Opening prayer: "Dear God, So far today, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped. I haven't lost my temper. I haven't lied or cheated. I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed; and from then on, I'm probably going to need a lot more help. Amen."
YOUR NEXT HAPPY MEAL ISAIAH 55:2
When you buy a kid a Happy Meal, you're not just buying fries, McNuggets, and a toy; you're buying happiness. Their advertisements have convinced my children they have a little McDonald-shaped vacuum in their souls: "Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in a Happy Meal." The problem with the Happy Meal is that the happy wears off, and they need a new fix. No child discovers lasting happiness in just one. Happy Meals bring happiness only to McDonalds. You ever wonder why Ronald McDonald wears that grin. Twenty billion Happy Meals, that's why. [Taken from the article Happy Meal Spirituality, Christianity Today, May 1993]. "When you get older, you don't get any smarter; your happy meals just get more expensive." What's the last Happy Meal you bought for yourself? A car? Some clothes? A house? A new toy? How long did it last? No matter how hard we try, or how much we spend, as long as we live with a happy meal mentality, happiness will escape us. David said, "My soul finds rest in God alone..." (Psalm 62:1) Take a moment today to think about your next Happy Meal. Instead of pursuing one more thing, one more possession, one more purchase, spend a few minutes alone with the God who loves you, and let his presence in your life satisfy you. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:2 John Ortberg
"There comes a time when we all must realize that life is short, and in the end the only thing that really counts is not how others see us, but how God sees us. For the believer there is hope beyond the grave, because Jesus Christ has opened the door to heaven for us by His death and resurrection." Billy Graham,
God’s Works and God’s Word in our souls
1. A Revelation through Nature in which we may easily read the power and godhead of the Creator. This shows us the power and Godhead of the Creator. Vs. 1-6
GEN 1:16 tells us: “he (God) made the stars.” PS 147:4: “He tells the number of the stars; he calls them all by their names”. IS 40:26 “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things that brings out their host by number; he calls them all by names by the greatness of his might for that he is strong in power; not one failed.”
Job 9:8, 9 “(God) Which alone spreads out the heavens, and treads upon the waves of the sea. Which makes Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south “.
Man is at an advantage over the animals. Animals are built looking down whereas man is built upright. Man is made upright, to look upwards, because upwards his spirit must shortly go. Then we have the constant and regular succession of day and night. This speaks of the glory of that God who first divided between the light and the darkness, and has, from the beginning to this day, preserved that established order without variation. According to God's covenant with Noah, that, while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease. The counter changing of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe that, as in the kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, he forms the light and creates the darkness and sets the one over-against the other. It is likewise an instance of his goodness to man; for he makes the out-goings of the morning and evening to rejoice. He not only glorifies himself, but satisfy us, by this constant revolution; for as the light of the morning assist the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening assist the recline of the night; every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and, when they have finished their testimony, leave it to the next day, to the next night, to stay the same. Then the light and influence of the sun in a special manner, declare the glory of God; for of all the heavenly bodies that are the most clear in itself and most useful to this lower world, which would be all dungeons, and all desert, without it. Man walking upright was evidently made to scan the skies to know that God has created all things.
Psalm 19:7-14 vs. 7: What we see quickly in these verses: The law of the Lord is perfect so that we may be converted from sin to living a holy life. Vs. 8. We see the heart cheering power of the Word, that it is founded in its righteousness, real in its quality and Constant in its operation. Vs 9: We see the purity and durability of true faith, and the truth and justice of the principles upon which it is founded. VS 10: Here are two arguments for loving God's statutes. We gain Profit and Pleasure. VS 11: We see here a warning to live a holy life. VS 12-13: We see three grades of sin. They can be secret, presumptuous or unpardonable. VS 14: We see a prayer concerning our holy life as a Direct Revelation to our Souls and how to improve it.
Trust is a gift from God
What can we give to God who has everything? Psalm 50:8-13 “I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly bring to my altar. But I want no more bulls from your barns; I want no more goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. Every bird of the mountains and all the animals of the field belong to me. If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. I don't need the bulls you sacrifice; I don't need the blood of goats.
God hungers and thirsts for our trust in Him. One thing I believe hurts God most is our failure to put our trust in Him. How can show we trust Him more? We do this by praising Him more and singing of His wonderful works toward us. We show our trust in Him by thanking Him for His gifts to us. We show our trust in Him by finding His will for our life and doing it to please Him. God sent us this book telling of His love for us on every page and says trust me! We need to avoid anything that would lesson our trusting Him. Let us take time to look at four attitudes that can ruin our trust in him.
Number one being giving into anxiety. This comes when we hear of bad news or go through hard times or are uncertain about the future and our minds become distressed. This can be real or imaginary adversity that comes our way. Words associated with this are worry, doubt and fear. It causes us to be upset and makes us grumpy. We think what is going to happen to us. How can I handle my life if this happens?
We need to remember that God loves us and that He always is and that He will never let us go through something that He is not in control of. If we belong to Him we are under His total care. It is His truth that takes away all doubt. Jesus did not challenge the Devil with His wit but by the truth of the Word of God. 1 JN 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.” The fear of the Lord brings wisdom. This means we need to use God’s truth as the point of reference in all that we do or think. He is the Lord. PS 56:4
In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what man can do unto me. RM 8:31-32 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
Number two is having a complaining spirit. I met a person like that this week as I traveled to R. C. This person only focused on the negative. When we have this spirit it spears that something is missing or something is not right. This attitude puts a limit on God’s grace and love in our lives. From last week’s message we talked about five negative things that make us unhappy and those around us. I have had them on my mind as I have gone through the week. Have you? We talked about living a holy life and dwelling in God’s presence. We named five actions that we need to avoid. They were backbiting, being a busybody, complaining, slandering others and gossip. How did you do with keeping them out of your lives? I ask how big God is. When we complain we chose to express sadness and dissatisfaction with the way things are in my life. As we do this it takes away our ability to be thankful. A thankful hearts is one that can never get over how good life is because God has chosen us to be part of His family. When we complain we are chasing to look at the ways of this world rather than the goodness of God. We choose to dwell on our troubles rather than to choose to patiently wait on God to turn bad into good. Joseph had to wait man years before the dream God gave him came to be. PS 23:4 ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you art with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. “
Number three is to live in discouragement. How do we react when we fail, work under difficult circumstances or find ourselves rejected or not appreciated? These can lead us to being discouraged. Discouragement saps our strength and enthusiasm and takes us deeper with shutting out the light and courage that the Holy Spirit can give us. When we feel low hope is not an option but a necessity. Remember that god is always calling us back to Himself, desires our friendship and will extend mercy to us. Did you know that discouragement come from one being proud and not one who is living a humble life? Discouragement can come because we don’t know ourselves very well and we are embarrassed when we see ourselves as weak. To trust in God we have to take our eyes off our littleness to God’s greatness. Discouragement is a result when we stop relying on God and become fixed on ourselves and our misery. We should treat discouragement as we do temptation. The Devil delights when we give in to discouragement. A classic example of this is when Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on water. He was OK until he let his eyes focus n the wind and waves. He started to sink. He did not try to swim but reached out to Jesus and His power lifted him up.
Number Four is trying to be Self-sufficient. Our pride shows up big in this one. When we rely on ourselves we become miserable. Do you like to be grumpy? When we become inflated with our success, confident in our abilities, sure of our opinions it leads us to believe we do not need God’s help. “I will do it,” from the words of a two year old. So it seems God wants to be an intruder in our life and His commands take away what we think is our freedom to take care of ourselves. Our pride says we do not want to appear to be weak and have to depend on someone else to help us. The truth is we find real freedom when we fully depend on Him. What can you do to impress God? We see this in the Pharisee who told God about all the good things he was doing and then step back and hear God say, “Where have you been? I should have elevated you before this time because of all your goodness.” Self destroys trust in God.
TRUST IS GIFT FROM GOD!
The law of God is perfect because it converts the soul and sanctifies the heart. The law of God is a sure testimony. That means it is definite, decided and certain. It makes wise the simple. It only helps those who have a teachable spirit. This is one reason some people are not growing in the Lord.
The law of God is right. It tells us what God wants in holy living. They are right for us in every way. They give us a joyful heart.
The law of God is pure. They bring light to the soul and take away the darkness. We are born with darkened minds and they need to be renewed which only comes through the word.
The law of God cleans. The fear of God makes us love Him. When a good king is in power the servants love him, but they also fear him because of the power he has. God judges us on our morals.
The laws of God are true and righteous. They are not based on favoritism or foregone conclusions.
The law of God is of never-ending, unbounded, infinite value.
The results of putting this Psalm in our lives is a life governed by being convicted by the Word-- Who can discern [his] errors? 12a, cleansing by the Word-- Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 12b, Curbing by the Word-- Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. 13a, Correcting by the Word-- Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. 13b, Confirming by the Word-- Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” 14.
