This poor man (Psalm 34 )

Psalm 34 is very instructive psalm,with many lessons to teach us,it is written by David,it speaks of him being delivered v6 reads,'This poor man cried,and the Lord heard him,and saved him out of all his troubles'.What does he mean by declaring himself a poor man? after all he was the man ,who slew the giant ,who went on to be a great warriour, and yet he calls himself a poor man.Well it is in Matthew 5 v3  our Saviour said,'Blessed our the poor in spirit,'What does it mean to be poor in spirit,one writer puts it like this,'It refers to those who recognize their spiritual poverty,humility,and absolute dependence on God rather than relying on self sufficency or material wealth' Our Lord is stressing that when we come to God for salvation we acknowledge that we are spiritual bankrupt,and we cast ourselves on the mercy and grace of God .But it doesn't stop there,that is the attitude we must have all our lives,like David we will always be poor in spirit. That confession by David  meant the Lord heard him,and saved him out of all his troubles, yes all his troubles,God does not do things by half.

Knowing God ( Psalm 23 )

Let us consider psalm 23,the best known of all the psalms,verse 1 reads,'The Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing',the AV,reads,'I shall not want.' It is a personal declaration of his relationship with God,God is not an impersonal being,he is not an isolationist,cold and indifferent ,no he desires a relationship with us humans.If you don't know Him personally then you don't know Him,and the only way we can know him personally,is by asking Jesus to be ones Saviour.John 1 v12 we read, 'But to all who believed him,and accepted Him,he gave the right to become children of God'.If we dont know Him we are not Children of God. And when we do know Him,then we shall not want,He will provide for us,and we will lack for nothing,He is the great provider, looking after all His childrens needs. Next verse reads 'He makes me to lie down in green pastures', here is a word for all you workaholics,you who are busy,busy,busy,don't be surprised if God intervenes in your life and makes you to have needed rest.In Mark 6 we read how the disciples were very busy,to busy,and Jesus spoke to them and said,'Come aside by yourselves .....and rest a while'.

                                                           'We are not machines

                                                             we need rest'

Our greatest need (Acts 16 v31)

 If I was to ask someone who are the heathen,what would they say?,if I was to ask you what would you say?. A Dr.Robert A. Morey writes the following,'The proper definition of ''heathen'' is any and every unbeliever. We must not allow people to assume that the word ''heathen'' refers only to the primitive peoples of the Third W.orld. The unbelievers  who live in New York or London constitute the heathen just as much as the Hindus or Australian bushmen'.We must grasped the breathe of Romans 3 v 10, 'There is no one righteous,not even one;' this is followed up describing what that means,' No one understands;there is no one who seeks God.All have turned away they have become worthless ; there is no one who does good not even one',The natural man does not seek after God,I have found it so,only if God moves by His Spirit,will people seek after God. Turning away from God,results in moral corruptness,So follows the evil that proceeds from their tongues,and v15 describes the violent nature of man,who can argue against that.V16-18 things don't get any better,'Ruin and misery mark their ways,and the way of peace they do not know,and there is no fear of God before their eyes' v23 tells us 'that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' This is a very dark picture painted here, so don't tell me that humanity doesn't need a Saviour,or put it personally,that you don't need a Saviour,that Saviour is Jesus.

What we must do. (Psalm 37)

Psalm37 was written by David when he was an old man, v 25 which reads,'I have been young,and now am old; yet have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread'.What a tremendous testimony to God's faithfulness,as to God's people and to their children.Like David I'm and old man  and I can say amen to what David has written,he has provided for me and my family,we have been in some tight spots in our lives,but God has been faithful. In v3 we read ,'Trust in the Lord and do good;if we do that ,then goodness will follow us from the Lord. v4 reads ,'Delight thyself in the Lord;and he shall give thee the desires of your heart'.Jesus said 'seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you'

(Matthew 6 v33). v4 reads,'Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him;and He shall bring it to pass'. Those three verses tell us a number of things,what we must do,'trust in the Lord,' delight thyself also in the Lord', Commit are way unto the Lord'.When we do this then we will see what God will do.

A slimy pit experience (Psalm 40 v1-3)

Let us consider Psalm 40 v1-3,the psalm was written by king David who appears to be in great difficulties ,and what did he do in his difficulties?He turned not in a half hearted way to God,for we read ,'I waited patiently for the Lord, the NEB puts it like this,'I waited,waited,',often prayers will be answered immediately CP Isaiah 65 v24,but often when we pray patience is called for,even though our situation is desperate, but God never comes to late in answer to our prayers,so it was in Davids experience,and it  can be yours. Verse two tells us how desperate his situation was, here is what it says 'He lifted me out of the slimy pit,out of the mud and mire', there is no pit no matter how slimy it is,that God cannot save us out of.That goes for the saint,and the sinner,but he does not just lift us out our horrible pit,he sets our feet on a rock .the words of a hymn comes to mind,they read,'On Christ the solid rock I stand ,all other ground is sinking sand'.Verse 3 reads ,'He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God,' In Ephesians 5 v 19 we read,'Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord'. And if people hear you singing,and they ask why your singing,you can tell them the great things the Lord has done for you

                                                    'Hold on joy comes in the morning'

Made in God's image ( Matthew 12 v 9- 14)

 Two young lads got up to sing in a Christian fellowship, here  is a few of the lines they sung ' The way I am is how God created me',So don't laugh when you see a  person living with a disability, they too are created in the image of God'.Those two boys had disabilities,so that was a song for acceptance, most of us would say amen to that song,but not all.I love the little chorus which goes,'Jesus loves the little children ,all the children of the world,red and yellow black and white,all our precious in His sight,Jesus loves the little children'.I read of a place in Africa were parents kept their children with disabilities in doors, thankfully that  changed when local Christians started up a support group.Do pray for families with children who have special needs,they will more than likely care for those those children for the rest of their lives .We can support them with encouaging words and even with encouraging help.

Idoaltry ( 1Corinthians 10 v20 -21)

 What is idolatry?some people may see it as bowing down to a wooden or a stone idol but of course it goes much further than that,it can be anything. One may worship a football team,or a sports personality,or a well known entertainer,and so we could go on.The first of the commandments tells us that we are not to worship any other god's but Jehovah, Why do so many worship other gods,because they are blind,they worship stone images,they have ears but they cannot hear,eyes yet they cannot see.Such is the darkness of the human soul,that what I am saying means nothing to them.Even Christians can worhip other god's ,William Cowper wrote a hymn with the following words in it,'The dearest idol I have known,whate'er that idol be,help me to tear it from Thy throne,and worship onlyThee'.Judas fell into that trap by worshipping money,Demas did because he loved this world'( 2 Timothy 4 v 10) We often hear people being asked who is your idol? what would your answer be if someone asked you that?

I can't see Him ( 1 Peter 1 v 8-9)

Queen Elisebeth use to say,'' she had to be seen to be believed'',I can undertand that,after Queen Victoria's husband died the queen became a recluse and that went on for many years,and people began question the monarchy,so eventually she returned to her duties.In 1Peter 1v8 we read ,'Though you have not seen Him; you love Him'.It was our Lord who said,'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe' (John 20 v 29) It does not depreciate the faith of those who did see Him,but as one commentator writes,'For us,faith comes not by sight, but from what is heard (or read) and what is heard comes by the word ( Romans 10 v17) That word is infallable it is God breathed,it is not built on legends, or on mythology but on truth ,it's history is true,its  teaching is true,it's all true.A vast number of people have holy books ,that are full of lies,yet they believe them,to the damnation of their souls.God's word is built on truth,but unfortionately they choose a lie rather than the truth.

                                                                        Jesus said

                                                                I am the way the truth

                                                               and the life and no man

                                                               commith  unto the Father

                                                               but by Me'  (John 4 v6)

                                                               

9

                                                                              

                                                                       

                                                               

Rest ( Matthew 24 v 13)

 Lets consider another aspect of rest, in Hebrews 4 v11 we read, 'Let us make every effort to enter that rest'. The writer was dealing with those who were in danger of turning back, and the severe consequences if they did,he writes as an example the people in the wilderness who did not enter the promise land,(He calls it rest)they were full of unbelief,so they perished in the wilderness.He expresses the importance hearing and obeying the word of God (4 v 7)What is this rest he mentions?we get the answer in Revelation 14 v 13,'Then I heard a voice from heaven say,Write this; blessed are dead who die in the Lord from now on' Yes says the Spirit,'they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them'. so he is talking about heaven which all true believers will go to. So he writes that they  make every effort to enter that rest,what the writer them and us, there is a need for the Christian to persevere ,a life to be lived out in obedience to our Saviour. James wrote,' Show me your faith', in other words an evidence that you are a Christian,likewise  perseverence is an evidence that we are truly are Christians.                                                                                            

9

Words (Isaiah 6 v 1-7 )

The British rock band ''Deep Purple' met a long time super fan,the Japanese PM,and this is what she said to one of the band,''you are my god''.What a strange thing to say,ah you may say well she really didn't mean he was a god.Well she said it,this is what our Saviour said,'But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken.For by your words you will be acquitted ,and by your words you will be condemned' (Matthew 12 v 36-37) There is coming a day when that lady will see the folly of what she said,not only the folly,but the seriousness of what she said,and its consequences.There will be a day when all those who said, '' Caesar is Lord'',will be judged.What people don't realise that God is holy,and everytime they say wrong things like that lady,they offend a holy God,  judgement will follow.

Rest ( Psalm 37 v 7) 1

 In Matthew 11 v 28-30 we see one aspect of rest,where our Saviour says ,'Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light'.Jesus spoke to the Jews of His day,to a people who were ruled by a severe religious group of people.Our Saviour in Matthew 23v4  tells us that,' they crush people with unbearable religious demands,and never lift a finger to ease the burden'.Jesus was  inviting people to come to Him and the leagalistic burden would be lifted from them,and they would find rest for their souls.What ever burdens we are being forced to carry come to Jesus and find rest.

                                                  

                                                              'I came to Jesus as I was,

                                                              Weary and worn and sad,

                                                               I found in Him a resting place,

                                                               And He has made me glad.'  (Words Horatius Bonar)

                              

                                                                                                                          

                                         

                                          

Sometimes He was a man of few words ( Matthew 9 v 32 )

I was visiting a friend in hospital,and as I got into the lift a large bed was pushed into the lift,and on the bed was an old lady,she had a tube coming from her nose.I said to her are you Christian? she said yes,and I said to her ,'the Lord is with you,you will be alright 'I could see that helped her.Our dear Saviour often spoke just a few words to people and they left a mark in peoples lives. To those who hated them he said ,'Father forgive them ,for they do know not what they are doing' (Luke 23 v 34) In those profound words ,we are reminded that there is no limit to his forgiveness,we often put limits on our forgiveness,I know people can really hurt us, yet in the area of forgiveness their is no get out clause,we have to forgive.Then let us consider what Jesus said to the stormy sea,' Quiet! Be still'( Mark 4 v39) and they obeyed His voice,for we read,' The wind died down and it was completely calm'.Jesus is still the same,be it elements,or in our lives ,often we can feel stormed tossed.The hymn writer wrote ,'The winds and waves shall obey my will! Peace! be still! Whither the wrath of the storm-tost sea,or demons,or men,or whatever it be,' Our Saviour  spoke to a man hanging beside Him on the cross,  ''Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise''  (Luke 23cv 43) this man was in the throes of death ,he was a thief,all hope was gone for Him,not so ,today that man is in heaven.It is never to late to call on Jesus,There is a poem that goes ,'Between the stirup and the ground, I mercy sought ,and mercy found.' A word of caution,don't leave it to late.

Just for today ( Proverbs 27 v1)

Mother Teresa said,'Yeterday is gone.Tomorrow has yet to come. We have only today,Let us begin.' It reminds me of  a song with the following words, 'One day at a time,, yesterday has gone,tomorrow may not be our's.It is only this day we can do some good, so let us not miss the opportunity to do some good,don't judge the beggar on the streets, put you hand in your pocket,don't just give them your loose change surpise them with your generoity.Go that extra mile in helping someone,dont live with the regret ,thinking I wish I had helped that person,do it while you have the chance, and do it as unto the Lord,keep it to yourself. Here is what our dear Saviour taught as regards worrying,'Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6 v34 )We are to get our priorities right each day,'seek first God's  kingdom and His righteousness,and He will supply what we need'. (Matthew 6 v  33)

                                                           ' I don't know about tomorrow

                                                             I just live from day to day,

                                                             I don't borrow from its sunshine,

                                                             For its skies may turn to gray,

                                                             I don't worry o'er the future,

                                                             For I know what Jesus  said,

                                                             And today I'll walk beside Him,'          

                                                             For He knows what is ahead.'

                                                                ( Words  Ira F. Stanohill)

Have Thine own way Lord. (Matthew 26 v36-39)

We have considered  that God would grant the serenity to accept the things we cannot change and courage to change the things we can change,and then it is summed up in the following words'And the wisdom to know the difference.' My first wife I went and to Bible college,we believed that we were called to be missionaries,but it never happened we prayed for God to open a way, to know avail,but for other students it did happen.But I did become a minister and I got comfirmation of  that,in the morning we set of to come to England God give me scripture which read,'Behold ,I send an Angel before you to keep in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared' (Ex 23 v20) There was a lady called Adelaide Pollard she lived in 19th century ,she wanted to be a missionary in Africia but it didn't happen.which upset her,but one night a lady in a praye meeting prayed ,'It doesn't matter what you bring into our lives Lord,just have your way with us'.From that experience she went on to write a lovely song,here are some of the words from it.     

                                          (1)  'Have Thine own way ,Lord,have Thine own way;

                                                Thou are the potter,I am the clay;

                                                Mold me and make me after Thy will,    

                                                While I am waiting, yielded and still.

                                          (2)  Have Thine own way, Lord,have Thine own way;

                                                 Search me and try me,Master, today;

                                                 Whiter than snow ,Lord,wash me just now,

                                                  As in Thy presence humbly I bow;

                                           (3)  Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;

                                                  Hold o'er my being absolute sway;

                                                  Fill with Thy Spirit till all can see

                                                  Christ only, always ,living in me'

                                                  

                                                 

A request ( Psalm 46)2

 The last time we considered change but we never touched on the initial words of the prayer,'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change',  This is not a one of thing he is talking about,no this is something permanent ,it's not going away like Pauls thorn in the flesh,it is not something you want ,but God has said no. There was a philosophy of stoicism in the Greek world that you should grin and bear it,no that's not what he is asking for,rather he is asking God for an an innner calmness.The words of a hymn come to mind they read,'

                                                   'Drop thy still dews of quitetness,

                                                    Till all our strivings cease;

                                                    Take from our souls the strain and stress,

                                                    And let our ordered lives confess

                                                    The beauty of Thy peace'.  ( Words John Green Whirrier)

                                                     

He is Sovereign ( Ephesians 1 v 11)1

There is a hand that guides all our destinies and that hand is God's .All our times are in His hands,the hymn writer wrote,'His decree who formed the earth,fixed my first and second birth;parents,native place,and time,all appointed were by Him'.He is the one who rules over all of the affairs of our lives'.He is Sovereign,and He does something that applies to all of His children,we read about it in Romans 8 v 28,this is what it says,' And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,who have been called according to his purpose'.All things ,the good things,the hard things,the hard to understand things,the painful things. Many Christians do not grasp this, good things yes, but not bad things,terrible things, take Job he lost all his children,all his possessions,and his health.Christians die of cancer,Christians are not promised a pain free life,but they are promised that all things  will work together for their good.I knew a girl a girl called  Sheila, I remember hearing her speaking at a meeting,she quoated a verse of a poem,'I'll that he blesses is our good ,and unblessed good is ill,and all is well ,that seems most wrong,if it be His sweet will' (Frederick William Faber) Let me just add,she died of cancer,leaving a husband and Children.

                                                        'Blind unbelief is sure to err,

                                                         And scan His works in vain;

                                                         He is His own interpreter,

                                                         And He will make it plain.  (William Cowper)

 

Two contrasts ( Psalm 1)

 Let us consider the first psalm,it is a psalm of two contrasts,the godly man,and the ungodly man,verse one  reads ,'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,nor standeth in the way of sinners ,nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful'. This sets the tone of the psalm. The word blessed means happy the ungodly yes are happy but they have no meaningful sense of spiritual well being. The godly are called to be seperate from the ungodly's sinful ways.The godly take great delight in God's word meditating on it continually v2,how much do we value God's word?. Verse 3 tells that the godly man will be like a fruitful tree bearing fruit,CP  Galatians 5 v 22ff.In verse 4 we are told ,'The ungodly are not so,instead of being secure ,he likens them' unto chaff which the wind drives away'Spurgeon writes,'death shall hurry them with its terrible blast into the fire in which they shall be utterly consumed'. Verses 5-6 tells us that in the day of judgement 'they will not have a leg to stand on'(Derek Kidner)He finishes by telling us that God knows the way of the righteous,yes He is watching over His children.But he ends on a very solemn note, 'The way of the ungodly shall perish',hell is every unsaved persons destination.

Never (Psalm 42/43)

Psalms 42 /43 te writer is a spiritual man in verses 1-2 he expresses his great thirst for God,he thinks of his past spiritual experiences,but now he is overwhelmed ,he feels oppressed by enemies and those who mock him. He is struggling feeling cast down, and he does something that we all do,he talked to himself, challenging himself.Yes the most godly people struggle at time feel overcome to the point of despair,in 2 Corinthians 1 v8 we read how Paul and his companions we're in such a situation that they despaired even of life.So here is what the psalmist said to himself,'Why ,my soul,are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,my Saviour and my God'.His adversaries had  chided him,''Where is your God?''When my dear first wife died,her father who was not a Christian pointed mockingly at a plaque with words that read,'Jesus never fails' I never felt that Christ failed me,nor did the psalmist,and nor should you child of God.Let us all put our hope in our loving God who will never fail us.

Change ( John 3v30)1

•  Sitting on my desk there is a little square stone with words on it ,here is what it says,

                                                                                                                                                              

                                                   ' God grant me the serenity

                                                    to accept the things I can-

                                                    not change,the courage to

                                                    change the things I can and

                                                     the wisdom to know the

                                                    difference.'

In my long years,I have discovered there are things that I cannot change no matter how much I prayed, it took along time to accept that truth, There are so many things in life that can effect us and we find that so hard to accept, what I struggled with is different at to what you struggle with. We must not lean on our own understanding that's a trap we all fall into,no we must trust in our sovereign God,the hymn writer wrote the following words,

                                             'Every joy or trial falleth  from above,

                                             Traced upon our dial by the Sun of love.

                                             We must trust Him fully.

If God is sovereign which He is ,then there is a  purpose in those things in life which we cry out in tears for Him  to change,and yet He doesn't,why ?,well that very  thing which we want Him to change, is the very thing He is using to change us. 

                                                    ' Jesus you are changing me,

                                            By your Spirit You're making me like You'

God ( Matthew 28 v 19)

God knows His children no matter where they are,we are told that,' The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,and His ears are attentive to their cry.' ( Psalm34 v 15). His children are not out of His sight, the word 'Omnipresent' relates only to God meaning that He is everywhere at the same time. He see's all things,nothing is hidden from Him,when it comes to God there is no hiding place. Not only is God  omnipresent He is'Omniscient',which means that He is all knowing,there is nothing He doesn't know,He knows every thing about us, and everything about this world , after all He made it,God is infinite in His being .Who can we compare Him to? the answer is no one, He has no begining ,He always has exsisted  and He always will,He is unchanging, He is holy,He is just ,and He is love.He is a triune being,Father, Son,and Holy Ghost,three but one,and one but three.All three are mention in the scripture as being God, there is no other way to explain them. God is awesome,and mysterious who made us in his  image,one commentater writes the following,'When God made us we reflected Him,  we were given an unique status,a divine dignity as human beings.The fall effected that I'm not sure to what degree,but in eternity that will be restored completly (Romans 8 v 29)   

He-who-Must not- be-named ( Matthew 9 v13)

In the Harry Potter movies the arch enemy was Lord Voldemort,he created a spirit of fear,so much so that we read,He-who-Must-not-be -named. I wonder why'Well could it be that,that even as Christians we never mention the devil,in many pulpits he is never mentioned,I want to mention three things about him. In 2Corintians 11 v14 we read , 'For Satan himself  masquerades as angel of light '. in other words he takes on many forms,he first appeared as a snake that could actually speak  (Gen3,) and look where that landed humanity.Things have not changed ,he comes at mankind in so many different ways,and humanity  believes his lies,to their destruction. Next verse 1Peter 5 v 8 which reads ,'Be alert and of sober mind,your enemy the devil prowls around  like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour'He hates us the most ,so he will do everything he can to destroy us.Take those words serious,because he is very serious,he will will leave us in tatters,so be on your gaurd. Next verse John 8 v 44, 'He was a murderer from the bginning,not holding to the truth,for there is no truth in him.When he lies,he speaks  his native language,for he is a liar and the father of lies' John Stott writes 'The devil disturbs the church as much by error as by evil.When he cannot entice Christian people into sin,he deceives them into false doctrine'.