Saturday, January 26, 2013

AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord says to my lord:

“Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying:

“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind:

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of His wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so He will lift His head high.

Psalm 110

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I’m a right-handed person. And although there are some things I can do left-handed, there is little doubt that my right hand is my more dominant hand, the one with which I can do more things. There is more strength in my right hand and I enjoy a good firm handshake with friends and acquaintances. But no matter how much might I think I have in my right hand, I cannot even come close to the awesome power found at the right hand of God.

As we look at the 110th Psalm, we find that this matter of God’s right hand is central to the passage. Look at the words of David:

The Lord says to my lord:

“Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying:

“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind:

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of His wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook along the way, and so He will lift His head high.

Note here that God is in full control. David’s enemies will be vanquished when they experience the power of God’s right hand coming against them. Kings will be crushed and nations will be judged. Israel’s enemies will perish as they face an adversary of infinitesimal supremacy and might.

Indeed, there is power at the right hand of God. Look at these other passages from the Scriptures that affirm this truth:

“Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.” Exodus 15:6

“You stretch out Your right hand, and the earth swallows Your enemies.” Exodus 15:12

Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to His anointed. He answers him from His heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of His right hand. Psalm 20:6

Your arm is endowed with power; Your hand is strong, Your right hand exalted. Psalm 89:13

Friends, this God who holds such immense power at His right hand is the God who is with us. Truly we need to ask ourselves, “If God is with us, who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31) The answer is no one.

And so we need to understand today that we not only find power at God’s right hand but we find protection as well. Consider these verses from the Bible that testify to this fact:

I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

Show me the wonders of Your great love, You who save by Your right hand those who take refuge in You from their foes.  Psalm 17:7

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life. You stretch out Your hand against the anger of my foes; with Your right hand You save me. Psalm 138:7

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Not only do we experience the protecting power of God’s right hand when we place our faith and trust in Him but we find Him with us and at our right hand. Our God is not a God who is so distant that He can’t be reached. No, our God is with us, at our right hand where He brings us a confidence that allows us to not be shaken, refuge from the things of life that might bring us harm, preservation from our foes, and help when we are feeling dismayed.

This is the God we serve.

But it doesn’t stop at strength and protection. For we also find righteousness at God’s right hand. Consider this verse:

Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Psalm 48:10

God is perfectly right and perfectly just as He metes out discipline through the power of His right hand. And when we dwell with Him, allowing Him to be at our right hand, then we too will start to emulate His righteousness, living rightly and uprightly as He expects us to.

And so power, protection, and righteousness. All things we discover when we turn to the right hand of our God and Father. Yet, we have not touched on the most important thing we find there. That would be our Savior Jesus, God’s one and only Son who He allowed to be sacrificed to pay the price for our sins, all because this God at our right hand loves us so very much.

Yes, salvation is found through Jesus Christ, who abides and rules over the world from God’s right hand. The scriptures say as much:

Save us and help us with Your right hand, that those You love may be delivered. Psalm 60:5

God exalted Him (Jesus) to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. Acts 5:31

Jesus Christ, ( who) has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. 1 Peter 3:21b-22

When Jesus died, God raised His Son from the dead to sit Him at His right hand, delegating to Him all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus became the King of kings, Lord of lords, and the only gateway to get to God (John 14:6). In other words, if you want to live eternally with your Creator Father God, you have to first believe and trust in His Son, the One at His right hand, as your personal Savior. There is no other way to salvation.

Friends, my prayer today is that you are fully experiencing all of the splendor and majesty found at God’s right hand. I pray you are experiencing the fullest extent of His power, protection, and righteousness. And I pray that you have professed Jesus as your Savior so that you have received the salvation promise offered to you and the associated victory over death one day that it will bring.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

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