Jesus the Joy of Heaven

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast;
But sweeter far Thy face to see,
And in Thy presence rest.

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. Revelation 22:4

Jesus  is the Beloved One of his people. Above all the attractions of heaven, the Church longs to see the beauty of its Saviour. If there were no Jesus, there would be no heaven; Jesus is the “all in all” of heaven. Believers in every age of the world have summed up their hope and expectation in the one desire of seeing the Lord. David’s prayer in Psalm 27 tells of this longing, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”

Christians are waiting for the Lord Jesus, who will return, according to his own promise, to receive us unto himself, that where he is we may be also. (John 14:3) This gives us hope even though in this world we see much sin and defilement in ourselves and others. We see the bitter fruit of this sin, which is sorrow, anguish,  troubles, and afflictions. We find our choicest earthly comforts are vain and meaningless. The world has no resting place for us. We are strangers and pilgrims in the world. Even now, our citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

To be in love with heaven  we must be weaned from earth; it is then that we long with intense eagerness to find a refuge in our eternal home.       H. Watts

If our way grows rough, it leads to an unspeakably joyful end. One moment with Christ will make up for it all. Whatever other joys are in store for us, and there are many others, fellowship with Christ will be the greatest of them all. Heaven will be light with the light of his presence, and its inhabitants will enjoy eternal fellowship with him.  “The light of heaven is the face of Jesus; the joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus; the melody of heaven is the name of Jesus. The harmony of heaven is the praise of Jesus. The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus. The employment of heaven is the service of Jesus. The duration of heaven is the eternity of Jesus. The fullness of heaven is Jesus Himself.” …Anonymous (note found in D.L. Moody’s Bible)

What great joy is laid up in store for us in the future, when we shall be permitted to see God’s face in righteousness. To be permitted to gaze upon the face of an eastern monarch was considered a high honour; so great an honour indeed that the penalty of death occasionally followed an unauthorized attempt to gaze upon it. In allusion to this beholding the face of God, it is said of the redeemed in the book of Revelation, “And they shall see his face, and his name shall be written in their foreheads.”

And how shall we see God’s face? We shall see him in the person of Christ. And what face is to be compared with His? –a face more brilliant than ten thousand stars; a face in which shines resplendent every virtue that can make glorified humanity attractive; a face beaming with loving-kindness, compassion, mercy, wisdom, and grace; a face more beautiful than that of the loveliest of created beings; a face of which Samuel Rutherford has nobly said, “Oh, sun, in thy shining beauty, put on a web of darkness, and cover thyself before thy brightest Master and Maker.” This is the face that we shall see; the face of the once “Man of sorrow,” the face now of the Man of heaven’s glory.  H. Watts

Christ has “died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 10 This is our hope, not only to go to heaven, but to “live together with Him.” It is also Christ’s great desire that all his people “live together with Him.” Just before his death, Christ fervently prayed for his loved ones, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24 Christ is not going to be disappointed. He died upon The Cross of Calvary that we might “live together with him.”

He comes — for, oh; His yearning heart
No more can bear delay —
To scenes of full unmingled joy
To call His Bride away.

Our relationship with Christ is permanent. Many times he has told us, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Death severs our ties with dearest loved ones, but death has no power over our relationship with Christ. He is our God in life; our God in death; our God forever. The full realization of this relationship will be in heaven. Christ loves us now, and we rejoice in that love (see 1 Peter 1:8), but when we fellowship with him in heaven, we will know that love more clearly, fully, and blessedly. Heaven will be a home of perfect love and joy, and will continue forever. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3,4

I will close this post with an excerpt from Charles Spurgeon’s sermon, The Throne of God and of the Lamb. “To loving hearts great is the bliss of heaven’s unbroken fellowship of saints: it will indeed be a great joy in heaven to see all who loved the Lord below. How happy we shall be when these blessed reunions take place. Still, I think that all of you will agree with me that the heaven of heaven is that we shall be “with Christ, which is far better” –that we shall behold his face and partake of his glory. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be the centre of our delights. To have reached home in the heavenly Father’s house, to have seen our Elder-brother, and to be sure that we shall abide with him and go no more out: oh, that is what we pant for! We long to hear his voice welcoming us to our new abode.”

Come in, thou blessed, sit by me;

With my own blood I ransomed thee,

Enjoy my perfect favour;

Come in, thou ransomed spirit, come,

Thou now must dwell with me at home;

Ye blissful mansions, make him room,

For he must stay for ever.”

And then may our quick response be—

“I am coming! I am coming!

By the blood of Christ I’m coming!”

image credit: juliejigsaw

The Path of the Just

by William Mason

The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day….Prov. iv. 18.

Since the fall of man, there is no other way of being made just or righteous, but by the righteousness of the man Christ Jesus. Just Noah, righteous Lot, meek Moses, faithful Abraham, patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, all were sinners in themselves, but “their righteousness is of me,” saith Jehovah Jesus….Isa. liv. 17. Hence the Lord calls his people righteous. They are really constituted so in his sight. This truth should ever dwell in our minds. It is the foundation of all delight in God and love to him. Hence we are comforted in the way of truth and holiness. For Jesus, who is our righteousness, is also our light to direct our steps, and our path wherein we walk. He is the “light of the world, the light of life.” “I am the way,” saith Jesus. St. Paul exhorts, “As ye have received the Lord Jesus, so walk ye in him.“….Col. ii. 6.

Our faith in Jesus, is no new-fangled doctrine, but the same as was from the beginning. Christians are not left to the darkness of nature; they are not led by sudden, transient flashes of light; but by the clear, steady shining of truth upon their minds. Their walk, in the path of truth, is consistent and uniform.

Like the dawning light of the morning, the light of truth first breaks in upon the soul, and gradually increaseth brighter and brighter: so we see more clearly, believe more strongly, love more fervently, hope more steadily, obey more delightfully, and long more cheerfully for the perfect day. Though at some seasons, when vapors and mists of nature’s corruption arise, and the night of affliction and desertion overtakes the just, upright soul, he may be in fear, lest he should never hold out and see the perfect day. In such seasons he is too apt to lend his ear to a whisperer, who is ever ready to dishearten him. What with his corrupt heart, Satan’s suggestions, and men’s false doctrine, he is thrust sore at. He may fear, lest he should fail and perish for ever; but God’s power and truth will support him.

If the comforting Spirit had not left another word of proof in the whole Bible for the perseverance of the just, this one is sufficient. Wisdom hath spoken it; nor men nor devils shall reverse it. Every justified soul shall enjoy the perfect day of Jesus’ meridian glory and salvation in his kingdom. Till then, “the righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.“… Job xvii. 9.

By grace I see the shining path
Which leads to perfect bliss:
Jesus, my light, my life, my way,
Will bring me where he is.

O blessed, joyful, perfect day
Of endless light and love!
Press on, my soul, nor stay thy course,
Till thou dost reign above.

From- A Spiritual Treasury for the Children of God

Photo courtesy of alicepopkorn

The Light That Cannot Be Extinguished

Jesus spoke to them, saying,  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4,5

Jesus is the everlasting light. This Christmas season, as we remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, let us give thanks and rejoice that He came to earth and dispelled our darkness. All is darkness without Christ. Left to ourselves, we would have never found our way to the light nor out of the darkness. Thanks be to God! He has transformed us from lovers of  the darkness to lovers of the light. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” John 3:19 “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8.

When God created the heavens and the earth, He commanded the light to shine out of darkness. He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Before any man or woman ever becomes a Christian, God has to say, “Let light shine out of darkness.” If you believe in Christ, you have the light of life. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Christ, who is the Light of the world, paid the penalty for our sins by enduring his Father’s wrath on our behalf.  He endured extreme darkness for our sake. In his midnight hour, when dark clouds were gathering around him, He cried,”O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me except I drink it, thy will be done.” His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to the point of death.

At noon on the day Christ hung on the cross,  great darkness came over the land. It seemed that all the light had gone out of the world. “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed.“Luke 23:44 This terrific darkness had no ordinary cause. In fact, this darkness was God’s wrath being poured out on His Son, Jesus Christ.

What’s happening here is divine wrath is poured out in its final form.  Eternal wrath is about to be released and the darkness is everywhere.  You could say it another way.  God brought hell to Jerusalem that day. Jesus calls hell “outer darkness,” the ultimate black hole where there’s weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in the eternal unrelieved blackness.  It is the darkness of God’s judgment presence.

So from noon to three, hell came to Jerusalem and Judea.  God showed up in wrath.  And the interesting thing is, it wasn’t wrath on the Romans and it wasn’t wrath on the Jewish leaders, and it wasn’t wrath on the people.  It was wrath on the Son.  God unleashed the full extent of His fury on Jesus Christ.  As  Isaiah put it, ‘Wrath with fierce anger.’  Hell came there.- John MacArthur

Jesus drank the cup of wrath that belonged to us. He drank it dry. He willingly laid down His life for us. His enemies could not take His life from Him. Neither Pilate nor Herod, neither the Romans nor the Jews had authority or power to put Him to death. He laid it down of His own initiative. John 10:11, 18 His final prayer on the cross was, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46 With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

If the story had ended with Christ’s death on the cross we would have no reason to rejoice. If death had triumphed we would still be lost in our darkness and sin. Christ’s death would have been in vain. But, just as Christ had authority to lay down His life, He also had authority to take it up again. He was sovereign over His death, as He was sovereign over His resurrection.“He knew the bonds of death would be loosed, and that it was not possible He should be holden of it. One object of His dying was to destroy him who had the power of death, to destroy him by rising from the dead. He laid down His life according to the divine plan, with the determined purpose of taking it up again according to the same plan.”(Thomas James)

Now we can rejoice for we have been saved from sin and death and judgment. We are no longer living in darkness. Instead, we serve a living Savior. This Savior is the Light of the World; A Light that cannot be extinguished!

The Voice of Jesus

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad:
I found in Him a resting-place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold I freely give
The living water-thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quench’d, my soul revived
And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,
And all thy day be bright.”
I look’d to Jesus, and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till traveling days are done.
–Horatius Bonar, 1857