.com

James 1:4 “An Active, Strong, Challenging Response in Your Faith” by Jen O’Sullivan

An Active, Strong, Challenging Response to Your Faith
by Jen O’Sullivan

James 1:4 (ESV)
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The words James uses are specific to that time period and are more precise in meaning than our translation. For example, in the above text the word Steadfastness, or the Greek word hypomone, means an active, strong, challenging response in ones faith.

To put it simply, maturity in my faith is a product of testing.

I am impatient and have difficulty waiting for anything to be complete. My desire for steadfastness is huge. I long for the day when I no longer crumble under this intense pressure from my choices. My knees buckle literally under the weight at times. This steadfastness that I am enduring is definitely a strong, active, and challenging response to my test. I long to be complete and steady, settled in my understanding of God’s will and my own lack to control it. Let us continually ask God to be refined in His fire! Just like gold and silver in its purest form.

Maranatha! (Come, Lord Jesus!)

~ Jen O’Sullivan
www.HolyJustLove.com