4 REASONS WE HOLD BACK IN SHARING THE GOSPEL

READ PSALM 40

PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR ABOUT THE TRUE GOD

Psalm 40:9-10

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance

in the great congregation;

behold, I have not restrained my lips,

as you know, O Lord.

10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

from the great congregation. 

David has been a vocal testimony of what the Lord has done in his life.

Romans 10:15b

…As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 

Telling others of what God has done in our lives should be the natural outcome of our salvation, for those who know God can daily see the outpouring of His grace.

We live in a world of lost people who are continually masking their utter hopelessness with distracting activities. They live without eternal values and without eternal hope. Our testimony about Who God is should be loud and clear, like David’s: he did not restrain his lips.

1 – Often we are holding back because of fear.

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” 

We tend to forget that it is God’s plan that those who have true faith are the ones whose lives should be displaying that faith, and whose tongues should be speaking about our Savior with clarity. The results are not dependent on our ability to convince people. Our responsibility is to share the true gospel clearly, and then God will produce the results He intends it to have.

2 – Other times we hold back because of lack of urgency.
Hebrews 9:27

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 

This week, I was speaking with an older gentleman who reminded me that we are all “terminal”. He was so right, but seemed totally oblivious of the gravity of that truth. Too often, we also go about our daily lives, forgetting the reality of this statement. We leave the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone for “another time”. We are looking for “the right opportunity”, presuming that there will be more. It is normal for the unbelievers to live that way, but for us, this should not be so.

3 – We also hold back, not realizing our privilege and responsibility.

Romans 1:14-15

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 

Paul looked at all people as those to whom he was a debtor. It was his opportunity and responsibility to share the truth of the Gospel. Do you and I look around to see whom we are responsible to speak to? Whom has God placed in your particular sphere of influence?

4 – We tend to forget that the Bible call the Gospel, “The Good News”. 

We have a message that is crucially needed and that transforms lives from death to life, from condemnation to forgiveness, from darkness to light!

David’s testimony also reached other believers. His praise for God was of an encouragement to those who were going through difficult times. His testimony of deliverance and hope was of great help to those who, for a time, had lost sight of God. God’s perfect, unending love and faithfulness should be our daily song of praise.

We need to live our lives in constant dependence upon God, and with great awareness that the way we live and what we say must point people to Christ. May God help us to never become so self-absorbed that we lose sight of His wonderful works. May each of these remind us of our privilege to be a vocal testimony of His grace.

WE MUST WORSHIP GOD ON HIS OWN TERMS!

THOSE WHO TRULY WORSHIP GOD BOTH PRAISE AND OBEY

READ PSALM 40

Psalm 40:6-8

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

but you have given me an open ear.

Burnt offering and sin offering

you have not required.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

8 I delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is within my heart.” 

After reminding us of God’s loving care and His wonderful works on man’s behalf, David turns our attention to an appropriate response. God is not interested in mere rituals, but in the heart behind our worship.

From David’s day to ours, however, man has been prone to worship God externally, without the motivation of a devoted heart.

1 Samuel 15:22

…“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.” 

King Saul had not obeyed the word of the Lord. And his excuse was that the choicest of the spoil was taken for sacrificing to the Lord. God rejected both his actions and Saul, himself, as king of Israel.

This was an ongoing problem for Israel.

Jeremiah 7:21-26

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.  For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day.  Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.”

Man has always fooled himself, in thinking that he can worship God on his own terms, but actions that are not the result of obedience and submission are worthless to God.

Through God’s Spirit, Biblical doctrine should inform us, producing godly actions and behavior. Apart from God’s revealed truth, we cannot know the mind of God and therefore cannot obey and practice His ways. Most of the epistles in the New Testament begin with a section devoted to doctrine, followed by practical application of that teaching.

God is very interested in our hearts. As professing believers, we should always check ourselves and evaluate where we are. We don’t want to become unbalanced, being driven by behavior without true devotion or by mere emotion without follow-through behavior. Today there seems to be a trend toward giving more importance to our own devotional feelings. But feelings should not drive our worship.

The kings of Israel were commanded to read and meditate on God’s law.

Deuteronomy 17:18-20

“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

Both behavior and heart are mentioned in these verses, and careful reading would produce fear of the Lord, obedience and a godly heart, as the king immersed his mind in scripture. The Word of God must produce the same results in our lives today. God through His Word, will transform our hearts.

We must check our walk, as well as our hearts. Actions that do not proceed from a devoted heart are only religious legalism or activism, and they do not please God at all. A superficial, professed faith that does not produce godly behavior is equally displeasing to God. How easily we distort the clear teaching of the Word of God! Even in this psalm, God is walking us through the careful path of true worship that is acceptable to Him.

Those who truly worship God both praise and obey. Obedience is the response of a truly trusting, devoted heart. We should be alarmed when one or both are missing: when we do not love God’s Word, or when we do not find pleasure in obeying it.

May we be committed to learning and knowing God’s Word, to obeying God’s teachings and may all this be done from a heart that is dedicated to our Savior. 

GOD IS OUR PERFECT SHIELD IN TROUBLED TIMES

I MUST TELL YOU WHY I AM BLESSED!

READ ALL PSALM 40

Psalm 40:4-5

4 Blessed is the man who makes

the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

to those who go astray after a lie!

5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are more than can be told. 

John 6:68-69

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 

To know the living God and know He is our Lord and Savior makes us truly blessed! This world is a hard place to go through, for sin has ruined all. We cannot trust ourselves, and we cannot trust the world. Apart from God, we cannot know what is really true and valuable. We will always be prone to follows lies, for our hearts are deceitful and our minds are confused, when left to ourselves.

Those who have trusted the Lord know that such faith is a wonderful gift, given to them by God. It is God Who revealed Himself through the Scriptures and Who sent His Son to live among men with the distinct purpose of dying for the sins of those who believe in Him, and then rose alive again victoriously, so we could have eternal hope, eternal life.

Wise men put their trust in the Lord. These truths were so wonderfully displayed for me when my mother was coming to the end of her journey in life. Although her body was weakening and her breathing was getting harder and harder, her serenity displayed the amazing truth of how blessed those are, who have put their trust in God. Having watched my father deal with that difficult reality of seeing his life partner fade slowly toward her eternal life with God with such peace and assurance because of his trust in God is still a resounding testimony to me of God’s grace.

How unwise and arrogant do we become when we lend our ear to lies, when we let people divert us from trusting and following our God and Savior. David was resolved, he had set his foot on the rock, he was trusting God.

When we stop and reflect, we will also see how God has shown His wonderful works towards us. His actions are the result of His thoughts and eternal, faithful love toward us. He loved His own from eternity past, and will love us forever. Every one of His actions, everything that has happened to us, has been part of His eternal plan to conform us to the image of His Son. He has perfectly loved His Son forever and wants us to be like Him.

Psalm 84:11

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly. 

He is the one Who causes us to love Him and gives us the strength to walk in His ways. He works in us and provides all that is good and useful for us. We are so blessed! Serving Him should be our only response; telling others of our Lord, like David in this psalm, should be our only endeavor.

On my shelf I have a very precious book. The title is: “What am I Useful for if I don’t Serve?” When my mother received the news that she had a few months to live, she decided to write a book about serving the Lord with faithfulness. At 89, after a life spent serving the Lord with my father, what a blessed way to use her remaining strength. There is wonderful verse written by the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians on its back cover.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

…and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 

Although we read of David’s sins, he had nonetheless committed to serve his Lord. We have the examples of many who have been faithful in serving God, and their lives are filled with reasons to praise God.

All of our lives are overwhelmed by the constant grace of God. Every thing we have, every breath we take, every sin forgiven, every circumstance we have encountered, every time we have been protected from dangers known and unknown, every time we have received a kind act, every time we have had food to eat: everything is the display of God’s benevolent hand upon us.

Many live unaware or rebelling against the God of the Bible; they are truly miserable, fighting for significance in a lost world. Reality is that no one can be compared to our God.

I have been blessed: blessed by the love of God and his wonderful works that cannot be numbered! God has shown me His grace through my parents, for their lives have displayed faith and hope, showing others what it means to know and trust their Lord and Savior.

May our lives shine brightly because of our God! Those who know God cannot help but praise Him! 

10 AMAZING TRUTHS OF GOD’S LOVE FOR ME

READ PSALM 40

I HAVE MANY REASONS TO PRAISE GOD!

Psalm 40:1-3

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

and put their trust in the Lord. 

HE is my God! What a privilege to think about our loving God.

1 - He loved me before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4-5 …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 

2 - He loved me when I was His enemy.

Romans 5:8 …but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

3 - He loved me when I was not even looking for Him.

Romans 3:10-11 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

4 - He loved me, so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

5 - He loved me, so He gave me His Word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

6 - He loved me and sent the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort me.

John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 

7 - He loves me, so He has sealed me with the Holy Spirit.               

Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 

8 - He loves me, so He protects me.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 

9 - He loves me, so He disciplines me.

Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

10 - He loves me, so He gave me the church.

Ephesians 4:11-13 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 

The list could go on and on… You are probably thinking that I forgot some other wonderful reasons to rejoice in our God! This is the God Who saved us and walks with us. David knew this holy God, the eternal, perfectly wise, powerful-without-limit, loving God who chose to reveal Himself to us, and graciously chose to love us when we could offer nothing to Him. We cannot even offer our ability to remain faithful, because it is He Who gives and sustains faith.

David waited for Him in his times of distress, and found in Him the comfort he was looking for.

God listens to our cries, He hears what no one else hears, He knows the pains that we do not even know how to explain. What a wonderfully comforting image inspired by God, in verse 1, to portray Himself as kindly inclining toward His distressed child!

God is perfectly able to bring us out of the deepest, most destructive hole we will ever be in. In fact, there is no deeper or more desperate place than our state before He saved us. God places us in a safe place, where our steps are secure. He guides us, informing us about how we should walk through life, what our goals should be, where our joy should come from, where we should place our confidence, what we should avoid, what we should actively run from.

Our eternal destiny is secure, our present is cared for, and our future is sure. He is our God! Do you know the God of the Bible? He is not a god created by man. As you study the Bible, you will find out that He is more holy that you ever imagined, that you are more unworthy than you ever understood, that He is far more wise, powerful and loving than you could ever comprehend. You cannot know Him through your thoughts, feelings or imagination. Your only valid source of information about God comes from His Word, which is the Bible. All other supposed revelations about God are NOT true and are not worthy of belief.

So then, how should you live, when you are related to God as His believing child, and thus an inheritor with Christ of all spiritual blessings?

A new song of praise should be the natural outflow of this awareness. Why is it not always like this? Because we lose sight of the grace of God. What should we do if we find ourselves failing to praise God? Stop – reflect – meditate – thank – praise.

God never changes, no matter the circumstance or the trial we are facing. He is consistently faithful to His character and His promises. He is, at all times, worthy of our praise.

A praising believer will cause others to become aware of the God of the Bible. Our lives will attract others to Christ, when, in the midst of our trials, we rest in God and praise Him for His help.

He is my God! I will praise Him for revealing Himself to me, for transforming my life, for giving me a sure hope of eternal blessing, and for using me to shine for Him. It is definitely worthwhile to wait on God!