Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
5/11/2021
We are Promised God’s Goodness!
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Hw makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul Psalm 23 1-3 but even this Psalm does not gloss over the reality of evil in our world. The reality is present in verse four: “yey, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”.
I like what Frederick Bueschner has written about that verse:
“The psalm does not pretend that evil and death do not exist. Terrible things happen, and they happen to good people as well as bad people. Even the path of righteousness leads through the valley of the shadow. Death is ahead for all of us, saints and sinners alike, and for all the ones we love. The Psalmist doesn’t pretend that evil and death do not exist. He simply says he will not fear evil. For all the power that evil has, it doesn’t have the power to make him afraid”.
You already know that evil exists and that it’s dangerous and destructive. What I wanna show you now is that you don’t have to be afraid. Because, as an overcomer, you’ve been promised the goodness of God.
Psalm 34:80, “taste and see that the Lord is good:
Blessed is the man who trusts in him”.
Jesus was teaching a large crowd and a rich man approached him and asked: “Good teacher what good things shall I do
that I may have eternal life?” Matthew 19:16-17 Jesus responded by proclaiming “that no one is good but… God.”
That begs the question: if only God is good, does that mean we can never be good? Will we always have to put up with the shadow of evil and sin and death?
The answer is that we cannot become good in and of ourselves; however, we can receive God‘s goodness! We can become good because he is good.
In 2nd Corinthians 5:21 “for God made Christ who knows no shame to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him”. When we believe in him, we take on his identity as the righteous son of God. He gives his righteousness to us… his goodness.
As overcomers, we don’t exist in a passive state of goodness.
Instead, we have the power to act in ways that reflect the goodness we have received through Christ. Indeed, we are called, “to overcome evil with good!” Romans 12:21
One of the ways we actively produce good in the world is to obey Jesus’ great commission: Matthew 28:18 – 20 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations”
The message of the gospel IS the essence of goodness.
It is the good news.
As Overcomers, we are commanded to proclaim that message to all who will hear. Galatians 5: 22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: ” the fruit of the spirit!” Noticed that the fruit of the spirit is singular. It’s “Fruit” NOT “Fruits”. That means we don’t focus on developing peace one day and then faithfulness a week from Tuesday. Rather as the Holy Spirit transforms our lives, we develop each element of that fruit, including goodness. And the more of that fruit we demonstrate to the world the more we overcome the evil of the world with God’s good.
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Would you humble yourself today and pray with your family and me for just one hour. God has things to say to us.
What happens when god says Move. Do it now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDE74QQ3sbA
Excerpts taken from David Jeremiah’s Promises for the Overcomer.
