The Lord Delights in Us

20 January 2016

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Abide with me

Theme: Boundless Riches of Christ

Topic: The Lord Delights in Us

Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. ² The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. ³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. ⁴ You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. ⁵ For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Introduction

It is no secret that the Lord delights in all believers of Christ.  Sadly, a lot of Christians go around with not sure of whether God loves them, feeling guilty and/or condemned.  Although such thinking does not hinder the love God has for us, it diminishes the power and peace that comes from knowing that we are loved by the Lord and that He delights in us.  If God loves sinners and unbelievers, including you and me, would He love us less when we put our faith in the saving power of Christ?  No of course; instead His power working in us increases.  Circumstances in life can sometimes make us think that the Lord is not happy with us; but the truth is that when God looks at us, He sees His Son Jesus Christ- the Light of the world.  As far as our hope and trust is in Christ Jesus alone, we are assured that the Lord delights in us, and will never allow the worries of this world to weigh us down.

Questions/Discussion

1) How do we know that the Lord delights in us, and what does it mean? 

Psalm 34:1-22

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
³ O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. 

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.
⁶ This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.
⁹ O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 

¹¹ Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. 

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.
²⁰ He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
²¹ Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. ⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹²But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

2) What are the lessons in John 2:1-11 regarding the fact that the Lord delights in us?

John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ ⁴And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ ⁵His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ ⁶Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. ⁹When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ ¹¹Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

3) What is the benefit of knowing that the Lord delights in us?

Psalm 36:5-10

Refrain: We feast on the riches of your house, O Lord.

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep; you save both man and beast, O Lord. R How priceless is your love, O God! your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings. They feast upon the abundance of your house; you give them drink from the river of your delights. R For with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light. R Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, and your favour to those who are true of heart. R

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Ephesians 1:3-23

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,⁴just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,⁶to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. ¹⁵ I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²²And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

As far as our hope and trust is in Christ Jesus alone, we are assured that the Lord delights in us, and will never allow the worries of this world to weigh us down.       

Closing Prayer (Collect for Second Sunday after the Epiphany)

Almighty God, your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world. May your people, illumined by your word and sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.