On a Level Path

Psalms 27:11-12 ESV

“Teach me your way, O Lord,

    and lead me on a level path

    because of my enemies.

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

    for false witnesses have risen against me,

    and they breathe out violence."

Who are the enemies of those who are followers of Jesus Christ? They are all who are opposed to Christ and to his commandments, who are living in rebellion against the Lord, who are refusing to submit to Jesus Christ as Lord, but who have chosen to go the way of the flesh, instead. They are particularly those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ with their lips but who willfully deny him by their actions, who live in opposition to his moral laws, and who choose sin as their practice, instead.

They are those who chase after the gods of this world and who serve them instead of the one and only true God of this world. They are the self-indulgent, the pleasure-seeking who want what feels good to themselves regardless of the wrongness of it. They are those who live for self and for self-pleasure regardless of who gets hurt in the process. For they live in a dream world, a world where they can live out their fantasies where no one is telling them they can’t. So, they give no thought to who they might hurt.

They are those who follow their evil hearts, regardless of the disastrous outcomes that it will produce in their relationships with other people, most especially with their spouses, but not limited to those relationships. For if they are those who attend gatherings of what are called “churches,” they have the power to influence others who profess faith in Jesus Christ to go down the same or similar paths of rebellion against the Lord and against his commandments, and that is really bad (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-13).

They are drifters (wanderers) who are following after the ways of this sinful world and not after the ways of God and of his commandments. And they partner with others who are just like them, who have the same sinful and fleshly desires, and so they walk with them in the ways of wickedness, again, regardless of who they hurt, because it is all about them, and not about anyone else. For they are companions of fools who want to play with fire, i.e. with sin, knowing full well where that will lead them.

And some of them are pastors and influencers within the gatherings of what are called “churches,” and so they have diluted the gospel message to make it more acceptable and appealing to human flesh. They have altered the character of God and of his church and of his gospel to make them more agreeable to human flesh and much less offensive to the ungodly of this world. For they are trying to attract the world to their gatherings and so they don’t want to offend them with the truth, so they entertain them, instead.

So, what do they then do to us who are following the truth of the Scriptures? They deny us, they cast us aside, they plot evil against us, they silence us, and they keep us from being heard by others so that others do not hear the truth, for the truth offends. And so we give it over to the Lord, for he knows what is going on, and we keep on seeking the ways of God and following them in his power, and we trust him for open doors to keep sharing the truth of the gospel, the truth taught in God’s Holy Word.

Psalms 27:13-14 ESV

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong, and let your heart take courage;

    wait for the Lord!”

So, when we are being sinned against by others, and when we are being opposed for speaking the truth of the gospel, the truth of the Scriptures, and when we are being silenced and shushed because we are speaking truth that some people don’t want to hear, and/or that they don’t want others to hear, then we just have to give it to the Lord and rest in him and let him continue to lead us in the way of righteousness and holiness regardless of what others might do or might attempt to do against us.

And this last verse here is absolutely critical to us keep going on in the Lord and in his strength, and in not letting the opposition of the enemy take us out and dishearten and discourage us. We must keep following the Lord! We must keep living holy lives pleasing to him! And we must keep speaking the truth of the Scriptures, making sure that what we are speaking is indeed the truth. And then we must wait on the Lord for him to act. For our job is just to obey the Lord. He is the one who changes human hearts.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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