Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring the ark of Yahweh’s covenant up out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy. When God helped the Levites who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the choir master with the singers; and David had an ephod of linen on him. Thus all Israel brought the ark of Yahweh’s covenant up with shouting, with sound of the cornet, with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with stringed instruments and harps.”
(1 Chronicles 15:25-28)

“Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” He told them this parable: “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.”
(Luke 15:1-7)

With JOY they all brought the ark up to Jerusalem. David even wore a linen ritual vest, the outfit of a priest. The last time they had not obeyed God’s commands laid out in the Law for the moving of the ark. This time, they were obeying. And because they obeyed, things went well for them. They were able to bring the ark which had been lost back home to where they felt it belonged. They were joyous at this opportunity to worship the Lord as they established Jerusalem as the centre of God’s dwelling and returned the Levites to their rightful place in helping to direct that worship in the proper God-chosen ways.

Repentance is the act of choosing to make God’s point of view on something YOUR point of view on that something. It is aligning with God’s moral character and letting what He says be the motivator and director of your words, thinking, and actions. It is returning ourselves to God’s Kingdom as obedient children. It is choosing to refuse rebellious thinking. It is choosing to worship God AS God because He IS God – and accepting His authority because of that.

Summary

When we act and speak without our trust in Jesus as the foundation, we sin (Romans 14:23). God is to be our Source. God is to be our foundation. God is to be in charge. Period. When we do things our way or when we don’t do what He says is right and good, we have sinned. We have rebelled. We have put us before Him. When we do that, when it is pointed out to us by Holy Spirit, we need to repent. We need to get His thinking and make ours align with it. It means we have to shift until we are where He wants us to be. Small ways and big ways. There is JOY in getting to worship God the proper way. There is JOY in being in accordance with the will of the Father. There is JOY in submitting to Him. Don’t rob yourselves of that joy. Humbly submit and worship God by renewing your mind to what His will and moral character are.