Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

He's to be Feared Above all gods

Psalms 96:1-3 ESV

 

“Oh sing to the Lord a new song;

    sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

    tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

    his marvelous works among all the peoples!”

 

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was with God in the beginning, and he is God, and he is our creator God. He left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and he took on human form (conceived of the Holy Spirit and born as a baby to a human mother). He suffered like we suffer, and he was tempted in like manner as we are also tempted, yet he did not sin.

 

He grew to be a man, he chose 12 disciples to follow him, and he ministered on the earth for a period of about three years. He healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, delivered people from demons, fed the hungry, and he performed many miracles among the people showing himself to be God, the Christ, the promised Messiah of the people of God.

 

He also taught that we must repent of (turn away from) our sins, die with him to sin daily, be changed in heart and mind, deny self, and follow him in obedience to his commands. And he taught that he was the only way to God the Father, and that if we don’t believe in him that we don’t believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we don’t have eternal life.

 

The religious rulers of his day hated him and were jealous of his popularity among the people, so they hounded him at every turn, and they tried to discredit him, and they attempted to trip him up with his words. And eventually they arranged to have him hung on a cross to die, as though he was a common criminal, although he had done no wrong.

 

But it was God’s will that Jesus should die on that cross, for he died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. And his blood was shed for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s, and so we’d honor him with our lives.

 

By faith in Jesus Christ, we thus die with him to sin, and we are resurrected with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are delivered from our slavery to sin so that we now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. And now, by God’s grace, we walk no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 

Psalms 96:4-6 ESV

 

“For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

    he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

    but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”

 

God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – is to be feared (honored, respected, revered, worshiped, and obeyed) above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, for they are man-made or man-created, in the image of human flesh, for the glory of the flesh, and for the sinful pleasures of human beings. Thus, they are to be rejected.

 

So, what is the most predominant “worthless idol” (false god) being spread throughout the congregations of the church today? It is a different gospel other than the one Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught. And it includes another Jesus other than the Jesus of the Scriptures. For, it twists the Scriptures to appeal to human flesh and to permit sinful pleasures.

 

Those who are teaching, promoting, and spreading this different gospel are themselves lovers of intoxication to sin, who are still living in slavery to sin. They are self-indulgent, prideful, self-promoting, fakes, liars, deceivers, manipulators, and not trustworthy. They are spiritually unclean, and they are leading others straight to hell while promising them heaven.

 

For, although they are promising the people freedom, they are leading them to remain in their sinful addictions. For, they are teaching a faith in Jesus Christ which requires no submission to Christ as Lord, no repentance, and no walks of obedience to the Lord and to his commands. For, they teach that repentance, obedience, and submission are “works-based salvation.”

 

And people are flocking to this different gospel and this other Jesus by the droves because it sounds good to their ears, and it appeases their flesh, and it removes the guilt of their sin while it does nothing to deliver them from their bondage to sin or to empower them to live godly and holy lives for the glory and praise of God.

 

Psalms 96:7-9 ESV

 

“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

    bring an offering, and come into his courts!

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

    tremble before him, all the earth!”

 

So, the encouragement here is for us to ascribe (give credit) to the Lord the glory (worship, respect, honor, reverence) due his name. And this means that we will do as he says to do. We will repent of our sins, obey his commands (in practice), and we will honor him as Lord (owner-master) of our lives, submitting to his will for our lives.

 

And the offering we are to bring to him is our lives given to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him. No longer are our lives to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but they are to be transformed in the renewing of our minds, so that by our lives we prove what is God’s perfect will for our lives.

 

And for us to worship him in holiness means that we are living our lives separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made to be like Jesus. Thus, God’s grace trains us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return. God’s grace does not pacify us in our sin.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]

 

I Will Lift My Eyes  

 

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

 

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

 

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;

My home, now in heav’n.

 

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

 

https://vimeo.com/379508241

 

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