“Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble….” (Psalm 107:2 ESV).
We are currently busy with opening a golf retreat venue in Alabama. We named it The Master’s Inn. We did not steal the name from Augusta. The Master is Jesus Himself.
To explain the Retreat experience, we produced a two minute video (www.themastersinn.org) which explains some of the “R” words that are possibilities if you come to The Master’s Inn.
We start with Retreat, but many more flood into the mind. Rest. Relax. Recreate. Rejoice. Restore. Renew. Reflect. Revive. Rebuild. Reconcile. Reconsider. Refill. Repair. Remember. Remain. Retire. Refire. Return. Reconnect. Recenter. Receive. Recalibrate. Repent. Resettle. Reveal. Respond. Rescue. Maybe even Resurrection…
But the great patriarch Job would have probably argued that the best “R” word is REDEEM, or even better, REDEEMER. In fact, he may have written his famous and ancient book to make sure we know this great word. Listen to what Job says: “Oh that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! Oh,that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth!” (Job 19:23-25 ESV).
The legal dictionary tells us “redeem” is a concept in commercial law, but of course, in our world of faith, it has something to do with being delivered from sin and its consequences, even in the Old Testament. Job loved his Redeemer long before the historical death and resurrection of Jesus.
As we enter into this Lenten season, we agree with Job and celebrate that our Redeemer lives!
But how will people know this great truth? Well, the Psalmist makes it simple.
“Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has Redeemed from trouble.” (Psalm 107:2 ESV).
Have you been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, as the old hymn says? The psalmist tells us to “say so”.
The NLT says it this way, “Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!” The NIV says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.”
Maybe you are timid of heart and don’t like to talk much. You don’t see yourself as an ‘evangelist’. Perhaps you are a quiet soul. But I would argue, even if you are quiet and don’t like to talk much – “Let the redeemed of the Lord say something!”
God’s plan to tell His Story is for followers like us to tell our story. Or at least tell someone else’s story. On the golf course, it may be something simple like, “Did you hear what Scottie Scheffler said in his interview after he won the British Open?”
Sadly, many church-goers are what I call “Miranda Christians”. You know the spiel if you’ve watched too many cop shows, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you…” Our world is full of these silent Christians, afraid of others’ opinions or fear of being seen as a loud-mouth Jesus freak. There is even a bone-chilling passage, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, which states that “many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” (John 12:42-43 ESV).
Listen carefully. Believers in Jesus do NOT have the right to remain silent. Indeed, Romans 10 gives us the simplest definition of salvation. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-10).
It is a two-part test! Believe in your heart? OK. Now, say something!
Declare with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord”. This sounds intimidating for many, but maybe our silence is just a sign that this ‘good news’ hasn’t been all that good for you.
If you’re a golfer, try this. Can you imagine being up-close and in person when Bubba Watson hooked his wedge out of the trees in the playoff to win the Masters? Wouldn’t you spend the rest of your life saying, “I was there. Let me tell you what I saw.” How would you not ‘say something’?
Or perhaps an example from my old days as a lawyer. What if you were unfairly accused of a crime, but after many years of facing the possibility of prison, a Judge or Jury finally said, “Not Guilty”, and you walked out of the courtroom as a free man, how would you not “say something”? You would praise your redeemer, whoever it might be.
And so, we are the recipients of some really Good News, called the gospel. Jesus is Lord, and He has given us life. Now, our role in God’s plan to redeem the world is to at least “Say Something”.
Today, I invite you to remember that you are Redeemed. Now, go “Say Something to Someday”.
PS. To add some humor to this subject, listen to my friend Milton Crabapple.