Encouraging Yourself in the Lord

Today we are going to be talking about the story behind my song, You Are God, from the recording Here In Your Presence. I received this particular song on August 6, 2008.

 For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God. Psalm 86:10 NASB

 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12 NASB

Because of the nature of my story - leaving the homosexual lifestyle and identity for that of a heterosexual new creation in Christ - I am often referred to as a hater. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. I happen to believe, based on the Word of God and upon my own experience, that with God nothing is impossible. My calling is to tell the world what Jesus has done for me. If we who have been redeemed do not declare what we have been redeemed from, how in the world are those trapped in the same sin going to know change is even possible? 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 puts it this way:

[1Co 6:9-11 NASB] 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor [the] covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Such WERE some of you! It seems God has been setting people free from their old identities for quite some time now, doesn’t it? Add this to the mix and you can understand how this song came to be born.

[Psa 107:1-2 NASB] 1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so,] Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.

In other words, how can I keep silent about all God has done for me?

In spite of the fact that God has set me free, I still find myself ridiculed and mocked and derided as a hate-filled person. What does that mean to me? I am note defined by what others call me or by what others think of me. Just as King David encouraged himself in the Lord when he led his men into battle only to return to their camp to find their wives and children captured by the enemy, I have learned to encourage myself in the Lord.

[1Sa 30:6 NASB] 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

Just how does one encourage or strengthen themselves in the Lord? One practical application is to remind myself of the Truth about Who God is and declare that He is int control even when the world around me is falling apart.

When all around us seems to be falling…when the world calls what is right wrong and what is wrong right…when storms assail us…when the enemy lies…when nothing makes sense…we have need of something bigger than ourselves and bigger than our circumstances. We need a Rock. We need a Defender. We need someone who is there when no one else is around. I have chosen to praise God in spite of what my earthly eyes might see. Sometimes what I see leaves me feeling fearful, but that fear is silenced whenever I remember the Rock that I stand upon does not move and is unshakable.

This song is a song of warfare and declaration. It reminds me of David’s incredulity at Goliath for the way he mocked the God of Israel…David’s faith was in God’s strength and might, not his own. When in battle it is best to remember that we are not God – but we ARE his children…and He jealously defends His own. Praise God and watch the enemy tumble and fall.

As you listen to or read the words of this song, I urge you to encourage yourself in the Lord. Speak truth into the dark places of your life and soul and you will speak life into death and you will speak light into the darkness.

You Are God

Verse

Holy and righteous in all of Your ways

You are mighty and awesome and can’t be contained

You are God! Almighty God!

Holy and righteous and totally pure

You are steadfast in power

So faithful and sure

You are God! Almighty God! 

Chorus

I will humbly bow before

While proclaiming You are Lord!

You are God and You alone!

He Who sits upon the throne!

You are Lion and the Lamb

And the Rock on which I stand!

By the power of Your blood

And the measure of Your love

You are God

Verse

Mighty in power, the Champion and Lord

Like a thundering Warrior

With lightning Your sword

You are God! Almighty God! You are Lord over heaven and Lord over earth

You are Lord of Creation and Lord of new birth

You Are God! Almighty God!

[2Co 2:14-17 NASB] 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

I urge you to encourage yourself in the Lord today by simply proclaiming Who He is to you…and to your own soul.

Dennis Jernigan

To listen to the podcast version of this teaching, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/you-are-god/

You Are God

Words & Music: Dennis Jernigan

Received on August 6, 2008

Muskogee, OK•74401•www.dennisjernigan.com•1-800-877-0406

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