Tuesday, January 13,
2015, 9:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “His Tender Mercies.” He also put in mind the song “I Sing of His Mercy.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Psalms 129 and
130 (selected verses in the ESV).
We Are Afflicted
“Greatly
have they afflicted me from my youth”—
let Israel now say—
“Greatly
have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
The
plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
The
Lord is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked. ~ Ps.
129:1-4
I believe there are two main ways in which Satan works to
afflict spiritual Israel, the church. One is to deceive her and the other is to
persecute her. First I will look at deception. There are two main ways in which
Satan works to deceive the church, too. One is from within the church and from among
the church leadership, and the other is from without, i.e. from the world, and coming
from the governments over the people, mainly via the media.
Deception
Within the church he first of all convinces church leadership
that they need to market (sell) the church much the same way in which any other
business owner would work to sell his business to his customers. So, the
church, instead of living in the fear of the Lord, has shifted in mission to
market itself to this sinful world. In order to do that, they have had to
change a few things to make the church and the gospel more appealing to human
flesh – less offensive, less judgmental, and more accepting, pleasant and
entertaining (fun) so that the world will enjoy coming to the “church” and will
feel “at home” in its meetings.
So, the church has become “user friendly.” Thus, the gospel
of Jesus Christ has had to be diluted so as not to offend, and so more people will
want to “buy” “Jesus.” Most have continued to teach Christ’s death on the cross
for sins, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven, his sending of his Holy
Spirit, and that Jesus Christ will one day return for us and we will be with
him forever. And, yet they are telling their prospective “customers” that God
requires nothing from them. All they have to do is “believe,” although no one
really explains what that means. Basically they lead them to believe that if
they pray a certain prayer that they are saved, going to heaven when they die,
and that nothing can ever change that. In reality, they are giving them a false
hope, which means they are lying to them, and they are leaving them still dead
in their sins, believing that God is now pleased with them.
Another way in which the church is being deceived is by the
world, and by the government (via the media), and this is being facilitated by
church leadership. We have to realize that we do not live in normal times now.
The reality of what the prophets talked about regarding these last days is
being fulfilled nearly daily now. We live in a time of great deception. So many
people who profess Christ as Savior buy into whatever they hear the government
and the media tell them. They think if they see it on TV or on the internet it
must be real, but are movies and TV shows real? What is to keep them from
making TV news just another drama for our entertainment and distraction? They
can and do fake many news events. We have to think Satan, the beast and the
false prophet. We have to stop living in a fantasy world where we think all
that we see and hear is truth when it is not truth.
Persecution
Persecution is not absent of deception, though, for the
reason many are persecuted is because the enemy has deceived the minds of many
people to convince them either that Christians in general are to be hated and
discarded, or that those “religious extremists” who still hold to the truths of
scripture, as taught by Jesus and the apostles, are a menace to society, are to
be considered dangerous and as those who cause disunity in the church, and so they
must be avoided and not believed. Going along with this is to discredit the
gospel as taught by the apostles, and to convince prospective believers that
repentance, obedience and walking in holiness and godliness, and living free
from slavery to sin is legalism, and so it is bad, and then to teach them that
God is pleased with them no matter what they do.
Also, going along with this is that they have had to
convince the church that government worship is godly (via the pledge to the
flag and patriotism), so that most church people will not question the actions
of our government, except on a very minor scale. They convince the church that,
in America, we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, and that
we are a Christian nation, and that God is pleased with us, as well as to
convince them that our actions in other nations are honorable and trustworthy. And,
so if anyone dares to speak out against the government, and to expose the lies,
and to call people to search out the truth, they are then called “conspiracy
theorists” who are not to be believed.
Basically, Satan’s main goal here is to discredit those who
tell the truth, and to try to convince others that they should not be believed,
so that they will not listen to them. The problem here is that it is not just
the government or the media who are spreading lies, but the church is doing
this, and they are turning against their own. The government and church leaders
are convincing today’s church goers that they should not listen to folks who
are telling the truth, either about the government, or concerning the word of
God and the gospel of our salvation. And, they have even convinced them not to
listen to us when we try to tell them the truth concerning the deceptions, and
we try to show them how they are being deceived. So, we are persecuted,
rejected, hated, abandoned and cast aside as garbage. We have become their
enemies because we dared to tell them the truth. Yet, we are in good company. They
hated Jesus for the same reason.
My Pleas for Mercy
Out
of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
O Lord, hear my voice!
Let
your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If
you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But
with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
I
wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my
soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
O
Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And
he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities. ~ Ps. 130
Jesus Christ, God the Son, left his throne in heaven, came
to earth, became flesh and made his dwelling among us. He suffered as we suffer
and was tempted in like manner as we are tempted, yet without sin. He lived and
walked the face of this earth as fully God and as fully man (See: Jn. 1 & Phil.
2). He healed the sick, raised the dead, and taught repentance for forgiveness
of sins. He said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, die
daily to sin, and follow the Lord Jesus in surrender and obedience. He said if
we want to hold on to our old lives of living for sin and self we will lose
them for eternity, but if we die with Christ to sin, we will gain eternal life
(See: Lu. 9:23-25; cf. Ro. 6-8; Eph. 4:17-24).
Although he was loved and admired by some, the many found
him offensive and thus hated him. Even some who were following him turned away
never to follow him again because they found his teaching to be too hard. The religious
leaders of his day also hated him and were jealous of him, so they plotted to
take his life. He was thus crucified on a cross, although he had done no wrong.
Yet, when he died, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. When he
died and was buried, our sins were put to death and were buried with him. When
he was resurrected back to life, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin on our
behalf. He died so that we could be forgiven of our sin and have the hope of
eternal life with God in heaven. Yet, he also died to free us from slavery to
sin day-to-day, and to free us to walk in the Spirit in Christ’s righteousness
and holiness.
The apostles continued to teach what Jesus taught. They
taught that coming to Christ means death to sin and living and walking in
holiness. If we want to have forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life
with God, we must be crucified with Christ to living for sin and self, we must
be reborn of the Spirit of God, and we must allow the Spirit of God to change
us in heart and mind, as well as we must submit to Christ’s Lordship over our
lives in surrendering our lives to him, to walk in obedience to his teachings,
and to do so all in the power and working of the Spirit within us, who has
saved us by his grace (See: Ro. 6-8; 2 Co. 5:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit.
2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; & 1 Jn. 1-5).
So, if you have bought into the lies which tell you that God
requires nothing of you, and that you can continue in sin now that you are
under grace, and that nothing can touch you, then I pray you read these verses
prayerfully and see that the Bible clearly tells us that faith is action, i.e.
if we truly believe Jesus died to save us from our sins, then we will not
choose to walk in sin any longer, but we will accept the new life he has offered
us to live and to walk in his holiness, free from the control of sin. Instead
of just believing whatever you hear or see or read, I pray that you will test
everything against scripture and in prayer and to see if it agrees with
scripture and if it fits with God’s divine will, character and purposes.
Going along with this, if you are believing everything you
hear, read or see in the news or coming from the mouths of government leaders,
I pray you will also test all of that before the Lord in prayer, seeking his
face, and asking him to reveal to you the lies you have believed and to show
you what is truth.
I believe God will revive his church and that many will be
saved before he returns. As well, I believe that the seed sown by his servants
will not return void. Even if they must die for the sake of the name of Jesus
and for his gospel, his church will not be destroyed. I believe God will
discipline his wayward people, and that he will restore his bride to himself,
and that one day she will no longer follow after the lies, but that her eyes
will be open to the truth – all of it. Through persecution and divine
discipline, God will actually advance his kingdom, grow his church, and spread
his gospel of salvation. Satan may throw darts our way, but Jesus is our
victor! He overcame Satan via the cross, and we can be overcomers, too. We just
have to commit our way to Jesus Christ, trust in his mercy, and believe him to
do what he says.
I
Sing of His Mercy / An Original Work
Based off Psalm 32 / April 10, 2014
Blessed
are those whose sins are forgiven
By
the blood of Jesus Christ.
Blessed
is the one whose sin the Lord does
Not
count against them; freedom found.
When,
in silence, I did not confess
My
sin to You; had no strength.
Then
I owned up to my sin and
You
forgave and cleansed me within.
Therefore
let the godly pray to You;
Draw
near to You; grace they’ll find.
They
will not be o’ertaken by afflictions,
But
in Christ peace abounds.
Lord,
You are my hiding place.
I
find my refuge in You secure.
You
protect me from all evil.
You
give songs of vict’ry in You.
Lord,
You teach me to walk in Your ways;
Counsel
me in love, I know.
Help
me to not be stubborn and
Unwilling
to follow in Your truth.
Thank
You for Your love and mercy.
I
put my trust in You always.
I
rejoice in my Lord and
I
sing of Him throughout all my days.
His Tender Mercies - https://vimeo.com/85267672
No comments:
Post a Comment