2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
There is a part of me that has never given up my childhood delight in getting a letter from a friend. There are all kinds of mail, a good part of which I have to put through my own personal filtering system. If it says “bulk mail” or looks like an ad or a sweepstakes entry form, my filter generally leads me to deep six it unopened. However, when I get a letter either by e-mail or snail-mail from a friend, that is always a welcome arrival and is given my careful attention. Having this kind of filtering system is what is allowing me to keep my sanity in the face of the enormous amount of mail that comes my way. It’s something I’ve done for years, but never really put in words until I read Thomas Kinkaid’s wonderful book “Lightposts For Living.” Each of us has to work out our own filtering system, one which fits his individual needs. Mine, like Kinkaid’s, is designed to make time available so that I can interface with God. Our Lord is a lot more important than those things that intrude on His time with me, like junk mail. Friends like you never intrude on the Lord’s time, because you share my faith and help bring me closer to the Lord.
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with Handel’s “Messiah.” Actually, it leads into the subject of the next section which is the arrival of Good News for Israel and for us. IS 52: 7, “How wonderful it is to see a messenger coming across the mountains, bringing good news, the news of peace! He announces victory and says to Zion, ‘your God is King!’ “ This is clearly a prophetic verse about the coming of the Messiah to establish His Kingdom. Israel has been waiting eagerly for this since the time of Ezekiel’s tragic vision in EZK 10: 4 when the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence departed the temple in response to many long years of Jewish disobedience to Him. Sadly, traditional Jews don’t know who their Messiah is or recognize that He has already come once and been taken out. They can’t see the enormous compassion that our loving Abba has for us in that Christ will come again for those who believe. Even without this knowledge that we are blessed enough to have, they can be encouraged by this prophetic revelation from God. We can be doubly encouraged.
Handel must have understood this as we do today, because he chose RO 10: 15 as the basis for the next selection for the soprano soloist to sing. “And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the Scripture says [IS 52: 7], ‘How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring the Good News!’ “ This whole issue brings to mind the great commission of MT 28: 19-20, “Go, then, to all people everywhere and make them My disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of an age.” Just as the Lord commanded the Jewish people to be “a nation of priests” and to “be a light to the nations,” anyone who has been saved and lives “in Christ” has received this assignment. I can’t think of anything more delightful than being the bearer of good news, particularly the Good News! This is not always an easy job, but when someone gets this latter message, we can celebrate the salvation of his very life. Now, that’s my idea of an important, God-sized assignment! I can’t take any credit for the act of salvation. That belongs to the Holy Spirit, but I can sure enjoy watching the benefits of faith accrue to the other person.
It is with all of this in mind that the soprano soloist is asked to sing # 38 air for soprano, “How Beautiful Is The Feet Of Them.” Let’s read the words from the King James Version of the Bible that she is asked to sing. “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Just before this lovely solo, the chorus had sung #37, “The Lord Gave The Word.” When you place that in the context of what the soloist sings after it, the message being sent has the authority of God behind it and is even more important than any ordinary message to receive and to believe. Here are the words that chorus sings: “The Lord gave the word (or should it be the Word ?); great was the company of the preachers.” What a privilege it is for each of us to accept this assignment and be a messenger carrying the Good News!
The supernatural hand of God can be seen in the sending out of this message. PS 19:3-5 shows this. “No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their [Gospel messengers] voice goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth. God made a home in the sky for the sun; it comes out in the morning like a happy bridegroom, like an athlete eager to run a race.” Put this in the context of GN 1: 14-16 and read its words: “Then God commanded, ‘Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin; they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth’ -and it was done. So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; He also made the stars.” Handel used RO 10:18 as the basis for the next section which the chorus is to sing. “But I ask: Is it true that they did not hear the message? Of course they did-for as the Scripture [PS 19: 3-5] says, ‘The sound of their voices went out to the world; their words reached the ends of the earth.’ “ That is the Scriptural setting for the chorus singing # 39, “Their Sound Is Gone Out Into All Lands.” Here are the actual words from the KJV that they sing: “Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the end of the world.” Tomorrow, we will look at what happens once the message is received. Please join me in this prayer:
PRAYER: O Lord, You have given us a great God-sized assignment. We are to carry your Word to anyone who will listen. That requires us to know it through studying the Scriptures, prayer, our congregations, and our circumstances. You equip us to carry out this assignment by the indwelling in us of the Holy Spirit. This is a free and undeserved gift You give us by Your grace. We dedicate ourselves to being empty vessels, empty of sin and evil entanglements, so that the Holy Spirit is free to work through us in carrying out Your righteous and sovereign will. We are blessed every day by that in our own lives and are blessed in seeing how it brings peace and contentment to the lives of others You use us to touch. We praise You and adore You for bringing the Gospel to us and giving us the opportunity to bring it to others. We pray as many people as possible will listen and come to faith in Your Son. In His holy name, amen.
Be encouraged, Dear Ones, to accept the assignment we have all been given. Know that your Father in heaven has given each of you special gifts and the Holy Spirit to equip you to obey this command. If my experience is any teacher, carrying His Word to others as well as living it in your own lives will bring you peace that goes beyond human understanding. It is only a foretaste of the joy we will all share together in His eternal Kingdom. Peter and I send you our love.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn