God is on My Side !
Psalm 56, verse 9 says; “Then shall my enemies turn back, in the day that I call; This I know, that God is for me!”
Psalm 111:6 says; “Jehovah is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”
Is God on Your Side ?
I want to read a quote from Jesus. He said, as recorded in John 16, verse 33; “..In the world you have tribulation; But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!”
Maybe you were looking for a more positive quote, instead of one that guarantees us tribulation. If you were, then just focus on the last part of that quote; The part that says; “I have overcome the world!” It doesn’t get any more positive than that! Overcoming the entire world, and overcoming everything in the world. That’s what Jesus did. And that’s what we can do too. But only if God is on your side!
You’ve had troubles and tribulations in your life. I’m sure you have. We ALL have! But isn’t it great, to KNOW, that God is on your side, when those troubles come? And isn’t it great to know that He’s ALWAYS on your side?
It’s Kind of like when David faced Goliath; David said to his fellow Israelites, in 1 Samuel 17, verse 26; “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And then when David was actually facing Goliath himself, he said in verse 45; “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come to thee, in the name of Jehovah of hosts! The God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied!”
When you know, that God is on your side, you don’t know what fear is! But how can you KNOW that God is on your side? How can you know for SURE, that God is on your side right now, and that He’ll always be on your side. Jesus said in Mathew 28, verse 20; “..And lo, I am with you ALWAYS, even unto the end of the world.”
So we can KNOW that Jesus is with us always, because He promised that He would be. But who was Jesus speaking to? When Jesus made that promise, did it have a “blanket application” to include everyone who would ever live? Or was Jesus speaking in a somewhat “narrower” sense?
Do you remember the verse from Micah chapter 6, that I’ve read to you so many times? It’s verse 8, and it says; “He hath showed you O man, what is good; And what does Jehovah REQUIRE of thee, but to do justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Now keep in mind that word “require”, if you would. There are things that God REQUIRES, in order for Him, to be on our side.
It’s Easy, If You Do What’s Required
What I like so much about that verse, is the fact that it’s really so simple to please God. Isn’t it? Listen again, here’s what it takes; First.. “To do justly (now that’s not so hard. To do what’s right, and to do what’s fair. “To do justly”) And then secondly.. To love kindness (and that’s not hard either, is it? To simply love, kindness?) And then lastly.. To walk humbly with thy God.” That’s it, that’s all there is to it.
But I suppose maybe that sounds easier than it really is though. I mean, pretty much all of us want to “do justly”. We want to be fair, and we want to do what’s right. But I think you’ve got to admit, we’re not always totally “impartial” when it comes to deciding what’s fair and just. Don’t you think that a lot of times, we can be pretty biased, towards ourselves? We don’t want to get the short end of the stick! As a matter of fact, who do you think gets the most consideration, when we try to figure out what’s fair and equitable? We do! Usually, it’s US, it’s ourselves, who we want to make sure, gets the “fair” deal.
So then, “to do justly” might be a little harder than it sounds. But what about “loving kindness”? I know we all want to be treated kindly! Think about this for a minute though; Did you ever do something that you thought was perfectly fine, and you wouldn’t give it a second thought; But then someone else said; That wasn’t very nice!
If you’ve never had that happen, then I suppose you’re a better person than I. But I know, that I’m not the ONLY one, that’s ever had that happen to them. I kind of think that it’s simply “human nature” that we sometimes can’t see someone else’s point of view. And what seems fine to us, doesn’t necessarily seem fine to others. Again, at times, we’re all, at least a little bit “biased” towards ourselves. So then we’ve really got to go out of our way, to truly be “kind” to others. But of course God knows human nature, perfectly well. And I’m quite sure that’s why He’s given us the scriptures to guide us along, since we don’t know enough to guide ourselves.
The bible says; “..but in lowliness of mind, let each one esteem the other, as more important than himself.” (Phil 2, verse 3)
So now, couple that verse, along with the “golden rule”, from Mathew 7, verse 12, which says; “All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, even so do you unto them; For this is the law and the prophets.”
How willing are you to put yourself in that position, where you take a “backseat” so to speak, and make sure that everyone else gets put ahead of you. That’s not human nature is it? It’s not “natural”. Yet that’s how we need to learn to be. And we need to learn to “love kindness”, to such a degree, that we don’t want to be any other way.
We need to be like God, don’t we? We truly do. Here’s what the bible says about God’s kindness, in Titus 3, verses 4 & 5; “But when the kindness of God our Savior, and His love toward man appeared, (that’s God’s grace isn’t it?) not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His own mercy, He saved us; Through the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the holy Spirit.”
When the kindness of God appeared, He saved us. And God’s kindness appeared in the form, of Jesus Christ. And once again, that is exactly what God’s grace is.. Salvation through Jesus Christ.
Listen to Romans 11, verse 22; “Behold then, the kindness, (some versions say “goodness”.. Same thing) and severity of God. Toward them that fell, severity, but toward thee, God’s kindness, IF you continue in His kindness.”
How do you “continue in His kindness”? Well, as I just said a minute ago, God’s kindness appeared in Jesus Christ. Remember what Titus 3, verses 4 & 5 said; “When the kindness of God, and His love appeared.. He saved us.” Jesus Christ is the one who “appeared”, bringing us salvation; Therefore, the only way to continue in God’s kindness, is to continue in Jesus Christ. In other words, to “abide” in Jesus Christ. And the only way to abide in Jesus, is to abide in the teachings of Jesus, which is the new testament.
2 John verse 9.. “Anyone, who goes too far, and does not ABIDE in the teachings of Christ, does not have God. But the one who abides in the teaching of Christ, has both the Father and the Son.” How do you KNOW, without a doubt, that God is on your side? By abiding in Christ! And that is the only way to have that knowledge, and that confidence, to know that God is with you, always!
“Abide in Christ”, thus “Continuing in God’s kindness”, thus KNOWING, that God is on your side.
The Hardest Part of All ?
Now here’s maybe the toughest part of what Micah said, in Micah 6, verse 8.. Not only must we “do justly”, and not only must we “love kindness”, but we must also “walk humbly with our God.” We want to know that God is on our side, right? Well, if you want to know for sure, that God is on your side, then you better makes sure that you, are alongside of God! “Walk humbly WITH thy God!” YOU, (And I) need to make sure, that you are right there, right beside God; Walking with Him, in everything that we do, every step of the way.
“If God is for us (and with us) who is against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all! How shall He not also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:31 & 32. Well that’s a rhetorical question, (how shall God not also freely give us all things?) it doesn’t require an answer. God WILL give us all things; If He’s already given us His Son, and we continually walk by His side, of course He’s going to give us all that we need, IF we walk humbly with Him.
How Can We Know That We’re Saved ?
People also ask the question; How can we know for sure, that we’re saved? Well, we know for sure that we’re saved, in the very same way that we know for sure that God is on our side. We know for sure, by humbly walking side by side with God. We know for sure, by humbly obeying everything that God has told us to do; And we know for sure, by humbly, refraining from doing, the things that He has told us not to do. We do it by submitting to God, and to His word.
James 4, verses 6, 7 & 8 says; “..God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Therefore submit yourself unto God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you. Cleanse your hands you sinners (and cleanse your hearts and your minds also I might add) purify your hearts, you double-minded.” The “double-minded”, are those who think they can keep their pride, and still be accepted by God. They think they can rub shoulders with the devil, and still draw near to God. They think they can draw near to God, without submitting to God!
Here’s something that you can be sure of.. If you’re not sure if you’re truly “walking with God”, then you’re not sure of your salvation. If you’re not sure whether you’re submitting yourself to God, 100%, then you’re not sure of your salvation.
Salvation is not something that you want to be in question about. Considering the brevity of life, and considering the fact that we’re not even guaranteed of a tomorrow, salvation is something that we want to be absolutely sure of! And so, if you’re doing something, that you’re not really sure that God approves of, then you’d better stop doing it until you are sure!
And if you’re neglecting doing something, and you think there’s even a possibility, that God actually requires you to do that thing, in order to be saved.. Then you’d better start doing it now!
I always like to use the subject of attending the worship service, as an example of this. So many Christians, have become so negligent, when it comes to assembling with the congregation, each and every first day of the week, that I can’t help but worry about the salvation of so many people.
I know, simply from reading the bible, that God has commanded us to “NOT forsake the assembling of ourselves together..” (Hebrews 10:25) And it doesn’t matter whether we forsake the assembly two, or three, or four weeks in a row, or whether we only forsake it ONE week in a row. Forsaking is forsaking! And the Lord says; Do NOT do it! Personally, I’d have to be pretty sick, or pretty incapacitated, to forsake even one worship assembly, thinking that I had something more “important” to do. And be honest now, can any of us really believe, that we’re living an acceptable Christian life, every other day of the week, if we can’t even assemble for worship on the first day?
And of course you might disagree with me, but if you do, I wish you would give me the opportunity to at least try, to change your mind on the subject. Because judging from the words of the bible, I don’t think there’s even any doubt about it.
In conclusion; There’s really only one way to know or sure, that God is on your side, and to know for sure that you are standing in a saved condition. And that one way, is to believe every word, and every command of God, found in the bible, and to obey every word and command of God, found in the bible. And if any of us, do anything less than that, well, then we simply don’t know for sure anymore, whether or not were still saved. It’s a pretty important subject. To be perfectly honest, there IS no more important subject, than knowing, if you’re saved.
To know God, is to know salvation. 1 John 2, verse 3 says; “And by this we know, that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” You know if you’re keeping His commandments. And I know if I am keeping His commandments. And God knows us all!
