Psalms 40:1-4 ESV
“I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!”
Although this is Old Testament, this gives a very good description
of the gospel of our salvation, i.e. what it should look like when we believe
in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith in him. It should change our
lives! We shouldn’t be the same as we were before. For our Lord drew us up from
the pit of destruction, i.e. he delivered us out of our lives of slavery to sin
so that we can now walk in holiness and righteousness in obedience to our Lord,
no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God, to do his will.
For the Rock that he sets our feet upon is Jesus Christ. Now
our lives are built on him and on his will for our lives. And Jesus making our
steps secure is him empowering us to walk in holiness and in righteousness and
no longer in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord. And the new song he
puts in our mouths is a song of praise to our God for what he has done for us
in delivering us out of our sinful lifestyles and in giving us new meaning and
new purpose for life which is now to serve him with our lives.
When our lives change, and we are no longer living under the
control of sin, but we are now living under God’s control, it should be obvious
to everyone around us. It should show in our faces and in our body language and
in the things that we say and do, and in our attitudes, etc. This is not saying
we will be perfect overnight, for our salvation from sin is a process of sanctification
which continues throughout our lifetime. But the change in our lives should
lead others to fear the Lord and to put their trust in him.
And we who put our trust in the Lord are blessed of God, for
our confidence is now in the Lord and in his strength and wisdom, and it is no
longer in ourselves nor in other humans. For we are not to be people who put
our trust and confidence in the flesh of humans and in worldly wisdom, but we
are to rely on the Lord to direct our paths and to give us the counsel that we
need for daily living. And we should make certain we are following the truth of
the Scriptures and not the lies of people in their deceitful scheming.
Psalms 40:6-8 ESV
“In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.’”
The sacrifice that God requires of us who are his followers
is that we give our lives to him fully as living sacrifices to him, holy and
pleasing to him. This means that God now owns us, and we are his possession,
and our lives no longer belong to ourselves to do as we please. Our will is now
to do the will of God. He is the one now directing our lives and leading us in
the way that he wants us to go, and we are following his lead. Sin is no longer
what we practice, but now righteousness, holiness, and obedience are our
practice.
We are no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world.
We are not engaged in all the same things the ungodly do. Our lives are
committed to Christ to do his will and not to conform to the patterns of this
sinful world. So we don’t listen to or watch what is raunchy and inappropriate
and immoral. We do not get our enjoyment and pleasure in being entertained by
what is immoral and hateful and/or which mocks God or which teaches what is
contrary to the Scriptures and is against the will of God for our lives.
Psalms 40:9-10 ESV
“I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.”
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith and we
are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to
walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin, but now as
slaves to God and to his righteousness, we should want to share this joy and
this new life with others who we love. We should even want to share this new
life with many who already profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are not living
the life that God has for them to live, but who are still living to please the
flesh.
But, from my experience, so much of what is called “church”
today is not the pure body of Christ but they are businesses of men being run
just like any other businesses, being marketed to the world, and thus conformed
to the patterns of the world in order to draw in large crowds of people from
the world into their gatherings. So they are a conglomerate of professing Christians,
some who are of true faith in Jesus Christ and some who are not, and the people
of the world who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
So, there is not much room, or none at all, within these
gatherings for us to share the glad news of deliverance, and for us to
encourage (exhort, urge, and provoke) one another within the body of Christ to
love and good deeds and to not walk in sin but to walk in holiness and in
righteousness. But in America, at least right now, the internet is still open
for us to share our faith and to encourage the body of Christ in holy living. And
these messages go to people all over the world. So, please be those who are spreading
the good news of our salvation, for many need to hear the truth.
Full Release
An Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with
my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father;
precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and
my Lord.
Gently leads me;
follow Him.
I’ve invited Him
within.
Now abiding in His
presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full
release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety
Jesus brings
When I daily bow
before Him;
Obey freely; do His
will.
Follow Him where’er
He leads.
Listen to Him; His words
heed.
Now obeying his
words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from
above.
Loving Father;
precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by
His Spirit,
I will endure to the
end.
Share the gospel,
tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His
will do.
Tell the world of
how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He
suffered
So that we might be
alive.
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