November 1, 2017
Worship: Army of the Lord/Dying Star by Jason Upton
You've got your best man on the front side
You always show your best side
And evil's always on the other side
You say this is your strategy
But son I hope you take it from me
You look just like your enemy
You're full of pride
We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
And the greatest idol is you and me,
We better get on the threshing floor
When will we learn that God's strategy
Is giving glory to the Lord?
We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
Star how beautiful you shine
You shine more beautiful than mine
You shine from sea to shining sea
World-wide is your strategy
But shinning star I hope you see
If the whole wide world is staring straight at you
They can't see me...
LetsSingIt - Your favorite Music Community
Video: https://youtu.be/bBDWyjo9q00
Witness:
I was sitting at my computer tonight finishing up my thoughts on what I was going to share in the WORD section of my journal. That is not the usual progression. Up until today, I have always begun with a search for a worship song, followed by Witness and then the WORD. I actually started last week on it, and it was a part of my previous WORD entry - an entry that was getting quite long, and I wanted to think further about the last two points I wanted to make. I am glad I began tonight this way because as I finished, I returned to the third verse of Psalm 27 and refreshed my memory concerning the verse that had inspired my thoughts.
For some reason, as I thought of an army surrounding me, I also thought of the Army of the Lord. Perhaps it was because I had thought of the incident in 2 Kings 6:17 that I mentioned in my previous journal entry. So I did a search on Youtube. The song above was the first song listed. The second was a song by the same title sung by Chris Tomlin. I was familiar with Chris Tolin’s version, so I did a search in my journal to make sure I had not sung it before. I had referenced the song but had not sung it for worship. I was about to click on the link to the song but decided to listen to Jason Upton’s song first. For about the next 8 minutes I found myself face down on my desk as I let the words soak into me and the God-exalting, pride debasing lyrics wash over me. I did not even sing, which often has led me to be distracted by my own voice. Instead, I listed and prayed that I would get out of the way so others could see “You and not me.” Then I thought of the words of our Savior.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matt 5:14-16 NIV
Lord,
Let me get out of the way
So others may see only You
Let the light of Your glory today
Be seen in all that I do.
- Amen
Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life —
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
NIV (84)
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Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Ps 27:1 - 3
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?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
KJV
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Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
ESV
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My final two thoughts concerning trials are about timing. My first thought is that trials may be short-lived or protracted. We pray for deliverance. We pray for a miracle. Some miracles take time. In fact, many do. We see miracles performed by our Savior that were immediate and spectacular. But some took time.
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Mark 8:22-26 NIV
Consider Elijah praying for the end of the drought.
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
1 Kings 18:41-46 NIV
Miracles seem to always occur quickly in the Scriptures. With just the turn of a few pages and Joseph is delivered from the pit to a place of power. However, we know it took years in actuality. In our fast food and fast-paced world, patience is a lost virtue. We continuously look for ways to shave time off of data downloads. Earlier today I was yelling at my phone - which is several years old - because it was taking “too long” to load a page I had clicked on. When the Bible speaks of “longsuffering” and exhorts us to “not lose heart,” it may be speaking of weeks or years passing by. In terms of the Christian walk it is a lifetime, but today we lose heart after a few days or even a few hours.
A final thought here is that our deliverance may not come till all seems lost. When the enemy is at the door ready to smash it down. Look at David’s life. Years on the run from Saul but he also knew he was God’s chosen one, and thus he persevered in spite of constant danger till the promise realized in his life. And look at what Paul learned in a time of extended trouble.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
2 Cor 1:8-11 NIV
Paul said that sometimes trials continue to the point where we feel like giving up. To which he declares that God did it, yes - God did it, so that we might not become self-reliant but God-reliant. He goes on to say that God delivered him and his companions and would continue to do so. Left unsaid but undoubtedly evident in his writing and the rest of Scripture is the fact that our times are in the Lord’s hands and He will deliver until our task on earth is done. This is what Paul intimated in Acts 20:24.
Acts 20:24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
NIV
This, of course, opens up a can of worms about discovering what that task might be. But that is a study for another time. What I do want to point out is that Paul endured in hope. A hope born of his knowledge of God and experienced in his life. But his confidence also came because he knew others were praying for him – “On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.” Our trials are not to be endured alone. We are to enter into other’s trials so that they may experience deliverance and their hope sustained. Yet this is not the goal, but a means to the end for which we endure hardship, hope expectantly, and pray earnestly. Our goal then is the glory of God – “Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”
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