We have a rich inheritance
Dwelling with God in His presence
From sin and death a great release
A kingdom of great joy and peace
Predestined by the Father’s will
In union with our Savior still
And sealed by the Holy Spirit
Given as our sure deposit
So now believe and enter in
Proclaim salvation from our sin
Cling to your hope in life’s distress
Our Triune God forever bless
(To the tune of the Doxology)
Lord I rejoice – glad is my heart
As I walk close to you
In Your presence – joy You impart
And pleasures ever new.
My hope is in the Lord today
He will take care of me
And though I die – Christ made a way
To rise in victory
Then in Your presence I will live
With joy forevermore
Enjoy the pleasures that You give
And You always adore
(To the tune of the “O God Our Help In Ages Past”)
Creator, Father God, we pray
Show forth your zeal and might
Your presence may we know today
Turn back the evil night
We plead O Lord your grace impart
A new work now begin
Revive and soften every heart
And forgive every sin
We cry to you and on you wait
For your final answer
Your just judgment will be the fate
For each wicked sinner
But blessings for those who repent
Who seek the Lord’s mercy
Saved by Jesus whom you have sent
To save us, set us free
Behold the new heaven and earth
Our hope none can destroy
For peace will reign, sin’s doom reversed
We’ll dwell in endless joy
– From a sermon on Isaiah 64-65
(To the tune of “O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing”)
God wants us to have assurance
that no matter how much evil
and suffering and futility we see,
He will make all things new.
– John Piper
I didn’t preach this past weekend, so I don’t have a new sermon song this week. But a few weeks ago as I was working on the worship service, I wanted to include William Cowper’s hymn “There Is A Fountain.” It is a great hymn, but the last verse leaves us in the grave. What about the great hope of our resurrection? So I wrote a sixth verse. Below are Cowper’s original five verses and my final verse:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away, Wash all my sins away;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, Lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
When Christ shall come with trumpet sound,
We’ll rise forevermore,
To sin and death no longer bound,
Our Savior we’ll adore.
Our Savior we’ll adore, Our Savior we’ll adore;
To sin and death no longer bound,
Our Savior we’ll adore.
Arise and shine, forever praise, Our gracious glor-ious King
People of God your voices raise, Forever let us sing.
For Christ our Savior will return, New Jerusalem bring
We look forward, our spirits’ yearn, For our Lord’s soon coming.
Our glor-ious Lord with us will dwell, In everlasting light
In brilliance no mere words can tell, He’ll banish the dark night.
His people He will gather all, Each daughter ev’ry son
From all the nations He will call, The children of Zion.
Great songs of praise declare His worth, And tell of His glory.
Great wealth will flow from all the earth, Abundance from the sea
Zion in glor-i-ous beauty, The sights, the smells, the sounds
The brilliance of this new city, Ever expands, abounds.
But what of us, vile and sinful, How shall we enter in?
Our Lord make us each beautiful, Cleansing us from our sin.
We’ll walk in humble righteousness, Trust in Him and His grace
We’ll dwell in peace, joyful gladness, Of sin and death no trace.
This glor-ious day is guaranteed, To all who will receive
Turn from your sin, His offer heed, Your Savior now believe.
And in the trials of these days, To this great promise cling:
We’ll dwell with God, forever praise, Our gracious glor-ious King!
– From a sermon on Isaiah 60
(Words: Brian Mikul. Copyright 2015)
(Music: To the tune of “I Sing The Mighty Power of God”)
Isaiah 60 calls us to look forward to the New Jerusalem where:
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
3 Things To Consider Before That Next Big Sin – Tim Challies
John Owen has a challenge for you. Before that next big sin you are pondering, he wants you to simply consider three things…
4 Things That Happen When You Study Leviticus More Than 10 Years – Jay Sklar (TGC)
In my experience, at least four profound things happen when this book begins to seep into your soul…
Someday It Will Be Worth It – Mark Altrogge (Blazing Center)
You won’t be disappointed. Keep believing in Jesus. Keep hoping in him. Keep clinging to him and abiding in him. Don’t give up, no matter how bad the pain gets. You won’t be put to shame. Keep rejoicing and giving thanks in all things. You can’t imagine your reward and the joys that await you.
Preparing for Sunday Worship – Jason Helopoulis
We believe our engagement in corporate worship is essential, so we should also expect to prepare even as we expect the pastor and musicians to prepare for their participation in the Sunday morning service. How can you prepare for worship?
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day prepared for corporate worship of our great God!
Separated from God, who was to be the source of their hope, Adam and Eve and the generations they birthed began to search for hope horizontally. So we look for hope in the temporary situations, locations, relationships, and possessions of the broken world. We hook ourselves to things that give temporary hope, or no hope at all, going back again and again until we become enslaved and addicted. In searching for hope horizontally, we are shopping for God replacements. But just like wooden idols that cannot see, hear, or speak, these God replacements have no capacity whatsoever to deliver. They quickly leave us empty, always craving for more….
How different would your life and mine be if we remembered that everything that exists in the created world is meant to be a finger pointing us to the only place where hope can be found?
– Paul David Tripp in Forever
Today we look at the last of our great hopes from the book of Philippians. As we have already seen, we have a great hope to be with Jesus and to see his return. Today we consider that:
We have a great hope to be resurrected with Jesus. In Philippians 3:20, we read that Jesus will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. We all have lowly bodies. They are perishable and mortal, but one day we will have bodies that are imperishable and immortal (I Corinthians 15:53). They will not get sick, injured, grow old, or die. We will live forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:10-11 also speak of attaining the resurrection of the dead. Today we will share in the sufferings of Christ, but one day we will be raised with Christ. This is our great hope.
But until then, we must press on toward Jesus. Paul wants to know Jesus (v8-10), and he presses on to know him more (v12-14). He is like a runner straining forward toward the goal – which is Jesus. He is not content with what he has already attained. He wants to go deeper and further into a relationship with Jesus. What about us? Are we pressing on toward Jesus? Are we seeking to grow in our relationship with him each day?
We have a great hope to be resurrected with Jesus. Until then, press on toward Jesus.
Brian J. Mikul 