Comfort: Belonging to Jesus
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
2/16/2020 AM
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Text:
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Isaiah 51;
Lord's Day 1
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Psalters: |
269, 215, 201, 203 |
- The meaning.
- To belong to Jesus Christ is a thoroughly biblical concept.
- Jesus speaks of “My sheep” (John 10:14) whom the Father gave to Him (John 17:2,6,9,11); whom He “purchased.”
- His Lordship is exclusive and all comprehensive.
- How did I become His property?
- I did not give myself to Him, but God gave me and the church to Christ.
- Secondly, we become His sheep by the act of Christ purchasing and redeeming the sheep.
- Thirdly, we become His sheep by an act of the Holy Spirit branding (sealing) us as Jesus’ sheep.
- The comfort of belonging to Christ.
- This comfort is a knowledge (a reckoning or a being persuaded) of certain Biblical facts (Rom. 15:4).
- First, comfort implies a contradictory experience, i.e., the guilt of my sin and of my sinfulness.
- But God gives me knowledge of what He has done.
- First, I belong to my Lord.
- Second, His Spirit within delivers us from the dominion and power of sin, so we can be sorry and hate evil.
- The assurance of belonging to Christ.
- God gifts us with the ability to believe, to say that we belong to Him in spite of the constant presence of our sin and sinfulness.
- This assurance can be lacking because we are aware of our great and many sins.
- Assurance comes in the way of our finding within us not only godly sorrow for sin, but also a hungering after righteousness.
- This is the awareness that I belong to Christ body and soul and am His servant called to obey Him.
- The fruit of this assurance is that we become sincerely willing and ready to live unto Him.