HF128 - The Secret of the Lord
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Fri, August 6, 2004
Subject: Bible Study HF128 - The Secret of the Lord
Hebraics,
In this study we want to find out if God really does have a secret that is hidden from the unbeliever, and yet is made real to all who truly believe in Him. (Keep in mind that Paul said a veil lies over the hearts of unbelieving ones.)
This is Bible Study HF128 - The Secret of the Lord.
I may have shared a bit of this testimony in a prior study but it ties in neatly with the present study. Hopefully it will minister to your heart.
It was early 1976. All I had was my wife, my three children, my guitar, my Bible, a thousand dollars in the bank, and a stewardship from the Lord. We had just located to a small town in Central Louisiana. My stewardship was to raise up a training ministry on the order of the school of the prophets of the former testament. As for the thousand dollars, that went rather quickly.
But how do you raise up a ministry on the order of the school of the prophets? I wasn't a prophet. I didn't know anything about the Old Testament school of the prophets. (Actually the prophets in training were called "sons of the prophets.") Some time later it would dawn on me that the school of the prophets was really a mentoring society, and a true prophet was simply a messenger of the Lord. (It remains that way today.)
Anyway, we had no congregation. We had no denominational backing. Actually we had no backing at all, unless you want to count the Lord. (Just kidding. That is what the study is about.)
And so it happens --- I'm in bed, eyes wide open, my mind is racing, "What am I doing here?" "How will I take care of my family?" "Did I really hear from the Lord?" You know the drill. Doubts began to fill my mind. And that is when I had this strong urge in my spirit to get up, that the Lord had something to say to me.
I crawled out of bed, went to the kitchen table, opened my Bible, and in less than a second - if that is possible - the Lord begins to impress my heart deeply. He explained to me why the book of Psalms is so important in learning to walk with Him. He designed that book to give shape to our spiritual life. Well, when the "divine" moment was over, my heart and mind were refreshed. Everything was all right.
Now to our subject --- Here is the portion I want you to hear. David said, "Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant." (Psalm 25:12-14)
I’ve often shared with our congregation the importance of Psalms. Of course all the Scriptures are of immense value, but the Psalms are structured a little differently. They can pinpoint exactly where you are in life, at any time. The Psalms are especially designed to do that. Paul said that the Spirit-filled life consists of, “Speaking to one another in Psalms, in hymns, and in spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our heart to the Lord.” (Cf. Eph5:19 - The term Psalm here refers to the Old Testament book.)
A point being that the Lord always has something to say to us, not just in moments of devotion but also in our moments of crisis. He may not always speak from the Psalms, but what Lord says to David is relevant for all believers of all the ages. One statement is a stand- alone statement. David said, “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.” That is God’s promise to all true believers. In the new covenant the statement "secret of the Lord" has a special view to Jesus and to His guidance in our lives.
But before we talk about "the" secret, let's deal with this issue of the fear of the Lord and how this links to a true faith walk. David said, "Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose." Notice carefully that the fear of the Lord connects to a living life of faith. And a living faith walk is a walk that is being overseen by the Lord Himself. Therefore you cannot separate the fear of the Lord from a true faith walk. Paul himself said that faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word (spoken word or voice) of Christ.
Actually no one can live a life of faith without the fear of the Lord. But this term in itself must be understood. The fear of the Lord speaks of a godly reverence and awe for God. It is not a tormenting fear. It is an attitude of feelings for the Lord, with a special view to the Lord's Word. God speaks through Isaiah, saying, "But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Isa66:2)
The term "fear of the Lord" speaks of a settled disposition towards God. It relates to godliness. The one who fears the Lord believes that God's Word is true and His ways are always right. In fact the prophet said that the fear of the Lord was the Messiah's treasure.
Listen to this prophecy concerning Jesus as Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. AND HE WILL DELIGHT IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD." (Isa11:2,3 - Caps for emphasis only.)
And so what is the promise to the one who fears the Lord? David said, “He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, and his descendents will inherit the land." Then he adds, "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant."
Every word in this setting of Scriptures is important. While we can't take the time to define all the terms in Hebrew, there are a couple of words that we need to especially appreciate. Where David says, "He will make them 'know' His covenant", the term for "know" is 'yada.' This word carries a number of senses but it takes in an special meaning of communion. We see this carried over into the new covenant where Jesus says, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
It is also seen in the statement, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." And again, "I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father." (John 10:27,14,15)
The knowing that David speaks of is a knowing that precludes religion, and ritual, and rote. David knew the Lord personally. In fact He knew the Lord before He became incarnate as Jesus Christ. The sweet Psalmist of Israel said, "Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory." (Psalm 63:2 - The power and glory of God is Jesus.)
And so the fear of the Lord ties into something else. Listen again to Psa25:14. “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make then know His covenant.” The Hebrew word for "secret" is the word ‘sod.’ This word is very expressive. It means ‘secret counsel’, ‘intimacy with God’, ‘friendship with God’, and such like. It speaks of something that is only available to true believers.
Jesus sets the stage for this personal intimacy with the Father when He said to the disciples, "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)
This brings us to the very heart of a covenant walk. The secret of the Lord in the New Testament is called 'the mystery of Christ.' Paul spoke of the mystery that had been hidden from past ages and generations, that is, the mystery that remained hidden to those without a covenant relationship with the Lord Himself.
Of course the mystery (secret) had to do with the wonders of the cross, but the heart of the mystery involved the person of Christ. Christ had always been present in the lives of believing ones. In the new covenant His presence would become even more pronounced. Peter said that when the Old Testament prophets prophesied, it was the Spirit of Christ within them who was predicting the glories that would come with the new covenant of Christ. (Cf. 1Pe1:11)
And so the secret of the Lord is Jesus. But even His name is encoded throughout the former testament. Just about every place you see the term 'salvation,' you could do a word game and replace it with the name 'Jesus', and see if it somehow would speak of Jesus. (Jesus is Yeshua in Hebrew. Of course in the New Testament it is a proper name.)
While this may seem only to be a play on words, I do believe it goes much deeper. The angel told Joseph to call His name, 'Jesus,' for He will 'save' his people from their sins. Jesus is salvation.
Consider a couple of Scriptures.
David said, "My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation [Jesus] and for Your righteous Word." (Psalm 119:123)
Compare this to what the aged Simeon said in taking the child Jesus into his arms. He says, "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for MY EYES HAVE SEEN YOUR SALVATION." (Luke 2:29,30 - Caps for emphasis.)
Is Jesus your secret life? If you are a true believer, the only answer to that question is a resounding, "Yes!" The secret of the Lord is Jesus. This is why the book of Hebrews tells us there is only one thing we really need to do to walk in a covenant walk. We are told to fix our eyes on Jesus. He alone is the author and finisher of our faith.
This brings me to the crux of a covenant walk. Sometimes we get caught up in the idea of wondering, 'What would Jesus do?' The better question would be, "Lord Jesus, what would YOU have me do?" Remember what David said about this. "He will instruct [you] in the way [you] should choose."
The primary reason that the earliest believers referred to their covenant walk as 'the Way' is because they took full faith in having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But they didn't merely base their faith on Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life. They took to heart something another Psalmist had written about the Christ. Listen very carefully to this portion of Psalms. See if you can find Jesus in it:
"I will hear what God the Lord will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones, but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation [Yeshua] is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land."
Now hear the mystery of the cross and the life that follows:
"Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL GO BEFORE HIM AND WILL MAKE HIS FOOTSTEPS INTO A WAY." (Psalm 85:8-11)
Truth springing up from the earth speaks of Jesus in His earthly walk. Isaiah said, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from from his roots will bear fruit." (Isa11:1 - The shoot is Jesus. We are the fruit.)
Righteousness looking down from heaven speaks of the Heavenly Father. Righteousness and peace kissing one another took place at the cross. And out of the cross comes our new life, that is, God made the footsteps of Jesus into salvation for us. (Think about it. Its all there.)
This is why Paul could say, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (Gal2:20)
So --- Have you found the secret of the Lord? His name is Jesus. Jesus is the Savior. He is saving us day by day. I have often said to our congregation, "If you did not intend to be saved, you ought to never have called on the name of the Lord." (Sort of a pun but a truth nonetheless.)
Well, 1976 has been a long time ago. There we were. Just us alone. Only my beautiful wife, my three children, my guitar, my Bible, my stewardship, and a thousand soon-to-disappear dollars in the bank. We were young and gullible. I was only 35. This month I will be 64. Did we make it? Sure we did. We are still making it. I could add story on story on story of the faithfulness of the Lord. But all I need to say is, "I wouldn't take anything for my journey now."
The Lord was with us all the way. And yes, this has truly been the point of the study.
Here's my final Scripture portion. It speaks of what David said to the Lord and what the Lord said to David in return. See how this relates to your own life.
David speaks to the Lord: "You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance."
The Lord speaks to David: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you." (Psa32:7,8)
What about it? The study is open. Feel free to contribute.
The Lord bless you,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)