And now the LORD says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant . . . (for I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and My God shall be My strength) . . . Thus says the LORD: "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You." (Isaiah 49:5 and 8)
Numerous times throughout these hundreds of meditations, we have examined the relationship of "humility and faith" to "growing in grace." Such repeated opportunities assist us in apprehending the means of living day by day by grace. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble . . . we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand" (James 4:6 and Romans 5:2). For a number of days, we have been considering humility and grace. In a recent meditation, we saw that Jesus is the ultimate example of humility. Now, we turn to give considerable attention to faith and grace. Concerning faith, we begin where we left off with humility — with Jesus as our example. Again, we will see that Jesus is the ultimate example of faith.
Our present verses are a prophecy involving the Father and His Son, the Servant Messiah, who would go forth to provide God's gift of salvation. "And now the LORD says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant." An angel would eventually announce this prophecy as coming to fulfillment. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20-21). The confession of the Messiah is also given here prophetically. "My God shall be My strength." When the Son would leave heaven for His incarnation, He would function by faith in the Father. The Father's reassuring words affirm this trust in Him. "Thus says the LORD: 'In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You'."
The fact that Jesus lived by faith in His Father was a part of His own teaching ministry. "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner" (John 5:19). Herein, Jesus (who had laid aside the independent exercise of His deity) was exemplifying how man should live in humble dependence upon the faithfulness of God.
Dear Savior, I humble myself before You, expressing my desire to grow in grace. I know that faith accesses grace. Lord, please teach me to place my faith in You, just as You fully relied upon the Father, Amen.
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Bob Hoekstra ( - 2012)
Bob's involvement with the Calvary Chapels began in 1971, when he and his wife Dini visited Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa on a Sunday evening. They were deeply touched by the life-giving teaching of the word of God, the simple worship "in Spirit and in truth", and the profound expressions of the love of the Lord among the saints. Upon returning to Dallas, they regularly obtained Pastor Chuck Smith's teaching tapes and eventually became daily listeners of the Word for Today on the radio.Since 1993, Bob had been teaching at Calvary Chapel and other church fellowships across the country and overseas (including, Seminars, Pastors' Conferences, Church Services, Leadership Conferences, Retreats, and Schools of Evangelism/Ministry). He has taught numerous classes at Calvary Chapel Bible College (both at its former location in Twin Peaks, CA and its current location in Murrieta Hot Springs, CA) as well as at the extension campuses of Costa Mesa, Vista, San Diego, El Cajon, and others. Bob's teaching generally highlights such subjects as Counseling God's Way ,Family God's Way ,Growing in the Grace of God ,The Church: How Jesus Builds It ,Contending for the Faith ,Promise Believers ,The Sufficiency of Christ and His Word ,The Psychologizing of the Faith , and related themes.
Pastor Bob Hoekstra is the founder and Director of Living in Christ Ministries (livinginchrist.org). He has been in ministry since 1967, including fourteen years in Dallas, TX and eleven years as Pastor of Calvary Chapel of Irvine, CA. He and his wife, Dini, were married in 1966, and have three adult children and eleven grandchildren. Bob graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1973 with the Master of Theology degree.
Bob's involvement with the Calvary Chapels began in 1971. Since 1993, Bob has been teaching at Calvary Chapel and other church fellowships across the country and overseas. The Living in Christ Radio Program is heard on several stations across the country.