Lesson 19: Stand Victorious (2)
Read Psalm 40 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/psa.40

In Psalm 40:6-8 the statement is made that God has not required burnt offerings and sin offerings. How can this be since in Leviticus we find all manner of offerings required of the people of Israel? Obviously, since the Bible cannot contradict itself, we must look deeper into this statement to see its true meaning. We go back to verse 1 and find David waiting on God. He is in distress as he waits, but finds himself singing praise to God anyway. In verses 4 and 5 we find trust in God taking priority over his fears. Now, when we look at verses 6 through 8, we see a change has happened in David's heart. With this change comes the understanding that what God wanted in the first place was not a blind sacrifice but instead a willing obedience – God looks at the heart, not at the person's action (1 Samuel 16:7).

This is also the basis for Peter's action in Acts 5:29 where Peter and John were commanded by the religious leaders of their day that they were not to follow certain actions again. The penalty for doing so, they were told, was death. But Peter told them he had to obey God instead of man. This was not a "had to" that God had compelled him to do; instead it was a "had to" of his choice. Peter considered obedience to God more important than obedience to man not because of who could give him the greater reward, but because of whom he trusted more.


This brings us to the question of our motivation for obedience. In the Old Testament we see the word "fear" many times in the relationship between man and God. This is not the kind of fear we would encounter, for example, if we were in a zoo where a tiger had broken out of his cage and we came face to face with the growling beast on the path. The "fear of the Lord" is something many people today have almost lost because we want to make God more approachable. True “fear of the Lord” is a deep and abiding and overpowering awe and respect for God. It is reverence. How many of us today live without any kind of healthy hero-worship? It has become a difficult concept. It is, however, one we need to reinstate into our lives. We need this kind of hero-worship for God.

We need to love God in this way. John 14:21 tells us the person who loves God loves with obedience. This kind of love is worship in action, worship that never requires a single reward but to be allowed to remain close to the person, being allowed to serve this person. And, of course, the only person who is truly worthy of such worship is God.

*How have you put your worship of God into action?