Book of Psalms

Praise God For His Benefits

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Benefits

Psalm 116

God sincerely wants to have a close personal relationship with each of us individually.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, “I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”.

Jesus Christ is not some aloof Savior waiting on us to run Him down or hiding for us to try to find Him.

Notice it is the desire of our Lord to be a close nit family!

Jesus Christ will not only make a personal visit to your heart and will knock with His own nailed scared hands but He will call out to us using His own Words.

God did not send anyone else to save us, He came Himself!

Before Jesus Christ will come into your heart, He will first introduce Himself and He brings with Him the record of His accomplishments, the Bible, so we can see for ourselves who He truly is.

It’s called choice!

If Jesus did not knock first, we would never come to knock at His door.

God has a loving desire for our salvation!

God will knock on the door of our heart but He will not break down that door.

Jesus Christ is the “I Am” of the Bible and if we have that close personal relationship with our Savior, we will also use that word “I” along with the word “My” in our relationship with Him!

1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Let’s Begin.

*****Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

We have been seeing many things we need to include in our prayer life.

Just to mention a few, we need to praise our Lord, we need to repent of our sin at least daily, we need to walk the Christian path as Christ walked to get our prayers answered.

Because we are not perfect and cannot be in this life, we need to ask for mercy but just maybe at the very top of our list in our prayer life we need to say “Lord, I Love You”.

Remember it was God who made the first move and we can love Him because He first loved us.

1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

This is a pure fact in Christianity, we can love our God because He first loved us!

All human love is preceded and generated by the love of God!

If we are willing to be channels through which God’s love can flow, we will be able to reach others with the love of God!

If we have that close personal and loving relationship with the Lord, we should be able to say “I Love You Lord” without hesitation.

If Jesus Christ is real to you, then His love is real, and His salvation will then become very real.

We must not just know we love the Lord but we need to also know why we love the Lord!

We have a very good reason! He hears our prayers.

God hears our voice! Jesus said when we pray we need to get into our closet with our private prayer but even in that closet when we are able, we need to pray out loud if for no other reason, so that God can hear our voice.

God is always listening in to what is said by His people and the Lord will keep a good record of what is said!

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him “for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name”.

God loves to hear our voices!

God already knows what we need.

God has seen what troubles we are going through.

God just loves to hear from us and He loves to hear our voice calling out to Him!

And when we have not reported in for a while, the Lord can look back to see what was said the last time we made contact with home base!

Sometimes we just want to know that God hears us and what we need is not as important as just to know that God is listening and every time our prayer is answered our love will increase.

We show our love by calling out to God and He shows His love by answering our prayers because He is always listening for the sound of your voice if you are saved and the Lord already knows your name!

*****Psa 116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

Calling upon the Lord is an act of worship when it is done with our whole heart but when we are discouraged we must remember that God is always near.

God is always listening carefully to every prayer and God answers every prayer that reaches into Heaven!

Psa 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

Knowing that the Lord is always listening gives us confidence to always seek Him.

1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

We are only foolish if we do not call upon the Lord everyday that we live!

It is always wise to go to the place we are always welcomed and that place is near the heart of our Lord and our God!

*****Psa 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

We must remember who our real enemy is!

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

The only way to escape this enemy is by the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Hebrew word used for our English word “sorrows” in the verse gives us the sense of a noose tightening around our necks or the uneasiness of the pain in our minds for our circumstances.

The Hebrew word used for our English word “pain” in this verse gives us the meaning of tightness, as that noose just gets tighter and tighter and we are choking to death in our own distresses.

We have waited much to long if we have reached this point before calling upon the Lord but it is only too late if we reach that point of death.

We are wrong to think we can hide from sorrow and distress!

We are wrong to think we can hide from our problems!

We cannot ignore the fact that Satan will do all he can to hinder the spread of the “Gospel”.

These things will seek us out, but there is no need to suffer through these things alone.

We simply cannot allow the sorrows and troubles of this world to choke us into submission!

*****Psa 116:4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

There is absolutely no depth of sorrow that can take us out of the ear range of our God.

Here again we see there is only One who we can call on to get some actual help.

Jehovah is the God of revelation and redemption!

It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Moses.

It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Abraham.

It is Jehovah who will reveal Himself in our hour of need!

It is Jehovah who will deliver us from our sorrows!

The name Elohim declares God displayed in his power as the Creator and Governor of this physical universe,

The name Jehovah designates God’s nature as He stands in relation to man!

Jehovah is the almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and “the father of spirits,” the “I Am” of the Old Testament!

When we get personal with Jehovah, He will get personal with us!

Jehovah got real personal with us when He appeared as our Savior!

Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

And how do we approach our Lord?

It does not take many words.

“O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul”.

We must pray to the Lord as often as we can and we may use many words trying to describe to the Lord how we feel but in that hour of a specific need, our prayer does not need many words.

Real trouble produces real prayer!

This prayer needs no words added and it explains the complete need!

This prayer brings the greatest benefit!

It is this prayer that will show us the “Grace of God”!

*****Psa 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Most of the time, just to know someone is listening to us, itself brings great relief!

God teaches us to come to Him in prayer when we need His help, and there is not a day that goes by that we do not need God’s help.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

God says we can draw near to Him in confidence, knowing He has the power to help us in that hour of need.

The throne of God is a “throne of grace” because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

The throne of God is called “gracious” because we have an Intercessor who sits in the throne room of God!

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Those that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ cannot open the ears of God and cannot know the mercy of God!

*****Psa 116:6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
Psa 116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.

Those that are wise in the wisdom of this world will try to take care of themselves but those that trust in the Lord can depend on God to take care of them.

Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

It is our faith that determines if we get relief from our troubles, from the only God that lives.

If you have known the Lord for any time at all, then you can also say “when I was brought low, He helped me”!

Rest simply means we can be restored to a peaceful confidence in the Lord.

Psa 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

We are reminded that we can never loose our salvation.

We are reminded that we are not left in this world alone but our Savior is never far from us.

We are reminded that when we walk in the ways of Christ Jesus we are walking in the glory of the Lord.

We are reminded that our God is Good all the time!

God has given us His Son Jesus and in Him will He give us all things!

God has given us eternal life!

*****Psa 116:8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

What a marvelous thing is our salvation.

God has graciously canceled the debt of sin that we could not pay without our own death in Hell.

1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God will continuously deliver us from a physical death until a time that He has selected.

Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

God will not hold back anything to wipe away our tears and restore us to the joy of salvation.

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God will keep us! Satan will never be able to lay his grubby hands on us again!

Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

Death is put away, our tears are dried up, and fear is banished, when the Lord is our Savior and we can walk before Him!

*****Psa 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

This verse means we will walk one day in Heaven where there will be no death!

This verse means we will always live in the sight of God.

Those that continue to walk in this life can only be seen by men and only during this lifetime.

Those that continue to walk in this life, will all their days be subject to human judgment, human opinion, and human results.

Those that know the Lord know that the ever watching eyes of God are on His children.

Psa 57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

These things require our faith!

*****Psa 116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:

Faith is the only way we can approach God!

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

That faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

That faith will show in our walk with the Lord in this life.

Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

By faith we live! By faith we have deliverance! By faith we can brag on our God!

Without our faith in God our prayers will go unanswered.

Without faith we will remain greatly afflicted.

When we trust in the things of this world we will find out that all men are liars because they that reject the truth have no respect for the truth!

*****Psa 116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.

Some times when we are suffering affliction in this world we will become as a pessimist.

A pessimist is any person who has a gloomy, hopeless, and complaining disposition.

A pessimist takes a dark view of everything and sometimes everyone, as did the writer of this Psalm.

But we will see a child of God can only be a pessimist for a short time!

It is a fact that all those that speak against the Word of God are all liars!

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

But we have no right to distrust all men!

There are many people still in this world who are honest, moral, and conscientious.

To blame everything on this world we live in takes our focus off of the real enemy, who is the Devil!

Faith, says we trust the Lord in all circumstances.

Faith does not mean we can wrongly accuse mankind!

We will never lead anyone to the Lord Jesus Christ by being a pessimist.

What is the opposite of being a pessimist?

*****Psa 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

The opposite of being a pessimist is when we can say, we can give back to the Lord for all the benefits He has given to us?

This world is not so gloomy that we cannot have joy in serving the Living God!

We need to be searching for ways to serve the Lord and get busy doing so, and this will take our minds off this sinful world.

Each one of us receive a special benefits in serving the Lord, so each of us should have his own special way of of showing his gratitude!

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

What was the special way, this writer had of showing his gratitude?

*****Psa 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

The greatest gift we can give back to the Lord is to accept His free gift of salvation!

We must become that new creation of the Lord!

This writer had been drinking from the cup of afflictions and had forgotten all about God’s cup of salvation.

There are no works of our own that can ever repay the Lord for what He has done!

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

When we forget we are a saved people we will put off our worship of the Lord.

Satan will do anything to hinder the Word of God.

He will sometimes bring one affliction after another to try to break us.

BUT, if we can keep in mind the Salvation that is given to us from the Lord and the benefits that come from our Savior, we will continuously call on the name of the Lord.

Most of us think of worship as something that is only done on Sunday and Wednesdays or what ever days are set aside to worship but this actually is not good for us.

We simply must not reserve our worship for certain times or certain days.

In fact we are worshiping someone or something at all times with our thoughts, or with our words, or with our actions.

Worship is saying that this thing is worthy of our worship when in fact there is only One who is worthy of our worship and it is our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord who gives life.

It is the Lord who gives us the air we breath.

It is the Lord who freely gives us all things.

Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

How can we not be continuously worshiping the Lord?

The cup of Salvation of the Lord provides living water!

Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

We must devote ourselves to the worship of the Lord and Him only, all the days of our lives!

What else can we give to the Lord?

*****Psa 116:14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.

In our days of being in the family of God most of us have made certain vows. Some of those we have kept but in most cases there are some we have not kept.

Vows that have not been fulfilled are the same as debts that have not been paid!

Deu 23:21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

If we say things in worship and in prayer then, we need to hold ourselves accountable.

Deu 23:23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

This Psalm writer then went on to say that he would pay his vow before witnesses, in fact in the presence of all God’s people.

God does not allow for secret disciples!

Because every saint of God is precious in the eyes of God.

*****Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

The Hebrew word “chasid” is translated as “saints” in this verse.

The “chasid” are godly people because they reflect the character of God Himself!

It is only because of God’s covenant with Himself and fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ, that every “Born Again” child of God can be called a “Saint”.

A Saint of God is anyone who believes by faith that Jesus Christ is Lord and can then be called Christian if they conform to the image of Christ.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate “to be conformed to the image of his Son”, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

So many people abuse the title Christian these days, as the Christian name can only be applied to those who are striving to be like Christ Jesus.

A Christian is only those whose behavior, whose actions, and whose speech are like those of Jesus Christ.

All others are impostors and it is these impostors who give Christianity a bad name!

But all those that are the true Saints of God are very precious in the eyes of God and who die according the way they lived a Christian life.

Precious means valuable.

We think of death as being the enemy of all men, but the Saints of God have no need to fear death.

1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The Saints of God do not have to drown on death’s sorrows.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

To the Saints of God, death is only a device or a vehicle that is used to enter into the presence of the Lord.

Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

What a precious benefit for the Saint of God!

*****Psa 116:16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.

There will come a time to almost everyone of us that we will need to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.

This is better stated as surrendering to the Lord!

After all the giving of ourselves to His service is one of the few things that we can actually give back to the Lord for what He has done!

We belong to the Lord by the fact that we are God’s creation!

BUT, we also belong to the Lord by His “Grace”!

We are to be servants of our Lord if we want to meet our Father in Heaven!

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

It’s a precious feeling to know you are saved!

It’s a precious feeling to know that you no longer serve Satan.

Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The most precious thing we can have is to know that we are now servants of God by Jesus Christ.

We have been loosed from the bonds of sin, of death, and of Hell, so how can we not wear the yoke of Jesus Christ?

Jesus teaches us with these words:

Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Once we have given ourselves to be servants of the Lord we then can begin to offer up our thanksgivings which are another one of the things that we can give to the Lord of our own possession.

*****Psa 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

The New Testament Church has never been told to offer up animal sacrifices.

The sacrifices that the “Body of Christ” are instructed to make are:

1) The sacrifice of ourselves as servants of God.

2) The sacrifice of righteousness, remembering that our righteousness is by the Lord Jesus Christ.

3) The sacrifice of praise which is due from us all.

4) The sacrifice of thanksgiving for the great benefits of our salvation.

Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

5) Then we are to offer the sacrifice of doing good and the sacrifice of telling everyone we meet just how good it is to serve the Lord.

It is only when we drink of the cup of salvation that we can call upon the Lord!

It is probable that David also wrote this Psalm and we know that David’s desire before His death was to build a house worthy of the Lord.

It should also be our desire to build houses worthy of the Lord.

Salvation is still the main objective of the Church but it seems the modern day Church has forgotten the main thing!

*****Psa 116:18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
Psa 116:19 In the courts of the LORD’S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

We must be determined to keep our word to the Lord.

We must invite all those that know the Lord to observe our walk in this life and point out anything that looks to be a deviation from the Word of God.

We are to exhort and help each other through the trials and afflictions in this life.

We are to comfort each other and we are to do it daily.

Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

This is the duty of each Pastor.

This is the duty of each “Born Again” child of God.

God says we need to have a Hallelujah time whenever we are in the House that is called by His name!

When our own hearts are filled with gratitude, we will want all our brothers and sisters in Christ to join in with that same feeling!

There are truly great benefits in serving the Living God!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praise God For His Works

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Works

Psalm 111

We have already established that the phrase “Praise ye the LORD” is the Hebrew word Hallelujah.

This word appears 25 times in the KJV Bible with 23 of those times in the Psalms.

There is 1 instance in the Book of Judges and 1 instance in the Book of Jeremiah.

One of the biggest problems this world we live in has today is acknowledging the works of God.

This world adds to that sin, with it’s objection to the doctrine of salvation by “Grace”.

This lost world and all false religion will tell us that there must be some good works performed in order to be saved.

The pure fact is that all moral men and the chiefest of sinners are all saved the exact same way.

They are saved by God’s Grace and that “Grace” comes by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Today our Psalm teaches us to praise God for His works.

The works of God began with creation by the design of God!

So, All the works of God from creation to salvation are worthy of our praise!

Grace is the single most important gift of God.

Work means to produce by an action.

When God speaks action takes place!

*****Psa 111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

How are we to praise God? With our whole heart!

**1) Our praise of our God, Jehovah, the Triune God must come from the heart. Praise is to never be some outward show or our praise will be in vain.

Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Our praise must be carried on in an orderly manner.

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Our praise must be about how God has worked in our lives and not about rituals.

Amo 5:21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Amo 5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Amo 5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
Amo 5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

**2) Our praise must be the same no matter where we are located.

The upright are all those who are honest and moral and who have been justified by the Lord.

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

3) Our praise must be the same even in a congregation, whether it be family or just a crowd.

Psa 40:9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
Psa 40:10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

The actions of our own praise should instill others to praise!

Many will join us in our praise and many of those who do not will be convicted because they did not join in.

*****Psa 111:2 The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

We have mentioned many times the providence of the Lord and how He is in control of the world everyday but we have allowed creation by the design of God to come under attack and not many offering any defence of it.

We must praise God for His works and His works include all creation.

Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
Jer 32:18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,
Jer 32:19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

When we love our Maker we will delight in His handiwork!

Even the little things that God does are great!

We can read in the Word of God about all the marvelous works that our Maker has done for us but how many of us take the time to just look around us and see the marvelous works that God has done that are in full view.

How many of us set aside time just to view the beauty of God’s creation, the visible things.

And then how many of us take to the time to acknowledge the invisible things such as God’s love and God’s Grace and His loving-kindness.

The works of God are “Great” in size, “Great” in number, and “Great” in excellence!

God works are worthy of being sought out.

There is great pleasure in admiring that mountain range.

There is great pleasure in sitting at the lake fishing or enjoying it’s pleasures.

There is great pleasure in viewing the mighty oceans and all the other wonders of God that we can see but we have to seek these things out because they are so numerous.

Even when we take in the night time sky we can only see a small portion of the heavens.

Not only are the works of God pleasurable but God’s work is honorable and glorious.

*****Psa 111:3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

Honorable means grandeur which means when you see it you marvel at the greatness of what you are witnessing.

Such as being in the midst of an ocean and seeing nothing but the Sea.

Such as seeing a mighty mountain range.

Such as being in an airplane seeing the marvels of the skies while also seeing the checkerboard of the land.

Glorious means magnificence which means you are in awe of God’s works.

The beautiful sunset or sunrise.

The snow covered mountains.

The night time sky.

That flowery meadow.

These are the things we can see but those things we cannot see are just as honorable and just as glorious, if not more so, because God can only do things that are right!

Righteousness is the nature of our Perfect and Holy God!

The most honorable and the most glorious work of Our Lord is His Salvation!

The “Grace” of God, by the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

The “Regeneration of God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier and our Comforter.

The “Eternal Home, the gift of Our Father in Heaven.

None of the other works of God can compare the the honor and glory of His “Salvation”!

God has a plan for every part of His creation and it is all honorable and it is all glorious but His plan of Salvation is just for those who believe Him!

Isa 51:5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
Isa 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

We can be sure that God has never accomplished one wrong thing!

We can be sure that God will never say “well if I done this a little different the outcome would have been better”.

God has the perfect plan and His perfect plan will be remembered by all those that have rejected Him.

Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 “And in hell he lift up his eyes”, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

This rich man who’s name did not make it into the Lamb’s book of life was still remembering the wonderful works of God when he prayed that he would never see his family again. He did not want them to end up in Hell as he had. He is forever looking up to try to see the Heaven that he rejected in his life time.

Even Hell is a honorable and glorious place of torment, a perfect place for those that reject the Lord!

*****Psa 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

It is the statue that becomes a memorial of the dead.

It is the Lord’s supper that is our memorial of the death and sufferings of Jesus Christ.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is our memorial because it is salvation that it is the memorial of all those that have gone on home before us.

Our greatest peace in this life comes when we know we and all our family and friends are saved.

As we study the Word of God we must know that the things God has done are not to be read and then forgotten but the Word of God is also a memorial for us to remember what God will do in the future.

The Bible is not a book of fables as some would have you to believe!

The Bible is written about actual people and actual places at specific in the providence of God.

2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We will never be able remember everything God has written down for us in His Word but we can be sure God has not forgotten one word of what He has said!

God is so full of grace and compassion that it shows in all His works.

It shows in nature, all His design of the things that we can see.

It shows in spirit, by all His character, of love and goodness and greatness and especially His mercy and remember, we were all created to grow into this image.

It shows in His providence, as He guides this world into the completion of His perfect plan.

It shows in His salvation and redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s power is divine.

God’s wisdom is divine.

God’s faithfulness is divine.

God’s goodness is divine.

Because God’s character is divine!

*****Psa 111:5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

God provides for the needs of those that trust Him in faith!

God not only provides for our being but He also provides for our well being!

Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

When we read about the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, we always remember the manna that came from Heaven.

We always remember the water that was provided, but we always seem to forget that in 40 years of travel many other things were needed.

Deu 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
Deu 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Deu 8:4 “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years”.

God will never forget His people nor the needs of His people because God will never forget the covenant He has made.

Isa 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

This covenant is with God’s Messiah!

Joh 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Joh 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
Joh 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

This is the covenant that God can never break, the covenant that God made with Himself!

Gen 17:2 And I will make “my covenant” between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

This covenant extends from Abraham and his seed to the Lord Jesus Christ and through each believer, the seed of the Messiah which will eventually include Israel.

This is God’s covenant with Himself and God is ever mindful of His covenant!

And God has shown us all His power to keep His covenants by His own works!

*****Psa 111:6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

The works of the Lord are never hidden from sight to those that seek to know the truth!

Those that are the lost of this world we live in, are blinded by their own eyes!

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

We may not be able to see Jehovah God at this time but we can certainly see the evidence of Him by His works!

There are only two basic types of miracles.

**1) There are the miracles of creation. The results of God’s creation are in the laws of nature that surround our existence every day.

God created all matter that is visible to the eye, but also the energy, the order of, the information of, and the complexity of life, both biological and also spiritual.

**2) Then there are the miracles of the providence of God. This is God’s absolute control of all the processes He has put in place by His creating power and the timing of the events in all our lives.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Israel had not only witnessed the miracles of God in Egypt and at the Red Sea but also in His provision for them in their 40 year journey to Canaan Land.

Israel had witnessed as God had given to them the land of Canaan by defeating armies that outnumbered them and taking the great walled cities of that time.

There are many today that question the fact that God ordered the destruction of the Canaanites but simply smile when Nebuchadnezzar, or Alexander, or the Ottoman empire or the Roman rulers are mentioned who brought great destruction to many more people than that of Israel.

God removed Israel from their homeland because of sin and scattered them throughout this world and a great miracle that can be seen today is the return of Israel to that homeland.

It is impossible that a nation could retain its identity without a homeland for more that 2000 years but Israel has done so.

It is also impossible that that same nation could return and establish that same homeland again but Israel has.

God will certainly give Israel the heritage of the heathen!

God’s Word means exactly what it says and we are wrong to not take the Word of God as the truth as it is written.

And we must not forget the spiritual message in this passage.

God has also showed all people the power of His works by the “Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

We have witnessed the miracles of Christ, His resurrection from the dead, His redeeming power, His work of Grace, and the results of changed lives.

The power of God’s works are brought forth by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

And the Psalms are just as important to the Church as they are to Israel.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

It is the works of God that teach us truth but it is also the works of God that teach us judgment of God!

*****Psa 111:7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
Psa 111:8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

The works of God are everything that God does on the behalf of all those that believe!

Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

God will always be true to His promises, we can depend on that!

God will always be true in His judgment, we can also depend on that!

God began to fulfill His promise to Abraham by the gift of Canaan Land.

God began to fulfill His promise to those Israelites that were saved by expelling the Canaanites because of their unrepented wickedness.

Deu 9:4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: “but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee”.
Deu 9:5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Our God does not ever change, it will be because of the wickedness of this world that God will drive out all those that reject Him!

We still have no righteousness in ourselves!

Our righteousness is only in the Lord Jesus Christ!

God has never commanded one thing today and another thing tomorrow, God’s commands have always been consitent with His character!

Our problems come when we treat the Word of God as a book of suggestions and not as a book of commandments.

We need only look at the works of God throughout our history to see that this is true.

God means what He says and He also says what He means!

God’s purpose, God’s commands, God’s actions, and God’s Word will stand forever.

God will do with His works as He pleases!

The laws of God are all good and they are established by faith!

1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

The Gospel of God is also an everlasting Gospel.

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

It is the everlasting Gospel that will be the last thing that many people will ever hear before they enter into Hell.

God’s Word is true even when many simply will not believe.

Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

God’s commandments are sure!

Salvation is then eternal!

*****Psa 111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

God’s plan all along was to send redemption to His people!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

This was the same message that was given to the early church.

1Jn 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God

The New Testament Church must be centered on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Salvation, by the Lord Jesus Christ is unchangeable and is everlasting!

Isa 51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

This salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ has been God’s plan since before creation and God will not alter His plan to suit the modern world!

Psa 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

To the dismay of Satan, who has caused confusion in so many, there is still only one way to reach our Father who is in Heaven.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

To not know the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah is to worship a false god!

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

There can be no wisdom without the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

The One that the world rejects, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the chief element of true wisdom!

The wisest thing a creature can do is acknowledge it’s Creator!

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Only those that are void of understanding cannot realize the truth of God’s Word.

That would be children who have not reached the age of accountability and those that are mentally handicapped.

All others are fools and will remain fools that reject the only Savior to this world!

These are the works of God, open and visible for all the world to see.

The praise of God will never cease because those that acknowledge the truth of the Gospel will never cease to praise Him for what He has done!

Until the Lord returns we are to be witnesses of His goodness and not be judges of this world.

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

It is the Lord who will judge this Earth!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praising God For His Goodness

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Goodness

Psalm 107

We have seen the need to praise God for His glory, for His forgiveness, and for His patience along with many other reasons but there could be none of these things without the goodness of our God!

Goodness can best be described as loving-kindness.

Loving-kindness is the English translation of the Hebrew word “chesed”.

This Hebrew word appears 249 times in the King James Bible.

This word can best be described as the faithfulness of God, despite our unfaithfulness, and is part of God’s character of “mercy”!

This is the love that God has for us and this love remains constant regardless of any circumstance we may be going through!

No matter how extreme things get in our lives, God is able to deliver us through those things.

We all know that old saying “That if God takes you to it, then God will take you through it”.

The theme for this Psalm can be found in the very last verse.

Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Let’s begin:

*****Psa 107:1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

One of the three things that we have that we can give to the Lord is our thanksgivings. This is the least of all things that we can give Him and it cost us nothing but the time to say thanks for what God has done in our lives.

We offer up our moans and groans to the Lord continually and He does not mind this, but to say thanks is to worship Him!

What is the greatest character of our God? The greatest character of our God is that He is good!

If our God was not good, He would not teach sinners the way to get close to Him.

Psa 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

God wants us to conform to His own image because we were created in the image of God.

God gave us our example of “goodness” when He gave us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just as our God is from everlasting to everlasting, so is God’s mercy from everlasting to everlasting!

God will always be good!

It is on ly because God is “good” that we can be redeemed!

*****Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psa 107:3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.

If God has redeemed you from the penalty of death, then you need no other reason to praise the Lord for His goodness.

We should say so in our prayers but this verse says we should declare God’s goodness publicly.

In fact we should tell everyone we see just how good God has been!

Redeemed still means to be purchased!

The redeem are all those that have been purchased out of the marketplace of sin, the slave market of Satan!

There was only one payment that was suitable for this purchase.

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

If you have been redeemed, then you need to praise God for His goodness!

Salvation is not in a feeling, but if you feel you have been redeemed then you need to say so!

Who is our enemy?

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

When we lose track of who our real enemy is, we will then become enemies ourselves to this world we live in.

We are not the enemy, we are the redeemed who are to tell the world just how good our Redeemer is!

Gathering will always follow redeeming.

No matter what divides us in this world, or what location we live on this earth, The Lord will gather us all into one “Body of Christ”.

There is only One Lord, one faith, and one baptism by the Holy Spirit, and therefore only one “people” of God!

So as we gather in our local assemblies, let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

God has placed us in such varied locations, and from such varied backgrounds that there is always some lost soul that we can relate to.

1Co 6:11 “And such were some of you”: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

*****Psa 107:4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Psa 107:5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Psa 107:6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

Lost, hungry, thirsty and exhausted can be used to describe all those lost in sin, we know that, because most all of us were once that same way.

Once we realized our own condition, we cried out to the Lord and to be redeemed is to be delivered.

Delivered means released from the bondage of Satan but it also means rescued and made free.

Delivered means we know we have no home in this place, our home is in Heaven and Jesus has gone there to prepare us a place. Our home is with our Lord!

What is the right way while we are still in this place?

There are many wrong ways but there is only one right way!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

The Lord will never lead us from one wilderness to another, He will only lead us to the city of God!

Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

How can we not praise God for His goodness?

*****Psa 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Over and over again we are reminded that we need to praise God for His goodness because we have been redeemed.

We also need to praise God for His providence.

God created a perfect world.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God made a way for salvation.

Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

God’s plan of salvation will succeed.

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

God has nothing but good things in His plan for us.

Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

And we have been redeemed so that we may also do good to the children of men!

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

It is the goodness of God that brings with it, our satisfaction.

*****Psa 107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

There is deep satisfaction in having received the goodness of God.

A longing soul, is a searching soul.

I do not know about you but when I was lost I just could not be satisfied, I was craving something that I was not aware that I was missing.

I did not understand why, until I found the Lord Jesus Christ.

God did not just fill my soul with common things but He is continuing to fill my soul with His goodness.

Those who do not know Him or reject Him cannot know these things.

*****Psa 107:10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
Psa 107:11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
Psa 107:12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Most of us look upon those in prison as deserving the circumstances they have caused themselves to be in.

BUT, We have a Savior who loves us no matter how far we have fallen from His grace!

God wants to reach out to those in darkness.

God wants to reach out to those that sit in the shadow of death.

God wants to reach out to those that are bound in the afflictions of this world.

God wants to reach out to all those that are bound by the iron chains of Satan.

God even wants to reach out to all those that rebel against the Word of God and withstand the Holy Spirit.

God has given this job to us, we are to reach out to the lost!

Until someone reaches them with the Gospel, God will keep them busy.

God will humble them under His mighty hand.

God will crush their haughty spirit.

God will crush their pride.

God will bring them to the point of submission!

God will do all these things because of His love and because of His goodness because God wants them to cry out to Him for salvation.

God is always ready to save!

*****Psa 107:13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. Psa 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

As long as the lost feel that the answers will come from this world they will not yield to the Holy Ghost. We that are saved know this very well.

It is so sad that God practically has to force a confession out of us!

Humans will simply wallow in misery for some reason but as soon as that point is reached and we cry out to the Lord, He will save us.

God will immediately send relief from our distresses.

God will never again allow us to be locked in Satan’s prison.

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

How can we not praise God for His goodness?

*****Psa 107:15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

Once we understand the good-news of Jesus, that He died so that we can be redeemed, how can we not praise God of goodness?

How can we not brag on our God?

The Lord can break the strongest chains that kept us bound to Satan.

Jesus said:

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, “ye shall be free indeed”.

Sin makes bondage.

Truth brings freedom.

Freedom comes by Jesus Christ!

Those that reject this truth are fools!

*****Psa 107:17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
Psa 107:18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Psa 107:19 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.

Many of our sicknesses today are brought about by foolish acts. The disease of aids and other sexual transmitted diseases may top the list but we could also include drunkenness, smoking, gluttony, diabetes, and much of our heart problems just to name a few.

Many of our lusts and passions are our own downfall!

There are way to many of us who have caused ourselves these things and then foolishly continue doing the same old things.

Fools usually bring trouble upon themselves!

It is a fact that most people will lose their appetite when they are sick and many are so nauseous that they cannot even hold the food they try to eat.

Many of them die but many more of them come close to death before they cry out to the Lord.

Those that think that the Lord is not the Healer are also fools!

The Lord not only saves us out of our troubles, He can save us out of all distresses.

How does He do this?

Prayer is as important when we are sick as when we are healthy, God always has His ear turned toward His children.

*****Psa 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psa 107:21 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

It is also a fact that only our Savior can also break addictions, erase bad memories, and restore broken relationships!

Medicine can be used in the healing process but man is not healed by medicine alone.

Just as God spoke our world into existence, when God speaks the Word, we can also be healed.

We have proof of this in the scriptures:

Mat 8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
Mat 8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
Mat 8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
Mat 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
Mat 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
Mat 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

We are foolish to forget the power of the Word of God!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We are foolish to forget the fulfillment of God’s Word!

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

God will do these things because of His goodness!

Many a person have prayed to be healed of God, making all sort of promises, and after that healing soon forget the promises they made.

It always seems that when ten are healed seldom will more than one return to praise the Lord.

Luk 17:12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
Luk 17:13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Luk 17:14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Luk 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
Luk 17:16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Luk 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

We are so foolish when we do not show our Great Physician the gratitude that He deserves.

The one thing we can surely offer is our thanks as He requires little else!

If we would do more, then we should tell all others just how good our Savior really is!

*****Psa 107:23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.
Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Since the time of Adam’s sin, mankind has had to work by the sweat of his brow to earn a living.

To be a mariner was a hazardous job because the sea held so many mysteries as it still does.

In that day, sailors were said to be “going down to the sea” but in our day sailors sa they “sailing the high seas”. This is because of the difference in safety in our day.

We can be sure that if there had not been great profit for those that ventured out on the oceans there would have been no seagoing vessels in that day.

No where in the scriptures do we read of men taking great pleasure on the seas.

Mariners were admired in the days of the kings of Israel.

It was these mariners sailing the great oceans that could view vastness of God’s creation.

In the middle of the open sea there are no distractions from the land. The skies could be observed in all their majesty.

The vastness of the oceans themselves were a wonder and we can just imagine the first sight of the great whales and the sea creatures.

There would be storms that would come up all of a sudden and then there would be great calms when not even a wisp of air stirred the sails.

And there would be the great waves.

*****Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

At one moment the small ships of that day would be climbing a wave and see nothing but the open skies and the next moment traveling down a wave and appear to be sailing straight into the deep.

The sailor would be tossed to and fro and stagger like a drunk man.

To the first time sailor they would be at their wit’s end, to the experienced sailor they knew there was no escape from the raging seas.

Many a sailor of that day knew they were at the mercy of the sea and did not possess the skills to overcome their peril.

They were all very glad to reach their destination.

But are we not all like a ship in the midst of the great waters of life?

Is not the weather fouler to some than others?

Is it not God who makes the arrangements for all human affairs?

Are not many souls shipwrecked everyday?

But there is an answer to these turmoils of life!

Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Heb 6:20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

The mistake we make most of the time is that we wait until we reach our wit’s end before we call upon the Lord.

Prayer is good when we are sick.

Prayer is good when we are bound by afflictions.

Prayer is good when we have gone against the Word of God.

Prayer is good when we are on the sea of affliction.

And God can even hear us in any storm!

Why do we not trust the goodness of God and just stay in constant contact with our Savior?

Oh, we are truly a foolish people.

*****Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

When we are at our weakest is the exact same time that we can be at our strongest.

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

There are the trials of life that we must endure but there is also the grace of God that will also endure and God’s grace cannot ever fail.

God loves to come to our rescue!

When God sees our weakness He sees an opportunity to show us His goodness and His great power.

When we feel most secure, Satan sees an opportunity that we may trust in our own power.

God’s way is not to remove our trials but to give His strength during that trial.

We have no testimony until we have been tested!

We can appreciate this verse if we have ever been through a trial in this life that has overwhelmed our ability to cope with it.

We can be glad when that storm in our life has passed on by.

We will one day reach our Heavenly haven and all our trials will all be over!

How can we not praise God for His goodness?

*****Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Praising the Lord cannot be just reserved for our private prayers, we must praise him for His goodness when we gather in worship of Him.

When we have found peace by the comforts of God then it is a great privilege to brag on our Lord for what He has done.

Psa 66:16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

It is Jehovah God who is in control of this earth and all the things in all His creation.

*****Psa 107:33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
Psa 107:34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
Psa 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.

Because of the providence of God there have been many a city that no longer exist or are ghost towns.

There are even nations that have ceased to exist.

There are more than 400 ghost towns in America alone.

There are ghost cities where the gold ran out, or the water ran out, or by landslides or earthquakes.

As God deals with rebellion, He will sometimes take away the things that bring the greatest assurance.

It is our God that controls the productiveness of this earth.

God will make fruitful places barren and make barren places fruitful.

When God judges, He will take away things that are important to us.

When God is merciful, He will make even the barren place to produce what is needed.

We need to look no further than Israel to see that a barren land has now blossomed like a rose.

*****Psa 107:36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
Psa 107:37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.

We also know that America, was once a great waste land, and was established by people seeking to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ and now those that are hungry and oppressed seek to make America their home.

God has a reason and a purpose behind everything that He does.

Act 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Act 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

The main intent of the Lord is putting the right people, in the right place, that they will have the opportunity to seek Him and be saved!

This world we live in may have made great strides in education, and the arts and sciences, and even transportation but none of these things have changed the fact that there is still only One Savior and only One Redeemer.

Christianity since the time of Jesus Christ has only one purpose and only one message!

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

This the greatest blessing we can receive in our lifetime.

*****Psa 107:38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

It is only by God’s blessings and God’s goodness that mankind can be truly happy.

God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and they did.

This command has not changed.

Those that believe this earth we live on cannot feed the people that God allows to be on it at any given age do not have enough faith to be saved.

When things get unbearable in one place God may be saying move on to a more suitable place.

*****Psa 107:39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.

As we have seen, Israel’s ups and downs were a direct consequence of her sin and repentance of that sin.

Why are we to think differently in our own lives and our own nations?

Those that seek the Lord are blessed.

Those that reject the Lord are eventually brought low!

As we see the number of Christians diminish in number we must know that we are in the latter days of the Church Age.

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

If we open our eyes, we can see all these things but we can also see the goodness of the Lord with those same eyes.

*****Psa 107:40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
Psa 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.

In most all cases it is the rulers in place or the laws and regulations in place that causes the starvation of people.

It is our God that allows certain ones to be in power in the governments of this earth.

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

All those that would see their nation prosper would seek the hand of God!

All those that make themselves out to be something that they are not will be put down.

God has no respect for Kings and Rulers.

If they cause God’s people to suffer they in turn will also suffer.

On the other hand all those that know they are spiritually poor will be raised unto comfort and happiness.

They will be added to the family of God!

No amount of suffering in this world can compare to the peace of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!

*****Psa 107:42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

If we would just allow the Word of God to rule in our lives we would see the hand of God in every action of this world.

God does not cause evil to happen, that’s what Satan does, but Satan has been allowed to do his thing at least for the time being.

If we could see the evil that goes on around us, we would see a very frustrated Satan who has never been able to completely have his way and he never will.

Satan is as much a pawn in God’s plan of salvation as are all of God’s created beings.

God gives us choice!

The power of choosing is something we all have and when we choose righteousness we will stray from iniquity.

Choice is taking great care in what we select.

Choice is skill in selecting what is preferred.

Choice is preferring life over death.

Misery follows bad choices and iniquity, rejecting the Word of God will cause our downfall.

Those that are wise will see the hand of God in everything in this world and know Who to choose.

*****Psa 107:43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.

Being wise means, when we can see the hand of God working from the first day of creation and all the days of our lives.

What did Jesus say?

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

That rock is the Lord Jesus Christ!

If we cannot see goodness in everything that God does, then we need to take a hard look at our own lives because God does not do evil things.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praise God For His Forgiveness

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Forgiveness

Psalm 103

What is forgiveness? Forgiveness means that though I am guilty, I will be treated as not being guilty.

By what means have we been forgiven? We have been forgiven by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

If it boiled down to cost, It cost God the death of His Son, as a man, to forgive us but it cost us nothing to forgive each other.

The Lord Jesus Christ paid that cost also!

We must praise the Lord for His forgiveness.

Our praise of God for His forgiveness must be personal!

Let’s begin:

*****Psa 103:1 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Again we have another Psalm of David.

God blessed us when He provided the means for our salvation but sometimes we get so caught up in the things of this world, we forget all the other things that God does for us every day.

We bless God when we thank Him for all He has done!

Everyone always asks, “what is the will of God for my life”. The will of God begins with our giving thanks to God for what He has already done and thanking God ahead for the things that He is going to do.

1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

It is the will of God that we find joy in prayer through Jesus Christ in every condition of our life.

There is nothing that we have now that has not been given to us by the Lord except evil.

God does not give us any evil thing!

We must realize that the soul is our living being, our essence of true life.

We have a material body and we have a spiritual body.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

We can bless the Lord in our physical bodies and be rewarded for doing so, but if we do not also bless the Lord with our spiritual bodies then we are not truly blessing the Lord.

Remember when we are created in the image of God, it has nothing to do with our physical bodies, so it is our spiritual body that is made in the image of God!

We must bless the Lord with all our being that He has given to us or we cannot be a blessing to the Lord!

Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Our relationship with the Lord begins when we bring all we are to Him.

There are great benefits when we give our entire being to the Lord for His use.

*****Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

We bless the Lord when we can stop complaining to God long enough to realize all the good things that God has done for us and praise Him for these things.

Most Christians do not have a problem praying to God before a meal but not many will thank God after eating that meal for what He has done.

Deu 8:10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

We have already learned that we need to include a request for mercy in our prayers but we also need to thank God for what He has already done, along with thanking God God for what He is about to do in each and every prayer.

God told Moses to teach the Jews that after they had eaten and were full, it was time to bless God for the good things that He had had given to them.

David is reminding us all of this fact in this Psalm.

What is a benefit?

It can be said that a benefit is an act of kindness. Something that is given for personal happiness. It can be considered a reward in this life for being obedient to the Lord.

So what were some of the things that David wrote were great benefits to him.

Each one of us will have to look at our own selves even though many of our benefits will be the same as those of David.

*****Psa 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

1) What is the very first benefit of knowing the Lord our God on a personal level? He will forgive our iniquities.

An iniquity is more an attitude than an action. Iniquity means we are striving to be crooked rather than to be straight.

Righteousness is doing things the right way. Sin is just the opposite or doing things the wrong way.

Iniquity is a condition of the heart or our inner motives.

Thank God, He will forgive us of our iniquities but we must still realize our sin and ask for forgiveness.

Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Isa 43:26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

The greatest benefit we all have is that we can be forgiven of all our sin!

2) Next David wrote God had benefited many by healing diseases.

Because of our age, we in this “forever young class”, have been healed of many sicknesses or we would not be here today. I myself have been healed of cancer.

It seems that many leave our class and go straight on to the glory world where they are totally healed of all diseases.

They have not only been healed of the known diseases of this world but they have also been healed of the disease of aging, they will age no more and the disease of dying, because they can never die again.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This a great benefit that we sometimes seem to forget.

But are more benefits that these two.

*****Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

3) We have just read where the wages of sin is death, but we have been redeemed if we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

The word “destruction” in this verse means “the pit”.

Psa 30:3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to “the pit”.

We have been redeemed!

We have been ransomed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

How can we ignore such a great benefit as this?

4) We have just spent some time looking at the mercy of God.

God will not only reward us with crowns at the Bema Seat, which we will give back to Him.

But to crown also means “to encircle us” in His mercy in this life we live now, God will surround us with His lovingkindness and His mercy.

Psa 5:11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Psa 5:12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

How can we complain about the things that happen to us in this world and forget such great benefits that God has already given to us and continues to give us everyday?

But that is not all.

*****Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

5) When I was lost and out in this world, I could not be filled to where I was satisfied but my God can satisfy me.

God not only provides the food that I eat to satisfy my physical body but He has also satisfied my soul.

Psa 107:9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

When our mouths are filled with the good things that come from God, how can we complain if we are having that one bad day.

As an eagle grows old grows old and begins to loose it’s feathers it’s upper bill will grow longer than it’s lower bill and the bird will lose the ability to feed itself and will soon die but many of them have found that if they can grind that upper bill down on a “rock” they can again eat and their strength will be renewed.

Psa 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Psa 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Our “Rock” is the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

This is a great benefit for serving the Lord Our God!

*****Psa 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

6) These things represent the providence of God. Many times God’s providence is labeled as God’s government at this time in all our lives.

Government is direction and regulation.

Today in God’s government, He is preparing this world and everyone in it for His future use, and He has been doing this since before the time of Adam!

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

The Lord will execute righteousness according to His Written Word.

The Lord will judge according to His Own Character.

The Lord will judge His entire creation according to the work of His Son Jesus.

Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Appointed means that day is already written in on God’s calender.

There are no actions on this Earth that will determine when the exact “Day of Judgment” will take place only God knows.

*****Psa 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible because God had preserved His Word through the nation of Israel.

The Word of God gives us all a clear picture of God’s character and God’s will for all human beings.

The Word of God is not only God’s instruction manual for this life but the Bible is also God’s Love Letter to each one of us!

If we believe these words, that were inspired by the Holy Spirit but written down for us at the hand of Moses then we should also believe in the Words of our Savior.

Joh 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
Joh 5:47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Remember Moses wrote down for us the acts of Creation. It seems that the Doctrine of Creation as written in the Word of God, comes under attack by this lost world more than most other doctrines of the Bible.

Creation by the design of God and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation are rejected by most of this world but they are both God Truth!

The truth is still the truth even when the world insists on a lie!

Thank God for His patience.

*****Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

God deals with sinners by showing His mercy and His grace.

Mercy pardons sin and Grace bestows favour upon all those that mercy pardons.

God is slow to anger because He will always give space for repentance. This is the called the ‘longsuffering” of God.

These things only happen because God is plenteous in mercy, which means God has an abundance of mercy and willing to show that mercy to all His created beings.

To “Chide” means to rebuke, or punish or in some cases dispute.

If we feel as though every time we make a mistake that God is sitting in Heaven with a big stick to knock us down then we may not repent as quickly as we should.

BUT, God does not bear a grudge!

God wants us to confess and repent immediately of any sin because of His compassion for us.

God would truly rather bless us than chastise us!

Only those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God will see God’s anger throughout eternity!

*****Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

When we get to praising the Lord, we certainly need to praise Him for what He has not done, along with the things He has already done for us!

Remember, the wages of sin are death.

Like David, we deserve to be in the lowest, the most miserable place, in Hell but God has provided us an opportunity to miss out on Hell completely.

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

God does not deal with us according to our sin.

God does not reward us according to our iniquities.

Why?

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, “which taketh away the sin of the world”.

God deals with us as His children but only because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Calvary’s Cross.

*****Psa 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

The science of astronomy was limited but did exist in the Bible times. Now, there are modern telescopes and some of those are in located above our own atmosphere, but even today no one can give us an accurate measurement of the distance between Heaven and Earth so it is still an infinite measurement.

The Lord says His mercy is even much more infinite that the distance between Heaven and Earth but only toward them that fear Him.

For those that reject the Word of God there will be justice without any mercy at all.

SO, how far does God separate us from our sin?

*****Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

If God had said from North to the South, we all know there is a North and a South Pole so we could be fooled into thinking that was at some point an acceptable distance but God said from the East to the West.

East and West can never meet. Once our sin has been forgiven God separates us from that sin and does not ever remember it again.

When we have been “Born Again” into the family of God we should never wallow in our forgiven past.

God has wiped our record clean!

The one thing that interferes with this process is when we refuse to forgive those that sin against us.

This is the direct command of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Lord expects us to grow more and more like Him every day!

*****Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

We must know in our hearts that it was our God who created our entire world, the heavens and earth and everything in between.

But we must also know that our God is like a father to his children.

Today Satan has taken direct aim at the family and there not as many families and certainly not as many fathers who take care of their children, but we have a Father in Heaven who will always be our example of how to be a Father!

God is a tender and compassionate Father.

God offers Himself freely to be the Father of all His creation because He is!

Scientist are fast finding out that our world is more fragile than it seems and could not be billions or even millions of years old but our world could not have survived that long. It is only as old as the Bible says it is!

Though God will never allow it, Mankind does have the ability to destroy itself!

We are also very fragile and can only do so much to live healthy lives.

But, our Father in Heaven is “eternal” and “all powerful”.

The world rejects our “Powerful, Creator” God who has such laws to restrict them and who also promises a “Judgment” is coming and in doing so, most of our world never gets to meet our “Compassionate Savior”!

When God directs our lives, He always remembers that we are only human and a part of His own creation.

It is only because of God’s “Mercy”, God’s “Compassion” and God’s “Promises” that we can exist!

Our weakness and our foolishness still cannot be used as an excuse to sin.

God has given us all the ability to make choices but making the right choices is impossible to do without the knowledge of God!

The one thing we have very little control of and in most cases no control over is our death!

We are made of the dust of this earth and when we die we will return to the dust from which we were made!

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

It is that “Living Soul” that returns to the God who gave it, which is the only reason God gave us the freedom to choose the path of our eternal life.

*****Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psa 103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

We sometimes use the seasons to teach us about the resurrection of life when we see the new Spring come every year.

BUT, we should also see the lessons of Autumn and the lessons of each passing year as we see our own lives as the grass or as a flower of the field.

Most of us celebrate a birthday every year as we get older, until we realize we really do not want to get older.

The prophet Isaiah explains it this way:

Isa 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

When we allow the things that we can see, take precedent over the things we cannot see then our own choices are limited to those things!

Everything in this world has it’s limits and will one day fade away!

The Holy Spirit is only available to us in this life and if we accept Him, by the Lord Jesus Christ, He will remain with us throughout eternity but if not, without Him we will simply blow away until the “Judgment Day”.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This is what “Mercy” is all about, but there are still some things that we must also do.

*****Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
Psa 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

We are foolish to think our strength and our glory is in this life.

1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

Most everyone one of us are somewhat disappointed in the life we have lived because we can look back at the mistakes we have made.

The only glory we can have is in our good health, our abilities, and our wisdom and all these things are by the hand of God.

God’s mercy is everlasting because God’s Word is everlasting!

1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

The Beauty of the Lord is in His “Mercy”!

We began this lesson by mentioning the benefits of knowing the Lord Jesus as Our Savior.

1) These benefits can only come when we keep His covenants.

In order to get the attention of our Father in Heaven we must be baptized in Jesus Christ.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

This not water baptism, this is baptism by the Holy Spirit!

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

2) These benefits can only come when we remember the commandments of the Lord and Then Do Them!

The promise of God’s “Mercy” is only to those that can do these two things.

Our Father will be obedient to His covenants but we as children must be obedient too!

Jesus said:

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Christianity is not in opinion!

Christianity comes by action and those actions must be in accordance with the ways of Jesus Christ!

Christianity is not in a feeling, Christianity is in conforming to the image of God and He has shown us that image by His Son Jesus.

Christianity is not being legal, Christianity is being holy.

1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

*****Psa 103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Not only is our Lord holy but He is absolute Monarch over His entire creation!

Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

As God is Lord, He has prepared a plan.

As God is Almighty, He has the power to see that His plan is fulfilled.

As God is merciful, He has limited Himself to only do good.

As God is perfect, He will make perfect all those that love Him!

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

There is only one way to approach our Mighty God.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

*****Psa 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Psa 103:21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

We can think of Adam who lived more that 800 years and Methuselah who is the oldest man to have ever lived but the angels in Heaven have lived with the Lord and witnessed His magnificence since the first day of creation.

We believe that one third of the angels followed Lucifer but the angels are innumerable so there are still an innumerable number of angels that do the absolute bidding of the Lord.

Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and “to an innumerable company of angels”,

Those that are still in Heaven obey the Lord and they accomplish every commandment of His Words.

The angels are the Lord’s ministers, which means they are the Lord’s servants.

The angels are the Lord’s messengers, which is what the title angel really means.

It is the job of the angels to make the Lord happy by being obedient to His every Word.

It is also the job of all of God’s creation to make the Lord happy by being obedient, which includes all humans.

We bless the Lord when we are obedient to His Word!

And in what ever way we serve the Lord, we will to bless Him with our service.

*****Psa 103:22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

Everything everywhere are to bless the Lord of all.

What is the whole duty of all mankind?

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

At the end of everyday before we pray we need to ask ourselves, “Has our life been a blessing to the Lord”.

Then we need to ask for God’s mercy so we can try a little harder if the Lord sees fit for us to awaken to a new day!

God makes this command very simple:

Psa 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

As long as we are breathing God’s air we need to be a blessing to the Lord!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praising God For His Glory

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Glory

Psalm 96

Here again we have another Psalm without a title but by comparing this Psalm to the Psalms of David it is probable that he wrote this Psalm also.

The pure fact is, that once we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and have been “Born Again”, any of us should be able to write this Psalm.

A study of 1 Chronicles chapter 16 will teach us that this Psalm was written at the return of the Ark to the Tabernacle by King David but we should also be able to see the prophesy that is contained in these scriptures.

This Psalm was delivered to Asaph and we know that Asaph was the singing prophet of God!

When we have found the True and Living God we will all sing praises to Him!

Let’s Begin:

*****Psa 96:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

In the Tabernacle and in the Temple the music was assigned to the Levites and it was only the Levite men who made up the choruses of singers.

It was not that the women could not sing because there are many instances in the Bible where we see the women singing but all these instances are outside the Temple and the Tabernacle.

It may surprise you but in almost every bird species only the male usually sings.

Again it is not because the female bird cannot sing, it is because the female is in search of a mate and their own singing could cause confusion.

God is not the author of confusion even in the animal world!

Women in the Bible times lived in a patriarchal society. The role of the woman was restricted to the home and family.

Women were subjected to the rule of their male counterpart but they were also adored for their beauty and their purity and in many cases in the Bible they actually held leadership roles in government.

But in religious life, women were always subordinate to men.

It was not until the time of Lord Jesus Christ that that barrier for was lifted for the women by Christianity.

We should not forget men and women have always been on equal standing in the eyes of God from their day of creation.

We are all created in the image of God!

Knowing these things we still have our separate roles.

Just as that male bird will sing out to find a suitable partner, only the male who recognizes that the woman, is in all ways his equal, will ever be able to find a suitable partner.

In Christianity we are all made one in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

And we can all now sing a “New Song”!

In the time of David, that new song was about the coming of the Messiah and the practicing Jew is still singing that same song.

But these songs of prophecy go far beyond the coming of the Messiah and point to His return the second time to judge this Earth and sit as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This will be the time when all false religions will learn to worship and praise the Lord Jesus Christ.

That word “sing” is the command for all of us, male and female, to “praise” the Lord!

Jesus Christ is the “manifested Glory” of God!

Isa 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

At the same time that our Father in Heaven declares He will not give His glory to another, He commands us to give praise and glory to His Son who created all the things we can see and all the things we cannot see.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

There should be no doubt in our minds who we should praise.

There is no doubt who we should “Glorify”!

There is no doubt why we should be singing a “new song”!

It is the Lord who is our Savior!

*****Psa 96:2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

Three times in these first 2 verses we have seen the command to “sing”.

The number three is a divine number.

Three times in these first two verses we have also seen the title “LORD”.

The thing we know for sure is that the Lord Jesus is:

1) The Way.

2) The Truth.

3) The Life.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The Trinity of God is a fundamental to the Christian doctrine!

The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost are “the three” who are the completely united persons who form our God.

This must be the truth of Christianity but this truth is rejected by all false religion.

It is only when you know the true God of the Bible that you can sing a “new song”.

God not only reveals His name to us in the Bible but He reveals His true character.

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord our God and we must sing, sing, sing, to praise His Holy Name!

And His name will be blessed forever!

Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

We have no excuses for not showing forth His gift of salvation from day to day.

Even when we are having our worst day, if you know the Lord Jesus, you are still saved!

The greatest thing we can have in this world is the knowledge that we are saved!

1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

All those that say they do not know for sure, need to get back on their knees until they know for sure the salvation of the Lord!

When we know these things we also know that we are to walk in the ways of the Lord and be a witness to His truth of salvation.

We are commanded to sing a “new song” and we are commanded to tell the entire world why we can have that “new song”!

*****Psa 96:3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

What then is the subject matter of this new song?

It is the glory of our Lord Jesus.

We need to declare, His name, His praise, His wonders of redemption and His promises.

And who are we to declare these things to? The entire world we live.

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

And what is that message of our new song? It is the “good news” the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”;

We must not think of the wonders of the Lord as just being His miracles.

The wonders of the Lord are shown more in His mercy and in His grace.

The wonders of the Lord are shown in His Love, His wisdom, and in His power.

There is no one on this earth that deserves to be left behind in the hands of Satan when the Lord has provided such an escape to all who will believe.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

There is nothing more important than this message of God!

Why?

*****Psa 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

Our God is great!

God is an invisible, personal, and living spirit.

God is self-existent, eternal and unchanging.

God is omniscient, faithful and wise beyond all knowledge.

God is just, merciful, and loving.

God hates evil and God is omnipotent and cannot fail against evil.

God created humans for one purpose.

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Those that want to spend eternity with our Great God will praise Him according to His greatness!

The difference between the true God and all the false gods of this world is this.

In every false religion it is the responsibility of the believer to make appeasement to their so called god. In other words it rest on that person to provide works that are good enough or a sacrifice that is approved to satisfy the requirements of their false god.

But our Great God, Jehovah, has taken it upon Himself to provide a means of salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our only works is to have “Faith”!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

All gods of false religion are man-made either by hand or in their minds!

*****Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

An idol is an image or anything else used as an object of worship in place of the true God, Jehovah, the God of the Bible!

Idolatry is every thing which men set up in their hearts to regard, which lessens their reverence of the Lord.

Revered means actual fear mingled with respect and affection!

It is the Lord who is also our Creator!

We did not exist until the Lord spoke us into existence!

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Our God is the author of physical life and also the author of eternal life!

*****Psa 96:6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

We have no idea of the splendour of Heaven but God has revealed at least two things here that we know are of Heaven.

Neither strength nor beauty are uncommon but to find this combination in “one” is rare.

In our world, beauty is very seldom strong and those with strength very seldom have much beauty.

The Temple of Solomon was a man-made sanctuary that defined strength and beauty.

1) Strength:

In reality, it is better for all buildings to be strong rather than a thing of beauty.

The same thing is true of our own character.

Atheist are absorbed in their own character and have no beauty.

All false religions rely on man-made character and try their best to beautify it but it is still a false beauty.

It is only the strong earnest character we obtain from a walk with the Lord Jesus Christ that can be called beautiful.

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Character is the thing that marks a real human being!

2) Beauty:

Most Christians are content with their strength and care very little for the beauty of the Christian life.

We have a tendency to tell the sinner he is bound for Hell and not provide them with the only means of escape.

This is strength that lacks beauty.

If we observe God’s creation we can see that God created beautiful things.

The bluest skies, the beautiful grasslands and flowery meadows, the wonderful oceans and seas, the majestic night time skies and so much more.

It is man-made things that tarnish God’s creation.

The beauty of the Christian is his faith!

The Temple of Solomon may have defined beauty and strength of the man-made but only a God can make a temple that can truly possess these qualities!

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

It is only the holy temple of God that can have strength first and then beauty!

*****Psa 96:7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Psa 96:8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

When we began we saw that word “sing” mentioned three times.

We also saw the title LORD mention three times and related this to the Holy Trinity, our Triune God.

We now see the word “give” written down for us three times.

Giving is best described as sharing what you have with others.

We might ask, what do I have to “give” unto the Lord?

The Bible is specific:

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Many may say “well God saved my soul but I continue to struggle with a body that is not worthy”.

Again the Bible is specific:

1Th 5:23 And the very God of peace “sanctify you wholly”; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Th 5:24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

God is in the process of sanctifying our whole body, our whole spirit and our whole soul, surely we can give all our selves to the Lord.

God sacrificed His only Son Jesus in a bloody sacrifice so that we could bring to Him an unbloodied sacrifice!

We are to bring to God a “living sacrifice” which is ourselves and we are to bring with it our thanksgivings.

There are no sacrifices other than these if we include our with these our tithe!

We must give ourselves.

We must give our thanksgivings.

We must give our tithe.

And we must give all these things for the glory of the Lord!

If the Lord is faithful to fulfill His promises and He is, we must be just as faithful to Him!

God says that none should appear before Him with empty hands!

*****Psa 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

We cannot say we are going to worship if we come to God empty handed!

Holiness means we are consecrated to the service of God.

Consecrated means we have separated ourselves from the world and are prepared to follow the will of God.

Following the will of God is first being obedient to God’s written Word and only after that, will God point out any special request He has for us!

Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Personal holiness can also be called sanctification!

2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Sanctification can only come by the work of the Holy Spirit and it is a beautiful thing in the eyes of God.

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

This is our greatest goal in our worship to give ourselves totally to God!

*****Psa 96:10 Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.

Though much of this world could care less what will happen tomorrow because they just live for today, those that remain live in fear of our world being destroyed by our own actions or the actions of some evil people.

There are truly evil men in this world who would destroy it in a false hope of an even a more false religion.

The pure facts are, that the world we live in shall be shaken to the point of destruction:

Isa 24:19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
Isa 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

This an absolute fact and all the prophesies of the Bible will be fulfilled, which include the fact that this verse states that a new world will be established that cannot be moved.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

The heathen are the lost of this world and this is the message that we are to bring to them, beginning with the “good news”, the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God will judge all people righteously before these other things can take place!

It these things that can lead to joy in this life!

*****Psa 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Psa 96:12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

The angels in Heaven who have been involved in spiritual warfare from the time of Lucifer’s fall and the fall of mankind, will finally rejoice to see the end of this wickedness.

All God’s creation will rejoice:

Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And all those that know the Lord Jesus as their Savior will rejoice:

Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

If we remember, our world has been under a curse since the time of Adam’s fall:

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

In the time of the tribulation that curse will devour this world we live in:

Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

But at the end of that 7 year period when the Lord comes to judge this earth that curse will be lifted:

Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

It will be time to rejoice throughout all of God’s creation!

The King is coming!

*****Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

There is only one other prophecy that has to be fulfilled before this day takes place and that is the “Rapture” of the Church.

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

There is absolutely no reason, that we that know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, are not rejoicing now knowing all these things.

We have the glory of the Lord within us!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praise God For His Mercy

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Mercy

Psalm 86

The mercy of God can be described as the love and the goodness of God shown to all those who are in misery or distress, irregardless of what they deserve.

Mercy can also be described as loving kindness.

Psalm 86 is listed as a prayer of David.

There are 3 Psalms that are specifically listed as the prayers of David. Psalms 17, and Psalm 142 are the other two.

Almost everyone of the Psalms of David included prayers but in this Psalm, David listed 14 specific prayer requests.

We can see that David was urgent for help but he could hope in his prayer because he had personally witnessed the mercy of God in many answered prayers already.

The most important thing to remember in our prayer life is “Who” we are praying to!

Let’s Begin:

*****Psa 86:1 A Prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

There is only “One” who can answer any prayer and His name is Jehovah, the “I Am” of the Bible!

Knowing “Who” to pray too is the beginning of the answer to our prayers.

When we pray we already know what to expect because we know something about our God from knowing and studying His Word.

We live in a world of man-made religion where prayers are offered up that cannot be answered but by Satan.

What did Elijah say to all those of false religion?

1Ki 18:27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; “either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked”.

And what answer did these of false religion receive?

1Ki 18:29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, “that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded”.

A false god has no power to answer prayer because a false god has no power to hear a prayer.

There is only one true God and his name is Jehovah!

The next most important thing we must realize is “who we are”!

When we can come to Jehovah lowly, because we have been humbled, or feeble, because of our sickness, or desperate, because we have lost all hope, our Lord will bow down His ear to hear our request.

We can go boldly to the throne room of God but if we go in with demands His ears will not be open to our prayer!

When we make ourselves to be something in the eyes of a Holy God, we already have His answer, for we are nothing but the poor and needy and wretched sinners.

Compared to Jehovah we certainly live in poverty and we certainly lack the skills and the power to provide for all our needs, especially our salvation!

What is the downfall of this world we live in?

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

This verse best describes the world we live in today but also the modern day Church!

Without Jehovah we are wretched, we will live miserable lives, and will remain poor, blind to the Word of God and spiritually naked to the truth!

Our only help lies in Jehovah, the Living God!

*****Psa 86:2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

It is only Jehovah who can keep us safe from our enemies.

It is only Jehovah who offers divine protection to all those that have placed their faith in Him.

AND, we are only safe because we know the One True God!

AND, we can only be holy because we belong to Him!

We must be set apart for the Lord’s use before He will shelter us from our enemies!

God will not always take our troubles away but He will certainly walk with us through them all and He will not allow us to suffer unjustly for very long.

To “preserve” is to save us from injury and destruction and to defend us from evil.

Salvation is a promise of God!

BUT, Salvation can only begin with our trust in Jehovah!

Jehovah is the God of revelation and the God of redemption and this name also includes the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must make Jesus Christ Our Lord!

Jesus Christ is Jehovah’s ultimate revelation of Himself to mankind and the only One through whom God redeems mankind to Himself!

Jesus Christ is the bridge to salvation!

But this comes only if we place our trust in Him!

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

When we know these all things we can become familiar with the mercy of God.

*****Psa 86:3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

The next most important thing to remember in our prayers is to just allow God to decide how to answer our prayer.

Specific request are rarely given because God knows what is best for each of us.

This is something that we cannot know!

The pure fact of His mercy is our greatest asset.

Anything that God gives is undeserving, and should be considered a real need!

What is the truth of Jehovah God?

Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

If we do not know these things, we certainly cannot appeal to the God of mercy!

And God does not say to repeat the same prayer daily as those of false religion do, but there are certain things that should be in our prayer daily, one being, we need to pray for the “mercy” of God.

It is a biblical fact that we should be in a state of prayer all day long and every day that we exist.

1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Prayer is a spiritual attitude that we must have!

Prayer shows our trust in God for all things relevant to this life!

Prayer shows our confidence in the Lord!

Prayer is staying in touch with Home at all times!

In order to rejoice evermore we should be in a constant state of prayer!

*****Psa 86:4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

We must have a great desire to stay in touch with our Father in Heaven.

We must know our place, we are the servant!

We, who were once the slaves of Satan now belong to the Lord.

We have been bought and paid for, we are now the slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We must have a great desire for spiritual blessings rather than the things in this world that only bring sorrow.

We must realize that the nearer we are to our Father in Heaven the better off we are!

We absolutely cannot walk the Christian walk, without lifting up our soul to the Lord!

Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Why should we do these things? Because our God is full of mercy.

*****Psa 86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

What is the Lord our God the very best at? Our God is the very best at being good!

Our God is good at giving, He gave us His Son Jesus to save our souls.

Our God is good at forgiving. He will pardon our sin because of His Son Jesus.

Our God is good at removing our evil. He has washed us in the blood of His Son Jesus.

Our God is good at supplying us with His own good! He has given us His Word of truth.

Our God is good because of His mercy and the Lord Jesus Christ is the full manifested Mercy of God!

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

And what must we do, we must call upon Him in faith!

*****Psa 86:6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

Besides our obedience, our prayers are the greatest form of worship that we possess!

Supplications are our humble and earnest prayers in the worship of our Father in Heaven.

There is no doubt that many of our prayers are done in silence or mentally but the truth is we must also pray with our voices.

In that time of trouble we need to cry out to the Lord.

The Lord Jesus is also our example in learning about this prayer.

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son

God will answer these prayers!

*****Psa 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

It is useless to call out to someone who cannot hear and who does not have the ability to help us!

We are also wasting our breathe, “if we believe that our prayers have no effect on God”!

God would not insist on our prayers if He were never going to listen and answer them!

Our merciful God will come to the aid of those that love Him and call on Him.

No matter how undeserving we are, if we trust in the promises of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, God will answer our prayers!

God is not only willing to listen to us not only in our times of trouble, but He is willing to listen to us at all times we pray.

God wants to know all the good things and all the bad things that bother us!

Once we have witnessed the merciful hand of God, how can we not take all our troubles to Him as quickly as possible!

We live in a troubling world and God knows these things.

The Lord Jesus faced every temptation known to man and He lived in this same troubled world, He knows what we are going through!

We should go ahead and thank the Lord for what He is going to do, because we know what He has already done!

There is no One like our God!

*****Psa 86:8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

Every false religion that exist on this earth including the atheist worship some god!

The atheist worship the god of themselves!

We know that all false gods are really a form of Satan!

There are also kings, rulers, and presidents who think they have the power of God.

There are gods by superstition that are truly vain.

There are idols and statues that are claimed to be gods.

BUT, there is only One True and Living God!

Isa 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

There is only One God and there is only One Creator and they are One and the same!

*****Psa 86:9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

“All nations” mean “all mankind”.

Since there is only One true God, He promises a day when the entire world will see this fact.

In every religion the people of that religion are searching for the path that will appease their god.

In Christianity, the Bible teaches us that this is an impossible quest!

Jehovah God knew had to send His only Son to do that work and only He could pay the price to appease Him.

This is the “good news” of the Bible and the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”;

All those that have been deceived by Satan, will one day discover the greatness of Jehovah God and will worship before Him.

This can only happen after the Church has been removed, and after the 7 year tribulation period, and during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

Rev 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

The worldwide worship of the Lord will only happen after the judgment of God.

*****Psa 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

In verse 5 David wrote that the Lord was good because of His goodness.

“Goodness” is the sum of all the qualities which make Our Lord Jesus Christ perfect!

Now David writes the Lord is great because of His greatness.

“Greatness” is the bulk of that perfection of the Lord Jesus into the all powerful Triune God.

When “greatness and goodness” are united into One Divine Being, then we have the true God that stands alone!

To be great and not be good could lead to cruelty and oppression as we have seen from the so called rulers of this earth.

To be good and not be great could mean that our Lord does not have the power to fulfill His promises.

Being good means God is always ready to forgive!

Being great means the Lord is our Creator who works wondrous things for the entire world to see!

Our world is filled with the wonders of God and most people are to blind to see these things!

Our God did not stop when He had created our world, our God continues to do wondrous things every day!

It is a foolish world that thinks our world exist by accident!

It is a foolish world that thinks they can alter the wonders of God!

God gives us a picture of the resurrection of life every spring.

God gives us a picture of the fruit of that resurrection every fall with the harvest.

God paints a picture of His handiwork in every night time sky.

God shows a picture of the glory of His Son in our own sun that rises every day without end.

It is Jehovah God that sits on the circle of our earth in total control according to His own plan for each of us!

God was God before any part of His creation existed!

And true Christianity will accept no compromise to any of these things of Jehovah God!

Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Our life can only begin when we walk in the truth of God!

This is why we need His instructions.

*****Psa 86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

There is not a day that goes by that we should be trying to learn something new about our Lord.

We should pray for His instructions at all times.

We need to pray for Him to show us His plan for our lives.

God has a specific purpose for each of us but we must first be obedient to His written Word.

Christianity can happen only by the instruction of God!

Our instructor can only be our Lord!

Psa 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

We have been given our Instructors manual!

The Bible will reveal to us God’s plan of salvation!

The Bible will then show us the path to righteousness!

We must desire God’s instructions.

AND, when we are taught we need to walk in His instructions.

The truth of God must be a matter of our daily life!

Until we go home to be with the Lord, our greatest struggle in this life is not with any enemy.

Our greatest struggle is that battle within ourselves, God’s Word against our own sin nature!

When our heart is divided because of our own desires, we become weak Christians and are not fit for God’s perfect plan.

Pro 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

And we certainly need to pray for His instructions when we are in trouble!

When we understand all these things we can then properly praise the Lord.

*****Psa 86:12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

We can only offer up true praise to the Lord when our own heart is united to His truth!

God will not accept our heart in pieces!

God will not accept our praise with less than all our heart!

And none of things can take place until we know the Lord is our God.

The object of our beliefs must be in One person and that One person is Jesus Christ!

Act 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

When we belong to the Lord wholeheartedly, He will never stop blessing us.

We should never stop praising Him in this life and we will certainly praise Him in our new life!

We must remember what “Grace” truly means!

Grace is the unmerited favor of God!

We could not have “Grace” without God’s “Mercy”!

*****Psa 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

Personal experience is the greatest of teachers!

The “Mercy” of God comes because of God’s faithfulness to His Son Jesus!

God’s “Mercy” comes to us free of obligation.

God’s “Mercy” comes because He chooses to give it!

Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Our God is indeed rich in “Mercy”!

The Bible does not say that there different levels in Hell.

It is possible that there are different compartments in Hell, one of those being where the fallen angels are located.

2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

The Bible does refer to different degrees of torture.

Mat 11:22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

BUT, David is not making a reference to any of these things.

David is just saying, we must realize that we are so wretched as sinners that we should realize that we deserve to be in the lowest most miserable portion of Hell, but the Lord has seen fit to deliver us from any portion of Hell, if we call upon His name!

The “Mercy” of God brings with it God’s “Grace” and the gift of God’s “Grace” is eternal salvation!

SO, where to we begin?

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

*****Psa 86:14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

The Hebrew word used for “proud” in this verse means the “arrogant”.

The “arrogant” are all those that make themselves more important than those around them.

In America today, Christianity is listed by the Office of Homeland Security as a terrorists organization.

Our own government says that true Christians are to be monitored as terrorist.

We can see that these proud and arrogant non-believers are rising up against the believer!

Those violent men include those men who sit in power, acting like tyrants rather than servants, and they, assembling together, with all those that think the same way they do and they are seeking to destroy or severely limit the Christian and the God of the Bible.

These things not only happened in the time of David but have never ceased and are increasing in our day.

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

SO, what are the Christians to continue to do?

2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

We can be assured that if our national leaders feared God they would not allow these things to happen!

The proof is in their actions!

They will continue to allow violent and cruel acts toward the Christian.

These Atheist hate all mankind but them selves!

AND, to hate Christianity is to hate humanity!

These things are not of God!

*****Psa 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

We can see the great contrast when we compare the foolishness of the proud and arrogant but puny men, to the glory of the Lord.

God is full of compassion on whosoever will trust in Him.

God is full of “Grace” to all those that trust His Son.

God is full of “Mercy” to all those that come to know Him on a personal level.

Because our God is full of truth!

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

God will never forsake those that believe His truth.

*****Psa 86:16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

Sometimes it seems that the Lord has turned away from us but that is simply not true.

The Lord will never turn away from His children!

If anyone moves away it is always us!

Again we see that in many cases we need to ask for “Mercy” before we make our request known.

God may remove His favor but He will never remove His face to those that love Him!

The greatest gift besides eternal salvation is that God gives to us is His strength to face the things of this world!

We cannot serve the Lord without His strength so He is always willing to share His strength with us.

This begins once we are saved by the filling and sealing of the Holy Spirit.

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

When the Lord gives us His own strength, we are prepared for all emergencies but only if we rely on His strength!

To be the “son of thy handmaid” is to say you are a home-born servant of God!

Just as slaves who are born of parents of slavery within the home of their master then become the masters property, we are home-born slaves when we are “Born Again” to the Lord!

Once we are saved we have a new owner!

1Co 7:22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.
1Co 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
1Co 7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

We belong to God!

1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Just as Mary was given the child Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, the Born Again child of God has been given to the Lord Jesus by the same Holy Spirit!

To be a servant to our New Master is the grandest job on this earth!

*****Psa 86:17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

Every time we are delivered from our troubles by the Lord it confounds our enemies.

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

What is the truth of the Gospel?

The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him!

There is no greater comfort than knowing that your life is in the hand of the Lord.

Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

And there is no one or no thing that can take us out of the hand of the Lord, not even ourselves!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praising God For His Justice

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise God For His Justice

Psalms 73

What is justice?

Justice means rendering to every one that which is his due!

Justice means doing what the law demands!

Justice differs from equity in that equity is the impartial distribution of justice.

God says:

Psa 98:9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Our God is not a tyrant but neither is He a weakling, when He comes to judge this world His actions will be the exact right thing to do.

The justice of God is just as real and certain as His mercy and is as much a fact as our salvation is true!

Let’s begin!

*****Psa 73:1 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.

Asaph was one of the leaders of the choir who was appointed by David and put in place by Solomon in the new Temple.

There are 12 Psalms attributed to Asaph.

Asaph was also a skilled musician and not many realize it but Asaph was also a “seer”, a prophet called of God.

2Ch 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of “Asaph the seer”. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Asaph could see into the future and Asaph prophesied with his music.

What is the truth of God’s prophets?

Each prophet was to proclaim the message given to him of God!

Each prophet spoke in God’s name and by God’s authority and their thus words must thus be true.

Asaph begins with “Truly God is good to Israel”.

It can never be said that Jehovah God has not been and will always be good to His covenant people Israel!

Who are the true Israel?

Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Here we see that of all the children of Abraham it is only Isaac, the only son by Sarah, that is the Father of Israel.

These are the children of the the promises of God!

The true Israel is not those that ceremonially clean but all those that have been cleaned in their inward parts.

We must know that we will never understand the things of God until we spend some time in His Word!

Asaph was led of God to sing the songs of prophesy but even Asaph had doubts sometimes just as we all do!

*****Psa 73:2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

No matter who we are, our faith will waver from time to time.

It will sometimes seem to be a great burden to walk in the ways of God.

We will sometimes stagger at the weight of being obedient to the Word of God.

The Lord is surely good and we know He is our example but there will be days when we cannot see how we will ever meet such a high standard as God has set before us.

What is the greatest cause of these things? Envy of the things we see in this world!

*****Psa 73:3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Envy can described as being discontent. Asaph was discontent because he was focused on those he considered superior to him, the wicked rich and prosperous.

There is not one way that a lost soul is superior to a saved soul!

All those that reject the Word of God are fools!

When we become envious of fools we are even more foolish!

But sometimes when we see the prosperity of these wicked people it’s hard not to be envious of them.

When we forget that we will inherit the vast riches of Heaven and become envious of the things in this world we just do not have our priorities in order.

When we become fixed on the present and forget the future of those that reject the Lord Jesus it will affect our faith and we will then become miserable Christians.

There is nothing in this world we should desire greater than our relationship with the Lord!

*****Psa 73:4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.
Psa 73:5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.

Death is a reality for every member of the human race but the Bible teaches us that the soul cannot die.

It is the Christian that should come to death with a peace that cannot be understood but that is not always the case.

But a quiet death also does not always mean a happy hereafter.

What Asaph saw was that most of the rich wicked people on this earth do not have a great concern for their death and the hereafter.

What Asaph saw was that those that were rich but wicked could afford the best doctors and the best medicine and in most cases could live a healthy life and by these same means they could slip into a painless death.

God says:

Pro 31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Pro 31:7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Pro 31:8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

Many of the rich die as well as they live but they will still miss out on Heaven.

It is a fact that if you are a Christian you will face many tribulations before you can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!

The truth is, let them have what they can get in this world for that’s all they will ever have without Christ Jesus!

*****Psa 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

Pride is unreasonable conceit!

Conceit is a high opinion of your own self above all others.

God says:

Pro 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Pride is the sin of Satan and all those that think they are too good to yield to the Word of God!

Those that are so full of pride, wear their pride better than anything that money can buy.

In their boastful arrogance they wear the garments of evil and they are proud of it!

We have to be blind to see that our own nation is failing because those in control are so full of self pride that they think they know best what is good for everyone else.

Only the ones who know the Lord Jesus Christ on a personal level can know what is good for them, not any government!

Asaph saw these same things it was testing his faith.

*****Psa 73:7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

Those that are rich are usually fat with the things that money can buy but their eyes are always searching for something they do not have.

But those same eyes convey an attitude of arrogance and fierceness for all those considered to be a lower class of people.

If they had all the world, they would still be searching for something else because their prideful lust cannot be satisfied.

They are evil continually!

*****Psa 73:8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.

In the Bible times those that were buried were said not to be corrupt until the 4th day. Here we see that those that are rich and wicked are corrupt, their flesh is rotting away, before they die a physical death.

Oppression is the act of imposing unreasonable burdens on others, such as taxes, or services, and even cruelty.

They not only defend their ways, they insist on them, as the way things should be.

They speak as if they were sitting on the judges bench and they expect all the world to stand in awe of them!

I cannot help but think about what is going on in Washington, DC as I study these passages.

*****Psa 73:9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

With such pride and arrogance they defy Jehovah God and relate Him as just another false religion that are the true troublemakers in this world.

They make themselves the gods of this world and speak down on the ordinary man!

They overcome every obstacle to find victims they can slander and abuse.

They believe that no one and no thing is out of their reach.

They believe they can say anything at anytime and their words will be as they come from God and should be accepted.

What did God ask Satan?

Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

The wicked rich men of this world carry with them all the traits of Satan.

*****Psa 73:10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.

Because of all these things God’s people return to Him over and over again complaining that the wicked evil prosper while God’s people suffer persecution and some of it is terrible.

They become full of doubt, and confused, thinking that God just does not care and they fall into the same snares of Satan over and over again.

David wrote in the 23 Psalm these words:

Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; “my cup runneth over”.

Here in this verse we see that our cup that was running over with the joy of salvation has now now been wrung out and contain no joy at all.

Paul wrote to Timothy these words:

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, “they have erred from the faith”, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

We see that when we earnestly desire the things of this world we will begin to doubt our faith.

Sorrow is uneasiness or the pain in our minds but this pain in our minds will penetrate deep into our being and interfere with our walk with God.

And how do the ungodly respond in our weakness?

*****Psa 73:11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
Psa 73:12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.
Psa 73:13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.

Those that reject the truth of God will say even if there is a God, He is not concerned with what is going on in this world.

They will flatter themselves thinking that what they are doing is not observed from Heaven.

They will say even if there be a God, He does not deal with us on a personal level.

They will just say how can God know all these things.

And all those that desire those same riches will get caught up in this foolishness.

This is one of the greatest stumbling blocks of true faith!

The ungodly seem to prosper while the godly suffer.

These who have no respect for other human beings and deserve to be chased out of this world become the owners of most of the world and no matter the laws, or who sits as ruler, they increase in riches.

It has amazed me in America that not only have the rich gotten richer and the poor gotten poorer but those that have always been in the middle are now come under full attack of the rich.

There is no transfer of wealth of the rich to the poor, there is only a transfer of wealth from the middle to the rich and all but them become poor.

We are so easily deceived by the work of Satan!

Poor Asaph questions the value of holiness and his own salvation just as many others have throughout all generations.

Asaph was a prophet of God yet he too fell into this same snare of the Devil.

Who are we to think we cannot fall into this same trap?

Asaph had kept his walk with the Lord as pure as he had his inner being but he was full of doubt at this time of the rewards of his salvation, saying how can these things be true?

*****Psa 73:14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.

When we are struggling with our salvation, we will find that God may be working on us the most.

It will seem that the more effort we put into living a holy life, the more we are being tested in our faith.

What is the truth?

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

The trials of our faith are precious to the Lord.

We all know that a faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted!

There is not a day that goes by that the Christian is not on God’s training ground and we must accept that God knows what He is doing in our lives!

It is always best to accept what God is doing is best for us and keep our own personal thoughts between us and our God.

*****Psa 73:15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
Psa 73:16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

It is not always wise to speak one’s thoughts to other believers.

Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

We must always look at the consequences of our speech to others especially to those of the Church!

1Co 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.

Asaph decided to bridle his tongue and this is the same thing we should all do.

The thoughts of causing harm to our family of God should over come any desire to say anything that could cause problems with our Church family.

We really have only one answer to all life’s problems, we must take them to the Lord!

*****Psa 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

The solution to these problems and all others that can interfere with our relationship with the Lord can only be found in the presence of God!

God is righteous but also merciful!

God is holy but also forgiving!

We must change our point of view, away from the things of this world, to the things of the glory world!

The solution to these things is not in our present world.

Our solution comes by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the New World to come!

Hell awaits the ungodly, while Heaven awaits all those that God has redeemed through the blood of His Son!

When we understand the end of all the ungodly and wicked people on this earth, we will not desire the things they have on this earth that will only lead to their own destruction!

It is at the house of God where we can hear the preaching of the truth.

It is at the house of God where we can join others in the study of God’s Word.

It is at the house of God where we can fellowship with others who are going through or have already gone through the things that seem to cause us the most problems.

It is at the house of God where we can learn the joy of the Lord.

The end for the saints of God is peace, rest, and salvation.

The end of the wicked is ruin, destruction, and death!

What did Jesus say to the rich man?

Luk 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

When we open our eyes to the truth of God we will see the future of all those that reject the Lord Jesus Christ and we will not want any part of the things that they think they possess!

The Bible says “to be not envious of evil men nor desire to be with them”.

The feet of the evil are on slippery ground.

*****Psa 73:18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

What did Asaph realize?

It is God who sits on the throne. Those that are rich, prosperous and powerful did not get that way by accident. God had made these arrangements.

These things from God were not intended to bless these wicked people.

God pointed out that no man can stand on his own without God and the higher they are the more dangerous the places of riches and honor.

It can be treacherous feeling standing on slippery ground.

It is God that set them up and it is God that will bring them down unless they find the will of God for their lives just like all others.

Many of them end in temporary destruction on this earth and everlasting destruction from where there is no escape.

*****Psa 73:19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.
Psa 73:20 As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

Many rich and powerful people fall suddenly!

The destruction of Pharaoh came suddenly in the midst of the Red Sea.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah came suddenly.

The destruction Korah came suddenly as the earth opened up and engulfed them.

And that destruction was not only came suddenly but that destruction was full of terror.

Pharaoh felt the terror of drowning.

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were fleeing from the heat of the flame.

The family of Korah felt the terror of falling into the bottomless pit.

All those that forget they owe their existence to the Living God will see all their possessions taken away from them or just given to someone else.

Their life will seem as dream turned into a nightmare.

When the Lord returns to judge this world, it will not be a pleasant day for those that have rejected His Word.

It is in the wisdom of the Lord that lies true riches.

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

*****Psa 73:22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
Psa 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

When we finally awaken to the truth of God it is like a light bulb goes off in our brains and we will realize how foolish we really are.

Not just foolish but truly stupid to envy those that are on such a path of destruction.

Knowing what God says will change the way we think.

Remember to repent is not just saying I’m sorry.

Repenting is not just changing our direction from the ways of the world to the ways of God.

Repenting is also a complete change in the way we think of sin!

Animals do not have the ability to see the errors of their way and change but God ‘s people are not and never have been any part of the animal world!

Animals cannot ask for forgiveness.

Envy is a terrible sin that must be confessed before the Lord and yes, we will be forgiven!

Our sin nature places us just barely above the animal world but our faith places us in close proximity to the Lord.

It is the Lord that holds our hand even when we are on the slippery slopes of this world.

Asaph had come close to falling into this snare of the Devil but it was the Word of God and the sanctuary of God that had awakened him to the truth.

*****Psa 73:24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

We must be done with choosing our own way.

We do not possess the knowledge to pick our own path in this sinful world.

We must ask to be led by the Lord and we must then follow obediently.

When we pray that sinners prayer we are asking to Lord to take control of our lives.

The Lord will then awaken us to His Word which will show us the correct path to follow.

It is our willingness to obey the Word of God and listen to The Holy Spirit that will guide us through sanctification in our walk with the Lord and the end result is “glorification”.

1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

*****Psa 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

When we are able to turn away from the glitter of this world and turn toward God we can focus on true riches that are everlasting.

In Heaven we have God the Father, who will keep all His covenants.

In Heaven we have God the Son, our Mediator, our Savior, and our Redeemer and our Intercessor.

In Heaven we have God the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter who has sealed us until we get to Heaven.

There is nothing on this earth that can compare to the things in Heaven.

Isa 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

*****Psa 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

This world we live in will cause our heart to fail.

This world we live in will cause our flesh to fail.

But when the Lord is our strength we simply cannot fail because the Lord will not allow it!

We need to place all our desires at the feet of the Lord, there is nothing more desirable than to know the Lord.

Friendship with the world will breed envy but the Holy Spirit is more jealous of us than this world we live in and He will not be overcome.

Our God will live forever and He wants us to be with Him forever!

*****Psa 73:27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
Psa 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

God expects a close and personal relationship with Him, so we must be near to God to live. Sin creates distance between us and the Lord.

Our God is a jealous God that requires us to serve Him and Him only!

God sees deep into the heart and will destroy pretenders of the faith along with all unbelievers!

What did Asaph finally realize?

He realized that if he had never doubted the Lord to begin with, he would not be suffering all these things!

The closer we cling to Jesus, the safer we will be in this world we live.

What is the realization of providence of the Lord?

That nothing happens on this earth that our Father in Heaven does not have ultimate control over.

Nothing on this Earth is subject to fate!

God did not create our world and then just go somewhere to leave it operating on it’s own!

God is not His own creation!

God is not in a battle between good and evil!

God has no limits and there is nothing that happens on this earth that God has no control over.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

One of the greatest verses in the Bible says this:

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We must accept that God knows what He is doing and our job is to trust Him and tell others how wonderful He truly is!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Proclaiming The Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Proclaim The Lord

Psalm 71

Proclaim means to announce, or to publish and we should be continuously proclaiming the Lord.

We cannot proclaim the Lord until we have placed our salvation into His hands.

We cannot proclaim the Lord until we know Him on a close and personal level.

We have been working on ways to improve our walk with the Lord and it is our walk with the Lord that other people first see, so to proclaim the Lord begins when others can notice the change in our lives after salvation.

Let’s Begin:

*****Psa 71:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

The first thing we notice about this psalm is that the writer is anonymous, still most believe it was David that wrote this psalm.

This psalm has no title. In other words once we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, any of us should be able to write this psalm.

We cannot be saved unless we have this confidence in the Lord. We cannot live a joyful life unless we put our trust in the Lord!

Everyday we live is another day we must trust the Lord to meet our needs and guard against any trust in our own selves to provide those needs.

We will certainly trust the Lord when we are on the mountain but we must also trust the Lord when we are in our deepest valleys.

God requires a close intimate relationship and the closer that relationship is, the more we will trust Him!

Confusion about our relationship with the Lord will only bring shame. So as long as we live in this world we must never feel ashamed to be a Christian.

A good way to begin every prayer is to proclaim to the Lord just how much we trust Him!

*****Psa 71:2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

It is only after we have placed our trust in the Lord that we can be delivered from a life of sin!

Where should we get our faith?

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The “substance” of our “faith” is the promises that God makes in His Written Word.

And without this “faith” we cannot please God.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Jehovah God is a righteous God and it is a righteous thing for God to keep His promises.

But we must be just as righteous in our own “faith” in God to keep those promises!

When we ask for the right things to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives and we ask in the right “faith” then these things cannot be turned down!

We must have confidence in this fact!

We must have confidence in this promise!

Mat 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, “If ye have faith, and doubt not”, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; “it shall be done”.

It is this faith that brings with it eternal salvation but it is that same faith that will also save us from many of the turmoils of this life!

*****Psa 71:3 Be thou “my” strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

We have a Savior who is so faithful to us that He will allow us to live in His house and their is no place safer to abode!

1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; “and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him”.

God is our strong house!

We will live in God’s House forever!

God has given His commandment to save us!

Psa 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Again that word “my” is used because it is a personal thing with God to take great care of those He loves!

*****Psa 71:4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
Psa 71:5 For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.

To know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, places us on the winning side!

In King Solomon’s words of wisdom, he stated that “all things come alike to all people”.

In other words the same troubles come to all people.

The same temptations come to all people.

Those that are wicked may win a few battles against us but in the end it is God’s people who have a deliverer and His name is Christ Jesus.

Every time a soul is saved, a victory has been taken away from the Devil!

The writer of the Psalm may be unknown but we can see that he has trusted in the Lord from his youth to his old age.

He still faced the same problems that all of us face today!

There is still only one answer to life’s problems and that is to call on the Lord for deliverance from life’s problems.

We all still need God’s protection and we should all still desire more opportunities to serve Him.

It is a fact that the safest place for the Christian to be, “is serving in the army of God” and on the front lines!

*****Psa 71:6 By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

We will never understand the power of God until we get to Heaven but there should be no doubt in our minds that we are preserved by that power.

The very moment we are born into this world, God is keeping up with us, no matter who we are.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Just as the architect draws up plans before construction can ever begin our Creator has made such plans for each one of us.

It is when we reject God’s plan for us that real turmoil in our life begins!

We must believe in the providence of God!

Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

*****Psa 71:7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.

The world looks upon the Christian as something that is strange because the world cannot understand the cause of Christ.

The world simply cannot understand how the Christian can separate himself or herself from the things of this world and therefore the world becomes our enemy.

1Pe 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

As Christians, we know our strength to overcome the things of this world comes from God!

We are safe because the Lord is our refuge!

We are strong because of our “Faith”!

*****Psa 71:8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.

As Christians we need to do far less complaining and much more praising!

God feeds us with His mercy, we should praise Him for His “Grace”!

*****Psa 71:9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

I know as I get older I do not sin doing the things that I used to do but the fact remains that I still sin.

I wonder sometimes if God should not just cast me away and find some one else to take my place.

This writer felt the same way.

When we get old and feeble we sometimes feel that there is just not much we can do in the service of God but that is far from the truth.

When we cannot do the many things because we lack in strength, we have more time to pray!

Prayer is still the greatest weapon in our arsenal!

We are never to old to serve in the Lord’s Army and the Lord will never forsake us!

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

It is alright to be content in doing the things that we still have strength to do until God calls us home.

God still smiles on us in our old age!

Our enemies will just have to get in line with all the others that hate us and that do not understand what it is to not fear death and the things of this world.

*****Psa 71:10 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
Psa 71:11 Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.

As Christians we may have spent our whole saved life telling others about the salvation that brings eternal life but as we come near our own end of days we can still feel that our world is closing in on us.

This is just Satan taunting us to see if he can cause doubt in ourselves and doubt in our Savior.

It is true our enemy will do everything he can to take our joy away from us but we must just cling to Jesus.

There is no worse feeling than that feeling that we are on our own without anyone who really cares for us but this is simply not the truth.

We serve a God who cares!

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Our anxiety will disappear if we can just stay focused on our real home!

If we die a physical death before the return of the Lord we must realize that many have gone on before us with these same thoughts.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

But the true key to our end-time joy is the fact that there is One who is waiting on us with open arms.

2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

*****Psa 71:12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
Psa 71:13 Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.

It can be said that God is everywhere at all times but because of our sin God will turn away His face from us and He will sometimes seem as a great distance from us.

Just as soon as we repent of our sin God will walk with us hand in hand through our troubles.’

God is never very far from His children.

When the world sees us recovered from our sorrows they are perplexed and Satan is again put to shame.

Satan hates God’s children and all the wicked men on this earth belong to Satan. Nothing will satisfy these men but the complete downfall of the Christian!

Every time God picks one of His children back up and sets them on the clear path of sanctification, the adversaries of God are filled with amazement.

Regardless what the Atheist say, even the world of false religion still look upon them as the fools that they are, even every false religion has a god of some type.

They all serve an unknown god but we know Jehovah, the true God!

Isa 41:12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

*****Psa 71:14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
Psa 71:15 My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

Persecution of God’s people has been around since the beginning with the death of Abel by his brother Cain, and will be till the end.

For a short period of time, Christianity was accepted as just another religion in the time of the Apostle Paul’s first trial but before Paul died by being beheaded, Rome and most of the world, had banned Christianity.

Persecution has always been used as means to silence the Church but the Church has always grown during persecution.

What did Jesus say was the cause of persecution?

Joh 15:22 “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin”: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

People just do not want to hear that they live a life of sin but this is what the “Gospel of Jesus Christ” teaches!

It is the Christian who has received the truth and relishes in that truth!

Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

When we cannot rejoice in what we have on this earth we can rejoice in what we will have in Heaven!

Our hope is in the Lord, we cannot allow persecution to interfere with the job that God has given us to do!

We must still praise the Lord more and more!

We are to continue to bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives!

Our greatest weapon besides our sincere and persistent prayer life is the way we conduct ourselves before our enemies!

People will not listen to what we say unless we living the life of Christ Jesus!

Now is the time to proclaim Jesus, for none of us know how many days we have left to do what God has commanded us to do!

The Devil will rage against us until the day we die but the Devil is on the loosing side!

We are on the winning side!

*****Psa 71:16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

We cannot do the work of God in our own strength!

But we are the legs, the arms, and the mouth of the “Gospel”!

There must be a complete union between us and the Lord!

Once we invite the Lord into our lives we can never be severed from Him in our salvation but we must walk in His ways to be fruitful.

Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We must abide in the Lord’s righteousness in order to bring forth His righteousness to all people!

2Co 13:8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

Our own righteousness is not fit to be mentioned!

Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Our own righteousness will lead to death, it is the righteousness of the Lord that will lead to eternal and everlasting life.

*****Psa 71:17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Psa 71:18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

The Bible says to train up a child in the way he should go.

The writer of this Psalm had been properly trained in the things of God from his youth. Many of us including myself began our younger days in church but many also did not.

It is important to get our children in church as soon as we can.

There are no children that are too young to be taught about the Lord Jesus Christ!

I know I went my own way for 40 years but when I returned to the Lord, I still remembered many of those old gospel songs. I still remembered the important things of the gospel. I still remembered the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I am ashamed that I wasted all those years not serving my Savior!

Now, when I am old and grayheaded I also pray that I can still be used of God!

I threw away many opportunities to teach my own children about Jesus but I thank the Lord Jesus for this time He has given to me to show His strength to those of this generation we live in now.

I am still not the witness I need to be but I am far better than I was.

God is still teaching me as an old man!

There is no God like my God!

*****Psa 71:19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

God is alone, who can resemble Him?

God is eternal, God cannot be limited or bound, God is unchangeable, God is incomprehensible, God is pure, in fact the truth is that my God cannot be expressed in words!

There are not enough words in our vocabulary, nor are our minds capable of knowing the entirety of God’s greatness!

Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

*****Psa 71:20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
Psa 71:21 Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.

A life lived for the Lord will not ever end!

The testimony of our service for the Lord will continue, even after our death!

We have an ongoing life with the Lord far beyond this life and far beyond the grave with a future resurrection in a glorified body.

And if we allow the Lord full control of our lives until we reach that point of going home, our greatness shall continue to increase.

It would be a sad day to stand before the Lord with empty hands!

But it will be a great day to feel the eternal comfort of the Lord!

*****Psa 71:22 I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.

Love so amazing as that of the Lord deserves our greatest praise.

In fact our praise is meaningless to the Lord, if our praise does not come from a rejoicing heart.

Not only are we to praise the Lord with our lips but we are to praise Him with every fiber of our body and every instrument we can use.

Who is this Holy One of Israel? He is our Creator!

Isa 17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

And our Creator is also our Redeemer!

*****Psa 71:23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

To be redeemed is to be a special possession that belongs to God!

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

That word “peculiar” means a special possession and a private property.

The Church is the private property of the Lord!

A private property is that thing set aside for the sole use of the owner and out of reach of the government.

It is the job of the Church to declare who we belong too and this will also show in our good works.

1Pe 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
1Pe 2:16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

Those good works will also include our praise!

*****Psa 71:24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

Those who proclaim the Lord Jesus are at peace with God!

Those who proclaim the Lord Jesus live in hope of the resurrection.

Those who proclaim the Lord Jesus will be filled with praise for Him.

Those who proclaim the Lord Jesus have a message for this dying world!

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

That message is trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Repenting Before The Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Repent Before The Lord

Psalms 51

There can be no doubt the purpose of this Psalm.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

This Psalm is about King David begging for mercy because of his sin with Bathsheba.

What was David’s sin? He despised the commandment of the Lord.

2Sa 12:9 “Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight”? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

God said “there is a way that seems right to man, but the end there of are the ways of death”.

What is personal accountability?

We simply do not want to own our own sin.

We will try our best to make excuses for our sin.

We will try our best to blame our sin on some other thing or on some other person.

But sin is a choice!

Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; “but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened”.

The Bible relates sin in at least three different ways.

1) Sin means missing the mark.

Our standard is our sinless Lord Jesus Christ. God expects us to come as close as we can to this standard. When we sin we miss the mark but we are not alone.

Jesus Christ is the glory of our Father in Heaven but God says this about all humans.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

2) Sin is described as a transgression.

Transgression is human rebelliousness. We know what God’s commandments require of us, yet we choose to disobey.

1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

3) Sin is described as iniquity.

Iniquity points out disobedience but iniquity also points out the guilt that comes from that iniquity.

Psa 31:10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

And what are the consequences of sin?

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let’s begin:

*****Psa 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

We know from this story of David that for over a year David had carried this sin in secret. It had eating away at him to the point of causing him physical and emotional problems.

When Nathan, the prophet of God confronted David with his sin, David quickly realized there are no secrets that can be kept from God and it was by God’s “Grace” that He had sent Nathan to confront David.

God was allowing David space to repent but he had not repented!

David quickly understood his failure and immediately appealed to the mercy of God.

David ask for mercy before he mentioned his sin.

It is important for us to tell God what sin we have committed, God expects us to realize what He considers sin but like David we may first want to ask for mercy.

God already knows about our sin but God wants us to be sure that we know His Word and what His Word teaches us about sin.

The sight of mercy is good to see after a strained relationship with the Lord!

The “pardon” of our sin is a pure act of mercy on the part of Our Lord!

We must remember what to be pardoned means. To pardon means to reverse a sentence of guilty.

To be pardoned is like that sin never even happened!

Thank goodness we have a God that is merciful!

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

We are the foolish ones when we do not use the opportunity to repent to get back in God’s favor!

Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

It is embarrassing to fall into the traps of Satan but it is refreshing to be restored to our Father!

That embarrassment ends when we realize that that sin has been blotted out of God record book!

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

*****Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

We must remember it is not enough to just blot out our sin, our soul is housed in defiled flesh and that flesh contains the sin nature of Adam.

We need a good cleansing!

That washing must be thorough.

That washing must be repeated over and over again until we get home to the Lord’s house.

Chastisement must be looked upon as God removing our defective parts!

We need at least a daily washing to stay as clean as we possibly can be until the Lord comes to take us home.

***Sin is like pollution that has polluted our entire nature.

We own our sin!

Sin is that debt that we owe ourselves!

No one else owns our sin and no one else can pay our sin debt!

Sin is a deviation from the straight path of God!

Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

How are we washed clean of our sin?

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

***Sin is lawlessness and it becomes rebellion and leads to a bad attitude before a Holy God!

We must acknowledge our transgressions.

Remember transgressions mean we know what the Word of God says but we refuse to obey it.

And to sin means we have come short of the standard set by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

When David sinned, he sinned against Uriah, he sinned against Bathsheba, he sinned against his wife and he sinned against his entire family but most important he sinned against the Lord and we must acknowledge all these things to Him.

*****Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

When we realize how our sin has affected the life of others we will have that increased feeling that we have sinned against God.

When we cause injury to those around us it is because we have gone against the Word of God!

***To sin is a choice we make and in doing so we have placed our own selves higher than anyone in this world and before our Savior from the glory world.

I find it truly embarrassing to face my Father in Heaven knowing I have done wrong and knowing He has witnessed me doing that wrong thing!

We must realize we have no excuse and no means of argument against the truth of God.

We must also realize that God has every right to chastise us when we have gone against His Word.

Our God is a righteous God and He gets no pleasure out of seeing our sin and He also gets no pleasure in His chastisement but that chastisement must come because of God’s righteousness.

BUT, God takes great pleasure in forgiving sin because He is faithful to the work of His Son on Calvary’s cross!

*****Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

There is no sin in the act of conception when it is carried out in the bond of marriage.

We are not sinners because we sin, “we sin because have a sin nature”!

This is the sin nature passed down from Adam.

Adam yielded to the assaults of temptation and all mankind since that time have to face the temptations of this world and we all fail.

This is not an excuse to sin, it is a reality of who we are!

We cannot be saved until we know are sinners in need of our Savior.

We cannot be forgiven until we realize the sinful things we do and ask for forgiveness and that forgiveness is promised.

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The reality of these things is we must desire the truth!

God’s Word Is True!

*****Psa 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

To behold is to give this matter of sin great consideration!

God not only requires us to be obedient to His Word but God also requires us to know the truth of how far we come up short of His ideals.

We must not ever forget our example in this life is Jesus Christ who was sinless!

What are God’s demands for us? God demands sanctification!

Sanctification is the process of being made holy. It is only the work of Jesus Christ on that cross that makes it possible for us to move from being in sin to being holy in the eyes of God!

God says:

Lev 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 20:8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

*****Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Hyssop was a small shrub that was used to sprinkle blood and water over the cleansed leper, symbolizing his purification and cleansing.

It was also the hyssop that was used to in the sprinkling of blood on the door post of the Israelites on that first Passover.

Lev 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

We must realize it is only by the blood of Jesus that the stain of sin can be removed!

Who are the ones who will make it to God’s Heavenly Home?

Wash me Lord, make me clean!

Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

*****Psa 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

When we are in distress because of our sin, the only thing that will bring joy is forgiveness!

The salvation by the Lord Jesus is a certain and permanent thing but when we carry sin in our heart we will lose the joy of our salvation until we repent and return to the Lord.

God’s voice of peace is the sweetest music we can hear!

When we carry the weight of sin, it will become a burden that we cannot over come.

The Lord Jesus Christ has already carried that burden of sin to the cross, we are foolish to try to carry any burden of sin during our life time.

It took the death of Jesus to pay our sin debt. Sin will break your bones as it breaks your life!

Psa 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

We need to cast that burden upon the Lord.

*****Psa 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

***What is the one main thing that comes between us and God in our relationship? It is sin!

Here David is saying “Lord do not look upon my sin”. “Do not allow my foolishness to come between us”.

Nothing but a complete pardon will ever satisfy this request!

And how loving is our God?

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

We should all pray, please God don’t just blot out my transgression of today but blot out all my iniquities, the sin I know I have done all my life.

And how loving is our God?

Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

For only then can we be “Born Again”!

*****Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Jesus had these words for Nicodemus:

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Only God can create in the sense of making something out of nothing. This is exactly what happened when God created our world!

Heb 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

When we pray the sinners prayer we are asking the Lord to create something new that is not within us.

When we come into this earth we do not have a clean heart.

When we come into this world we do not have the right spirit.

We must be “Born Again” and our spirit must be renewed!

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

*****Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

In the time of Adam, his son Cain was banished from the presence of his family.

Being “Born Again” by the blood of Jesus, we will never be banished, we will always have access to our new family and to all our own family that have gone on before us, when we all gather together in Heaven.

This is a great privilege that God has allowed us.

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Besides the supreme privilege of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, there is great joy in salvation knowing that we will once again see our loved ones who have gone on before us!

Our salvation is eternal! If God has the power and ability to save us, then He certainly has the power and the ability to hold onto us!

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Once “Born Again”, having been justified, we begin that time of sanctification and when the Lord calls us up to meet Him in the clouds we will all be glorified!

No one will be left behind, except those that belong to Belial!

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

What are we to be doing today?

*****Psa 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

David knew that even though he was King of Israel, he had another more important job to do also.

David was also a prophet of God.

Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore “being a prophet”, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

We sometimes forget that we are also sinners, saved by the “Grace” of God.

1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

It is our own salvation experience that can be used as an example and a testimony to others who are still doing what we have been saved from doing.

And God says:

Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Pro 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

This is the same job we all have after we are saved!

*****Psa 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

As we know from our other studies, David was guilty of the death of Uriah, a true national hero of the Jews.

David is confessing that fact.

David also knew that committing the sin of adultery was a capitol offense under Jewish law.

David knew he deserved death!

David knew that God hates these actions from any man! David had also written Psalms 6.

Psa 5:6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

To be hated of God is an awful thing and no human being can escape the law of God!

But Nathan had also given David a warning.

2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Our sin will almost always affect our families!

David was seeking to be free from the guilt and the condemnation of this sin.

***We must realize just how terrible sin is and how it can affect our lives just to realize just how wretched we are!

The Apostle Paul also realized these same things:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

SO, What does true confession bring about?

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

This is our greatest reason to praise the Lord!

*****Psa 51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

When we face the Lord with our sin, there can be no excuses. To sin is a choice that we make. We must confess our sin before the Lord and then we must remain quiet until we hear the judgment of the Lord.

***Our God is faithful to be obedient to His own Word!

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If God opens our mouths by removing our sense of guilt then He expects something in return!

How can we not praise Him!

*****Psa 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

The praise from our mouths is far better than any sacrifice we could offer.

To praise the Lord shows our faith that we have been forgiven.

To praise the Lord shows our love for Him and glorifies Him.

If God required anything else, we would be foolish to not get it for Him for such a forgiveness.

This would then be a works doctrine and God is not about works, God is all about “Faith”!

To offer up a burnt offering, meant that some animal was taken to a priest and that priest would offer up the animal in your name.

That animal already belonged to God!

It is foolish to believe that we could offer any other sacrifice “than ourselves” that would be pleasing to the Lord!

The sacrifice that God requires are a “broken spirit” because of our sin!

Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

The broken and the contrite heart because of sin are not despised by the Lord!

They are accepted as a suitable sacrifices through the Lord Jesus Christ and will bring an everlasting salvation!

The Word of God delivered by the Holy Spirit will break the heart of a sinner and only then will God save them!

Once we have repented and are back in favor with God we can then be a blessing to others.

*****Psa 51:18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

It was on the hill called Zion where David had determined to build the Temple that Solomon did build after the death of his father, King David.

David requested that God not allow his personal sin to interfere with the construction of the Temple.

As Christians we should pray that God not allow our sin to hinder the Church in any way.

When we fall into the snares of the devil, our own actions can become a stumbling block to those around us, especially to our own families.

Salvation is our wall between us and this evil world we live in.

And we must offer up ourselves as spiritual sacrifices!

1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

These are the sacrifices that please God!

*****Psa 51:19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

As the saved children of God we expect for our prayers to be answered but God is only pleased with us when we bring our best.

The Lord Jesus Christ paid our sin debt. There are no more sacrifices that can be offered for our sin!

Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Just like David we must follow the proper way of confession of our sins and we must then repent.

Sometimes it is the preaching of God’s Word that will wake us up to confession of our sin.

Sometimes it is God’s Heavenly Hickory that will wake us up to confession of our sin.

Sometimes it is Holy Ghost conviction that will wake us up to confess our sin.

God will always provide a means of and a method of confession and that will lead us to repentance because this is the only reason God came to this earth to begin with!

Mat 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus did not die just so He could heal the sick.

Jesus died on that cross to save all of us that know we are sinners in need of a Savior!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Praise The Lord

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Praise The Lord

Psalms 47

Our English word “praise” comes from the Latin word “pretium”. Pretium means “price” or “value”.

Praise may be bestowed upon unworthy objects or for the wrong reasons but true praise consists of a sincere acknowledgment of a real conviction of worth.

In other words the object of our praise should be of great value spiritually!

Praise is inspired by a sense of worthiness!

There can only be “One” who can be the “object” of our praise!

Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

There can only be “One” who can be the “reason” for our praise!

Rev 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

And there are certain ways that we must offer up praise to our Lord.

Let’s begin:

*****Psa 47:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

Today, hand clapping has come to mean simply applause for a performance.

Those that enjoyed the performance clapped while those that did not remained silent.

Applause is expressed with the hands as acclamation is expressed with our voices.

In Bible times when people gathered for their kings or rulers acclamation was performed by a chorus of music, especially instructed for that purpose.

In other words professionals were hired for the chorus.

But many are not aware that there were professionals hired also for applause.

Persons were also appointed for the purpose of applauding or clapping and even special teachers were employed to teach the art of clapping.

The applause was even divided into choruses and placed opposite to each other just like the choristers in some cathedrals are today.

How many of you have ever witnessed our own president when he comes to certain events, he can hardly speak without certain ones breaking out in applause or standing ovations.

We can be sure at least some of these are professionals!

In the Bible the clapping of hands was to be about praise not so much enjoyment. Worship is not about our own enjoyment!

In the Bible the clapping of hands was to be about triumph not about our own entertainment!

What is worship?

What is the truth of the Bible?

Only God is to be worshiped!

What did Jesus say to Satan?

Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”.

This has not changed but it seems today that many places built for the worship of God are more about entertainment for those that come.

The Lord Jesus Christ can receive worship only because He is equal with God just as is the Holy Spirit.

2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Our worship must be in accordance with the truth that God has revealed to us or it is not acceptable in the eyes of God!

Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Our worship must involve presenting our entire being to God!

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Our worship must involve making a joyful noise unto Our Lord!

Psa 98:4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

Our worship must include shouting the victory!

1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who are the ones directed to worship?

“All ye people”.

These are the ones who gather to worship the One True Living God!

These are the same ones who are to also carry this message of worship to all the people of this earth!

What is this message?

The prophecy of our soon coming King!

*****Psa 47:2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
Psa 47:3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

To the Jews, the Lord most high was called “El Elyon”, God Most High, this emphasizes the supreme God!

It is the Most High God who is the true possessor of Heaven and Earth!

Jesus said:

Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, “Lord of heaven and earth”, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

That word terrible means the Lord is to be feared and revered and worshiped and at times He can be frightful.

When will He be King?

***Jesus will first return in the clouds to fulfill the hope of the Church:

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

***Jesus will then return to judge the unbelievers left from the Church Age and rescue His people Israel:

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

***This will be the time of the inauguration of the millennial reign of King Jesus:

Mic 5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

Zec 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

You see the battle for eternal life has never been ours, it has always been the Lord’s!

This is why all God’s people can clap their hands. God’s victory is our victory!

The Church has been persecuted since it’s beginning but on this day the Lord will place all those that persecuted His Church under our feet!

It is only after the 1000 year millennial reign of King Jesus that the end of this earth will come:

1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Clap your hands Church because the Lord has chosen our inheritance for us.

*****Psa 47:4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

God knows what is best for His people in this life and in that eternal life to come, but we must also remember God will not subdue our enemies under us unless we have allowed Him to choose our life-plan in this life.

We must submit our will, our choices, and our desires to the will of our Father, who will return as King.

We should remember what Jesus said:

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

It would be a foolishness for all those who would not let the Lord choose our inheritance for us!

When the Lord returns, He will come to fight for His people Israel and Jerusalem will finally be at peace.

Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

There will only be one King over this entire earth, and the Lord will rule as King from Jerusalem.

Zec 14:11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

There will be no rockets fired from Gaza or Lebanon in that day. There will be no need for bomb shelters in Israel.

All the gates of Israel will be open and all the world will come to worship the King of Kings.

Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

And Selah! We need to pause and reflect on all these things and realize we have many reasons to be praising our God!

Clap your hands all ye people!

*****Psa 47:5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Psa 47:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

When all these things have been completed and the Lord is at home with all His saints there will be a great celebration in Heaven.

The angels celebrate when every sinner is saved, we can be sure they will all celebrate when the Lord Jesus returns to rule this earth!

Jesus said:

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, “It is done”. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

God never ceases to be good so we should never cease to sing praises to our King.

*****Psa 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
Psa 47:8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

The most important thing we see here is that God is the King of all the earth and all the earth is singing praises. This will happen somewhere in our future.

We have been learning about the Maschil Psalms. Those are the songs that just by singing we can have a better understanding of the Word of God.

Well God said, when we see all these things come together we will sing songs of understanding.

We can sing songs of understanding today because upon the gift of salvation we are filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit and He is our understanding until our Lord returns.

The Jews in the time of Jesus resented this truth and if they could have had their own way they would have kept God to themselves and some still try to do this today.

The Apostle Paul had to preach a sermon on this to the Jews in Rome, because no matter who we are, we can only be justified by faith.

Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Rom 3:29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
Rom 3:30 “Seeing it is one God”, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

The promise God the Father made to God the Son will be fulfilled!

Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

And it can be fulfilled only after the Church has been removed from this earth!

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

This is the time when King Jesus will sit on His throne, the throne of David!

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

And this is that same Jesus that was born to the virgin Mary.

Luk 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Luk 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

*****Psa 47:9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

Notice that all people will be represented. The rich and the poor. The rulers and the ordinary people.

The same God in which Abraham had faith in is also the only God of faith for this entire world!

What did Jacob prophesy of his son Judah?

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Who is this Shiloh?

Shiloh is the One sent from God the Father.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Shiloh is that rod of the stem of Jesse.

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Shiloh is then the Messiah!

Rom 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

And there is none else that can compare to Him!

What should we all be doing until Christ returns?

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

If you have that close and personal relationship with the Lord then you have no reason not to praise Him!

If we come to the house of God seeking a blessing for ourselves we may be disappointed!

If we come to the house of God seeking some knowledge or information that we do not already have we may not find it!

If we come seeking to be refreshed then that refreshment may not last very long!

But if we just realize the “Grace” and the “goodness” of God we will come to praise Him and Him only!

We do not have any reason not to praise the God of our salvation!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!