Thought for Meditation

Why do so many of God's own people today 
seek after psychological and pharmaceutical solutions 
to their emotional, mental, and behavioral problems, 
rather than follow after Biblical and spiritual (Holy Spirit directed) solutions? 

Weekly Sermon

In Psalm 119:22-23 the psalmist, this faithful servant of the Lord, stated, “Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.  Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.”

As a whole, the theme of Psalm 119 is – The desire of the Lord’s suffering servant to seek the Lord through His holy Word.  In Psalm 119:22-23 the psalmist speaks for the first time concerning the affliction and reproach under which he was suffering.  Indeed, he was suffering reproach and contempt.  He was being slandered.  Many were speaking against him.  Yet the psalmist, as a faithful servant of the Lord, also presented his response unto that affliction and reproach.  In the closing portion of Psalm 119:23, he declared, “But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.”  Even so, with a study throughout Psalm 119, we may learn how a faithful servant of the Lord responds in the face of affliction and reproach.

Outlines in Psalms

A Psalm of David.

   I.  The Praise of the Lord for His Enablement (Psalm 144:1-2)
  II.  The Place of Man in Himself (Psalm 144:3-4)
 III.  The Prayer to the Lord for His Deliverance (Psalm 144:5-8)
IV.  The Praise of the Lord for His Deliverance (Psalm 144:9-10)
 V.  The Prayer to the Lord for His Blessing (Psalm 144:11-14)
VI.  The Peace of Those with the Lord (Psalm 144:15)

Outlines in Psalms

“To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.”

  I.  The Cry of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 4:1-2)
 II.  The Confidence of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 4:3-4)
III.  The Commitment of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 4:5-6)
IV.  The Comfort of the Lord’s Servant (Psalm 4:7-8)

Thought for Meditation

The only way that we may obtain and experience
a rest  for our souls that will last through all the troubles of life 
and a peace for our hearts and minds that will surpass all human understanding
is by submitting to the Lord our God and Savior,
trusting in the Lord our God and Savior,
and following after the Lord our God and Savior.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to three previous sermons:  Consider Your Priorities - Haggai 1:5    
                                                                                         Consider the Lord's Pleasure - Haggai 1:8      
                                                                                         Consider Our Lord's Purpose - Haggai 2:10-19    

Haggai 2:10 gives the report, “In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying.”  Then in Haggai 2:18-19 we come to the conclusion of that message where our Lord declared through His prophet, “Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, consider it.  Is the seed yet in the barn?  Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.”  Finally, in Haggai 2:20-23 our Lord delivered a second message on the same day through His prophet Haggai.  There we read, “And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.  In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.”

In Haggai 2:15-17 the Lord had instructed His people at that time to consider His hand of chastening against them and to consider His purpose in that chastening.  Yet in Haggai 2:18-19 the Lord instructed them to consider another matter.  In these two verses, the Lord gave promise to reverse their situation.  Until that time His hand of chastening had been against them, but from that time forward He promised to open His hand of blessing upon them.  At the end of verse 19, the Lord proclaimed, “From this day will I bless you.”  He had confronted them and chastened them for their sinful priorities and ways, and they had repented of those sinful priorities and ways.  Thus from that day of their repentance forward, the Lord promised to bless them.  Even so, the Lord instructed them to consider His promise.  In like manner, we ourselves also need to consider our Lord’s promise to those who will repent of their sinful ways and return unto the Lord.

Weekly Sermon

Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Brethren, it is our responsibility as God’s own children to walk and live each day by faith, not by sight; for without faith it is impossible for us to please the Lord our God. (2 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:6)  The life that we are now living in this flesh, we are to live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us and give Himself for us. (Galatians 2:20)   Just as we received our Lord Jesus Christ through faith as our eternal Savior, even so we are to walk and abide in Him through steadfastness of faith, being rooted and built in Him thereby. (Colossians 2:6-7)  We are to stand and become established in the things of the Lord by faith, and through such steadfastness of faith in Him we shall obtain a good report. (Acts 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Hebrews 11:39)  Although we do not see our Lord with physical sight, yet we are to look unto Him with the sight of faith and thereby to rejoice in Him with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8)  Even so, the four lines of Proverbs 3:5-6 present four important truths concerning this matter of walking by faith and trust in our Lord.