This is the name the Apostle Paul used for God's most excellent ones in the earth.
In whom is all His delight according to Psalm 16:3. I was amazed to see this verse in the Old Testament. I knew the church epistles made reference to the born again believers as the saints in every one of the seven books written by the apostle Paul.
However, I did not remember seeing believers called saints before Jesus Christ.
God exhorts us to delight in Him, so He can give us the desires of our hearts.
Psalm 37:4-5 4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
He wants us to seek Him diligently with our whole hearts.
Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
David also says he has set the Lord before him; and because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Acts 2:25-28 25Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Peter shares that a result of being unmovable, David's heart rejoiced and his tongue was glad. His flesh was able to rest in hope because he knew God was faithful to HIS WORD. He also had the ways of life revealed unto him, and he exclaims that having the Lord's face before him prepared Him for the fullness of joy to come. In anticipation of him actually seeing Our Lord face to face, he had the hope burning in his heart, and in the forefront of his mind. His heart was fixed trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
Let's do a review of the loving greetings in the church epistles by the apostle Paul.
All we ever needed to do to become saints is to confess Romans 10:9 & 10. However, it's our obedience to God's word that makes us "saintly."
A true saint is one whom God's light shines through. We need to put off the old if we are to be truly authentic and useful for God. A good way to be sure is to take an obstacle inventory... Gossip, slander, greed, boasting, bitterness, abuse, anger, selfishness and revenge have to go! These all close the hearts of those close to us.
Let's put on Romans 16:2 humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity of spirit in the bond of peace; obedience and perseverance. This is how we replace our faults with the winsome ways of Jesus Christ, our only example of being "saintly." Followers of Our Lord can be most effective for God when our attitudes and actions are aligned with His. Let's do our part and be lifting our hearts to God in prayer daily with thankfulness that our lives can be credible and we are making a real impact.
Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
We see Paul's exhortation to the believers to be able to live soberly,righteously, and godly in the light of Christ's certain return, which should be our motivator. I know believing appropriates if we are living in the spirit of prayer; and love activates by manifesting the love of God towards all; and no doubt the hope Is the true motivating factor as we do keep looking for the Lord's return.
There is nothing I enjoy more than taking time to sit with my bible, inviting my Daddy "please come and sit with me because I love to spend time with you".
He begins to teach me that loneliness is simply a space where He has not been.
Invited, I know our Father loves to spend time with us! God wants us to seek His will in everything; and in order to know His will we must spend time with Him. We need to be enjoying His presence, which is not a commandment, rather a delightful privilege. He will show us the path of life, truly in His presence is fullness of Joy. He wants us to share in the pleasures forevermore, at his right hand.
Psalm 16:111 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
I myself believe so much in solitude being one of God's most precious gifts;especially in a world that is way too busy, too noisy and too crowded, with too many demands and distractions. So I do lovingly exhort you to get blessed byputting off the world, and start having these DAILY TALKS WITH GOD so we can be more spiritually connected to Our Daddy because:
WE ARE HIS SAINTS WHO ARE HIS MOST EXCELLENT IN WHOM IS ALL HIS DELIGHT! ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NLT indicates the New Living Translation, NAS indicates the New American Standard version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, NJB means the New Jerusalem Bible, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.