A. Jesus is the Good Shepherd seeking to unite all into His one flock (John 10:11, 16)
B. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12; 1:4, 9)
II. Hear Him
A. Jesus stood outside, knocking on the door of the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)
B. “He who has an ear, let him hear with the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:22)
III. Love Him
A. God pleads for peace and unity among His children (Luke 15:28-32)
B. If we see Him and hear Him, we cannot help but love Him (John 14:15)
IV. Obey Him
A. The longsuffering of God is not limitless (Luke 13:6-9)
B. If you love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3)
A. When we come face-to-face with God’s holiness, we see how undeserving we are (Job 40:3-5; Isaiah 6:5)
B. Yet, His grace allows us to be near Him, in His embrace (Ephesians 2:8-9)
II. God’s guidance
A. Closeness to God gives us peace and rest (Isaiah 26:3; Matthew 11:28-30)
B. Closeness to His Word provides guidance and guards us from sin (Psalm 31:3; 73:24)
III. God’s glory
A. If abide in His Word, He will never abandon us—in times of joy, sorrow, or even death (Hebrews 13:5-6)
B. And when that time of death comes and we await the final judgment, we have confidence that He has prepared a place in glory—in His eternal “home on high” (John 14:1-3)
Based on a hymn written by Wilkin B. “Chief” Bacon in 1943.
I. First verse: the crucifixion
A. We must be motivated by His mercy, even while suffering (Luke 23:34)
B. “For us He died that for Him we might live” (2 Corinthians 5:15)
II. Second verse: the resurrection
A. We must be motivated by His resurrection to share the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:13-20)
B. Baptism recreates the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-5)
III. Third verse: the hope of heaven
A. We must be motivated by His promise to receive us to a prepared place in eternity (John 14:2-3)
B. Evangelism is an outpouring of love and gratitude for the Savior (Matthew 28:19-20)
IV. Chorus: can He depend on you?
A. Do we respond appropriately to His great sacrifice? (Acts 4:20)
B. Our focus must be on eternity (Colossians 3:1-4)
A. “Swiftly…swiftly…” (James 4:14)
B. “How are we using God’s golden moments?” (Ephesians 5:16)
C. “Shall we reap glory? Shall we reap tears?” (Galatians 6:7)
II. Verse 2
A. “Millions…” (Matthew 7:13-14)
B. “Shall we sit idly…” (Matthew 9:35-38)
III. Verse 3
A. “Souls that are precious” (John 3:16)
B. “Souls that are dying” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
C. “While we rejoice our sins are forgiven” (Philippians 4:4) – may our joy motivate us to tell others!
D. “Did He not also die for these lost ones?…” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
IV. Chorus
A. “Into our hands the gospel is given, into our hands is given the light, Haste, let us carry God’s precious message, guiding the erring back to the right”
B. Matthew 28:18-20
I. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Psalm 126:1-4)
A. Do we express joy as we should for the blessings of God?
B. Delivered from the bondage of sin, do we now laugh and sing and tell everyone about Jesus?
II. Bringing in the sheaves (Psalm 126:5-6)
A. “Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4)
B. “Winners for souls are first weepers for souls.” (Spurgeon)
C. At the harvest, after the hard work of reaping, “We shall come rejoicing”
I met Paul Mays at the Spiritual Sword Lectureship a couple of weeks ago. If you are not familiar with this brother’s work, you should take a few minutes (or hours) to listen to his hymns. They can be accessed on Facebook as well as YouTube.
Brother Mays plans to publish a 1000-song hymnal in 2028 consisting only of songs written by members of the Lord’s church. I wrote something and shared it with Paul in between a couple of lectures. He took off running with it, arranging the melodies and producing a video of the song, and I wanted to share it with you here.
If you compose hymns, contact Paul so he can include it in his hymnal!
A. “There is a habitation built by the living God” (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Timothy 3:14-15; 1 Peter 2:5)
B. “For all of every nation” (Revelation 5:8-10; Acts 10:34-35)
C. “Who seek that grand abode” (Hebrews 11:6,8-10)
II. Second verse
A. “A city with foundations, firm as the eternal throne” (Revelation 21:14; 22:3)
B. “No wars nor desolations shall ever move a stone” (Revelation 21:27; 22:4)
III. Third verse
A. “No night is there” (Revelation 22:5; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:8-14; Acts 26:18)
B. “No sorrow, no death and no decay” (Revelation 21:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
C. “No yesterday, no morrow, but one eternal day” (1 John 2:25; Matthew 25:46)
IV. Fourth verse
A. “Within its pearly portals, angelic armies sing” (Revelation 5:11-12)
B. “With glorified immortals, the praises of its king” (Hebrews 12:22-24; Matthew 8:11)
A. “Worthy of praise is Christ our Redeemer” (Titus 2:11-14)
B. “Worthy of praise…glory, honor, and power” (Hebrews 13:15)
C. “Worthy of all our soul’s adoration” (Psalm 103:1-5)
II. Second verse
A. “Lift up the voice in praise and devotion, saints of all earth before Him should bow (Colossians 3:16)
B. “Angels in heaven worship Him saying, Worthy art Thou!” (Hebrews 1:6; 2:7; Joshua 5:13-15)
III. Third verse
A. “Lord may we come before Thee with singing, filled with Thy Spirit, wisdom and power” (Ephesians 5:17-21; 2 Timothy 1:7; Acts 17:2,17; 18:4,19; 19:8-9; 24:24-25)
B. “May we ascribe Thee glory and honor, worthy art Thou!” (Hebrews 11:6)
A. “My life, my joy, my all” (Luke 9:23; Matthew 5:10-12; Mark 12:29-30)
B. “He is my strength…” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
C. “When I am sad to Him I go” (2 Corinthians 7:4; Philippians 4:4)
II. The continual friendship and blessing of being in Christ
A. “My Friend in trials sore” (Romans 8:35-39)
B. “I go to Him for blessings” (3 John 2; James 4:3; Ephesians 1:3; Luke 9:25; Acts 14:17)
III. Jesus is our guide and protector
A. “He’s so true to me” (2 Thessalonians 3:3; John 14:15; 1 Peter 5:8)
B. “Following Him I know I’m right” (Matthew 7:13-14)
IV. Christ is our trustworthy Friend
A. “I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when life’s fleeting days shall end” (Ephesians 1:11-12; Hebrews 6:13-18)
B. “Eternal life, eternal joy” (Matthew 10:29; 2 Timothy 2:11-13)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
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