Hello there. This isn’t much of a writing piece, more than it is scraps and word ‘doodles’ that’ll serve as an outline for me to speak from, for tomorrow.
With that said, it’s not to be taken too seriously. Also, don’t take too much sugar. It causes you to crash and waste time and energy.
Sorry, thought I’d just share that.
Folks from the worship team I minister to were pretty pumped as early as last Sunday, asking me what the theme was for this coming Sunday.
I simply told them that we’re going to take a look at how we are now, compared to the beginning of this year.
So, really quick, I’m going to just go through the themes that were pushed and seemed to have popped up per quarter, starting last January.
The first quarter, as in every quarter, is an opportunity to sort of ‘start afresh’ with a new theme, and we did so in earnest this 2024, coming from 2023 being a Year of Movement, to now doubling down on this year being all about Trust – Trusting in God, Trusting in the Lord.
To that note we took our time, going Sunday after Sunday from January to March, going through what I think was a critical Psalm geared towards the theme.
Psalm 20
Trust in the Name of the LORD Our God
TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.
1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
9 O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.
We trust in the Lord as King David trusted in Him. We trust Him to answer us in the day of trouble, and trust Him we will – down to His very name. The name of the God of Jacob protects us.
Here I remember how we may have taken a little additional time to explore what being protected by a name means – it means we are covered and favored by association. Being protected by a name implies relationship… sort of how, when a man and woman marry, the man already protects the woman by way of giving his name to her; when she is preserved, the name is preserved, and vice versa.
Now that I think about it, this just seems to have come up now, but still, it’s a nice thought – we’re being protected by the name of not any ordinary God, but to be precise, we’re protected by the name of the God of Jacob.
God of Jacob? That already implies a lot. This is the God of Jacob, descendant of Isaac, descendant of Abraham. We are protected by the name of the God of Jacob, renamed Israel, and whose 12 children fathered who would be called the 12 tribes of Israel.
We’re protected by the name of the God of Jacob, from whom priests, prophets, and kings would be born. Generations later, thousands of years later, on Mount Hermon (yet some still argue it was in Mount Tabor) Moses and Elijah would appear besides Jesus, all three being descendants of Jacob.
The priest of priests, and the prophet of prophets, along with the apostles present, heard a Voice from the cloud, speaking of Jesus: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)
It is by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that we who were once sinners, we who were Gentiles were now, by faith, associated to the God of Jacob, and now therefore protected by way of our inseparable relationship to Him… being identified with His name.
We’re protected by the name of the God of Jacob; From the holy and eternal heavenlies, He saves us, anoints us, and when we call upon Him, we are confident that He will answer us “with the saving might of his right hand”, just as He sends us help from His sanctuary, and support from Zion.
Through Christ, the one-and-for-all offering, and the ultimate sacrifice, we trust in our Father to grant us our hearts’ desire, and to fulfill all our plans. And because of Him, we’re able to celebrate – shouting for joy and setting up our banners, grateful and thankful for our salvation!
We trust in no other name, nothing else in this world, more than we place our trust in the name of the LORD our God. In His name we rise and stand upright, though the rest of this world collapses and falls.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:10-13
Psalm 111
Great Are the LORD’s Works
1 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Do you see a pattern here? As you continue to trust in the Lord, you also see more of His faithfulness. The opposite also holds true: the more you see His faithfulness in and around you, the more you’re brought to place your trust in Him.
Also, did you notice something else in these two Psalms? Only a couple of the verses talk about His faithfulness, or on how we should trust in Him. The rest of the verses speak of His goodness.
In the case of Psalm 111, it actually starts off by talking about God’s great works, doesn’t it? They’re full of splendor and majesty. They’re wondrous, much so that they are not only seen in awe as they unfold, but they are also well remembered.
The works of the Lord are faithful and just, performed with faithfulness and uprightness, and established forever and ever. Our God provides for us, He sends redemption to us. He is faithful to His covenants to us.
What am I getting at here? There’s a connection between God’s faithfulness and our trusting Him, but it’s all rooted – not in our works, not in our efforts, not in how good we claim ourselves to be – All of it has its source in God’s goodness.
And where can we see that the goodness of God leads us to repentance? Well, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we went through the book of Romans… and that’s where we found it, and so much more.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”Romans 1:16-17
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.Romans 16:25-27
Four questions to ask ourselves, as we approach the end of this wonderful year, 2024:
Have we been trusting in the Lord?
Have we seen His faithfulness so far this year?
Do we have a bigger understanding of what it means for us to be saved?
How has our salvation impacted us in our conduct towards ourselves and others?
After this, we will start on the book of 2 Timothy. Pretty excited.
Until the next post, God bless us all more and more, greatly, abundantly… In Jesus’ name, amen.
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