God Cares - #228

The almighty, unchanging, all-powerful God (Jehovah – The Lord) CARES ABOUT YOU! He keeps His promises to you, and He provides daily for you because He loves you!

Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at  http://www.thepuritycoach.com

Transcript

The almighty, unchanging, all powerful, creator of the universe – God Himself -  cares about you! As hard as that may be to grasp, the fact is: God loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) and God demonstrated that love for you when He “gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #228 entitled “God Cares About YOU!”

David opens Psalm 27 with these words from verse 1: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

I find it very significant that David starts this particular Psalm with the words “The Lord is.” Let me explain. David is using the name Jehovah here. This name (Jehovah - “The Lord”) intentionally identifies God as the almighty, unchanging, all powerful creator of the Universe who keeps His promises and provides for you. 

The point David is making by using God’s name Jehovah here is to draw your attention to the fact that the Almighty, all-powerful, most Holy God of the universe cares about you. Don’t miss this. Don’t skip over this name in verse one thinking you need to find some other great, significant, powerful truth in this text. 

I want to intentionally park here on this name for God. I want you to let the weight of its meaning and the power of its message sink deep into the nooks and crannies of your heart. I strongly submit that the first two words of Psalm 27 are vitally important. The almighty, unchanging, all-powerful God (Jehovah – The Lord) CARES ABOUT YOU! He keeps His promises to you, and He provides daily for you because He loves you! He is ... “The Lord”

In Psalm 24:8, as he’s thinking and contemplating who God is, David asks, “Who is this King of glory?” He then answers by saying: “The Lord (Jehovah), strong and mighty, the Lord (Jehovah), mighty in battle!” You see, this is who cares deeply about you, my friend. David cries out, (Psalm 8:9) “O Lord (Jehovah), our Lord (our Jehovah), how majestic is your name in all the earth!” 

Here in Psalm 27:1, David is declaring to the world that it is Jehovah, it is “the Lord” that is our light and our salvation. It is “Jehovah” - it is “the Lord” - who is the stronghold of your life my friend. It is because of “the God who cares about you” (Jehovah) that you have nothing and no one to fear. Only “the Lord” (only Jehovah) can be (and is) your light and your salvation, the stronghold of your life. 

Still focusing our full attention on the first two words of Psalm 27:1, I want you to specifically zero in on the fact that “the Lord” (Jehovah) cares for you. Do you believe that?

1 Peter 5:7 instructs you to “Cast all your anxieties on him.” Why? “Because he cares for you.” Think about that. God cares about you, so cast all your anxieties upon Him. Cast them. Don’t just show them to Him as if they were on display in a high-security vault. Don’t just casually mention them to Him as if they were the end credits to a movie. Cast them, throw them, utterly and totally get rid of them. Willingly choose, voluntarily place all of your anxieties upon the God who cares for you!

How many of them? ALL (A-L-L  all) of them. Each and every one of them. The whole and totality of them. All. Cast ALL your anxieties upon The Lord / upon Jehovah. Why? Because he cares for you. 

Understand this my friend: You, and everything about you are of high importance to the Almighty, all-powerful, most Holy, sovereign designer and creator of the universe. You and your thoughts, your dreams, your hopes, your aspirations, your fears, your anxieties – everything about you is of greatest concern and interest to Him

This is why Psalm 55:22 commands you to “Give your burdens to the Lord (to Jehovah), and he (Jehovah) will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” 

Think about that my friend. The Lord, Jehovah, cares about you! Now I admit, sometimes that can be a bit hard to wrap your brain around! Am I right? David ponders that point in Psalm 8:4 when he asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” In other words, “How can the Holy, Almighty, Perfect and Sinless God of the Universe possibly care about dirty, rotten, ugly, sinful me when I am such a screw-up?” Can you relate? “Why would God, why would The Lord, why would Jehovah want to have anything to do with me when I tend to turn my back on Him almost daily?” 

As hard as that may be to grasp, the fact is: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25) That phrase, “The church,” includes you, my friend! Yes, you! God says, (Jeremiah 31:3) “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” John 3:16 reminds us that God demonstrated that love for you when He “gave his only Son, that whoever (that includes you - whoever) believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The Lord cares about YOU and He wants you to “cast all your anxieties on Him.” So, I ask you, why are you carrying the heavy load of your sinful habits? Why are you trudging through life with King Me still clinging to your back? You are urged, you are challenged, you are commanded in Scripture to “cast your burdens” upon the Lord. 

Never lose sight (my friend) of the fact that Jesus already bore the load for you. After all, 1 Peter 2:24 tells us He bore all of your sins (did you catch that – ALL of your sins He bore) in his body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live for what is right. Why then - why are you daily choosing to carry that burden? Why are you choosing to continue to live for what is wrong?

Isaiah 53:4-5 reminds us that Jesus “took up our pain and (He) bore our suffering ... he was pierced for our transgressions.” Jesus already bore your load. He already paid the ultimate price for your sin – for your freedom from that sin! This is why He cares so much about your struggle with King Me! 

Jesus reminds us (in Luke 12:7) that God cares so much about you that “even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” 

Some of you listening to this episode have known this truth for years. To others of you this is a new concept. The fact is, God even cares about all the little things in your life. And I submit that if God cares enough to keep a running tally of how many hairs are attached to your head each day, He certainly cares about your battle against your sinful temptations. 

After all (Jesus says in Matthew 6:26), “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Think about that. If God meets the needs of birds who are not made in His image, who have no individual, volitional will to choose to worship Him or reject Him, how much more will He care for your needs?

Philippians 4:6 encourages you to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” 

Jesus said in Matthew 6:30, “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” This is precisely why David declares in Psalm 23:1 that “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Don’t be apprehensive about surrendering your ability to fight the battle over to God. Don’t be hesitant to trust Him in the midst of your struggle. Psalm 25:1-2 reminds us to daily lift up our soul to God and trust Him completely to work amazing things in our life! You will never regret that decision. 

I want you to notice that in our current text of Psalm 27:1, David uses the present tense when he says, “The Lord IS my light, and He IS my salvation.” You see, David’s not saying that the Lord was my light and my salvation (as if it happened sometime in the past), nor that the Lord will be my light and my salvation (as if it was going to happen somewhere down the line in the near – or far future). David’s not saying the Lord could be my light and my salvation (as if it’s only a mere possibility), nor that He should be (as if He may choose not to be). Nope. He’s crystal clear that the Lord IS (present tense – right here and right now – He IS) my light and He IS my salvation.

Let’s take a quick walk through some of the Psalms and discover together a few of the times when the Psalmist uses this particular phrase, “The Lord IS.” As you listen to these verses, please be sure to do two things. First, note that in each of these verses, the word Lord is in reference to Jehovah (the almighty God who cares for you); and second, hear me place the emphasis up the word “is.” The almighty, all-powerful, most holy, sovereign Creator of the universe who cares about you always IS.

(Psalm 9:9) “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” (Psalm 18:2) “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 23:1) “The Lord is my shepherd.” (Psalm 28:7) “The Lord is my strength and my shield.” (Psalm 34:18) “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 73:1) “The Lord is good to those who are pure in heart.” (Psalm 91:2) “The Lord is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 92:15) “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock.” (Psalm 103:8) “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” (Psalm 110:5) “The Lord is at your right hand.” (Psalm 116:5) “The Lord is gracious and righteous; (and He)   is    full of compassion.” (Psalm 118:7) “The Lord is with me; he is my helper.” (Psalm 121:5) “The Lord is your shade at your right hand.” (Psalm 135:3) “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.” (Psalm 135:5) “The Lord is great, our Lord is greater than all gods.” (Psalm 144:2) “The Lord is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge.” 

These are just a few of the verses found all throughout Scripture telling us what the Lord (what Jehovah) IS to you and me! Hopefully you can begin to see and understand just how powerful those three little words are in our base text of Psalm 27:1 “The Lord IS my light and my salvation.” Hopefully you can begin to appreciate the point that David is making here. The Lord, Jehovah, the almighty, all-powerful, most holy, sovereign creator of the universe who deeply cares about you IS (right here and right now, forevermore He IS) my light and my salvation!

Let me take another brief moment here to draw your attention to yet another small but powerful word in this verse. David writes, “The Lord is mylight and my salvation.” 

Here’s the point I’m wanting to make here: David is making this personal. He’s not saying that the Lord is “A light,” not even that He is “THE light” but rather He is “my light and my salvation.” Remember, we are talking about Jehovah here – the almighty God who cares about YOU! 

Ok, now let’s take a few moments to focus on the words “The Lord is my light.” (Psalm 27:1)

God warns us in Isaiah 59:2 that when you choose King Me over God, “your iniquities (your sinful choices, make) a separation between you and your God, and your sins (hide) his face from you so that he does not hear.” In other words, when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, you have chosen to turn away from God’s pure and holy light toward sin’s evil and wicked darkness. You have chosen the way of the wicked. A way that (as Proverbs 4:19 says) “is like deep darkness; (and when choosing to walk in that darkness you) do not know over what (you) stumble.” 

On the flip side, when you choose to daily (moment-by-moment) follow the Lordship and leadership of God in your life, you are also choosing to turn your back on the darkness of sin and instead walk in the light of God’s glorious presence. 

Solomon writes (Ecclesiastes 10:2), “A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right.” In other words, a wise man will turn his heart toward God and the light. “But (the verse goes on to say) a fool’s heart (inclines him) to the left.” In other words, the fool will always turn away from God toward King Me and utter darkness. 

Here’s my point: when you choose to turn your back on King Me, you are choosing to walk in the light. When you choose to walk in the light, you will not walk in darkness, you will not stumble, you will not fall, you will not sin! Oh, my friend, don’t let this truth slip by without stopping long enough to notice it and truly comprehend it. When you keep your focus on God, walking in His light, you will not give up and give in to your sinful desires. It just won’t happen!

OK, I’m going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode. There is so much more on this topic I want to share with you but time doesn’t permit me to continue in this week’s episode. So, be sure to tune in next week. 

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com     

One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is my book entitled “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E. – the Dethroning of King Me” available on Amazon.com. Let’s face it, life gets messed up when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart. You know I’m right. To become the man or woman who is living a life that consistently honors God in all you say and do, you must first remove the “I” from your life. It’s not about you. It never was. It never will be.     

In this interactive Bible Study, “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E.” examines such questions as: Why do I keep doing the things I don’t want to do? Why can’t I gain victory over the stupid issues in my life? Why can’t I be consistent in living a life that glorifies God? How on earth do I live a life that is fully surrendered to God? The answers to these questions, and many more, are found in Scripture, and my book “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E.” helps you unpack them and understand how to apply them to your life.     

So, if real change – lasting change – is going to happen, you need a different leader sitting behind the big desk in the oval office of your heart. Whomever is reigning in your heart will be calling the shots in your life. You must choose to remove the “I” from L.I.F.E. and allow God to take your place – His rightful place.      So head on over to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Removing the ‘I’ from L.I.F.E. – the Dethroning of King Me” or just look up my name, Steve Etner, and purchase your copy of any of my books today.

And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes! So, until next time this is Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking