Anchor My Faith

Title: How Do You Serve the Lord? (Luke 1:73-75)

In the previous lesson we learned that salvation was to save us from our enemies. Those enemies, we learned, are our sins, our carnal tendencies, our lusts, and our adversary Satan and his angels, who continually seek to destroy us. We will begin this lesson by looking at: “the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days” (Luke 1:73 – 75 ESV).

The oath being referred to here is: “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:16 – 18 ESV).  God, under oath, makes the promise that he will deliver us from the hand of our enemies and that all the nations of the earth should be blessed; all of which has been fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah.

We should stop and sincerely think of all God has done for us; he redeemed his people and raised up a horn of salvation for us from the house of David; he provides a way of being saved from our enemies, with the expectation that we would serve him without fear by walking in good works (Ephesians 2:10) in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. Is walking in these good works a priority in the western church today? Do we seek to serve him in holiness and righteousness or to serve ourselves with comfort and good pleasure? Have we forgotten that: “. . . it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29 ESV). Salvation is a gift, but suffering in serving him is also a gift. We are to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection, but with that resurrection comes a sharing of his sufferings, to become like him in his death.

In view of all Jesus has done for us, how should we then live? “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV).  Therefore, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 ESV). This kind of living reflects being sold out to Jesus Christ for all he has done for us. It does not reflect a life of comfort and pleasure that is so prevalent among believers in the western church today.

Prayer

Father, my brother and sisters who live under persecution give witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by being willing to risk everything, even their lives, to share the gospel. Living in freedom, how much are we willing to sacrifice just to serve the Lord. It seems that comfort and safety have bound us to the point of little or no activity for the Lord. The day is coming when I will stand with these brothers and sisters before the Lord. How will I feel then? Father, bless them for their obedience and continue to remove the bondage from my life that tends to hold me back.