Psalm 3: Our God Saves (Part 3 of 150)

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like everyone is against you? I mean, it is not hard to find an enemy.  Though this most likely isn't the case where "everyone" is against you or there is an enemy all around you, but sometimes it feels like it.  Isn't it great to know that we serve a God who is not our enemy and though our sin makes an affront to His holiness, because of Christ, He is always there welcoming with open arms?  He is truly a gracious God.  I'll post a study I did in Ephesians soon about the the mystery of what motivates God's grace and love to provide. This mystery has been to my spiritual life what gas is to a fire. God demands judgment on sin because of His holiness, but his holiness does not demand mercy to be given. The mystery is, what would motivate God to choose to give mercy steeped in grace and love? It's one of those mysteries that cannot be answered and that is ok. It is that mystery that motivates God to ALWAYS, at any hour, in any day, be available with open arms, ready to forgive and heal. Psalm 3 is an assurance of this very point.
David wrote this when his own son was trying to overthrow him for the kingship. There's a slap to the face if you ask me. The worst hurt is typically from an offense from the ones you love, and David knew that really well.  There is no more lonely feeling, I could imagine than when your own family is trying to overthrow you. This motivates David's first two verses of this short psalm. Take time to read the whole thing right now.

So David is hurt, feeling alienated from his own blood, but never forgets who he can turn to for the renewed confidence of his calling: the Lord. "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." This is so true even when people try to tell you otherwise, why? Because God's word says so.

Let's stop here quick.  The truth behind that statement can't just be glossed over.  "Because God's word says so" is a statement that is not a "cop out" statement. The world would say otherwise because what empirical value does God's word have? In other words, the Bible is the book, and the only truth that the world turns to for answers is science.  So when they say, "because science says so" they are utilizing the same rhetoric that the believer is in our statement about the bible, but with one difference, the world holds science higher because it is apparently tested true. It doesn't take long to foil the argument there. Many scientific findings are true, and hey, guess what, they aren't conflicting with the bible. But, where atheistic science is trying to prove the randomness-creating-order motif they are creating new findings day in and day out.  Unfortunately, isn't truth told in time not just experiment? Science is changing day in and day out, but the Word of God has stayed the same for THOUSANDS of years. "if it's new it's not true, if is true it's not new."  Simple? Yes, but truth is simple.  The Bible is true because God himself who reveals it's truth to the believer in the Holy Spirit says it's true. And oh hey, history proves it true with it's preservation in such perfect way for thousands of years. Don't be afraid to say, "because God's word says so." It is the only statement worth living by.

Anyways, David had probably one of the closest relationships with the Lord.  And in 2Sam 7 when the Lord made a covenant with David that the throne would never leave his line all the way to Zion, David doesn't need to worry about his enemies because he knows the Lord is on his side.  The Lord is a shield, and in those times where we are, in our human nature, worried, He is the "lifter of our head."  He is the sustainer and the owner of salvation of which he gives freely to those who believe in Christ (the very word of God made flesh (Jn 1:1)).

So when you are feeling like everything around you is out to get you, look to God's word and be encouraged by His truth.

Prayer:  Lord forgive me for not remembering you in the times when I'm desperate. You are indeed my shield and the lifter of my head, take the opposition away from me if it be your will, but leave it there Lord if you are refining me.  You alone know your ways and I thank you for even considering me. I praise you for your glorious grace that you've given me in Christ. Thank you for saving me! It is in your holy and precious son's name, Jesus, that I pray and seek you. Amen.

Psalm 2: Hope in the Messiah (part 2 of 150)

Psalm 2 is, at first glance, one of those psalms where you are like, "hold the phone, what is going on here?" Given that the psalms are poetic and not in a narrative form sometimes there are those psalms that are referring to something else in a poetic manner.  The cool thing about Psalm 2 is that it not only refers to something and someone else, but it is one of those many passages that prove that the Old Testament stands as important as well.  I say this because common today, especially in the church, is this notion that the Old Testament is outdated and perhaps not as useful anymore now that we have the New Testament.  I mean, how many times do you go to church and the pastor is preaching a series in the Old Testament? Not impossible today, but not too often either. 

Psalms 2 is a great example of how the OT can be reference and great foundational support to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wait, Jesus in the OT? Yes, this is what we call prophecy ;-). In fact, I go as far as to say that every book that is in our modern canon of which we call the Bible is in there for the purpose of pointing to our "messiah" our "savior" Jesus Christ. Why? Because God's word, by definition, IS Jesus Christ, the "word made flesh." (John 1:1).  This is very common and something that should be understood and cherished by someone who is seeking spiritual nourishment from God's word on a daily basis.

 

Reading Psalm 2 for me makes me think a lot of our situation as Christians in today's realm and modern times. Verses one and two sound very familiar to modern times: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?"  Does this sound anything like today? Let's go on with some clarification in verse two: "Where the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed..." 

Many nations around our world right now are rising against Christianity, particularly muslim nations, and saying what would be similar to verse three in this passage: "let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." 

In this modern "age of tolerance" Christianity is under attack. From the Psalm here I can say "Christianity" because of the fact that this word "anointed" is used. David, who wrote this, knows this as well, even though he didn't exactly know the way we do the man Jesus Christ. See, God made a covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 that in his genealogy, his "line," the throne would never depart. In Isaiah 11 we are given some more insight of the "branch" from the "stump of Jesse" (David's Father). All this to say, the "anointed" in this passage is referring to the ultimate one anointed in the line of David, that being Christ, the Messiah. Though in David's context, he also is the "anointed" of the Lord, and I believe he was writing this both in a personal standpoint, where nations were rising against him, as well as a prophetic one referring to many generations and centuries of nations rising against Christianity and the gospel.

He actually, starting in Verse 4 and going through verse 9, prophesies and writes as if the Lord was speaking and commenting on the situation, (which he is, it's his word through David remember). The Lord is depicted as being in heaven almost chuckling, saying (paraphrased) "pshhh, no worries, i've established this throne and my kingdom: Zion. Nothing can destroy it."  The rest of this psalm is about how the everlasting kingdom of the anointed cannot be moved or destroyed and will in fact rule over and judge all other nations, and mightily so. The psalm ends with a call of warning basically saying, "align with the true KING and you will be blessed." 

That true king is Jesus. And his kingdom is being built day in and day out as people are coming to know him as their savior from their sins.  This Psalm acts as encouragement to all believers in the fact that the ancient truth is still true today: don't worry, if you have your allegiance with the truth King, take hope in him and do not let the "nations" who rise against you bring you to dismay, rather "take refuge in him." 

Prayer:

Lord, sometimes I allow my circumstance and the busyness of life to crowd in and get me down and doubting of your provision. Forgive me for doubting, and help me to believe in you more by faith. give me strength to stand proud of my relationship with you and know that even if I face persecution, I can hope in your kingdom to come in Christ, where there will no long be pain, or suffering, or weeping, or hardship, but rather joy, peace, and rejoicing for what you've done for us on the cross.  You are worthy of my praise and I submit my life to you. In Jesus name, amen. 

"Psalms for the Simple" Part 1 of 150

That title probably scares you as much as it scares me. "part 1 of 150?" is he serious!?
Yes I am.
I've been reading through the Bible cover to cover, something I'm trying to do fairly regularly in my own personal study of God's word. And guess where I just turned to? Yep! Psalms.
I have titled this series "Psalms for the Simple" because it is part of my goal as a pastor and worship leader to show people that you don't need to have a prestigious degree or know greek to read and benefit from God's word! One of the things that makes me most sad is that some people leave church thinking, "man i'm glad he knows what he's talking about because I have no idea how he got that out of that passage." When biblical lines start getting shady, when pastors preach heady and intellectually above the congregation, a person is drawn away more than drawn to wanting to study it casually on their own. That is a shame.
So to do my part, being a simple brain, as I usually say, I'm going to blog my way through the Psalms and give you simple and personal insight. There is a place for intellectualism, a good place, but the sake of this study is going to be on finding joy in reading God's word and benefiting from what he has given us, knowing how it has been preserved over thousands of years.
Here we go:

Psalm 1 (go ahead read it!):

First thing I gather from this Psalm, even right from the first sentence, is the main theme of the whole thing: There is no blessing in wickedness.
Blessing comes from obedience and delighting "in the Law of the Lord." "Meditating on it day and night" (verse 2)
This is describing a person who actually WANTS to play by the rules. Now, hear me out, never once will you hear me say that salvation in Jesus Christ is by obeying all the rules. Salvation in Jesus Christ is ONLY by grace THROUGH faith. But there is also a phrase that is biblical and I like it a lot: "Choose to sin, Choose to suffer." See, there is consequence to sin, ALWAYS. Whether it is immediate or many years from the offense. There is always consequence to sin and it isn't pretty. It is messy, it hurts, it's SIN! Blessed is the man who "delights in the Law of the Lord." This man recognizes consequence to sin and thinks to himself, "hmm.. instead of doing something that is offensive to God and will inevitably hurt me, I'm going to purposefully do what is right, even when it doesn't seem favorable to me at the time." That is meditating on the Law of the Lord.
Blessed man in this passage is described like a tree by streams of water. If I were a tree, I wouldn't want to be in a desert right? The BEST place to be is by a constant and never worrying-about-it flow of water! The connection is drawn in this Psalm to delighting and meditating on the Law of the Lord, God's Word, and streams of water. Jump forward to the New Testament, when Jesus is talking to the woman at the well and he refers to "living water." God's word is like a stream of living water in us, constantly shaping and growing us into the image of Christ. Why is that? Because Christ is the Word made flesh (John 1:1). All this to say, when we are living a life like the blessed man in this Psalm, our focus is on pleasing the Lord, avoiding sin, with the result that we are bearing fruit and prospering (cf Gal. 5 & 6).

The rest of the Psalm finishes with how the wicked man is for a moment; ultimately has no real purpose because he will be driven away like chaff blown away from wheat. The wicked man suffers, "he will not stand in judgement." (verse 5) That doesn't mean that he won't be judged, it means that he won't get through judgment. He will never stand in the congregation of the righteous and ultimately perishes. Wow, the line is very clear here: Blessing for the righteous and the wicked will perish.

Prayer:
God, you are, as you say you are the one who truly knows the way of the righteous (vs 6). You know our hearts, the good and the bad. Forgive us Lord for the sin in our lives that cause us not to bless you, but defile you. You are the God who blesses the righteous. Protect us from a life of wickedness and guide us in your truth, in your Word. Lord give us motivation and strength, as we are human, to delight and meditate on your law. Help us not to follow it with an ill-conceived notion that we have to, but instead follow it because we want to.  Only you can give us, as fallen as we are, the power to please you. Give us strength and give us endurance to pursue righteousness. Thank you for your mercy.  In Jesus name we thank you and praise you. Amen

A challenge to the Men in Church

This Church Had a Man Crisis