A Suffering Servant and Type of Christ

“And the LORD was with Joseph…” —Genesis 39:2

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” —Isaiah 53:3

One of the more well-known titles for the Lord Jesus Christ is “Messiah, Son of David.” Certainly, Jesus is the King of Israel in fulfillment of that prophecy. Yet, the Jews also had another name for God’s Christ: “Messiah, Son of Joseph,” a reference to the suffering servant of Genesis 37 and Isaiah 53. Joseph, the son of Jacob was, indeed, a suffering servant of God Almighty; however, his life was a prophetic foreshadow of the Christ to come.

JOSEPH’S LIFE: One Fraught with Sorrow

a. Joseph lost his mother during the birth of his younger brother (Gen 35:18-19).

b. Jacob’s special favor upon Joseph (Gen 37:3) only made Joseph’s brothers hate him all the more (Gen 37:4).

c. Joseph’s brothers conspired to kill him (Gen 37:18).

d. Joseph was sold into bondage by his brothers (Gen 37:28).

e. In the house of Potiphar, Joseph was constantly tempted by a seductress (Gen 39:7).

f. Joseph was imprisoned through lies (Gen 39:12-20).

g. Joseph received only empty promises from those he helped (Gen 40:14, 

23).  Continue at Jon J. Cardwell

See Also: Nine Good Purposes in Our Suffering

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8 Elements in True Worship

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” —John 4:24

This is by no means a detailed or exhaustive list of that contained in true worship; nevertheless, as a brief exposition of what the Lord Jesus Christ has presented as true spiritual worship during His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, I suggest that the following elements would most certainly exist.

TRUE WORSHIP is centered in the holiness of the Word of God. Jesus prayed unto the Father in the garden on the night He was betrayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17; cf. John 4:24). If it is true worship, it will be centered in the truth of God’s Word.

TRUE WORSHIP is spiritual, and therefore, its truth must be spiritually discerned among redeemed believers. Scripture tells us, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14; cf. John 4:24).

TRUE WORSHIP reveals our mortality from God’s Word against God’s everlasting truth in Christ, providing a perspective of the eternal. At the well, Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

TRUE WORSHIP confronts our sinful nature head-on from God’s Word.  Jesus told the woman, “Go, call thy husband, and come hither” (John 4:16). It doesn’t mealy-mouth; neither does it sidestep the issue. We should take note that it is also a direct confrontation by the Spirit’s work. One who did not know this woman would not recognize that the Lord’s statement itself pricked her heart with conviction (cf. John 16:8-11), except for her response that followed.  Continue at Jon J. Cardwell

5 Essential Elements for Pulpit Preaching

If I had gone to a homiletic class to learn to preach, I might actually preach more eloquently, however, I would probably rely upon my knowledge of how to preach well, rather than leaning upon the effectual work of the Holy Spirit through those means. That’s just me. Please don’t misunderstand. I would not, by any means, dissuade anyone from attending a homiletic class to learn to preach better. If you have the wherewithal to attend a homiletic course, then by all means, do so. If you don’t have the means financially to attend a homiletic course, this bit of advice may be helpful to you whenever you preach the gospel in the pulpit of a local church.

1. Approach God’s Word to be preached in humility.

There is only one Prophet who has ever preached God’s Word with impeccable verity: Jesus Christ, the Righteous. The very best of our proclamations are so filled with the corruptions of flesh that we will all fall short of the glory of God. The preaching of Christ’s glorious gospel requires all of grace from start to finish. Recorded in John 5:39, Jesus said,

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Jesus Christ is infinite and eternal God as well as the incarnate, crucified, risen and exalted Son of Man. If all the scriptures are about Him, and He is infinite, eternal, and all glorious, the best of all the most eloquent sermons preached, teached, speeched, and screeched by redeemed men will never fully express Christ and Him crucified. It is eternal truth. We must humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift us nearer Himself to be further humbled in His majesty. Ever endeavor to approach the pulpit with godly fear and trembling.  Continue at Justification By Grace

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Frightened Men Fearing the Lord

God Hardens Hearts