Glorified (original 1985)

As far as any eye could see
There was no green. But every tree
Was cinder black, and all the ground
Was grey with ash. The only sound
Was arid wind, like spirits' ghosts,
Gasping for some living hosts
In which to dwell, as in the days
Of evil men, before the blaze
Of unimaginable fire
Had made the earth a flaming pyre
For God's omnipotent display
Of holy rage. The dreadful Day
Of God had come. The moon had turned
To blood. The sun no longer burned
Above, but, blazing with desire,
Had flowed into a lake of fire.
The seas and oceans were no more,
And in their place a desert floor
Fell deep to meet the brazen skies,
And silence conquered distant cries.

The Lord stood still above the air.
His mighty arms were moist and bare.
They hung, as weary, by his side
Until the human blood had dried
Upon the sword in his right hand.
He stared across the blackened land
That he had made, and where he died.
His lips were tight, and deep inside,
The mystery of sovereign will
Gave leave, and it began to spill
In tears upon his bloody sword
For one last time.

And then the Lord
Wiped every tear away and turned
To see his bride. Her heart had yearned
Four thousand years for this: His face
Shone like the sun, and every trace
Of wrath was gone. And in her bliss
She heard the Master say, "Watch this:
Come forth all goodness from the ground,
Come forth and let the earth redound
With joy." And as he spoke, the throne
Of God came down to earth and shone
Like golden crystal full of light,
And banished once for all the night.
And from the throne a stream began
To flow and laugh, and as it ran,
It made a river and a lake,
And everywhere it flowed a wake
Of grass broke on the banks and spread
Like resurrection from the dead.

And in the twinkling of an eye
The saints descended from the sky.

And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come. She leaped the stream—
Almost—and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye.

I knelt to drink,
And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy. And everywhere
I turned I saw a wonder there.
A big man running on the lawn:
That's old John Younge with both legs on.
The blind can see a bird on wing,
The dumb can lift his voice and sing.
The diabetic eats at will,
The coronary runs uphill.
The lame can walk, the deaf can hear,
The cancer-ridden bone is clear.
Arthritic joints are lithe and free,
And every pain has ceased to be.


And every sorrow deep within,
And every trace of lingering sin
Is gone. And all that's left is joy,
And endless ages to employ
The mind and heart to understand
And love the sovereign Lord who planned
That it should take eternity
To lavish all his grace on me.

O God of wonder, God of might,
Grant us some elevated sight,
Of endless days. And let us see
The joy of what is yet to be.
And may your future make us free,
And guard us by the hope that we,
Within the light of candle four,
Are glorified forevermore.

By John Piper. ©2012
Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org
©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Used by Permission.

Rediscover the Cross

Shadows of the Cross - March 17, 2013

Covenant Church - Shepherdstown, WV

Message by Pastor Terry Crawford

The Cross
===============
The Cross is inseparable from the story of Jesus.

Know Jesus
===============
1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)
---------------
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Question
===============
Where have you seen a cross?  (style, vampires, good luck, red cross, enemy, faith)

The serpents curse
===============
Genesis 3:14-15 (NIV)
---------------
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Learning
===============
Proto-evangelium = first gospel

He will enter Jerusalem riding a donkey (the colt of an ass)
===============
Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
---------------
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

He will be betrayed by a friend
===============
Psalm 41:9 (NIV)
---------------
Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.

The price of his betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver
===============
Zechariah 11:12 (NIV)
---------------
I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

The betrayal money will be cast onto the floor of the Temple
===============
Zechariah 11:13 (NIV)
---------------
And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

The betrayal money will be used to buy a potter's field
===============
Zechariah 11:13 (NIV)
---------------
And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

He will not open his mouth to defend himself
===============
Isaiah 53:7 (NIV)
---------------
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

He will be beaten and spat upon
===============
Isaiah 50:6 (NIV)
---------------
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

He will be "numbered with the transgressors"
===============
Isaiah 53:12 (NIV)
---------------
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

He will be given vinegar and gall to drink
===============
Psalm 69:21 (NIV)
---------------
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

He will say: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
===============
Psalm 22:1 (NIV)
---------------
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?

He will be buried with the rich
===============
Isaiah 53:9 (NIV)
---------------
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

He will be buried with the rich (Fulfillment)
===============
Matthew 27:57-60 (NIV)
---------------
As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.
Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.
Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

He will not decay
===============
Psalm 16:10 (NIV)
---------------
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

He will not decay (Fulfillment)
===============
Acts 2:31 (NIV)
---------------
Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

The age old Story
===============
Sin brings death

The plan
===============
God had a plan that involved a cross and a Savior

Look upon and Live
===============
Numbers 21:4-9 (NIV)
---------------
They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;
they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived. The Journey to Moab

Talking to Nicodemus
===============
John 3:13-15 (NIV)
---------------
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Eternal
===============
The cross reminds us of the eternal.

Who is Jesus?
===============
Mark 8:29-35 (NIV)
---------------
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Jesus Predicts His Death
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Why I believe I am a Successful Man?

1) God – With God in my life I have success. He walks with me through all the ups and downs of my life. He has always been there with me and it is because of my God that I have all the blessings in my life.


2) Parents – My parent too, have been with me through ups and downs. Through victories and defeats in sports and schooling. I believe that I see God as a great heavenly father, because he provided me with a great earthly father. While I continue to learn to be a father myself and am leaning you my dad. I lack patience, but I see a considerable amount of this in my dad. So, I hope that I will eventually develop more patience.


3) Wife – God has given me an amazing wife. She supports most of my decisions and judgments while helping me through others. She is always there for me and provides me with unending love.


4) Daughter – God has given my wife and I a beautiful daughter that can light up a room with her smiles (already as a five month old, I will need a lot of restraint in 15 years.) Have a child has showed me how much I lack in patience, but because of the above three I will get better with this and come out all the better.


5) Family and Friends – My wife and I have a great circle of family and friends that would do almost anything for us and that we would do almost anything for. Through my friends I have been pushed to grow as a person, a husband, a father, and a follower of Jesus. For these friends I am extremely thankful.


No where do I consider money, job, titles, or social standing part of success. I have these things, but tomorrow I may not, but I will always have my family and friends. But, most importantly I have God who holds me up through all that life brings. I am extremely thankful for all my life has brought me and I look forward to a future full of faith, hope and love.

No Limit

Jesus is fully God and fully man. Jesus chose to fore go the powers of God that was in Him to demonstrate to us the way to rely fully on God for everything we do and need. Jesus healed people not by His powers as God, but by the powers of God the Father. Jesus was not limited, but he did limit him self.


19 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
(John 5:19-23, ESV)

By Jesus' example we learn what it is to truely submit to the will of God. We go before God through Jesus, with the power of the Holy Spirit. Any breach in the chain of command limits the blessing God has in store, whether it be healing, financal blessing, marriage restoration, reunion, or a number of things. We must be willing to listen when the Spirit speaks.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  (John 16:13, ESV)

Just remember, God is with you today and talks to you. He walks with you through all the joy and struggles of your life. All you need to do is ask Him and he will reveal the truth. It may not be when you want it and it may not be what you want, but he will answer.

Sigh

The only thing I can say today.

Before you read the next line take a big deep breath and release.

God loves me.

No matter how bad you are.
No matter how good you are.
No matter whether you are religious or not.

God love you.
Jesus loves you.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7