Bro Gary Sunday PM 5/29/11

Bro Gary Sunday PM 5/29/11

The word ‘ease’ appears a few times in the Old Testament.  Most of those times it is used in a negative sense. 

Here is one where they are ‘at ease’ or ‘secure’ in a bad sense.  Here it means: haughty, at ease, quiet and without proper concern. 

Amo 6:1  Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

These were in Zion, trusting in something other than God.  People may think that they are right because they go to a certain church or because they’re in a certain fellowship or they have a certain pastor, or even because they’ve left a certain fellowship.  The only thing that we should put our trust in is God.  He is who we want to serve; He it is who saves us.

Psa 25:12  What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

Psa 25:13  His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

As I began to study I found that only once in the Old Testament is the word ‘ease’ used in a good application, reference 2896 in the Hebrew/Chaldea dictionary.  It meant: ‘good in the widest of applications.’ 

The context of it in the above verse is that to the man that fears God, God will teach him in the way and He will bring him to soul rest, peace with the past and with the future.

“He hath made everything beautiful…”  The first definition when you look up the word ‘ease’ is beautiful.

We see tonight that God has a definite plan and pattern that He wants you and I to come to.  When we hear the word ease we think immediately of the bad sense of the word.  But there is a good sense; there is to be a rest for us in our souls. 

This word ease means: Good in the widest of applications.  That soul whose heart has been prepared by humbling themselves before God to say, “God teach me and lead me.”  If they have not only sought God to be delivered of their sin, but they sought God to present themselves a living sacrifice, when that total consecration is made, then their soul will dwell at ease.

The next meaning is ‘bountiful’.  It isn’t just work that makes us so weary.  Everywhere that you look and go outside of the fellowship of the saints, you see conditions that make you so sad in your heart.  Young lives are so messed up.  We live in a world where almost nothing on the moral issue is considered to be wrong.  It is so draining and it leaves you very concerned in your mind.  You have children and grandchildren and even if you didn’t; you see other children.  God has a place where those that are sanctified are renewed to a bountiful estate. 

What man is he that will fear God?  That one that fears God will be at ease.  I’m not talking about that fear that has torment.  I’m talking about the fear in the sense of, “I love you too much to gamble with my soul, to disappoint you, to get side tracked, to mess up at the end or at the beginning of the journey.”

Another meaning is ‘to dwell cheerfully’.  There is no religious spirit in the world that brings cheer to the soul; they may have their emotional frenzies but that isn’t cheer.  That is just the flesh being satisfied like the flesh is satisfied when you have chocolate. 

You know God in such a way that He is your Father.  You know Him in such a way that you know that you are accepted of the Beloved, have walked in His light and He has made everything beautiful.  His joy, His love, His peace is bountiful.  We don’t have everything that is in the world.  If you had it all, you’d still have problems and say, “All this is vanity, how am I going to take care of all of this stuff?”

Oh to be in favor with God and say, “By your grace I’m going to handle this right.”  You will not always be in the situation that you are in.  We need to be in favor with God in this season.  There are those that are going to go through job difficulties and job changes.  Stay rightly related to God so that whether you have less or you have more, your soul can be at ease. 

This economic situation in our country has affected all of us, the financial things that are happening in our economy cause difficulty, but we can stay in favor with God.

‘Ease’ in the thought of being glad and gracious.  You may be the only one that is saved in your family; God wants you happy.  You are a miracle. 

We need our mind to have a balance.  You can pack the left hand mentality of ‘everything is bad’.  If you are breathing than you have something to be encouraged about.  I have a new ache, I don’t know if this knee has ever hurt before, the other one yes but this is a new one.  As I felt the ache, I thought “It is wonderful that I can be agile enough to have pain; there are some that cannot even walk.”  We want to have the mentality of being thankful before God.

God has been so gracious, and He wants us to be gracious and be at ease with being gracious; this comes from being totally consecrated to God.  If you are not totally consecrated to God then you will have an agenda churning on the inside.

Another meaning of ease is ‘kind’.  I don’t need to tell you how ugly mean people are.  How unhappy unkind people are!  They are glaring; they’re using their toothpick to pick out the last person they ate.  Aren’t you glad to have the fear of God on you so you can be kind?

At ease in loving.  There are some individuals that are not able to be loved.  It is wonderful to be loved.  May God help us to be as a little child, letting people love us and loving others.  As I was walking down the alley the other day, the neighbor child greeted me and I visited with him.  As I was leaving, he called me back and said, “Could you give me a hug?”  We need to be as a child, loving and willing to be loved.

The one that fears God has known a love that goes past anything that has anything to do with humanity.  Thank God for the Holy spirit of God.  The one that fears God: His soul shall dwell pleasantly. 

Another meaning of ease is ‘pleasure’.  This world is so mixed up on what real pleasure is.  God created a beautiful world for us all to enjoy.  When we see a tree or the water, the mountains and lakes; we see the handiwork of God.  God made them all for us to enjoy, not to worship, just to enjoy. 

Fellowship, healing, and the pleasure of bearing one another’s burdens, when one member suffers all the members suffer.  We’re so broken hearted for the town of Superior; we’d like to put our arms around that mother and father and convey that we love them and are so sorry that it happened.

The thief comes to steal, the wolves, the bears, the lions, the leopards want blood.  When they stoned Stephen, they were bloodthirsty.  It is wonderful to be of a different spirit, sweet.  That one that fears God and will be taught in the way and will choose God’s way, his soul shall dwell sweetly.

The last meaning of ease is that they will be well-favored.  In Revelations 7 or 8 it shows us an angel standing before the throne and being given fire off of the altar.  There was much incense given unto him and the incense of the prayers of the saints was given to him.  Let us petition God that we will walk and live for him in such a way that our soul will be well favored to receive the grace, the anointing that we need from God.  That we may receive the holy fire cast in to the earth that produces earthquakes, thundering, lightening, and voices. 

Well-favored:  The one that fears God his soul shall dwell at ease, good in the widest of applications, everything that you can think about.  This is marvelous.