Wednesday 28th June Psalm 129 They have not prevailed Gill Wolfaardt
Persecuted from my earliest youth ( Israel is speaking )
And faced with my never-ending discrimination- but not destroyed! My enemies have never been able to finish me off!
Though my back is cut to ribbons with their whips, the Lord is good. For he has snapped the chains that evil men had bound me with.
May all who hate the Jews be brought to ignominious defeat.
May they be as grass in shallow soil, turning sere and yellow when half grown. Ignored by the reaper, despised by the binder.
And may those passing by refuse to bless them by saying , “ Jehovah’s blessing be upon you; we bless you in Jehovah’s name.”
We will focus today on the first four verses. We are looking at the oppressed Israelites. Lets look at our own oppression.
2Timothy 3:1-5 The world’s freedom is actually anarchy
Galatians 5:1 The freedom Jesus Christ has given us.
This wonderful freedom is found in obedience. There is freedom of movement on a train but if the train is derailed chaos reigns. We need faith and obedience to live abundant lives.
The devil comes to steal , kill and destroy. He is the author of sin and the wages of sin is death. Death is separation from God.
2 Cor 5:21 God made Jesus, Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Satan wants to steal that truth from us. Although he is a defeated foe he does have the ability to deceive and lie to us thus oppressing us.
The world is made up of unrighteous people who have rejected God and righteous people who are bought by the blood of the Lamb. You wouldn’t even be here if Jesus wasn’t in your life but there are also two different types of believers. the carnal and the spiritual.
1Cor 2 12- 3:4
Is Jesus Lord? Is He in the driver’s set? Or is He in our hearts but sitting on the sideline while we make our own decisions and run our own lives. Do we ask Him to bless what we have decided to do or do we ask Him what His will is?
Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is is impossible to please God for those who come to Him must believe the He exists and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.
Are we oppressed through unbelief? Disobedience? Lack of diligent seeking? We need faith and obedience. We need to trust. Its difficult to trust someone whose character you don’t know.
God is good and when we find ourselves in tough circumstances we can know He hasn’t changed and He will use the circumstances to make us more like Jesus if we’ll let Him. We are HIS workmanship.
Romans 3:1-5 His purpose in our lives is to conform us to the image of Jesus.
Romans 8:29
How do you respond to aggression in your life?
Isaiah: 51: 21-2 ”But listen to this afflicted ones- full of troubles and in a stupor but not from being drunk- this is what the Lord says, the Lord your God Who cares for His people, “See, I take from your hands this terrible cup, you shall drink no more of its fury; it is gone at last but I will put that cup into the hands of those who tormented you and trampled your souls to the dust and walked all over your backs”
Jesus took our punishment, His back was ripped apart for us and He drank the cup of God’s judgment on our behalf.
James 1:2ff
Jesus makes us steadfast, satan makes us uncertain, unstable and unreliable.
Religion is what man does for God,
The gospel is what God does for man.
Religion is good views- the gospel is good news.
Religion is outer reformation. The gospel is inner transformation.
Religion says attain. The gospel says obtain.
Religion says attempt. The gospel says accept.
Religion says try, the gospel says trust.
Religion says DO and you will be saved.
The gospel says it is DONE!
Your enemies ill never be able to finish you off! God is good and He has broken the chains of the oppressor !
BE FREE IN CHRIST