Friday, October 6, 2017, 6:27 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Our God.” Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read Isaiah 26 (Select vv.
ESV).
A Strong City
(vv. 1-2)
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up
salvation
as walls and
bulwarks.
Open the gates,
that the
righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.”
The City of God used to be a
physical city with physical walls, but now it is a spiritual city with God’s
salvation as our protective barrier (walls). What this means, for one, is that the
physical city of Jerusalem is no longer the Holy City of God (See: Gal.
4:22-31). The church, the body of Christ, is now God’s Holy City, heavenly
Jerusalem, and our salvation is our defense and shield against Satan, sin and
(spiritual) death. And, when I say “church,” I don’t mean physical buildings
called “church,” or denominations, or human-based organizations and businesses
also called “church.” God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands, but
he dwells in the hearts of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior of our lives, and we, the people, are the church. We, the people of God,
are the City of God, which is a strong city, because our salvation is our
shield against all enemy forces.
We, the people of God, via
faith in Jesus Christ, are also a holy nation. True Israel, that is of God, is
not a physical nation, but a spiritual nation. And, it is believers in Jesus
Christ who make up this nation (1 Pet. 2:9). But, it is not merely those who
profess the name of Jesus, or who say they believe in him, that comprise this
holy nation, but it is those who keep the faith and who are righteous, not
merely positionally, but in practice. For, if we walk (in practice) in sin, we
do not have the hope of eternal life with God, but a fearful expectation of
judgment. But, if we walk in the light, according to the Spirit, and by the
Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live
forever with Christ (See: Lu. 9:23-26; Ro. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:6).
Perfect Peace
(vv. 3-4)
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind
is stayed on you,
because he
trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord
God is an everlasting rock.”
So many people are teaching
salvation as though it is a once in a lifetime experience, then you have your
ticket into heaven, and now you can live however you want, and one day you get
to go be with Jesus. But, that is not what scripture teaches! Scripture teaches
that we are saved (past), we are being saved (present) and that we will be
saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns. It teaches us that we must walk in
the Spirit and no longer live to gratify the sinful cravings of our flesh, if
we want the righteous requirement of the law to be fulfilled in us. It teaches
us, too, that God’s grace is not carte blanche to continue in sin, but that his
grace instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and
to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s
return. We have to continue in Christ and in His Word and be keeping (in
practice) his Word, and not be those who make a practice of sin, if we want to
have eternal life with God.
The Christian life is to be
lived to God, not to ourselves. Jesus is to be Lord (owner-master) of our
lives, but not in name only. We are to be surrendered to our Lord, to walk in
his ways, and in his truth, and to not have divided hearts of loyalty to “other
gods” of this world, which could be our jobs, houses, entertainment, TV,
sports, possessions, money, politicians, political platforms, famous people, traditions,
culture and prestige, etc. We have to have minds which are stayed on (settled,
remained, continued in) Jesus Christ. We can’t do this, though, if our minds
are being bombarded with sensuality, seductiveness, immorality, lies, cheating,
stealing and killing as a form of entertainment, especially on a daily or
consistent basis. We need to be filling our minds, hearts and lives with what is
godly, holy, righteous, moral, pure and good, and then we will know this
perfect peace.
The Righteous Path (vv. 7-9a)
The path of the righteous is level;
you make
level the way of the righteous.
In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we
wait for you;
your name and remembrance
are the
desire of our soul.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit
within me earnestly seeks you.
The path (way) of the
righteous (godly) is level (straight, upright, unmixed), not crooked
(dishonest, corrupt, perverse). So, why do so many Christians (or professing
Christians) live like this is not true? Why do so many live as though Jesus did
not cleanse them and deliver them from sin? I believe partly it is because they
are deceived into believing that faith in Jesus Christ does not have to impact
their daily lives. They have been told that a mere prayer or a mere
acknowledgment of what Christ did for them in dying for their sins is enough to
secure them heaven for eternity, and that nothing they do from this point
forward can change that. Partly, too, this has been modeled to them by their
parents, their church leaders, and their peers. And, growing up on TV, as we
did in the 1950s and 1960s, had an enormous influence on what we considered as
acceptable behavior vs. unacceptable.
So, how many of us truly
desire after God with all our hearts? How many of wake in the morning hearing
him speak his words to our hearts, and think about him in the stillness of the
night, and even in the middle of the night? And, how many of us inquire of him
throughout the day, seeking his wisdom and counsel for what we are to do and
what we are to say and how we are to live? And, if we do, how many of us then
follow our Lord in obedience and surrender to his will for our lives
consistently, but not necessarily perfectly? Were we taught this by our
leaders? Was it modeled to us? Or did we have to learn this on our own with our
Lord only as our teacher? Or, is worldliness what has been our model, instead,
yet mixed with religious practice?
We Learn Righteousness (vv. 9b-11a)
For when your judgments are in the earth,
the
inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not
learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
and does not
see the majesty of the Lord.
O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
but they do
not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be
ashamed.
If we did not learn
righteousness from our leaders, and if we did not learn it on our own (without godly
human leadership) by seeking God with all our hearts, then we may have to learn
it the hard way. We may have to face some divine correction, rebuke and
discipline in order to learn what we need to learn concerning God’s righteous
requirements for the lives of those who choose to follow him. Yet, even if we
were taught what was right, and even if righteousness was modeled to us, but
we, instead of following it, went our own way, and we did what we wanted,
instead of what God wants for us, and if we have not repented of our sin, then
we, too, may have to face some divine chastisement in order that we might
humble ourselves before God in true repentance and faith (or renewed faith) in
Jesus Christ. For, our God is holy and righteous, and he has called us to be
holy and righteous, too.
Our God /
Chris Tomlin / Jesse Reeves
Jonas Myrin / Matt Redman
Our God is greater; our God
is stronger
God You are higher than any
other
Our God is Healer, awesome in
power
Our God, Our God
And if Our God is for us,
then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us,
then what can stand against?
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