The Good Word

by

2021 08 08

A Glad Heart

Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV)  Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

  • The cause and consequence of depression.
    • It is heaviness in the heart;
    • it is a load of care, and fear, and sorrow,
    • upon your spirits, depressing you,
    • even disabling you to want to be passionate about what is to be done
    • on the contrary, it causes you to sigh, stoop, and eventually sinks you
  • The cure is a good word, a good word from God,
    • applied by faith, makes it glad;
  • Psalm 55:22 (NKJV) Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
    • The gospel for those who have not heard it
    • Jesus is designed to make the hearts glad that are weary and heavy-laden,.
  • Matthew 11:28 (NKJV) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
    • Ministers are to be the helpers of this joy.

Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6 (NKJV) 1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

  • The psalmist here claims a relationship with God as his Shepherd.
  • Jesus is the good shepherd and the great Shepherd.
  • John 10:11 (NKJV) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
  • Hebrews 13:20 (NKJV) Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
  • 1 Peter 5:4 (NKJV) and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
  • As the Lord is the good shepherd, so we are his sheep
    • not frightened, passive animals, but
    • obedient followers, wise enough to follow one who will lead us in the right places and in right ways.
  • This psalm focuses on the discipleship qualities of those who follow.
  • When you recognize the good shepherd, follow him!
  • John 10:9-10 (NKJV) 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Don’t Worry

Matthew 6:24-34 (NKJV) 24  “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25  “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28  So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29  and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31  Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

  • You cannot serve God and mammon
  • Little faith causes worry

Meditate

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.

Joshua 1:2-9 (NKJV) 2  “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them–the children of Israel. 3  Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4  From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6  Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7  Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Renew

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) 1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

  • The word rendered conformed properly means, to put on the form, fashion, or appearance of another. It may refer to anything pertaining to the habit, manner, dress, style of living, etc., of others.
  • 1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV) 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. 17  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Ephesians 4:20-24 (NKJV) 20  But you have not so learned Christ, 21  if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22  that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23  and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24  and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

  • The key to the Christian life is the renewing of the mind.
  • When you were born again, your spirit changed—but your natural mind didn’t.
  • It remained unrenewed.
  • You don’t need more of God in your heart. You already have all of God there.
  • Everything you need is already in your born-again spirit—the life of God, the faith of God, the joy of God, the peace of God, the anointing of God, and everything else that’s of God
  • but it’s only going to manifest itself in your life to the degree you renew your mind.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NKJV) 17  Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

  • The word “transformed” here is the Greek word metamorphoo.1 It’s the word from which we get “metamorphosis.”
  • A little caterpillar spins a cocoon and then comes out a butterfly.
  • If you want this kind of change in your life, the way it happens is by the renewing of your mind.

Know & Arm yourself

Romans 6:9 (NKJV)  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.

  • We can struggle with other enemies—pain, suffering, disease, injury—but strength and courage cannot overcome death.
  • Death casts a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence.
  • It has the final word.
  • Only one person can walk with us through death’s dark valley and bring us safely to the other side—the God of life, our shepherd.
  • Because life is uncertain, we should follow this shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.
  • Psalm 23:4-5 (NKJV) 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
    • God offers the protection of a host even when enemies surround us.
    • Enemies are those who not only oppose us, but also oppose God’s way of living.
    • Enemies can also be temptations— money, success, prestige, lust.
    • And our greatest enemy is Satan.
  • Psalm 23:6 (NKJV) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
    • The “house of the Lord” is the sanctuary where people worshiped.
    • While popular thinking often relates this verse to heaven, the phrase “in the presence of my enemies” suggests an earthly setting, since the believer’s enemies are not present in heaven.

1 Peter 4:1 (NKJV)  Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

  • If you still think that you’re just an old sinner saved by grace and it’s just a matter of time before that sin nature drives you to do something, you’re believing something contrary to Scripture.
  • Stop embracing this wrong idea and confessing, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”
  • Acknowledge instead the truth that your old nature’s hold on you has been broken.
  • You are now dead with Christ to sin.
  • All you’re dealing with now is what Romans 6:6 calls, “the body of sin.
  • Romans 6:6 (NKJV) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
  • It’s not the actual sin nature itself, but the body it left behind.

Let Not

John 14:1 (NKJV)  “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

Romans 6:12 (NKJV)  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

  • “Let not.” This means that you do have the power to stop sin—the noun sin—from reigning in your life.
  • Worrying is sin.
  • The sin nature itself is dead and gone, but it’s up to you whether you let it continue to reign through the body—prior programming—it left behind.
  • Don’t let the tendency you have toward sin because of an unrenewed mind reign in your mortal body.
  • Since the Word commands you not to do this, this shows that you do have the power to deny sin the right to reign in your life.

Rejoice

Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV)  Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Romans 14:17 (NKJV)  for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 4:4-9 (NKJV) 4  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8  Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. 9  The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

  • Be anxious for nothing,
  • Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV) Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.

 

 

Leave a Comment