THE LORD IS…

Psalm 144

¹ Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: ² My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust;…

Many times, in the middle of the night, I awaken feeling inadequate and anxious as I think about decisions, circumstances, situations and spiritual conflicts I am facing. At such times I will meditate on passages like Hebrews 13:5-6…

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. ⁶ So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper…”

I can say with confidence as David did in Ps 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Because “the Lord is my helper” I am Free to…  

·       Give all my anxious moments and concerns to Him.

·       Leave the future in His hand.

·       Relax and work hard.

·       Focus on pleasing God instead of others.

·       Say "No" or "Yes" or "I don’t know."

·       Love God, my wife, my children, my church and others.

In this Psalm are 6 insights that help answer the question “Who is the Lord?”

1.    The Lord is… My Strength! ¹Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: ² My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.

2.    The Lord is… My Advocate! ³ Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! ⁴ Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

3.    The Lord is… My Deliverer! ⁵ Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. ⁶ Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. ⁷ Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; ⁸ Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

4.    The Lord is… My Savior! ⁹ I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. ¹⁰ It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

5.    The Lord is… My Provider! David ask, ¹² That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: ¹³ That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: ¹⁴ That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.

6.    The Lord is… My Pleasure! ¹⁵ Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.”

First Things First

Romans 1:1-7 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, ² (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) ³ Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; ⁴ And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: ⁵ By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: ⁶ Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: ⁷ To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we examine the first several verses of this epistle to the Romans we should be aware that Paul has now been a Christian for about 26 years. It is his 6th epistle.

The Gospel is spoken of using three different expressions:

• “The Gospel of God” (v 1).
• “The Gospel of Christ” (v 16).
• “My Gospel” (2:16).

In this epistle we see The Progress of Redemption…

• God is the author of salvation.
• Jesus is the source of salvation.
• Paul is the advocate of salvation.

V 17 says this Gospel reveals the righteousness of God. This book will lead you to a greater understanding of the righteousness and glory of God!

The first 7 verses is one sentence consisting of 126 words. This sentence will be our focus today. Notice with me several things that are of great importance to us.

Notice what is said about…

1.       THE SERVANT OF GOD (v 1). Concerning himself, Paul makes three statements…

•  He is a Servant of Jesus Christ. Doulos = A bondslave, the possession of Christ! Paul recognized himself to be the property of Christ. He recognized that, his time, his strength, his talents, his entire life belong to Him.
•  He is an Apostle of Christ. Apostle = One sent forth (See Acts 9).
• He is Separated to the Gospel of God. Separated [aphorizo] – To mark off by boundary; to limit, to separate. Ps 4:3 Know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself.

2.       THE SAINTS OF GOD (v 5-7). What is true of Paul is true of us (v 5-6).

• Notice the plural pronouns. Paul wrote, Ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

• We are the CALLED of Jesus Christ (v 6). Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ.  God has called us to…

-        Salvation. 1 Peter 2:9 Ye are a chosen generation,..that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

-        Follow. 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.

-        Be a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called,…

-        Glory. 1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

• We are BELOVED of God (v 7). To all that be in Rome, beloved of God,..

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:…

• We are CALLED to be Saints (v 7). Called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Saint [Gr. Hagios] = holy one. This should cause us to strongly consider our representation of Christ.

1Peter 1:16-19 It is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

3.       THE SALVATION OF GOD (v 7).  To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• “Grace to you.” Grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve!   

1. There is Grace for salvation. Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 
2.   There is Grace for living. Grace is the desire to know and follow the will of God cheerfully. Following God does not come naturally.

•  “Peace from God.” Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;...

CONCLUSION:

• God’s plan for your life is for you to be saved (2 Peter 3:9).

1Timothy 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

• God’s plan for your life is for you to serve him (Romans 12:1-2).

GUARD YOUR HEART

Proverbs 4:20-27 “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. ²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. ²² For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. ²³ Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. ²⁴ Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. ²⁵ Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. ²⁶ Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. ²⁷ Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

This is an excellent passage to use when conducting a spiritual inventory of your life. There are a number of Life Truism’s contained in this passage.

• What enters my ear will influence my heart and my decisions (v 20).
• The things I focus on will affect my values, actions, and plans (v 21).
• Whatever the heart loves, the ear will hear and the eye will see (v 23).
• Whatever is in the heart will ultimately come out of the mouth (v 24).
• A life lacking a course is a life lacking a source (v 26-27). The Hebrew word translated “ponder” means “to weigh” or “to make level.”

The “physical heart” is the fountain from which life proceeds. Care must be taken that this fountain is not blocked, hindered or injured. It is so vital to the entire body that a constant concern for its health must be kept.

The same is true of the “spiritual heart”; it issues the streams of life to the soul. Watch with all diligence, that this fountain is not blocked, hindered or injured.

Therefore (v 24-25) “Put away from thee a froward mouth and perverse lips… ²⁵let thy eyes look straight on.” Or, in other words, look inward, look onward, look upward.

1.    WHAT DOES “THE HEART” MEAN? Our lives revolve around a spiritual muscle the Bible calls “The Heart.”

• The book of Proverbs refers to the “heart” 81 times.

• The Heart is the window of a man’s soul.

·         It’s the throne of man’s mind, will and emotion.

·         It’s the seat of man’s affections.

·         It contains the components of life (feelings, desires, motives; resolve, intellect, character and virtue).

·         It’s the Central Point of man’s spiritual life.

2.    HOW MANY KINDS OF HEARTS ARE THERE? In Proverbs there is…

• The Understanding Heart (2:2) “…apply thine heart to understanding;
• The Wise Heart (2:10) “When wisdom entereth into thine heart,… knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;”
• The Obedient Heart (3:3) “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:”
• The Merciful Heart (3:3) “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:”
• The Trusting Heart (3:5) “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
• The Wicked Heart (6:18) “A heart that devises wicked imaginations,…”
• The Sensual Heart (7:10) “There met him a woman with a sensual heart.”
• The Lying Heart (12:20) “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil:…”
• The Bitter Heart (14:10) “The heart knoweth his own bitterness;…”
• The Proud Heart (18:12) “The heart of man is haughty,..”
• The Fretting Heart (19:3) “man’s heart fretteth against the LORD.”
• The Envious Heart (23:17) “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD..”

3.    WHAT MAKES MEN’S HEARTS SO DIFFERENT? The Heart is affected by…

• What We Think About. Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” 
• What We Talk About. Proverbs 24:1-2 “Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. ² For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.”
• What We Desire To Have. Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

4.    WHAT ARE SOME REASONS FOR HEART TROUBLE? Since Adam’s fall, the Heart of mankind…

•  Resist Reproof (5:12-13). Solomon, counseling his sons concerning moral conduct, warns them not to “hate instruction; despise reproof or ignore their teachers.” Remedy: Receive Reproof. Proverbs 12:1 “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.”

•  Desires Darkness. Proverbs 6:23-24 “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: ²⁴ To keep thee from the evil.” Some hearts struggle with all that is sensual, lustful, and immoral. Remedy: Pursue Purity. Proverbs 6:20-22 “My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ²¹ Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. ²² When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

• Is Clouded With Confusion – leading to anxiety, gloom & despair. Proverbs 12:25 “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop:..” Some hearts are prone to dwell on the dark, dismal tones of life. Remedy: Reinforce Reliance. Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

• Gravitates toward Gossip. Proverbs 6:12-14 “A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. ¹³ He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; ¹⁴ Frowardness is in his heart , he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.” Remedy: Disciplined Dialogue. Proverbs 4:24 “Put away from thee a forward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.”

5.    WHAT DOES GOD TELL US TO DO WITH “THE HEART?” God gives us counsel that carries the tone of intense priority in Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

A paraphrase says: “Keep watch over your heart, the place where God speaks to you, because from within it come divine direction for your life.”

CONCLUSION: Proverbs 23:4-7 “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. ⁵ Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. ⁶ Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: ⁷ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”

• If your heart is not well guarded, it will be unable to discern God's voice.

• If your heat is captivated with idols and substitutes, His voice is silenced and the source of our direction for living is walled off as our lives are rendered powerless and useless. 
• Thoughts give birth to words and deeds. Therefore, it is of necessity to guard your heart.