By Arul Gaspar
God’s promises are yes and amen. They never return to the lord without accomplishing their designed purposes. But His promises are for those who are called by God for His purpose. God’s promises are not just exercised in materialistic circumstances. It is our God who saves people. It is He who regenerates the darkened and dead souls. It is God alone who makes His people become partakers of the Kingdombusiness.
The term “heritage” refers to a special possession allotted to somebody or a designed piece of property allocated to someone. The Psalmist tells us that we the saved have become the Lord’s own property or heritage. And the Lord Jesus will not give up on us. He will not neglect us.
When God commissions Joshua to lead His people toward the promised land, He encourages him telling “[5] No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. [6] Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. [8] This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. …” Joshua 1:5-8 ESV. All our Lord God wants us to adhere to His commandments and think through the lens of the gospel of Christ, because discipline, courage and confidence come from His law alone. The Psalmist says, “The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.” Psalm 37: 31 ESV Our walk in the Lord Jesus is straight forward and simple because His commandments are in our hearts. When we abide by His words, we do not get stranded in sin.
The more we listen to His instructions, the better we get groomed by the image and likeness of God and the closer we reach Him to understand His will. To correct Saul, Samuel said, [22] ”Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. [23] For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” … 1 Samuel 15:22-23 ESV Obeying God and His precious promises is discipline. Obeying the Lord’s words and leaving the consequences to Him is a great blessing. And the Lord Jesus Christ did the same on the cross of Calvary (Philippians 2:6-11 ESV).
Let us obey the Lord God. Let us get disciplined. Let us get blessed and be a blessing to our Lord’s kingdom.
The Lord Jesus has freed us to think of His righteousness, love, faith, and eternity. He has freed us to become bonded labourers for the spread of the gospel of truth. If we are really free, we will serve our fellow brothers and sisters in the local church community with godly love. It is a genuine love in pure faith in the promises of God and humility. Our Lord has purchased us by giving his life on the cross of Calvary so that we could enjoy this great freedom of salvation. In John 3:16-18, it is clear that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, …” We understand that we don’t get perished and have eternal security in the Lord, because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And our continuous faith in His name makes us get rid of the eternal condemnation. Thus we are free from the presence of sin and its influence, because we believe in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul says, “[9] For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, [10] who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. …” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 ESV We are intended for the eternal salvation and freedom from the presence of evil and sin. We are chosen to live in the Lord Jesus Christ for ever: we are to live on earth to praise and worship His name and make His name known to the entire world. And we are elected to worshiphis holy name eternally in our glorious bodies. As a fact of the matter, the worldly controlling desire cannot reign our dominant aspiration for eternal salvation that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
What makes us love our neighbours as we love ourselves? It is our salvation which we received from the Lord Jesus Christ. Without salvation of God, it is impossible to love others. It is difficult to serve one another in the local church community.
Let’s pray that the Lord Jesus Christ accept us as his people through eternal salvation. Let himenable us to put our fleshto death in the world. Let him empower us to serve our fellow brothers and sisters in the local church with sincere love and affection.
When David was not understood properly by his ow people, he did not react to the situation. He did not seek the help from his known circle: friends and relatives. David, instead encouraged himself in the Lord God alone for further guidance. He didn’t give into the immediate circumstance but fixed his eyes on the Lord God. He in fact had a progressive lifestyle in the Lord.
It is an open and bold confession of the Psalmist to the rest of the world that God is available and He can deliver him from danger. It is again his marvellous declaration of God’s act that He is in control of the Psalmist’s life and nothing can harm him. It is not the Psalmist’s positive behaviour but godly and Spirit-led attitude towards his life.
We observe a great truth here. The Psalmist’s godly life style is a genuine inspiration to our Bible believeing local church believers. The Psalmist is convinced about the Lord standing by his side. The Lord Jesus walks with him in his life and humans like him and above him in strength and position cannot do anything against him and finish him off.
We can observe two essential senses of the living being mentioned in this verse. They are the senses of seeing and hearing. Our Lord Jesus Christ looks to our hearts and their condition. He also listens to our petitions. But at the same time, all His senses: seeing, hearing, smell, taste, and feeling are not in favour of the those who are involved in their wickedness. Our Lord who is holy cannot entertain the thoughts of the wicked, because He abhors them (Psm. 15:26 ESV).
Being godly, the psalmist confesses the significance of calling upon the Lord Jesus in times of trouble. The Psalmist states that he will cry unto the Lord for help or deliverance or answer. He knows one thing for sure that the Lord Jesus answer when we call upon Him in the need of the hour. Jesus Christ is mighty to rescue us from the peril (sin).
Jesus Christ wants us to be generous enough in giving to the needy. We, being godly, cannot withhold anything from the people who are in need. Today many believers are in chain; they are detained by authorities of the world; they lack facilities and they are poor for the sake of the gospel of Christ. It is our privilege to give our wealth for the spread of the gospel through a local church we are part of it. We should know for sure that our local church is biblically designed to keep the the Lord’s ordinances.
Solomon’s practical advice is our life lesson in this wrong gone world. He throws light on two essential elements of godly life: integrity and crookedness. The godly and righteous should have a sense of integrity in all dealings. People in the world should glorify Jesus by seeing this virtue in us. And it is one of the ways to preach the gospel of Christ. The world and the worldly are known for the works of the flesh which are “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal. 5:10-21 ESV). Paul warns that the people who are involved in these vile acts will not be part of the glorious kingdom of God. It is clear that when we are entangled by any of these ungodly and unholy dead habits, we are far away from the presence of God and we have lost our integrity in Christ.