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2 episodes with psalm david
2 episodes with psalm david
2 episodes with psalm david
2 episodes with psalm david
2 episodes with psalm david
When Abraham was 99 years old an angel representing the Almighty visited Abram and Sarai and gave the covenant of circumcision and told them that their names were to be changed. Abram's name was changed to Abraham; and Sarai's to Sarah. Abram meant "lofty father" and Abraham was "father of a multitude" - emblematic of the promise of Genesis 12:3; ie of all nations in the world. The divine name of Yahweh is 4 letters in the Hebrew YHWH (called the Tetragrammaton). So both Abraham and Sarah become "heirs together in the grace of life" (1 Peter 2:7); by the addition of the 5th letter in the Hebrew alphabet, signifying "grace". It was when human worth and generative capability was repudiated that God could now work through Abraham and Sarah to produce the "promised seed"; the heir of the promises. The chapter concludes with the circumcision of Abraham and every male in his household. Abraham was, as we said, 99 and Ishmael 13 (the age at which Islamic boys are circumcised). Chapter 18 says Abraham and Sarah were visited by 3 men, who are in fact angels - unbeknown to Abraham and Sarah (prompting Paul's comments in Hebrews 13:2). Eastern hospitality was shown and the angels prophesy Isaac's birth which means "laughter". He was so named because Sarah initially refused belief; but, later in faith tells us that she conceived when she believed - Hebrews 11:11. After this Abraham walked with the angels towards the place of impending judgment - Sodom. They tell Abraham of their intentions, because of Abraham's faithfulness - slowly read aloud the words of verses 17-19; and pause and ponder. How wonderful that the LORD so knows each us. But has he foreseen diligence and faithfulness in our dealings with our families? Abraham enters into negotiations with the name bearing angel to spare Sodom, where his nephew Lot and his family lived. Abraham finally stopped pleading for the city to be spared should there be 10 righteous people in the city. He must have been confident of this given the vast numbers of Lot's "ecclesia" in Genesis 13.Psalm 19 is a magnificent example of Hebrew poetry; which speaks of the wonders of the Almighty's creative hand evident in the stars; and our sun in particular. Hayden's Creation Hymn draws thoughts from this Psalm - "the unwearied sun from day to day doth His Creator's power display ...". Surely when we gaze upon the night sky, as Abram was asked to do in Genesis 15, we are caused to wonder at the awesome power on display (Genesis 1 says he just scattered the stars from His hand). On day 4 the sun was appointed to rule the day - emblematic of the sun of righteousness (Malachi 4; Matthew 13:43). Verse 3 tells us that the universal message is that there must be an Omnipotent Creator (Romans 1:20); and they = Sun, moon and star - symbolically proclaim the gospel message (Romans10:18). In the Psalm David says, that the sun is like a strong man running a race; it is also like a bridegroom - the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3). The Psalm finishes by exhorting the reader to contemplate the sweetness and preciousness of God's Word; and its saving power.Psalm 20 continues the theme of trusting in Yahweh's saving strength. This might is in no horse; no battle weapon; no man. But it has been consistently and dependably exercised by God in the cause of delivering the faithful.Psalm 21 is a Messianic Psalm in which the LORD's strength and salvation is evident in his chosen king - the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no salvation in any other name (Acts 4:12). read more here.. https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-bible-readings-for-january-9th-genesis-17-18-psalms-19-20-21-matthew-11/ Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team and produced by Christa delphian video .org
Bible readings for January January 9th (Genesis 17, 18; Psalms 19, 20, 21; Matthew 11) When Abraham was 99 years old an angel representing the Almighty visited Abram and Sarai and gave the covenant of circumcision and told them that their names were to be changed. Abram's name was changed to Abraham; and Sarai's to Sarah. Abram meant "lofty father" and Abraham was "father of a multitude" - emblematic of the promise of Genesis 12:3; ie of all nations in the world. The divine name of Yahweh is 4 letters in the Hebrew YHWH (called the Tetragrammaton). So both Abraham and Sarah become "heirs together in the grace of life" (1 Peter 2:7); by the addition of the 5th letter in the Hebrew alphabet, signifying "grace". It was when human worth and generative capability was repudiated that God could now work through Abraham and Sarah to produce the "promised seed"; the heir of the promises. The chapter concludes with the circumcision of Abraham and every male in his household. Abraham was, as we said, 99 and Ishmael 13 (the age at which Islamic boys are circumcised). Chapter 18 says Abraham and Sarah were visited by 3 men, who are in fact angels - unbeknown to Abraham and Sarah (prompting Paul's comments in Hebrews 13:2). Eastern hospitality was shown and the angels prophesy Isaac's birth which means "laughter". He was so named because Sarah initially refused belief; but, later in faith tells us that she conceived when she believed - Hebrews 11:11. After this Abraham walked with the angels towards the place of impending judgment - Sodom. They tell Abraham of their intentions, because of Abraham's faithfulness - slowly read aloud the words of verses 17-19; and pause and ponder. How wonderful that the LORD so knows each us. But has he foreseen diligence and faithfulness in our dealings with our families? Abraham enters into negotiations with the name bearing angel to spare Sodom, where his nephew Lot and his family lived. Abraham finally stopped pleading for the city to be spared should there be 10 righteous people in the city. He must have been confident of this given the vast numbers of Lot's "ecclesia" in Genesis 13. Psalm 19 is a magnificent example of Hebrew poetry; which speaks of the wonders of the Almighty's creative hand evident in the stars; and our sun in particular. Hayden's Creation Hymn draws thoughts from this Psalm - "the unwearied sun from day to day doth His Creator's power display ...". Surely when we gaze upon the night sky, as Abram was asked to do in Genesis 15, we are caused to wonder at the awesome power on display (Genesis 1 says he just scattered the stars from His hand). On day 4 the sun was appointed to rule the day - emblematic of the sun of righteousness (Malachi 4; Matthew 13:43). Verse 3 tells us that the universal message is that there must be an Omnipotent Creator (Romans 1:20); and they = Sun, moon and star - symbolically proclaim the gospel message (Romans10:18). In the Psalm David says, that the sun is like a strong man running a race; it is also like a bridegroom - the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3). The Psalm finishes by exhorting the reader to contemplate the sweetness and preciousness of God's Word; and its saving power. Psalm 20 continues the theme of trusting in Yahweh's saving strength. This might is in no horse; no battle weapon; no man. But it has been consistently and dependably exercised by God in the cause of delivering the faithful. Psalm 21 is a Messianic Psalm in which the LORD's strength and salvation is evident in his chosen king - the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no salvation in any other name (Acts 4:12). Matthew 11 shows the sorely tested John the Baptist in Herod's prison seeking reassurance of the Messiahship of Jesus Christ. Disciples return to John with the evidence that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and the fulfilment of Isaiah 42 and 61. Our Lord then testified of John's greatness, being second only to Messiah and a prophet on an unwavering mission. His abstemious and aloof behaviour was as appropriate and necessary among society as was Jesus' preparedness to involve himself among those he was saving. Next follows a denunciation of those unrepentant cities for closing their eyes to the evidence of Messiah's work. Finally an appeal to each and everyone of us to join with Jesus, who will carry us into his glorious kingdom if we join him in bearing his yoke, which is described as easy (the Greek word being "Chrestos" ie kindly, or imparting benefit to the bearer). Pause, read aloud verses 28-30 and meditate. Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team and produced by Christa delphian video .org
Psalm 69 Worksheet We come now to the _______________________ Psalm in Book 2 of the Psalms, the 9th longest Psalm of the 150 in the Psalter. The Heading tells us it was written by David for the Chief Musician to use in worship, and like Psalm 45 set to “the lilies.” The Hebrew word for lilies is Shoshannim, which could also refer to a six-stringed instrument. We see in David's lament and prayer a sense that after suffering there will be ______________________, and many words in this Psalm are referred to in the New Testament about things Christ went through, making it a Messianic Psalm. Read Psalm 69 What does David compare his suffering to in verses 1-2? It makes you wonder whether David as a shepherd boy or soldier had ever been caught up in flood conditions and experienced their devastation. David had cried tears until he was wore out, and his throat has gotten sore from crying out for deliverance, but it had not come. The last part may be a way of saying, “I'm dying here hoping for God to save me” (Verse 3). Jesus quoted verse 4 in reference to Himself in John 15:25. Verse 5 makes us think of the omniscience of God – God _____________________ our foolishness and our sins are not hidden from Him. In the Psalm David will appeal to God for mercy (v. 13) and lovingkindness (v. 16). I like David's train of thought – “God, you know I am a sinner; I know you receive repentant sinners who cry out to you!” John may have been thinking of Psalm 69:8 when he wrote in John 7:3-5 that even Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him. And John definitely quoted verse 9 about Jesus' zeal for the purity of Temple worship. A lot of David's suffering also parallels Job's suffering. Job 19:13-15; Job 17:6 compared to Psalm 69:11 Despite the ____________________________ of even family and the mocking of drunkards, David appeals to God's mercy. I hope part of what you do during the week is _____________________ for people with heavy hearts who think no one cares like David describes himself (verse 20). May we say to someone this week in word and deed, “I care, and God cares.” All four gospels cite verse 21 as they record the events of Golgotha/ Calvary (Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; Luke 23:36; John 19:28-30). Several of the curses on the wicked are referred to in the New Testament. Verses 22-23 are used by Paul in Romans 11:9-10 as Paul speaks of God's vindication of a godly _________________________ who believe as opposed to “the rest” who were blinded. Jesus also used verse 23 in reference to the generation that rejected Him (Matt. 23:38; Luke 13:35). Who did Peter apply verse 25 to in Acts 1:20? Verse 26 is an interesting allusion to God's sovereignty: “They persecute the ones You have struck.” It makes us think of how God ___________________________ Job's sufferings, but his ‘friends' interpreted that suffering as sin-based and ‘persecuted him.' Of course it also makes us think of Jesus, slain before the foundation of the world (1 Pet.1:20; Rev. 13:8). Genesis 50:20 Romans 8:28 Craig Gilreath – “Nothing happens to me that doesn't first come across God's desk!” Verse 28 is another reference to the Book of Life. Those in “right standing” with God through faith will be in the Book and are citizens of Heaven, the wicked who _________________________ God will not be (Rev. 20:11-15). Let your testimony be the same as verse 29 – That's what happened to Jesus – God the Son, the Son of Man returns to Heaven after suffering with glorified human flesh! The last 7 verses go from the suffering of the “cross” to the triumph of “________________________.” In these last verses the meek, the weak, the needy and despised who know the Lord are all vindicated! Verse 32 is a good verse to underline, circle, and continually meditate on! Verse 34 makes us think of Romans 8:21 and Acts 3:19-21.
In this Psalm David preaches truth to his own heart and calls upon all creation to, “Bless the Lord”. As David delights in God, he expresses spontaneous thanksgiving and unbounded praise for God's merciful and abundant blessings. In doing so, David traces a pathway of praise and worship for us, as he invites us to join him in this discovery of unbelievable grace.
In this Psalm David preaches truth to his own heart and calls upon all creation to, “Bless the Lord”. As David delights in God, he expresses spontaneous thanksgiving and unbounded praise for God's merciful and abundant blessings. In doing so, David traces a pathway of praise and worship for us, as he invites us to join him in this discovery of unbelievable grace.
In this very well known Psalm David is worshiping God by recalling how He has protected and provided for him as shepherd. David reminds us of God's character to help us as needy sheep and points us to Jesus as our Good Shepherd.
David challenges his readers to assess their lives. In Psalm 1, David writes a contrast between a blessed man and a cursed man. Through the Psalm David is challenging the reader to complete a comprehensive assessment of their entire life to see their standing before God. A blessed man is one who follows, in obedience, Jesus' teaching and wants to please God.… The post A Life to be Envied, Part 1| A Life to be Envied appeared first on Pillar of Truth Radio.
David is a fugitive from Saul who has set David in his sites with the objective of killing him. Even the Ziphites - his own countrymen - have disclosed his hiding place to Saul. Earthly resources and human recourses have failed David.In the 54th Psalm David appeals to the name of God who, in the words of John Calvin - is "the saints' last asylum." The Psalm uses three names for God which provide the comfort we need when earthly comforts fail.
David challenges our human tendency to want to take on more responsibility than we can handle. When we don't know our limits it leads to stress, weariness, and frustration. In this Psalm David shows us how to have calm and quiet souls.
We can be confident that we will never be put to shame with God reigning over us. ~~~ As we think about the events of 1 Samuel 21 that we have been studying, we should also consider Psalm 34. This psalm, it is believed was written about 1 Samuel 21, in particular when David when to Gath in the latter portion of the chapter. And he is looking back on that event and saying, “It wasn't my so called wisdom and smarts that delivered me. It was God.” In that Psalm David exclaims: Oh magnify the LORD with me, let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look on him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. Oh taste and see that the LORD is good” Think about that line “their faces shall never be ashamed” and remember back to David bringing shame on himself by drooling all over his face and beard. What David ultimately realizes is that even though that may have been a foolish feat, God's people will never be put to ultimate shame because God is a faithful deliverer.
Psalm David wrote upon fleeing Absalom
"I Will Call Upon the Lord" • Psalm 18:3-19 Part 2 - Today, we continue our look at this Psalm David wrote about his cry to the Lord for help when Saul and his men were trying to kill him. In part two of this sermon, we take a look behind the curtain of heaven to see what happens when one of God's precious children calls out to Him for help. Not only does God science heaven to listen to prayer, He hears the prayer and responds! This message was preached on Sunday, November 26, 2023.
“I Will Call Upon the Lord” • Psalm 18:3-19 Part 2 – Today, we continue our look at this Psalm David wrote about his cry to the Lord for help when Saul and his men were trying to kill him. In part two of this sermon, we take a look behind the curtain of heaven to see what happens when one of God's precious children calls out to Him for help. Not only does God science heaven to listen to prayer, He hears the prayer and responds! This message was preached on Sunday, November 26, 2023.
“I Will Call Upon the Lord” • Psalm 18:3-19 Part 1 – Today, we continue our look at this Psalm David wrote about his cry to the Lord for help when Saul and his men were trying to kill him. In part one of this sermon, we will see that we can have confidence that God will answer our prayers because He is our loving Heavenly Father. Further, we will get a glimpse of how important our prayers are to God. This message was preached on Sunday, November 26, 2023.
Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. Throughout this Psalm David gives praise and thanksgiving to the only true God.
CRBC
Psalm 22, 23, & 24 form a beautiful trilogy… called the Shepherd Psalms: In Psalm 22 Jesus is The Great Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep (Hebrews 13:20). In Psalm 23 Jesus is The Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep (John 10:14). In Psalm 24, Jesus is The Chief Shepherd who is coming back to be with His sheep (1 Peter 5:1-4). We are going to examine these Psalms one episode at a time. This episode is focued on Psalm 22. In this Psalm David opens his heart about his experience in suffering from adversaries that actually predict Jesus experience of suffering on the cross. This psalm actually has some very good news for us!
Psalm 36 Worksheet David is called the ________________________ of the Lord in both Psalm 18 and 36! In this Psalm David contrasts wicked and sinful people with the ________________________ and Righteous God. The truth about the wicked person's ________________ for God V. 1-4 The Hebrew word for Oracle is Na'um (H 5002), which occurs 358 times in the Old Testament. It mostly occurs in the prophets, with only 2 uses in Psalms, here and in the very important Psalm 110:1. It carries the force of a “______________________.” Notice the progression the wicked goes through: First, the wicked person doesn't _________________________ God. Second, the wicked person's lack of fearing God leads to sinful _______________________. Third, the wicked person's sinful pride leads them to ______________________ their sin. Fourth, by God's perfect standard the wicked is unwise and given over to _____________ ways. The truth about God's _________________ for man and beast V. 5-9 What Hebrew word do you think is the word for mercy in verse 5? Hesed appears __________________ times in this Psalm Verses 5 and 6 ____________________ God's steadfast love, His faithfulness, His righteousness, and His justice. Verses 7-9 call us to trust and be _____________________ with this great God! David speaks here as one who stays close enough to God to know Him as his ______________. In verse 8 David connects being close enough to God to being close to what? God's _________. I love how often David anticipates being with God forever as experiencing _________________! Psalm 16:9-11 Psalm 27:4, 13 Verse 9 beautifully summarizes how David viewed God – as his ____________ of Life and Light! A beautiful little prayer for God's __________________ and protection V. 10-12 A person who fears God will have God as their standard of righteousness and seek to live as an ____________________ person. What does David pray he will be kept from in verse 11? ____________________
Psalm 86 is a “Prayer of David”. Several times throughout this Psalm David mentions that he is experiencing a time of trouble (v. 7). It appears that the source of this trouble is from proud people who have “risen up against him” (v. 14). Whoever these proud people are we don't know, but they have also incited a “mob of violent men” who were seeking to kill him, and they had no regard for God or His ways (v. 14). What do you do when you are overwhelmed with trouble and when the world has come crashing in around you? Who do you turn to for help and deliverance when you are helpless and feel hopeless? David turned his thoughts and prayer to the Lord, and we should do the same. At least twice in this prayer David mentions that “God is gracious and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon Him” (vv. 5, 15). In verse 8, David declares, "There is none like you!" This is the confession of a man who truly knows God and remembered Israel's confession in Exodus 15:11 when the people of Israel were hemmed in between the armies of Pharoah and the Red Sea. "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?” During ten years of exile in the wilderness of Judea, David had learned much about God's character and the way He worked in the lives of His people. No doubt he spent much time reading the Torah and meditating on God's Word and promises. David believed that God is great in who He is and what He does, and the false gods of all the nations are nothing. In spite of his present troubles, it is interesting that David becomes a prophet according to Acts 2:30 and saw the day coming when all the nations would enter the Messianic kingdom (v. 9; see Rev. 15:3-4). As David closes this Psalm and prayer, he recognizes the reality of his situation and his enemies. David's enemies were proud of themselves and their abilities, violent, and totally ignorant of and indifferent to the God of Israel. But David looked away from them to the Lord who had saved and guided him all his life. David is possibly quoting from Exodus 34:6 in verse 15. “And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth”. God repeats this phrase time and time again in Scripture: (Psalms 86:5; 103:8-13; 116:5; 145:8; Neh. 9:17; and Jonah 4:2.) The apostle Paul tells us that knowing these attributes of God ought to lead people to repentance (Rom. 2:4). "The son of your handmaid" (v. 16) means "your devoted servant" (116:16; Ruth 2:13, 3:9; 1 Sam. 1:11, 12, 18). Children born to servants were considered especially faithful since they were brought up in the master's household (Gen. 14:14). Since David was the Lord's faithful servant, it was his Master's duty to protect and deliver him (Psalm 143:11-12). David finished his prayer by asking that the Lord would “show him a sign for good.” David wanted that deliverance to bring glory to the Lord and to demonstrate to the nations that Jehovah alone was God. It wasn't just warfare, it was witness, a "sign" of the goodness of the Lord to David. It was his way of praying, "Hallowed be Thy name" (Matt. 6:9). When our requests are in God's will and glorify His name, we can be sure He will answer. Today, if we want to really experience the graciousness, longsuffering, goodness, and mercy of the Lord all we need to do is go to the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ! “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” My friend, our God is still “longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth”! You can trust Him to forgive and help you today! God bless!
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need. Philippians 4:19 And My God Will Meet All Your Needs According To The Riches Of His Glory In Christ Jesus.There Is Not A Need On Earth That God Has Not Already Provided For, Before There Was Thirst There Was Water Before There Was Hunger There Was BreadIn this Psalm David tells us that He has everything he needs and then goes on to tell us all that the Lord providesThanks for joining us as Pastor Art provides a more in depth look at this very familiar passage of scripture Support the showThanks for joining us!
“Oh, That I Could Repent” • Psalm 6 – Part 2 Elder Bryce Lowrance – Today's episode is the conclusion of the message on Psalm 6. In this Psalm David acknowledges his sin and the fact that he needs to be chastised. He does not ask for no punishment at all, but he does ask to be chastised according the love that God has for him. He does not cry out that his punishment is unfair nor does he cry for justice. David relies solely on the love and merciful kindness of God. This message was preached on Sunday, September 5, 2021.
Psalm - David's prayer for victory over enemies. Praise for deliverance. A cry of anguish and a song of praise. John - Parable of the Good Shepherd. Jesus asserts His Diety.
Psalm - David's prayer of confession for his sinfulness, seeks forgiveness. Nathan confronts David. John - For God So Loved the World.
Psalm 27 Wait patiently for the Lord. Songs For Saints: Weekly Psalm Devotions It's easy to feel unsafe, insecure, in our world. There is so much uncertainty. In this Psalm David shows us where he feels most safe - and it is in the presence of God, making him the priority of his life. You too can find a fresh confidence and faith as you meditate on what God has to say to you through this psalm. Psalms express every experience of life, every emotion and situation human beings can face They point us to the God who made us and loves us. And give glimpses of Jesus and the hope and life he offers us. Blessings, Philip https://sixthirtythree.co.uk
"Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!" But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.” What a wonderful Psalm to reflect and meditate on as often as we can. I find that it relates to us in so many ways. In the first five verses of this Psalm David is looking back and remembering how the LORD brought him up out of a horrible pit and out of the miry clay and set his feet upon a rock and established his steps (v. 2). As he reflects on God's wonderful works (v. 5), he realizes that he can't begin to count them and is encouraged to always put his trust in the LORD (vv. 3-4), and he has a new song to sing every day (v. 3)! In the middle verses (vv. 6-10), David looks up in worship with the “great assembly” and is reminded that God wants our hearts and devotion more than He wants our sacrifices, no matter how great or many they might be. David is actually prophesying of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who will come in humility and obedience and Who delights to do the will of the Father (John 5:30; 6:38-40; 8:29; 12:49). David desired to proclaim God's good news of righteousness without any restraints to anyone and everyone who would listen (vv. 9-10)! Now in these last verses (vv. 11-17), David is looking within his own heart and realizes that he has a heart that is still filled with iniquities, sins, and failure. He is so overwhelmed with his shame and guilt that his heart fails him (v. 12). This should remind us no matter how close we might get to the Lord in our love and devotion, that we still have a long way to go! We never arrive spiritually! Paul makes this very clear in his epistles and in his own testimony. As you read the latter epistles of Paul, he seems to proclaim that he is the greatest of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul stated this best in Philippians 3:12-15, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” You will find that the closer you get to the LORD and His light, that the more sin you will see in your heart and life that you will need to confess and ask forgiveness for! We find this lesson in 1 John 1:7-10 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” Yes, David's life was filled with tremendous difficulties and trouble. Even though he was a man after God's own heart, he still had to deal with the hardships of life in a very deep and personal way. As he closes this chapter, he cries out that “he is poor and needy” and is in desperate need of the LORD's attention and of His help and deliverance (v. 17). Can you relate to this? I sure can, and I'm sure you can too! But what a great Psalm to encourage us to keep looking up to the LORD for our daily strength and sustenance! God bless!
"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” It seems like there are some lessons in life we must keep learning over and over again. As I read and think about the last verses of Psalm 30, I am reminded that one of the biggest problems, (probably the biggest), that I have is dealing with the sin of pride of my heart. It appears that this sin resurrects every morning when I wake up. This is what David is writing about in verses 6 through 10. This is where the story really began, for it was David's pride that made it necessary for the Lord to chasten him (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21-22). David said in verse 6: “Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." "Prosperity" means "careless ease, a carefree self-assurance because things are going so well." This is frequently the attitude of the unbeliever (Psalm 10:6; 73:12; Luke 12:16-21), but it is also a constant temptation to believers also. God had warned Israel about this very thing in Deuteronomy 8 just before they entered the Promise Land. One reason the Lord permits trials is that we might not get comfortable in our faith and stop growing. "I was at ease," said Job, "but He shattered me, and He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces: He has also set me up as His target" (Job 16:12). Prosperity without humility can lead to adversity. David's mountain, his kingdom, seemed strong, but the Lord showed David how weak he was. When God's face is shining upon us (Numbers 6:23-27), then we enjoy His rich blessings; but when we rebel, He may hide His face, and this causes trouble (Psalms 10:11; 13:1; 27:9; 88:14; Deut. 31:17-18; 32:20). The Hebrew word translated "troubled" describes "intense agony, terror, anguish." It's used in 1 Samuel 28:21 to describe King Saul's feelings in the house of the witch. David, knowing he had sinned, kept crying out to the Lord for mercy and even debated with Him. "Am I more useful to you in the grave than I am alive on earth? Can the dead praise you and serve you?" (Psalm 88:7-12; 115:17; Isa. 38:18-19.) David was a great king with a strong kingdom, but he was only dust, one short breath away from the grave. He humbled himself and confessed his sin, and the Lord mercifully forgave him and restored him. Seven times in this Psalm David wrote "You have" (vv. 1-3, 7, 11), bearing witness to the strong and gracious hand of the Lord working on his behalf. Even God's chastening of David was an expression of His love. We read in Hebrews 12:5-6: “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Once David knew he was forgiven and accepted, he moved from the funeral to the feast. He took off the sackcloth of sadness and put on the garments of gladness. In Scripture, a dramatic alteration of one's life was often marked by a change of clothing (Gen. 35:2; 41:14; 45:22; Ex. 19:10, 14; 2 Sam. 12:20; Luke 15:22). "My glory" means "my heart, my soul." David was singing to the Lord from the depths of his being. He realized that he would be singing praises to God forever (v. 12), so he wanted to start getting ready now! Every difficult experience of life, and David had many of them, is an opportunity to have a "pity party" or attend a rehearsal for singing in the choirs of heaven! We have a lifetime of grace (v. 5), to prepare us for an eternity of glory, where we will sing praises of thanksgiving forever (v. 12). How are you handling your adversity today? Pity or praise? It's your choice! God bless!
What do we do when we are praying for something and our non Christian friends know we are praying and yet God says no? Does that hurt God's reputation? Actually no because in today's Psalm David makes it clear that when we HOPE in our God we will never be put to shame and neither will He.
What do we do when we are praying for something and our non Christian friends know we are praying and yet God says no? Does that hurt God's reputation? Actually no because in today's Psalm David makes it clear that when we HOPE in our God we will never be put to shame and neither will He.
Who do you run to when you are afraid? David spent a significant portion of his life on the run. As a young man, he fled from King Saul (1 Sam. 21:10). In later years, after his son Absalom mounted a palace coup against him (2 Sam. 15:14), he hid in the wilderness. It is unclear when David wrote Psalm 27, but it may well have been early in his life. David’s wilderness experience taught him to see God as a stronghold (v. 1). A stronghold was a place one went for protection, perhaps a mountain cave or a fortress. It was during these wilderness times that David developed a strong personal relationship with God. David considered the Lord not only his defender but also his friend. In this Psalm David longs for the presence of the Lord. The experience of God’s presence was so important that he requests it in verse 4: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek.” His own heart tells him to seek God’s face, and he eagerly expresses his desire to do this very thing (v. 8). David’s friendship with God enabled him to speak boldly about his fears, desires, and hopes. But it is clear from the way David alternates between speaking to himself and addressing his audience that he is not saying these things for his benefit alone. What was true for David can also be true of us. When David speaks about seeking God’s face, he is using metaphorical language. David undoubtedly remembered that when Moses asked to see God, he was warned that no one could see God’s face and live (Ex. 33:20). What David longed for was to be in God’s presence. >> Are you feeling anxious? Alone? Scared? Through the Holy Spirit, you can experience the reality of God’s presence. When we pray, we sense God’s presence in a tangible way. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
In this exposition of Psalm 13, one of David's psalms of lament, Pastor Jesse Randolph walks his listeners through a Psalm that is best understood in terms of its three couplets. In the first couplet -vv. 1-2-, David laments. In the second couplet -vv. 3-4- - which is the turning point of the Psalm - David prays. And in the third couplet -vv. 5-6-, David praises. David's griefs turn to remembrance and joy. His blues song turns into a praise song. His shadows turn into sunshine. Psalm 13 is a wonderful encouragement to believers of all generations-particular in seasons of difficulty, pain, and sadness-when God may feel more distant than He actually is.
In this exposition of Psalm 13, one of David's psalms of lament, Pastor Jesse Randolph walks his listeners through a Psalm that is best understood in terms of its three couplets. In the first couplet -vv. 1-2-, David laments. In the second couplet -vv. 3-4- - which is the turning point of the Psalm - David prays. And in the third couplet -vv. 5-6-, David praises. David's griefs turn to remembrance and joy. His blues song turns into a praise song. His shadows turn into sunshine. Psalm 13 is a wonderful encouragement to believers of all generations-particular in seasons of difficulty, pain, and sadness-when God may feel more distant than He actually is.
“The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted." Psalm 18 is a great song of praise and victory! David writes this Psalm after he has finally been delivered from King Saul and been exalted to the throne of Israel as king. In this Psalm David is expressing his love to the LORD and is giving God the glory and praise for all that He has done in making him great! This Psalm is a great worship Psalm and should be read regularly. Remember David began this Psalm with a doxology: “I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies” (vv. 1-3). And David ends this worship Psalm with a doxology. “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted” (v. 46) David spoke first of his devotion to the Lord, then described his distress in the next few verses, and continued telling of how the Lord delivered him from his enemies (vv. 1-18). David teaches us in this Psalm that God blesses our obedience with His presence and power in our daily lives (vv. 19-27). That God equips us to face our enemies and perform service for Him when we submit to Him (vv. 28-45). And that God is glorified when we worship and praise Him (vv. 46-50). After looking back at God's gracious ministry to him, what else could David do but praise Him: “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted” (v. 46). Remember what John the Baptist declared after he met Jesus and baptized Him, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). David also reminds us that he didn't take things into his own hands but allowed the Lord to vindicate him when the time was right: “It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me”(v. 47) (Read 1 Samuel 24:1-7; 26:1-12; and Romans 12:17-21). David, as a prophet, could also see the future blessings on the Gentiles: “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name” (v. 49). It is interesting to note that Paul quoted verse 49 in Romans 15:9 and applied it to the Jews praising God among the Gentiles. In Romans 15:10-11, the Jews and Gentiles rejoice together, which was the result of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles. And then in Romans 15:12, Paul announces Jesus Christ reigning over both Jews and Gentiles (see Isa. 11:10). Paul wrote about this to the church of Ephesus with these words: “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-- that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:11-13). It is amazing that David saw this one thousand years before the Messiah was born! The psalm climaxes with David exalting the Lord for His covenant to him and to his descendants (v. 50; 2 Sam. 7). David used the word "forevermore", so he must have realized that it would be through the promised Messiah that the kingdom promises would be fulfilled. "And he shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). May the Lord help us to daily exalt and worship Him for His mercy to us through the Lord Jesus Christ! God bless!
“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me, So my feet did not slip." Psalm 18 is a great song and Psalm of praise and victory! David writes this Psalm after he has finally been delivered from King Saul and been exalted to the throne of Israel as king. In the early years of his reign, David experienced God subduing the nations around him and giving him great victories over them. In this Psalm David is expressing his love to the LORD and is giving God the glory and praise for all that He has done in making him great! One of the great lessons we learn from the life of David and his Psalms is humility. Before God can trust us with great authority, we must be willing to be a person under authority. David said that “God's gentleness had made him great” (v. 35). Though David was a man of war, he recognized that it was God's gentleness that made him what he was. The word “gentleness” here means "condescension. "God “condescended” from heaven to look down and call David (1 Sam. 16). God “condescended” to bend down and mold David (v. 35), and reach down and save David (v. 16); and then God lifted him up to the throne (vv. 39-45). This reminds us of what Jesus, the Son of David, did when He "stepped down" to come to earth as a servant and die for our sins. Philippians 2:5-11 says this so clearly: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In Mark 9:35, Jesus told His disciples and us also for that matter: “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Jesus also told them in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (NASB) We can learn from Jesus what it is to have a humble heart. Remember Jesus washed the disciple's feet as a servant just before He went to the cross! (John 13). Joseph had to learn the lesson of humility before he became the ruler of Egypt. He had dreamed that his dad and brothers would bow down to him but instead his brothers throw him into a pit, sell him into slavery, and he ends us in a prison in Egypt. Can you imagine his humiliation as he sits there in that prison and thinks about bragging to his brothers about his dreams. Can you imagine the humiliation of David after he had been anointed to be the next king, kills Goliath the giant, leads the armies of Israel, and becomes a national hero, then spends the next ten years of his life fleeing from King Saul like a fugitive. Yes my friend, God's “gentleness” is what teaches us what humility is, and how we can experience it as we turn to the Lord in the times of our trials and suffering. What is the Lord doing in your life right now? God bless!
In this Psalm David calls on God from the brink of death and despair, and yet finishes his song full of faith. His prayer consists of petitions, statements of faith, and arguments for why God should do what he asks.
Good morning, Cities Church. Great to be with you. This morning we've come to Psalm 55. This Psalm has some overlap with the Psalm we looked at last week, Psalm 54, which Pastor Jonathan preached from last Sunday.There are several similarities between the two Psalms, between Psalm 54 and 55, but the main thing that I'd like to highlight is that, in both Psalms, we see David preaching to himself, exhorting himself, reminding himself of various truths. Pastor Jonathan mentioned this. We saw David doing that in Psalm 54, and we'll see it again here in Psalm 55. So, I'm excited to examine this Psalm with you. Let's pray and then we'll dive into the text.Father in heaven, you are so kind. Your kindness blows me away, every time I think about it. It's remarkable. Oh God, Thank you. Thank you. Now I ask that you would be pleased to use your word and this sermon this morning to edify your people here. I pray that the truth we see in this Psalm would inspire us, and provoke us toward holiness. And I pray that every single one of us would walk out of this place this morning more confident in your sustaining love. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.In the opening verses of Psalm 55 we see David lamenting and crying out to God. David is facing a painful situation and he's crying out. Look at verses 1 and 2 with me: “Give ear to my prayer, O God,and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!Attend to me, and answer me…I am restless in my complaint and I moan," David, here, is asking God to listen, right? He says, “O God, give ear to my prayer…” and “…attend to me.” And He seems desperate. But then, he launches into why he desperately wants God to listen. Look at verse 3: "because of the noise of the enemy,because of the oppression of the wicked.For they drop trouble upon me…My heart is in anguish within me;the terrors of death have fallen upon me.Fear and trembling come upon me,and horror overwhelms me." So, apparently, there's a group of people coming after David — they want to “oppress” him, his heart is in “anguish” and he is overwhelmed by “horror.” Woah! Uh, this is intense. Now, there's something interesting here in these verses.When you examine these first few verses closely, you pick up on David's tone, he's feeling anxious, afraid, unsettled, frazzled, horrified, overwhelmed. It's sort of like he's saying, he's not sure he's going to make it.However, what we sense here is not the norm for David. Usually, when David cries out to God, he tends to speak with more courage, than this, because he knows that when he cried out to God, he knows God will listen. Listen to David elsewhere:In Psalm 4:3, “the LORD hears when I call to him.” In Psalm 33:18, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love...” In Psalm 34:15, David writes, “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry…” And there are many more. So, we see plenty of moments in Scripture where David speaks with courage, even when facing pain or suffering, not because he's confident in himself, but because he's confident in God, he's confident in God's ability to save him. There are many moments in Scripture when David approaches God with great confidence and courage!Now, that's not to say that David is always confident, there are certainly moments where he isn't as confident, however, those moments tend to be rare. Well, these early verses of Psalm 55, seem to be one of those rare moments, we can pick up on David's anxieties.John Calvin, the great 16th century pastor-theologian, picked up on this, in his commentary on this passage, here's what Calvin said: “From the language with which the psalm opens, we may conclude that David at this time was laboring under heavy distress. It could be no ordinary amount of [distress] [because it] produced such an overwhelming effect upon [David], a saint of his distinguished courage.” Calvin picks up on this, the language and tone from David here is unique from his other writings. Calvin says that David is usually a “saint” with “distinguished courage” but here, in this Psalm, David seems different. This tells us, that whatever David was facing, it must have been very bad. And throughout the rest of this Psalm, as we'll see, David explains why pain is so bad, he gives us a vivid and intense description of the anguish he is feeling, there's a sense of devastation that David is feeling.It's, as if, there's been some violence that's been done to his soul. That's how he's feeling! From verse 6 thru verse 11, David is talking about this group of wicked people that are after him, they're wreaking havoc on the city, and he's asking God to stop this madness, he asks God to stop them, in verse 9 he asks God to “divide their tongues”… another English translation renders it, “Confound their speech.”This imagery of “dividing tongues” reaches back to the book of Genesis, at the Tower of Babel, the people back in Genesis 11 had been conspiring together to do an evil thing, so God divided the languages. So, David is like, God, would you do that again. Maybe if these evil people can't communicate with one another, maybe this madness will come to an end. And then, in verse 12, the Psalm shifts. It's in verse 12 where we pick up on why this moment is especially bad for David.Up until this point he had been talking about a group of evil people, but in verse 12 it shifts to one particular person. Look at verses 12-13, “For it is not an enemy who taunts me —then I could bear it;it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me —then I could hide from him.But it is you, a man, my equal,my companion, my familiar friend.” Apparently, one of the leaders of this evil crew is someone who was once very close to David. David's like, listen, if it had been some stranger, I could take that. If it had been some military general from another country or foreign power, fine, I could handle that, I mean, it would've been bad, but it wouldn't have haunted me this bad.This someone David spent time with. He calls him a “familiar friend”… “a man, my equal.” And the betrayal is devastating to David.When I was studying this Psalm this week, and thinking about betrayal, it reminded me of William Shakespeare's famous play “Julius Caesar”— and that moment in the play where Julius Caesar is being attacked in the Roman senate, and he's eventually assassinated, and in the play, Caesar sees his dear friend, his protégé, Brutus, along with the conspirators. And Caesar is stunned and heartbroken by the betrayal! And Caesar famously says to Brutus “Ett—tu—Bru—tay!” As you know, this means “and you too Brutus.”Now, historians tell us that it didn't happen the way Shakespeare wrote it, but whatever. It's still an epic moment in the play. And you can feel it. And that's what David is feeling, he's looking at this old friend of his, and he's like, Really? And you too?Later in the Psalm David describes his old friend. Look at verse 21: “His speech was smooth as butter,yet war was in his heart” We're getting a good picture of the depth of the betrayal; this person was malicious, his words were “smooth [like] butter” yet there was “war in his heart.” Ooofff. And some of us have experienced this sort of heartbreak.Maybe you got to know a person like this, someone who says all the right things, you think they're one type of person, but then you find out they're not what you thought. Maybe you've experienced a fracture in a friendship, or maybe you had a spouse betray you. Relationship fractures cut deep. And that's the feeling David is expressing here.Then, in verse 15, we see another shift, this is where David starts to declare truth, he's preaching to himself, he's reminding himself of some important truths. Look at verse 15 with me, David says: “Let death steal over them.Let them go down to Sheol alive;For evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart." Then this is reiterated in verse 23, look at verse 23 with me: “But you, O God, will cast them downinto the pit of destruction…” These people who are causing strife and this friend who betrayed David, they're going to go down a different pathway than David. This is important for David to acknowledge. The reason is because, if you're in David's situation, where there's strife and violence being done in the city, and there's this person who has deeply wounded you… betrayed you. It would be really easy to think that these guys are gonna get away with it.David is reminding himself, he's preaching to himself, God's going to take care of this. Then, he draws a contrast between himself and that evil crew. Look at verse 16: “But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.” David knows that the evil men will face judgment, but he will be saved. Not because he is the most morally upright character in the Scriptures. It's not because he was anointed king. No, none of those reasons. The reason David will be saved is because he called to God. That's it.In Romans 10:13, the apostle Paul says, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” David knows this and he preaches it to himself throughout the Psalms. He continually reminds himself and us that we can call upon the name of the Lord. David continues to preach truth here in Psalm 55, he's reminding himself of the goodness of God.Look at verses 17-18, “Evening and morning and at noonI utter my complaint and moan,and he hears my voice.He redeems my soul in safety…” You sense from David here, his confidence has returned. In the opening verses of this Psalm, his confidence seemed shaken, but as he's been reminding himself of the truth, his tone has shifted. The same will be true for us. As we remind ourselves of truth, as we preach to ourselves, and to each other, we regain our confidence, and it's not confidence in ourselves, but confidence in God, confidence in his ability to save, and confidence in his willingness to save.In John 6:37, Jesus says, “…whoever comes to me… I will never cast out.” The apostle Peter says this: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you…” If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us. But if we refuse to humble ourselves, then God will humble us. David knows that his sins have been forgiven and he will not face the same judgment as these other men. This wicked crew is causing strife, they are refusing to humble themselves, but there will come a day where God will humble them. In verse 19 of this Psalm, David says that: “God will… humble them…” Those wicked men will be humbled.Friends, if you are here this morning and you refuse to humble yourself, there will be a day where God will show up and he will humble you. That will not go well for you.In James 4:6, James is quoting from the book of Proverbs. He says this: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” There will come a day where those who refused to humble themselves, they will be humbled by God. The last verse we'll look at together this morning is verse 22, this is the key verse in this passage. David has given us insight into his tremendous pain, he has shared his anguish, he's feeling anxieties and fear and deep hurt, betrayal; but he continues to preach to himself and to us he says this. Look at verse 22 with me, “Cast your burden on the Lord,and he will sustain you;he will never permitthe righteous to be moved. Cast your burden on God… he will sustain you! Another English translation renders it this way: “Pile your troubles on God's shoulders — he'll carry your load, he'll help you out…” (MSG) We pile our troubles onto God's shoulders. He will sustain us, he will not permit that we be moved! In the New Testament, the apostle Peter picks up on this same sentiment and same language, in 1 Peter 5:7, Peter says: “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Church, the reason we cast our anxieties on God, is because he cares.Maybe your burdened because of a relational fracture in your life, someone betrayed you and you've been wounded. Or maybe it's something different… Maybe your family is in crisis. Maybe your facing disease or a difficult prognosis. Or maybe you have a hard relationship with a child. Or maybe your marriage is struggling. Or maybe there's some financial hardship… or infertility… or mental health… or some problems at work… or maybe you're feeling lonely… or feeling misunderstood. Maybe you're feeling exhausted or anxious because life just hasn't gone the way you had hoped!Whatever your burden may be, cast it on the Lord, pile it onto his shoulders, he cares for you! Church, he cares for you!Almost every Sunday morning, here at Cities Church, we do a welcome at the beginning of the service. And in the welcome, whoever's doing it, we will often remind you of the words of Jesus from Matthew 11. I wanna read them for you. Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus says, I will give you rest! Church, he cares for you! In 1 Peter 3:12, the apostle Peter says: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer…” Christians, you are the righteous ones, you have placed your faith in Christ, so you are declared righteous, this applies to you. His eyes are on you, his ear is attentive to you, he's ready to listen to you! Church, God cares for you!Many of us have faced great burdens. Many of us have had moments of significant nervousness… or anxiety… or exhaustion… or deep hurt, like David has described here in Psalm 55. In those moments… cast your burdens on him… he will sustain you… he cares for you!I wanna close this morning with some practical application. What does this look like, practically? I want to give you two action items to consider, when you're carrying anxieties or when you're feeling overwhelmed or feeling alone or trying to figure out how to navigate a painful situation with a friend or a coworker or your spouse whenever you are facing any burden of any kind, here's what you do.First… Go to God in prayer… first!Notice the first thing David does at the beginning of this Psalm, even when he was feeling shaken, he cried out to God! His first inclination, is to pray, to make his requests known to God. It's okay to talk to friends, or spouse, or community group, or your life group, or your boss, or a counselor, or a therapist, or your pastors, all of these may be appropriate in most situations, however, your first go-to must be the Lord.Listen to these words, from the apostle Paul in Philippians 4, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication... with thanksgiving... let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Do you want the peace of God to guard you? Well then, go to him in prayer, with thanksgiving in your heart, and make your requests known to him!Second, when you're carrying anxieties, when you're facing a painful situation, here's what you do… 2) Preach to yourself!David has modeled this for us in the Psalms. Tell yourself the truth! Proclaim truth to yourself. Sometimes we know what's right, in our brains, but it doesn't quite sink into our hearts or our souls.We might have the right data or even have the right theology in our brains, but sometimes, when we face hardships, the truth isn't a felt reality. So, we need to hear it again!Practically speaking, this may look different from person to person, or season to season, or even day to day. Sometimes this may mean you listen to a sermon. You're dealing with something, so you pull up the Cities Church app or our YouTube channel and you listen to a sermon.Sometimes this means you intentionally play some music that you know will remind you of truth. And often times this means you quote Scripture. One of the most powerful gifts God has given us is the Word of God. When you have certain thoughts pop your head or certain emotions arise in your heart, in that moment, quote the Bible!Memorize some Scripture and quote it out loud. If you don't have it memorized, get some 3x5 cards and write some verses out. Put them on your mirror in the bathroom. Put them on the dashboard of your car. Keep them in your pocket, wherever.And whenever those painful thoughts or emotions come flooding back into your head, you pull that 3x5 card out and you read it, out loud, and you let the word of God shape you. And you keep reading those Scriptures over and over and over again until that truth is deep inside you!The Bible tells us to, cast our burdens on the Lord, because he cares for us, and he has promised to sustain us! Preach that to yourself every single day!Daily remind yourself that God cares for you. Daily remind yourself that your redemption is not because of something you did, but because of your trust in Christ. Daily remind yourself that you are sinner, deserving of hell, but God intervened, and he made a way for you to be saved. Daily remind yourself that God became a man, that he lived a perfect life, and that he was condemned to die as if he was a sinner!Daily remind yourself that God placed your sins on Jesus Christ, and that Jesus paid for your sins at the cross! And that's why we come to this table every single week.One of the things we do when we take communion is we preach to ourselves. It's an action that reminds us of the love of God.
Basic Bible Study | Psalms 23-32, 35-41, 53, 55, 58 & 61 (Part 7) This is part 7 of 7 In today's podcast, join Amy and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Psalms 23-32, 35-41, 53, 55, 58 & 61 . Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - God will judge with complete fairness - "justice" is a key topic in the book of Psalm - David continually praised God, through both the good & difficult times of his life - what to read for next time “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday morning! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us through e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What makes for a good story? What elements must be present in a book or a movie for you to sit back after watching or reading and let out a sigh of satisfaction? There are many answers that one might give to this question. Someone might point to character development as most important. Others might remind us of the importance of world building and an immersive and captivating setting that the characters find themselves in. Still others might highlight the importance of a good villain. What is batman without the joker anyway? Or Luke without Darth Vader? But as important as all of these things are J.R.R. Tolkien argues that when it comes to works of fantasy at least, there is one element that rises to the top. One piece that is so crucial that one might argue that all truly complete fantasy stories must have. What is it? Tolkien argues that it is the joy and consolation of the happy ending. Let me read for you Tolkien's own words in his essay titled, on Fairy Stories. "The consolation of fairy-stories, is the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous “turn.” This happy ending does not deny the existence of catastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; but what it does deny is universal and final defeat— giving us a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, potent as grief.It is the mark of a good fairy-story, of the higher or more complete kind, that however wild its events, however fantastic or terrible the adventures, it can give to child or man that hears it, when the “turn” comes, a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, sometimes accompanied by tears”… again all because in the end the story as a whole is seen to be but a servant of this miraculous and joyous happily ever after." And I start this way this morning because as we look at Psalm 52 together, things indeed look very bleak. We find David facing an absolute catastrophe. And yet, as we consider the Psalm as a whole we find that somehow, amazingly David is not devastated by the wreckage that he encounters. And as we press into why this is the case we will find that this due to one indispensable piece of knowledge that David has learned to cling to in times of trouble– David knows how the story ends. He knows that the turn is coming. He knows that even this catastrophe will not have the final word. And so as we turn our attention to the text we will find three things this morning. First in verses 1-4 we find the Catastrophe, then in verse 5 We find “The turn” and lastly in verses 6-9 we find the happy ending. The CatastropheLet us begin in verse 1 with the Catastrophe. Here David begins this Psalm with a question, “Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?” Right from the beginning we should note that this Psalm has a very different flavor than perhaps what we are used to. The vast majority of the 150 Psalms in the Psalter are addressed directly to God. But a small handful such as Psalm 2 and here in Psalm 52 begin by directly addressing an evil doer or a group of evil doers. And here David zeroes in on one worker of evil, one who is boasting, whom he addresses as a mighty man. And this question here in verse leads us to ask two more questions— Namely, Who is this mighty man and what exactly is he boasting of? And in this particular Psalm David does not leave us to guess about either of these things. Look at the prescript with me. "To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edmoite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.” Here we have our villan. We have our mighty man. This man names Doeg the Edomite. And we can read all about this mans evil exploits back in 1 Samuel chapter 21 and 22. Let me just summarize here what's happening in these chapters. David is on the run. He has just found out for certain that king Saul wants him dead. And so he and a small company of men fled from the town of Gibea with very little provisions. Now because convenience stores were hard to come by in those days David depended upon the hospitality of others to supply what he needed for his escape from king Saul. And the very first place that David stopped for help was a place called Nob, which was actually a city of priests. And David approached a particular priest named Ahimelech for help, asking for food and for weapons. Now Ahimilech was suspicious about why a high commander in Saul's army was with such a small escort but in the end Ahimelech gave David 5 loaves of holy bread to eat and the sword of Goliath, which is pretty awesome. Now, without knowing it, Ahimilech has just become guilty of aiding and abetting an enemy of the state. King Saul wanted David dead and by his actions Ahimilech has just essentially said, I'm with David. I'm with him, not with Saul. Now this could be disastrous for Ahimilech, but only if word of what he has done actually gets back to Saul. But before this chapter closes we read this. “Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day… His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.” So the stage is now set. Ahimilech has helped David and this man Doeg was there to see it. And as we turn the page to 1 Samuel 22, we find King Saul doing what he does best—throwing himself a massive pity part. Why? Because so far, David has given him the slip. And so he wines and sulks because he cannot get his way saying, “No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” At Saul's lowest moment when he is looking for a fall ma,n Doeg steps up and says, I know something. David was at Nob. Ahimelech helped him.And what happens next should make our stomaches churn because In his fury Saul summons not only Ahimilech but all of the priests at Nob to come to him. And after questioning Ahimilech he orders his servants to put not just him but all of the priests to death. And text tells us, that in response to these orders not a man moved. Even the servants of Saul knew better than to raise a weapon against the holy ones of Yahweh. And so who can Saul turn to when his servants are all more righteous that he? He turns again to Doeg his trust informant and says, “You turn and strike the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. And Nob the city of priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.” This is the mighty man of verse 1. What he boasts over is not a military victory over an armed opponent but the slaughter of the weak, the weaponless, and the unprepared. And we should hear David's mocking tone of Doeg here. What a mighty man you've shown yourself, you coward. Murdering those who cannot fight back. David sets the tone for this whole Psalm and we get the impression here, David will not stay silent here. He will speak back to evil. And notice what David says next seemingly out of no where he says, “the steadfast love of God endures all the day.” This sudden insertion of God's love in the face of this great evil reminds David and reminds Doeg and reminds us that though a dark cloud has settled over the sky of David's life it will not out last the sun. David states evil in the eyes and he says God's love will outlast you.And then and only then does David turn his attention back towards Doeg's evil deeds. Look at verse 3, “You love evil more than good” David makes it clear where this wickedness has come from. Long before Doeg committed this atrocity, atrocious things had long before gripped Doeg's heart.This great wickedness was no accident. Doeg loved evil. His heart was filled with disordered loves and his mind was filled with disordered thoughts. He loved evil and he hated good and eventually these wicked desires spilled over into unspeakable acts. Which is precisely every single one of us is warned in Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” We need to hear this, brothers and sisters. Because all of us capable of atrocious acts. If we go on filling our minds with wicked thoughts and our hearts with disordered desires, these things will sooner or later spill fourth as wicked deeds.Brothers and sisters guard your heart. Keep them with all vigilance. But David doesn't stop here. David spends the vast majority of these four verses renouncing not Doeg's violence or even his cowardice, but instead renouncing the wickedness of Doeg's tongue. Look at verse 2, "Your tongue plots destruction,like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit." David says, Doeg, long before you ever put a sword in your hand, you unsheathed a far more deadly weapon, a tongue filled with wicked words, as lethal as a razor blade.Oh what destruction wicked words are capable of. Listen afresh to James chapter 2. "How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." Do you realize that in the past decade nearly 15 million acres of land have burned in California? That's well over an 1/8th of the state. Consider the massive toll of these fires. And then also consider this. How many of these fires began with the careless flick of a cigarette? Something that might seem so small and so tiny and insignificant. Well as David considers the devastation happening around him, he wants us to consider this— this all began with the flick of a tongue. Oh the power that we wield with our words! The power to kill! The power to give life! What an awesome and terrible stewardship we have over our mouths. Well would the follower of Christ mark the words of Eph. 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up.” We might easily preach a message on this one point, but we must now return to David himself. Let's review for a moment what's happening with David here. David is on the run. He is being hunted by the most powerful man in the kingdom. He has little food and provisions. He has an adversary named Doeg bent on his destruction. And David has now discovered that he has occasioned the death of 85 priests together with their families. And the question I want to ask you this morning at this crucial juncture is this: how is it possible that David doesn't simply lay down and die here? How can you get out of bed in the morning with this kind of atrocity staring you in the face? How many men and women have been absolutely da-bilitated by lesser tragedies than these? How can David keep going? Where does he find the strength to talk back to evil? Answer: Look with me at verse 5 where we discover “the turn.”“The Turn”Listen to what David says in Psalm 52:5, "But God will break you down forever;he will snatch and tear you from your tent;he will uproot you from the land of the living." The one reason that David is not utterly devastated by what has just happened is this: he knows how the story is going to end.And in many ways the key word of verse 5 is “forever.” There would be no turn if it were not for David's consideration of eternity. And we see this idea expressed over and over again the Psalms. Think about Psalm 73. In Here Asaph spends 15 verses talking about how envious he is of evildoers in this life. How it seems that God blesses them at every turn, and how the righteous seem to struggle just to survive. And it's only when he puts on the lens of eternity that he make sense of this life at all. He says in verse 16. Psalm 73:16 "But when I thought how to understand this,it seemed to me a wearisome task,until I went into the sanctuary of God;then I discerned their end." We must remind ourselves of the end of the story. Psa. 73:18-19 "Truly you set them in slippery places;you make them fall to ruin.How they are destroyed in a moment,swept away utterly by terrors!" Brothers and sisters, you want to know how to be hopeless as a Christian? You want to know how to be devastated? You want to know how to be totally da-bilitated? Let yourself believe that this life is all their is. Let yourself believe that horrific headlines will have the final word. Let yourself believe that wicked men will go unpunished for their wicked acts. Let yourself believe that all of this tragedy in our lives, and in our families and in our world is pointless. But brothers and sisters, I declare to you together with David, that this is not the end of the story. As one of my favorite liturgies puts it, we declare that evil and death, suffering and loss,sorrow and tears, will not have the final word. God's steadfast love will outlast this. God's righteousness will let no injustice go unpunished. God's jealousy for his people will not let these tauntings go unanswered. Vengeance is mine I will repay says the Lord. Brothers and sisters, it's only a matter of time! By God's grace, we can endure in the face of great tragedy because we know the end of the story. Just as Martin Luther once wrote, "The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! His doom is sure." The turn is coming. And this brings us to our final point: in verses 6-9 we find the happy ending. The Happy EndingAnd here I want to focus primarily on verse 8Listen to these words of confidence from David's mouth: “but I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.” David is brilliant in his choice of imagery here. He compares himself to a green olive tree. Why an olive tree? Well David wants us to consider the longevity of the righteous here and there is no better example of longevity in nature than the olive tree. Just how long can an olive tree live? It's funny because as I researched this question this past week different sources gave me wildly different answers. But even conservative estimates of how long an olive tree might live under the right conditions come in at 1,500 years. Isn't that almost unbelievable? That it really is possible that an olive tree could have stood in Palestine when our Lord walked the earth? This is what David is getting at here in verse 8. He says, I'm not going anywhere. I am stable. I am secure. I am well supplied. This is of course a direct contrast to Doeg. A contrast very similar to Psalm 1. There we read that… Psalm 1:3-4 "The one who meditates on God's wordis like a treeplanted by streams of waterthat yields its fruit in its season,and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.The wicked are not so,but are like chaff that the wind drives away." David's point here is very similar to Psalm 1. And he actually began to set up this contrast back in verse 5 when he said that God “will uproot you from the land of the living.” This is tree language. The is that God is pulling up the tree of Doeg's life with not more difficulty than you and I might pull a weed from our gardens. And David invites us here to examine the roots. Why is Doeg pulled up so easily? Why will he not stand in the day of judgment? Answer: he has the wrong roots. Listen to verses 6-7. “The righteous shall see and fear,and shall laugh at him, saying,‘See the man who would not makeGod his refuge,but trusted in the abundance of his richesand sought refuge in his own destruction!'” What were Doeg's roots? What was he trusting in as a refuge? Where did he place his confidence? In the abundance of his riches. In the day of judgement we might offer all the riches and the lands in the world but David assures us it will not be enough to save our souls from judgment. Hear this—At the end of all things the judge of the universe will not be bribed.And it says in Proverbs 11:4 "Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,but righteousness delivers from death." Compare this now with David. Where are his roots? What is the anchor for his soul? Look at the second half of verse 8, I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. David has looked away from himself and he has sunk the roots of his soul down into the love of God. And there he has a sure and steadfast anchor for his soul. Conclusion But perhaps you are here this morning and even as I say these words, you are saying to yourself, you don't know me. You don't know what I've done. You don't know what I have said. And if I'm honest I am more like Doeg than I am like David. And I would say to you, brothers and sisters, every single one of us is more like Doeg than we are like David. All of us have stumbled in what we have said. All of us have been tempted to place our trust in the security of riches. And so what hope is there for us? As I close I would invite you to consider these words of George Herbert, which he wrote about our Savior Jesus Christ. “all ye who pass by, behold and see;Man stole the fruit, but I must climb the tree;The tree of life to all, but only me …” Brothers and sisters, we can say that we are like a green olive tree only because Christ hung on a tree for us. We must see that we too deserve the same fate as Doeg but on the cross of Jesus Christ, the Son of God son was treated like Doeg in our place. We stand because he was broken.We are stable because he was torn from his tent, We are secure because the Son of God was uprooted for us. Proving forever just how deep the Father's love for us really is. Let us look to the cross. And lets us say together with David, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of God, forever.” Let's pray.
In this Psalm David gives us four steps which lead us to God, and into peace and security. Like David, you too can come back to a place of worship, knowing that in the midst of trouble, our hope is in God.
Psalm 41 ends book one in the Psalter. In this Psalm David recalls the blessed man who is sustained by the Lord while he is weak and in need of help, trusting that God's promises would not fail and that he would see healing. This all ends in the unceasing praise of the Lord Almighty.
In this episode, Pastor Jay Lee shares from Psalm 51 which is one of the rawest and most naked of David's psalms, because it tells us that it is written within the context of the Prophet Nathan confronting David about his adultery with Bathsheba. In this Psalm David is stripped bare of any illusions of his own spiritual condition, yet it is the place where he encounters a true understanding of himself, and his need for a Savior. **** The closing song from this episode is "Grace and Mercy" by David Cho of Kindred Worship (@kindred.worship) - www.kindredworship.com **** If you would like to connect with Pastor Jay or support the podcast, visit: dailysabbath.com
Episode 153 – Why Am I Here – Part 2: The Bible Speaks Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: When I look at your heavens, the creation of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have set in place - what is a mortal that you remember him or the Son of Man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than yourself. You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him rule what your hands created. You have put everything under his control … Psalm 8, verses 3 through 6, God’s Word Translation ******** VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re very grateful to be with you as today as we continue the series we began last week on Anchored by Truth. We’ve entitled this series “Why am I here?” To help us continue considering a question that has probably occurred to just about every person who has ever lived, we have RD Fierro back in the studio. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, you entitled this series “Why Am I here?” I think that’s a question many people have asked at one time or another – even to many Christians. And during this series we’re seeking to provide a comprehensive answer – or at least a strong foundation where people can meaningfully continue their own pursuit of an answer. But there is a temptation, I think, to just say that the reason we’re all here is because God made us. But I’m guessing you don’t think that answer is sufficient? RD: Well, I think the answer that we’re all here because God made us is accurate but perhaps incomplete. But before we get into our discussion I would like to say just a word of greeting and thanks to everyone who is joining us here today. Anchored by Truth is not the typical kind of program that’s heard on many radio stations. Our singular focus is to help people understand that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. We do so because we believe that many, if not all, of the issues and difficulties that are confronting us today have a spiritual origin. Certainly, those issues may manifest as social, political, economic, educational, etc. But so often the difficulty we’re confronting, regardless of how it’s labeled, is a symptom of the disease not the source. For instance, sexual promiscuity is widespread in our society and that creates all kinds of issues from those related to family stability to public health issues. But at its heart sexual promiscuity goes back to man’s foundational problem with sin. As it’s sometimes phrased “we’re not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.” VK: And sin is a spiritual issue though that has a very unpopular characterization today. But the Apostle Paul clearly pointed out the nature of the real problem in Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 12. “This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world.” That’s from the God’s Word Translation. Paul tells us exactly what you’re saying. The struggles we’re going to face are going to trace their origins to “the spiritual forces that control evil in this world.” But how does this tie into the topic of this series – helping listeners find a meaningful answer to the question, “why am I here?” RD: Because we can’t understand why we are here or our purpose in life, in the world, if we don’t understand the nature of reality. There are two great competing ideas about the origin of the human race – in fact the origin of everything. On the one side is that notion that, as the Bible puts it, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” On the other side is the notion that the universe has always existed, although maybe not in its current form, and that all living creatures, including humans, came into existence as the result of the random, chaotic collision of inanimate particles. VK: Those two ideas couldn’t be farther apart. Christians believe that everything in existence was brought into existence by an Almighty, loving Creator who has a plan and a purpose for everyone and everything. On the other side is the idea that the universe is eternal but undirected, unguided, and ungoverned. Anything and everything that happens in the universe is the result of the undirected activity of chaotic forces – that matter and energy fling themselves around like ping pong balls in a tornado but somehow all the chaos produced life in all its amazing, organized complexity and ultimately a people that is purposeful, intelligent, and moral. RD: Absolutely. And when you state the competing ideas that way you can immediately see the reason that understanding the true nature of reality is so important to anyone knowing why they are here. If I have been created by a loving, purposeful, omniscient, and omnipotent God then I can begin a meaningful exploration of why that God gave me existence. But I am simply the product of a long sequence of blind, random chaos not only is there no one for me to turn to there is no reason for me to even ask the question. The question “why am I here” is at its most basic a question that pertains to meaning and purpose. But meaning and purpose do not exist, and indeed cannot exist, where all activity and action are undirected and purposeless. The random collision of inanimate particles cannot produce meaning or purpose. I cannot overstate this distinction between these two competing ideas too strongly. VK: Inanimate means “non-living” which is just a fancy way of saying “dead.” No one thinks atoms and molecules are alive by themselves – but we know that living creatures are made up of atoms and molecules. So, the question of how a living being can arise from non-living matter is a foundational dilemma for those who want to exclude God from an explanation of origins. As Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, the chief scientist for Creation Ministries International, reminded us when he helped us with our Truth in Genesis series, explaining the operation of a thing is quite different from explaining its origin. RD: Yes. So, as Dr. Sarfati put it it’s easy to provide a reasonable, logical explanation for our existence when we include God in the equation. When we exclude him we’re left with the idea that human beings are the result of a process that he calls “the goo to you via the zoo.” VK: I’ve always liked that way of putting it. “Goo to you via the zoo.” That’s a pretty powerful summary of the idea that some sort of undirected, evolutionary process resulted in the human race. But it also points out the problem for people who believe in evolution but also want to believe their life has meaning. RD: Exactly. This all goes back to saying that for us to truly find a meaningful explanation for why they are here we must start with a clear understanding of the nature of reality. So, in our first episode in this “why am I here” series we focused on two big points. The first point was that to know why we are here we must recognize that we exist in a universe that was created by an Almighty God. VK: Because if someone wants to believe that life arose from the random interaction of dead particles there’s not even a reason for them to ask the question in the first place. The random, chaotic collision of atoms isn’t going to produce a personal, purposeful being who seeks to understand their role in the created order. You and Dr. Sarfati coined what you call the Sarfati-Fierro Maxim: All denials that intelligence was necessary for the formation of life proceed from an unintelligent point of origin. Said slightly differently, to deny that an intelligent Being created all life, including us, automatically means pulling the rug out from under the notion that human beings can claim to be intelligent. RD: Yes. It’s not that people can’t deny that God exists yet still believe they are intelligent beings. They can and do. It’s just that when you unpack the intellectual foundation for the two beliefs you find an irreconcilable conflict. This is a conflict that doesn’t trouble the Christian worldview in the slightest. We believe a Supremely Intelligent Being created us so that Supremely Intelligent Being is certainly capable of imparting intelligence to His creation in any matter that is consistent with His Being and character. So, the first point to developing a meaningful answer as to why we are here is to recognize we have been created by almighty, purposeful God. And the second point is to recognize the role that Jesus played and plays in the now fallen creation. VK: So, just to be clear, you are noting that the created order in which we live is not in the same state as it was initially. When you say the now fallen creation you are pointing out something very important. If Adam and Eve had never sinned we don’t know what our lives would be like today. We might likely be in an enormous Garden of Eden where sin and death were unknown. Man wasn’t ejected from the Garden until after he sinned. The Bible is clear that before sin God was accustomed to walking through the garden and the implication is that Adam and Eve enjoyed face-to-face fellowship with God. Genesis, chapter 3, verse 8 says, “In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking around in the garden.” So, it seems like God appeared regularly in the garden and Adam and Eve knew that. So, if we were still in the garden God might very well still be walking within it regularly communing with the only creature He ever created in His image. So, none of us would ever need to wonder why we are here. If the question every occurred to any of us God would answer it. RD: But, of course, Adam and Eve did sin. They were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. And after they were the Bible no longer makes any reference to them enjoying the same level of fellowship with God they had previously enjoyed. Now the ground was cursed, their work was cursed, and their first son killed their second. Sin now had a firm foothold in creation so God began, and has carried forward, a grand plan of redemption. That plan culminated in the birth of Jesus who once and for all obviated the penalty of sin for those who would place their trust in Him. Jesus’ sacrificial and atoning death removed the penalty of sin but it did not remove the presence of sin even for believers. Sin’s presence will be with us until Jesus returns to earth the second time to bring an end to this phase of human history. VK: So, we live in a somewhat unique time during human history. We live in this interval between Jesus’ first and second comings. We no longer have to wonder when – or whether – a Messiah is coming. We know God has sent the Savior that we need. During the 4,500 years of the universe’s history before Jesus came the first time people wondered when God would fulfill His promise to send a Savior. But we don’t have that question. We know the Savior came. We also know that the Messiah’s first coming was not to take over the physical rule of the earth. Rather than coming to rule the nations of earth He came to save the people of the nations from eternal condemnation. He now rules over the affairs of the earth from heaven. But the Bible is clear that it will not always be that way. If nothing else, the book of Revelation is clear the time is coming when Jesus will be physically with His people in the New Jerusalem. New Jerusalem will come into being after Jesus creates a new heavens and new earth. RD: So, as you put it, during this unique time in the interval between Jesus’ first and second comings - a second very important question about why we are here is how those of us living now are related to Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth as God in the flesh. It should be obvious that we are not going to believe in the Son of God if we don’t believe in God. And we are not going to have much interest in wanting to establish a relationship with Jesus if we do not know who He is. And the whole reason this question is so important is because of the continuing presence of sin in this world. This poses a danger for anyone who does not accept Jesus as their Savior. And Jesus made it very clear that He expected His followers to carry the message that salvation was available throughout the world. Jesus had completed the work necessary for people to be saved but there are a great many people who still need to hear that message. VK: The Apostle Paul reinforced this calling in the book of Romans, chapter 10. Verses 13 through 15 say, “So then, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can people call on him if they have not believed in him? How can they believe in him if they have not heard his message? How can they hear if no one tells [the Good News]? How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? As Scripture says, ‘How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who announce the Good News.’” That’s the God’s Word Translation version. RD: So, a third point that is relevant to us finding a truly sustaining answer as to why we are here is that we must be prepared to study the Bible. To truly know why we are here it’s not enough for us to simply fall back on vague assurances that all of our lives have meaning. It’s not even enough to know that God loves us. Certainly those assurances are necessary but they are the starting point for knowing why we are here. Those kinds of assurances, as necessary as they are – and they are – will only provide temporary satisfaction. It’s sort of a variation on the old saying, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you’ve fed him for a life.” Same thing is true here. I can tell someone that God loves them and has a plan for their life. Those statements are absolutely true but they will only get them or me so far. VK: What you’re saying is that if we want to develop an answer to the question of why we are here that will carry us forward in our lives we have to have a firm grasp on the nature of reality – and only the Bible gives us important information about certain essential truths – like the fact that there is a spiritual war raging around us. Reality has an unpleasant tendency to intrude into our lives at inopportune moments and if I’m not prepared to deal with it it’s easy for me to lose my balance. Knowing that God loves me and is always with me is an absolutely essential prerequisite to making any more progress to a deeper grasp of the purpose for my life. But life is inevitably going to bring me challenges and I have to build on that foundational knowledge of God’s love for me. A strong foundation is necessary for the house to stand, but I’m going to be pretty exposed to the elements if the foundation is all I ever have. RD: Now we would hasten to repeat – as we noted last time - that we must always approach these subjects in an age and audience appropriate way. A distressed teenager doesn’t need to master the nuances of the Levitical code or probe the mysteries of Revelation to get some comfort about where they are in life and where they are going. The same thing is true for people are recent converts or struggling with their need for a Savior. People who are dealing with life crises or struggles may doubt that God loves them and has a plan for their lives. So, it is important to provide that immediate reassurance. But if that’s all they know they cannot prepare for the next dose of reality which always comes our way. People need to get a firm grasp on something you pointed out earlier. That we are all made in the image of God. VK: Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness.’” This points out why we need to know something, actually a lot, about the Bible, if we want to know why we are here. We are God’s image bearers. That fact is inescapable. Some commentators point that carrying God’s image is a bit like seeing our reflection in a mirror. When we see our reflection we are seeing an image of ourselves. The reflection in the mirror isn’t us but it looks like us. When we move it moves. If we change clothes it will change clothes. The reflection, the image, is more than just a representation of us. It indelibly possesses some of the qualities we possess. RD: So, the image in the mirror cannot divorce itself from the real person and somehow independently begin to contemplate why it is there. That sort of idea makes for a good fantasy story but that’s all it is – a fantasy. The image bearer is going to in certain respects and certain ways reflect the original. In the case of people we are going to some degree reflect our Father God. Ministers will sometimes note that the image of God we possess is a marred image – like a mirror with a curve or a crack. But the image is still a real image. This means two things. First, if we have no idea what God looks like – or said differently who God is – we cannot understand why we are here. It would be like trying to see our image in a mirror in a completely dark room. Second, the more exalted our view of God the higher esteem we would place upon our own role in the created order. VK: Those thoughts are both terrifying and thrilling. If we have no idea who God is we can have no real idea who we are. And if we don’t know who we are it will be impossible to know why we are here. But the thrilling part is that the greater our awareness of God’s majesty and sovereignty the greater we may truly believe in our own worth and dignity. And quite often that’s the basic reason people are asking the question about why they are here. They not only want to be assured that their life had meaning but also that their life is worthy of dignity and respect. RD: Right. This goes back to the need for people to become very familiar with the Bible. It is only from the Bible that we can develop a full-orbed understanding of who and what God is. The Bible gives us as comprehensive a picture of God as the human mind is able to form. From the Bible we learn about God’s unrivaled power, unblemished righteousness, immaculate character, and amazing love and grace. This enables us to have a full appreciation of His glory and majesty and then contemplate our own lives and meanings knowing that the sovereign, royal and perfectly holy God has chosen us to bear His image. That thought alone ought to banish any doubts about our worth as human beings. God cares so much for us that He chose to place His image on our flesh. VK: That thought takes us straight to our opening scripture from Psalm 8. In the that Psalm David is clearly staggered by the thought that the same God who framed the heavens, made the sun and moon, and put the stars in their place actually takes notice of, and cares for, men and women. It is a staggering thought. RD: And it goes straight to the heart of our question: why am I here? At least part of the answer to the question is that I am here to bear God’s image. Or said differently to ensure that the people I encounter can see God’s goodness and righteousness through me. This is truly a good example of what else people looking for meaning in their life need to know is something about the God that loves them. If they think God is a sort of super-sized human character – powerful but not necessarily royal, majestic, or good. Well, there is not a particularly good reason for them to be unduly concerned about providing a good image of that kind of God. Moreover, it would be hard for them to place a lot of confidence in what that God can do for them. But if, like David, we fully appreciate God’s omnipotent power to create and govern not just the earth, but the 50 billion galaxies in the visible universe, then our appreciation of that God and ourselves begins to change. VK: That’s why it’s so important for a familiarity with the Bible to be a significant part of any meditation we do on why we are here. From the Bible we learn about God. And from our better understanding about God we can develop a better understanding of ourselves. But that’s not the only reason we need to know the Bible to know why we are here is it? RD: No. It is not. And we are going to get more into these subjects in upcoming episodes. But just as an introduction for now the Bible itself gives us a direct revelation of why we are here. For instance, there is a very important verse about our purpose on planet earth in one of the least read and loved books of the Bible: the book of Leviticus. VK: You’re thinking of Leviticus, chapter 19, verse 2 aren’t you? That verse says, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” That’s also from the God’s Word Translation. RD: Yes. A lot of times when we ask the question why am I here we first want to be sure our lives have meaning, but second we are concerned about life choices like careers, education, relationships, and goals. VK: And the Bible has a lot to say about those things. RD: Yes. It does and that’s one of the beautiful things about the Bible. But above and beyond those concerns the Bible is concerned about our characters. That is essentially what that verse from Leviticus is telling us. We must develop holy characters. It’s often said that “you can’t take it with you.” But the one part of this life that we will take into eternity is our character. So, part of the answer to the question about why we are here is that this life gives us the chance to demonstrate that we value God by seeking to obey him. The more highly we value God the greater will be our desire to be obedient – and that includes seeking to become holy as He defines holiness. Now, certainly none of us start out holy and we are going to have plenty of stumbles along the way. God knows that. But one of the great things about God is that He does not throw us out just because we stumble and struggle. God is a God of redemption, restoration, and reclamation. VK: And there would be no need for redemption unless we were fallen. In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, verse 17, Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” That’s the New International Version. RD: But God doesn’t want us to remain in our sin. And he wants us to learn and overcome our struggles. He wants to give us victory. So, when he gives us that admonition in Leviticus He isn’t trying to discourage us. He is simply reinforcing His call for us to come to Him. And this also points out the need to ensure we are studying the whole Word of God. Leviticus is the 3rd book of the Bible- the middle of Pentateuch which is often thought to be irrelevant to the church today. It’s not – as we’ve just pointed out. We were created by a loving God to bring honor to His kingdom and to enjoy an eternal, personal relationship with him. This life is preparation for the life to come – preparation for an eternity with God. VK: The Westminster catechism answers the question “what is the chief purpose of man” with the answer “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” RD: Yes. So, as we dive more deeply into finding out why we are here we have to be sure that we master the basics about God, man, and purpose. If we don’t gain a firm grasp on those basics we may ask the question “why am I here” until we are blue in the face but we will never gain an answer that will satisfy us or please God. VK: Amen. So, those basics include knowing that God created the universe. We need to know this so we can understand the nature of reality. Next, we need to know that the created order fell when man sinned. But that God began a plan of redemption and the key step in that plan was the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So, to know why we are here we must know how we are related to Jesus. And to get a firm grasp on those first two point we must study the Bible because if we don’t our knowledge of God, Jesus, reality and redemption is going to be incomplete. We’ll be like the man who saw a sign in English that said, “quicksand” but only spoke French. The sign was there but it didn’t do him any good. This sounds like a time to go to God in prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer for our government officials. We may or may not always agree with the decisions they make and that’s fine. In a democracy we have the right to make our voices heard and our concerns known. But in 1 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1 we are commanded to pray for those who are in authority. And it is interesting that in that verse is the only time Paul puts a specific priority on the prayer when he says, “first of all.” So, we may or may not endorse decisions that are made by those in authority but we must pray for them – and a good prayer is that God will open their eyes to His truth and will. ---- PRAYER FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS VK: Before we close we’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes in this series or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Bible Quote from the God’s Word Translation) Psalm 8, verses 3 through 6, God’s Word Translation
There are only two types of people: the wicked and the righteous. In this Psalm David juxtaposes the two, their character, and how differently God deals with them. Psalm 37:23 VF-2250 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale. Call 1-800-338-3030 24x7 to leave a message for Pastor Scott. You may make reservations to attend a live service, leave a prayer request or make a commitment. Pastor Scott appreciates messages and reads them often during live broadcasts. Follow @Pastor_Scott on Twitter and visit her official Facebook page @Pastor.M.Scott. Download Pastor Scott's "Understand the Bible" app for iPhone, iPad and iPod at the Apple App Store and for Android devices in the Google Store. Pastor Scott can also be seen 24x7 on Roku and Amazon Fire on the "Understand the Bible?" channel. ©2022 Pastor Melissa Scott, All Rights Reserved
Hurry up Lord! Where are you? Have you ever felt like that? Surely you have. I love the message of Psalm 70. Three times in this Psalm David says; "Make haste." Let's talk about it on today's Morning Manna.
Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.In this Psalm David describes how he was mistreated, lied about, pursued by wicked people.Frequently through the Psalm David will affirm his innocence- vs. 7, 7, 11, 13-14,He calls on God to rescue him and to judge those who are mistreating him- vs. 3, 4-8, 26He calls on God to bring the same kind of judgment upon the wicked that they are bringing upon him. We sometimes call this lex talionis. Lex talionis is literally law of the tooth. We used it to speak of how in God's justice the punishment often fits the crime.- vs. 7-8.
I trust you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. In today's episode I read over you Psalm 107 one of my favorite Psalms. Note how many time in the Psalm David says; Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! May each of us fulfill that today!
Psalm 19 is all about God's desire to speak to us! He not only communicates to our senses through His creation but He speaks directly to us through His Word. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how much God wants to commune with us. Psalm 19 reminds us! In this Psalm David tells us what God's Word is: perfect, trustworthy, right, and full of light. And he also tells us what it does: renews our life, gives us wisdom, makes us glad, and lightens our perspective. All positive gifts! Maybe you grew up in a legalistic environment where Scripture came off as oppressive or only a list of rules. David tells us just the opposite—God's Word is literally life-giving. He goes so far as to say it tastes sweeter than honey (and I am personally a ridiculous fan of honey). If you need encouragement about God's Word, if you've ever wondered if it is truly good and trustworthy, pull up a chair at my dining room table for this week's episode. And have some honey. For the full show notes visit kellyminter.com/podcast
The heading of this Psalm, and of Psalms 56:1-13; Psalms 57:1-11; Psalms 58:1-11; Psalms 59:1-17; Psalms 60:1-12, Michtam, may mean “Golden Psalm,” or “Sculpture Psalm,” this latter term indicating a Psalm of strong incisive thought. The Psalm seems, “by its tone of fresh, joyous confidence, to belong to the early part of David's career.” It may have been written when David was in the wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26:19). In this Psalm David demonstrates his unwavering delight in God. And in this Sermon we look at the three character traits of a life that is totally Committed to God. 1. He Delights in God's Refuge (v.1) 2. He Delights In God's Lordship (v.2a) 3. He delights In God's Good (v.2b) A. HE DELIGHTS IN GOD'S REFUGE We don't know whether David wrote this at a time when his life was in imminent danger or if he was reflecting on the general course of his life. From his life we see a man who was resolved to be an example of godliness to his people (Psalm101) there was clearly a lack of it in the nation he governed. There is evidence of strife, immorality and even idol worship. Corruption in his family. · The Rape of Tamar his daughter by one of David's Sons Amnon (2 Sam. 13) · The Rebellion of Absalom his own son. All these were rightful, deserving ramifications and consequences and partly judgements on David himself – He was warned by God after his sin (2Sam.12:10-12). · He is looking back in His life and see the way that Goliath was laid down! · Then in the ranks of Saul as he tried to kill him! But the fact is, we all need a place of refuge and protection, both in time and for eternity. Temporally, we instinctively try to protect ourselves from harm and danger. · We avoid risks that could kill us. · We wear seat belts when we drive. · We avoid smoking and junk foods that can cause disease. While these are prudent measures, the bottom line is that the eternal God, who spoke the universe into existence by His power, must be our protector. Colossians 1:17 states that in Christ, “all things hold together.” If He were to let go, we would literally disintegrate! The Psalmist will be “preserved”; he will not only be created. There is a cold deism which says, “Having been created, that is enough; the rest belongs to myself; I must attend to the details of life; creation may have been a Divine act, but all education, culture, “progress, preservation must fall under my own personal care.” The Psalmist begins in another tone. He opens his Psalm with the great word “preserve”--equal to, - Attend to all my cares and wants; pity my feebleness; take hold of my right hand, and of my left hand, and be round about me, and never leave me for one moment to myself. That is true worship. So it is right to pray for safety for our loved ones and for ourselves. We need the Lord's protection constantly.
In this Psalm David asks a couple of question in v.1, which he takes the rest of the Psalm to answer. Actually when David asked, “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” he was referring to some of the earthly dwelling places of God, and ultimately to God's heavenly abode. But who can dwell or abide there? David then lists a few of the things that would be required of such a person (See vv.2-5b), and which are basic requirements for living as an Israelite under the Law of Moses as found in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Then in the New Testament you discover that Jesus spoke of a higher standard (See Matt.5:17-20). We can't measure up, but we do have the very righteousness of Christ that has been given to us who have believed. David says that a person who lives as described in Ps.15:2-5b, will not be shaken (Ps.15:5c). If you would like to watch the video of the sermon, just click on this link! The post Psalm 15 – Who Can Approach This Holy God? appeared first on Living Rock Church.
In this Psalm David invites us to see the thunderstorm in all its grandeur, as an awesome display of the glory of God.
In this Psalm David's friends or close advisors appear to be giving him the advise to run, because the enemy is about to attack. But David has stated that he has put his trust in the LORD (v.1). David asked a very important question in v.3, saying, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” We see the foundations of our society and the Biblical principles upon which our societies are built, under constant attack. We need to remain confident in the LORD and His righteousness, since He is working out His purposes, which include the fact that ‘we know that all things are working together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called, according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28). If you would like to watch the video of this sermon, just click on the link! The post Psalm 11 – Faith In The LORD's Righteousness! appeared first on Living Rock Church.
Today we will focus on what Paul preached in Athens and how that was at the heart of his preaching to the Gentiles, whether we look at the record in the Acts or in his letters. Interestingly, his letter to the Romans, both in chapters 1 & 2 and in chapter 10 reflect and build on the fact that the Lord God revealed himself to sinful mankind through his creation, both in the heavenly realm and on earth. In every way it is revealed, Paul affirms, that all are “without excuse” as Romans 1:20 states so boldly. In our lesson for today, we will go back to the foundations of this teaching in the Old Testament, to Genesis 1, to Job, and to the Psalms, especially the great Psalm 19, where Paul also goes as he applies that teaching of the ages to his current day in Rom. 10:18: “But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” In the Psalm David poetically describes God's revelation of his eternal power and glory in 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” So, there is a revelation given and described in terms of human language and knowledge. The bottom line is this: No one has an excuse before God the Creator and Sustainer. His revelation of himself is sufficient to at least render all men accountable and therefore in need of redemption. The gospel of grace is God's message of Redemption for our current dispensation. But as with all dispensational plans, anyone rejecting that fundamental revelation of God as Creator would normally reject the other as well. For unless one knows he is in need of a Redeemer, he cannot be saved. Amen.
Elder Bryce preaches from Psalm 30. In this Psalm David has felt the chastening hand of God for his sin. He prays to God for deliverance and has been forgiven. In response, David not only sings praises to God for His holiness, he encourages all the elect of God to sing as well.
Audio recordingSermon manuscript:King David was an exceptionally keen observer of mankind. There is nobody else who even comes close understanding the way that people are, except, perhaps, the apostle Paul. But I’m quite sure that even Paul learned what he knew from David’s psalms. So I’d like to begin today with some of David’s thinking concerning man. The psalm I’d like to look at is Psalm 36. The Hebrew wording is a bit obscure for the very first verse of this psalm, so it gets translated in different ways. I prefer the older translations where the psalm begins this way: “My heart showeth me the wickedness of the ungodly.” The source for David’s knowledge of wickedness is none other than his own heart. So what does he learn about wickedness in that heart of his? Answer: There is no fear of God before his eyes. The lack of the fear of God is the only way that we can make sense of sin at all. If we feared God we would be too frightened to do anything against his commandments. It’s when the cat’s away that the mice will play. The thought of punishment for what we do wrong is mysteriously absent from our minds. That’s why we are willing to break God’s commandments. We do not fear him. We’ll get away with whatever we want to do. David continues: “He flatters himself in his own eyes until his abominable sin be found out.” Despite our lack of fear, despite our sins, we go about most our days feeling like we’re not too bad of people. Sure, we sin. We’re disappointed with ourselves. But it’s not that big of a deal. We’re all in this together, and if I compare myself to others, I’m probably doing a better job than they are. This train of thought will keep chugging along for who knows how long. There’s only one way to make it stop: “He flatters himself in his own eyes until his abominable sin be found out.” When what we have done in secret, when what we’ve done that we don’t want anybody else to know about, finally comes out—to others or to ourselves—then our self-flattery collapses. It takes a heavy dose of reality, an unmistakable sign of badness, to make us stop flattering ourselves. But this is rare. We get so good at lying to ourselves that we can become impervious to the truth. David continues: “The words of his mouth are unrighteous and full of deceit. He quits being wise and doing what is good. He plots harm on his bed. He puts himself on an evil path. He does not hate what is evil.” We lie to ourselves. We lie to others. We know what we are supposed to do, and we don’t do it. All the while we flatter ourselves in our own eyes. At this point there is an abrupt shift to a totally new topic. He looks in a new direction. David sings: “Lord, your mercy reaches to the heavens; your faithfulness, to the skies. Your righteousness stands as strong as the mountains. Your judgments are like the great deep. You save both man and beast, O Lord. How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of Adam find refuge under the shadow of your wings.” At the beginning of this Psalm David is looking in here: “My heart showeth me the wickedness of the ungodly. There is no fear of God before his eyes.” Then he looks to his God and he says, “Lord, your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and your faithfulness unto the clouds.” In here is wickedness and deceit. In him is mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, and judgment. This is not surprising. We are talking about two very different things, are we not? We are one way. God is another. We all know this. But when it comes to salvation, we necessarily are putting mankind and God together. What is the bridge that we need to build between us and God, between us and our justification? The answer is that there is none. It’s like it is in David’s psalm. First he describes man. Then he speaks of God’s mercy. There is an abrupt shift. There is no conjunction, no link. The only way that we are saved is by God’s action, by God’s mercy, quit apart from ourselves. There’s nothing that can be done with man to make him truly better or more loveable. That’s like trying to polish a turd. Nothing can come of that except more and more filth. The reason why I have brought this up using Psalm 36 is because we see the same thing in our Old Testament reading. Ezekiel was a prophet while the leaders of Judah were being held captive in Babylon, the temple back in Jerusalem was destroyed, and this people of God appeared to have no future and no hope. The reason why the people were in this terrible position was because they had been flattering themselves in their own eyes, and even their abominable sins couldn’t make them second guess themselves. God then punished them until they had nothing left. This is the background to our reading this morning. Then this is what the Lord God says, “I am about to act, O house of Israel, not for your sake, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you have gone. I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when I reveal myself as holy in front of their eyes through you. I will take you from among the nations. I will gather you from all the lands, and I will bring you to your own soil. I will sprinkle purifying water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurity and from all your filthy idols. Then I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and will cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will carefully observe my ordinances. Then you will live in the land I gave your fathers. You will be my people, and I will be your God.” I’d like you to notice why God acts the way that he does. He’s quite emphatic about it. He’s going to act because of his holy name. He is not going to act because the house of Israel had learned their lesson and reformed themselves. If the Israelites were responsible for doing anything, it was to profane God’s holy name among the Gentiles. To profane something is the opposite of consecrating something. It is the opposite of it being holy and divine. The people of Israel had treated God’s name as though it were nothing. Instead they had relied on their military, diplomacy, and economy. Along these lines they flattered themselves in their own eyes. They thought nothing of God’s name. When they were conquered by outsiders, everyone else also thought that this God of theirs must not be very good. Nobody was satisfied with God’s holy name at that time—neither the people of God nor the Gentiles. So God says to these people, I’m going to act. I’m not going to act because you are good. I’m not going to act because you have reformed yourselves. I’m not going to act because you’ve been trying harder. Then, when he reveals his plan, it turns out to be the most gracious thing a person could imagine. “Your mercy, O Lord, reaches unto the heavens, and your faithfulness unto the clouds.” God was going to bring them back to their own land and make of them a nation again. This meant that God was going to give them back their stuff. But these blessings that have to do with this body and life are nothing compared to the other things he would do for them. He was going to sprinkle purifying water on them. He was going to cleanse them from their filthy idolatry. He was going to give them a new heart and put a new spirit in them. He was going to take out that nasty, self-flattering heart of theirs, and give them a heart of flesh. He would give them his own Holy Spirit, so that they would walk in God’s statutes and obey his commandments. He would be their God, and they would be his people. Here we have a description of something that is hardly less than heaven itself. There is no gift that God can give us that is better or higher than the forgiveness of sins followed by our sanctification. This is literally what will happen with the resurrection from the dead and the life everlasting. Our stupid, cold hearts are going to be renewed in love. All things will be made new. But none of this came about because of mankind making a new beginning or turning over a new leaf. It solely happens by God’s grace, and even in spite of man’s actions getting in the way. That God’s grace works in this way is very important for you to see for at least two reasons. First of all it is important so that you take God at his Word towards you and you are not waiting around to try to make yourself good enough. God causes his Word to be brought to you. He has caused it to be brought to you, if nowhere else, already in your baptism. That baptism works the forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it. So believe it. Who cares if you are a turd? Who cares if you are soiled with sin? Where does God say that he will save those who save themselves? Nowhere! It’s quite the opposite, in fact. If we want to talk about the way you are, then we’re going to have to go by the descriptions that David and Paul have. Those are not very flattering depictions. The only one who can save and does save is God, and he does it through his promises in Christ. The second reason why it is important to see how you are saved solely by God’s grace and despite yourself, is so that you can better understand your emotions as you live your Christian life. Those who believe in Christ do not lose their self-flattering Old Adam. He remains in place just as much as he ever did, but in Christians he must contend against the Holy Spirit who is to rule over him. When we become Christians it is inevitable that our self-flattery will continue. It will just put on a different dress. We’ll look at ourselves and say, “My, what progress you are making! Just look at yourself! You used to do this sin and that sin, and now look at you!” Or, perhaps what is more to the point: “Just look at how much better you are than everyone around you! They must not be as good of Christians as you are! Oh, if only everyone could pray like you, avoid sin like you, discipline themselves like you do!” This kind of thinking is poison. It is an attempt to try to find something in here that makes me acceptable to the one up there, but there is only One who can do that. But here’s the thing—and it’s a really important lesson to learn—we like flattering ourselves in our own eyes, even, and especially, as Christians. We like feeling like we are on the way up. We like feeling like we are getting stronger and stronger, holier and holier. We like believing that since we have done so much polishing we aren’t a turd anymore. And so when some abominable sin comes along that cuts our self-flattery short, that is very, very depressing. It feels terrible. We feel as though we must not be Christian anymore. Amazingly, the Gospel isn’t very attractive in such a state of mind. We preferred the old Gospel when we were feeling good about ourselves, and now when we feel terrible about ourselves, it doesn’t have that old zip and joy. This, however, is a very subtle trick of the devil and our Old Adam. Christ does not lose his power to save when we are feeling bad about ourselves. In fact, we quite possibly might be in a better spot when we don’t want to look at ourselves and polish ourselves because we don’t like what we see there. Then we might look to our beautiful Savior. God does not wait around for us to take the first step or reform ourselves. He isn’t waiting for us to feel good about ourselves and the religious choices that we have made. He acts because of his own holy name, which we have profaned. And so it may very well be that we do not feel forgiven or holy or strong or what-have-you. The Holy Spirit’s comfort is different from the world’s comfort. You can read what Luther has to say about that on the back of your bulletin later. The Holy Spirit’s comfort is such that when we are weak, then we are strong. It is not when we are gushing all over ourselves about how wonderful we are and how much progress we have made that we are strong. That’s what the world always thinks. Rather, it is when we are weak and He is strong, that is when we have no other choice than to rely on God’s grace. And blessed are you if you rely on God’s grace—even when you do not feel like it. You will find that he (as opposed to us) does all things well.
There are only two types of people: the wicked and the righteous. In this Psalm David juxtaposes the two, their character, and how differently God deals with them. VF-2250 Psalm 37:23 Watch, Listen and Learn 24x7 at PastorMelissaScott.com Pastor Melissa Scott teaches from Faith Center in Glendale. Call 1-800-338-3030 24x7 to leave a message for Pastor Scott. You may make reservations to attend a live service, leave a prayer request or make a commitment. Pastor Scott appreciates messages and reads them often during live broadcasts. Follow @Pastor_Scott on Twitter and visit her official Facebook page @Pastor.M.Scott. Download Pastor Scott's "Understand the Bible" app for iPhone, iPad and iPod at the Apple App Store and for Android devices in the Google Store. Pastor Scott can also be seen 24x7 on Roku and Amazon Fire on the "Understand the Bible?" channel. ©2021 Pastor Melissa Scott, All Rights Reserved
The “Not So Perfect” Christian. A two year journey through the Bible. Pray, Read & Feel Blessed.
Hey everyone!! PASSING IN ADVICE is the Thought for the Day. Today in Exodus we read about Jethro, the father in law of Moses and his visit and advice to Moses. In the Psalm David praises God for being a Father to the fatherless. Then we have reached the last chapter in Luke 24 where we read about the resurrection, the Walk to Emmaus, Jesus appearing before the disciples and His ascension into heaven. Thanks for being here. Message any prayer requests or comments at andypsalm139@yahoo.com. Blessings and prayers! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/andy-morlan/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/andy-morlan/support
In the Psalm David teaches us about the value of silence in difficult times.
73. How to catch your spiritual breath Part II: City People Learning the Wilderness Life. In this episode we use Psalm 18 to help us reflect on spiritually we need to be to catch our breath. In the Psalm David talks about hiding is caves, wearing the right shoes and being lead to thin places. All of this can be really helpful for us when we are at the end of our rope and just need to find God. To sign up for the Monday night Lent webinars simply head here....https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/apprentice-to-jesus-online-tickets-135988949609 To get a copy of Apprentice to Jesus head here... https://www.eden.co.uk/devotional/apprentice-to-jesus-cris-rogers Cris Rogers is a church leader at Allhallowsbow.org.uk and Director of Making Disciples. For more information check out wearemakingdisciples.com
Welcome to the Rejuvenate Me! Challenge. This radio series is complimentary to the main challenge. To join the Free Rejuvenate Me! 29 Days Challenge Sign Up Here https://gingerlondonministries.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1066015 If you have been feeling empty, tired, or frustrated in your spirit, this is the challenge for you. This challenge is taken from Psalm 51:10-12. In this Psalm David was pleading with God to bring a change within him so that he would be empowered to continue to glorify God and righteous in his spirit to tell and teach others about God. This will be a challenging challenge. You will be asked to self-reflect and to question yourself about what you are thinking and believing about yourself. You will also be asked to TRUST GOD through this challenge and OPEN YOUR SPIRIT to the MOVE OF GOD in your rejuvenation. Today's show is Rejuvenate My Atmosphere! Atmosphere matters. Your surroundings are so important. You must control the atmosphere around your life or it will control you. You will learn 8 of the 16 Keys In Rejuvenating (Creating) the Environment Your Need.
Welcome to the Rejuvenate Me! Challenge. This radio series is complimentary to the main challenge. To join the Free Rejuvenate Me! 29 Days Challenge Sign Up Here https://gingerlondonministries.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1066015 If you have been feeling empty, tired, or frustrated in your spirit, this is the challenge for you. This challenge is taken from Psalm 51:10-12. In this Psalm David was pleading with God to bring a change within him so that he would be empowered to continue to glorify God and righteous in his spirit to tell and teach others about God. This will be a challenging challenge. You will be asked to self-reflect and to question yourself about what you are thinking and believing about yourself. You will also be asked to TRUST GOD through this challenge and OPEN YOUR SPIRIT to the MOVE OF GOD in your rejuvenation. Today's show is Rejuvenate My Atmosphere! Atmosphere matters. Your surroundings are so important. You must control the atmosphere around your life or it will control you. You will learn 8 of the 16 Keys In Rejuvenating (Creating) the Environment Your Need.
READ: Psalm 39:4-5 NLT 'Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.' I will never forget the moment. I was 17 years old and a friend of mine asked me, “Have you heard about Luke?” I hadn’t. Luke was always full of life and initiative, had very long hair (as most of us did at the time) and always had a cheeky smile. My friend said, “He died last week in a car crash together with three friends. Their Mini hit a fuel tanker and burst into flames.” I was completely and utterly devastated. It made no sense. I remember thinking, “How could Luke, someone who was particularly full of life, have died?” As I struggled to come to terms with Luke’s death I learnt many things. Most of all I learnt that life, which seemed so permanent, was anything but. Totally tragic as this moment was, I learnt to look at every single day as a miraculous gift from God. I came to realize that every day needs to be handled with the greatest possible care. In this Psalm David reflects on the fleeting nature of life, something of which he was regularly reminded as he lurched from one bloody military campaign to another. In the flyleaf of John Wesley’s Bible two words were written. “Live today”. That might sound obvious enough but it’s a great challenge. God has forgiven us our sins, so we don’t need to drag yesterday’s sins, failures and regrets into today. And the future is in God’s secure hands, so we don’t need to waste any energy today on worrying about the future. That means that God has released us to get on enjoying the day in front of us, without any distractions. QUESTION: Are you willing to receive today as a gift from God’s hands? PRAYER: Thank you Lord for the privilege of being alive today. Help me to use this day to your glory. Amen.
Psalms 16 (Third Messianic Psalm) David Seen God. The meaning of Psalms 16 David has revelation who God is. How to trust unseen God.Scripture Dakes King James Version Psalms 16: 1-11, The Book Of Acts Chapter 2:25-28, Chapter 13:35
There are a lot of things going on in our world right now that cause fear, anxiety, anger, and hopelessness. During these seasons it can be difficult to find rest and hope in God. This morning we are going to look at a Psalm David wrote when he needed peace, rest, and hope. Bible Text: Psalm 62 | Preacher: Jeremy Hager Follow along with our PDF Family Worship Guide (provroad.org/s/Family-Worship-Guide-August-2-2020.pdf) and join us from wherever you are.
A clear testimony from Scripture and life itself shows us that the Lord is good. In this Psalm David testifies of the Lord's goodness, invites others to magnify the Lord and know His goodness for themselves.
Have you ever experienced the serenity of a still, calm body of water? Wouldn't it be great to experience that kind of peace on a regular basis as a leader? In the 23rd Psalm David instructs us that God "leads us beside the still waters." Join Bill and Ed as they continue the discussion on wisdom for leaders from this well-known scripture. During this episode, you will discover ways to experience peace and contentment regardless of the chaotic and uncontrollable circumstances that surround you. God reveals to us in His word that there is an amazing peace that comes with the promise of His presence!
In Psalm 3, David is fleeing from Absalom, and many are saying there is no God that will save him.We can feel these thoughts when we are under duress. At the end of this Psalm David declares that Salvation belongs to the Lord and will put his trust in Him. Chad sees the picture of Christ’s death and resurrection in this Psalm. Rebekah Caggegi sings “Arise O Lord.” Support the Show
Prediger: Claus Schröder Bibeltext: Ps. 56, sowie Römer 8,31-32 Titel: David - Der Weg aus Angst zu Zuversicht Wer war David? Als Hirte gestartet, gegen Goliath gewonnen, bis er selbst König wurde. Hintergrund vor dem Psalm: David stand in Gefahr jeden Tag von den Philistern verhaftet oder getötet zu werden. Der Psalm beginnt mit Angst und endet Zuversicht. Ich vertraue auf Gott, warum sollte ich mich fürchten. In der Predigt wird aufgezeigt wie diese Veränderung passiert ist. Wenn du Gott gegenüber ehrlich bist wird sich dein Fokus verändern. Das ist ein Schlüssel für uns, ehrlich zu werden vor Gott. Schlüsselvers: Gott, ich preise dein Wort und vertraue auf dich! Wenn Gott für uns ist, wenn könnte dann gegen uns sein. Das sollte unsere Perspektive verändern. Ich kann meinem Gott vertrauen. Gott in der Krise begegnen, zur Stille zu kommen, ehrlich werden vor Gott, Ängst, Probleme, Schwierigkeiten eingestehen und an Gott zu wenden. Dran zu bleiben, ihm zu begegnen.
In this Psalm David encourages himself and others to praise God. He focuses his attention on the many reasons for which we should praise God. In spite of what others do and regardless of our circumstances, God is worthy of our Praise!
Psalm 101 is a perfect example of a Suzerain vow. Is it attainable- Could David or any mere human fulfill the vows made in this Psalm- David must make these vows because they are the vows of king. They are a shadow, a type of the Greater David, Jesus Christ. Christ is the King under His Father and He makes these vows before His Father. He will keep them perfectly, faithfully. He, as our King, destroys all evil and keeps the world, the flesh and the devil from breaching the kingdom walls and destroying us.
In our, Psalm David praises God for His character and deeds. God is the righteous judge that will one day set the nations right and punish the wicked.
Herzlich Willkommen beim Podcast der EFG Schneeberg. Wir beten, dass du bei dieser Botschaft das Herz Gottes noch tiefer entdecken kannst und seine Annahme, Liebe und Zuversicht erlebst.
In week 5 of our summer series on the Psalms, Dave helped us examine the contents of Psalm 34; a Psalm David writes hiding in a cave.
Psalm 13 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It's only six verses. It is packed with personal grief, pain, and struggle. But also, with thanksgiving and praise to God. This Sunday, we will be taking time to corporately thank God for all that He has done for us, even in the midst of our struggles. In the same Psalm David wrote, "O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?" But then he says, "But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me."
Series: Psalms Text: Psalm 11 Title: When the foundations are being destroyed... Summary: In this Psalm David asks, "When the foundations are being destroyed what are the righteous to do? This sermon asks that question in light of current realities in our world
In this Psalm David walks us through the journey of wondering where God is in our troubles. David isa model of wrestling with God with great faithfulness and David points us to Christ who suffered alone so we would never have to be.
Rev. Darin Stone shares God's Word from Psalm 133 as we continue our series from the Psalms of Ascent. In this Psalm David explains how pleasing unity is. Church is like family and sometimes the family is dysfunctional. Unity is good and can bring us peace and joy. The world can know we are Christians by our love for each other and our unity. Aaron messed up in the book of Exodus yet God ordained him as high priest. In the same way while we are all idolaters, we are ordained as a priesthood of believers. We need forgiveness from God and we need to extend it to others. Just as Mt Hermon is larger than Mt Zion, those in the body who are more mature need to support those who struggle. Unity means we need to serve and be served. You need the church and the church needs you. God makes unity happen as Jesus binds us together.
This episode is part 24 in a study of the book of Psalms. In this Psalm David has been pretending to be insane before Abimelek to protect himself. After he is safe David praises God for his protection.
This is the episode is part 21 in a study of the book of Psalms. Psalm 30 is a song of praise from David. In this Psalm David again cries to help for God. Could David have battled depression?
This is the episode is part 20 in a study of the book of Psalms. Psalm 30 is a song of praise from David. In this Psalm David has strayed from the Lord and prays for mercy.
This is the episode is part 18 in a study of the book of Psalms. In this Psalm David cries for mercy but also prays that God will deal with those who do not regard the deeds of the Lord. But, his view of who the wicked are... may come a little too close t
Pastor Russ looks at the time David pretended to be a madman to the king of Gath, why he did it and, how we can understand the Psalm David wrote about it.
Pastor Russ looks at the time David pretended to be a madman to the king of Gath, why he did it and, how we can understand the Psalm David wrote about it.
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