10

Jump Start # 1556

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1556

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil”

  This week our Jump Starts have been looking at the spiritual battle that we are engaged in. Fight the good fight of faith is what Timothy was told. The battleground of this fierce fight against Satan takes place in our hearts. That is the territory that Satan is after. He doesn’t really care about the state house, the court house, or, the White House. It’s your house, your heart, that Satan is after. He will use anything and anyone to get you. He will discourage your from worshipping God. He will confuse you with false ideas. We will dangle temptation before you to get your eyes off of Jesus. He will present opportunities for you to choose wrong. He will present reasons to justify in your mind the choosing of wrong. The battle is intense. The enemy is likened to the strongest animal in the jungle, the lion. The foolish person won’t be serious about God’s warnings. They will glide through life in a fog believing that there’s really nothing wrong, all the while their heart becomes more and more distant from God. It’s time for shepherds of God’s churches, and parents to wake up and realize how intense and how hard this battle is. Music, friends, TV, social medial are all platforms that Satan will use to get what he wants, and that is the souls of your family.

 

One of the great paradoxes of the Bible is that we know who wins the overall spiritual war, that is Christ. Satan loses. The Bible ends with Satan being cast to Hell where he will be tormented day and night. The battle is not up in the air. It’s not one that could go either way. Satan loses. God promises that. But, the battle for your heart and my heart, is still on going. While Satan will lose the war, he may conquer me or you. This is why we must be diligent, careful and alert. This is why we must stay close to the Lord.

 

Our verse today is yet another of the many passages that remind us that we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Here Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the full armor of God. This section has been the source of many sermons, especially for younger preachers starting out. I wonder if we have looked at it with careful eyes.

 

Three things to notice here:

 

First, there is the call to put on the full armor of God. The armor belongs to God. We remember young David racing off to fight Goliath without any armor. He tried the king’s, but it didn’t work for him. Unlike David, we must put on God’s armor. Without this, we will become casualties upon the battlefield.

 

You’ll notice also, that Paul tells the brethren to put on the full armor. Our tendency would be to grab the sword and go. No, don’t do that. You need all of it. God knows you need all of it. Put it on. Faith, salvation, the word of God, righteousness, truth—it is these things that we need to be victorious in the battle.

 

Second, as Paul, describes what we put on, the order seems out of order to us. If we were soldiers in ancient Israel, sleeping in our tents and the horn blew that the enemy was coming, we’d hop up, grab our sword, shield and maybe helmet and run to the battle lines. That’s how we think. It’s not how God thinks. Paul begins with the girdle that covers the waist. Then strap on the breast plate. Then but on the shoes. Then take the shield and helmet. Finally, get the sword. It would take time for the soldier to dress that way. We might tend to skip a few of these steps. At the end of the battle, those that were fully equipped would be the ones who had survived. Forget the movies, where the hero stands with just a sword and nothing else and he slays dozens of the enemy. Great in the movies, didn’t work that way on a real battlefield. It certainly won’t work that way in your heart.

 

Third, Paul gives us the confidence that God’s armor works. Three times and in three expressions he shows  the success of the Christian who is armed this way.

  • You will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (11)
  • You will be able to resist in the evil day (13)
  • You will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (16)

 

You will. You will conquer. You will win. Putting on the full armor of God works. It is what we must have to win this battle over our hearts. So we need to develop faith. We need to walk more in righteousness. We need to understand the word of God. We need to grasp salvation. We need to buy the truth and sell it not.

 

God doesn’t leave us alone in the battle. He is not sitting idly on the sidelines watching. It is His armor. It is His ways that will allow us to come through this safely.

 

Maybe we ought to spend more time in our Bible classes and sermons developing the qualities of righteousness, truth, faith, and salvation than we do talking about why others are wrong. There may be a place for that, but too much of that doesn’t help us with the battle we face. Paul told the Corinthians that we are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes. We know how the enemy operates. We know his weapons. We know when he is likely to attack. We know…do we? Football teams will study the films of their opponent. They want to know how they play. Businesses will study the models of their competition. They want to know what works. Politicians will study their opponents. But spiritually, too many of us are blind. We are walking through the fields, having a wonderful time, never realizing that just off in the tall grass the lion is watching us. He’s waiting. He’s waiting for the moment we are not paying attention. He’s waiting for us to be alone. He’s waiting for us to drop our guard, to be careless, to make a mistake. Then, in an instant, he’s upon us. Then it’s too late.

 

Be alert. Satan is watching you when others aren’t. Satan is at work before you get there. Satan is at home before you get there. Satan travels with you on business. He’s waiting for you at the hotel where you vacation. Satan—he wants to rip your heart out and see you cast into Hell.

 

Be certain, there is a battle going on. It never ends until we leave this world. But then, and only then, we will be done with Satan and the battle will finally be over. Until then, we must be sharp. We must be careful. We must help others.

 

The lion is watching…do you see him?

 

Roger

 

09

Jump Start # 1555

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1555

2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”

  Our verse today fits well with our theme this week of “fighting the good fight.” The language of the passage sounds victorious. “We are destroying…” and “we are taking every thought captive,” sounds as if positive ground is being taken and if Paul was winning the war. How can this be when history tells us that Paul was executed? Shortly after his death, the Roman empire turned against the Christians and their blood was shed throughout the world. Today, the pure form of Christianity, that which has stuck with the Biblical pattern, is alive but in contrast to other religions, it’s not large. It seems that sin is winning. It seems that things are getting worse, not better. It seems that the acceptance of wrong has become popular and the norm.

 

Understanding the nature of this fight, helps us to understand this passage. The battleground of this fight actually takes place in each person’s heart. It is there that choices are made and faith finds a home. Our religion, if you want to call it that, is not lived through government policies or public ideas. It is personal and lived out by each individual person. It is not even lived through the church. It is within our hearts that we live for Christ. Our faith is expressed through our hearts. It is in our hearts that convictions are formed, decisions made and commitment is secured. So, the battleground where this good fight is fought, is within our hearts. Satan may get the government. He may get the media. He may get schools. He may get the laws, policies and modern thinking of the times, but the one thing he cannot get is your heart, unless you allow that. This is where this verse takes place, in our hearts. It is in our hearts that we are destroying speculations. It is in our hearts that we are taking every thought captive.

 

This is why in countries that are opposed to Christianity, such as Muslin countries or communistic countries, Christians are there. They may be meeting secretively for safety but they are there. Those countries and their laws have not conquered every heart. There are hearts that have destroyed and taken captive those things that oppose Christ.

 

But even in a grander sense than the fight against communism, here throughout this country are hundreds of hearts that have refused to be held captive by Satan. I think of the home, where mom and dad have no time nor use for God. The Bible is never opened. Prayers are never said. Alcohol flows freely. Trashy talk and trashy behavior is an everyday thing. Yet in such sorry households, comes a young man or a young lady who doesn’t agree with all that they see everyday. Deep in their hearts they love the Lord. On their own, they pray, read God’s word and live a pure life. When they move out on their own, they do just the opposite of what their parents were doing. They find a congregation and worship each week. They have destroyed and captured all the wrongs and have refused to let Satan have their hearts.

 

I think of the young college student who sits in a biology or philosophy class and endures ridicule and erroneous statements about Christianity. Books on the required reading list slams and mocks the Bible. Most of the class blindly goes along with this stuff. It doesn’t bother them because Satan has already gotten a foothold in their hearts. Drinking and fornication have become weekly adventures for most students. They are spinning out of control and they do not even realize it. But for the young Christian, he has held his ground. His has refused to surrender his heart. The claims of the professor are inconsistent, illogical and without proof. He sees through the smoke and knows that there are things that the professor refuses to address. If the Bible is not from God, where did it come from? Why is it that there is no other book in history like the Bible? How were things written about before they were discovered? The professor dodges such questions and mocks the person who asks him that and turns to extreme abuses of hypocrites to satisfy his unproven claims. Yet for this believer, his heart has held it’s ground. He has not allowed Satan to take it over. He has destroyed and he has conquered.

 

The battle isn’t on the national front. It’s not marching with protest signs. It’s not petitions. It’s not over shouting your opponent. It’s not being a spiritual bully. The battle is in your heart. You alone allow whatever you want to come into your heart. You have the key and it is within that heart that the greatest battle ever fought takes place.

 

We can help ourselves or hurt ourselves by what we allow in our hearts and by what we allow ourselves to be influenced by. Watching worthless TV shows certainly isn’t going to help us destroy and capture what is wrong. When we do that, we are opening the window of our heart and allowing the enemy to sneak in. Filling your day with unprofitable talk, surrounding yourself with conversations that take you down doesn’t help you win this battle for your heart. Anger, selfishness and godlessness prevail. We encounter those three ugly sisters everywhere. They are found in people. They are found in music. They are especially found on reality TV shows. They are expressed on Facebook and Twitter. Do you want to keep your heart for the Lord? Do you want to win the battle? Do you want to destroy and capture? Then you must guard what comes into your heart. Be the only nerd at work who didn’t watch what everyone is talking about today. Be the prude who refuses to flirt around with co-workers. Be the fanatic who actually reads his Bible during lunch. Be the one who prays before he walks into the office and prays before he enters his home. Be the one who ends the day thankfully and begins the next day, hopefully. Be the one who sings hymns in his car. Be the one who seeks the company of quality people. Be the one who reads, watches and listens to things that will make him a better person. Be the one who is thoughtful and kind. Be the one who doesn’t see what others are doing, he does what is right, even if he stands alone. Be the one whose heart has not been taken over by Satan.

 

We are destroying and we have captured…it was taking place. The Christians were winning. While the world was growing more and more wicked, there were certain ones who were untouched and unmoved by those things.

 

I fear that too many of us are getting worked up about politics. The Lord will take care of us. Do you want another four years like we have had, someone recently asked me. Things are dark, no question. But it seems that the light shines the brightest in the darkest places. God will take care of you. Be faithful even to death. Remember? The battle takes place in your heart.

 

This day, what you are allowing into your heart? You have the key. Only open it for that which will bring you closer to the Lord. Rise above everyone else and do what you know is right.

 

Yes, there is a battle going on. It started the moment you woke up today!

 

Roger

 

08

Jump Start # 1554

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1554

1 Timothy 6:12 “”Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

 

This week our Jump Starts are looking at the theme of “fighting the good fight.” We are engaged in a war. What is at stake is our souls. Jesus had warned His followers that people would love darkness more than light. He warned them that they would be hated because of His name. Nothing has changed about that. The modern church has tried to smoke the peace pipe with the world but that hasn’t worked. The result has watered down the message of God and presented a weak church that bows down to the whims of the world. The church, it’s message and it’s Savior seems weak, pointless and out of touch with the world. We must dig in and fight. There must be no ground given up. We must allow God to put a stake in the ground and then rally around the Lord. We must hate what God hates and love what the Lord loves. There is a fight going on. We will fight by the rules. We will not get in the mud and call names or do things that Jesus would never do. It’s not that kind of fight.

 

One of the things that often happens is that a person doesn’t realize that he is in a fight until it is too late. This happens especially in the family. For instance, how often do we learn of a couple filing for divorce. It is at that time that one of them reaches out. They are in a panic state and they want people, especially the leaders of the church to come and save the marriage. For a long, long time there has been trouble. Things haven’t been good in a long time. Never did this one spouse ever say anything. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe she believed it would just turn around. Maybe she never saw that there was a fight going on for her marriage. Satan was trying to tear them apart. But now, days before the marriage is officially over, she reaches out. She is expecting a miracle. Why won’t someone do something, she says to herself. He’s moved out and moved on. He’s already replaced her with someone else. A person cannot wait until their boat is about to go over the waterfall before they cry for help.

 

The same could be said of parenting. A teenager has been in a downward spiral. His grades stink. He’s friends stink. Sometimes he even stinks. His attitude has been disrespectful and hateful for a long time. He’s been drinking. He’s played around with drugs. He has no interest in God. One night he gets arrested. The embarrassed parents finally reach out to the shepherds of the church wanting them to save their child. He’s been in the far country for a long, long time. Why didn’t they reach out before? Why didn’t they ask for help the instant they saw trouble? Why did they wait until the boat is on the waterfall before they cried for help? Did they not realize that a fight was going on? Did they not see that Satan was trying to steal the heart of their child?

 

The congregation is like a pit crew on a racing team. The driver has his job but he needs to come in and get refueled. He needs fresh tires. He needs to makes some adjustments. The owner is talking to the driver over the radio. Then the driver zooms back to the race, fueled and ready to journey on. This is our relationship with the church. We need others to help refuel us. We need some fresh tires. We need someone to talk to us. But in the end, it is each of us that must get back out there and journey on. No one can do that for us. No one can finish our race for us. But they certainly can lighten the load. They can sit with us when we are facing difficult times. They can encourage us when we feel like quitting. They can energize us to get through one more day.

 

Each of us are engaged in fighting our own battles. Others can hand us equipment. They can be there to cheer us on. They can stand beside us. They remind us. But it is our own battles that we must face. Fight the good fight of faith is not a battle that we struggle through alone. The Lord is with us. This is a spiritual battle. This is the Lord’s battle. The battle ground is our hearts and that’s why we are involved. The battle ground is our marriages and our families and our congregations. We will not let Satan have those. We will fight until there is no more fight in us.

 

There is no reason for any to battle alone. The structure of the church is that we need each other. We need each other to pray, to encourage and to remind us. All around us today, are little reminders that we are in a battle. An off color joke here. An immodest billboard there. A trashy TV show. A song filled with hate. Satan is trying to change your values. He is trying to get you to enjoy the moment for the price of selling your soul. He wants you, like Esau, to trade your birthright for a bowl of soup. Enjoy the moment is the message of Satan. Don’t take this stuff too seriously, is the message of Satan. Everyone is doing this. You are missing out. Surround yourself with people who think differently than you do and before long, you’ll become like they are.

 

There is a battle going on. Is it time for you to get some help? Is it time for you to talk to the folks at church for advice? Is it time for you to meet with the shepherds and open up your Bible and see what you need to be doing? Are you going to sit back and watch your kids be taken away from you by Satan? Are you going to sit back and watch your marriage fall apart, while Satan smiles?

 

Fight the good fight—roll up your sleeves, open your Bible, draw a line in the sand and get tough. How serious are you? Jesus said if your right eye offends you, pluck it out? Would you do that? Would you go through this life without a smart phone, cable TV, internet, if it meant saving your soul? Would you? What price would you pay? Would you travel an hour one way to be part of a thriving congregation? Would you? What price would you pay?

 

Fight the good fight—

 

Roger

 

07

Jump Start # 1553

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1553

1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

  I was called to the hospital late last night. A dear brother hovers near death. I sat with his wife and watched the numbers on monitors bounce up and down. The thought that angels may have been in the room ready to usher his soul into eternity crossed my mind. Our passage for today also came to my mind. One of the greatest fights a person goes through is the fight to live. The body can do remarkable things to just hang on.

 

The good fight. Paul’s words to Timothy were about the spiritual battle that Christians are engaged in. There are many “fights” in life—some good, some not so good.

 

Parents will fight to have quality education and decency taught to their kids in schools. There are fights and petitions to save trees, whales, and the environment. Some fight city hall. Some fight progress and change. Politicians are giving it their all to be the last man or woman standing for the up coming Presidential election. It has become a real dog fight and many are tired of the name calling, mud slinging and empty promises.

 

I suppose if there is a “good fight” then there must be some “bad fights.” Some fight tooth and nail, almost literally, to promote things that God opposes. Same-sex marriage, legalizing drugs, lack of censorship—there are those who will pour all that they are into those causes and movements. Their voices are loud. They will not stop until they get what they want. They do not care about others, only what they want. They are fighting a battle, but they are fighting a bad fight.

 

The good fight of faith that Paul had in mind is the work of the kingdom. This is what we as Christians need to be engaged in. This work isn’t left to just the shepherds and preachers of a congregation but it’s something that all of us must be engaged in. It is the work of the N.T. This fight of faith is the teaching and preaching of God’s word. It is the standing where God stands. It is the promoting of the Gospel. It is saving and keeping souls. It is a work that is not completed in just one generation. Paul was engaged in this battle. Timothy was as well. And now, all these generations later, you and I are still in this long battle.

 

Paul mentions this warfare often in his letters. He reminds us that it is a spiritual battle. It may seem at times that we are losing this battle. More are on the wrong side of things than the kingdom side. The other side seems to have more resources and they do not go by the rules. Society seems to be getting worse. We are not leaning more toward Mayberry days but the godless way. Shows on TV illustrate this. Plays, music and theatre illustrate this. The envelope of decency is pushed more and more. More raunchy shows. More loose talking. More filthiness. More lack of direction and moral compass. More trashing of God. More blasphemy. More taking God’s name in vain. More misquoting God. My grandparents would be shocked to see what’s going on today. It’s not that people are sinning more, it’s that it is no longer hidden. It is no longer shocking. It is no longer frowned upon. Wrong is becoming right. Wrong is becoming normal.

 

So, what can be done? Some are looking for a candidate that has the best morals. That’s not the answer. Our hope and our fight doesn’t come from the statehouse or the Whitehouse. Our fight is spiritual. It’s long past the time for churches to stop sitting quietly on the landscape waiting for people to come to them. Reach out. Use every tool of media today. Be positive but be assured. Speak the words of Christ. Don’t go along. Don’t be silent. Stand up, stand up for Jesus is too often a song that is sung sitting down. It is time to stand up for Jesus. Fight that good fight of faith.

 

To fight involves a few obvious things:

 

First, we must know who the enemy is. Who are we fighting? Too often, we fight ourselves. We tend to shoot our own wounded. We pour too much energy defending opinions and things that really do not matter all that much. The great Stonewall Jackson, general of the Southern armies in the Civil War, was shot by his own troops. He eventually died because of that. Shooting their own, friendly fire, has taken out too many good soldiers. Know who the enemy is. It is Satan. He is behind everything that is wrong. He is behind every lie. He is behind every broken vow. He is behind every corrupt deal. He is behind every scandal. He is behind every sinful thought and act. Our enemy, is the greatest enemy, Satan. He deceived Eve. He hurt Job. He filled Peter’s heart. He was with Judas as he cut a deal to betray Jesus. From the first book of the Bible through the last book of the Bible, Satan is there. He knows Scripture. He knows Christ. He knows your heart. He knows how to come knocking. There is not one noble deed attributed to Satan. There is not one kind word that comes from Satan. He is a liar and he is wicked. His fate is sealed. Christ came to destroy his works and in the end, he will be cast into Hell forever. Hell has been made just for him.

 

Satan does pitch underhand. He does toss easy things for us to swing at. He is out to destroy your congregation, your marriage, your family and finally your soul. He’ll use anything that he can to do that. He will dance temptation before your eyes. He will use people that are dearest to you. He will misuse God’s very word. He will use drugs, alcohol, porn, to get our eyes off of Jesus and to get us in a fog that we can’t see straight. He will convince us that we are right, when we are not. He will even use religion to satisfy our souls, while feeding us poison of an empty gospel preached by those who have no convictions. Satan is tough. The landscape is full of those who he has conquered. He has convinced folks to write books declaring that God is made up and that evolution is a fact. He will use the populace to convince the weak heart that most people are doing right. The majority cannot be wrong. The majority wants same-sex marriage. The majority wants free drugs. The majority doesn’t want to be confined by religious rules. The masses dance to that song. They are dancing all the way to Hell. Satan smiles every time someone files for divorce. He smiles when preachers get so discouraged and disgusted that they quit. He laughs when congregations split and brethren refuse to talk to each other. He dances when young people off to college are drowning themselves in alcohol and have stopped going to worship. He loves it so much when college professors preach his message to young minds.  Satan is alive and doing well in our times.

 

What’s the fight? The fight is against Satan. Resist and he flees is what James tells us. Teach and preach that word. Fill the church houses with God’s message. Tell others about God at work. Satan’s gospel opens the door to all kinds of freedoms but it ends with crushed lives, broken dreams, tear filled eyes and souls bound for eternal Hell.

 

Our fight is against the greatest enemy. On our own, we are toast. We can not do it. The enemy is too strong for us. We have no hope of standing against his attacks. But with God, we can overcome. The flaming arrows of the evil one are distinguished when we hold up the shield of faith. That’s what the Ephesians were told. John reminds us that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The eventual outcome is known. It’s not up in the air. It is not something that could go either way. Christ wins. That’s the story of Revelation. Satan will be defeated. He loses. Everyone connected to him, loses. Overcome is one of the key words in Revelation. Overcome with Christ. Overcome through faith.

 

Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. We fight. We fight a winning battle with Christ. He doesn’t fight it alone. He fights with us and through us. Recognize the enemy. Learn how he operates.

 

Tomorrow, we will discuss more of this battle that we are fighting.

 

It’s a good fight because the battle belongs to the Lord! We are fighting for what is right. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t quit.

 

Roger

 

04

Jump Start # 1552

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1552

Psalms 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

  David’s Psalm is a tribute to the deliverance of the Lord. Like many of David’s Psalms, including the famous Psalms 23, the flow of the passage shifts from talking about God to actually talking to God. The chapter ends as a prayer to God.

 

There are three thoughts that we notice in our verses today.

 

First, I waited patiently for the Lord. God heard and God delivered but it was in God’s time table. Waiting patiently for the Lord is hard. While we wait, our faith can collapse if we are not careful. We may think that God isn’t hearing us. We may think that God won’t answer us. We may think that we are not worthy, which we never are, for God’s care and concern. Waiting patiently—that’s hard. Folks become impatient waiting in doctor’s offices. They become impatient waiting in construction traffic. We become impatient waiting on family members who simply do not move very fast. I waited patiently for the Lord. God’s coming through, don’t give up on Him. God’s going to do things, just hang in there. The patient wait means not losing your cool. Not getting upset. Not taking matters into your own hand. Waiting and waiting patiently.

 

Second, God delivered David out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay. That last expression, miry clay, simply means “mud.” David was in a pit of mud. We remember poor Jeremiah who was lowered into a cistern because the king didn’t like his preaching. You and I can fall into pits of mud pretty easily. Without careful attention, we find ourselves surrounded with people, co-workers, family members, and friends, who are always bringing our spirits down. They are negative, mean and gossipy. Before long, we find ourselves acting the same way. We wake up in the morning complaining and the day goes down hill from there. No thankfulness, no counting your blessings—just sour, ugly, dark and complaining. I tried watching the republican debates last night. Three different times I tried watching it. Each time, after about a minute and a half, I was through with all of them, and switched to a movie. It didn’t seem to get any better. People can do that to you. You feel that you are sinking in mud.

 

Sin also does that to us. Some are trapped in pornography, alcohol, drugs, lying, and a host of other addictive and destructive behaviors that just sink us into the mud. It’s nearly impossible to get out. Some days are better than others, but until we have climbed completely out of the pit, we will return to the cycle of sin. Some have been in the mud so long that they have gotten used to it. It’s not so bad, they have convinced themselves. Others have simply given up. They don’t see any hope of ever getting out of the mud. Everything they have tried has failed. They have tried to find a way out on their own, and it never works. They need the Lord and until they turn to the Lord, they will forever keep falling back into the pit. I expect the prodigal was looking at a lot of mud when he was feeding those pigs and wishing he could eat what they were eating. Sin can take us so low that we lose all respect and decency about us. Sin can lead a person to doing things that they never thought they would ever do, such as stealing from their own family, just to support an addiction, or, lying to the people that they love the most, just to keep their sinful secret hidden.

 

The pit of destruction and the mire of sin is impossible to get out of without God’s help.

 

Third, God not only pulled David out of the pit, He set his feet upon the rock. Have you ever walked in mud? Not only is it slippery, it’s hard to get a firm footing. What a contrast between mud and a rock. The solid rock. The rock of ages. Upon this rock I will build my church. The wise man built his house upon the rock. Solid. Firm. Not shifting. Absolute. It will be there tomorrow. David’s footsteps were firm because he stood upon the rock. What a contrast between sin and righteousness, mud and rock. What a contrast between error and truth, mud and rock. What a contrast between how we see and want things and what God says, mud and rock. God pulled David out of a pit of mud and stood him upon the rock.

 

In many ways, that is the process of conversion. A person learns the truth. As they come to see what God really says, they realize what they have heard before and what they once believed was nothing more than a pit of mud. It confined them and kept them in darkness. The truth of God’s word liberates and brings confidence and assurance. Paul wrote to Timothy, “I know whom I believe and am convinced…” Those are the words from someone who was standing firmly upon the rock.

 

The next verse in our passage today says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…” Not only did God pull David out of the mud and set him firmly on a rock, but now He gave David a reason to sing praises to God. God must like us praising Him. There are so many examples of that. What a contrast from being in a pit of mud, to standing upon the rock and singing praises to God.

 

God has delivered us. Be thankful. Be praising. Forget about the pit. Quit talking about how terrible the mud was. Look where you are. Be joyful. Be singing. Be glad that you have a deliverer. Forgiven. Clean. Singing. Standing. God did it.

 

The flow of this passage makes a powerful sermon. Better than that, it tells our story. From the pit to the rock. From mud to singing. We’ve been there and now, because of God, we are standing upon the rock.

 

Good thoughts to remember on a busy day!

 

Roger