Deliverance

Psalm 107:1-9 - Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

While this Psalm speaks of Israel and their ongoing disobedience and repentance and God's forgiveness, it speaks to all mankind. The message, as is all that is in the Bible, is relevant for today. It speaks of our salvation.

Many denominations/religions believe that being part of a church, going to Sunday school or catechism/confirmation classes or being baptized as a baby (all of which I did) are all it takes for salvation.

What do the words above show us?

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever. He redeemed His people. When? When they wandered in the wilderness, hungry and thirsty, their souls...souls...fainting. They knew something was missing. They had lost sight of the God who they once worshiped and turned to their own ways. And He let them knowing some day they would realize His blessings were not like they had been.

God allows us to wander in our lives the same way. We may never have had a desire for God or thought we were in right standing because we did attend church and the other things mentioned above. But a day would/will come when we realize there is still something missing. It is a hunger in our souls. It might happen in a day of trouble. Most likely not a day but a season when all that seemed good is suddenly lost and we're wondering where has life gone or what have I done or why am I not satisfied even though I'm prosperous and seem to be blessed? We don't know where to turn. That's where Jesus comes in. God has allowed us to get to a place where seeking Him is what it will take to get out of what we view as doldrums, crisis, desperation and what God calls sin. Yes, sin. We are in sin when we are out of God's will.

His people did what we might do: cry out to the Lord in our time of trouble. He turns on the light so our souls might see. I know He did that for me. Suddenly it is clear. And He delivers from those distresses. He takes us down the right path, the right Way, through Jesus. The dwelling place is in Him and He in us.

Some will recognize their "lostness" and seek someone or something or a belief contrary to God. Others will recognize in an instant the One who will guide them down the lighted path so He can satisfy the longing in their souls and fill them with goodness, that other things won't satisfy. It may seem a bitter pill to have to take to learn the truth, but it is worth it. The word emancipate has come to mind a couple times the past couple days. We don't always know we are oppressed at first. In time we know we can't live like this anymore. If we seek God He becomes the way out of that oppression and we take hold of Him and are set free. The load is lightened, the burdens eased. Isn't it worth it? One might wish it had happened sooner.

Let me repeat the words: Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

2Corinthians 7:9-10 - Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner... For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Let Us...Enter In

Hebrews 4:1,11,14,16  - Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it...let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience...let us hold fast our confession...let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace...

Oh, the richness of these verses. I mentioned the other day about entering into God's rest. This rest I said is the presence of God. It's having faith in Him and trusting that He can be all we ever need.

The Book of Hebrews was a teaching to converted Jews, those who in that day received Christ as their Messiah. The reason it was written was to strengthen and encourage them in their belief because of the persecution they received when they converted. I could take a rabbit trail here, but I edited those paragraphs out! Phew, some of you might be thinking.

The message is for all of us, however. When we enter into relationship with Jesus, we enter into His rest. We are allowed access to God through Jesus Christ. We are allowed to enter into His presence without fear. We do not need to go through anyone else.

The scriptures above describe, first, anyone today who has heard the truth of Jesus and about God's rest, who have heard the Gospel preached but who may still be wary of entering in. The second part is not to let that understanding and entering slip by, like Israel did when they wandered for forty years in the wilderness. (More to follow.) Today people still avoid entering into God's rest, choosing Christ. Let the wandering cease. Enter in.

The third part of the scripture describes those who have entered into rest, who have received Christ, who have confessed Jesus and the importance for them to hold fast to this confession and continue in obedience to follow Him. The fourth part is also for believers...because we have received Christ we now have access to God. We do not need to fear entering into His presence. We receive mercy anew each day. And in so doing, His rest, His presence, His guidance, His help is always before us.

This is the rest we are given. Before we know Christ we are separated from God. There has been a separation since Adam and Eve. But God...gave us His Son Jesus that we might regain what Adam and Eve once had, communion with God.

This is knowing the truth and being set free. When we enter in there is a freedom we have. There will be a day when everyone will know the truth. Everyone will know one way or the other whether they have embraced Jesus or embraced the world's idea of diversity. 

As I see all that's happening in this world, I see where there is no rest because God is not always a part of the picture. I see what this country once stood for eroding completely. It no longer stands on the views of the founding fathers of God and country. Honesty, integrity and truth have been lessened, just as the Church has given in to the way of the world, choosing to water down the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth of Jesus is less harsh and more palatable to those people the Church wants draw in. No one wants to hear hard words. You've heard me say this many times.

But for those of us who understand the times, understand who Jesus is--for real--who stand by the truth of His Word, we have entered into His rest. This rest, His presence, is marvelous. If we continue in His rest the things of the world can aggravate or frustrate us, but we also can cling to the knowledge of the good things God has for us. 

This rest, again, is for everyone. It's all about entering into relationship with Christ and receiving Him. All it takes is asking Jesus. Asking and believing. No works are necessary. All He desires is you...first and foremost...you. He desires your allegiance to Him, your faith and trust in Him for all things in your life. 

When you give yourself into His rest, giving Him your faith and trust in Him, not the world, not your family, not your church, He will handle the difficult times. There is nothing we can do apart from God to make this world better. We trust God to take care of us individually. When the world around us crumbles, when governments fail, when life is not so secure as it once was, we can know without a doubt that our God has us securely in the palm of His hand and we can rest, assured of our future. 

Receive Christ and enter in--the foremost act of obedience. Then Jesus can be our bridge to God. He can be our mediator. He can receive our prayers Himself. We are allowed bold access to the throne of God through Christ Jesus to receive grace and mercy. His mercy and grace is new and available to us each day. All we need do is confess our allegiance to Christ. Confess Christ and enter in.

For some it is difficult to confess Christ. The world tells us one thing, which I myself believed once, you don't need God. It's all about you. But He tells us another thing, that it's not always an easy road to take following Him, that we might be alone in this walk, but it's well worth it in the very end:  Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:14 ) 

There's another part of the scripture I started with where God is quoted saying, "So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest."  I left that out in order to emphasize it here. It's a quote from Psalm 95. It is a call to obedience. 

Psalm 95:7-11 -  Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, "It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways." So I swore in My wrath, "They shall not enter My rest."

This is the reference to their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God offered His people rest but in disobedience they failed to do so. Because they did not accept His rest, His presence, in time He offered it to another group of people...those who chose to believe in Christ. 

You will note in the Psalm Today, if you will hear His voice... that is what the Lord still says. Today is not too late. Tomorrow might be. Do not harden your heart. The world view is a hardened heart. It is the wide road to destruction. Don't wander in your wilderness another day but heed the voice of God. Don't enter into the same type of disobedience Israel did, but instead enter in to God's rest, His glorious presence.

Hebrews 4:11 - Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience...that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.

Wanderers

Yesterday I shared my thoughts about having the mind of Christ and how important it is to our spiritual, emotional and even physical well being and the importance of having good thoughts.  I am reminded about Israel as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 -And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

The Israelites didn't realize how good they had it while they wandered in the desert.  They didn't realize that their faith was being tested.  Instead of daily looking to God, all they could see was the negative and longed for the "good old days" of captivity in Egypt where they now believed they'd had all they needed despite being slaves.  They grumbled and complained because they couldn't see where they were headed and what lie in store for them. They murmured about having "just enough" each day.  So the LORD caused them to "keep on keeping on" their forty year journey in the wilderness (it should only have taken 3-4 days), just desiring one day they would not forget that He was supplying all their needs.  I had the thought:  if the journey was only to be 3-4 days, it didn't take them very long to start complaining....

Haven't we all complained at one time or another?  And didn't we eventually look back realizing we complained for nothing or that the protesting didn't do a bit of good, only brought upset to our spirits or bitterness to our hearts?  And aren't we sometimes prone to immediately start complaining when something isn't going our way, the way we think it should?

Sometimes God will bring trials into our lives in order to test us.  He wants to see if we will hold up against these difficulties, persevere, endure, and go through them willingly, without murmuring or complaining. Are we in God's will?  What is our heart attitude?  Do we have faith in Him?  If we remember that all God does for us is for our good, we have nothing to fear.  Trials build us up and strengthen us.  The longer we object, the longer He allows us to go through them, like Israel.  

We are to praise Him in the midst of a trial.  I believe praise helps us persevere.  Israel's faith was tested and look where it took them. Had their thoughts been on God's goodness, what miracles He had performed for them, they may not have wandered so long in the wilderness.  How long do you want to wander; how long do you want to be in your wilderness?  Let go of the negative thoughts and start taking each day as it comes and look for the positive in it.  Think on the goodness of God and what it is He is trying to do in your life. He wants to reveal His glory through you.

1Peter 4:12-14 - Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Thank You, Father God, for testing us.  This is part of Your wonderful plan of working righteousness within us.  It is part of Your refining us.  I thank You, Lord, that You want us to become less of ourselves that You can become more.  Lord, whatever needs to be done to purify my heart, I ask that You do.  That's a scary thing to ask, because if it comes from a heart that truly wants to be more like You, You will act on it. I ask that when, not if, but when this happens I am reminded to praise You and not look at the circumstances but the outcome.  I only want to become so transparent that I am no longer seen, but that You are seen in me.  I thank You now for what You will do.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen.