ILL>> Doc Edwards - read the first few paragraphs
When it is this hot - you do what you have to do and get out of the heat. But you have to know what your there for...
One thing
David had whittled his life down to one point: “One thing have I desired of the LORD.”
TURN IN YOUR BIBLES TO PS 27 >> READ WHOLE CHAPTER !
>> EVERYONE HAVE YOUR BIBLE >> HOLD I T UP
>>>>> BRO. ______________ WOULD WANT ME TO ASK YOU! <<<<<<<<
Also Paul did that with his life. He said, “… but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13–14).
How?, whittle down your life, as you would whittle down a pencil, until you can write with it. Our lives are very complicated, so just keep whittling. Most of my life I felt like Martha in the kitchen. She was encumbered with much service (see Luke 10:40). Poor Martha reached for a pot to cook something in it; then she reached for a pan to boil something in it, and she reached for another container to put the potatoes in, and by that time something fell out of the cupboard. She became frustrated trying to do everything at once.
How complicated life has become for many of us. We are frustrated, under the heat & tension all the time. It is wonderful to whittle your life down to what is important. It is a relief to reduce your life to the lowest common denominator.
The whole tone of this psalm fits the period of David’s flight from Absalom. In fact, verse 10 may refer to the situation described in I Samuel 22:3–4. At this time, David had to especially wait confidently upon the Lord.
In order to know what that one thing is, you must understand the ...
I. The Protection of God
A. By Salvation
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”
(Ps. 119:105).
B. By Strength
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
“If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war should rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
HOW DOES GOD PROTECT US? OFTEN WE THINK IT IS CIRCUMSTANCE OR CHANCE BUT KNOW BETTER.
GOD ALWAYS MANIPULATES EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHANCE - IT IS ALWAYS GOD! HE PROTECTS US.
ill>> AN ELDERLY MAN WALKING ALONE HEARS THE MUFFLED CRY OF A WOMAN BEING ATTACKED. ...
from book -
Small Miracles - Extraordinary Coincidences of Everyday Life
In order to know what that one thing is, you must understand the ...
II. The Place of God
A. Passion for the Church
4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
1. Present
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
THIS IS THE ONE THING!
WHY GO TO CHURCH? Drucilla Watley sent
A man who attended church regularly once wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.
"I’ve gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this:
They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!
When you are DOWN to nothing... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!
Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment! All right... now that you’re done reading... send it on!!! I think everyone should read this!! "When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?
2. Praying
To behold the beauty of the LORD, (worship)
THIS IS THE ONE THING!
And to inquire in His temple. (supplications, request)
David’s heart still desires one thing. When he took flight from Absalom, he also took flight from Jerusalem and had to leave the Temple behind, an expression applied to the tabernacle in David’s time. The king longs to return to the house of the Lord God with an intensity exhibited by few Christians today.
B. Protected in the Church
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; THIS IS THE ONE THING!
C. Praising God in the Church
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
THIS IS THE ONE THING!
In order to know what that one thing is, you must understand the ...
II. The Provision of God
A. Loving relationship
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
ILL>> Austin would turn my face to his”
B. Loving presence
9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me.
Percentage of American children living with father and mother, in 1960: 80.6 %
Percentage living with both parents today
today over 57.7%
Percentage of American children born out of wedlock in 1960: 5%
today - over - : 30%
C. Loving direction
11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
D. Loving encouragement
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
E. Loving advice to us all
14 Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
end with 2 quotes ...
Jesus holds the answers to all of the everyday problems that you face. I am talking about an acceptance and belief in Jesus, heaven, and God. I guess you can deal with your problems on your own without these beliefs, but it’s much, much tougher. With those beliefs, you realize how insignificant the budget deficit debate is in comparison with the big picture.
-- Rush Limbaugh, interviewed
What is your ambition in life today? Is it to get rich? Is it to make a name for yourself? Is it even to do some wonderful thing for God? Listen to me, beloved. The highest desire that can possess any human heart is a longing to see God.
-- J. Vernon McGee
