April 27, 2010

• The ultimate joy (2): a joy without end we shall attain (letter 56 on assurance & fighting for joy)

  Dear friends in Christ,
  
  I've written a lot on our having joy in this fallen world. (Please see the links to my posts on assurance & fighting for joy here.) It is Jesus' desire that our joy be full. I've written previously how we can look back and see what God has done for us in Jesus Christ (please see here and here).

  Another way we can have joy in this world, in spite of the heartaches, pains, losses and disappointments is to look ahead to the joy set before us, the sure hope we have in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is firstfruits and one day He will return for all those who have trusted in Him. At that time all the saints will be with Him forever around His throne, and the time will come when we will have joy without end.

  Today I'd like us to look ahead to the Day we will be in the presence of Lord forever and attain a joy without end by looking back to the day of Dr. Lloyd-Jones' funeral in 1981...The following account is form Iain Murray's biography of ML-J, "David Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Volume Two" (Banner of Truth Trust: 1990), 749-750.

  The coffin was borne into the church by six of the closest male members of the family circle and placed inconspicuously in a side aisle beneath the pulpit. No great wave of emotion broke across the congregation at the fifty-minute service began with the singing of the hymn [in Welsh]:

  Cyfamod hedd, cyfamod cadarn Duw . . .
  [The covenant of peace, the strong covenant of God . . .]
  

  Peace seemed to possess the whole congregation and it deepened as the service progressed, led by Hywel R. Jones, Elwyn Davies, Graham Harrison and Vernon Higham who preached on "an abundant entrance" from 2 Peter 1:11.

  Then in the Gelli cemetery on the Cenarth road the greater part of the congregation shortly reassembled at the graveside for a further short service conducted by T. Omri Jenkins. The Chapel service at Bethel had closed with the triumphant singing (in Welsh) of David Charles' hymn:

  From heavenly Jerusalem's towers,
  The path through the desert they trace;
  And every affliction they suffered
  Redounds to the glory of grace.
  

  
  On that hillside, in the beautiful sheep-grazing valley of the Teifi with light rain falling, the coffin was lowered into the grave and upwards of five hundred Christians sang again the affirmation of the last verse of Charles' hymn:

  And we, from the wilds of the desert,
  Shall flee to the land of the blest;
  Life's tears shall be changed to rejoicing,
  Its labours and toil into rest:
  There we shall find refuge eternal,
  From sin, from affliction, from pain,
  And in the sweet love of the Saviour,
  A joy without end we shall attain.
  
  
  Sheep,_Cnewr_-_geograph.org.uk_-_208163

  John 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30  I and my Father are one. (KJV)

  Psalm 23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (KJV)

  There we shall find refuge eternal,
  From sin, from affliction, from pain,
  And in the sweet love of the Saviour,
  A joy without end we shall attain.

  A joy without end we shall attain!

  Amen!

  Have you really begun to consider what God has in store for us as His children beyond this life? Have you considered what He has done for us already and the wonder of His keeping power?

  Has God given you a taste, the firstfruits, of that joy without end we shall attain? Know that such joy is available to all who have trusted in Christ. And this is a joy that begins in this life and never ends. Though it's true we won't know the total fullness of that joy in this life, yet it isn't something we have to wait to experience, at least to some extent. Though we live in a fallen world, we can still begin to drink deeply of that joy today and continue to drink everyday. This is God's gift to those of us who know Christ.

  A joy that satisfies us in times of drought.
  A joy that keeps us faithful in times of doubt.
  A joy that caresses us when the world kicks us.
  A joy that kisses us despite the kisses of Judases.
  A joy that befriends us when all our friends forsake us.
  A joy that undergirds us even when we are being shaken.
  A joy that upholds us even when we've fallen like the sparrow.
  A joy that welcomes us even when everyone else pushes us away.
  A joy that remains even when our best friends and loved ones leave us in death.

  Remember that Jesus said when we believe in Him we have eternal life. Have. That means here and now. It's not something we have to wait for until the day we die. We have it now. Along with that gift of eternal life, our Lord wants to give us His joy...and He wants our joy to be full! And His joy is no half-baked joy. It is no circumstance-dependent, ever-changing joy. it is a sure and steadfast joy because He is sure and steadfast.

  The Christian should walk differently from the world, not only in our activities, i.e.- we ought to be living holy lives, but also in our attitudes – so we might walk in a manner that transcends our circumstances. We already have that foretaste of glory divine, a little inkling of the joy without end we shall attain. That's the type of joy that allowed Paul and Silas to sing in prison, Stephen to proclaim Christ boldly to the very end, and the disciples to rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of Christ. It's that joy unspeakable and full of glory that Peter wrote of. The abiding and full assurance of God's love for us in Jesus Christ that allows us to count it all joy when we enter into trials. This is a joy that the world cannot begin to know because they do not know God Himself, the ultimate source of pure joy.

  Yes, it's true our experience of joy will be somewhat tainted and imperfect and incomplete today. Though we are redeemed, we can't possibly understand and experience all the joy God has for us since we are not yet glorified, our bodies and minds are limited and finite, we still dwell in the flesh and in this world, so we will face ongoing temptations – nevertheless we can know God's joy in such a way that will uphold us even in the valley of the shadow of death, even as we say good-bye to our loved ones for a time – we can have a joy that transcends our fleeting feelings and changing circumstances. God is the same no matter our feelings or our circumstances. When we abide in Him and rest in Him (yes, we must strive to enter into His rest...see the paradox there in Hebrews 4), when we think on Him and set our minds on Him, then we can have His joy. To sink into His arms and rest in His yoke is probably the hardest thing for most of us to do when all that is around us and all that is within us is screaming at us that He is not to be trusted. He is trustworthy and faithful and true. He loves us for Christ's sake. O, for faith to commit ourselves to our Father's sure keeping and loving arms – to trust Him like our Lord in life and in death. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” ... “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”... Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” O, for greater faith to trust our God to sustain us and keep us, to hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. To no longer mourn and whine over what we might see as disappointments but to trust that all things that come to us, all things – both the good and the bad – as God's appointments for us.

  Psalm 131
  1  O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
  my eyes are not raised too high;
  I do not occupy myself with things
  too great and too marvelous for me.
  2  But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
  like a weaned child with its mother;
  like a weaned child is my soul within me.
  3  O Israel, hope in the LORD
  from this time forth and forevermore.

  O, that we – that I – would be like that weaned child! I know too often I leave the arms of my Father and the yoke of Jesus and then miss out on His perfect peace...
  
  

  Isaiah 26
  3  You keep him in perfect peace
  whose mind is stayed on you,
  because he trusts in you.
  4  Trust in the LORD forever,
  for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

  If you are a Christian, would you ask the Lord to give you a taste of His joy today and the full assurance of the salvation He has granted to you in Jesus Christ? Christ has been triumphant. We can sing today, even in the valley of the shadow of death, even when we lose our loved ones to death, because our God is unchanging and His promises are sure. We know the blessed day will finally come when the joy without end we shall attain. In fact, in Christ all God's promises are Yes and Amen, so the reality is that we have already attained it today in a sense. That's what Paul spoke of in Romans 8:29-30: those who are called are already glorified. We have God's Holy Spirit as a deposit. Christ Himself is our surety. We need not fear. No one can snatch us out of the Father's hand. Nothing can separate us from our Father's love for us in Christ Jesus.

  What is keeping you from enjoying Him and experiencing joy unspeakable?

  Can you not trust Christ's sacrifice to cleanse every sin?

  Can you not trust Christ's mediation to save you to the uttermost?

  Can you not trust your Father's love no matter what the circumstance?

  Can you not trust God's Holy Spirit to abide with you forever?

  I am praying our Father might help us as His children to enjoy Him each and every day despite our circumstances.

  (If you are not a Christian, I am praying you might come to God through faith in Jesus Christ so you might know the joy I've been writing of here.)

  ---

  Photo credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sheep,_Cnewr_-_geograph.org.uk_-_208163.jpg by Richard Webb CC by SA/2.0 Generic
  
  
  Related posts:

  • All things (even bad things) work together for good...
  • Kingdom-Obsessed People don't keep looking in the rear view mirror at past hurts, # 5

  my recent posts on death:
  

  • Are you preparing to face death? Or are you a fool?
  • Resurrection Day: Don't Waste Your Life (Lecrae) | Whose Life is it anyhow?
  • at death and in life "there is only one thing that matters" (Lloyd-Jones' last days)
  • the Divine winepress
  • a little child shall lead them in life and in death
  • Hello, my sister in Christ just died (Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints)
  • The ultimate joy (1): "When round His throne we meet" (letter 55 on assurance & fighting for joy)
  • now lift your hands to heaven

  my posts on assurance & fighting for joy, including:
  

  • Letter 3 on assurance and fighting for joy (Jesus' desire vs. Satan's desire)
  • Letter 4 on joy (true joy is based on our relationship with God through Jesus Christ)
  • Letter 7 on assurance and fighting for joy (remember His love for us while we were sinners)
  • Letter 11 on assurance and fighting for joy (the Lord is at hand! - Philippians 4)
  • Letter 15 on assurance and fighting for joy (Joy is a gift of God, more than a feeling)
  • Letter 16 on assurance and fighting for joy (our prayers, His wise denials and joy)
  • Letter 18 on assurance and fighting for joy (my testimony of joy)
  • Shall we not drink the cup the Father has given us? (Letter 53 on assurance & fighting for joy)

  
  Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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