BIG IDEA:
TRANSFORMATION SHOULD LEAD TO VICTORY —
A SUPERGOD MAKES HIS ANOINTED VICTORIOUS LIKE A SUPERMAN
Review: 5 Ways that God Has Dealt with Us – Showing His Power and Providence:
(:1-4) PROTECTED The Images of God’s Protection
(:5-7) BELOVED The Timeliness of God’s Attentiveness
(:8-16) AVENGED The Unleashing of God’s Anger
(:17-20) RESCUED The Completeness of God’s Deliverance
(:21-28) REWARDED The Consistency of God’s Justice
Transition:
(:29-30) TRANSFORMED The Adequacy of God’s New Creation
We should expect Victory in our Christian lives … not living lives of defeat and frustration
Rom. 8:31-39 = Tone for today
3 IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSFORMATION: IMPLICATION #1
I. (:29-30) TRANSFORMED – THE ADEQUACY OF GOD’S NEW CREATION –
Transition Verses; Key Verses – The Secret to Victorious Living
God’s Transforming Power and Grace at work in our lives
Shifting the focus from God’s work on our behalf to our enablement to live victoriously – How is this possible?
Perspective is that of God’s Anointed .. but applies to us as well
A. (:29) Enlightened
We have been transformed from:
the kingdom of darkness and blindness and wickedness and death . . . to . . .
the kingdom of light and understanding and righteousness and life
“For Thou art my lamp;
And the Lord illumines my darkness”
John 12:35-36
It is a terrible thing to stumble around in the darkness; not to have direction; Not to be able to understand spiritual truth – Natural man cannot understand spiritual things; they are spiritually discerned
B. (:30) Enabled
We have been transformed with supernatural capabilities —
Obstacles Present No Problem to God’s Warriors
“For by Thee I can run upon a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall”
Possessors of the divine nature
Special anointing of the Holy Spirit
Can accomplish great things for God
Look at all that God accomplished through His servant David
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible—
He does the things others cannot do. —Eliason
© Renewal 1973 by Singspiration, Inc.
2ND IMPLICATION OF TRANSFORMATION:
II. (:31-37) TRANSFORMED: THE PATHWAY OF VICTORY IS SECURE —
7 WAYS THAT GOD MAKES US VICTORIOUS —
Eternal Security: Rom. 8 passage;
1. (:31a) God Leads Us in the Path of Victory — God is a Proven Winner
“As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is tested”
Speaks of completeness; moral integrity; uprightness :24,26,33
Psalm 119
Our way is precarious; suspect; headed for surprising ruin
God commands us to Follow Him – Let Him take the lead; He knows where He is going; His Word will guide us on the right path; Why try to figure things out on our own; why trust in ourselves?
When has God steered us wrong?
When has His Word proven unfaithful?
Cf. Financial advisors giving us their counsel: Follow my investment tips …
Look at football coaches – everyone wants to hire a proven winner; someone to take their team to the promised land
2. (:31b-32) God is Our One-of-a-Kind Shield and Rock
“He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God, besides the Lord?
And who is a rock, besides our God”
Exclusivity proclaimed here; not many gods or many paths to God
There is only one sure foundation
You can’t add our merit or works to His sufficiency ..
3. (:33) God Surrounds Me with Protection and Keeps Me On Track
“God is my strong fortress;
And He sets the blameless in His way.”
You can’t get into His Way by climbing over the walls or by any attempt to earn brownie points from God
4. (:34) God Equips Me with Security and Keeps Me from Falling
“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And sets me on my high places.”
5. (:35) God Equips Me with Offensive Weapons – I am in a battle
“He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
Fear not; fight valiantly; don’t sit on the sidelines
Christ came to bring a sword … not some peacenik
Reality of spiritual warfare
6. (:36) God Equips Me with Defensive Protection – I am in a battle
‘Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation,
And Thy help makes me great.”
Look at how many teams are good on offense but bad on defense; or vice versa
Who wants to be Great? Here’s how God makes it happen in your life
7. (:37) God Makes Me Stand Tall as a Winner
“Thou dost enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.”
3RD IMPLICATION OF TRANSFORMATION:
III. (:38-46) TRANSFORMATION: THE EXTENT OF VICTORY IS ABSOLUTE (COMPLETE / COMPREHENSIVE) — SUPERMAN TAKES NO PRISONERS —
Not talking about any partial victory here; the enemies are vanquished
John 10:27-30
A. (:38-43) Total Destruction of Enemies – God’s Game plan for Conquering Enemies – 4 Different Tactics / 1 Very Critical Perspective
Cf. my Marketing Plan – great to have some overall high level objectives and some strategies to pursue; but you must also have the specific tactics to make it happen
1. (:38) Tactic #1 — Chase and Conquer
“I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.”
2. (:39) Tactic #2 — Shatter and Subdue
“And I have devoured them and shattered them,
so that they did not rise;
And they fell under my feet.”
3. (:40-41) Key = Totally God’s Doing = Critical Perspective
a. Strengthening Me
“For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle”
b. Subduing My Enemies
“Thou hast subdued under me those who rose up against me.”
c. Scaring My Enemies
“Thou hast also made my enemies turn their backs to me”
d. Setting Them Up for the Kill (my part was simple)
“And I destroyed those who hated me.”
4. (:42) Tactic #3 — Isolate and Ignore
“They looked, but there was none to save,
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.”
5. (:43) Tactic #4 — Beat and Bury
“Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;
I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets.”
B. (:44-46) Complete Submission to God’s Anointed – God’s Anointed Leadership should expect 5 privileges of God-given victory:
1. Delivered
“Thou hast also delivered me from the contentions of my people”
Sad that this type of deliverance is needed; should be the last thing necessary; we have powerful enemies to fight; we need to be united and on board and laboring together; yet look at how much of David’s energies were devoted to civil wars and infighting
2. Exalted
“Thou hast kept me as head of the nations”
We don’t have to worry about exalting ourselves
3. Served
“A people whom I have not known serve me.”
4. Obeyed
“Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me”
5. Submitted to
“Foreigners lose heart,
And come trembling out of their fortresses.”
(:47-51) CONCLUSION: HYMN OF PRAISE
Repeated Refrain of Praise surrounded by 3 Blessings of God’s Love, Power, and Protection – we are secure in God’s Love
Good to be secure – who cares what others think of us …
A. (:47) Refrain of Praise
“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be God the rock of my salvation”
I serve a living Savior; He’s in the world today
B. (:48) Blessing #1: God Executes Vengeance for Me
“The God who executes vengeance for me,
And brings down peoples under me.”
C. (:49, 51a) Blessing #2: God Delivers Me from my Enemies
“Who also brings me out from my enemies;
Thou dost even lift me above those who rise up against me;
Thou dost rescue me from the violent man.
“He is a tower of deliverance to His king.”
D. (:50) Refrain of Praise
“Therefore I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Thy name.”
E. (:51b) Blessing #3: God Shows Lovingkindness to His People
“And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever”
Deffinbaugh: Is David safe and secure because God is his refuge? Yes. In this final verse, David reveals that his confidence and security is much more long-lasting than just during his own lifetime. He knows that as God has shown lovingkindness to him, He will show it to his descendants, and thus these blessings of which he has spoken are eternal. God has not only kept His promise to David, protecting him from those who would destroy him, and establishing his throne, God will also install the One who fulfills the Davidic Covenant, God’s anointed One, the Messiah.
Blaikie:
IV. References to particular acts of God’s goodness in various parts of his life, interspersed with reflections of the Divine character, from all which the assurance is drawn that that goodness would be continued to him and his successors, and would secure through coming ages the welfare and extension of the kingdom. And here we observe what is so common in the Psalms: a gradual rising above the idea of a mere earthly kingdom; the type passes into the antitype; the kingdom of David melts, as in a dissolving view, into the kingdom of the Messiah; thus a more elevated tone is given to the song, and the assurance is conveyed to every believer that as God protected David and his kingdom, so shall He protect and glorify the kingdom of His Son for ever.
Mittelstaedt: When life is hard, we are to remember that the Lord is our Strength. Those who don’t know David that well often picture him as a man of superhuman strength. He is spoken of a the young man who single-handedly slew the giant Goliath. The truth is that David was by no means strong in himself. The key to David’s strength and greatness was that he allowed the Lord to be his strength. “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and enables me to stand on the heights. . . You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.” How like God, to bend low and lift us up, so that when we are at our weakest point we are the strongest, all because of him. David’s experience was that of the Apostle Paul, who wrote: “I can do all everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).