Day 7, Saturday (March 16) - Living into His Name

Posted on: March 16, 2019
by: Gerrit Dawson, Senior Pastor

COME, LONG EXPECTED JESUS!

Servant King of the Nations
Day 7 Saturday

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EXPLORE THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST

For us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist (1 Corinthians 8: 6).

ISAIAH 42: 1-7

Behold my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged

till he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law.

Thus says God, the LORD,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people on it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;

I will take you by the hand and keep you;

I will give you as a covenant for the people,

a light for the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

ROMANS 15: 8-9

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name” (2 Sam. 22: 50).

CONSIDER

This passage from Isaiah 42 is the first of four “servant” prophecies in which the LORD promises salvation through the work of a faithful redeemer who represents his people in triumph that comes through suffering. What personality qualities of this servant do you find in this passage?

What are his activities on behalf of the people?

Where do you see the promise of this prophecy extend beyond Israel?

How does Paul confirm this world-reaching work of the servant king in our Romans passage?

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PRAY THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Begin with the Jesus Prayer. Pray it reflectively several times, for yourself or on behalf of another.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Then pray the day’s prayer slowly and repeatedly for at least a minute (that’s about seven times). Allow the prayer to take you into the meaning of the day’s facet of Jesus’ name. Pray it for yourself and/or on behalf of another. Take your time and trust this process!

Lord Jesus Christ, sent as servant to save the nations,

reign as king in my heart and throughout this world.

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LIVE INTO THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

He has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you might become partakers of his divine
nature . . . For this very reason, supplement your faith with
virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness,
brotherly affection and love (2 Peter 1: 4-7).

MATTHEW 2: 13

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

MATTHEW 20: 26-28

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

CONSIDER

When the wise men came to worship the newborn king, Herod immediately considered Jesus to be a rival. In what areas of life do you consider Jesus to be a rival to your desires?

In Jesus’ words from Matthew 20, we see that our King, the desire of nations, considered himself to be a servant of all. Jesus goes on to liken our mission to his mission as the servant. To what kind of life are we thus called?

In what areas of your daily life might such service play out today?

Close by praying this name of Jesus, our Servant King, first through the more literal translation of this O Antiphon,

O King of the nations, and their desire

The cornerstone making both one;

Come and save the human race,

Which you fashioned from clay.

And then, by singing this verse of “O Come, O Come, Immanuel,”

O come, O King of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind.

Bid all our sad divisions cease,

And be yourself our King of Peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel