“Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Sing unto God, sing praises to His name: extol Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name JAH, and rejoice before Him.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” Psalm 68:1-6 (KJB)
Sunday
Our Shelter
“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah.” Psalm 61:1-4 (KJB)
The Beginning of Knowledge
“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:5-7 (KJB)
In Whom The Love Of God Is Perfected
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He that saith, ‘I know Him,’ and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in Him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.
He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 2:1-6 (KJB)
God Is My Help
“Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth.
I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: I will praise Thy name, O LORD; for it is good. For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies.” Psalm 54:1-7 (KJB)
The Great King Over All
“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the LORD Most High is terrible; a great King over all the earth.
He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved. Selah.
God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness.
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.” Psalm 47:1-9 (KJB)
The Authority of Scripture
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:12-17 (KJB)
Blessed That Man That Makes The LORD His Trust
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Blessed that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Many, O LORD my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; mine ears hast Thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required.” Psalm 40:1-6 (KJB)
Let Him Be Accursed
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I now again, ‘If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.’
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:6-10 (KJB)
Full Of The Goodness Of The LORD
“Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto Him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the LORD is right; and all His works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” Psalm 33:1-5 (KJB)
The Baptist and Jesus
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets,
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; and preached, saying, ‘There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying,
‘Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ ” Mark 1:1-11 (KJB)
Examine Me, O LORD…
“Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For Thy loving kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in Thy truth.” Psalm 26:1-3 (KJB)
Things Out of Place
“As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.” Proverbs 26:1 (KJB)
His Going Forth
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them has He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and His circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Psalm 19:1-6 (KJB)
The Poor With Integrity
“Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool; also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.” Proverbs 19:1-2 (KJB)
When the Faithful Fail
“Help, LORD; for the godly man ceases; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things: Who have said, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’ For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffs at him. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted” Psalm 12:1-8 (KJB)
Love Instruction and Knowledge
“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.” Proverbs 12:1 (KJB)
My King, and My God
“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto You will I pray.” Psalm 5:1-2 (KJB)
In Jesus’ Name
Too many times young people in the faith jump to conclusions about the following words of Jesus, and assume that we can ask for anything we want, and God is obligated to give it. First, let me say this; God is obligated to no one. Now to the verses for today.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do.” John 14:12-14 (KJB)
Now I leave with you the last points of an exposition delivered by Alexander MacLaren…
From Alexander MacLaren’s EXPOSITION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE:
“These are two, faith and prayer.
‘He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also.’ Faith, the simple act of loving trust in Jesus Christ, opens the door of our hearts and natures for the entrance of all His solemn Omnipotence, and makes us possessors of it. It is the condition, and the only condition, and plainly the indispensable condition, of possessing this divine Christ’s power, that we should trust ourselves to Him that gives it. And if we do, then we shall not trust in vain, but to us there will come power that will surpass our desire, and fill us with its own rejoicing and pure energy. Faith will make us like Christ. Faith is intensely practical. ‘He that believeth shall do.’ It is no mere cold assent to a creed which is utterly impotent to operate upon men’s acts, no mere hysterical emotion which is utterly impotent to energise into nobilities of service and miracles of consecration, but it is the affiance of the whole nature which spreads itself before Him and prays, ‘Fill my emptiness and vitalise me with Thine own Spirit.’ That is the faith which is ever answered by the inrush of the divine power, and the measure of our capacity of receiving is the measure of His gift to us.
So if Christian individuals and Christian communities are impotent, or all but impotent, there is no difficulty in understanding why. They have cut the connection, they have shut the tap. They lack faith; and so their power is weakness. ‘Why could we not cast him out?’ said they, perplexed when they had no need to be. ‘Why could you not cast him out? Because you do not believe that I, working in you, can cast him out. That is why; and the only why.’ Let us learn that the secret of Christians’ weakness is the weakness of their Christian faith.
And the other condition is prayer. ‘Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name I will do it,’ and He repeats it, for confirmation and for greater emphasis. ‘If ye shall ask anything in My name,’ or, as perhaps that clause ought to be read with some versions, ‘If ye shall ask Me anything in My name I will do it.’
Three points may be named here. Our power depends upon our prayer. God’s and Christ’s fullness and willingness to communicate do not depend upon our prayer. But our capacity to receive of that fullness, and so the possibility of its communication to us, do depend upon our prayer. ‘We have not because we ask not.’
The power of our prayer depends upon our conscious oneness with the revealed Christ. ‘If ye shall ask in My name,’ says He. And people think they have fulfilled the condition when, in a mechanical and external manner, they say, as a formula at the end of petitions that have been all stuffed full of self-will and selfishness, ‘for Christ’s sake. Amen!’ and then they wonder they do not get them answered! Is that asking in Christ’s name?
Christ’s name is the revelation of Christ’s character, and to do a thing in the name of another person is to do it as His representative, and as realising that in some deep and real sense-for the present purpose at all events-we are one with Him. And it is when we know ourselves to be united to Christ and one with Him, and representative in a true fashion of Himself, as well as when, in humble reliance on His work for us and His loving heart, we draw near, that our prayer has power, as the old divines used to say, ‘to move the Hand that moves the world,’ and to bring down a rush of blessing upon our heads. Prayer in the name of Christ is hard to offer. It needs much discipline and watchfulness; it excludes all self-will and selfishness. And if, as my text tells us, the end of the Son’s working is the glory of the Father, that same end, and not our own ease or comfort, must be the end and object of all prayer which is offered in His name. When we so pray we get an answer. And the reason why such multitudes of prayers never travel higher than the roof, and bring no blessings to him who prays, is because they are not prayers in Christ’s name.
Prayer in His name will pass into prayer to Him. As He not obscurely teaches us here (if we adopt the reading to which I have already referred), He has an ear to hear such requests, and He wields divine power to answer. Surely it was not blasphemy nor any diversion of the worship due to God alone, when the dying martyr outside the city wall cried and said, ‘Lord Jesus! receive my spirit.’ Nor is it any departure from the solemnest obligations laid upon us by the unity of the divine nature, nor are we bringing idolatrous petitions to another than the Father, when we draw near to Christ and ask Him to give us that which He gives as the Father’s gift, and to work on us that which the Father that dwelleth in Him works through Him for us.
Trust yourselves to Christ, and let your desires be stilled, to listen to His voice in you, and let that voice speak. And then, dear brethren, we shall be lifted above ourselves, and strength will flow into us, and we shall be able to say, ‘I can do all things, through the Christ that dwells in me and makes me strong.’ And just as the glad, sunny waters of the incoming tide fill the empty places of some oozy harbour, where all the ships are lying as if dead, and the mud is festering in the sunshine, so into the slimy emptiness of our corrupt hearts there will pour the flashing sunlit wave, the ever fresh rush of His power; and ‘everything will live whithersoever it cometh,’ and we shall be able to say in all humility, and yet in glad recognition of Christ’s faithfulness to this, His transcendent promise, ‘I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,’ ‘because the life which I live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God.’ “
All That Is Written
“For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in Me, ‘And He was reckoned among the transgressors:’ for the things concerning Me have an end.” Luke 22:37 (KJB)
Jesus’s life is about to take a turn that would put the world in a tizzy. He was about to fulfill the most difficult part of His work, calling, and ministry for the glory of His Father.
That difficult work was His death on the cross; but there was more to take place there than the human eyes can see. The hate, and unbelief of the religious mob would be brought to light. The hatred of the world toward what is holy and righteous would be revealed as well.
Jesus knew that His life, and ministry as He walked among His brethren, the Jewish people, was always questioned; there were many doubts, and much unbelief concerning who He was; and today after 2000 years, of who He is. He also knew, and was willing to fulfill Scripture.
The quotation He gives in Luke 22:37 is from the following passage from the prophet Isaiah:
“Therefore will I divide Him with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
If in the life of Jesus as He walked among Adam’s race He was about the fulfilling of God’s word, the prophecies concerning Himself; shouldn’t His people of 2019 love the word, the prophecies, the law, and the poetry of Scripture as well? Most surely. We should also be looking for the fulfillment of all that has not yet been fulfilled, and living accordingly for His honor, power, and glory.
Of the last part of Jesus’s words in Luke 22:37 John Gill wrote:
“for the things concerning me have an end. The Syriac version renders it, “all of them”; or “the whole of it”, as the Ethiopic version; all that were concerning him; all the counsels, purposes, and decrees of God, relating to his sufferings and death; to the manner in which his death was brought about, by one of his disciples betraying him; to the several indignities he should be used with, by Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Jews, and Roman soldiers; and to his death itself; all which were by the determinate counsel, and foreknowledge of God, and now were about to have, and quickly had their fulfilling end; as also all his own covenant engagements and agreements he entered into with his Father, to bear the sins of many, to make his soul an offering for sin, to be numbered with transgressors, and pour out his soul unto death; and likewise all the types and shadows of the law, all sacrifices in general, and the daily sacrifice in particular, with the passover, brazen serpent, and other things, even the whole law, both moral and ceremonial, had their full and final accomplishment in him; together with all the prophecies of the Old Testament relating to this matter, particularly Gen_3:15.” John Gill’s EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE
If you profess to be a Christian, and yet you are unbelieving toward the word of God, then you need to examine your heart and life to be sure you are in the faith.
When God Runs
“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 (KJB)
In Luke 15 Jesus tells us three beautiful stories. The first is of a Lost Sheep; the second of a Lost Coin; and the third of a Lost Son. I am dealing with the third today, knowing it is the most remembered one often called the story of the Prodigal Son.
Please read the whole chapter. I will deal mostly with this one verse.
The lost son was lost because he decided to leave the father’s house and go out on his own living (In riotous living), on his inheritance, make friends, and be set for life. He finds himself broke, busted, and bankrupt; and feeding swine, and eating with the very hogs he was feeding. His “friends” had forsaken him, since his money ran out. Something we should all remember is that even as money, the material is temporary; so are people who are friends when you have money.
I like the phrase in verse 17 which states, “And when he came to himself”. He got to thinking. His mind cleared up, and he got to thinking about his father, and the way it could be at home. He humbled himself, went back to his father, to submit to him; not as his son; but to be a servant.
He heads home, and we can see something quite clearly. The father was watching for his son’s return. I can imagine everyday, several times a day he would look down the road in the direction his prodigal son would be coming from, longing to see him treading the way back.
We see the father spotting his son at a far distance, had compassion on him; and I would imagine tears joy and happiness flowing from his eyes; and he runs to greet him. The father prepares a great feast, a party welcoming the son home.
This father represents the God of Heaven. The lost son is anyone who is away from God; out of fellowship with God, and have no joy, peace, or love in their life.
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ longs for your return. Come to your senses, and know that the Father is waiting for your return. When you start that return He will run to greet you.
When does God run? When ever His wayward child comes home.
Arise
“And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, ‘Maid, arise.’ ” Luke 8:54 (KJB)
A young girl who was sick and dying, of the age of twelve. A woman who had had a medical problem of losing blood for twelve years (Luke 8:42, 43). I am not sure of any significance in the years.
There is certainly significance in the Healer. The woman touches Jesus as He comes through a crowd of people. She reaches out and touches the “border of His garment”, and the blood flow is stopped. She is healed in a moment by the Great Physician. What physicians could not do in twelve years; just one touch of the border of Jesus’s garment, and she is made whole.
Before Jesus gets to the twelve year old girl to heal her, she dies. He makes a statement that the people around her laugh about;
“And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, ‘Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.’” v. 52
Because of the unbelief He faces He put the mockers out. Jesus takes her by the hand and speaks the words, “Maid, arise” and her spirit, her soul, her life returned to her. She sat up, and Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
The Son of God, the Son of Man, God the Son cares for the lives of people. Yesterday we witnessed in the Word that He raised a widow’s son. Today He heals a woman with a blood issue for twelve years simply by her touch of faith; and he raises a twelve year old girl to life again.
He cares for you. He cared all the way to the cross to die for your sins, and took them upon Himself receiving His Father’s wrath, was buried, and He rose again; and He forever lives. Call on His name. He hears. He saves; and in saving He heals, and raises what was dead to life.
NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37 (KJB)
That is nothing that is inconsistent with His character, or Person. There is nothing too hard for God to accomplish.
The prophet Jeremiah stated that “…there is nothing too hard for Thee…” (Jeremiah 32:17) and the the LORD Himself asks the prophet; and not for information; “…is anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). It is just to make it clear for the reader’s observation that there is nothing too hard for the LORD. With God nothing shall be impossible.
When a priest named Zechariah entered the temple too old to have children and with a wife too old to have children and is told he will have son who will be the herald who will usher in the Messiah “Nothing shall be impossible with God”. When Zechariah does not believe and he is told he will be mute until his son is born “Nothing shall be impossible with God”.
When the virgin Mary is told she will have a son without a man, then “Nothing shall be impossible with God”.
When God sets out to save the Nation of Israel “Nothing shall be impossible with God”. When God sets out to save the Gentile world “Nothing shall be impossible with God”.
When God set out to save you, “Nothing shall be impossible with God”.
“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.” John 3:16
The Promised Son
“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, ‘In Isaac shall thy seed be called.’
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. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.” Romans 9:6-9 (KJB)
Abraham had a son by Hagar, Ishmael (Genesis 16); but he was not God’s promised son. The promise was that Sarah would have a son. Many people do not realize it but Abraham had many other sons too through another wife by the name of Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6); so just because you may be born of the stock of Abraham does not make you a child of God.
You become a child of God through the Son of Promise. Isaac was a child born of faith to a man 100 years of age, and a woman of 90 years of age. God promised them a son. They had a son in God’s time; not theirs.
The Son of Promise through which one becomes a child of God is the Son of God Himself who born into this world as any other child, yet not just any other child – He is the Son of God. He came for one purpose, and that purpose was to glorify His Father; and He would do that by giving Himself as the perfect Lamb of God on a cross to die for the sins of the world.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God the Son died on the cross, was buried, and He rose again fulfilling all the Father’s will for His life. He is the Son of Promise. He is the way for anyone to become a child of God; by grace through faith call on His name. His name is Jesus.
Without Excuse
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” Romans 2:1-4 (KJB)
These are without excuse because they are able to make judgments of others. Why does the religious, moralist think they shall escape the judgment of God? (v.3). They will not. There are three things mentioned in these verses about our gracious God.
1. His goodness;
2. His forbearance; which is His tolerance of us;
3. His longsuffering.
His longsuffering is patience. Patience = the duration which God demonstrates His goodness and forbearance for long periods of time. He deliberately shows us patience even when we think we are so moral that He has nothing to judge us for.
Without the grace of God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ we all are guilty before God. We are condemned sinners; transgressors of His law, guilty, and condemned. Turn to Jesus and live, or continue in death.
The Fire and Hammer 