Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 3/25/15

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 3/25/15

I can look at a picture of my wife but you don’t hold hands with a picture.  I felt bad leaving her at home tonight as she was sick.  There is something about the tangible bible that has been left for us.  I am not against the modern technology that we have today as long as it is used for good.  It can work for bad and it can work for good.

Isa 56:8  The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Earlier in the chapter it leaves the thought, ‘Let there be no whining from the strangers and from the eunuchs.’  Every day if you leave your home, you see people that are so much less fortunate than we are.  Every day our mind goes to those that are in dire straits spiritually because they don’t know God and His kingdom.  We are blessed to know about God, His kingdom, and His church.

This marvelous God gives to us that are a part of His kingdom a house with walls.  The kingdom of God is a home of righteousness, of peace, and of joy in the Holy Ghost.  This kingdom of God, of heaven, and the church is a kingdom with walls.

We live in a day when many times people want no boundaries in their life.  God has ordained that there be definite lines drawn.

Isa 60:18  Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

The walls of salvation provide deliverance, help, safety, victory, wonderful boundaries and protection.  In the Lord’s Prayer it says, “Lead us not into temptation.”  Jesus was endeavoring to help us understand, “God help us to let you lead us so that we don’t find ourselves in situations that we don’t know how to handle.”

We thank God for the boundaries: how to live, how to conduct ourselves, how to act, and how to handle our money.  Isn’t it wonderful to have walls that make us happy?  They provide wonderful boundaries. 

“Wasting, violence, and destruction cannot exist and grow in God’s kingdom.”

The gates are the gates of praise.  In our coming and our going, help us to be found praising God.  Jesus comes to the sheep fold and helps us to go out to green pastures. 

Psa 48:1  A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

Psa 48:2  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

Psa 48:3  God is known in her palaces for a refuge.

Whatever season we are in, God remains great and is to be praised.  My thought went today to having goals.  I couldn’t help but think of the precious souls that I am concerned be at vacation bible school.  It is important and vital that we are challenged with a goal.

Summer is coming on, it is important that our children have goals. One of my goals is, “Higher in Mt Zion.”  It will never reach the point where we can say, “I have attained.”  The God we serve will ever challenge us.  If we are not challenged then we will find a spot to sit down on Mt Zion and not go any higher.

Psa 48:8  As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

Psa 48:9  We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

Psa 48:10  According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Oh the loving kindness of God: we want to know a greater depth of that. 

Psa 48:11  Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

Psa 48:12  Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.

Psa 48:13  Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

Psa 48:14  For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Let Mt Zion rejoice.  Rejoice ever more.  Pray without ceasing. 

The city of Zion has walls and bulwarks.  God has His ministry walking on the walls and climbing into the towers, “God help us to receive and preach the Word that will have the people of God being her best.

The walls go down deep so that the enemy cannot in anyway tunnel under and bring havoc to any of the church of God.

Life without the walls and bulwarks is described in Isaiah chapter 59.  I think of precious children being left without knowledge of the walls.  It looks like for the children and young people today it is scary.  Their parents have failed them.  They let them dress how they wanted, watch what they wanted to watch, and made available to them to know what they should not, way too young.

Verse 5 when people leave God and truth and don’t have walls and convictions in their lives, they actually create monsters.  This congregation knows some monsters.  We can thank God for the walls and for the boundaries.  We can thank God that we shake and tremble before God. 

Life of the rebellious is described in the first 14 verses.

Isa 59:10  We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

I think of life without walls, how groping around and falling off into whatever.  We talk to people and they say, “I don’t know how I got here.”  We can tell them.  “You didn’t have the walls of salvation.”

Isa 26:1  In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Isa 26:2  Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isa 26:4  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: