I Need Thee Every Hour
Introduction:
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
-Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV
Putting off the old self…putting on the new self. This will be a central theme in service this week. Sometimes I wish this was just a one-time thing. Put off the old self and we’re good to go! But what I’ve realized is that this is a continuous action we must take. No matter how ‘good’ I think things are going…The old self always seems to try and creep back in. Day to day, moment to moment…this can be a constant struggle.
So, what can we do to ‘put on the new self’ and make this a daily action? There are two things we will focus on in this devotional to help ground ourselves. The first comes from a hymn that we will be singing this Sunday. You probably know it…
I need Thee ev’ry hour,
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill.
The second comes directly from Scripture. Let’s dive in…
Devotional:
Blessed is the man[a]
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away. -Psalm 1:1-4 ESV
Compare these two phrases. ‘I need thee every hour’ and ‘on his law he meditates day and night’. What do the lyrics to this hymn and Psalm 1 have in common? We constantly need the Word of God.
We live not by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt 4:3-4). This must be our pursuit every hour, day and night. The moment we let go and think we are covered, is the moment that we give the ‘old self’ an opportunity to creep back in.
In Psalm 1 we see a contrast between the righteous man vs. the wicked man. We could almost call it the old self vs the new self. The key action of the righteous man is in verse 2.
but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night. -Psalm 1:2 ESV
This word translated in English as ‘law’ is the Hebrew word Torah. While this can refer to the Old Testament law given at Sinai, it is much more than that. The word also means instruction or teaching and can also refer to the 5 books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). What protestant Bibles typically refer to as the Pentateuch, The Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) refers to these 5 books as the Torah. So, when we talk about meditating on the law, day and night…we can simply think about this as meditating on the whole of the Scriptures, since later the word law comes to refer to the law, prophets and writings of Scripture.
In the context of Psalm 1, this is especially an important reminder to the king. In fact, this was commanded much earlier in the book of Deuteronomy in the laws regarding kings of Israel…
“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by[c] the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. -Deuteronomy 17:18-20 ESV
God later repeats this instruction to Joshua as leader of Israel…
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. -Joshua 1:8 ESV
There is a clear pattern here in Scripture. To walk righteously, to put off the old self…we must have a constant focus on God’s Word. The more we hear God’s voice, the less opportunity we give for other voices to sneak in and pull us away. Whose voice are we listening to?
If this is our focus day after day, then we will see a result. What is that result?
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. – Psalm 1:3 ESV
We become like a tree planted by streams of water. Always nourished, never withering. Producing fruit. When we produce good fruit, we become a blessing to those around us!
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. -John 15:5 ESV
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. -John 15:8 ESV
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.
– Proverbs 11:30 ESV
Call to action:
Every moment of every day, we have a decision to make. Will we put on the new self? If so, then let’s start by diving into Scripture! Read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it throughout the day (every hour). When we do this faithfully, we are nourished. When we are nourished, we start to bear good fruit. When we start to bear good fruit, we share that fruit with others. We become a blessing to the world around us! Thus, fulfilling the Great Commission…Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20 ESV
Sean Wagner