EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2024 9:07 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Hope is Characterized by Purity”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 3:3
Message of the verses: “”And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
The hope of the return of Jesus Christ makes a
practical difference in the lifestyle and the behavior of believers. I have mentioned in earlier Spiritual Diaries
what my life was before the Lord saved me on the 26th day of January
in the year of our Lord 1974. As I think
back on that week which I was visiting my high school friend near Orlando
Florida my life has never been the same.
From the salvation that the Lord gave to me and then to my wife and then
later on to our two children and then our seven grand children all I can say is
that it was not only a plan of the Lord but was a miracle that has happened
beginning almost 51 years ago. Now when this
hope is fixed on Him, it produces a growing desire to become like Him now (Gal.
2:20; Eph. 4:17-32; Col. 3:1-17). Jesus
Christ is the saint’s Lord and Savior, who provides the ideal pattern for holy
living. Jesus Christ is the goal of our
lives, the One whom we must follow with increasing diligence and fervor, which
the Apostle Paul did as seen in Phil. 3:12-14; cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 1 Tim. 6:12;
Heb. 12:1). Now ultimately, it should be
said of each and every believer that he purifies himself, just as Christ is
pure. MacArthur writes “The idea of purifying oneself does not mean believers
can generate their own sanctification. Rather, it emphasizes that the sanctifying
work of the Holy Spirit does
not take place apart from the believer’s obedience and use of the means of
sanctifying grace. This is a
typical call to Christians to obey Scripture in all things.”
At this time I am going to quote from a sermon that I
just listened to while taking my walk this afternoon. I will quote from this sermon and then will
see how I want to finish this section, with the possibility of continue looking
at this section from MacArthur’s commentary in the next SD.
“And then one final thought. There
are so many other verses I was going to give you on that, but I don’t have
time. One final thought. Our hope is guaranteed by abiding, realized in
righteousness, established by love, fulfilled in Christ’s likeness. But here’s
the – the practical aspect. Our hope is characterized by purity. It is
characterized by purity and that’s verse 3. “Everyone who has this hope fixed
on Him, on Christ, purifies Himself just as He is pure.” If your hope of heaven
is to be like Christ – this is what he’s saying – if your hope of heaven is to
be like Jesus Christ, He’s your Lord, He’s your Savior, He’s your model, He’s
your example, He’s the one who sets the pattern, He’s the one you press after,
in the words of Paul. He’s the goal of life. If that’s true, if you really want
to be like Christ, if that’s – if that’s your heavenly hope, then that will become your passion in
time.
“When
you think about heaven then, don’t
think about clouds and gold streets and limit your thoughts to that. Think of
this. When I get to heaven I am going to be like Jesus Christ. That is
God’s ultimate purpose for my salvation. That’s why He foreknew me. That’s why
He predestined me. That’s why He justified me to conform me to the image of His
Son, eternally, to make me like Christ. That’s where I’m headed. That’s my
hope. That is heaven to me. And if that is my hope in eternity, then that
becomes my desire in time.
“And
so, as I look at the pure Christ and as I long to be like Him in the future,
I’ll find that longing realized in the present. If you fix this hope on Him,
not on a place, not on activity, but on a person, that in itself becomes
purifying, purifying. I cannot gaze at the glory of Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:18. I cannot gaze at His glory and have a
heart that longs to be like Him so that I can perfectly serve and worship and
praise God as He does without that leaking in to my life here. I can’t have a
passionate longing to be like Christ in the life to come without it affecting
the life I live here. So when you think about heaven, fix your hope on Him and
see how it purifies your life here. Living in this hope is absolutely
life-transforming.
“Father,
we thank You for our time tonight. We have so many more things that should be
said, so many portions of Scripture, Philippians 3:21, to talk about. We’ll have someday a body
like unto His glorious body. First Corinthians 15:49 again saying the same thing. An
incorruptible, powerful glorified body like that of Christ.
“We
know that the day will come when we will see Jesus Christ in His glorious
appearing at the Rapture of the church. In that moment we will be transformed
into His image and forever we will be like Him. What joy. Not so much like Him
in external features, but like Him in virtue, character, service and worship
offered to You and to Him. This is our hope.
“It
is to this hope that we cling and for its realization in Christ’s likeness that
we long and longing to be like Christ, we purify ourselves even now. And we
know this pleases you because you desire our sanctification as well as our
glorification. May these great truths be ever rich to our hearts. We pray in
Christ’s name, Amen.
12/30/2024 9:39 PM
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