Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So

Psalm 107:1-7

Everyone who has joined themselves to the cause of God in Christ Jesus has a purpose; a calling that God has laid upon their life. Everyone is called to be a witness of what God has done in their life and to verify who the Son of God actually is.

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.

We have a marvelous example of witnessing from the first chapter of the book of John. It is the pattern for witnessing that is laid out by example by John the Baptist.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
[It is hard to fully understand what is being said here, but let me try to paint you a vivid picture:
The Son of God is not merely the offspring of God the Father.
The Word of God is the Son of God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Son of God is God.
God the Father is God.
In all this, we are talking about one God who reveals Himself in three various ways.]
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
[Jesus of Nazareth, the baby in the manger in Bethlehem, was and is the God of creation]
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
[Jesus of Nazareth, the baby born to the Virgin Mary, was and is the life giving light of the world.]
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
[If you are honest, you have got to admit to the fact there are some things you just don’t know. There are some things I won’t fully comprehend until I get to see Jesus face to face in heaven. The apostle, the one who Jesus loved, John who wrote this book of the Bible is not trying to reconvict you and me because there are some things we don’t understand. He is referring to the fact that people then and now do not understand the full ramifications of what took place in the short life on earth of the person known as Jesus of Nazareth.]
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
*Where do you come from?
[Where John came from is of the highest importance for us to stress. John came from God, and if you have accepted the payment for your sins that was offered up by the giving of Gods only Son on the cross of Calvary, then you are also a representative of God the Father as John the Baptizer was. There are people who are watching your every move and they will question every word and deed that you do. Some will try to expose you as a fraud; that is what will happen when your life radiates the presence of God.]
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
*What is your purpose?
[The purpose that motivated John needs to be the motivating factor in every believer in Jesus Christ. We need to let God have full control of our lives. Here is how to do just that:
Recognize your sinful nature and the sin it has led you into.
Accept the payment for sin that is provided in God through Jesus Christ death and resurrection and His ascending back into heaven.
Live a life pleasing to God with the life of Christ Jesus as your example that you follow.
Remember, this is not just a good way to live; it is not even the best way to live; it is the only way to live eternally.
Because “the wages of sin is death,” and sin is any other path I might try to take other than the one God has provided through Jesus Christ.]
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
*Don’t put on appearances.
[Just as John made it clear that he was not the Christ, we need to be ever so clear that we are just sinners who are saved by grace. It might be good to let people know when they are in our presence they should be wearing hard hats, because there is active construction going on and the process won’t be completed until we are at home with Christ our LORD in heaven.]
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
*Point people to Jesus
Even though He made everything that was made, even His unique creation did not recognize Him.]
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
*Show others the value of Jesus with your works as well as your words.
[Even by His own he was not received. That is like you going home to your family for Thanksgiving or Christmas and having Mom and Dad, Sister and Brother, Aunt and Uncle, lock all the doors to the house and refuse to let you in to take part in the celebration.
Remember, there was no room at the inn for Christ to be born. There are people today who are locking the doors to their hearts and refusing to let Jesus into their lives.]
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
* Let people know what God is offering them.
[By receiving Jesus we become God’s dear children, heirs of God and co heirs with Christ. In receiving Him we reject the love of the world.]
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh

*Let them know what it is like to be born of the Spirit.
[It is not a physical thing, it is not a mental, thing, and it is not a ritual or religious thin that makes one born anew. It is a supernatural spiritual bonding between one who desires to belong to God and God Himself accepting that person as His own. It is like the most beautiful adoption that has ever taken place, where God Almighty, who created me, with all my flaws and imperfections and called me His son. He gave me a new name that no one knows (I think it’s His last name).
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
*Tell them God can relate to their suffering.
[It is the most amazing thing, and it has been missed by those who have rejected Jesus as the Son of God. He, Himself, the Creator oft he universe, became His own Son by manifesting Himself in the womb of the Virgin Mary. God took on the form of a man so that mankind might be more capable of relating with God. He suffered every ache and pain we ever suffer. He knew what we ate. He knew sleepless nights. He knew what it was like to be a baby, a child, a pre-teen, a teenager, and an adult. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows.
Of course we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father. This baby, boy, and man was the Father come to earth in the form of a man.]
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
*Give the people what you understand.
[John understood who Jesus was. He knew Jesus was God in the flesh.]
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
*Huh?
[The idea of “race for grace,” is literally stated as grace upon grace, or that God’s grace to us has been piled up.]
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
*Let people know that if they want to know what God is like, look at Jesus of Nazareth.
19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
* Tell people who you are.
[I am a nobody and nothing, but I serve the living God who is my everything.]
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am
‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “ Make straight the way of the LORD,”’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
*This is the wilderness where we have been called to raise our voices saying, “Get ready to meet God!”

Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So

Psalm 107:1-7

Everyone who has joined themselves to the cause of God in Christ Jesus has a purpose; a calling that God has laid upon their life. Everyone is called to be a witness of what God has done in their life and to verify who the Son of God actually is.

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.

We have a marvelous example of witnessing from the first chapter of the book of John. It is the pattern for witnessing that is laid out by example by John the Baptist.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
[It is hard to fully understand what is being said here, but let me try to paint you a vivid picture:
The Son of God is not merely the offspring of God the Father.
The Word of God is the Son of God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Son of God is God.
God the Father is God.
In all this, we are talking about one God who reveals Himself in three various ways.]
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
[Jesus of Nazareth, the baby in the manger in Bethlehem, was and is the God of creation]
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
[Jesus of Nazareth, the baby born to the Virgin Mary, was and is the life giving light of the world.]
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
[If you are honest, you have got to admit to the fact there are some things you just don’t know. There are some things I won’t fully comprehend until I get to see Jesus face to face in heaven. The apostle, the one who Jesus loved, John who wrote this book of the Bible is not trying to reconvict you and me because there are some things we don’t understand. He is referring to the fact that people then and now do not understand the full ramifications of what took place in the short life on earth of the person known as Jesus of Nazareth.]
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
*Where do you come from?
[Where John came from is of the highest importance for us to stress. John came from God, and if you have accepted the payment for your sins that was offered up by the giving of Gods only Son on the cross of Calvary, then you are also a representative of God the Father as John the Baptizer was. There are people who are watching your every move and they will question every word and deed that you do. Some will try to expose you as a fraud; that is what will happen when your life radiates the presence of God.]
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
*What is your purpose?
[The purpose that motivated John needs to be the motivating factor in every believer in Jesus Christ. We need to let God have full control of our lives. Here is how to do just that:
Recognize your sinful nature and the sin it has led you into.
Accept the payment for sin that is provided in God through Jesus Christ death and resurrection and His ascending back into heaven.
Live a life pleasing to God with the life of Christ Jesus as your example that you follow.
Remember, this is not just a good way to live; it is not even the best way to live; it is the only way to live eternally.
Because “the wages of sin is death,” and sin is any other path I might try to take other than the one God has provided through Jesus Christ.]
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
*Don’t put on appearances.
[Just as John made it clear that he was not the Christ, we need to be ever so clear that we are just sinners who are saved by grace. It might be good to let people know when they are in our presence they should be wearing hard hats, because there is active construction going on and the process won’t be completed until we are at home with Christ our LORD in heaven.]
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
*Point people to Jesus
Even though He made everything that was made, even His unique creation did not recognize Him.]
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
*Show others the value of Jesus with your works as well as your words.
[Even by His own he was not received. That is like you going home to your family for Thanksgiving or Christmas and having Mom and Dad, Sister and Brother, Aunt and Uncle, lock all the doors to the house and refuse to let you in to take part in the celebration.
Remember, there was no room at the inn for Christ to be born. There are people today who are locking the doors to their hearts and refusing to let Jesus into their lives.]
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
* Let people know what God is offering them.
[By receiving Jesus we become God’s dear children, heirs of God and co heirs with Christ. In receiving Him we reject the love of the world.]
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh

*Let them know what it is like to be born of the Spirit.
[It is not a physical thing, it is not a mental, thing, and it is not a ritual or religious thin that makes one born anew. It is a supernatural spiritual bonding between one who desires to belong to God and God Himself accepting that person as His own. It is like the most beautiful adoption that has ever taken place, where God Almighty, who created me, with all my flaws and imperfections and called me His son. He gave me a new name that no one knows (I think it’s His last name).
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
*Tell them God can relate to their suffering.
[It is the most amazing thing, and it has been missed by those who have rejected Jesus as the Son of God. He, Himself, the Creator oft he universe, became His own Son by manifesting Himself in the womb of the Virgin Mary. God took on the form of a man so that mankind might be more capable of relating with God. He suffered every ache and pain we ever suffer. He knew what we ate. He knew sleepless nights. He knew what it was like to be a baby, a child, a pre-teen, a teenager, and an adult. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows.
Of course we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father. This baby, boy, and man was the Father come to earth in the form of a man.]
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
*Give the people what you understand.
[John understood who Jesus was. He knew Jesus was God in the flesh.]
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
*Huh?
[The idea of “race for grace,” is literally stated as grace upon grace, or that God’s grace to us has been piled up.]
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
*Let people know that if they want to know what God is like, look at Jesus of Nazareth.
19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
* Tell people who you are.
[I am a nobody and nothing, but I serve the living God who is my everything.]
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am
‘ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “ Make straight the way of the LORD,”’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
*This is the wilderness where we have been called to raise our voices saying, “Get ready to meet God!”

The Blessing

The Blessing

There is an obvious difference between physical blessings and spiritual blessings.

Back in Genesis we read about the blessings that Jacob passed on to his descendants.

It is the classic story ending of the old adage, “What goes around comes around.”

First Jacob desired to see Joseph and his children Ephraim and Manasseh so he could bless them before he passed on to the Lord. Jacob continued the tradition that defied tradition that was handed down from Abraham through Isaac, and then through the deception Jacob and Rachel had pulled off on Isaac in disguising Jacob like Esau.

Evidently it had now become so ingrained in his mind, he now gave the greater blessing to the younger Ephraim.

Even when Joseph tries to correct his father Jacob insists that he has done as the Lord has directed him.

Physical Blessings:

In chapter 49 Joseph has called the rest of the family to his bed side and he passes on his blessing.

As I read this portion of Scripture, couldn’t help but sense Jacob’s obvious irritation with some of his children.

Genesis 49

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

1 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

2 “ Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
And listen to Israel your father.

3 “ Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—
He went up to my couch.

5 “ Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

6 Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly;
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.

8 “ Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “ Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

14 “ Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;

15 He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.

16 “Dan shall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!

19 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.

20 “Bread from Asher shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.

21 “ Naphtali is a deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.

22 “ Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.

23 The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.

24 But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25 By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27 “ Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at night he shall divide the spoil.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Physical blessings are passed in regards to:

1. How you impress the blesser (Yes! I do know there is no such word as blesser.)

2. How you behave

3. How blessed the blesser has been

Spiritual Blessings:

Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

I Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Spiritual blessings are passed on in regards to:

1. Our relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ

2. Treasures the world cannot understand or see

3. How much we desire to share the blessings of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ

Henry Nowuen tells of a time when one of the residents at his home for mentally and physically challenged people came to him and requested he bless her.

He reached out his hand and began to place it on her head. When she avoided his touch he was puzzled.

She insisted that she wanted a real blessing and he was to do it at the service that evening.

He struggled to understand what this emotionally and mentally challenged woman was asking him to do for her.

As the service that evening was drawing to a close he mentioned (with great caution) the ladies name and told the other thirty some attendants about her desire to receive a blessing. As he called her to come forward, he again extended his hand as if he would place it on her forehead. This time however, she not only avoided his hand but walked directly into him and grasped him in her embrace.

He finally figured out what she wanted, and he put his arms around her and gave here a blessing that was specific to her and her spiritual gift of making people of the home and visitors feel welcomed.

I want to pass on a spiritual blessing to you.

May you grow in the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ our LORD.

May you learn to share the blessings of your relationship with Him so others might know Him too.

May you all inherit all that God wants you to have in Christ Jesus.

If Jesus is the Answer, Then What is the Question

1If Jesus Is the Answer, Then What is the Question? John 3:16

In Philip Yancey’s book, “The Bible Jesus Read,” he recalls growing up in the state of Georgia. He remembers graffiti on sides of barns and bridges, rocks and roadsides. They were either Scripture direct from the Bible or reference to the biblical text. Just before writing this book he was driving through the state and observed that some sceptics had added their own graffiti to the mix. Where one person had written, “Jesus is the answer,” another had scrolled, “So what’s the Question? Yancey goes on to reflect that, even though that person might have written the statement in a smart-aleck mood, he might have hit on something very concrete that we, as believers should be constantly thinking about. He reflects that there are three questions each of us had to have answered before we came to, or can come to, solid trust in God through Jesus Christ.
He suggests these three questions to ponder.
Do I matter? Does God care? And Why doesn’t God act?
During the next few minutes, let’s look for some answers to these hard questions.

1. Do I matter?
Psalm 8
1 O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,[b]
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

2. Does God care?
Ezekiel 33:11
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?


Why doesn’t God act?
Daniel 10:11-13
11And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 1And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

12Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Think of the entire book of Job. God never tells Job about the contest of Job's faith and trust in God that was set up in chapters 1-3. God never tells Job why he has suffered. God only restored Job.

You are important to God .

He created you and sent His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for your sin.

Your answer or deliverance might be on the way but delayed as in Daniel's case.

Perhaps we might not receive an answer as to why God doesn't act. Remember, His goal for us is eternal life, not to provide us with gifts or answers in this life.

If you need more assurance of God's love and purpose for your life, contact me at 740-385-6460
or e-mail me at the address on this site.

God loves you and I do too!