GOD’S WORD FOR AUGUST 23~ ~ Isaiah 40:5 ~ ~ “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

From the book, We Shall See God – with teachings from Charles H. Spurgeon and Randy Alcorn

THE FUTURE REIGN OF CHRIST

SPURGEON:

In our present reality, we find ourselves in the midst of a battle between good and evil, between God’s armies and the devil’s strongholds.  But we have the assurance that one day Christ will secure the ultimate victory…and that we will reign forever with Him!

We anticipate the happy day when the whole world shall know Christ;  when the gods of the heathen shall be cast to the moles and the bats….and the crescent of Mohammed shall wane, never again to cast its baleful rays upon the nations;  when kings shall bow down before the Prince of Peace, and all nations shall call their Redeemer blessed.

Some despair of this.  We know that the world and all that is therein is one day to be burned up, and afterward we look for new heavens and for a new earth.  But we cannot read our Bibles without the conviction that:

“Jesus shall reign wherever the sun

Does his successive journeys run.” 

(from the hymn, “Jesus shall reign” by Isaac Watts, 1719)

We are not discouraged by the length of His delays; we are not disheartened by the long period He allots to the church in which to struggle with little success and much defeat.

We believe that God will never allow this world, which has once seen Christ’s bloodshed upon it, to be always the devil’s stronghold.  What a shout shall that be when men and angels shall unite to cry, “Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns”  (Revelation 19:6)

What a satisfaction will it be in that day to have had a share in the fight, to have helped to break the arrows of the bow, and to have aided in winning the victory for our Lord!

Happy are they who trust themselves with this conquering Lord, and who fight side by side with Him, doing their little in His name and by His strength!  How unhappy are those on the side of evil!!  It is a losing side, and to lose is to lose and to be lost forever.  Whose side are you on?

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ALCORN

Our present purpose is inseparable from God’s eternal purpose for us to rule the earth forever as His children and heirs.  That truth is expressed in the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s defining statement: 

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”  We will glorify God and find joy in Him as we do what He has made us to do:  serve Him as resurrected beings and carry out His plan for developing a Christ-centered, resurrected culture in a resurrected universe.

The apostle Paul describes Christ’s reign—present and future—this way: 

“As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in turn:  Christ, the Firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him.  Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet”  (1Corinthians 15:22)

Most scholars agree that the point of this passage is not that Christ will someday cease to reign but that His reign will continue after His enemies are conquered and judged.  (According to royal tradition, when a prince handed over to his father a kingdom he had conquered, the king commonly  entrusted rulership of that kingdom back his son)

Then everything is put under His feet – The period of rebellion will be over forever, and the universe, along with all who serve Christ, will participate in the Master’s joy!!!

Today, while the battle still rages, may we join Spurgeon in his call to fight on the right side, looking to that day when humans and angels unite to cry, “Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (Revelation 19:6)

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Revelation 3:21

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Revelation 2:7

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

Revelation 19:16

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Psalm 93:1

The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.

Psalm 97:1

The Lord reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad!

Psalm 146:10

The Lord shall reign forever— Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 9:10

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalm 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

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