Thursday
Evening Bible Study
April
14, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
The English word psalm comes
from a Greek word that means “a poem sung to musical accompaniment”, or in
particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim,
which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well. It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from
Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I
said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus
in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s “soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
We’re going to find every kind of emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.
For every sigh there is a Psalm.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs
academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 52 – Bad People
: To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of David When Doeg the Edomite
Went and Told Saul, and Said to Him, “David Has Gone to the House of
Ahimelech.”
A Contemplation of David
Contemplation – maskiyl
– something to learn from. Something
to think about.
Doeg the Edomite
Doeg – Do’eg – “fearing”
This was one scary guy. David writes a song from his experience with this
fellow.
Edomite
Doeg is a descendant of Esau, Jacob’s brother, from the land of Edom,
located southeast of the Dead Sea.
The city of Petra is in the land of
Edom, though the Petra that we know of was built later by the Nabateans around
the time of Christ.
David Has Gone to the House of Ahimelech
This dates back to the days when David was running from his boss, King
Saul. (1Sam. 21)
David had become famous for his victories over the Philistines, and Saul
was jealous and afraid that David would one day become king in his place.
One of the places that David ran to for help was to the city of Nob, to the
high priest Ahimelech.
David told the priest a made up story about being sent on a secret mission
by Saul and asked if Ahimelech had any bread and weapons he could spare for
David and his men.
Ahimelech didn’t know that Saul was out to kill David.
Ahimelech gave David some of the holy “showbread” as well as the sword of
Goliath.
While David was at Nob, there was someone else there watching all this:
(1 Samuel 21:7 NKJV)
Now
a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained
before the Lord. And his name was
Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.
“herdsmen” could mean he was a shepherd, or a cowboy.
After David was given food and a sword, he and his men continued to live as
men on the run from Saul.
This is some of the back story to when David wrote the Psalm. We’ll look at more the story in a bit…
:1 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures
continually.
evil – ra’–
bad, evil; evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity
goodness – checed
– goodness, kindness, faithfulness
:1 evil … goodness
This is going to be the contrast
through the Psalm.
Doeg was a man who boasted in evil.
God is just the opposite. His goodness is eternal.
:1 endures continually
continually – yowm
– day, time, year
(Psalm 52:1 NASB95) …The
lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
:2 Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working
deceitfully.
devises – chashab
– to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine,
count
destruction – havvah
– desire; desire (in bad sense); chasm (fig. of destruction); engulfing
ruin, destruction, calamity
deceitfully – r@miyah
– laxness, slackness, slackening, deceit, treachery
:2 Your tongue devises destruction
Doeg apparently had a problem with his mouth.
You apparently couldn’t trust everything the guy would say.
Some people are quite good at using their mouths to bring trouble to
others.
We’ll see in a minute the results of Doeg’s tongue.
:3 You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness.
Selah
Lying – sheqer
– lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood
Selah – stop and think about this.
:3 You love evil … Lying
Lesson
Truth or lies
It seems to be a theme in our last couple of studies over the week.
When David had sinned with Bathsheba and then tried to cover things up, he
learned something …
(Psalm 51:6) Behold, You
desire truth in the inward parts…
Jesus warned about the problem that the Pharisees had:
(Luke 12:1b NKJV) …“Beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something
they’re not. They pretend to be a good
person but inside they are evil.
God wants us to be honest with ourselves, to live our lives in truth, being
real, not being phony.
Sometimes “truth” is about admitting that I have a problem instead of
trying to conceal it.
(Ephesians 4:15
NKJV) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head—Christ—
Truth is what brings maturity to us.
:4 You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.
:4 You love all devouring words
Doeg loved the trouble that his mouth could bring.
Let’s look at more of the story…
David had been running from Saul, and Saul was upset with the people
closest to him and demanded that someone figure out where David was.
(1 Samuel 22:7–18 NKJV) —7 then Saul
said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the
son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you
all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 All of you
have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my
son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of
you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant
against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”
We’ll talk more of this in a minute, but I think there’s some kind of
implied reward on Saul’s part for anyone who might have information about
David’s whereabouts.
9 Then
answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I
saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he
inquired of the Lord for him,
gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
Though Doeg was known for a lying tongue, not everything he said was a complete
lie.
Though David had done these things, Doeg is going to give Saul the wrong
idea about Ahimelech.
But what we see here is the “devouring words”, intending destruction for
the people he’s talking about.
11 So the king
sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s
house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king.
Saul questions the priests because they had helped David. Even though they
helped David with pure motives, simply to help a friend in need, Saul accuses
them of helping David in order to conspire against Saul.
Because of Psalm 52, I can’t help but wonder if Saul was suspicious of
Ahimelech because Doeg made it sound as if Ahimelech was conspiring with David
against Saul when in fact Ahimelech had no idea what was going on.
12 And Saul
said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you
conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him
bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise
against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?” 14 So Ahimelech answered the king and
said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is
the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your
house? 15 Did I then
begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute
anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your
servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.” 16 And the king
said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!” 17 Then the
king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is
with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But
the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of
the Lord. 18 And the king
said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and
struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen
ephod.
While Saul’s own guards were godly enough to know that they shouldn’t be
killing the priests, that didn’t stop Doeg the Edomite.
We look at this story and tend to focus on Saul’s insane paranoia, but
because of Psalm 52, I’d suggest it was being fed by Doeg’s insinuations.
:5 God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and
pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of
the living. Selah
Think about it…
:6 The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying,
:7 “Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted
in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his
wickedness.”
:7 trusted in the abundance of his riches
I think there was an implied payoff from Saul for having information about
David, let alone killing the priests.
Lesson
Money’s motivation
If we’re not careful, money can be a powerful motivator to do the wrong
things.
Paul warned Timothy about people who put their money first in life …
(1 Timothy 6:5b–10
NKJV) …who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such
withdraw yourself.
Some of these people were trying to teach that if you live
a godly life, then you will become wealthy.
Paul says that’s a horrible motivation that leads to
trouble.
I worry about people who get caught up in the “word of
faith” teachings thinking that if they give to the church that God is going to
give them back ten-fold or more…
6 Now
godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those
who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from
the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.
Loving money and the things it buys can even lead to
straying from the faith.
Lesson
Dealing with little things
Look at the sins of Doeg:
He had a problem with his mouth.
He liked bad things too much.
He trusted in his wealth.
We might not think that some of
these things are all that bad, but when we don’t deal with the sin in our
lives, one sin will lead to another, down a slippery slope.
(Ecclesiastes 10:1 NKJV) Dead flies
putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause
it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.
Illustration
Scientists now say that a series of
slits, not a giant gash, sank the Titanic.
The opulent, 900-foot cruise ship
sank in 1912 on its first voyage, from England to New York. Fifteen hundred
people died in the worst maritime disaster of the time.
The most widely held theory was
that the ship hit an iceberg, which opened a huge gash in the side of the
liner. But an international team of divers and scientists recently used sound
waves to probe the wreckage, buried in the mud under two-and-a-half miles of
water. Their discovery? The damage was surprisingly small. Instead of the huge
gash, they found six relatively narrow slits across the six watertight holds.
Small damage, invisible to most,
can sink not only a great ship but a great reputation.
-- USA Today (4/9/97). Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 4.
:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in
the mercy of God forever and ever.
:9 I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the
presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.
:8 a green olive tree in the house of God
green – ra‘anan
– (Palel) to be or grow luxuriant or fresh or green
This is a picture of prosperity in God’s presence:
(Hosea 14:6 NKJV) His
branches shall spread; His beauty
shall be like an olive tree, And his
fragrance like Lebanon.
This is in contrast with Doeg who was trusting in his riches, and who David
prayed God would “uproot you from the land of the living” (vs. 5).
Lesson
Unending supply
This reminds me of the picture of Zechariah’s vision.
Zechariah saw a vision of two green olive trees growing in the Temple,
giving an unending supply of oil to the great Menorah, the lamp in the Temple.
When Zechariah asked what the olive trees were, he was
told:
(Zechariah
4:14 NKJV) So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand
beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
We think the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will fulfill
this prophecy.
But there was a specific reason for giving Zerubbabel this vision:
(Zechariah
4:6 NKJV) So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord
to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by
might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of
hosts.
Zerubbabel was given the great task of rebuilding the
Temple.
It seemed like an impossible task.
Yet God was promising to Zerubbabel that if he would trust
in God, God would give an unending supply of the Holy Spirit (olive oil) to
fulfill his task.
David wrote that because he was trusting in God’s mercy, he too was like a
green olive tree in God’s house.
Not only would God supply His Spirit and power to David, David would be
used to pour out help to those around Him.
Jesus said,
(John
7:37b–38 NKJV) —37 …“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who
believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of
living water.”
God wants to pour out His Spirit on us, even when there are
bad people all around us.
Psalm 53 – The Atheist
: To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David.
Set to “Mahalath”
Mahalath – machalath –
might refer to the name of a tune, or it could be related to the word to either
“dance” or “writhe” in pain.
A Contemplation of David
Contemplation – maskiyl
– something to learn from. Something
to think about.
This psalm is almost identical to Psalm 14, except for verse 5, which takes
up the same space as 14:5-6, and deals with slightly different things.
14:5-6 talks about God being the
reward of the righteous, and that God takes care of the poor.
(Psalm 14:5–6 NKJV) —5 There they
are in great fear, For God is
with the generation of the righteous. 6 You shame
the counsel of the poor, But the Lord is his refuge.
53:5 talks about how God will deal
with the wicked, fighting against them.
(Psalm 53:5 NKJV) —5 There they
are in great fear Where no fear was, For God
has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to shame, Because God has despised them.
:1 The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are
corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good.
:1 The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.”
We might call this the “song of the atheist”
To be honest, I hear that atheists actually don’t have any songs…
Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic insomniac? He’s someone who lies awake at night
wondering if there is a dog.
fool – nabal – foolish,
senseless, fool
The fellow that was married to
Abigail who caused such trouble for David was named “Nabal” (“fool”)
It is “foolish” or “senseless” to think there is no God when to be honest,
there is evidence all around us.
(Romans 1:20 NKJV) For since
the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Nowadays we think of the atheists as the “smart ones” in
the room.
But that’s because we’ve been taught to think that
“evolution” is a scientific certainty, when in fact there are a lot of
questions that aren’t answered with evolution.
He’s saying that when scientists began to realize the
amount of digital information encoded into the DNA molecule, they began to see
the complexity of design within living organisms. Design implies a designer.
There’s way too much information to have just been caused
by chance, random mutation.
:1 They are corrupt
When you take God out of the equation of life, man descends into a moral
pit.
Paul wrote that when man chooses to reject the truth of God as their
Creator, that the result is corruption.
(Romans 1:24–25
NKJV) —24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of
their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who
exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Paul goes on in Romans 1 to list all sorts of wickedness that results from
rejecting God as Creator.
:2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are
any who understand, who seek God.
:3 Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There
is none who does good, No, not one.
:4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as
they eat bread, And do not call upon God?
:5 There they are in great fear Where no fear was, For God has
scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to
shame, Because God has despised them.
:3 There is none who does good
Lesson
We are all sinners
Paul quotes from Psalms 14 & 53 to prove a point about man’s sin.
(Romans 3:10–12
NKJV) —10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is
none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have
all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none
who does good, no, not one.”
Paul takes this literally, that not just those who say they’re atheists say
“there’s no God”, but in a sense we all own up to this. We all live to some
extent as if there is no God.
Paul uses our psalm to come to the conclusion that all of man is sinful.
(Romans
3:23 NKJV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
God’s own children often live as if He doesn’t exist.
To make things worse, Paul reminds us of the consequences of our sin:
(Romans
6:23 NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our sin results in “death”, or separation from God.
:6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings
back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
:6 salvation … out of Zion
Lesson
A Savior would come
salvation – yeshuyw’ah – salvation,
deliverance
This is a form of the verb to “save” (yasha’)
This is built into the name of Joshua, which means literally, “Yahweh is
salvation”.
Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus.
This is what the angel told Joseph when he found out his fiancé Mary was
pregnant:
(Matthew
1:21 NKJV) And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from
their sins.”
David’s desire will come to pass.
A Savior will indeed come.
His name will be Jesus.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Psalm 54 – Escape Music
: To the Chief Musician. With Stringed Instruments. A Contemplation of
David When the Ziphites Went and Said to Saul, “Is David Not Hiding with Us?”
With Stringed Instruments – n@giynah
– music, song, taunt song; music (of stringed instrument)
A Contemplation of David
Contemplation – maskiyl
– something to learn from. Something
to think about.
the Ziphites …
The story comes from 1Samuel 23.
David and his men are still on the run from Saul when he hears news about
people from his own tribe of Judah who were being attacked by the Philistines.
(1 Samuel 23:1–5 NKJV) —1 Then they
told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and
they are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord,
saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the
Philistines, and save Keilah.” 3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah.
How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”
David’s men are saying, “Don’t add to our troubles! It’s already hard
enough for us to be on the run in our own territory of Judah with King Saul
hunting us, and now you want to stir up trouble with the Philistines???
4 Then David
inquired of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go
down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David
and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a
mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of
Keilah.
Lesson
Don’t quit
Sometimes we just are having a bad day at work…
Part of David’s calling on his life was to fight and conquer the
Philistines. As one of God’s men, he had a calling to make his nation secure
against the Philistines.
Even though David’s own life was in trouble, he made a choice not to give
up on his calling.
Sometimes the enemy just loves to make our lives miserable so we’ll stop
thinking about God’s call on our lives and just think about ourselves.
David didn’t quit when it got tough.
After David saved the people of Keilah, word got back to Saul that David
was in the city of Keilah. David became concerned that the people of Keilah
might arrest him and turn him over to Saul, even though he just saved them from
the Philistines. When David asked God if he could trust these people, God told
David that they would betray him if he hung around.
When David hears about Keilah going to betray him, David hits the road
again and hides out in the land of “Ziph”. Even though they have no reason to
dislike David, the people of Ziph decide they’re going to turn David over to
Saul.
(1 Samuel 23:14–26 NKJV) —14 And David
stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the
Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into
his hand. 15 So David saw
that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness
of Ziph in a forest.
David again is a man on the run.
16 Then
Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his
hand in God. 17 And he said
to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You
shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul
knows that.” 18 So the two
of them made a covenant before the Lord.
And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
Jonathan shows up to encourage David. Not everyone is against David.
We may go through times when it seems like everyone is out to get us, but
not everyone is our enemy.
19 Then the
Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in
strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south
of Jeshimon? 20 Now
therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come
down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” 21 And Saul
said, “Blessed are you of the Lord,
for you have compassion on me. 22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his
hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty.
23 See
therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and
come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he
is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.” 24 So they
arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the
Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
The Ziphites betray David and tell Saul they’ll help find David.
Note how Saul “blesses” them for helping him. There will be some folks who
will give us a difficult time and think they’re being religious or serving God
somehow.
25 When Saul
and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to
the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that,
he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of the
mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David
made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and
his men to take them.
Saul is closing in.
David goes on one side of the mountain while Saul goes around the other
side of the mountain.
Sometimes you’re having a “bad day at work” because someone actually IS out
to get you…
It’s somewhere around this time that David writes Psalm 54.
:1 Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength.
:1 Save me, O God, by Your name
David was praying while he was running.
:2 Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.
:3 For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after
my life; They have not set God before them. Selah
:3 strangers have risen up against me
David didn’t know these folks from Ziph, but they were out to get him
anyway.
:4 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who
uphold my life.
:5 He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth.
:6 I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
:7 For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its
desire upon my enemies.
:7 He has delivered me out of all trouble
Remember that David was heading around one side of the mountain while Saul
was going to head him off by going around the other side?
Here’s how the story turned out…
(1 Samuel 23:27–28 NKJV) —27 But a
messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have
invaded the land!”
Why do you think the Philistines are invading?
Probably in retaliation for when David rescued the people of Keilah from
the Philistines.
It’s almost as if God is going to use David’s faithfulness to attack the
Philistines to bring about David’s rescue.
28 Therefore
Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they
called that place the Rock of Escape.
Rock of Escape – seh’-
lah ham-makh-lek-oth’ - “the cliff of escapes”, “the Rock of Escape”
When Saul is called away temporarily to deal with the threat of the
Philistine invasion, David is given the chance to escape.
Lesson
Take the exit
The opportunity to escape came, and David took it.
He didn’t wait around for the problem to crop up again. He didn’t wait for Saul to come back.
Paul wrote,
(1 Corinthians
10:13 NKJV) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man;
but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that
you may be able to bear it.
God promises to give us a way of escape for every
temptation, but we have to take it.
Illustration
The story goes that a big storm was on the horizon, and
the police cars went through the small farming community to warn the citizens
to head for high ground. Farmer Bill heard the warning, but decided that he was
just going to stay put and trust God. When the rain began to fall, and the
water began to rise, the firemen came by in a boat, offering to evacuate Farmer
Bill, but he said, “No, I’m going to stay put and trust God.” Finally, as Bill
had to climb out onto his roof to get away from the raging flood, a helicopter
came by offering assistance, but Farmer Bill stayed put. When Bill got to
heaven, he was kind of ticked off at God. He said to God, “How come you didn’t
rescue me from the flood when I trusted you!” God gently replied, “Bill, I sent
a police car, a rescue boat, and a helicopter. What did you expect?”
Sometimes we just don’t want to take the “exit”, and we just go plowing
right on through the door.
Illustration
There was once a man on a diet who prayed, “Lord, if you
don’t want me to go get donuts, then let there not be any parking spots at
Krispy Kreme Donuts.” But he had to give in to the donuts because sure enough,
when he got there, there was a parking spot right in front of the door … after
his twentieth time around the block.
If you don’t take the exit the first time you see it,
you’re probably not going to take it at all.
Take the exit.
Illustration
The Five Chapter
Book:
Chapter One: A man was walking down the street. He fell
into a hole. He groped his way in the darkness. After a long time, he made his
way out of the hole.
Chapter Two: A man was walking down the same street. He
pretended not to see the hole. He fell in. After a long time, he made his way
out of the hole.
Chapter Three: A man was walking down the same street. He
sees the hole. He falls in. He says it’s not his fault. After a long time, he
made his way out of the hole.
Chapter Four: A man walks down the same street. He sees
the hole. He knows it’s there. He tries to walk around it. He falls in. He
knows it’s his fault. He quickly gets out.
Chapter Five: A man takes another street.
(Heard on Focus on
the Family)
Take the Exit. Take another street.