Jesus is Exalted

Last night at the Calvary Chapel Sydney prayer meeting we sang the Twila Paris song "He is Exalted."  I have always enjoyed the melody and the lyrics resonate in my heart:

He is exalted

The King is exalted on high

I will praise Him

He is exalted, forever exalted

And I will praise His name

He is the Lord

Forever His truth shall reign

Heaven and earth

Rejoice in His holy name

He is exalted

The King is exalted on high

During the time of prayer it was fitting a thread running through many of the spoken prayers was that Jesus be lifted up.  It is fitting God's people should exalt, magnify, and seek to make famous our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Whilst it is good for us to intentionally do this, we do not need to put undue emphasis on our role to the point it becomes an effort of the flesh.  When with our eyes we do not see people doing what we think should be done, the flesh rises up with a protest (perhaps because we too have been negligent):  "I will take it upon myself.  I will be the example.  I'll show all these lazy and sleepy Christians what it really means to live for Jesus."  This perspective is as dangerous as the careless believer whose life says, "Who cares?  If God wants to do something He'll do it with or without me.  I'm going to heaven anyway so why bother?"  The flesh cannot accomplish the works of God,  and before long our resolve will quickly erode away into disillusionment.  Firing up the flesh or coddling it is not the path to exalting our LORD.  Words or songs alone aren't enough:  we need the power of the Holy Spirit overflowing through our lives.

The Bible teaches what the song of Twila Paris joyfully exclaims:  Jesus is exalted.  God has already exalted His Son, having lifted Him up on Calvary as the Saviour of sinners.  John 3:14-16 says, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  After the death and resurrection of Jesus then ascended to the right hand of the Father where He lives to make intercession for all who believe.  In His humble obedience to the Father Jesus has been exalted over all as it is written in Philippians 2:9-11:  "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus was and is exalted, so therefore let us exalt Him!  God's future plans to not rely upon us any more than we caused ourselves to be born.  When we were born again by grace through faith in Jesus we needed to cooperate and be in agreement with God through repentance, and this is the humble agreement we must cultivate so Jesus Christ may be exalted in our hearts and lives first.  Revival begins with me, and if you desire revival it begins in you.  Jesus has been lifted up and has drawn all people to Himself, and let us do our part to lift Him up as well.  Praise the LORD our exalted King will help us, and nothing is too hard for Him.