Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Matthew 8
How Shall Christ Succeed?

How Shall Christ Succeed?

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with  
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 8:11 

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.   

Romans 8:29-30 

How shall Christ succeed in saving many when He says they ‘will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven?’ The answer is, free and sovereign grace. Salvation is from start to finish, the work of God. It was not born of humanity, does not occur by the power of humanity, and does not depend upon humanity. The second portion of our text lays it out before us in explicit order. It is the order of salvation. It starts with God and ends with God. We are the beneficiaries of what God Alone can accomplish. He does so, by Christ our Prophet, Priest and King. It is worth noting that this is not a narrow salvation. Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. Therefore we have every reason to proclaim Christ, because He is going to succeed beyond all human comprehension. We have the privilege to be included in that success. As we make much of Christ by life and lip, God takes up the gospel of Christ in ways beyond our comprehension and draws all manner of people unto Himself. He will bring many from east and west, all His sheep from every fold into the great flock over which He is the Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd. Jesus never fails. 

Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice in Your redemption. 
We praise You that You shall succeed 
in drawing all Your sheep into the fold. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
The Foolish Things

The Foolish Things

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with  
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 

Matthew 8:11 

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak thing of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised Go has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. 

I Corinthians 1:26-28 

God makes something from nothing. He spoke the worlds into existence out of nothing. He has throughout history taken the least and made them the greatest. Christ multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 men, plus women and children. He delights to take humble tradesmen, political zealots, and revenue agents and make them Apostles. He is in the business of calling the most unlikely people to become His joint-heirs. Therefore, we ought not to feel as if we are not worthy to follow Him. Paul articulates the characteristics of those whom Christ calls unto Himself, and how He uses them. We may thoroughly identify with these people. We may be foolish, weak, base, and despised. Of such is the kingdom of God. These are the many who will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom. They are the chosen whom Christ has redeemed by free and sovereign grace and who will reign with Him, as kings and priests. We need not be discouraged or feel that God would never use us because there are so many others whom we would deem better than we are. Look whom He has used in the past. If He can use them, why not us? He is the God who makes something from nothing.  

Our Wise and Holy God, 
we rejoice at the choices that You make. 
We praise You that You, 
bring us from the depths of who we are by nature, 
to be Your children and Your heirs. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
All The Father Gives

All The Father Gives

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with  
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,  
and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 

Matthew 8:11, John 6:37 

God the Father has given many people to Christ. In the first portion of our text, Christ says many shall come from east and west. On the night before He went to the cross He spoke of shedding His blood for many for the remission of sins. In the second portion of our text, He speaks of all whom the Father has given Him. He declares they will come to Him and goes on to remark that He will not cast out any of these. Thus this matter of many coming to Christ is very certain, at least in the mind of Christ. This is very encouraging for us, because while many bewail the few conversions they see where they are, we can be sure that everyone who is supposed to be embracing Christ is on their way to that saving appointment. According to Christ, they are many and they will come to Him. We have every reason to be confident in the fulfillment of Christ’s word regarding the success of the gospel message. Jesus saves many, all whom the Father gives Him. We have the glorious privilege to point people to Christ knowing that it will be as completely successful as He intends it to be. 

Our Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You will accomplish everything that You intend. 
We praise You that You will build Your Church, 
of all those whom the Father has given You. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Shed For Many

Shed For Many

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 8:11

For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Matthew 26:28

 Christ shed His blood for many. On the night before He went to the cross, as He was alone with His disciples, He instituted the communion feast. Our text is the portion where He speaks of the symbolism of the wine as, ‘My blood of the new covenant.’ He goes on to say, ‘which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’ As we have considered in past devotionals, the ‘many’ to whom He refers are those whom He would redeem. They are, by His description, ‘many.’ These are many as He uses the word. Thus, Christ takes a very broad view of the success of the gospel and of how many He will redeem. Why is this important for us to understand? It is important because we want to view things as Christ views them. If He has a broad view of the success of the gospel, we should adopt His view. This encourages us to seek the good of all and sundry. This is Christ for all nations, peoples, kingdoms, tongues, and tribes. There is no one who should not have the gospel opportunity. Christ has given us the privilege to bear witness of Him to the end of the earth and to the end of the age. He has shed His blood for many, and many shall come from east and west.  

Our glorious Living Savior,
we rejoice that You have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
We praise you that You have a plan to save many,
and that all the Father has given shall come to you in due time.

Tomm Tice
When The Bush is Burning                   

Other Sheep

Other Sheep

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  

Matthew 8:11  

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.   

John 10:16  

Christ indicated the broadness of His plan of salvation on more than one occasion. The first portion of our text lies within the account of His healing of the centurion’s servant. The second portion lies within the general context of His public ministry in Jerusalem shortly after He had healed the man who was born blind. Christ says, in the first portion, ‘many will come from east and west.’ In the second portion He speaks of ‘other sheep I have which are not of this fold.’ He came primarily to Israel, knowing that the gospel would ultimately expand far beyond Israel to a host of people of every stripe and variety. The end result would be the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful, to make his descendants as many ‘as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore.’ This was a promise of spiritual descendants, not simply physical ones. We see in the book of Acts the beginning of the expansion of Christ’s kingdom to the gentiles and ultimately over the whole earth. The end is not yet. Christ is still drawing souls unto Himself. He shall continue to do it until all His sheep are gathered in and His saving work is complete. We have the privilege to point all and sundry to Him. It is always worthwhile to make much of Christ.   

Our Great God and our Savior,
we hope in You and in Your grand redemption.
We praise You that you will save many
and that all whom the Father has given You shall come to You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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