Bro Gary Wednesday Evening 1/25/12

Bro Gary Wednesday Evening 1/25/12

Hos 14:2  Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

All of us can remember the wonderful experience of coming to the Lord knowing that we needed a savior, needed forgiven from sin, and knew we needed a new life.  When I got saved I knew this, but time, experience, and life have caused me to know this in even a greater way. 

We are not happy to see someone waste their life in sin.  We know individuals that are very intelligent and have good careers in life that couldn’t handle one thing and that is sin. 

Sin is a destroyer.  I knew that when I got saved, I didn’t have much understanding, but today I have much to thank God for.  He reached to me when I was in sin and gave me a new life and gave me the family of God that taught me how to stay saved and how to grow.

Heb 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

Paul may have been quoting Hosea when he wrote this.  God only requires what we are able to give.  Tonight if a lamb was required or an ox I would have to go find one.  I’m sure there is a dime at home, but I don’t have a dime in my pocket.  If God required money we would run out fast. 

There is one thing that He asked of us and that is the fruit of our lips.  All of us here are able to talk and to thank God. 

Life isn’t easy: many times our heart is breaking; we understand disappointment.  We understand there being situations where we don’t know how it is going to work out.  But it is wonderful that we know God will be God no matter how it works out. 

Our present distress is often very alive and weighty.  If we go over the prayer requests just for January our hearts can get really heavy fast.  Right in the midst of our burden we can praise God for what He says, for what He is doing and for what we believe He is going to do.

A good report makes fat the bones.  The report of Nina Dunks getting saved has thrilled my heart every day.  All glory goes to God.  He is wonderful.

Psa 4:1  To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David. Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

Distress is a part of life and we have experienced distress and if life continues we will feel distress again.  David said, “Thou hast enlarged me.”

Psa 4:7  Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

There are times in life when you and I have felt that our entire heart is distressed.  In the time of our distress, we live in a time when there are a lot of concerns that are right concerns.  In the audience there are parents that have lots of concerns. 

We live in a world that we know a little bit about and we are praying to have an understanding of the times so that we can pray and teach and train those that we are burdened for.

We live in a world that is upside-down.  We have a heart and there are times that we are really burdened this is right and good. 

David may not have had the distresses that we have today.  He didn’t have to worry about his car breaking down.  But he lived in the world and had lots of distresses. 

When his baby died he was fasting and praying that God would heal the child and that it wouldn’t die.  Yet it died.  You and I can understand that this was not easy.  He said, “He cannot come to where I am but I can go to where he is.” 

All of us that are blessed to live past sixty realize as we visit the rest home that 10 years doesn’t seem long.  Mr. Robbins was driving a cat not too long ago and is sitting in a rest home beside his wife today.

The Psalmist said, “God has enlarged my heart.”  I’m not saying that God is going to move in and cause you to not be concerned about your son or daughter, and you need to do your best to take care of that car.

God is going to do his best to enlarge your heart and he wants to put in it gladness.  We may not be able to change conditions but we don’t have to let them change us.  God is still God, God still answers prayer.   

Heaven is just as real as it ever has been.  The plan of salvation is just the same.  All the promises in the Bible are just as true as they have ever been. 

I don’t lessen any heartbreak or any burden, but when we have a heart that is filled with distress God wants to come along, enlarge your heart, and put gladness in it.

Psa 4:1  To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David. Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

Psa 4:2  O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

Among the things that David was distressed about was that people were choosing the wrong ways.  It is distressing to see people facing eternity that are abominable.  We love even those people that we don’t know.  We love souls.

David called upon God and God told him that He was the God that wanted to enlarge his heart and put gladness in him.

Psa 4:3  But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

God has respect to them that He calls His children.

Psa 4:4  Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

I am really impressed that God would send His word to us.  From teen-age years to elderly, God never fails to speak to the heart.

I’m burdened to teach on a trained heart.  People may say, “My heart wanted to do this or that…”  as if that makes it right.  We want to have a trained heart by the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

It is alright to talk to yourself.  “Speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

Be instant in season and out of season at six o’clock and later. 

Be still – I can wake in the middle of the night and I have to call on God or I’ll be thinking about the snow falling off the roof and knocking the power out.  Be still, o heart, God is still God and will not fail. 

Psa 4:5  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

Psa 4:6  There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

When God shines His light down we feel like the writer of that song, “Count Your Blessings”, “God can do anything but fail.”

Psa 4:7  Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

Psa 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

There is no searching God out.  We will never know it all.  But we know that there is real value to understanding the deep things of God.  It is a good desire to say, “Lord help me to gain depth.”

Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Before we knew of God and His Son it was all a world of unbelief.  Before the Gospel came to the Gentiles they were all in unbelief; they were worshipers of idols.  The Jews are looking for something that will never come because it has already come.  They are all in unbelief.

The Wisdom of God concluded them all in unbelief that He might have mercy on them all.

Whoever is on our prayer list that is not saved is in unbelief.  If they haven’t gotten a Bible and found out how to get saved then they are in unbelief. 

When a sinner will believe, confess, repent, and become a new creature in Christ Jesus then He will have mercy on them right like that.  He will then continue to have mercy and show that there is a depth of the wisdom of God.  There is a depth of the knowledge of God. 

We will look back and see where we didn’t understand all at one time but we kept believing God and walking with God and now faith has become sight and we can see the wisdom of God in bringing things to pass as they were.

Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

His judgments are unsearchable.  The story isn’t over for those that we are burdened for.  There is a God in heaven that moves upon men and women.  He moves in such a way that they begin to understand and question and wonder: “Is the Bible really true?”

God knows how to work.  He knows how to speak to every soul on the face of the Earth.  God is speaking; are they listening?

His ways are past finding out.  A lot of times we don’t know why we are where we are but God knows.  The Bible tells us to sow beside all waters. 

Rom 11:34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Rom 11:35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

Rom 11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

God has the answer; He knows how to work and how to move.  He causes us to cross people’s paths and all the time we are just doing what we think we should be doing, carrying out our duties.  God is working out His purpose. 

Everything that we give to God He gives to us first.  Of Him, through Him and to Him are all things. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are not our own, our bodies are lent to us.  Yet we have the privilege of giving back to God what He has given to us.  Present ourselves a living sacrifice.  Not a dead sacrifice, one that has been born again, made alive, and cleansed from committed sin and inherited sin.  It is acceptable to God and He is reasonable with us.

Talk about freedom!  Aren’t you happy to not be trying to keep up with the world?  It is wonderful to march to a band that plays such good music.  I’m happy to be free from that jazzed-up ungodly music that would make Jesus out to be a monster instead of a savior, the giver of peace and joy, the giver of life, and the one who causes men and women to live moral lives.

Be not conformed to the world – it is wonderful to love the old paths, to have a place where there is rest of the soul.  I’m traveling a highway that leads to heaven.

 It is wonderful to have a renewed, trained, disciplined mind.

Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Rom 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

Rom 12:5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.