Biblical ABC’s: J is for – Jesus First

Ladies Bible Study by Mrs. Rick Jackson

 

I want us to keep that in mind as we study, tonight, the letter J – JESUS FIRST! How many of you are familiar with the acronym, J.O.Y., Jesus, Others, You? That’s our outline this evening, as we meditate on putting Jesus First in our lives. I wanted us to begin our lessons this year with this reminder in all that we do. And to help us remember just that, I have for you a pin to remind you and I of just that – JESUS FIRST! You know, the Bible says in John 16:24, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your JOY may be full.”

So, let’s begin the evening by asking, so that we can know the JOY that the Lord has for us tonight!

PRAYER

The first letter of J.O.Y. is, of course, J!

1. J is for Jesus

Colossians 1:18 says, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” How is it that we can give Christ preeminence in our lives? I think there are three very simple ways:

1. Salvation – Do you know for sure that Christ is your Saviour? If you died tonight, do you have absolute certainty that you would wake up in Heaven? Has there been a time when you have admitted that you are a sinner, confessed that you cannot pay for that sin, and asked Jesus to accept your unworthiness, thanking Him for His death on the cross and making that payment of sin in your place? Luke 15:10 says, “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” It’s such simple act, but not one we want to overlook. Take a moment. Examine your heart. I cannot. I can only ask you to do it for yourself. At communion time, Brother Rick always reads for us 1 Corinthians 15:28, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”

2. Sanctification – This is a fancy word that just means “to be set apart.” That means we are separate from this world in preparation to serve God. How do we get prepared to serve God? Well, the most obvious things are Bible Study and Prayer. Let’s begin with Bible Study. We’ve talked about that before, but I want to begin with knowing our Bibles. We have some newer members since we started back in together some years ago and I want to go back to the basics with this. Some of you ladies are newer Christians than others. My goal here is not to embarrass but to help. I want to encourage each and every one of us. Do you all know how many individual books in our Bible compose the Bible as a whole? Yes, 66! Can you name all 66 books of the Bible? I try to teach this to my Primary Sunday Schoolers about every other summer. If you can learn to name all 66 books of the Bible in order, it helps you get familiar enough to find your way in your own Bible reading and when you’re in church – you don’t have to go searching in the index when Brother Rick is preaching – especially for those sermons when he uses a LOT of different scripture verses! Let’s remember – this is GOD’s Word! It’s God’s love letter to US! To me! To you! We should have a great desire to learn it and that learning begins by knowing how to find things! Next question. Do you pick up this love letter and read from it EVERY day? Don’t answer to me. That’s between you and the Lord, but, if the answer is not YES, shame on you and shame on me! Every day, ladies. No excuses. Can you even think of an excuse that you would like to use as you stand before the Almighty in Heaven? No, I didn’t think so. And last, I want to challenge you. To read through the entire Bible, cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation, this year. Take a moment with me, search your heart, and ask the Lord if He would have you make that commitment. I realize that 2 months have already passed, but it’s still possible by just reading 5 chapters a day (and only one when you get to Psalm 119!). And then there’s the matter of Prayer. Again, we’ve discussed this over and over. John Bunyan said, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” - Look at what Paul says in the first chapter of Philippians:

1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Wouldn’t it be something if we had the prayer commitment of Paul – to pray for one another so faithfully? I know I want to strive more and more to be a better prayer warrior. I try and keep my Wednesday night prayer sheet ever before me to remind me of my prayer commitments. I have a prayer card of the daughter of one of our former missionaries with whom I correspond and for whom I have committed to pray faithfully. I have a note I keep on my desk of a missionary family I’ve never met – whom I only know by name because Rick saw their name in a missionary newsletter and the Lord laid it on his heart to send them a substantial gift and I promised the Lord if He expected us to support them financially, they must be supported in prayer. I don’t know their needs -- but God does. Who does God want you to pray for? I promise you there is JOY in doing so!

3. Service -- Are you serving Him? Does your daily life look like that of a servant, or do you look like someone who lives for himself? Are you a member of the world, serving self, or worse yet, serving the god of this world, Satan himself, or do you, do I, actively serve Christ? Do we purposely put Jesus First? It had become a cliché in times past to say “What would Jesus do?” But, think about it. Is that such a bad thing? When others watch us in our day by day activities, do they see Jesus in us? When Paul was recounting his life to his fellow believers in the book of Acts, he was in Ephesus, on his path towards Jerusalem, nearing the end of what he knew was his earthly journey, and he told his fellow believers in Acts 20:24, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” It is my desire to make my life count in this way. I think Brother Chris Miller spoke mightily this past Sunday in reminding us to do just that: to refocus on the perspective of God, recognize the presence of God, remember the place of God and rely on the plan of God. Perhaps that is why Paul could say in Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice!”

2. O is for Others

Philippians 2:4 – “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

There’s an interesting story in the book of Acts of a woman by the name of Dorcas. Do you remember her story? Turn with me to Acts 9:36 (and following):

36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. 42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

I just love this story. These women loved Dorcas so much! And you can see why! I really don’t think I have to say a lot here about the example of Dorcas. I know firsthand that many, if not most, of you in here live a life of service to others. I just ask that we take the time to pause and ask the Lord if there’s anyone we might have overlooked. Take the time to open our eyes and make sure we are in the Lord’s will in service to others as He would have us to be. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Paul wrote, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Others, Lord, yes, others, let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee. The poet William Wordsworth once wrote, “That best portion of a good man’s life – his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” Let us be encouragers and stand out as those who lift others up rather than tear them down! Proverbs 12:25, “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.” Could it be when our days on earth come to an end we could have the testimony of Dorcas, “this woman was full of good works?” and because of our testimony, “many believed in the Lord!”

3. Y is for You

Last of all, Y is for You! How can You and I put Jesus First? Psalm 27:6 says, “And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” Where is it that we gain strength and renew our spirits? In church services, of course!

I remember Dr. Lee Roberson, when we were members of Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN, would often repeat the phrase, “Three to Thrive!” In other words, he would encourage us to be in church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. Why is this so important? Does the Bible say to be there all three services? Well, not in those exact words. But if you read the Scriptures, you will notice again and again the importance the Word of God places on worshipping with God’s people. YOU need to be in a worship service. YOU need to hear God’s man preach God’s Word. YOU need to pray with God’s people. Psalm 42:4 – “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.” Psalm 43:4 – “Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.” We need worship services to strengthen us as Christians and, as we see in these verses, to make us joyful! We are always reminded of Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

J.O.Y. Jesus. Others. You. The author Douglas Rumford wrote, “Full-grown oaks are not produced in three years; neither are servants of God.” It takes time to grow. Let’s make that commitment right now to put Jesus First in all that we do! “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” – Psalm 32:11.