Your Righteousness as the Light, and Your Judgment as the Noonday_ God Is Light (10)
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December 30, 2018 |
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 Dr. Jaerock Lee, Senior Pastor of Manmin Central Church
"Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday." (Psalm 37:5-6)
"For those who trust God completely, their righteousness will be revealed as the light and their judgment as the noonday. They will gain victory and prosperity, and they will reveal God's glory."
Today, love has grown cold and lawlessness prevails in this world. Even the most basic levels of morality collapsed a long time ago. All aspects of our lives are filled with corruption and injustice. Innocent people are wrongfully accused and suffer. Evildoers seem to prosper. It looks like evil and cunning people are treated better than the honest.
So, what kind of view should we have toward this world, and how are we supposed to conduct our lives? Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart." To delight ourselves in God, we must have the kind of faith that pleases God.
In order to have this kind of faith, we should be able to discern between light and darkness through the word of God. We also have to realize what kind of darkness we have in us that we haven't cast away yet. Now, let us delve into the kind of faith that can really please God in 6 specific aspects.
1. Our Attitude of Heart
In Psalm 37:1, there are two kinds of darkness that prohibit us from pleasing God. One is to fret because of evildoers, and the other is to be envious of wrongdoers.
If people see that evildoers commit acts of unrighteousness, and yet they still seem to be successful, the people complain outwardly or become envious inwardly.
However, this is to doubt the justice of God. For those who are in the Light, they don't have any form of evil including complaint or envy. Thus, if you fret because of evildoers and are envious of wrongdoers, it means that the possibility exists that you also may become such an evildoer as well.
There is a positive attitude by which we can please God. As written in Psalm 37:3, it is that we must trust God, do good, dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness transcending the level of not fretting over evildoers.
Let us trust and rely on God always being rewarded by the faithfulness of God. He is the Guide and the Guard for those who depend on God. He always protects those who rely on Him as their Guide and Guard.
2. The Reason Why We Must Not Fret Because of Evildoers and Not Be Envious of Wrongdoers.
Psalm 37:2 says, "For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb."
Grass and the green herb symbolize what is passing and meaningless in this world, namely, what God does not make anew. It is saying the success of evildoers is only temporary, just like grass that withers soon and green herb that fades away.
Proverbs 24:19-20 says, "Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked; for there will be no future for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out."
It describes that the destruction of the wicked is very near and the glory of the righteous never fades. God protects the righteous and allows them to enjoy overflowing blessings in their lives.
The wicked are destroyed in a short time, and their prosperity is passing and temporary. Then, how can the righteous who have gained eternal life complain because of evildoers and be envious of the success of the wicked that fades away in a short time?
Psalm 37:8 says, "Cease from anger and forsake wrath; do not fret; it leads only to evildoing."
If you harbor anger and complain toward evildoers, it leads you to evildoing. So, the Bible repeatedly emphasizes that you must never fret because of the wicked.
If you complain about somebody and harbor evil in your mind, no matter what its reason is, it will harm your heart and increase evil in you. Please remember that the true way of destroying evil is not from complaining in anger but overcoming evil with goodness as in Romans 12:21.
3. The Way by Which You Can Please God
Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."
The faith here is the faith by which you can obey God's word unconditionally even if you can't understand it through reason. It is the way by which you can please God, sacrifice your life for God, and make something out of nothingness. In short, it is the faith that is true and spiritual faith as recorded in Hebrews 10:22.
The emphasis in Psalm 37 is that God is pleased when we do not fret because of him who prospers in his way but instead we rest in God and wait patiently for Him.
He who is prosperous in his way indicates those who follow their own ways and seem prosperous. It is mentioned again to remind us that we must not fret because of evildoers.
Exodus 14:14 says, "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." When we are still before God and wait patiently in everything, we can leave everything to God so that He Himself may do it. It is the deeds of our faith by which we can open the door of God's answers. Thus, it will bring the most amazing and powerful works. Therefore, in order for us to please God truly, we have to commit everything to God and patiently wait for Him to work.
4. The Result of Those Who Delight in God
When you delight in God, you do not fret because of him who is prosperous in his way temporarily and do not envy the wicked who are prosperous. However, there is a higher level than this: It is that you can commit your way to God, as in Psalm 37:5-6.
Those who commit everything to God's will and rely on Him only in any situation, they obey the Word all the time. They love their enemies. They don't pay back evil with evil but overcome evil with goodness.
God will be pleased with those who have such faith; and He will not only give to them answers and desires of their heart but also manage everything they do. As a result, God will bring forth their righteousness as the light and make their judgment shine as the noonday sun.
When light is shed, the existence of objects is clearly revealed. In the same way, God's special intervention is clearly manifested to those who commit their way to God and are recognized by Him. If you fully trust God and depend on Him, your righteousness will be brought forth as the light and your judgment as the noonday. And you will gain ultimate victory and abundance and reveal the glory of God. Therefore, you must never sway to the left or to the right like unbelievers, but delight in God by committing everything to Him.
Some people try to seek the righteousness to some degree but do not really commit their ways to God because they have not cast away their evil completely. When somebody harms them or does evil to them, they feel uncomfortable and impatient because of anger.
If they suffer unjustly and are treated wrongfully, they have to talk about it to somebody. They try to prove their innocence. They feel OK only when their innocence is proven and their opinions are accepted, even if it means the peace in the organization is broken and some people have to suffer in the process.
No matter how righteous it seems to them, they must understand it is darkness; they just can't overcome their own ill-feelings and evil. Most people are generous toward their own faults while they are strict concerning the faults of others. They don't want to accept other people and they criticize them without hesitation.
However, how would those who have gentle heart and keep away from evil act in a similar situation? They don't reveal the fault of others. They care for even those who are criticized. God is delighted with such people. He will walk with them and let their righteousness be brought forth as the light and their judgment as the noonday.
5. The Inheritance That Those Who Hope in God Receive from Him
Psalm 37:9-11 says, "For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace." When we hope in God, we believe that God's help is true blessing to us and rely on Him alone. Those who hope in and fear God receive the right to dwell in the land of God.
If you believe that the world is ruled by God and His providence you can commit everything including death and life, wisdom and foolishness, and penalties and rewards into the hands of God. Then, you can hope for and believe the help of God in any situation.
Just as we can find through the illustrations of the great flood of Noah and judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, wicked men have been judged and completely destroyed by God when their evil had been built up and reached the limitation. But those who have hoped in God have not only received the everlasting inheritance that never fades away but also enjoyed abundance on earth.
Evildoers who have kept themselves away from God are destroyed forever, after passing and temporary glory and pleasure. But those who delight and hope in God and those who confess that God is their only hope will inherit the land. The land means not only various blessings they receive on earth but the kingdom of heaven they will receive as the righteous children of God in the age to come.
6. The Width, Length, Height, and Depth of the Faith in which We Delight in God.
When you read about the life of Ruth in the Bible, many of you may look at only a part of her life that is described in the Bible, and you think your life has become like hers, saying as follows. "I have most certainly honored my parents." Or "I have kept my words that I vowed or promised." With those thoughts, you cannot discover darkness that lies deep within you, thereby having no improvement.
You must not forget that God exalted and delighted in Ruth not just because of a few outward aspects of her including goodness, righteousness, and truthfulness. Even though more detailed things are not recorded in the Bible, we can guess that God who is Light saw everything she had and searched for her deeds, manner of life, attitude in heart, and characters.
If we carefully look into the patriarchs in the Bible, we can find excellent things that they showed. The Bible briefly speaks about them because it doesn't need detailed explanations. But because God knew their heart and attitude, He let them be written in the Bible so that He would accomplish His will and providence.
If you want to resemble the patriarchs in whom God was delighted and enter the level of light, you must not watch only over their outward merits but also look into how wide, long, high and deep their characters were. In other words, you have to look at everything as a whole according to the fullness of God.
The spiritual realm is endless and everlasting. So, I wish you continue to change and refine yourselves so that you can come forth as pure gold and shining jewels.
May your righteousness shine like an eagle flying in the sky with its wings open wide so that you can inherit the broad land and enjoy great peace in the kingdom of heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
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