God the Judge in a ‘judge not’ Culture

Psalm 75

1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. 

2 "At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. 

3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah 

4 I say to the boastful, 'Do not boast,' and to the wicked, 'Do not lift up your horn; 

5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.'" 

6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 

7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 

8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. 

9 But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 

10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. 

• In Psalm 75, God unapologetically asserts his right to judge, his competency to judge, and his title as Judge.

• The attitude one has toward the judgment of God reveals one’s view of the character of God. (V. 1)

the Source of judgment: the lord God (V. 2-3)

• We may not fully understand the why or the how of God’s judgment, but faith in God means we come to these passages with a humble trust and confidence that God is good.

Wrong Response #1: Ridicule judgment.

• We have a habit of assuming that our sense of fairness and justice is

the standard of fairness and justice.

You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? (Isaiah 29:16)

the target of judgment: the Proud (V. 4-7)

• God’s judgment always hits its target and it targets human pride. Wrong Response #2: Boast in judgment.

• We can easily read passages that speak of God’s judgment of evil and assume an attitude of moral superiority.

• The kingdom of God has a predictable pattern: God exalts the lowly and brings down the proud.

the Goal of judgment: Salvation (V. 8-10)

• God’s judgment is a terrifying thing because God is infinitely holy and we have sinned against him.

• No one will be able to charge God with over-reacting to evil.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. (Psalm 51:4)

Wrong Response #3: Minimize judgment.

• When we downplay the judgment of God, we are stealing glory from

the cross.

• When we look at the cross we see God’s judgment accomplishing God’s salvation for all who believe.

Thanks Matt!

Good To Be Near To God

Psalm 73

1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 

2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 

3 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. 

5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. 

6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. 

7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 

8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 

9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. 

10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. 

11 And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" 

12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. 

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 

14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. 

15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of your children. 

16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, 

17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. 

18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. 

19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! 

20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. 

21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 

22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. 

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 

24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 

28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. 

Two Perspectives...

When he sees the wicked...

He envies how they live.

They die peacefully.

They’re blessed physically. 

They flourish with pride.

They avoid pain.

They enjoy prosperity.

He regrets how he lives.

He has pursued purity in vain.

He has suffered constantly in silence.

He wrestles with how God works. 

When he sees God...

He remembers their future.

He realizes his foolishness.

He rejoices in God’s faithfulness. 

God grasps him.

God guides him.

God will glorify him. 

God is good to him.

Two exhortations...

Trust in God’s goodness.

Tell others about God’s greatness.

Thanks Pastor David!

Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A little boy was trying to roll a rock as his father watched from a distance. The boy was heaving and sighing, but he couldn’t turn the stone over. 

His dad with a smile said, “Son, are you using all of your strength?” He said, “Yes, Daddy, I’m using all my strength.” And the father said, “No, you’re not, because you haven’t asked me to help you. My strength is your strength.” 

Sometimes we wrestle with problems and say, “I don’t know what to do.” Our Father wants us to say, “I’ve run out of my strength,” and run to His. He is there. 

There is no problem too big for Jesus to solve. 

Do you believe that? I hope so.

ACTION POINT:

Is there a problem too big for you to solve? Give it to Jesus. He can handle it.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Proving God in Finances

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

You can say all you want about getting right with God, but if you don’t get right with God in your finances, you are not right with God. The kind of repentance that does not reach the bank account, has never reached the heart. 

In Malachi 3:7, God says, “Return unto me, and I will return unto you.”

And the people said, “Wherein shall we return?” 

God’s answer in verse 8 reveals that they were to return in tithes and offerings. The point of return is the point of departure. If you’re going to come back to God and if you’re going to renew your fellowship, you’re going to have to begin with the tithe.

How are you doing in the area of your tithes and offerings to the Lord? 

ACTION POINT:

It’s time to put the good book to the checkbook! 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

No Offense, No Effect

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A pulpit committee approached me one time and said, “We need a pastor for our church.” 

I said, “I know just the guy. He is a fantastic preacher and has a fiery evangelistic spirit, but he has health problems and he’s kind of old.” I continued, “He’s also been in jail several times.” 

They began to shake their heads, and one said, “Well, we don’t know whether he’s the man we want or not.”

I said, “Well, don’t worry; you couldn’t get him. He’s already in heaven, and his name is Paul.”

You don’t want a guy who can rub shoulders with the people of this world and not rub any salt in their wounds. Where there is no offense, there is no effect.

ACTION POINT:

Pray for the men who occupy the pulpits in our churches that they would not water down the truth of God’s Word, but be strong to proclaim its power.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God Will Always Answer

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I read about some children in a Sunday School class who wrote letters to a missionary to let him know they were praying for him. The teacher of the class said, “Now, children, the missionary is a very busy person, so don’t expect him to write you back.” One little girl’s letter read, “Dear Brother Brown, We’re praying for you. We don’t expect an answer.” 

Sadly, this is how we pray! We don’t really expect an answer. But God has promised He will answer us when we call upon His name.
Psalm 91:15 says, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.”

ACTION POINT:

• What are you praying for today? 

• Do you believe that God can answer? 

• Do you believe that He will answer? 

• Then thank Him now for answering. 

 LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Calling Good Evil and Evil Good

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

People can become so warped in their thinking that they don’t know the difference between right and wrong. 

I was listening to the radio one morning, and they were talking about what scientists want to do with the tissue of aborted babies. They said that some women are thinking about having babies, aborting them, then selling the tissue for research. The scientific community is promoting this propaganda because of the good they say the research will have on the whole of humanity! But what about the whole of humanity that begins in the womb? 

People today will play enough tricks on their minds that they will literally approve evil with a good conscience.

Where do you stand on this issue? What is right and what is wrong?

ACTION POINT:

Take some time this morning to read Psalm 139 and ask God to show you His truth.

Ps.139:
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 
3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," 
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! 
20 They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. 
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 
22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. 
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers