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!”
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!”
posted by Pastor Al at 9:36 PM
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