Jesus -- Our Liberty, Deliverance, and Prosperity
Ps. 62:7 “God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God”
Years ago at our old house, we had very old clothesline poles in our yard. We wanted to take them out as we didn’t use them and wanted more space for other things in our yard. One day I started the project of removing them. As it turned out, they were cemented so deep and wide into the ground, I could not get them out. I just hack sawed them out below the ground. God wants our faith that deeply cemented within us. He wants us to become so trusting that nothing can get at or attempt to steal our faith.
It is so easily to overlook the power in a scripture verse like today's Fresh Manna verse. There is so much that God is saying through these words that we can just pass over. That's why it is so good to take the time to meditate on the Word of God.
Please let me help you see the power in this verse. First of all the word 'salvation' in the Old Testament is a powerful word in itself. God wants us to understand the meaning of it. The word salvation comes from the word that the name of Jesus comes from – ‘ yesha.' The word means liberty, deliverance, prosperity. You could read it like this. God is my liberty. God is my deliverance. God is my prosperity.
If you look at these three words then you see that what God provides for us is liberty - setting us free from Satan's control and free to follow after God. Free from a form of godliness - religious mindless motions, and free to know the Lord intimately through His Word. Free to love the Lord because you want to not because you have to!
You see that God is deliverance to us. John 8:36 say, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." This means that you are free to live without fearing all the things people in the world fear. Fear leads people to live their life defensively; always afraid at what lies ahead and unsettled in how the future will turn out. Fear leads people to focus on their own situations and needs instead of being a vessel of God to help those around us. That is what Satan loves. Where there is fear, worry and anxiety, there is no trust. If there is no trust, there surely is no faith in God's promises. Faithlessness or lack of trust hinders God from working in a person's life. This is what Jesus delivered us from. He delivered you from worrying and you free to trust in God and His promises. Free to know that He loves you and desires to work in your behalf. Free to know that He will watch over you and take care of you. God is our deliverance. The promise of Psalm 91:9-11 says, "If you make the Most High your dwelling -- even the LORD, who is my refuge -- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." He has delivered us from this tormenting life of fear.
You can also see that God is prosperity. People have no idea how much of their thought life, their time and their energy is focused on prosperity or increase in the resources of their life. People worry about it all the time! God has set us free and is our prosperity. When today's Fresh Manna verse says God is our salvation it is saying that God is our prosperity. This means that He does care about our resources and personal increase. He also says not to worry about it! In Matt. 6:31-34 we read, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Now can you see the power in these words "God is our salvation?" He is all these things to us and He wants us to know it. Why? So we will learn to trust Him and put all our faith and trust in Him. If we don't, we will put our faith and trust in other places. Many people put their faith in themselves. That's a mistake. Other's put their faith in their job, in other people, in institutions - financial or governmental or elsewhere. When we do, we put ourselves back under Satan's control, the very thing God has delivered us from. Judges 10:13-14 speaks God's heart to that. He says, "But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!" Why is that God's attitude? Because when you put your faith in other places, you are really putting your trust in Satan. Satan is the god of this world and its institutions.
Learning to trust in other things besides God indirectly leads us to trusting in Satan or influences or systems that we turn into idols - idols that we don't recognize as such.
So, trust in God and He alone! Your faith - the by product of your trust in Him, will usher in His richest blessings into your life.
Pastor Tim Burt
Fresh Manna
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com
Ps. 62:7 “God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God”
Years ago at our old house, we had very old clothesline poles in our yard. We wanted to take them out as we didn’t use them and wanted more space for other things in our yard. One day I started the project of removing them. As it turned out, they were cemented so deep and wide into the ground, I could not get them out. I just hack sawed them out below the ground. God wants our faith that deeply cemented within us. He wants us to become so trusting that nothing can get at or attempt to steal our faith.
It is so easily to overlook the power in a scripture verse like today's Fresh Manna verse. There is so much that God is saying through these words that we can just pass over. That's why it is so good to take the time to meditate on the Word of God.
Please let me help you see the power in this verse. First of all the word 'salvation' in the Old Testament is a powerful word in itself. God wants us to understand the meaning of it. The word salvation comes from the word that the name of Jesus comes from – ‘ yesha.' The word means liberty, deliverance, prosperity. You could read it like this. God is my liberty. God is my deliverance. God is my prosperity.
If you look at these three words then you see that what God provides for us is liberty - setting us free from Satan's control and free to follow after God. Free from a form of godliness - religious mindless motions, and free to know the Lord intimately through His Word. Free to love the Lord because you want to not because you have to!
You see that God is deliverance to us. John 8:36 say, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." This means that you are free to live without fearing all the things people in the world fear. Fear leads people to live their life defensively; always afraid at what lies ahead and unsettled in how the future will turn out. Fear leads people to focus on their own situations and needs instead of being a vessel of God to help those around us. That is what Satan loves. Where there is fear, worry and anxiety, there is no trust. If there is no trust, there surely is no faith in God's promises. Faithlessness or lack of trust hinders God from working in a person's life. This is what Jesus delivered us from. He delivered you from worrying and you free to trust in God and His promises. Free to know that He loves you and desires to work in your behalf. Free to know that He will watch over you and take care of you. God is our deliverance. The promise of Psalm 91:9-11 says, "If you make the Most High your dwelling -- even the LORD, who is my refuge -- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." He has delivered us from this tormenting life of fear.
You can also see that God is prosperity. People have no idea how much of their thought life, their time and their energy is focused on prosperity or increase in the resources of their life. People worry about it all the time! God has set us free and is our prosperity. When today's Fresh Manna verse says God is our salvation it is saying that God is our prosperity. This means that He does care about our resources and personal increase. He also says not to worry about it! In Matt. 6:31-34 we read, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Now can you see the power in these words "God is our salvation?" He is all these things to us and He wants us to know it. Why? So we will learn to trust Him and put all our faith and trust in Him. If we don't, we will put our faith and trust in other places. Many people put their faith in themselves. That's a mistake. Other's put their faith in their job, in other people, in institutions - financial or governmental or elsewhere. When we do, we put ourselves back under Satan's control, the very thing God has delivered us from. Judges 10:13-14 speaks God's heart to that. He says, "But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!" Why is that God's attitude? Because when you put your faith in other places, you are really putting your trust in Satan. Satan is the god of this world and its institutions.
Learning to trust in other things besides God indirectly leads us to trusting in Satan or influences or systems that we turn into idols - idols that we don't recognize as such.
So, trust in God and He alone! Your faith - the by product of your trust in Him, will usher in His richest blessings into your life.
Pastor Tim Burt
Fresh Manna
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com
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