Friday, April 27, 2012 - Messianic Prophecy and Redemption

Friday, April 27, 2012
Psalm 40, 49, 50, and 73
Messianic Prophecy and Redemption

Psalm 40:6-8
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened—
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart."

David's prophetic words in this Psalm were later spoken by Jesus
Christ and documented in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament
shown below:

Hebrews 10:5-7
5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll —
I have come to do your will, my God.'"

What powerful words that embody Christ's messianic identity!!!
Remember, He was sacrificed once for all for the atonement of our
sins. As believers, we feel pleased and sanctified with this offering.
Sacrificed animals however, did not create this feeling of redemption
in the hearts of believers (before Christ's sacrificial offering) as
the scripture articulates. In fact, David knew that even mere human's
could not redeem one another as demonstrated in Psalm 49:7-9 displayed
below:

7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay.

Redemption has a cost that no man can pay. Only God could pay this
price for what is impossible with man, is possible with God. Jesus
came, "to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew
20:28). Let's fix our eyes on our redeemer and meditate on Psalm 73:

23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

God Bless,
Anthony

April 26: Psalms About Righteousness and Wickedness

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012

Psalms About Righteousness and Wickedness

Today’s Psalms provide us with rich insight regarding God’s relationship with both the righteous and the wicked and what characteristics define the righteous and the wicked.

 

First, we note that all our righteousness is merely a reflection of God’s character, brought about by a thankful heart and a willing spirit.  We know that God has a great love for His children, regardless of their circumstances or stature:

 

“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

                your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the might mountains,

                your justice like the great deep.

O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.

                How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

                find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house;

                you give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

                in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36)

 

 

This foregoing passage shows us the depth of God’s lovingkindness and provision for His holy ones.  We learn that only in relation to God may we find enduring wisdom (“light”).  Yet, experiencing His abundance does not require that we have a mansion on a hill.  In Psalm 37, we read that we are to “delight yourself in the Lord / and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  What happens, however, when we delight in the Lord?  We find ourselves satisfied with His very presence; just as with a dear friend or family member, we find that we value their presence more than their presents.  As John Piper has pointed out, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.  The person who “delights” in the Lord seeks His presence and not just His blessings.  Ironically, desert periods in our spiritual life often draw us closer to God because we recognize the value of His presence.

 

The passages also touch upon the character that God may develop in the righteous:

 

1.       Psalm 1:1-3:

 

“Blessed is the man

       who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

       or stand in the way of sinners

       or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

       and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

       which yields its fruit in season

       and whose leaf does not wither.

       Whatever he does prospers.”

 

2.       The righteous seek after God; there are not many who join them in this pursuit.

 

3.       The righteous keep “his oath/ even when it hurts.” (Psalm 15)  They are faithful and true to their word.

 

4.       They are patient in waiting upon the Lord:  “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;/ do not fret when men succeed in their ways,/ when they carry our their wicked schemes.” (Psalm 37)

 

5.       Their words bring forth wisdom based on the content of their hearts:

 

“The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,

                and his tongue speaks what is just.

The law of his God is in his heart;

                his feet do not slip.” (Psalm 37)

 

6.       The righteous recognize the shortness of life, giving them perspective of God’s timing.  We are merely stewards of the time that God has given us; how are we doing in serving Him with it? (Psalm 39)

 

7.       In all things, we increasingly see the sovereignty, mercy, and justice of God.  In our present-world experience, we struggle to comprehend how the wicked may prosper but the righteous struggle.  From Romans 8:28,29, “…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”  God works all things so that we might be “conformed to the likeness of His Son,” the highest good.  Therefore, we may view even struggle or pain as part of God’s loving and purposeful will for His children.  His sovereignty is inextricably linked to His goodness.

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1. How can you seek more of God’s presence?  How have you seen “light” in His light? 
2. Which characteristics of the righteous would you better like to model in your life?  How might you gain the wisdom and perspective to live these characteristics out?

________________________________________
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Psalms 120, 121, 140, 143, 144

Psalms 120, 121, 140, 143, 144

 

In middle school the year revolved the first week of July for me and my best friends.  There were countdowns, lists and planning of what we would pack, and non stop thoughts.  Lone Tree Bible Ranch is a place that molded me into who I am and where I learned what it meant to commit my life to Christ beyond what I prayed when I was 5 years old.  In the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico is the small town of Capitan, home of Smokey the Bear, and Lone Tree.  Some of the best memories I have of those weeks were Friday nights where we would have a bon fire in a small outdoor amphitheater (usually the evening talks were held inside.)  Imagine cool mountain air.  So crisp that in the middle of July you need a hoodie, crackling wood,  millions of stars up above, the fullest, brightest moon you think you've ever seen, a couple guitars, and about 60 middle schoolers going through puberty, singing their hearts out.  Yup…that priceless.  

 

We would focus on God being our refuge, our strength.  Just like some of these passages we have read.  We all have troubles and we all have storms.  We have enemies (sin, external, and our self.)  We only have one salvation: our God.  I want to share a couple of the songs that have stayed with me all these years that we would sing in those mountains to our Creator. 

 

I Lift My Eyes Up  (I don't know the author)

I life my eyes, up, to the mountains, where does my help come from?

My help comes from you, maker of heaven, Creator of the Earth.

Oh how I need you Lord, You are my only hope,

You are my only prayer.

So I will wait for You.  To come and rescue me. 

To come and give me life.

Come and give me life.  Come and give me life

 

 Psalm 143 (Revive Me) By Shane Barnard

Hear my prayer, give Your ear

In Your faithfulness answer me

In Your righteousness do not judge

For no one is righteous

 

Teach me to do Your will Lord

For you are my God

Your Spirit is good good good

Lead me on level ground Lord

For You are my God

Your Spirit is good

It is good

 

Revive me, revive me

Not for me but for Your name

In Your mercy deliver me from my enemies

Revive me

 

I remember days of old

Your works I meditate oh Lord

I consider all the works of Your hands

I lift up my hands to you

My soul longs

 

Love the Psalms.  

April 24: Psalm 88, 91, 95, 108, 109

For the past couple days we've been reading Psalms of the troubled soul. When David was in distress, he turned to God and poured out his heart. He pleaded to the Lord and acknowledged that He was the only one who could save him. 

I was listening to another David Crowder song last week called I Am a Seed. There is a verse that says: "I can see it won't be long, Till I break free from what I was, Your river of grace flows endlessly, You won't turn Your back on me." I started to think about how God won't turn His back on me. I realized that I fully believed that He would always be there no matter what is happening to me. If I were sick, heartbroken, stressed, lonely, under attack... He would always be there for me, like He was for David. God will always save me in times of trouble. 

Then a question popped into my head: What if I need Him to save me from myself? What if the reason I am troubled is not because of outside circumstances or the sins of other people? What if I need help because of my own sinful nature? Do I fully believe that He would save me from trouble I have caused for myself? I realized that it's easy for me to believe that God would save me from any storm that life could send my way... but it's really difficult for me to believe that He would save me from myself, that He would not turn His back on me because of my own sin. The shame and guilt that I feel when I mess up gets in the way of crying out to Him for help. Then I end up trying to fight a battle that I have no chance of winning on my own.

In Psalm 95, it says: "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." Here is another reference to God being the shepherd and us being His flock. If a sheep under the care of a shepherd is lost, does that shepherd then say, "It's their own fault for getting lost, they are on their own." Absolutely not! The shepherd does everything in his power to bring that lost sheep back home. 

I don't know if any of you struggle with the same thing as me, letting guilt, shame, and pride get in the way of seeking God's saving power. I encourage you to fully believe that He will never turn His back on you. He will never leave you alone in times of need. No matter what.

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' "   Psalm 91:1-2

I Am a Seed

David Crowder Band

http://youtu.be/UDpkj9Kamqg

Monday April 23rd

But as for me, I will always have hope…Psalm 71:14

What a great line, "I will always have hope."  The Psalms are filled with phrases of pain, struggle, heartbreak, burden, calamity, distress, trouble, etc… yet hope is the common denominator in each one.  The psalmists write them from places of darkness (or after emerging from darkness) and always write of hope, hope found only in God.

But how can the psalmist of 71 truly write the line, "I will always have hope" when facing the dark trials of life?  How does one always have hope especially when hope is hidden by the darkness of struggle in our eyes? 

I am not talking about just knowing that hope exists.  I am not talking about believing that God is a God of hope.  I am talking about actually possessing hope; holding onto it when the shadows of trial begin to blind us, begin to loosen our grip. 

When facing death how do you hold onto hope for a future?  When facing illness how do you hold onto hope for what tomorrow might bring?  When facing joblessness how do you hold onto hope and not worry that you won't loose everything?  When watching a family member waste away from addiction how do you have hope that their life will ever change?  When watching your child live separated from the Lord how do you have hope for their eternity?  The list just goes on and on and on.  Dark shadow after dark shadow of trial, pain, and heartbreak. 

Yet we can always have hope, not just knowledge but actual possession of hope.  How?  It tells us in the verses following the proclamation: "I WILL ALWAYS HAVE HOPE"

"I will praise you more and more.  My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.  I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone."                                                 Psalm 71:14-16

The key is giving God the dark struggles that can choke the hope right out of our hearts so that we can then be filled with praise and give that back to him as well.  We can then proclaim that which fills us – hope in place of worry and doubt.  We need think of and then to speak of God's righteous salvation.   We need to remember and proclaim what He has done in our lives and the lives of others, and to remember and declare to all around us the righteousness that is found in God and God alone.  None compare to him, no blessing, no struggle, nothing compares to the great righteousness that is God.

So what does this look like for us today?  How do we get started on the path to possessing hope always?  I think a great way to start is with holding onto the wisdom in the passage from Philippians 4. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always (if you want hope always you need to rejoice always – makes sense). I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious (worry) about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things (this does not say dwell on the trial or struggle but on the goodness that is God and give it in praise).  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.    Philippians 4: 4-9

I encourage you to mediate on these words.  Write them down.  Keep them with you as a reminder and when things get tough don't let the worry and pain overshadow the Hope that we HAVE (that is always there for us) in God our savior.  Think about - remember the things that are worth remembering.

I HOPE that in the midst of your storms in life that you will remember and think on all that is good and lovely and praiseworthy about your God. 

I hope that you too will be able to proclaim: "I Will always have hope!"

Plasm 61,62,64 and 69

Since I cannot sleep, running through the songs for church today. Running through all of the details of the service worrying if everything is in place for friend day. It was nice to be reminded that God has the service planned, He is to be glorified, honored, and His name will be praised today!

What I love about the Psalm's is they are songs of praise, hardship, faith, hope, and desperate cry's for help.

 

Psalm 61: After I finished this Psalm the Lord showed me five ways in which He protects His children.

1. A mighty, Rock of Safety. (v2)

2. My Refuge. (v3)

3. A high tower where my enemies can never ever reach me. (v3)

4. We are safe beneath the Shelter of your wings. (v4)

5. You send your loving-kindness and your truth to guard and watch over me. (v7)

To fully understand and appreciate these five places of safety, it's so important to have a visual knowledge of the of the land (the topography) of Israel.  There are not very many trees in Israel and you can often find yourself exposed to the attacks of the enemy.

Psalm 61 painted a picture of safety above all the attacks and storms of life. . .a place of peace and protection.

 

Psalm62:

Waiting on God. (v1,2)

Address to the psalmist's enemies. (v3)

The character of the psalmist's enemies. (v4)

 Advice to wait upon God and to trust Him at all times. (vs5-8)

God's evaluation of men. (vs9)

Good wholesome advice. (vs10)

God is the source of power and grace. (vs11,12).

Psalm 62 has been a source of great comfort to the distressed people of God through the centuries. David, the human author, was used of God to write this insightful revelation since he knew what it was to wait patiently for God to bring the desired deliverance. This psalm, was one of the favorites of Martin Luther, who knew what it was to patiently to wait for Him to come to his rescue. Doubtless it will be the source of great inspiration and encouragement to many of God's hurting people in the future, who will come to know Him in a real and personal manner.

Psalm 64:

Inside this psalm David is meditating upon, and pondering all the ways of the wicked. The wicked are involved in what they think are hidden schemes and plans that involve cunning, craftiness and the items of planning that goes under the surface of what can be found out.

Because these wicked schemes are cunning, shrewd and very carefully crafted in the depths of their thinking they think that these schemes are also hidden from being made public and can therefore be implemented easily without any impeding force coming down on these plans.. That they really are for all intents and purposes secret plots, conspiracies. Well hidden within the depths of their own thinking, far under the surfaces of possible detection from their advisories. Likewise David's meditation is also secret and reaching far into the depths.

These depths of thinking that David is writing to the wicked and their seemingly hidden plots, also applies to his own meditations which includes his contemplation of their actions and the depths of their plots as he is also thinking and reaching into the depths himself.

Psalm 69:

This begins our look at the face of God.  As you read through any of these psalms, underline every request David makes to God.  Then, underline and circle every and all characteristics of God.  Beginning in verse one, we see David crying out for God to save Him.  That would be a request.  Note in verse five our sins cannot be hidden from God.  This is because God is omniscient (all-knowing). 

We learn that God is the Lord God of hosts and the God of Israel (v6). 

He is the receiver of our prayers, He is LORD, He is God, He has endless mercy, and He alone saves (v13). 

He is the Deliverer (v14). 

He has complete loving-kindness and tender mercies (v16). 

He has the power to redeem and deliver all (v18). 

We see a side of Him we never want to see in verse 24:  He experiences disgruntlement and wrathful anger. 

He is righteous (v27). 

Again, He has the power to save (v29). 

Finally we see that He is worthy of praises sung and to be magnified (v30).

Chuck Goulart