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.
No comments:
Post a Comment