Discovering the Great and Precious Promises of GOD (Christ Centered)

In yesterdays blog I shared that those who acquire the essence of Christ stand firm because He establishes them, as He is the Rock and Foundation of Life. Today I will reveal why they cannot ne moved, they stand immovable. But first Pastor Hoekstra and his teaching on Grace and then with the use of the ESV translation I will reveal our immovability.

"The Old Covenant Demand of Obedience"

"Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear (reverence and revere) the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? . . . This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 10:12-13 and 26:16)

"As we saw in our previous meditation, the Grace of GOD provides what we need for growing in a life of obedience. Now we will begin to see that GOD's Law, as given through Moses demands obedience (whole-hearted obedience), but it does not provide the necessary spiritual resources for living an obedient life.

When Israel was about to enter the Promised Land, Moses restated what GOD's Law required. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but . . . to walk in all His ways . . . and to keep the commandments of the LORD . . . therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul." Remember, the commandments of GOD called for holy living. "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). The measurement for this required holiness was God Himself. This represented a high and lofty standard, far beyond what man could reach on his own.

Additionally, GOD was not calling them to an external religious behaviorism, but to wholehearted obedience: "keep the commandments . . . observe them with all your heart." From deep within their innermost being, the children of Israel were to fully obey the Lord. They were to truly and sincerely observe all that the Lord had commanded. There were to be no inner reservations or hesitations.

What the Law demanded was good. "The Law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12). Yet, the resources were lacking. Man could not measure up on his own. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD" (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, this perfect Law offered no help to change man into what it required. "The Law made nothing perfect" (Hebrews 7:19). Praise God, there is a provision that can accomplish what the Law cannot do. "On the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope" (Hebrews 7:19). That effective hope is the Grace of GOD." Skipping ahead tour day and why it is the we are so immovable is the Grace and Truth of Christ's essence manifested within us, the wholehearted requirement lacking under the Law of Moses.


The Immovability of His Saints: 

Psalm 15:1-5 "O LORD, who shall sojourn in Your tent? Who shall dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved."

Psalm 16:7-11 "I bless the LORD Who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For You Will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 21:7-13 "The king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. Your hand will find out all Your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate You. You Will make them as a blazing oven when You appear. The LORD Will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire will consume them. You Will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. Though they plan evil against You, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. For You Will put them to flight; You Will aim at their faces with Your bows. Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength! We will sing and praise Your power."

Psalm 46:4-7 "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of GOD, the holy habitation of the Most High. GOD is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; GOD Will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; HE utters His voice, the earth melts. The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Psalm 55:22-23 "Cast your burden on the LORD, and He Will sustain you; He Will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you, O GOD, Will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in You."

Psalm 66:8-15 "Bless our GOD, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard, Who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. For You, O GOD, have tested us; You have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; You laid a crushing burden on our backs; You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet You have brought us out to a place of abundance. I Will come into Your house without burnt offerings; I Will perform my vows to You, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. I will not offer to You burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; no instead  I will make an offering of a living sacrifice of myself. (Romans 12:1-2, 3)

Psalm 112:1-6 "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generations of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; He will be remembered forever."
Psalm 121:1-4 "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He Will not let your foot be moved; He Who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He Who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Psalm 125:1-3 "Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong."

Proverbs 10:27-32 "The fear (reverence and revere) of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers. The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse."