June 24, 2016

 

We began this series last week by noting that this is nothing less than a prophecy – a decree over our lives.  It begins with a creative declaration which comes from our mouths.  You’ll recall that we were created in the image and likeness of the Lord in the very beginning.   With that creation came the inborn ability to declare and decree the events of our lives.  You will hear me say this again and again throughout this series: each of the 15 separate statements in the 23^rd Psalm are systematic decrees in and over our lives that move us along in God’s economy.

 

The Law -- again -- is (1) that we confess with our mouths (that is, we actually verbalize and speak forth, declaring) that Jesus Christ is (our) Lord, and (2) that we believe in the very core of our beings that God has raised Him from the dead (thus enacting the covenant of life on our behalf), then we receive salvation.

 

But what is it that we are "saved from?"  Let’s see what we can do with the definition of "saved."  This word expands well beyond its modern usage today.

 

We have three words in the Greek text of the New Testament translated "save, savior, and salvation."  Those words are: soter, soteria, and soterion.  All of them derive from the root word, sozo.

 

J. H. Thayer, in his Greek-English Lexicon defines (in a somewhat lengthy discussion) the word, sozo, like this (and I will enumerate):

 

(1) to save;

(2) to keep safe and sound;

(3) to preserve from injury and peril;

(4) to make well;

(5) to heal;

(6) to restore to health;

(7) to deliver (from the penalties of judgment);

(8) to deliver from evil;

(9) to make one a partaker of blessing (thus delivering from a curse);

(10) to make to prosper in every way (thus canceling poverty).

 

And that's just a small picture of that word, sozo, in the Greek. The word, soter is the word we use for Savior.  Soterion, means., “to save, to deliver, to make whole.”

 

Now you understand what Jesus came to do, and what He accomplished on the Cross!  The problem with many modern-day Christians is that "salvation" and "Savior" are pretty much limited to "saved" from going to Hell, and maybe "delivered from evil."  I want to expand on this concept of making Jesus Christ "Lord" and "Shepherd."

 

We began by saying that the 23rd Psalm is a declaration.  These are words that actually came from David's mouth.  He was stating emphatically that the Lord WAS his Shepherd -- not only the One who was in command of His life and breath, but the One who led and guided his every step, his decisions, his choices.

 

We'll come to the second of these 15 steps, "I shall not want," shortly but let's first finish the foundation.  The Lordship of Jesus Christ IS the foundation.  His leadership and guidance in our lives IS the foundation!

 

It is unfortunate that religions have been made out of Christianity.  It was never intended to be a religion, and true Christianity is about as far from religion as you can get.  What lowers Christianity to a religion is the removal of relationship with Jesus Christ as the determining factor in our daily lives, His specific leadership and guidance by and through the Holy Spirit, and our answerability to the Covenant established through Jesus Christ by the Father.

 

This is a Covenant-relationship.  The world today knows little of the concept of Covenant as it was known in David's day.  David was a recipient of the Abrahamic Covenant.  That was not a covenant made by man, but by the Lord God.  It was a covenant which guaranteed God's performance on Abraham's behalf; and that covenant contained promises that David took hold of.

 

Every covenant has a foundation in and with the words that come out of our mouth.  Every covenant begins with a declaration.  Every covenant begins with a place of agreement.  We enact the Covenant of Lordship in our lives by agreeing with the fact that Jesus Christ IS not just our Shepherd; He is our governor, He is our protector, and He is our total source of provision.  But He is more!  He is our friend, our companion, and He IS OUR LORD!!

 

Everything — and I do mean EVERYTHING — about the transition from despair to victory, and the King of Glory being revealed is a declaration — a confession from our mouths that agrees (the Greek word is homologeo: to say the same thing as) with what the Word Himself has said, and IS saying NOW!!

 

The second of these 15 steps is no less a declaration and an agreement with what the Lord Jesus Christ has said, and IS saying to us.

 

Before we get too far into this, consider what Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians:

Nevertheless, MY GOD AND FATHER shall and will — without fail — cram to the maximum as He furnishes you, satisfies you, fulfills to completion, brings every situation to its successful conclusion, meeting every conceivable need, requirement, occasion or demand, down from, out of, and in direct proportion to His fullness, His wealth, His abundance, His ability and His richness in a display of His Glory by and through the anointing of the Anointed One, Christ Jesus!  (Philippians 4:19, RAC Translation and Amplification)

 

How’s that for a graphic picture and demonstration of David’s confession and declaration, I shall not want?

 

I said this in our last discussion, and I’ll say it again.  It is unfortunate that religions have been made out of Christianity.  It was never intended to be a religion, and true Christianity is about as far from religion as you can get.  What lowers Christianity to a religion is the removal of relationship with Jesus Christ as the determining factor in our daily lives, His specific leadership and guidance by and through the Holy Spirit, and our answerability to the Covenant established through Jesus Christ by the Father.

 

This is a Covenant-relationship.  The world today knows little of the concept of Covenant as it was known in David's day.  David was a recipient of the Abrahamic Covenant.  That was not a covenant made by man, but by the Lord God.  It was a covenant which guaranteed God's performance on Abraham's behalf; and that covenant contained promises that David took hold of.

 

Consider for a moment the promises the Lord made to Abraham -- promises that God could not and would not renege on:

 

1. Genesis 12:2-3: "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

2. Genesis 13:14-17: "And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

”And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.  Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee."

3. Genesis 14:19-20: "And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand."

4. Genesis 15:1b: "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

5. Genesis 15:5: "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be."

6. Genesis 15:13-14: "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance."

7. Genesis 17:1-9: "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

“Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

“And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.  And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations."

8. Genesis 17:15-16: "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.  And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her."

9. Genesis 17:21: "My covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year."

10. Genesis 22:16-18: "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

 

You understand, of course, that this was a covenant that the Lord made with Abraham because he believed God and took him at His Word.  Note, also, that this covenant was "between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant."

 

It was a covenant made in blood.  This covenant extended, therefore, to David since he was of Abraham's seed.  David believed the promises of God.  His belief and trust and faith in God and His Word must necessarily have preceded his statement, "The Lord is my Shepherd."

 

It did not matter what God said, David believed it!  Absolutely.  Unequivocally.  He breathed God's Word.

 

Therein lies the key to understanding all that becomes available to us when Jesus Christ becomes Lord and Shepherd of our lives.  The apostle Paul put it like this,

 

II Corinthians 1:20: "For all the promises of God in Him (Christ Jesus) are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the Glory of God by us."

 

In order for Jesus to become Lord and Shepherd of our lives, we must of necessity believe everything He says to us -- first in His Word, and secondly by His Spirit.   Furthermore, everything He says to us in and by His Spirit will be confirmed and confirmable by the Word.

 

Jesus put it like this in Matthew 18:16, and Paul confirmed it in II Corinthians 13:1,

"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."

 

This is where the transition between the past and the future, and true spiritual growth begins:

 

(1) We believe God absolutely and implicitly;

(2) We trust Him and His leadership and guidance in our lives -- no matter how logical or illogical it may seem;

(3) We confess Him before men, and

(4) We confess His Word in every situation and every matter that occurs in our life.  And, as you will see, the entire 23rd Psalm is a confession and a declaration of the provision of God for literally every area of life, spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, and in personal relationships.

 

We’re just scratching the surface so far with this, so let me continue this discussion next week.

 

I remind those of you in need of ministry that our Healing Prayer Call takes place on the first Monday of each month at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific).  Our call-in number is (712) 775-7035.  The Access Code is: 323859#.  For Canadians who have difficulty getting in to this number, you can call (559) 546-1400.  If someone answers and asks what your original call-in number was, you can give them the 712 number and access code.

 

At the same time, in case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (605) 562-3140, and the access code is 308640#.  We hope to make these gatherings available by Skype or Talk Fusion before long.  If you miss the live call, you can dial (605) 562-3149, enter the same access code and listen in later.

 

Blessings on you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Sunnyside, Washington 98944

Email Contact: Admin@RiverWorshipCenter.org

 

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