You Are My Lord
Psalm 16:1-3 ESV
“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, You are my Lord;
I have no good
apart from you.’”
“As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent
ones,
in whom is all
my delight.”
How many of us can honestly say that God, that Jesus Christ
is our Lord (owner-master) and that we have no other gods (idols) before him? Does
he have control over our lives? Or, are we still living under the control of
the flesh?
And, how many of us can say we truly have no good apart from
him? Do we truly accept that, apart from Christ living within us and living his
life out through us, there is no good in us? (Rom 3:23)
Now, regarding “saints,” this is not speaking of dead people
who were given sainthood after death. This is speaking of those who are living
holy lives unto Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, through faith, via dying with
Christ daily to sin and by living to Christ daily and to his righteousness in
the power of God and in submission to the Lordship of Christ (1 Co 1:2; Eph
1:1).
For, the word “saint” means “holy.” It means to be set apart
by and for God and to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we
are being made (transformed) into the likeness (image, nature, character) of
Christ.
It also means we are living pure lives, holy and pleasing to
the Lord. We are no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We are
no longer walking in impurity, but we are living morally pure lives, by God’s
grace. We are walking in obedience to our Lord, and we are no longer conformed
to the evil desires we had previously.
[Rom 12:1-2; Eph 1:3-4; Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim
1:9-10; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:4-5; 2 Pet. 3:10-12]
Who Run After Another god
Psalm 16:4 ESV
“The sorrows of those who run after another god shall
multiply;
their drink
offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their
names on my lips.”
I have been listening to people talk on various websites,
and on social media, and in person, and within “churches” over many years.
Especially in more recent years, from my personal
observations, there has been a massive decline in the number of people who
truly are walking with the Lord in holiness and in purity of devotion to Jesus
Christ, who truly are submitting themselves daily to the Lordship of Jesus
Christ, and who are daily dying to sin and living to God and to his
righteousness, in the power of God’s Spirit living within them.
And, I find that this is predominantly true among males, who
are supposed to be our spiritual leaders in the home and in the church. I don’t
know of any man who confesses Christ as Lord of his life who is living in moral
purity. I am not saying there aren’t any, just that I don’t know of any, and
very few are even professing that they are living in moral purity.
So, where does that leave the church? Statistics have it
that as much as 75% of Christian men and at least 35% to 65% of pastors frequent
or occasionally view pornography, at least here in America, with a growing
number of women joining them, and many children, too. So, how can this be?
Who is responsible for the spiritual leadership in the
church and in the home? The men. This is not saying that women bear no
responsibility, but they are not the ones God assigned to leadership roles in
the church and in the home. They are not the ones responsible for the spiritual
growth and development and discipline of Christ’s body, the true church. Men
are!
So, again, where does this leave the church? The shepherds
are largely deserting their flocks, not necessarily physically, but spiritually
and morally. And, so the sheep are left to wander with no human (male) to lead
them. Largely Christian men are spiritually AWOL, primarily because of porn,
but not solely, and so marriages and families are left to suffer, too.
So, if you were God, what would you do to rescue your sheep?
They need someone to tell them the truth, who is also living the truth. So, who
do you send to the people to tell them the truth if the men are not willing?
Think about that. Let it sink in.
God will not accept the offerings of those who desert the flock.
Scriptures says, “But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if
these become silent, the stones will cry out!" Lu 19:40 NASB
The men have largely become silent on moral and spiritual
growth issues, and on the issues of repentance and obedient faith in Jesus Christ.
And, even if they do happen to teach the truth, which many are not, some of
them I have heard say things which clearly indicate that they are not living in
moral purity, but that they are still walking according to the flesh.
I heard one pastor say just recently, “I sin MUCH every day.”
And, yet he was busy hypocritically and arrogantly chiding a man for being in
an adulterous relationship with someone with whom he was not married, as well
as he was mocking a prominent woman of God who teaches the truth of Scripture,
as far as I can tell, because she accepted an invitation to speak at the
gathering of an institutional church (not the true church).
Psalm 16:5-8 ESV
“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my
lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have
a beautiful inheritance.
“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night
also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is
at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”
There are many Pharisees out there who are trying to silence
women from sharing the truths of God’s word, even if they are doing so under
the headship of a male pastor, if men are sitting in the room listening to
them.
But, let’s look at this from God’s vantage point. If you are
God, which none of us are, obviously, and you need to get out your true gospel
to people, including many people who profess a false faith in Jesus Christ, who
are you going to get to take your message to the people?
Most of the men are addicted to the lusts of the flesh, or at
least they are going there frequently, and so most of them have, thus, diluted
the gospel of Christ in order to appease their own flesh and consciences, and
also to attract the world to the gatherings of what is falsely called “church,”
but is really businesses of men marketed just like any other business of men.
So, the Lord is going to call those for whom the Lord is
their chosen portion and cup, who love the Lord, and who love his word more
than anything else other than God. He is going to call those who are listening
to his counsel, and who are walking in his love and in his holiness and
righteousness.
If there are not enough men to “fill the bill,” he is going
to call women to do the job. Remember who Jesus first sent with the message
that he had risen from the dead? Women! And to whom did he send them with the
message from God? Men! And, the woman at the well. Did Jesus know she was going
to take the message he had given to her to men? Most certainly!
So, what happened as a result of these women taking the messages
the Lord had given them to these men? They believed! Amen!
And, isn’t that the real goal here? If God can send a donkey
to speak to a false prophet his message, certainly he can send women with his
messages when those who are supposed to be doing it (the men) are not doing it.
So, men, whoever you may be, don’t be hypocrites. Don’t walk
in sin and neglect the spiritual growth of your church and family and then
rebuke a woman for obeying the Lord because she is speaking God’s messages out
in public where men can hear what she has to say.
Praise God that there are women for whom the Lord is their
chosen portion and cup and who are listening to and obeying the counsel of the
Lord, and who are listening to his instructions, and who are taking his
messages out in the public where both men and women can hear them.
May God be glorified, and may many people come to salvation
from their bondage to sin and may many who are now wandering from the faith
return to their Lord! Amen!
Enough for My God
By G. M. Eldridge
In God is the light, the brightest day.
He taught me to walk the narrow way,
Yet still I chose the path that was broad:
O, how could I be enough for my God?
With mercy so sweet, He led me along.
He held my hand, and gave me a song,
Yet still I sinned, a shameful fraud:
O, how could I be enough for my God?
I never had dreamed the day I’d see
the Son of God, who died for me,
Yet here by His side, I stand in awe:
Washed by His blood, enough for my God.
And who could forgive all the sins and the flaws?
O, how could I be enough for my God?
But gently He’ll lead by staff and by rod,
And help me to be enough for my God.
I just want to be Enough for You, God!
*Caution: This link may contain ads
*Used by permission
Additional insight on this subject:
No comments:
Post a Comment