THEREFORE I WILL GIVE THANKS

December 10, 2015                                               THEREFORE  I  WILL  GIVE  THANKS

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge”   “And my cry for help came into His ears”         “the Lord illumines my darkness”         “He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him”       “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, and sets me on high places”     “He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze”    “Thou has also given me the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy help makes me great”    “For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle”   “Therefore I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, among the nations, and In will sing praises to Thy name”         From 2 Samuel 22

• David, the one who uttered these words, and ourselves, have something in common; and that is that the God who was at work in David’s life is the same God that is work in our lives. The relationship that David had with God was not just in theory or a relationship reserved for the Sabbath, but was a relationship whereby David firsthand experienced the greatness of God in tangible, demonstrable, real-life ways. We may think that David was a “special case”, and we may even find ourselves envious of the relationship that David had with God. In Acts 13:22 we find a clue that sheds light on why God used David the way He did: “..He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’”  It is interesting to see that even while David was a lad tending sheep, God knew his heart. The two things to note about David is that his heart was after, or like, God’s heart, and David would do all of God’s will. These two attributes of David is what made the difference. If you know the history of David, you know that there were some dark days in His life as a result of the sins He committed against the Lord, but David did come to a point where he confessed his sin and he received forgiveness. Part of having a heart for God is being willing to confess our sin when we are convicted of our sin. The point for us is that no matter what our position in life might be, to have a heart “after God” and the desire and commitment to do all of God’s will, is what God desires. Unlike David, and the people of God in the Old Testament, under the New Testament, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, and by and through His power we are changed. The Holy Spirit makes us new; giving us a new heart, a new mind, a new spirit, and the power to do all of His will. The New Covenant under which we live is far superior to the Old Covenant as we see in the book of Hebrews. The challenge for believers today is to realize, to understand, and to know the full implications of living under the New Covenant-to know our true identity as the people of God. There are many believers today that have for a long time been exposed to teachings and sermons that have a mixture of both the Old and New Covenant, and as a result they do not know their true identity. When we do not know in our spirit, mind, and heart, our true identity, we will live far short of all that God has for us. Even though David had a limitation that we do not have-he did not have the Holy Spirit living in him-he knew the greatness of God and he had a heart for God and he did God’s will. Having a view of God that is according to scripture and knowing who we are in Christ causes us to make the same proclamations that David made in 2 Samuel 22. The greatness of our God exceeds our imagination and what He desires to do in the lives of believers may also exceed our imagination. Whatever we must do, let us wake up to the fact that our God is all powerful, is soverign, is loving, is fulfilling His purposes, is all knowing, is full of compassion and kindness, and He lives in us and He is in the process of transforming us to His image. In Philippians 2:13 we read: “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” There is really no excuse for us to live defeated, hum-drum, roller-coaster or uninspired lives not enjoying God nor seeing the victories that come from Him. Every day may not be a mountain-top experience for us, but every day God is faithful, God is at work, and God is desiring to “show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9. We know and serve a great and powerful God, a God who is ruling and reigning, so may we live our lives with a heart that is like His and a commitment to do all of His will.
  
  

Psalms 147:5-6,10-11: “Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. The Lord supports the afflicted; He brings down the wicked to the ground. He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His lovingkindness.”

Blessings,

Buddy