Will Power must prevail over Emotion.

The Judeo-Christian Faith gives us reasons to sing. More than that, the songs sung have their origin in and direction in the Grace of the Almighty, Lord of lords and King of kings. The Psalms cover experiences from praise to pain, laughter to lament, from thanksgiving and testimony to tribulation’s testing times. There are Psalms expressing individual experiences to corporate worship. For this article I want to takes us through Psalm 116 using the Amplified Bible’s translation.

As we take a short stroll through it I have chosen to highlight an act of the will in our relationship with our Lord and Saviour. The psalmist uses ‘will’ 6 times. In itself that is of interest as six(6) is the number of ‘Man.’ Could we therefore assume that for Humanity as a whole, and a person as an individual it is the exercise of the ‘will’ rather than the emotions God seeks from us?

The psalm opens with an expression of love to the Lord Yahweh. Then comes the reason for why he, and perhaps we initially began to love the Lord. Why would we call upon the Lord? Because, His love frightened the life out of us, or at least me! For in love the Lord He made known the holiness of His character then I realised my degraded being. How could I or anyone else stand unscathed in His presence? Only by His love. For He heard my cry of despair and pointed my heart to the cross. There I found love’s grace and forgiveness.

Verse two is the motivation for why I continue to call upon Him? This goes way beyond sentimentality. It is rooted and grounded in the act of the will, the choice of commitment! There have been slip up along the way and only the Lord knows how many are yet to happen. However, His love paid the way back for me. It is paved with my tears of gratitude! Verses 3-8 are some of the psalmist’s reasons for being grateful. How close do they come to echoing yours and my reasons?

Verse nine tells how the psalmist would live out his discovery of love. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. As with any baby, walking requires growth and encouragement, perseverance and even role models. The love of God moves us to walk and live in a manner pleasing to Him. How do we know what pleases Him? That is one of the roles of the Bible. It points out the way as well as warning of detours and dangerous ‘potholes.’ Failure to read it and hear it explained has led many to moral and spiritual injuries and a damaged witness.

Verse thirteen shares with us the writer’s delight in the love of Yahweh! The cup of salvation may be likened to one of the four Passover cups. Within that celebration of national redemption is an individual’s discovery of grace. At the cross the fulfilment of the Passover Lamb became inextricably linked to Jesus. He is the Saviour. When a person share in the Lord’s Supper it is with the celebration of Christ’s Name and achievement. Have you or I recently listed the benefits we have entered into because of responding to the Love of Christ?

Verse fourteen takes us ever deeper into the motivation which stems from taking the cup of Salvation. It moves the will to refresh its vows. What a privilege the Communion offers. Though unseen, the Lord is there inviting you to take the bread and the wine (or juice) and to remember Him. As a person does this with sincerity it is similar to exchanging vows of love and trust. Verse eighteen repeats this desire to renew the vows. It is personal but it is also done in the presence of the congregation.

Verse seventeen actually concludes the emphasis of the psalm on his will. It is also a fitting climax to our own commitment. ‘I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving. From Leviticus 7 and elsewhere this offering was personal. It also had a cost which was voluntarily made. It harkens back to verse twelve where the writer acknowledges God’s benefits personally experienced. The sacrifice had to be made without yeast. That is always a symbol of sin. So before offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving ensure any residual sin is confessed, dealt with and cleansed though the blood of Christ. Then notice the verse concludes with how the psalm began. “I …will call upon the name of the Lord!”

As another psalm puts it “let us come before His presence with thanksgiving in our hearts!”

©Ray Hawkins April 3oth 2017.

Success Begins When You Learn To Sit

Individual words undergird the Christian life. Walk. Run. Wrestle. Fight, Work. Stand. Such defining words come quickly to mind. These are true whether we are fit as astronauts or incapacitated. Whatever our physical status those descriptive words point to a spiritual mindset. From there flows various expressions of ministry, worship and spiritual warfare.

 However, before all these can truly come into effectiveness we must first of all realise we must ‘sit.’ To understand what this means we need to understand it in the life of Christ. A section from Hebrews 1:1-3 dealing with the person and work of Christ says, ‘When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.’

Sin had been dealt with and His resurrection assured our cleansing. The  work of Christ to secure salvation was complete. The cross of Christ is a one off. Hebrews 10:12 confirms the fact, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. He is now our High Priest and Advocate (Hebrews 7:25. 1 John 2:1).

So! Ephesians 2 is our story. Paul explains what has happened to us when we trusted Christ as our Saviour. We have been redeemed out of eternal death, depravity and the grasp of Satan. We are now eternally alive through mercy, grace and faith. Because of this, our Heavenly Father calls us to various forms of service. For this to happen, He must first of all make us realise where successful Christian living, worship and service begins. Not in activity. Not even in prayer. It commences with a mindset. ‘By grace you have been saved ‒ and raised …up with him (Christ) and seated … with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’

The Lord God has given us something tangible which expresses this unseen and spiritual truth? Romans 6:1-4. The wonder of the mystery of our salvation and our sitting with Christ is expressed in the drama of immersion in water. By faith we are made participants in Christ crucifixion. In the visible drama of baptism by immersion we express the unseen and spiritual reality.

Being seat with Christ in the heavenly places is difficult to grasp. We are so focused on our life’s ups and downs, family needs and sickness and financial matters we forget. Or, the world, Flesh and the Devil distract our mind, confuse our understanding and lead us on a dead‒end detour. Here is the cause of our messing-up our walk, run and other features of our Christian life.

To be heavenly minded is actually to be more earthly good, Col. 3:1-4.  It keeps the Lord in focus, plus the promise of His return. Here’s the motivation for our dealing with the ungodly things the world favours. It also helps us deal with other believers who have tripped us up. Col. 3:12-15. At the same time we are not excused from ‘letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly’ Col 3:16. Then we will be spiritually mature to be able to teach each other and admonish each other. The essence behind those two words is to encourage, rebuke and warn.

‘Seated with Christ’ is our position in the Father’s eyes. One day we will see it ourselves, literally. Satan wants to confuse us and make us Biblically illiterate so this truth escapes us. When, or if that happens, a Christian becomes ‘open season’ for doubt, defeat and despair. Hold onto ‘by grace you have been saved … it is the gift of God Ephesian 2:8.

You will now, from that sitting position, embark on your fruitful, satisfying and successful Christian WALK.
Ray Hawkins October 4th 2015.