The Rest of God's Story

Psalm 95

1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 

2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 

5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 

7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 

8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 

9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 

10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." 

11 Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." 

The Invitation — Give God Glory (Psalm 95:1-7a)

The object of worship

The expressions of worship 

The reasons for worship

The Exhortation — Reach God’s Rest (Psalm 95:7b-11)

The context

The commission 

The connection

The Application — Complete God’s Commission (Hebrews 3-4)

Receive God’s call to live out his mission. (Heb. 3:7-11) 

Exhort one another to participate in it. (Heb. 3:12-19) 

Seize your opportunity for rest right now. (Heb. 4:1-10) 

Trust God both to enable and to discipline. (Heb. 4:11-13)

Thanks Jim!

The Reign of God and The Hope of The Believer

Psalm 93

1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 

2 Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. 

3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. 

4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! 

5 Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. 

The Lord Reigns (v1-2)

The Bible’s message might be summarized like this: The God who is, reigns. 

The one who has ultimate sovereignty gets to be called God.

The floods Roar (v3)

The sovereignty of God is not a challenge for Christians to affirm when all is well. 

One of the primary reasons we sing the sovereignty of God and preach the sovereignty of God is because the truth that settles a heart in turmoil is the truth that our God reigns.

The Lord is Mightier (v4-5)

God is unfolding a story for His people – a story that moves from the wreckage of the Fall to the restoration of creation.

But how will He deliver us?

The answer has everything to do w/these “trustworthy decrees/testimonies” (V5) In the resurrection of Jesus, God vindicates the truthfulness of his promise (Ps. 89:19-37; 93:5) about a forever King!

So why the effusive outpouring of praise at the end? Psalms 146-150, it seems to me, are psalms that look to the end of history. The final cluster of psalms opens out onto a promise that transcends the boundaries of Israel’s history. Israel’s journey was a pilgrimage that awaited another chapter: the day when God would, as Psalm 2 promised, raise up Messiah. God’s people drafted the Psalter to sustain themselves in that hope. They knew that one day God and they would have the last laugh. Centuries later, the early believers of Acts 4 recognized that when God raised his Son from the dead, the time for laughter had come.

-Reggie Kidd, With One Voice, 44

Jesus Christ, the Son of David, has come and has mounted his throne!

All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to him! The Lord Jesus reigns!

The sovereignty of God is good news. Believe it. Take hope and encouragement from it.

Thanks Matt! 

The God Who Delivers From Fear

The Strength of the Deliverer

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 

2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." 

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 

4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 

5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 

8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 

9 Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place- the Most High, who is my refuge- 

10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. 

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 

12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. 

13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 

14 "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 

15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 

16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation." 

God confronts our greatest fears by letting us see how big He is.

This passage envisions comprehensive protection in a world full of fears, full of danger.

The People he delivers

The blessings of God’s covenant—including the protection promised in Psalm 91—come only to those who trust in God.

God has provided a Shelter for sinners: Jesus Christ. 

Sinners hide in Christ and are shielded from our greatest

fear—namely the just wrath of God.

Descriptions of God’s People in Verses 14-16 

They hold fast to God in love. (V14)

They know God’s name. (V14)

They call to God. (V15)

God is with them in trouble. (V15) 

They are rescued by God. (V15)

They are honored by God. (V15)

They are satisfied by God. (V16)

They are shown God’s salvation. (V16)

The Nature of deliverance

This protection doesn’t mean a trouble-free life.

“Abraham ... was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God... These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:10, 13-16)

Your best life comes later, but it lasts forever.

This is your security amid the perils of this world. You are loved by God!

“You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” (Luke 21:16-19)

Sometimes, in his mercy, God rescues us from suffering. l Sometimes, in his mercy, God rescues us in suffering.

In a little while, God will rescue us from all suffering.

[here are] two ways of saying, “Don’t be afraid.” One is as an edict to be obeyed, in which case it is a peculiar edict. It sounds like the king actually cares about us. He isn’t ordering us to make bricks without straw. Instead, it sound as if he wants his people to know peace. So, even when seen as an authoritative command, this reveals something lovely about God.... This is the most severe way to understand ‘Do not be afraid.’ Here is the other way: ‘[Jesus said], ]Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.’ (Luke 12:32).... No one inserts “little flock” into an inviolable command. No king talks about being “pleased” to give anything, let alone the kingdom itself, to his subjects. Jesus is invoking kingly imagery, indeed. But the One who sits on the throne is a Father, and that changes everything.” Ed Welch, Running Scared, 65

Jesus is the Shelter of the Most High, Jesus has conquered death, and Jesus will never leave us.

Thanks Matt!

What’s at the Heart

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever gone to a sawmill and watched them process timber? They take a big log out of the woods that may have bumps and knots on it, and they lay it on a cradle, running it through a saw, cutting off one side. Then they bring it back, turn it, and run it through again to cut off another side. When they’re finished, if you stand and look down it, it’s perfectly straight. But if you look at the end of it, the heart is still crooked. That’s the way it is with some individuals who are outwardly living the Christian life. But Jeremiah 17:9 warns the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. We need regeneration. We must be born again.

ACTION POINT:

Read Psalm 19:14— “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Pray it from your heart—that today you would desire with everything within you to be pure in thought, word, and deed.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

The Treasure We Have in Jesus Christ

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Many years ago, the Spanish Armada was sailing off the coast of Florida. A hurricane struck, and the ships laden with gold and silver ingots sunk to the bottom. People knew the treasure had been lost and believed one ship went down near Vero Beach in Fort Pierce, Florida. Fishermen fished over that spot, sometimes doubtless hanging a hook on a lump of gold.

One day some explorers went diving, and there it was in the shallow water. In fact, the water was so shallow that any of us could have swum to the bottom and brought up millions of dollars. In the same way, I believe there are many of us yet to discover the full treasure we have in Jesus Christ.

ACTION POINT:

Have you plunged your heart deep into the treasure of the Lord? Or are you living life in the shallow end, wondering if the treasure will ever come to you?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Master Designer

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

How did it happen? How did the Bible get written apart from divine inspiration?

Suppose we decided to build a monument to all 50 states in Washington, D.C., and use native stone from each state. We would hammer out the stones from individual quarries in each state.

Then ship them.

Uncrate them.

Then fit the stones together.

As the stones were assembled, we discovered that there was not one stone too many. Not one stone too few. When completed, we had a magnificently symmetrical monument.

The only explanation for this perfection is that there was a master architect who designed everything. In the same way, you cannot explain the unity of the Bible apart from divine inspiration.

ACTION POINT:

Praise God for His Master Design of the universe—of the stars, the planets, the skies, the seas...and you!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Put on the Righteousness of Christ

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” Colossians 3:12

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Sometimes people will ask if I’m a preacher.

How do they know I’m a preacher before I’ve said anything “spiritual”? 

I don’t want them to know that I am a preacher by the way I look. Now, I’m not ashamed that I’m a preacher, but I think a preacher ought to dress and act so that nobody will suspect he’s a preacher. We ought to be transparent vessels of the Lord’s anointing.

We’re not posturing, posing, or somehow going through life trying to look holy or trying to act holy. We just simply are what we are by the grace of God.

ACTION POINT:

What does your outer appearance say about who you are in Christ? Dress in His robes of righteousness and His countenance of glory today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers