The Lord Is My Light

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation?

Salvation is found in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, as declared in Psalm 27 and throughout scripture. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation originates from the Lord. In Psalm 27, it states, 'the Lord is my salvation,' highlighting that salvation is found not in our own efforts, but solely in Him. This is consistent with biblical principles, such as those found in Jonah 2:9, where Jonah declares, 'Salvation is of the Lord.' It emphasizes that salvation is in a person, specifically Jesus Christ, who is the essence of salvation as seen in Acts 4:12, which states that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

Q: How do we know God is our refuge?

God offers Himself as a refuge, as stated in Psalm 27:5, where He promises to hide us in His pavilion during times of trouble. The assurance that God is our refuge is rooted in scripture, specifically in Psalm 27:5, which notes that 'in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion.' This metaphor of shelter indicates God's protective presence in our lives. Furthermore, verses like Psalm 62:6-8 declare that God alone is our rock and salvation, demonstrating that He provides a secure place for believers amidst life's challenges. This protective nature is consistent with God’s character throughout the Bible, as He is portrayed as a stronghold in times of need.

Q: Why is having hope in Christ important for Christians?

Hope in Christ is crucial for Christians as it provides assurance and strength in the face of life's adversities, as emphasized in Psalm 27. Hope in Christ is foundational for every believer because it is the source of our joy, strength, and endurance through trials. Psalm 27 illustrates that despite difficulties and opposition, believers can maintain confidence in the Lord. The psalmist proclaims, 'When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell' (Psalm 27:2). This shows that our hope is anchored in God's power to sustain and protect us. Additionally, Romans 8:31 teaches that if God is for us, who can be against us? Our hope not only provides resilience but also encourages us to worship joyfully, as reflected in the encouragement to sing praises unto the Lord amid adversities.

Q: How does the psalmist express confidence in God?

The psalmist expresses confidence in God through declarations of His power and protection in Psalm 27. In Psalm 27, the psalmist openly expresses confidence in God by affirming His roles as light, salvation, and strength. He states, 'The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?' (Psalm 27:1). This confidence is not rooted in self but is entirely focused on God's sovereignty and capability to protect His people. The psalm further assures that, despite facing enemies and tribulations, believers have a solid foundation in God’s promises. This underscores a vital aspect of the faith life; that our assurance derives from God's character and faithfulness rather than our circumstances.

Q: What does it mean that the Lord is our light?

The Lord being our light signifies His guidance, truth, and holiness in our lives. When the psalmist declares, 'The Lord is my light' (Psalm 27:1), it reveals several profound truths. Firstly, light symbolizes guidance—just as light reveals the path in darkness, God provides direction for believers through His Word and presence. Secondly, light signifies truth and holiness; by being our light, God illuminates the way to righteousness and protects us from the deceits of darkness and sin. Additionally, Jesus affirmed this in John 8:12, where He stated, 'I am the light of the world,' indicating that He embodies the truth and brings spiritual illumination to those who believe in Him. Ultimately, this highlights our complete reliance on Him for spiritual clarity and strength.

I do pray the Lord will bless His
word to your heart. I want you to hear me, but more
than that, I want you to hear Him. This is His Word. This is His Word. Now, Psalm
27 this evening. This psalm, like many other psalms,
expresses the joy, hope, and confidence believers have in
our great God and Savior. We have great confidence in Him.
We have great joy in Him. in him. All believers rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh. But also we see in this psalm
not only confidence, joy, hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we see something else in this psalm. We see something
of David as he reveals unto us the sorrow of his heart, the
heartache of his heart, how the enemies spoke cruelly against
him and how they sought to end his life. But in the face of
all this conflict, in the face of all the toil and heartache
and sorrow that we as believers yet still experience in this
flesh, we still have by His grace confidence, hope, and joy, and
assurance of salvation in Him. in him. Our Lord told his disciples
as he was departing, headed for the cross to die for the sin
of his covenant people. He said, these things have I
spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. Peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But in this world you shall have
tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome, he said. I've
overcome. I've overcome. We are more than
conquerors through him that loved us and gave himself for us. These are indeed the inspired,
the very inspired words of David. All scriptures given of God.
All scriptures God breathed. And when we read these Psalms,
they are the very purpose and will of God, God's gospel, God's
testimony, His will, purpose sent unto us. These were the
words of David given of God, who certainly knew a lot about
heartache, but also he found great delight, great joy, in
his Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, purge
me, wash me, and I shall be clean. I shall be whiter than the snow. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender
mercy. Blot out my iniquity, O my soul. But also, We can consider these
words not only the cry of David, but also the cry of the God-man
mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ while in
His humanity, God incarnate, God in the flesh, real man, tempted
and tested in all points like as we are yet without sin. Isaiah writes of him as the man
of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He was a man of sorrow,
but also of great joy. He said, my delight is to do
the will of my Father. He said, no man takes my life,
but I lay it down. I lay it down by the power and
purpose of God, and I take it up again by the power and purpose
of God. Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
as He marches toward Calvary's tree, you remember Isaiah writes
of Him, he said, My face, my face is like a flint, no one
can move Him, budge Him away from His purpose in accomplishing
salvation by His own sacrifice and death. But speaking of the
cross, He says, who for the joy that was set before Him. endured
the cross, despising the shame, but has set down the right hand
of the throne of God, when He by Himself purged our sin." He
didn't stay dead, did He? Oh, He died a real death. Sin
demands death. The guilty must die. But the
Lord Jesus Christ, having put away our sin, being delivered
for our offenses, was raised again. because he justified us
by his blood. And there he ever lives to intercede
for us when he had by himself purged our sin. So it is indeed
the cry of David, but it is indeed also the cry of the greater David,
isn't it? Who's the greater David? Well,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the greater David, but it's
also the cry of every believer. If you're here this evening,
this is the cry of your heart. And we can truly make this our
own psalm. This is personally my psalm.
This is God's will and testimony to his sheep. By his grace, we
can say the Lord is my light, my salvation. He's my strength. We too have heartaches, don't
we? We, too, have heartaches. I had
a phone call late Thursday night, and one of the men who attended
our ministry for a good number of years As far as I know, he
never expressed any hope of salvation in Christ. I got a phone call
and said the man was dead. The man had died. I'm going to
preach his funeral tomorrow. What can I say? It's a sad time. You pray for me. Pray the Lord
will give me words to speak unto that family. We, too, have heartaches. A man that's born of a woman
is a few days and full of trouble. But for every believer, we do
rejoice. In the midst of our trouble,
heartache, and sorrow, we find joy, confidence, hope, and delight
in Christ. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in the Lord Jesus Christ we stand
complete. Now in verses 1 down through
verse 3, We see the believer's sure confidence, the believer's
sure confidence in the Lord. Notice verse 1, the Lord is my
light, my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord, the Lord now,
the Lord. Jehovah, almighty God, eternal,
sovereign, holy, the Lord is my light, my salvation. He's the strength of my life.
He's the strength of my righteousness. He is the strength of my redemption.
He is the strength of my resurrection glory. He's the strength of everything. Now, who shall we be afraid? Of whom shall we be afraid? If
God be for us, tell me. Tell me. If God be for us, and
He is. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who
is He that could damn us? Christ has died. That settles
the issue that The Lord is my light. He not only gives light
that we might see, God who commands the light to shine out of darkness,
remember the scripture, has shined in our hearts to give us the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. He not only gives light that
we might see Him, but you know, He is the light. It says that
in John 8, 12. Our Lord said, I am the light. I am the light of life. Salvation
finds us where? In the dark. In the dark. But it doesn't leave us there.
We've been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into
the kingdom of God's dear son, that we should show forth the
praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous
light. You see, the Lord is my light.
He's my light. Secondly, the Lord is my salvation. He is my salvation. You know
salvation's of the Lord. It says it all through the scripture.
Psalm 37 verse 39 says that salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.
Jonah declared that in an hour of absolute, desperate, turmoil. in the fish's belly, eaten up
with acid, having no hope of being delivered in the strength
of Jonah's flesh, of Jonah's might, and Jonah's power, and
he cried out, Salvation is of the Lord. And so it is. Salvation is of the Lord in its
origination. salvation of the Lord in its
execution, salvation of the Lord in its application, salvation
of the Lord in its sustaining power, and its ultimate perfection. He not only gives that salvation,
works out that salvation, He is that salvation. He is that
salvation. Salvation's not a position. Salvation's
not a persuasion. Salvation's not a position. Salvation's
not a profession. Salvation's in a person. In a
person. He is salvation. That's what Simeon said that
day. That's why I read Luke chapter 2 a while ago. Lord, let me die
now. I'm ready to die. Those who have
seen the Lord Jesus Christ as all of their salvation, Lord,
let me die. I've seen thy salvation. The
Lord Jesus Christ, He is salvation. You remember what Peter said
before that council that day? Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there's no other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved. He came to save His people from
their sin, and my friend, let me be just as plain as I can,
He accomplished what He came to do. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is not a failure. As a matter of fact, the scripture
says of Him, He can't fail. He shall save His people from
their sin, and He did. He declared on Calvary's tree,
it's done, it's finished, it's over, accomplished, mission accomplished,
done. So the Lord is my light, the
Lord is my salvation. And then he goes on, he says,
the Lord is the strength, the strength of my life, the strength
of my life. He is the strength of everything
that we are, physically even, but most certainly
spiritually before God. He's the strength of my righteousness. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord would impute righteousness, and imputeth righteousness without
work." He's a strength of my righteousness. He's a very strength
and power and glory of my redemption and my salvation. He's the strength
of it. He's the strength of it. Now
the question is asked, of whom shall I be afraid? Of whom shall
I be afraid? Whom shall I fear? None but Him. Now we reverence and fear His
name. Holy and reverent is His name. But whom shall I be afraid
among men? Is there any we need fear? Whom
shall I be afraid? Or what shall I be afraid of?
I cannot fear darkness. He's my light. I cannot fear
condemnation. Well, He's my salvation. There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
I cannot fear weakness, for He is my strength. Matter of fact,
the Apostle Paul said, didn't he say something about, when
I'm weak, that's when I'm strong. I cannot fear death, for He is
my life. He is my resurrection. Do you
remember what the Lord said to Martha? Oh, she said, I know,
considering the death of Lazarus, her brother, I know that, you
know, in the resurrection, I know that he'll be raised again. And
the Lord stopped her and said, Martha, you're talking doctrine. He said,
I'm talking a person. I am the resurrection and the
life. I am the resurrection. He that
believeth in me will never die. Our Lord said, because I live,
you shall live also. See, there's a lot there in that
first verse. Let's go on, verse two and three.
When the wicked, even my enemies, my foes, came upon me to eat
up my flesh, David said they stumbled and fell. Though an
host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though
war should rise against me, in this, even in this, it doesn't
shake my confidence. We still have confidence, not
in us, in him, in him. If God be for us, who can be
against us? The believer is not without enemies. Our Lord said this in John 15,
if they've hated me, they'll hate you. But our confidence is not in
the flesh, in our flesh, but in the Lord. We are, as the Apostle
Paul said, the true Israel of God, circumcised in the heart,
and the true Israel of God is described as those who worship
God, those who rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, who have no
confidence in the flesh. The victory over our enemies
is certain and sure in His hands, in His hands, all of our enemies,
spiritual enemies mostly. those that would come against
us, that would do us in, do us harm. Our Lord said in 1 Corinthians
15, where the Apostle Paul says this, given by the Lord, we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. And not only
that, bless God who's given us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. The victory over sin, death,
hell, and the grave. in Christ Jesus, in Him. Look at verse 4 now. One thing,
one thing have I desired of the Lord, Him. That's the one thing. And that
I'll seek after, he breaks it down this way, that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold
the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His holy temple, to
inquire in His temple. This one desire has three sides. Our desire causes us to earnestly
seek the Lord. Certainly He knows the desire
of our heart, doesn't He knows the desire of our heart. What
is the desire of a believer's heart? Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him. What is the desire of the believer's
heart? To bow in total resignation unto
the Lord Jesus Christ and to see all of salvation accomplished
in the Lord Jesus Christ. The one thing I desire, oh, that
I may be one with Him. If that be so, my one desire
is Christ, that I'll seek after, I'll seek after Him. He says here that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. What is
that? His presence, His presence. Look back at Psalm 26 verse 8,
Lord I've loved the habitation of thy house, the place where
your honor dwells. that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord, the place where His honor dwells, where the gospel
is preached, where Christ is made known, to be part of His
household, loved as sons of God. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, to be one with Him, to be in
His household, adopted as sons of God, made new creatures in
Christ Jesus, that I may dwell in His house, where His honor
And his glory does dwell all the days of my life. Secondly,
he says here, to behold the beauty of the Lord. David said, I was
glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the
Lord. I'd rather be a doorkeeper, he said, in the house of the
Lord than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. And then to behold his beauty,
to behold the beauty, to see the king. to see the King in
His beauty. Now, left to ourselves, there's
no beauty in Him that we should see Him or desire Him. But when
God does a work of grace in our heart, we desire to see His glory,
His beauty, and to delight in Him. We've been studying the
Song of Solomon. in our Bible study session Sunday
morning, and when, in chapter five, when the believer goes about the city
to seek the Lord, and she does so earnestly, And she describes
the beauty of her Lord. She talks about His head, His
eyes, His hands, His feet, His legs, and all those things typically
in a way, in a spiritual way, paint a very glorious picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But then she says down toward
the end, she says, you know, He's just altogether lovely. This is my beloved. My beloved
is mine, and I am his. Oh, to see his beauty as altogether
lovely. To see the beauty and glory of
the person of God Almighty in Christ Jesus. Oh, the strong
desires that grace brings upon us. To the believer, he is altogether
lovely. To you who believe, he is precious. The beauty of his person and
the beauty of his salvation. His glory is great in salvation. Oh, to behold him, to dwell in
his house, to behold him. And then to inquire in his temple,
to seek his will, to seek his way, to inquire about him. Isn't that what we're doing this
evening? To inquire about the Lord, as our Lord said, come
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and
lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your soul. I want
to be a learner of Him. I want to inquire about Him.
I want to know more about Him, more. There's a song we sing
that's in that song book, more about Jesus would I know, more
of His loving grace to know, oh more. Y'all can't get, can
you? Would you dare complain about
someone preaching the Lord Jesus Christ too much, too often, too
high? Oh, God forbid. Oh, no, you can't
say too much of Him. You see, we desire to learn of
Him. Believer desire the sincere milk
of the Word that we might grow thereby. This is all wrapped
up in that one thing, I desire of the Lord. Oh, and I'll seek
after Him. I'll seek after Him. Look at
verse 5, for in the time of trouble, in the time of trouble, He'll
hide me in His pavilion. In the secret of His tabernacle
shall He hide me. He shall set me upon a rock,
upon a rock in Christ. Believers, one desire leads us
to one blessed Shelter, one blessed refuge. We have the best shelter
for the worst of times. This shelter is proven. This
shelter is provided of God. This shelter is like those cities
of refuge. The manslayer can't get in. We're safe in this city of refuge
in Christ Jesus. He's the best shelter for the
worst of times. He only is my rock. You remember
the only psalm? If I told you to turn to the
only psalm, where would you turn? I've got you, don't I? I've got one on you. Psalm 62
is the only psalm. Did you know that? It's the only
psalm. Because that's what it's called, the only psalm. Verse
6 of Psalm 62, He only is my rock and my salvation. He is
my defense, I shall not be moved. He only is my rock. It says this
over and over, He only, I wait my soul, wait only upon God.
In God is my salvation, my glory, the rock of my strength, and
my refuge is in God. Now trust in Him at all times,
you people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is refuge for us. He shall hide me in his pavilion.
He shall hide me in his tent. Our life is hid with Christ in
God. I like this verse over here in
Isaiah. I believe it's Isaiah 32. You
forgive me if I'm wrong, but find Isaiah 32. I think this
is it. Isaiah 32, yes it is, verse 2. Isaiah 32, verse 2. A man shall be a hiding place
from the wind, a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water
in a dry place, as shadows of a great rock in a weary land. He shall hide me. Our life is
hid with Christ in God. Would you say that's pretty secure? He shall hide me in the secret
of his pavilion. He shall hide me in the time
of trouble. He shall hide me in his pavilion.
Then it says he shall hide me in the secret of his tabernacle. In his tabernacle. In the holy
of holies. He'll hide me in the Holy of
Holies. You know, that place was hard
to get into. You dare not go into the Holy of Holies unless
you are the designated high priest on the designated day with a
particular sacrifice of an animal and then you just better come
the way that God says and lift up that heavy veil and underneath
there with the incense off the altar and I tell you it was a
safe place if he came that way. He shall hide me in the secret
of his tabernacle. The believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is our great high priest, didn't enter into the
tabernacles made with hands, but into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God for us. I tell you, we're in
him, and he's in glory. I'd say that's pretty safe, wouldn't
you? He shall hide me in his tabernacle. He shall hide me,
he shall set me upon the rock. Of course, we know that foundation
is Christ. Let me show you an interesting
scripture. Turn to Psalm 61, 2. From the end of the earth will
I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the
rock that's higher than I am. then I, lead me to that high
rock." This is high ground. This is good ground. This is,
this is, you ever heard that story about burnt ground? This
is burnt ground. Burnt ground. Back years ago,
back in the early 1830s, 1840s, when was that Manifest Destiny,
O. M. New Jackson had, you remember,
from shore to shore, some of you history people remember,
but when the wagon trains went west And they were out in that
prairie grass and they could see the raging prairie fire starting
to come across the desert, across the plains. The wise wagon master,
he would go out over here in a place and he would start his
own fire. And he'd burn out a big area,
burnt ground. And then he'd take all the wagons
and all the people and he'd put them on burnt ground. And when
the raging fire came through, it just went right around. It
couldn't touch those people. They were on burnt ground. You
understand what I'm saying? The Lord Jesus Christ is that
burnt ground. Now you remember that next time,
won't you? He's burnt ground. Who can lay anything to the charge
of God the left? He set us on that sure and certain
foundation. Oh, how safe and secure we are
in Christ Jesus. Now it says in verse 6, now shall
my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me. Therefore
will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing,
yea, oh, I will sing praises unto the Lord. The believer's
one desire, one hope, one way, leads us to joyful worship. Worship
is joyful to the believer. David said, oh, I was glad when
they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Worship is a joyful thing. It's
not a burden. It's not a burden. It's a joy.
It's our life, isn't it? Oh, to hear about Him. Oh, being
lifted up above the enemies of our soul, safe and secure in
the refuge of His grace, therefore will we give thanksgiving unto
the Lord and praise His name for all that... Turn to Psalm
98 verse 1. We give praise and thanksgiving
unto the Lord for all that He has done. Psalm 98, look at verse
1. We don't sing about what we have
done. We don't sing about what we're gonna do. We don't even
sing about what He's enabled us to do. We sing about what
He has done. Psalm 98 verse 1, oh, sing unto
the Lord a new song. This is a song of redemption.
For He hath done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm
hath gotten Him the victory. That's our hope. That's our hope. thanks be unto God who has given
us the victory in Christ Jesus. Now, in closing, verse 7 down
through verse 12, David here continues in praying unto the
Lord. Oh, hear, verse 7, hear, O Lord,
when I cry with my voice. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy
upon me. And Lord, answer me, answer me. The self-righteous seek to be
heard of men. The self-righteous pray to be
heard of men. The self-righteous pray to be
seen of men. Our Lord said that in Matthew
6. They pray to be seen of men. We see that all the time, don't
we? Believers seek to be heard of God. Now there's a heap difference. There's a vast difference. Hear,
O Lord. Doesn't matter if the neighbor
hears. Doesn't matter if the other man
hears. Hear, O Lord. Our cry is unto
the Lord. When I cry with my voice, Lord,
have mercy upon me. What a blessing God has given
us to take our burdens to the Lord. And then by His grace,
as a songwriter says, take your burdens to the Lord. and leave
them there. Leave them there. It would be much to our advantage
instead of complaining to men. Now, I'm guilty of this. Instead of complaining unto men,
it would be to our advantage much so. Instead of complaining
to men, cry out unto God. Cry out unto God. Our cry is
simple, too. Our cry is not complicated. Have
mercy. Have mercy. Have mercy. Have mercy upon me, O Lord. May
we never graduate above being what I call and what my dear
brother used to say all the time, mercy beggar. That's me. I'm a mercy beggar. I'm a mercy
beggar. Our Lord said, come boldly into
the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy, find grace
to help in time of need. Come as a mercy beggar. Don't
come as a proud Pharisee. Come as a mercy beggar. Come
as those men of old came before the king with a rope around their
neck. Guilty. I'm deserving to be hanged. But
I ask for mercy. Mercy, mercy. Not by works of
righteous, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He
saved us. He saved us. Mercy is the hope
of the sinner and the refuge of the saints. Mercy, His mercy. You see, it is of the Lord's
mercies, Lamentations 3, 22. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed because his compassion, they do not fail. They're new every morning. Mercy,
he gives mercy for each day. Have mercy upon me, oh Lord. I like the prayer of that publican.
The Pharisee, you know, he stood and he bragged how he'd done
this and how he'd done that and how he'd done all the other.
And the Pharisee bragged and bragged, the publican standing
afar off, and would he not so much uplift his eyes but smote
upon his breath and said, God, be merciful to me, thee, sinner. You know what the Lord said?
The Lord said that man went down to his house justified rather
than the other. The Pharisee justified himself
and was condemned. The publican condemned himself
and was justified. That's the way of grace. condemn
yourself. I'm guilty. Yes, I am. Lord, have mercy. Have mercy. Have mercy. Now, look at verse
8. When thou said, Seek ye my face,
my heart said, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Thy face will I
seek. When the command of the gospel
comes unto us to repent and believe and seek the Lord, we do so by His grace. When He says, seek my face, my
heart said, okay, okay, I'll do that. Thy people shall be
willing in the day of God's power. Willing, oh, willingly, willingly. What was it? Isaiah said, Lord,
here am I. Send me. Willing, willing. My
heart said, thy face, Lord, will I seek. Our heart echoes the
command and seeks salvation where and in whom it can be found in
Christ. The glory of God's mercy shines
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 9, Psalm 27, hide
not thy face far. from me. Put not thy servant
away in anger. Thou hast been my help. Leave
me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation." He's the God
of my salvation. The command to seek the Lord
would be very painful and unbearable if the Lord didn't reveal Himself
unto us, therefore we cry, hide not thy face from me, put me
not away in anger, have mercy upon me, leave me not alone,
neither forsake me, for thou art my help, and you're all of
my salvation. God of my salvation." Isn't that
a sweet title to meditate upon? He's the God of my salvation. Verse 10, when my father and
my mother, when, when, they forsake me, then the Lord,
the Lord will take me up, the Lord will take me up. When all
around us forsake us, friends and family, the Lord will surely
gather us unto himself. I want you to find Isaiah 49
and I'll read just a verse or two here, Isaiah 49. Look at verse 13, Isaiah 49,
this is, ìSing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! Break forth
into singing, O mountains! For the Lord hath comforted his
people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said,
ìWell, the Lordís forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.î
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget. We see that, don't we? Yet they,
yet will I not forget thee? Behold, I've graven thee upon
the palms of my hand. Thy walls are continually before
me. God will not forget his people,
nor will he forsake his own. He's the God of our salvation.
Let's read verse 11. The Lord will take me up. Verse 11. Teach me thy way. Teach me thy way, O Lord. Lead me. Lead me. The Lord is our shepherd. We shall not want. Teach me thy
way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path. Seeing we have such hope
of salvation in Christ, seeing we have such hope of salvation
in Him, The apostle said, therefore we speak plainly, simply. Oh Lord, lead us in a plain path,
in a single path, in the way of salvation in Christ, because
of my enemies. And then he said, deliver me
not over the will of my enemies, for false witnesses are risen
up against me, such as breathe out cruelty against me. Teach
me thy way, Christ is the way. He is both lesson and teacher.
And may God be pleased to give us a teachable spirit to learn
of Him, and then lead me in that plain path in the way of simplicity,
singleness, sincerity, and then deliver me, redeem me by your
grace through the merits of Christ. Verse 13, I had fainted unless
I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living. Now, in the natural realm, we
see and then we believe. People say, well, I won't believe
that until I see it. In the natural realm, we see,
then we believe, but in the spiritual realm, we believe, then we see. We understand, and then we know. Through faith we understand.
It says that in Hebrews 1.11. Through faith we see him. Through
faith we receive the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 20, if you want to turn
there, I'll be through here in just a minute, John 20. It reminds
me of this scripture here, and Thomas said, you know, I won't
believe that the Lord is actually risen unless I see those nail
prints, unless I put my hand into his side, and I will not
believe. In John 20, verse 26, after eight
days again, his disciples were within, and Thomas within this
time, old doubting Thomas, Then came Jesus, the doors being shut,
and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then said
he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, behold my hands. Reach hither thy hand, and thrust
it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered
and said, My Lord and my God. And Jesus said unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, but blessed are
they that have not yet seen, have not seen and yet believe,
believe, believe. These things are written that
you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you might have life through his name. Wait,
I say on the Lord. Be of good courage, be of good
courage, and He'll strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, wait,
I say, on Him, on the Lord.

The Lord Is My Light

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know God is our refuge?

Why is having hope in Christ important for Christians?

How does the psalmist express confidence in God?

What does it mean that the Lord is our light?

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The Lord Is My Light

What does the Bible say about salvation?

How do we know God is our refuge?

Why is having hope in Christ important for Christians?

How does the psalmist express confidence in God?

What does it mean that the Lord is our light?

Sermon Transcript

About Tom Harding

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