Psalms 68:1-3 ESV
“God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!”
We Will Have Enemies
As followers of Jesus Christ, who love God, who serve him
with our lives, and who walk in obedience to his commands, we will have
enemies, especially if we are publicly sharing the truth of the gospel (the
whole counsel of God) and if we are confronting the lies of the enemy publicly.
Like Jesus and the prophets and apostles before us, and the saints of God who
have gone before us, we will be hated and persecuted because of our walks of
faith and our obedience to the Lord and because we speak the truth of the
gospel.
And so we may read a passage of Scripture like this and our
hearts weep. We weep because we long for the day when we will be rescued from
our enemies, and our crying will be no more. But we also weep over the sinful
condition of our people and of the church, at least the one in America which is
now so much like Laodicea. And we weep because we know judgment must come and
that many people are going to lose their lives, and many who could have been
rescued will go to hell because they refused God.
For although we will be glad and rejoice over our rescue
from the enemy, we will weep because so many could have been saved if only they
had trusted in the Lord Jesus to be their Savior. And even the thought of it
now breaks our hearts, if our hearts are truly surrendered to Jesus Christ. And
we weep now for those who are lost and who are now closing their ears to the
Lord and who are refusing to hear his truth and to follow it. For we know where
they will end up for eternity, and it is not where many think they are going.
Truth and Reality
For what do the Scriptures teach us regarding what will
happen to us if we disregard God and his commands, and if we choose our own
path, instead?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your
name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you
workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23 ESV
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let
him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save
it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or
forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the
Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father
and of the holy angels.’” Luke 9:23-26 ESV
“He will render to each one according to his works: to
those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality,
he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey
the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” Romans
2:6-8 ESV
“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone
as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin,
which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans
6:16 ESV
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to
live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will
die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will
live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Romans 8:12-14
ESV
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor
the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom
of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the
body, whether good or evil.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual
immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,
fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies,
and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do
such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 ESV
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one
sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from
the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the
Spirit reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8 ESV
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in
darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7 ESV
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we
keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his
commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his
word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” 1 John 2:3-5 ESV
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever
practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a
practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the
beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the
devil.” 1 John 3:7-8 ESV
Judged by God according to our works: [Matt
7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23;
Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col
1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co
10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21;
Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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