Rejoicing the Heart

Monday, July 24, 2017, 6:23 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “He Touched My Mouth.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 19:7-14 (ESV).

We read in the Bible that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). What this is saying, I believe, is that even those scriptures that were written to or about specific people at a particular time in history, that may not literally apply to us individually, and as believers in Christ, are still profitable to us in order that we might learn from them in principle, if nothing else, as to God’s perfect will for our lives. So, we should not ignore the Old Testament, because there are many rich truths to be gained from the study of these OT books.

The Word of God (vv. 7-11)

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

When we read the Word of God each day during our personal times of worship and fellowship with our Lord, it should be more than just a religious ritual or something we do because we were told we should do it. Because God’s Word is alive, it still speaks to our hearts. The Holy Spirit of God quickens our minds and hearts to hear from God as we read, and he gives counsel in how to apply the truths of scripture to our individual lives. There will be general truths, instructions, warnings, etc. which will apply to all of us, but also the Spirit of God will speak to us individually concerning our life’s situations, God’s calling on our lives, and his direction for where he wants us to go and what he wants us to do and to say each day.

The written Word of God is the main way in which God, via his Spirit, speaks to our hearts, though he can speak to us through other people, through life’s circumstances, and via nature (Ps. 19:1-6), etc. Yet, what we believe he is saying to us must always be consistent with the teachings of scripture and not be in opposition to the Word of God. When God speaks to our hearts, he will speak words for our comfort, encouragement, strengthening, joy, refreshing, and wisdom, etc., yet he will also speak words of correction, rebuke, and warning, too. All this is for our good, so we should receive it all as from God, and not want to hear only what is pleasing to our ears.

Presumptuous Sins (vv. 12-13)

Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

The Bible is real clear about what is sin and what is not sin, yet humans sometimes add to or take away from what the Word of God teaches on that subject. So, we must know what the Bible teaches regarding sin, so that we can avoid or stop sinning against God. Some people like to try to find loop-holes, though, in order to excuse away what they know is wrong.

Some sins have a broader meaning than what some people might understand, at first glance, and so we need to understand the extent to which some sins might be interpreted, and be careful to not take any interpretation beyond the teachings of scripture, as a whole. For instance, Jesus said that it is said that a man should not commit adultery, but he said that for someone to even lust after another, it is committing adultery with him or her in his heart. So, some people, in trying to excuse away sin, may loosely interpret “lust” to not include pornography, for example, so that they could say when they are viewing pornography that they are not guilty of adultery, but for the married person, it definitely is adultery.

Then, there is something called “hidden faults,” which I believe also fits with this matter of correctly interpreting the full extent of any particular sin. For example, the Bible says that gluttony is a sin. Gluttony is excess in eating. But, what is the measure of the excess? By some standards, in other countries, all Americans might be considered gluttonous, for example. Truly we don’t need nearly as much food as most people think we need in order to survive. We can survive on very little, actually; a lot less than you might actually imagine, in fact. If we are willing to ask the Lord about our eating, and we listen, many of us would start losing weight. I know I have. And, I feel a whole lot better than I did before. But, just saying here that there might be some sins we don’t realize we are committing, because we don’t understand the full extent of what they entail, until the Lord opens our eyes to see what he considers sin, to its full extent.

Then, there are presumptuous sins, i.e. these are willful sins against God where we choose to sin, knowing full well that what we are doing is sinning against God, and yet we do it anyway, right in God’s face. When people commit such sins, they will make a path for them so that they will be able to do the sin, and they won’t make the necessary cuts in their lives to avoid the sin, because they want to sin. And, then some of them will try to claim that they didn’t know, or that they were caught off guard, or that they were blind-sighted, but they weren’t blind-sighted, because they knew when they went into the situation that they were vulnerable, and they knew there was a good chance they would give in to the temptation, but they made no plan to not go there, and so they planned to fail. This is arrogance!

So, if we want to be able to discern our errors, we need to be listening to God, and then we need to obey him and do what he says, and not resist his voice, or in pride and arrogance think we can handle a situation we know we can’t handle. Pride comes before a fall. And, if we don’t want to be guilty of hidden faults, then we need to pray that the Lord will show us when we are sinning against him, and to what extent he does call something sin, such as in the case of the measure of the excess of our eating, i.e. what truly defines gluttony, for example. And, if we want to be kept from presumptuous sins, then we need to stop making excuses for sin, stop rationalizing away sin or justifying what we know is wrong, and we need to call sin what it is, and make a plan and follow that plan for how to not be led into temptation. Jesus gives us the way of escape, in other words, but we need to take it!

Words of My Mouth (v. 14)

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

All in all, we, as believers in Jesus Christ, should want to do what is pleasing to our Lord, and we should no longer crave the sinful desires of our flesh. Our desire should be for our Lord, and we ought to want to do what is right in his eyes, and to stop doing or not do what we know is wrong, or what he says is wrong. Our thoughts, our words and our actions and attitudes should all be brought into conformity to his will for our lives, and we should not excuse away what we know is sin, but we should surrender our all to HIM.

Then, he can use us in the lives of others to help them to be free from slavery to sin, i.e. to show them the way to freedom in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Then, he can put his words in our mouths that we may share with others to encourage them in their faith in Jesus Christ or to show them the way to salvation and to eternal life with God. And the freedom from slavery to sin that we have found in Christ Jesus, our Lord, we can then proclaim to others so that they might be free, too, and no longer walk in the ways of the world and of the flesh, but that they may walk according to the Spirit of God and in truth and righteousness, to the glory and praise of God. Amen!

He Touched My Mouth / An Original Work / June 13, 2012

Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9

Oh, I saw the Lord seated on His throne,

High and lifted up; Holy is the Lord!

The earth is full of His glory.

“Woe to me,” I cried,

“I’m of unclean lips.”

My Lord touched my mouth

With His cleansing pow’r;

Removed all my guilt, paid for by His blood.

He asked, “Whom shall I send;

Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Before I was born, God set me apart;

He appointed me to His servant be.

I said, “I don’t know how to speak.

I am but a child.” Then, the Lord replied:

“Do not say to me, ‘I am but a child.’

You must go to all, and do what I say.

Do not fear them, for I’m with you.”

My Lord touched my mouth;

Gave me words to say.

https://vimeo.com/114929183