“Whatever He Pleases”

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth. Why should the Gentiles say, 'So where is their God?' But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” (vs1-3).

Trust the Almighty and not the work of your hands (idols).

First, whatever He feels like doing, and at all times, God does (vs3)! “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases”. He is not a phony imposter with no power, the god of men, someone man made up, utterly powerless like man himself, but He is the Savior of whom He wills, He controls who perishes, and He uses the devil as He sees fit, doing righteousness always, performing His word, fulfilling His will. He says, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure' (Is 46:10). He is the God with whom we will give an account, the Almighty, the King, the One WORTHY of our trust and hope, the Treasure!

Secondly, everyone trusting idols is foolish and lost, unable to save themselves, helpless, and without spiritual insight or life. They are dumb and stupid, dead in their sins, and unable to see the glory of God, just like the idols that they worship (vs4-8). “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them”.

At many Asian restaurants, you'll find pictures and statutes of Buddha. At other places, perhaps a Catholic church, you'll see images of “Jesus”, Mary, and others that they pray to. But, God is invisible, holy, lofty, and spiritual. He is enthroned. There is no worshiping Him by idolatry, by making something with our hands, something that we give eyes too, something that we must protect and carry around, and then calling this impotent thing God (Is 46:1-7)! No, your God is not in need of your help, and any god that needs your assistance is an idol, a false god, something below Jesus Christ, not worthy to be worshiped. Don't worship the god of free will religion, the god that can't save without your permission and will power, but worship the Lord who gives FAITH, and life, and willingness. Worship Him who provides everything. Don't trust in any building you've built or symbol that you have made. You may have a cross around your neck or in your church building, but never think of it as actually being spiritual; it is nothing but gold, silver, wood, and stone. Worship the Invisible God who'll reward you.

Thirdly, trusting the Lord saves you (vs9-11). “O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield”. The Lord is good and gracious to ALL who call upon Him, so let Israel, God's people who have power with Him, let the house of Aaron, the preachers of the gospel, those ministering saints, and let you who fear the Lord, scared to sin, put your trust in Him to hear you, receive you, and keep you. He is the ever present help in time of need. Put your trust in Him for righteousness – justification by faith. Hope in Him for holiness, the reward of the righteous by faith is the Holy Spirit. Trust Him, instead of a helpless god, to actually make you obedient, to bring the fruit of the Spirit, and to practice what He preaches. Trust Him when you can't trust yourself, but trust Him for the promises! This is why idolatry is meaningless; God actually saves, is real, and helps ALL who believe. “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great” (vs12-13).

Praise the Lord for His grace to you by believing upon Him, and counting His promises as real and worth your trust. Trust in the Invisible rewarding God. “May the LORD give you increase more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S; but the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!” (vs14-18)

“A Great Feast” (Gen 21:1-8)

vs8, “So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.”

Feasting and laughter are good gifts from God, whereby we CELEBRATE His grace to us. Let us feast upon Christ, continually, receiving grace from God in promises that haven't yet happened, and let us rejoice in what He's done for us already. Solomon wrote, “A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money”, atonement money, “answers everything” (Eccl 10:19). Religion without joy is not the salvation that God gives; it is not His grace fulfilling promises to chosen sinners.

First, rejoice always, for this is your strength. “Abraham made a great feast” (vs8). Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength”. Joy strengthens us to honor God BY the forgiveness of sins, and the more powerfully we believe in reconciliation, the more that we can achieve for God.

Too many spend the day looking at themselves and magnifying failures above the mercy of God. They do not know the lesson CA Coates so clearly illustrates by the man who looked in the garbage over and over, hoping to find something good. He was warned and instructed, but he still looked and looked. Finally, he stopped looking, and his friend asked, “Why? Why have you stopped your pursuit of the trash?” The man responded, “There is NOTHING in there”.

It is the same with us: there is NOTHING inside of us, and no amount of crying or weeping can put away sin. Paul says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). The only hope is to believe the goodness of God and receive fresh mercies. He is for us now in reconciliation, and we have all the power that we need. Now, instead of staring at ourselves, we go love others in faith that we're forgiven, and doing this, we experience joy for real, lasting joy that abides with us. He says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Is 26:3). In Nehemiah, after hearing pardon, “all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them” (Neh 8:12). Forgiveness is the door to obedience in character, and you can't please God any other way than believing that He is pleased with you in the Son.

Secondly, feast upon the gospel truly. Do not feast on half a gospel. Scripture says, “Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned” (Gen 21:8). The feast was not made for Ishmael, but for Isaac, the son of promise. We don't rejoice in our methods, our ways, and our notions; we rejoice in God's faithfulness to us by the word. We don't have a sin that grace might abound joy; we don't have a joy that is devoid of fear and trembling. We are commanded clearly, “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Ps 2:11). Many think that joy in the Lord means that I have no fear of God, and they are wrong. We pass the time of our temporary life in fear, and “happy is he that fears always” (Prov 28:14; 1 Pet 1:17). We rejoice with holy joy, we rejoice with God, and we rejoice in what He has done for us, making us whole, able to walk, and loving.

Thirdly, rejoice in the Lord and not yourself. We read, “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him... Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me” (Gen 21:1-7). Don't think that you've brought the promise to pass. It was God's grace, God's gift, and God's love, so respond in love and not pride. It is shameful to see us confess grace ungraciously, and behave unmercifully, when we've obtained mercy. Jesus warned Peter, “So My heavenly Father also will [not forgive you] if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matt 18:35). Don't FORGET that we're saved by grace and all we have is God's gift. If I grow spiritually, if I obtain a wife, children, and a home, then let me rejoice in the Giver, and not merely the gift. Let me FEAST unto the Lord.

Abraham and Sarah show their joy by circumcising Isaac and raising him in the gospel, “Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him” (Gen 21:4). They tell God “thanks” by being faithful to people and doing things that show belief in mercy.

Finally, you rejoice in the Lord and feast with Him. “Abraham made a great feast”, and you have one too (vs8). Don't look at everyone else happy and content, others at peace, and not get in on it yourself. Don't be the Prodigal's older brother who hated the music and the dancing, thinking GRACE was too gracious a term.

“Arise” (Luke 7:12-15)

And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow.  And a large crowd from the city was with her.  When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep. Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

Jesus has power unimaginable to give life to sinners and change your condition. He is not a helpless savior who needs you, but He says to the dead in sins, “arise”, and we stand. He says to the powerless, “Arise. You have power”, and to the wicked, “Arise, I receive you again”. This gracious God who saves the helpless by mighty power is our God in Jesus Christ. Only believe.

First, the Son has power. This man was dead, not sleeping or sick, but physically and spiritually out of it. He had no ability to respond to the call of any human. Only God could give his dead ears life to hear and his dead heart life to pump again.

It is the same with me and you. We're BORN in sins, loving evil, and blind to all righteousness, but God speaks in a way whereby we arise, stand up, and do His will. Paul said to a man, impotent in his legs who'd never walked, “with a loud voice, Stand up straight on our feet! And he leaped and walked (Acts 14:10).” Our hatred is subdued and life shines forth. Our blindness is conquered by grace. An outside of us God overrules the impotence within.

Secondly, the Lord Jesus has compassion. The woman's son was dead, the funeral is moving along with tears, and “when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep” (Luke 7:13). This God owes us nothing, but in pity unspeakable and mercy beyond words, He comes to us, and says, “Do not weep”!

Isn't death our fault? Isn't this woman a sinner? Have we not spurned God? Who is He, but so great a God as to forgive sin and delight in mercy? Micah said, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?” (Micah 7:18). He delights in compassion, and He has it for many.

There is the “willing” compassion that will help any who call on Him, and there is the “saving” compassion that helps all the Father gave Him, for He said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). If you are helped, He came to you sovereignly in love, for He says, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion” (Rom 9:16). If you need help, He stands willing with open arms. He WILL do for you, even as He did for this man.

Thirdly, Christ's gift is life, so that “he who was dead sat up and began to speak” (Luke 7:15).

God doesn't save in word only. He doesn't say, “arise” in theory, but people actually get up.

We loved sin, and now we love Christ and hate evil. We feared surrender to Christ, and now we plead for more consecration.

The change that God gives is real, and this is hope. What I am not, I can be. What I cannot do, through Him, I can do.

You and I are not hopeless, so long as Hope Itself has compassion, power, and life to give.

Lastly, hope in God. You see death all around you, men dead in sins, but don't despair. The God who raised you has power to raise the dead, and that means that people you pray for - people you live to save - have hope because God just might come to their funeral procession, as they're on their way to hell, and raise them up again, having compassion on you and seeing your cares. Remember, Christ had compassion on the living, so He helped the dead.

Love’s Power - James S. Stewart

It was Jesus who first proved that love, which in a world given over to force looks the weakest of weapons, is in reality the strongest.  Love gains victories which the hard, critical, censorious attitude never gains. The Pharisaic attitude to shamed and broken sinners never had and never has any redeeming power about it.  Indeed, it works all the other way and serves only to bind on the fetters of bitterness and despair more securely than ever.  “God, I thank you”, said that Pharisee of Jesus’ parable, “that I am not as other men are… even as this publican” (Luke 18:11).  That is loveless religion, entirely powerless to bring any souls into the Kingdom.  But Jesus loved the publican and by loving him gave him back his manhood and his self-respect, brought he cowed, shamed soul onto his feet again, put the light of hope into his eyes, and saved him.  If Peter after his denial had been met with hard censoriousness, in all probability there would never have been a Peter in scripture today.  But the love of Jesus, which even after the most terrible failure went on loving him (Mark 16:7; John 21:15), lifted him right out of the fearful pit of his sin and the miry clay of despair and set his feet on the rock again.  And here Jesus was a pattern for all his followers forever.  Love is not only better than criticism; it is also infinitely more effectual.  It is redeeming power.

“Not After the Flesh But After The Spirit” (Rom 7:14-8:4)

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (vs3-4)

The law of the Spirit overcomes the law of sin and death, which is in our body.  The law of sin, the fact that we are sinners, hasn’t been removed in salvation.  Our flesh evil to the core, and we cannot do good in the carnal nature - “For I know that in me, that is my flesh, dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not“ (Rom 7:18).  We delight in God’s law as new creations, but we’re only able to do the law, to fulfill the love that it commands, by the Spirit through faith in Christ.  By this, condemnation is PAST and help from God is ours rightfully, “for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2).

Through Jesus’ death, God has given us the Spirit.  He subdues sins and enables us to honor God, even as Christ slew sin for us at Calvary.  The Spirit works as Christ is preached, and the Spirit does what no human being can do, not only reveal that we are free and un-condemned but also give the power of obedience, so that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

God hasn’t left up helpless in the battle, but our help is of God, and it is a sure help so strong that we may sing before the fight in the confidence of victory - “You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand you still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you” (2 Chron 20:17).  As you deal with sin, know the Spirit will conquer.  Sin isn’t too strong for Him though impossible for you.  Believe what Christ did FOR you to earn the Spirit’s work in you, and by your faith, you’ll taste the real power of God.

The Holy Spirit is FREE, but there is faith involved. Faith RECEIVES the promises, obtains strength, and faith saves all who have it - “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions” (Heb 11:33). 

Don’t let the battle bring you despair, but believe on the Son of God while sin is a cub, before it grows to lion’s status. Kill sin in the crib by the gospel of “no condemnation” and by the Spirit’s power.  Don’t say, “I will push sin to the limit, then look to Christ”, but deal with the foe early, when it first appears in thought, and it will help you in the war, so you can win.

The gospel is marvelous for power, because God in Christ and by the Spirit, as promised, does what human’s cannot.  We can’t PUT AWAY sin, nor can we PUT it DOWN.  But, God can, which is why we worship Him, which is the fruit of faith: I believe God to conquer my enemy, and I obtain the victory that faith receives - “Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised“ (Heb 11:11). 

“You Shall Find Rest Unto Your Souls” (Matt 11:28-30)

Here are three reasons to obey God: (1) the command. We cannot obey sin and prosper (2) the pleasure - as we do God’s will we enjoy it (3) the power is FREE; it is NOT something that we must do, but what He does for us.

Matt 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

1.  Rest is promised (vs28). Christ is not exchanging one burden for another. Indeed, we must SERVE God, but there is REST here. It is by the Spirit, by the blood (faith in Christ), and it is in a new nature that LOVES obedience and RECEIVES reward.  We obey for our good.
2.  “lowly in heart” (vs29) = He won’t lay upon us more than we can bear.  There is no way to serve God, except God help us, and we won’t be tempted above what FAITH in Christ will conquer. He promises, “There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make the way to escape, that you may be able to bear it“ (1 Cor 10:13). He will pardon and empower us; He receives us always, amidst the sorest tests, with promised strength.
3.  “light” (vs30) = Obedience, holiness, happiness, and heaven are different ways of saying the same thing.  The LIGHTENING of the soul is like the lightening of a burdened warrior, so you can win. The Spirit makes us able to do what we couldn’t do; He takes the ship tossed in the storm, and we receive Jesus, putting us IMMEDIATELY at the shore, stilling the storm, “But he said unto them, It is I; be not afraid.  Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land where they went” (John 6:20-21). He is the power of joy, peace, and obedience; only seek obedience FIRST, and the REST of these things are added.

Rise Upright (Acts 13:10)

“And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: the same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Rise upright on your feet. And he leaped and walked.” (Acts 13:8-10)

The command has AUTHORITY because Jesus, the Son of God, has authority. It is not the preacher but the Christ. Ambassadors come with the official message of the King. We are authoritative in our message because it is BACKED by the King, and as we do His will, we have protection.

Jesus MUST be obeyed, or we stay in the sin that destroys us. Either I will “Rise upright” and enjoy grace because Christ died and rose for me, or I will remain a cripple, weak in faith, dead in sins, and ENSLAVED by passions that ESTRANGE me from God. I cannot disobey the command TODAY without consequence. Just as there is blessing in obedience, disobedience FORFEITS blessing and brings grief to your life.