Considering Jesus and a Calling...

Crosspoint,

Please see a message below from Clint Stevens...

I am very often encouraged by the lyrics of old hymns that we as a body sing now, and those that I may have sung as a boy. I also will, every now and then, sit down and rummage through some old hymn books my father has given me. I sit, read, and listen to the words these amazing writers have written. Tonight though, I came across a hymn that leapt off the page. It was what I needed to see in song form at that moment.
Until tonight, I had never heard, nor read this hymn.  I am so glad I did. It has been an encouragement to me, and I hope it can be an encouragement to us as a body and where we are in the life of our church.   
 
Hymn #380 – The Church’s One Foundation
 
The church's one foundation, is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation, by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her, to be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
 
Elect from every nation, yet one o'er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.
 
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation, of peace forevermore;
Till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest,
And the great church victorious, shall be the church at rest.  
Yet she on earth hath union, with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion, with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.
 
After reading this hymn I wanted to see how the writer arrived at these lyrics. What scripture did he pull from? The writer references a passage of scripture from the book of Revelation 19:6-9. I love how Christ proves himself to us over and over again.
 
It reads:
            [6] Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
            “Hallelujah!
            For the Lord our God
                        the Almighty reigns.
            [7] Let us rejoice and exult
                        and give him the glory,
            for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
                        and his Bride has made herself ready;             [8] it was granted her to clothe herself
                        with fine linen, bright and pure”—
            for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
            [9] And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited, (See below), to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me,“These are the true words of God.”            
(Revelation 19:6-9 ESV)
 
The word “invited” in verse 9 can also be read as “called”!!! God has been calling us from the beginning…and he will continue until he calls His bride to the table, the marriage supper of the Lamb!!
I pray what both the 3rd verse of hymn #380, and verse 7 from Rev 19 says—that we ready ourselves, all the while in toil, trial, and tribulation, we His church…His bride, rest.  Consider Jesus; he is victorious. Then consider this calling.

Clint Stevens

The foolish, weak, low and despised

Crosspoint Family,

Take a look at this passage (ps......I know how easy it is to jump over the passage and get to “the point”.....but please, really read this passage):

1Cor. 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

1Cor. 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1Cor. 1:30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

A couple of things to note from this passage.....first, as we considered yesterday it’s formulaic to see “calling” (v. 26) and holiness (“sanctification” in v. 30).  Calling without holiness is a farce.  Holiness without calling.....isn’t holiness at all.  Calling and holiness go together!!  Beauty!!  Second, there’s something REALLY encouraging in this passage regarding holiness (sanctification).  Verse 30 says that Christ Jesus became to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.  He called (v. 26) and chose (v. 27) the least likely to succeed....the weak, the foolish, the low and despised and the things that aren’t to bring down the proud and haughty and the supposedly “well” by becoming what we so desperately lack......our holiness.  God called and chose a bunch of sick folk to make well and in so doing to make the supposedly well “sick” with judgment.  He does this so that no one has any room for boasting.....that is of course unless we’re boasting in the Lord. 

This passage is a veritable feast.  These are just a few observations that connect in some ways to our time in the word together yesterday. 

Something I want to ask of you is to consider your various callings.  Do you have your callings in view?  Your Lazarus call from death to life?  Your call to mission work maybe?  Your call to be a husband or wife?  Your call to full time ministry?  Your call to be a parent?  Your call to serve God faithfully and aromatically in your business?  Your call to be an employee that works as unto the Lord?  Your call to teach your kids at home?   Your call to deacon ministry or worship ministry?  Your call to small group shepherding?  Your call to children’s ministry? 

As you consider your various calls.....all of which fuel us to some degree.......consider if ANY of them have become primary above your call into the family of God, your Lazarus call.  This is REALLY easy to do and know that even a noble call to be a husband or parent or deacon or elder can and will languish if it’s placed as your primary call.  These calls, although important, are to be secondary or tertiary or even further behind your call to be a worshipper of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Whatever you are.....however you serve.....whatever you do......the greatest thing you’ll ever be is a child of the Living God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. 

Enjoy that.  Enjoy Him.  Consider Him.


Ben McGraw