Yes & Amen
Jesus Christ is faithful. He is the living Word. All God's promises through Him are yes and amen to those who believe.
"If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan...Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here?...We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children...we will arm ourselves for battle and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place...We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their inheritance....if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out... The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has said.”
Numbers 32:5-7, 10-11, 14-18, 20-23, 27, 31
Jesus told those who would listen to ask, seek, and knock. There is a component of living a life of faith that requires participation by us. God does not blindly tell his people what they have to do or how each of us must live out our lives. He tests and refines us to have faithful hearts but allows us to choose how we express our faith.
In this story, the Reubenites and Gadites found a place they wanted to call home. They saw the area near the Jordan as the promise fulfilled so they asked God for it to be their inheritance. They asked for what God had promised. Moses simply says if you will do what you are called to do and serve God by helping others fulfill their dreams of an inheritance then your requests will be answered with a yes and amen. Is this not our same invitation and our same call?
What does your promised land look like? Where do you want to dwell, plant roots, and build community? God gives you the choice but connects your choice to your kingdom calling. He says go plant and build, but always understand that you were made for community. You cannot have your dreams come true without helping others come true as well. How are you helping others cross the Jordan in how you use your kingdom gifts? How do your daily efforts connect to your blessings?
“Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.”
Psalms 149:1-2, 4-5
David experienced God's blessing and was used to bring the kingdom as he used his gifts to guide, shepherd, rule, and write songs. In this song he highlights both the individual aspect of faith and the inherent call of community. When David says to sing a new song this is an individual invitation. Pay attention to where you are to sing the new song. Is it by yourself in your shower? No! He says sing a new song as you assemble with others. There is a collective component of engraining our lives with the lives of others in the beautiful community that is the church.
As you experience the saving grace of Jesus Christ, when you make Him Lord and Savior, you become a new creation. You no longer sing songs of the past or songs of the old life. The old life is gone the new life has begun. You have victory that is should produce a life of singing, praising, and worshiping. How will you praise and worship God for the new life He has given you? How will you make sure your songs of redemption lift up the hearts of others?
“How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful...You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.”
Song of Songs 4:1, 7, 15
Following Jesus involves a process of receiving and giving. It involves unlearning then learning. How do you respond to the words of Solomon? Did you wake up today and see yourself as beautiful? Do you know that the Maker of the heavens and the earth looks at you and calls you beautiful? Ask yourself why you see yourself the way you do and if it aligns with the way God sees you.
The process of receiving God's love and hearing His words of affirmation are meant to restore us to a place of wholeness. God calls you beautiful so that you know your worth, your identity, and how He sees you. Once we are restored then we are called to restore. Solomon says that we are to be a fountain, a well of flowing water, a source of life to others. How can you build up others with your words today? How can you let the love of Christ flow through you?
“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ I will put an end to your noisy songs...When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you, then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return"
Ezekiel 26:2, 13-14, 19-20
The prophets spoke the truth and it was often not easy to hear. Ezekiel calls out the way in which the people of Tyre have treated the people of God. He is saying that Tyre celebrated when Israel suffered. You can just picture the pride and cruelty of the way that the people of Tyre treated the Israelites.
Does this sound distant? Is this just an ancient story? No! We live in a world that loves to pile on, label and destroy, divide and deride, and cancel others. How often have you heard gossip or participated in gossip? How often have you spoken unloving words about others or celebrated the downfall of another? This should not be how the redeemed live. We are blessed so we can bless. We are redeemed so we can redeem. We are given lifted up so we can lift up. Where do you need to hear the words of Ezekiel and turn from the practices of the world that tear people down so that you can be the healing balm of Jesus to a hurting world?
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God...We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure...But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us...relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Not that we Lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy"
2 Corinthians 1:2-4, 8-10, 12, 20-22, 24
Aren't you thankful for the grace and peace of Jesus Christ? Should we not praise God for His compassion on us? Paul, the one who celebrated the murder of Stephen and persecuted the followers of Jesus, knows better than anyone the compassion of Jesus Christ. He knows how God gives us comfort when we are hurting and endurance when we feel like we are at the end of our rope. How has God had compassion on you?
Paul says you were comforted so that you would become comfort others. He is reminding us of the same call that was given to the Reubenites and Gadites. He is saying that as you have received the inheritance of peace with God through Jesus Christ, you are not to settle in your own comfort, but you are to bring that peace to others. How will you share the grace and peace of the love of Jesus to others today?
Paul says all that you do not go in your own strength. You are meant to rely on God's grace, stand firm on His promises, and walk by faith that the Holy Spirit will do the heavy lifting. How can you grow in your reliance on God's grace? Do you believe that God's promises are yes and amen in Christ? What prayer would you pray if you knew that God would answer? God wants to teach us to live boldly believing in Him. He wants to empower and equip us to become His grace and peace to a world in desperate need of grace and peace. He wants you to know that you are never alone and always needed. He calls you beautiful and asks that you would bring beauty to the world as you believe.
Will you say yes? Will you say amen?
There's a wonderful Pat Barrett song entitled "Yes and Amen". A link on YouTube is provided here for your worshipping enjoyment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfuMSKVZ804&list=RDdfuMSKVZ804&start_radio=1