CALVARY CHAPEL OF JONESBORO
  • HOME
  • Basics
    • Announcements
    • Giving
    • Who We Are
    • Just for Fun
  • Proverb a Day
  • Ministries
    • Children
    • Missions
    • Worship >
      • New Song Page
    • Youth
  • Biblical Stuff
    • Services
    • Articles
    • Apologetics Studies
    • A Call to Revival
    • Discipleship >
      • 1 - The Gospel
      • 2 - The Word
    • The Gospel
    • Links
  • Sign Up Area
  • Psalms For Life
  • Prophecy/News



​Psalms
for Life

How Do You Come to Corporate Worship at God's House?   Psalm 84

11/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Psalm 84

Verses 1-4   How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts!  My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.  The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah. 

Question:  Do you long for the courts of God - the place where He is worshipped?

The psalmist remembered the place of worship - i.e. here the temple.  He LONGED and YEARNED for God.  His heart and flesh sang for joy to the living God!  He considered those who were there blessed as they were ever praising God there!  
Does this describe us as we consider worship - as we consider gathering with God’s people each Sunday.  Yes, I know this referred to the Temple and to worship there - but is not worship with the saints the nearest equivalent to it?  Do we LONG and YEARN for those times?  Do we consider those who are singing and praising God to be so very blessed?

I don’t know about you as you read this - but I was rebuked and realized that this did not - and even now does not describe how I approach worship with the saints.  But by God’s grace - and some serious repentance it WILL NOT be how I approach this coming Sunday with all of you as we meet to seek God.

Verses 5-7     How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion. 

Question:  How do you walk out of and back into the place of worship?

The psalmist speaks of how we walk out of the worship of God - and how we walk through the world as a result of it.  What the psalmist is saying here is that as we  walk through worship - God makes our hearts strong so He can walk through us into our world as we depart.

There are “highways to Zion” in the true worshipper’s heart.  The worship of God in the temple led to a heart where there was a highway to God.  Zion refers to Jerusalem - the place where they went to corporately worship God - and seek Him - and know Him - and even be made right with Him when they sinned.  

Here is how practical this gets.  The worshipper of God passes through life - here it is called the “valley of Baca.”  The word “Baca” means weeping or troublesome place.  What is said about it is that the one who worships God - and in whose heart a highway to Zion is laid as a result - they take the valley of trouble and weeping and turn it into a spring where the water wells up and bubbles out of the earth.  
Does your worship lead you to walk through your week with a highway to God in your heart.  Does it lead to a highway where you can see God take even your most troublesome moments - your weeping moments - and turn them to a spring of water?  

Does your worship lead you to go from “strength to strength” as you walk in the world?  The picture here is that of God strengthening you for the week ahead - that you may face difficulty and sorrow - even trials and troubles - but you go from event to event in God’s strengthening.  That highway to Zion is there so that you can run to the Lord and receive His strength to handle these things.  Is this true of you?
The end of this section is that as they go from strength to strength - they eventually appear before God in Zion again.  This is a picture of that HIGHWAY again - we are learning to live a life that turns to God!  And - even as we walk it - we are led again and again to return to seek God afresh and anew.  

Is this true of us?  When I looked at this - again I was reminded to repent and return to
 Him.  That IS what I want - a worship so focused that I turn to Him for strength to strength as I walk through this world - and that I return to Zion again to worship Him all over again - because He is so good and so faithful.

Verses 8-12    O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.  Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You! 

Question:  Do we consider a single day with God better than a thousand anywhere else?

The psalmist prays and desires God’s answer.  He desires to see God’s face (know His favor).  He states that a single day in the courts of God in worship and seeking and hearing Him - is better than a 1000 spent anywhere else.  If the place of worship and seeking God with His people is a 1000 times better than anywhere else in the world - how do you think we would think about worship?  

The psalmist also considers God as the sun which shines on him - the shield which protects him - He recounts God giving him grace and glory.  He contemplates the good that God has given him.  His eventual thought is that God does not withhold any good thing from the ones who walk with Him uprightly.  

His finishing statement is that the man who trusts God - is indeed blessed.
Do I walk away from worship corporately with the saints - and think - HANDS DOWN THIS IS A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE!  

​I had to face this psalm with a good bit of red-faced embarrassment.  But it was not something that happened that was bad - it was wonderful!  I was reminded of how it should be - and what it can be if I come and approach worship with the saints before God as an amazing - wonderful - amazing thing.  My hope is that with the repentance this psalm has offered me from God - I will respond - and that my view of the worship of God with His people in the church will be greatly elevated.  It is my hope I will see it as a thousand times better than anything else imaginable.  

0 Comments

A Primer on Prayer (3 of 3) - Psalm 5 - Request and Re-Focus

3/28/2016

0 Comments

 
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me.  There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction itself. Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.  Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You. But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.    Psalm 5:8-12

LORD, LEAD ME!
David’s first request in this next section is for God to lead him.  Just as a refresher we need to remember the context of this - Absalom’s rebellion.  David cried out to God for His leadership because of his foes.  This was Absalom - who was the rebellious son who longed to be king.  It was also Ahithophel, David’s former advisor, who joined in the rebellion with Absalom.  There was also a host of others who ran to Absalom’s side in this rebellion.  David’s foes were numerous - and he desperately needed God’s direction.  For him it was a life and death matter.  David’s cry was for God to make His way straight or smooth before him.  Every decision mattered.  

It is this way with us too.  We have an Absalom too - it is Satan, who also desires to usurp God’s rule and authority.  His work is to subtly deceive us into thinking we should join his rebellion.  The world is also filled with a myriad of Ahithophel’s, who seek to counsel us contrary to God’s Word.  These may be anything from an actual person who wants us to walk in their way rather than God’s way.  The spirit of Ahithophel is in our entertainment, our news, our music - it is everywhere.  It is the spirit that wants to convince us to live for ourselves - or for the values of the world rather than those rooted in the Word of God.  Believe me when I assert that we need to cry out to God daily that He lead us in His righteousness - and make His way straight so we can walk in it.  We should note before moving on that David’s request is to be led in God’s righteousness - not his own self-styled direction.  

HARSH WORDS - FOR WHO - AND WHY?
Verse 9 and 10 are a watershed moment in Scripture.  They are the verse first time we have an imprecatory portion in the Psalms.  If that word is new to you (imprecatory) - it refers to a call or prayer to bring down evil things or curses upon a person or group of people.  There are those who are offended with these prayers - seeing them as an embarrassment to the Bible and to God.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  These prayers are representative of God’s holiness - and His steady position of wrath against all sin.  It is what the wicked deserve for rebelling against God.  Maybe it would be wise to remember what Absalom did shortly after becoming king.  He was counseled by Ahithophel to rape all the remaining wives of David in broad daylight before the people.  He also raised an army with the intent of killing David and all those with Him.  David’s prayer is not so much a wish on his part - but as a mouthpiece for God - he offered a prophecy for those who continued in this rebellion.  Indeed there was nothing true in what these two said.  Their inner most beings were given over to destruction - wanting to kill David.  Their throats were like an open grave with the smell of death and rotting corpses in it.  All the time they were flattering the children of Israel - they were plotting death, destruction, and devastation to the King.  

But - before we get too self-righteous about things - Paul used these very words to describe our nature and what we are capable of in life.  We do have an inner Absalom and Ahithophel in our flesh.  Our “inward part” is destruction too because of our sin nature.  The word used there speaks of a chasm of wickedness within us - and when we fall into it and live out of it as a source there is no depth to that which we are capable of thinking or doing.  We can speak deathly words and even use flattery to accomplish sinful desires.  

David’s exact request is that they be destroyed - and that God would let them fall by their own wicked counsels.  And for those who remember the history of these events, that is exactly what God did.  He thwarted the counsel of Ahithophel when he listened instead to David’s friend, Hushai, who was working as a secret agent for David inside Jerusalem.  Ahithophel hung himself when his ungodly counsel was rejected - and Absalom was destroyed in battle.  But, before we become too critical toward David for this request we should also see that his desire was not for his own honor - but for the honor of God (they have rebelled against You!).  Absalom and Ahithophel indeed had heaped up a multitude of sins as they rebelled not just against David - but against God.  This reminds us that these imprecatory psalms have as their basis the honor and glory of God - not any personal vendetta of a man or men.  

PROMISES AND PRAISE
David finishes this song with a call to be glad, sing for joy, and be exult over God’s gracious defense and favor.  When we trust in the Lord - coming to Him in prayer for our needs and our protection - God delights in bringing that protection into our lives.  It is a good thing to trust the Lord and to love His name and honor in life.  It may not bring the less bumpy road to us - but even in our trials and troubles we will see Him work mightily and have reason to praise Him much!  Three things here are told us concerning how God will work to answer our prayers.  First we find refuge in Him.  The word refuge means to rest in the shade of a tree.  The word was also used as a picture describing how baby birds would find refuge under the wings of their mother.  God protects and gives us a refuge in Him in our darkest and most difficult moments.  Second, when we embrace God’s righteousness in our troubles - God will bless us.  The word blesses in this passage speaks of someone giving a greeting that promises friendliness and camaraderie - and here it says that God is the One greeting us in this way.  What a joy to know that He comes to us in such trying times with a friendly greeting that promises blessing, fellowship, deliverance, hope, strength - and everything you can imagine coming from a close friendship with God in those moments!  Third, God promises that He will encircle us with His favor (read grace here!) like a huge shield.  The shield referred to here was one that was over twice the size as a normal shield.  It was used by the warrior to kneel down behind and be covered by its protection.  God is that way with us - and how we should love the imagery used here.  God is that shield to us - but only as we kneel in prayer and take our refuge in Him.  

So there we have our primer in prayer from David.  It begins with a cry for God’s presence - an audience with Him in prayer.  It begins with a heartfelt and sincere desire to connect with Him and wait for His answer and deliverance.  It then moves into a time where we request God’s leadership and guidance, knowing that not only our outward enemies are evil - but also our inward tendencies when we look to ourselves rather than Him for that guidance.  Finally, we see that it ends with a turn to God’s promises for comfort, encouragement, and endurance.  We take our refuge not in our own abilities to deliver ourselves - but in our God and His promise to bless those who turn to Him in righteousness and godly dependence.  Oh, to learn these lessons again and again as we pray and seek His face.  Indeed we would find our God infinitely able to handle any problem, trial, or trouble we face - and - we would go from concerned cry to praise for protection and provision.  And through it all we would learn that intimacy with our Father in heaven is at the core of every answer we receive.
0 Comments

    Pastor John Lawrence

    Psalms for Life . . . God moved on several people to write the Psalms.  This is a book of songs and poems written by people who were seeking to be devoted to God as they walked though their lives.  This is a collection of songs and poems that express the true, wonderful, and often raw emotions that we have as we journey through life with God.  I hope you will be blessed and encouraged as you read.  But more than that I hope that these expositions and writings will help you to seek Him in the midst of the life you live in this world.  It will be at times comforting and encouraging, while at others it will be challenging and awkward.  Regardless of where you find yourself on this spectrum as you read, it will be a reminder that God invites us into His presence to truly walk with Him, know Him, and at times, pour out emotions of joy, sorrow, frustration, anger, and everything else you can imagine.  He not only invites you to do this - He delights in it too!  Hope you enjoy your journey!

    Archives

    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    September 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    September 2016
    March 2016
    March 2015
    December 2014

    Categories

    All
    Absalom
    Adonai
    Affliction
    Anger
    Angry
    Anointed
    Arrogance
    Attitudes In Worship
    Authority
    Babes
    Be Still
    Bitterness
    Blessed
    Bloodshed
    Boastfulness
    Boasting
    Boldness
    Book Of Psalms
    Calling On God
    Chastening
    Choice
    Choosing To Praise God
    Comfort
    Coming To Church
    Communication
    Compassion
    Creation
    Creator
    Crucifixion
    Cry For Help
    Crying
    Cynicism
    David
    Death
    Deliverance
    Depression
    Desire For God
    Difficulty
    Discipline
    Discouragement
    Distress
    Eagerness
    Emotional Reasoning
    Emotions
    Encouragement
    Eternal
    Evil
    Experiencing God
    Failures
    Falsehood
    Far From God
    Feelings
    Fellowship With God
    Flattery
    Fools
    Forgiveness
    Furious
    Fury
    Genesis
    Glory
    Glory Of God
    God
    God As Creator
    God-centric Thinking
    God In Nature
    God's Authority
    God's Character
    Gods Creativity
    God's Face
    God's Glory
    God's Grace
    God's Greatness
    God's Name
    God's Omniscience
    God's Power
    Gods Power
    God's Presence
    God's Self-existence
    Gods Sovereignty
    God's Word
    Gossip
    Grace
    Grief
    Happiness
    Health
    Heavens
    Hebrew Poetry
    Hebrews 12
    Hebrews 2:5-8
    Hell
    Help
    Hope
    Hopelessness
    Humbled
    Humility
    Hurricanes
    Image Bearer
    Imprecatory Psalms
    Incarnation
    Indignant
    Infants
    Infinite
    Instruments
    Jehovah
    Jesus As Savior
    Jesus Christ
    Joy
    Judgment
    Law And Prophets
    Leading Of God
    Lies
    Loving God
    Lovingkindness
    Made For God
    Majesty
    Man
    Man As God's Creation
    Man's Autonomy
    Meditation
    Mercy
    Messes
    Messiah
    Moon
    Needy
    Overview Of Psalms
    Peace
    Poems
    Poetry
    Praise
    Prayer
    Primer On Prayer
    Problems
    Protection
    Psalm 1
    Psalm 12
    Psalm 2
    Psalm 29
    Psalm 3
    Psalm 4
    Psalm 5
    Psalm 6
    Psalm 61
    Psalm 7
    Psalm 8
    Psalm 84
    Psalm 9
    Pure
    Questions We Ask
    Rage
    Rebellion
    Refuge
    Rejoicing
    Repentance
    Resentment
    Rest
    Restoration
    Reverence
    Righteousness
    Safety
    Salvation
    Seeking God
    Sheol
    Shield
    Shiggaion
    Sickness
    Sin
    Sinfulness
    Singing
    Songs
    Soul Pain
    Space
    Splendor
    Stars
    Storms
    Strength Of God
    Submission
    Suffering
    Thanksgiving
    The Fall Of Man
    The Gospel
    The Law
    The Man Of Sin
    Theology
    The Prophets
    The Tongue
    The Universe
    The Voice Of God
    Thinking
    Trouble
    Universe
    Vileness
    Violence
    Weakness
    Weeping
    What God Hates
    Who Is God?
    Who Is Man
    Wickedness
    Wonder
    Wonders Of God
    Worldview
    Worship
    Wrath Of God

    RSS Feed

Join Us
Sundays: 10:45am - Morning Service
Community groups Times Vary

Wednesdays: 6:30pm - Adult Bible Study, Youth Worship and Bible Study, & Children ministry 

411 Calvary Cove
Jonesboro, AR  72401


Connect with Us
Phone: 870-277-0500
Email: [email protected]
Copyright 2024 Calvary Chapel Jonesboro | all rights reserved
Photos from Chennai Amateur, ©aius, abodftyh, Kashif John, Linton Snapper, maurisue
  • HOME
  • Basics
    • Announcements
    • Giving
    • Who We Are
    • Just for Fun
  • Proverb a Day
  • Ministries
    • Children
    • Missions
    • Worship >
      • New Song Page
    • Youth
  • Biblical Stuff
    • Services
    • Articles
    • Apologetics Studies
    • A Call to Revival
    • Discipleship >
      • 1 - The Gospel
      • 2 - The Word
    • The Gospel
    • Links
  • Sign Up Area
  • Psalms For Life
  • Prophecy/News