Jesus Shall Bring it to Pass.

Jesus Shall Bring it to Pass.

May 8th, 2016, Kichijouji Bible Meeting

Gotthold Beck

Psalms

37:1 Don’t be angry because of those who do evil, do not be jealous because of those who commit iniquity.

37:2 Indeed, they soon will wither like grass, and like green herbs they will fade away.

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.

37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

37:5 Commit your way to the Lord; Trust him, and he will act.

37:6 He will bring forth your righteousness as a light, and your justice as the noonday sun.

37:7 Be silent in the Lord’s presence and wait patiently for him. Don’t be angry because of the one whose way prospers or the one who implements evil schemes.

37:37:8 Calm your anger and abandon wrath. Don’t be angry― it only leads to evil.

37:9 Those who do evil will perish. But those who wait on the Lord will inherit the land.

37:10 Yet a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more. You will search for his place, but he will not be there.

37:11 The humble will inherit the land; they will take in abundant peace.

37:34 Wait on the Lord, Keep faithful to his way, and he will exalt you to possess the land. You will see the wicked cut off.

37:35 I once observed a wicked and oppressive person, flourishing like a green tree in native soil.

37:36 But then he passed away; in fact, he simply was not there. When I looked for him, he could not be found.

37:37 Observe the blameless! Take note of the upright! Indeed, the future of that man is peace.

37:38 Sinners will be destroyed together; the future of the wicked will be cut off.

37:39 But deliverance for the righteous one comes from the Lord; he is their strength in times of distress.

37:40 The Lord helps and delivers them; he will deliver them from the wicked, and he will save them because they have sought refuge in him.

[International Standard Version]

It is a wonderful blessing indeed, that the Psalms are given to us. Many people have their own problems and worry about something. When they come to me and tell me that they don't know what to do, my favorite answer is: “Why don't you read the Psalms?” Read the Psalms with prayers, then, pray reading the Psalms. It is a real treasure. The Psalms are called “A Treasury of David.” After all, no matter what happens in our lives, if we read the Psalms with prayers and pray reading the Psalms, we are indeed given a light. Furthermore, we can live in peace and move ahead positively into our future.

What kind of lives should we live? Needless to say, our lives should be committed to the Lord. I would like to discuss three points with you briefly. To begin with, it is very important that we take this action with clear intentions.

Psalms

37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; Trust him, and he will act.”

To “commit to Him” means to trust Him, to surrender ourselves to Him, and to release ourselves to Him. When we decide to commit our ways and our lives to the Lord Jesus and surrender ourselves to Him, we are committed instantly at that very moment. When we give a gift to someone, we do not have to spend a lot of time. We just pass it to them, and they receive it. That's it. This is an action that is taken with clear intentions.

Secondly, “trust Jesus.” This too is a clear demand. It is not a suggestion. Of course, what is important here is that it is not an action that is completed in a short span of time, but an attitude that is maintained for the long-term. After this action is taken, that is to say, after we commit all things to Jesus, we need to maintain the same attitude and continue to live in the same complete reliance.

What is important here is that we intentionally rely on the Lord and all our trust must be placed on Jesus alone. After we commit all our ways and our entire lives to Him, that is to say, after this intentional action is taken, we need to maintain the same attitude and continue to deliberately rely on Him until the end of our lives.

Thirdly, those who intentionally commit themselves to the Lord and are determined to place complete trust in Him are given all wonderful promises. That is to say, the Lord will accomplish all things for them. Maybe, when believers meet each other, they should say: “The Lord shall bring it to pass!” It will release us from all worries. Let us commit all things to Him. The Lord will bring it to pass. This is a promise that will never be broken. To relinquish ourselves and to surrender ourselves to Him are actions done in a single moment. Total reliance on Jesus and intentional surrender of ourselves are the attitudes that need to be maintained until the end of our lives.

And the Lord Himself has promised that His intentions will absolutely be accomplished. That is to say, He will bring all things to pass, and He will prove that He is the one who performs all miracles.

Let us suppose that you inherited one hundred million yen and you have all that money in cash in your house. Every time you leave home, you would get anxious, wouldn't you? For you are not quite sure if your money is truly secure or not. Let us say that one of your friends comes to you, gives you the names of some good banks and advise you that you will receive 10% interest every year if you deposit your money. You would happily accept that proposal and deposit your money in a bank. You come out of the bank with a peace of mind. I know what you are saying—nobody gets 10% annual interest today in this country, although, I am not quite sure. But let us suppose that this is a story of some dream country.

Well, you actually may not have one hundred million yen, but you actually have something far greater than that, which is the imperishable soul. Jesus said:

Matthew

16:26 “Because what profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?”

Is your imperishable soul still in your hands? Or, have you already committed it to Jesus? If it is still in your hands, you are in an extremely dangerous situation. Jesus is calling such people:

Matthew

11:28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Proverbs

23:26 “Give me your heart, my son.”

This is a completely personal call from the Lord to each one of us. He is never indifferent to anyone, but He cares about all people. How do stupid people think of themselves? They always think it doesn’t matter if they exist. But the truth is, every human being is unthinkably important to the Lord. Why? How does He think that way? Nobody can explain. We deserve to be abandoned just like garbage, don't we? However, Jesus would never forsake us. Isn't this blessing greater than anything else? 

There is one thing that is absolutely sure: those who are determined to commit their lives to the Lord and surrender themselves to Him will never regret it. Jesus Himself will bear the responsibility of that decision.

John

6:37 “I’ll never turn away the one who comes to me.”

The One who can do all things is asking us to, “Commit all things to me. Surrender all your life to me.” This is what He desires from us. He never forces us. Instead, the Lord is eagerly waiting for everyone to intentionally take this very action and decide to commit to Him.

Have you done this already? This is an action that is completed in a moment. If you haven't done it yet, it might be a good idea to do so today. Write in your Bible: “Today, this day of this month, I determined to commit my future and my whole life to the Lord Jesus who loved me and who even abandoned Himself for me.” This is the action that should be taken with clear intention. Have you done it?

Of course, this is just the beginning of many things. If you deposited 100 million yen in the bank, you can live with the conviction that your money is now secure and protected, and it will bear interest at the rate of 10% every year. Likewise, if you commit your whole life to Jesus, you will be assured that your life is now safe forever. Let us look at the words of Jesus. These are very famous verses which are wonderful promises:

John

10:27 “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

10:28 I give them eternal life, they will never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

One of the most important teachings that Jesus wants us to learn is the fact that we can totally rely on the Lord. Jesus not only saves people, but He protects all those He saves throughout their lives. This was what Peter wrote to the believers in those days to encourage them.

1 Peter

5:7 “Throw all your worry on him, because he cares for you.”

When we commit all our future and all our lives to the Lord, we instantly realize that we are completely protected by the pierced hands of the Lord Jesus and we are safe forever. However, what is truly important is to completely trust the Lord every day and every moment of our lives. In other words, we are to stop trying to attain what we want by ourselves and cease from worrying and being troubled about anything. 

Having such complete reliance on Jesus glorifies Him. This was the very attitude Paul took. It can be seen in this single sentence from the second epistle to Timothy, which is a wonderful confession and testimony:

2 Timothy

1:12 “...for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I’m convinced that he is able to protect what he has entrusted to me until the day that he comes.”

This is such a wonderful confession and testimony, isn't it? It is also written in the gospel according to John, chapter 1, verse 12, “to all who received him.” In other words, to those who commit themselves to the Lord and surrender to Him, “He gave authority to become God’s children.”

Those who accept Jesus into their lives belong to God, and they will continue to belong to God. They are protected in the hands of Jesus and are secure forever. If you commit your ways to the Lord and if you are determined to trust Him all the time, you will experience how He accomplishes all things.

Jesus leads us to His destination. He will keep the promise He made. Jesus never fails to keep His Word and He can be trusted completely. He accomplishes all things for us. Let me read some more verses;

Matthew

19:27 “’Look!’ Peter replied. ‘We have left everything and followed you. So what will we get?’

19:28 Jesus told them, ‘I tell all of you with certainty, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the renewed creation, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel.

19:29 In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’”

In this verse from the Psalm 37, which we read at the beginning, a few more important things are pointed out:

Psalms 

37:1 “Don’t be angry because of those who do evil, do not be jealous because of those who commit iniquity.”

It is pointed out here that we should not be angry or jealous. Actually, this is what we are prone to be whenever we look at other people. However, we should never forget that the sins of those whose lives are committed to the Lord are forgiven and that they are free from the burden, which is a desire to serve the Lord with their own strength.

This means the liberation from all kinds of burdens. The Lord Himself will bring it to pass. He bears the responsibility. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet who lived in those days left these words:

Isaiah

40:11 “Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep.”

53:4 “Surely he has borne our sufferings and carried our sorrows.”

Jesus encouraged the believers of those days in His words of farewell, which are written in chapter 14 of the gospel according to John:

John

14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

14:2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going away to prepare a place for you?

14:3 And if I am going away to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and welcome you into my presence, so that you may be where I am.”

This is a promise that is beyond our imagination. Let us go back to Psalms.

Psalms

37:11 “The humble will inherit the land; they will take in abundant peace.”

About 2600 years ago, Isaiah explained fundamentally the same fact. This is a truly remarkable promise:

Isaiah

26:3 “You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you.

26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock.”

Here, it is clearly promised that if we intentionally surrender our entire lives to Jesus and completely rely on Him, the peace of the Lord Himself that exceeds all human thoughts will protect our hearts and minds in the Lord Jesus. If we entrust our whole lives to Him, His hands that were pierced for us will never, ever let us go. Let us look at what is written in Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 5. This is the promise, which we should remember and rejoice about each and every day, isn't it?

Hebrew

13:5 “...for God has said, ‘I will never leave you or abandon you.’

13:6 Hence we can confidently say, ’The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’”

After all, it is telling us that complete fulfillment is guaranteed by Jesus for us. Why don't we go back to the Psalm 37, verse 4, which we read first:

Psalms

37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Fellowship with Jesus gives us perfect satisfaction. Our true joy and our true peace have nothing to do with this world that can be seen with our eyes. For Jesus Himself is the only source of our true joy and fulfillment. Jesus fulfills all of our desperate desires; it is knowing and having Him that brings us eternal happiness. Let us surrender ourselves to Him and trust in Him! Then, He will absolutely give us what our hearts are looking for. Jesus will accomplish all things and will let us clearly understand how great He is.