Two Are Better Than One

H. MATURITY - FOCUS ON JESUS - MAY 31, 2011

1. Revelation 19:11-13 (19:11-16) JESUS: WORD OF GOD! “And I saw the heaven opened; and lo, a white horse, and he that sat on it iscalled Faithful and True; and in righteousness does he judge and war. 12And his :eyes areflame of fire, and on his :head aremany diadems; having a name written which no one knows but he. 13And he isclothed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his :name is called The Word of :God” (NNT). John 1:1 sets Jesus forth as the LOgos, the Word. And His Name in Heaven as Glorified Man is The Word of God. Who is like unto You, Lord Jesus? We know of none other! Hallowed be your :name.

2. Revelation 20:11 (20:11-15) JESUS: GREAT WHITE THRONE. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose :face the heaven fled away; and no place was found for them.” Jesus has two thrones. One at the beginning of the Millennium: the BEma - the Throne of Judgment for the saints. And one at the end of the Millennium: The Great White Throne - at which time all sinners receive their just desserts. Your :kingdom come.

3. Revelation 2:18 (2:18-29) JESUS: EYES AS A FLAME OF FIRE. “And to the angel of thechurch of Thyatira write: These thingssays the Son of :God, who has his :eyes as a flame of fire, and his :feet like burnished brass.” For the first 3 churches of the book of Revelation, Jesus first exhorts them to hear the word of the Spirit to them. ThenHe gives His promise to the overcomers. But starting with Thyatira and the last 4 churches, He changes the order. It is here to the overcomers that He gives His promise - and ends up exhorting them to hear the Word of the Spirit! Your :will be done, As in heaven, so on earth.

4. Revelation 3:7 (3:7-13) JESUS: ALL DOORS OPEN TO HIM. “And to the angel :of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the holy one, the true, that has the key of David, who opens and none shall shut, and who shuts and none opens.” Philadelphia like Smyrna - are the only two churches to whom Jesus has no word of condemnation. The sixth church has a little power, and their Lord who has the keys to open or shut all doors, has given to Philadelphia an open door, which Satan cannotshut. Consider this! Our :daily :breadgive us this day.

5. Revelation 4:2-3 (4:1-8) JESUS: A RAINBOW-SURROUNDED THRONE. “After these thingsI was straightway in theSpirit: and lo, a throne was set in the heaven, and one sitting upon the throne; 3and who sat wasto look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius: and a rainbow round the throne, like an emerald to look upon.” This is the first picture of Jesus following the opening of this “Portal” door. What an awesome picture of our Resurrected and GlorifiedLord! J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission through the motivation of George Muller - read 2 chapters on Jesus from the Book of Revelation everyMonday morning. He maintainedhis focus on Jesus. And forgive us our :debts, as we also have forgiven our :debtors.

6. Revelation 5:6-7 (5:6-1:14) JESUS: WHO HAS THE 7 SPIRITS OF GOD. “And I saw amidst the throne and the four living beings, and amidst the elders, a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of :God, sent forth into all the earth. 7And he came, and he took itout of the right handof him that sat on the throne.” Again, a sober and exalting vision of Jesus! The slain and resurrected Lamb of God was aloneworthy in heaven and earth to take and open the booklet with the 7-fold seals. We can nevermove too high in glorifying the eternal Son of God. In Himdwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily! And bring us not into temptation.

7. Luke 2:52 (2:4-52) JESUS: HIS 4-FOLD GROWTH. “And Jesus advanced in :wisdom and stature, and in grace with God and men.” Never before or after - a man like Jesus! Even as Son of man - in His human state - He excelled all others. All pictures above of Jesus in the Book of Revelation - see Him as Glorified Man! There is a Man beside the Father sitting on the Throne of the Universe. But deliver us from the evil one.

NOTE: Through the example of Oswald Chambers, I have been helped in maintaining my daily - and even hourly and momentarily - focus on Jesus! At the age of 27 he broke through into a victorious and overcoming relationship with Jesus, that continued right up to his Home-going 16 years later.

His widow Biddy posthumously prepared for publishing some 50 of his books, that she had during their 7 years of marriage, recorded very accurately in shorthand. Her part in this union - was much like that of Catherine Marshall for Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate.

Again and again in his teachings came the word - “My Utmostfor His Highest.” When Biddy picked out from all his writings 366 readings for a Daily Devotional - thisseemed the right title for such a volume.

“Personal, Passionate Devotion to Jesus” was another of his words that recurs again and again in his writings. This morning, May 31, 2011, I read his reading from “My Utmost for His Highest,” and marked it - “Master this.” I am including it for you, as a reading I have continually sought to “master”! J.A.Watt

PUT GOD FIRST - Oswald Chambers - May 31

“Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . . for He knew what was in man (John 2:24-25).

Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God's grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be - absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.

Put God's Will First. “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9). A personal obedience is towhat he sees to be a need - our Lord's obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, “We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him.” But we must first make sure that God's “needs” and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, “. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the “needs” of God and His will. Once God's “needs” in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His “needs” elsewhere.

Put God's Son First. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:5). God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a “Bethlehem.” Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God's ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.

(For further research: See “Oswald Chambers - Abandoned to God” - The Life Story of the author of “My Utmost for His Highest” by David McCasland, Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids MI - <www.dhp.org> ).