JESUS CHRIST-DESIRE-OUR

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light. My Savior wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live.

Author Unknown

The Valley of Vision, ed. Arthur Bennett, 1975, p. 42, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.

We are programmed for failure if we're looking for ultimate answers in a non-ultimate realm, a realm that's partial, fragmented, incomplete. We end up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. We can do that as believers. The total answer is a Person, Jesus Christ. It's part of God's program to make us dissatisfied with what the temporal realm offers, so that we might seek life in Him.

Dan Stone

The Rest of the Gospel, One Press, 2000, p. 31-32.

Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have, and forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will satisfy your deepest desires. Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only that Christ is reliable, but also that he is desirable. It is the confidence that he will come through with his promises and that what he promises is more to be desired than all the world.

John Piper

Desiring God, Bethlehem Baptist Church, 1996, p. 68, Used by Permission, www.desiringGod.org.

When Christ gives you soul-rest, there is rest for your conscience because He removes its sin-caused guilt. His soul-rest also includes rest for your mind because He reveals Himself as the truth of God. He ministers rest for your heart since it no longer has to frantically search for a haven of rest. There is rest in Him for your fears since your soul is in His loving, omnipotent hands for all eternity. Christ also provides rest for your sense of purpose now that you have Him to worship, love, and serve.

Don Whitney

Rest for Your Souls, www.BiblicalSpirituality.org. Used by Permission.

Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness.

Blaise Pascal

Oh, to think of heaven without Christ! It is the same thing as thinking of hell. Heaven without Christ! It is day without the sun, existing without life, feasting without food, seeing without light. It involves a contradiction in terms. Heaven without Christ! Absurd. It is the sea without water, the earth without its fields, the heavens without their stars. There cannot be a heaven without Christ. He is the sum total of bliss, the fountain from which heaven flows, the element of which heaven is composed. Christ is heaven and heaven is Christ.

C.H. Spurgeon

I must confess that I never realize Christ’s preciousness so much as when I feel myself still to be, apart from Him, an undeserving, hell-deserving sinner.

C.H. Spurgeon

A sinner does not “decide” for Christ; the sinner “flies” to Christ in utter helplessness and despair saying – Foul, I to the fountain fly, Wash me, Saviour, or I die. No man truly comes to Christ unless he flies to Him as his only refuge and hope, his only way of escape from the accusations of conscience and the condemnation of God's holy law. Nothing else is satisfactory. If a man says that having thought about the matter and having considered all sides he has on the whole decided for Christ, and if he has done so without any emotion or feeling, I cannot regard him as a man who has been regenerated. The convicted sinner no more “decides” for Christ than the poor drowning man “decides” to take hold of that rope that is thrown to him and suddenly provides him with the only means of escape. The term is entirely inappropriate.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Preachers and Preaching, Zondervan, 1971, p. 279-280.

Most men are not satisfied with the permanent output of their lives. Nothing can wholly satisfy the life of Christ within His followers except the adoption of Christ’s purpose toward the world He came to redeem. Fame, pleasure and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of His eternal plans. The men who are putting everything into Christ’s undertaking are getting out of life its sweetest and most priceless rewards.

J. Campbell White

How would you finish [this] sentence? “One thing have I desired of the Lord; that will I seek after _________.” What is the greatest desire and longing of your heart? In the answer to that question lies the explanation for much of what we do – our choices, our priorities, our use of time, the way we spend money, the way we respond to pressure, whom or what we love. (King) David’s answer (see Psm. 27:4) reveals why God could say, “This man’s heart beats like mine.”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

A Place of Quiet Rest, Moody, 2000, p. 39.

What is there that you can desire should be in a Savior that is not in Christ? Or, in what way would you desire a Savior to be otherwise than Christ is? What excellency is there lacking? What is there that is great or good; what is there that is venerable or winning; what is there that is adorable or endearing; or what can you think of that would be encouraging, which is not to be found in the person of Christ?

Jonathan Edwards

The Excellency of Christ, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, v. 1, 1979, p. 686, by permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.

The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception…which kept me, the bigger part of the time, in a flood of tears and weeping aloud. I felt an ardency of soul to be…emptied and annihilated, to lie in the dust and be full of Christ alone; to love Him with a holy and pure love; to trust in Him; to live upon Him; to serve and follow Him, and to be totally wrapped up in the fullness of Christ, and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure, with a divine and heavenly purity.

Jonathan Edwards

Extractions for His Private Diary.

Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father. What solace then must that soul be filled with, that has the possession of Him to all eternity!

John Bunyan

So now, take a man that hath all the fullness of the earth; because that his soul was never made for the fullness of the earth, therefore he is said to be empty; in the midst of all his fullness, the man is an empty man, because his heart is not full of that for which he was made, and that is Christ.

William Bridge

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 286.

To be in Christ is the source of the Christian’s life; to be like Christ is the sum of His excellence; to be with Christ is the fullness of His joy.

Charles Hodge

If we do not have some knowledge by faith of the glory of Christ here and now, it means that we have no real desire for His presence in heaven.

John Owen

Meditation on the Glory of Christ, 1684, ch. 7.

Without Christ life is as the twilight with dark night ahead; with Christ, it is the dawn of morning with the light and warmth of a full day ahead.

Philip Schaff

I had rather be in hell with Christ, than be in heaven without Him.

Martin Luther

Better the storm with Christ than smooth waters without Him.

Author Unknown

[This] is the kind of totally committed response the Lord Jesus called for. A desire for Him at any cost. Absolute surrender. A full exchange of self for the Savior. It is the only response that will open the gates of the kingdom. Seen through the eyes of this world, it is as high a price as anyone can pay. But from a kingdom perspective, it is really no sacrifice at all.

John MacArthur

He is the first and last, the beginning and the end!
He is the keeper of creation and the creator of all!
He is the architect of the universe and the manager of all times!
He always was, He always is and He always will be unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone!
He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings peace!
The world can't understand him, the armies can't defeat Him, the schools can't explain Him and the leaders can't ignore Him.
Herod couldn't kill Him, the Pharisees couldn't confuse Him and the people couldn't hold Him!
Nero couldn't crush Him, Hitler couldn't silence Him and the New Age can't replace Him!
He is light, love, longevity and Lord!
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness and God!
He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful and pure!
His ways are right, His word is eternal, His will is unchanging and His mind is on me!
He is my Redeemer, my Savior, my guide and my peace!
He is my joy, my comfort, my Lord and He rules my life!
I serve Him because His bond is love, His burden is light and His goal for me is abundant life!
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise, the power of the powerful, the ancient of days, the ruler of rulers, the leader of leaders, the overseer of the overcomers, and the sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come!
He will never leave me, never forsake me, never mislead me, never forget me and never overlook me!
When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!
When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face death, He carries me home!
He is God!

He is faithful.
I am His and He is mine!
God is in control, I am on His side and that means all is well with my soul.

Author Unknown