September 18th, 2011
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They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 11:37 – 12:3
Back in June we looked at being the Hero of your own life, about how you can be a person that makes a difference. The first challenge was to make the choice – make the choice to follow Christ. We all have a decision to make, a decision of whether to surrender our lives to Jesus or not. Jesus says, “Come unto Me,” not for a free handout, but to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. In doing that we will experience what life is all about. We looked at 5 passages in the Bible that each asked us to respond to the challenge that Jesus presents us with – Come and follow me. Read more…
September 4th, 2011
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Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
The LORD is King forever and ever; nations have perished from His land. O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror. (Psalm 10:1-4; 16-18)
Psalm 10 is a continuation of Palm 9. Psalm 9 was a Song of Testimony and Psalm 10 is a Song of Steadfastness. Some describe the Palm as a lament – David is going on again about how the wicked prosper and the good guys are afflicted. To understand the steadfast part, we have to ask a couple questions first. Read more…
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before You.
For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and You have uprooted the cities;
The very memory of them has perished.
But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment,
And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble;
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalm 9 and 10 form a partially alphabetic acrostic in the Hebrew text; every alternate verse beginning with the next successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. To end our summer Psalm series it seems appropriate to look at these two Psalms over this week and next, before we start into our fall programming. Today we will spend time in psalm 9. Read more…
The LORD’S Glory and Man’s Dignity. For the choir director; on the Gittith.
A Psalm of David.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength, because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
As we look at Psalm 8 I want to make mention of how it was quoted in the New Testament. In Matthew 21 Jesus responds to criticisms from the Pharisees about children singing “Hosanna to the Son of David” because of His miracles by quoting verse 2: ”and the Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Do You hear what these children are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?’” (Matthew 21:16). Read more…
For the choir director; for flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; make Your way straight before me.
There is nothing reliable in what they say; their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
Hold them guilty, O God; by their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, for they are rebellious against You.
But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.
Last week we looked at Psalm 4, which was described as an evening prayer. It was a song of trust, and after a full day you can see David laying down and thanking God for the day, meditating on what God had done in and through him. Today we look at Psalm 5, which is a morning prayer, and falls in the classification of lament. It has a simple structure: Verses 1-3 David asks God to answer his prayer, verses 4-6 David describes God’s hatred of sin, verses 7-8 David asks God to guide him in righteousness, verse 9-10 David uselessness of the wicked, and verses 11-12 David rejoices in God’s protection and blessing. Read more…
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?
How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?
Selah.
But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The LORD hears when I call to Him.
Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still.
Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD.
Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!
You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.
David seeks God’s help – the boy is in trouble again. God asks us to call upon Him, to trust Him. At the heart of that call is a relationship of love. It is like that little boy that skins his knee or gets hurt somehow and goes running to his mother – she can’t always take the pain away or even fix or solve the problem; but he knows that in his mother’s embrace he has a place where he belongs, a place where he is not alone, a place where he is safe. It is wonderful to know that you belong, are not alone, and safe; and that is what David reminds us of in Psalm 4. Read more…
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
The Setting – The invasion of Israel by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:13-19:37) Hezekiah became king in Judah. Some 5 years later Assyria comes in and takes the northern half of Israel and after a few years after that comes to Hezekiah in Jerusalem and says he will take Jerusalem and the southern kingdom as well. The general says to not believe that Hezekiah and his God will deliver them. He speaks in the common language of the people so they hear his challenges and promises of destruction if they don’t surrender. Imagine you are in a walled city and some 250,000 enemy soldiers are surrounding you. They mock what you have confidence in, and say the easiest route out is to not fight but give up. All this happens after they had given some 11 tons of silver and a ton of gold to Assyria as tribute. Read more…
Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” Psalm 2:1-6
Psalm 2 is a royal Psalm (one of 11), so called because of its theme of the Divine King. It has four movements. Verses 1-3 talks about how the world is against God and his anointed. They are in open rebellion against the Lord of Heaven. The silver lining of that cloud is you know where people are at. They make it plain, rather than hiding half commitments in shadows and half-truths. There is more likelihood of those who are true to their beliefs and oppose God, to find God, than those who won’t directly oppose God, but work hard on appearances to like God without the heart surrender. They want the stuff the world has to offer while trying to do what God asks. These people are just fooling themselves, like the smoker who thinks he can hide his habit with a mint or stick of gum not realizing the stink that clings to their clothes their hair, everything. They can’t smell it because their nose is used to the smell while a non-smoker can pick it up easily. Don’t be part of the crowd that plays those religious games. Be authentic and real with your faith, and let God worry about your stature and place in life. Read more…
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:1-8
When you look at professional athletes, you look at a person driven by a desire to succeed. You don’t get to the top of your sport by not dedicating yourself to it. When Wayne Gretsky was 10 he had scored 378 goals and 139 assists in just one season in Brantford. When Gretsky retired in 1999 from playing hockey in the NHL, he held 61 records. He is the only player to score over 200 points in a season, and he did it 4 times. He scored over 100 points in a season 16 times. His jersey number, number 99, has been retired by every team in the NHL. The Great One had an amazing career, but when you look closer at his story, you realize it took more than just the desire and choice to play to win. There were people involved, like his dad who trained Wayne in his early years. Coaches and trainers and teammates worked with him throughout his career. There were drills and diets and disciplines that he had to learn to advance himself in the game. Read more…
