Thursday
Evening Bible Study
May
4, 2017
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
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
National Day of Prayer
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.
We are now in a group of fifteen Psalms (Ps. 120-134) known as the “Songs
of Ascents”
Some have suggested that the title
has to do with the music, that perhaps the melody for these songs were sung on
higher notes.
Others have suggested that the
fifteen songs are related to the fifteen steps in the Temple that a person
would climb as they are going from the outer courts to the inner courts.
The problem with this is that some
of these songs were written by David, and would have been written before the
Temple was built.
Most scholars think that these were the songs of pilgrims. Three times a
year the Israelites were to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
They are songs of “ascents” because to get from Jericho to Jerusalem, you
go “up” the hill.
For the most part the songs are short, just the kind of song you’d like to
sing as you are breathing hard from making your way up a hill.
Psalm 128 – True Happiness
: A Song of Ascents.
:1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.
:1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord
Blessed – ‘esher –
happiness, blessedness
The Psalmist is saying that you will find “happiness” when you do things
God’s way.
:2 When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it
shall be well with you.
happy – ‘esher – happiness, blessedness
:3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your
house, Your children like olive plants All around your table.
:3 Your wife … Your children
Keep in mind that families are walking up to Jerusalem together to
celebrate the feasts as they are singing these songs.
:4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord.
:4 thus shall the man be blessed
The Psalmist uses a different word for “blessed” here, the one that has a
more spiritual connotation.
blessed – barak – to
bless, kneel
(Pual) to be blessed, be adored
To bless in the OT means “to endue with power for success, prosperity, many
offspring, longevity, etc.”[1]
:5 The Lord bless you out of
Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life.
bless – barak
– to bless, kneel
To bless in the OT means “to endue
with power for success, prosperity, many offspring, longevity, etc.”[2]
:6 Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!
:1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord
Lesson
Fear the Lord
The concept of the “fear of the LORD” is a complex one.
Yes, there is a sense of terror and dread to it. There is also a sense of awe and respect.
The Bible teaches us to both “fear the LORD”, as well as “Don’t be afraid”.
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 8:13 NLT) Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your
life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.
Sometimes in a cop show, the suspect is being interrogated
by a tough cop who is trying to force the bad guy to give him information. Sometimes the bad guy doesn’t respond because
he’s “more afraid” of the big crime boss than he is the cop.
God is the one we should be “more afraid” of than anyone
else.
And yet, God is the One who loves us like no other. Complicated, right?
Solomon wrote a lot about fearing God,
(Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)
The
fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If you want to grow in true wisdom, then learn to have a
healthy respect for God.
(Proverbs 8:13
NKJV) The fear of the Lord is
to hate evil; Pride and
arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
If you truly fear God, you will not be in love with the
evil of this world.
(Proverbs 14:27
NKJV) The fear of the Lord is
a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.
When you have a respect for God and His ways, then you
will turn your life away from the stupid things of this world that will lead to
your destruction.
The result of learning to “fear the LORD” is true “blessedness”, or…
Lesson
Happiness
There are a couple of things listed that are characteristic of God’s kind
of happiness.
Work
The blessed man will enjoy the results of his hard work.
Paul wrote,
(Ephesians
4:28 NLT) If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good
hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
Whether it’s working hard at your job, at raising your family, or at
serving others, you will find that hard work results in a measure of happiness.
When you’re out of work, or you choose not to work at the
things that God has put before you, don’t be surprised if you struggle with
depression.
God designed you to be a productive part of His plan for this world.
Even if you’re disabled, you have a part to play.
It might be learning to take up the mantle of the prayer
warrior. It might be in encouraging
others.
Find out what that part is, and work hard at it.
Family
Whether it’s the blessing of marriage, or the blessing of kids, family is a
treasure.
Illustration
ACRES OF DIAMONDS
There once lived not far from the River Indus an ancient Persian by the
name of Ali Hafed. It was said that Ali Hafed owned a very large farm, that he
had orchards, grain-fields, and gardens; that he had money at interest, and was
a wealthy and contented man. He was contented because he was wealthy, and
wealthy because he was contented.
One day there visited that old Persian farmer one of the ancient wise men
of the East. He sat down by the fire and told the old farmer how this world of
ours was made. He went into great detail about how the mountains and hills were
formed, and how things like copper, silver, gold, and diamonds were made.
The old wise man told Ali Hafed that if he had one diamond the size of his
thumb he could purchase the village, and if he had a mine of diamonds he could
place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth.
Ali Hafed heard all about diamonds, how much they were worth, and went to his
bed that night a poor man. He had not lost anything, but he was poor because he
was discontented, and discontented because he feared he was poor. He said, “I
want a mine of diamonds,” and he lay awake all night.
Early in the morning Ali sought out the wise man. When he shook that old wise
man out of his dreams, Ali Hafed said to him: “Will you tell me where I can
find diamonds?” “Diamonds! What do you want with diamonds?” “Why, I wish to be
immensely rich.” “Well, then, go along and find them. That is all you have to
do; go and find them, and then you have them.” “But I don’t know where to go.”
“Well, if you will find a river that runs through white sands, between high
mountains, in those white sands you will always find diamonds.” “I don’t
believe there is any such river.” “Oh yes, there are plenty of them. All you
have to do is to go and find them, and then you have them.” Said Ali Hafed, “I
will go.”
So he sold his farm, collected his money, left his family in charge of a
neighbor, and away he went in search of diamonds. He began his search at the
Mountains of the Moon. Afterward he came around into Palestine, then wandered
on into Europe, and at last when his money was all spent and he was in rags,
wretchedness, and poverty, he stood on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, and in
despair threw himself off the cliff.
The man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm one day led his camel into the
garden to drink, and as that camel put its nose into the shallow water of that
garden brook, Ali Hafed’s successor noticed a curious flash of light from the
white sands of the stream. He pulled out a black stone having an eye of light
reflecting all the hues of the rainbow. He took the pebble into the house and
put it on the mantel and forgot all about it.
A few days later that same old wise man came to visit Ali Hafed’s
successor, and the moment he opened that drawing-room door he saw that flash of
light on the mantel, and he rushed up to it, and shouted: “Here is a diamond!
Has Ali Hafed returned?” “Oh no, Ali Hafed has not returned, and that is not a
diamond. That is nothing but a stone we found right out here in our own
garden.” “But,” said the priest, “I tell you I know a diamond when I see it. I
know positively that is a diamond.” Then together they rushed out into that old
garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers, and lo! there came up
other more beautiful and valuable gems than the first.
Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that we’ll truly be happy
if we can have that other thing, that big diamond. We can get involved in doing everything we
can to acquire that diamond, those riches.
It may be that the greatest riches are right under our nose, right at
home.
Psalm 129 – Affliction
: A Song of Ascents.
:1 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,” Let Israel now say—
:1 from my youth
The nation of Israel’s “youth” took place when they were in Egypt. That’s when they went from a family of twelve
brothers to a nation of two million.
And they were brought into the bondage of slavery.
Video: Ten Commandments – Egyptian
Slavery
(Exodus 1:8–14 NKJV) —8 Now there
arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of
Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it
happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against
us, and so go up out of the land.” 11 Therefore
they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they
built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and
grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in
brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which
they made them serve was with rigor.
:2 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not
prevailed against me.
:2 they have afflicted me from my youth
Has any other ethnic group suffered as much as the Jews?
The Egyptian Pharaoh tried to wipe out Israel after he let them go free.
The book of Judges is filled with one nation after subjugating Israel.
The Assyrians scattered the northern kingdom in 722 BC.
The Babylonians took the southern kingdom captive in 586 BC.
During the time of Esther, the nation was almost wiped out while in exile
when wicked Haman tried to get the Persian emperor to destroy the Jews.
There would be Greek and Roman overlords.
The Romans would scatter the nation again in AD 70.
Hitler.
There is a rise in anti-Semitism around the world. It’s getting worse, not better.
The United Nations is always quick to condemn anything Israel does,
but I don’t recall them ever condemning the Palestinian terrorists.
:3 The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.”
:3 The plowers plowed on my back
Perhaps this is a reference to being whipped, their backs being laid open
with the whips.
:4 The Lord is
righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.
:5 Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back.
:5 those who hate Zion
God promised to Abraham:
(Genesis 12:3 NKJV)
I
will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed.”
We have a choice to either bless or curse the Jews.
Isn’t it strange that some of the worst anti-Semitic rhetoric comes from
people who claim to be Christians?
:6 Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before
it grows up,
:7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves,
his arms.
:6 grass on the housetops
It was not uncommon for ancient houses to either have a dirt roof, or just
that the roof had enough dirt on it that grass seeds might sprout for a time.
Yet after the rainy season is over, the summer sun would wither whatever
grass there was on the roof.
Not enough grass was grown that you could harvest it and feed your animals.
This is a picture of what the Psalmist wishes for those who hate the Jews.
:8 Neither let those who pass by them say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you; We bless you
in the name of the Lord!”
:8 The blessing of the Lord
be upon you
The common greeting out in the field was “The blessing of the Lord be upon
you”.
The Psalmist is encouraging people NOT to give a blessing to those who hate
Zion.
This is the heart of the Psalmist, the heart of a flawed man.
Jesus taught something different.
(Matthew 5:43–45
NKJV) —43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do
good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and
persecute you, 45
that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil
and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Jesus said that God doesn’t work the way we think He ought to work.
God is gracious.
God wants us to return a “curse” with a “blessing”.
:1 Many a time they have afflicted me
Lesson
Affliction
We too as believers will experience times of affliction.
This week I came across an interesting read on “affliction” from Spurgeon’s
daily devotional “Morning
and Evening” (from May 3).
Spurgeon wrote that when we
experience affliction, we ought to look four different directions.
Up
God is pure and
holy, and God intends to mold us into His image. One of the ways God molds us is through
difficult times.
Down
We have an
enemy, Satan.
He wants to
destroy you.
You can expect
trouble from Satan.
Around
We live in the
world and if you are a friend of God, you are NOT a friend of the world.
When you go to
sleep, you ought to sleep as if you’re on a battlefield because there are
enemies all around.
Inside
We don’t need
Satan and the world to cause us trouble because we cause enough of it on our
own.
We still have a
sin nature and we still bring a lot of trouble into our own lives.
John
16:33 – In the world ye shall have
tribulation.
Art
thou asking the reason of this, believer?
Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold Him pure and holy. Dost thou
know that thou art one day to be like Him? Wilt thou easily be conformed to His
image? Wilt thou not require much refining in the furnace of affliction to
purify thee? Will it be an easy thing to get rid of thy corruptions, and make
thee perfect even as thy Father which is in heaven is perfect?
Next, Christian, turn thine eye downward. Dost thou know what foes thou
hast beneath thy feet? Thou wast once a servant of Satan, and no king will
willingly lose his subjects. Dost thou think that Satan will let thee alone?
No, he will be always at thee, for he “goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour.” Expect trouble, therefore, Christian, when thou lookest
beneath thee.
Then look around thee. Where art thou? Thou art in an enemy’s country, a
stranger and a sojourner. The world is not thy friend. If it be, then thou art
not God’s friend, for he who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be
assured that thou shalt find foe-men everywhere. When thou sleepest, think that
thou art resting on the battlefield; when thou walkest, suspect an ambush in
every hedge. As mosquitoes are said to bite strangers more than natives, so
will the trials of earth be sharpest to you.
Lastly, look within thee, into thine own heart and observe what is there.
Sin and self are still within. Ah! if thou hadst no devil to tempt thee, no
enemies to fight thee, and no world to ensnare thee, thou wouldst still find in
thyself evil enough to be a sore trouble to thee, for “the heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked.”
Expect trouble then, but despond not on account of it, for God is with thee
to help and to strengthen thee. He hath said, “I will be with thee in trouble;
I will deliver thee and honour thee.”
Paul wrote,
(Romans 8:35–37
NKJV) —35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? 36 As it is
written: “For Your
sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all
these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
There are going to be times in the greater plan of God
that God allows us to experience affliction.
In the first couple centuries of church history, millions
were martyred for their faith.
One ancient historian wrote that the seed of the church
was the blood of the martyrs.
Every Christian the Romans killed became a testimony that
God’s ways are different than our ways.
Many came to Christ because they watched how the Christians handled
persecution.
Yet even if God would have us go through this kind of
affliction, nothing can separate us from His love.
Psalm 130 – Forgiveness
: A Song of Ascents.
When the reformer Martin Luther was asked what his favorite Psalms were, he
replied, “The Psalms of Paul”.
What he meant were the Psalms that were about forgiveness.
Psalm 32, 51, 130, and 143 all fall into this category.
:1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
This Psalm comes from the depths of despair.
It comes from the despair that results from guilt, condemnation, and shame.
:2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my
supplications.
:3 If You, Lord, should mark
iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
:3 If You, Lord, should
mark iniquities
mark – shamar
– to keep, guard, observe
God does indeed see everything we do and He knows everything that we think.
Yet if God were to keep track of every single thing we did wrong, and then exact
punishment for each and every sin, we’d all be toast.
Jeremiah wrote,
(Lamentations 3:22
NKJV) Through the Lord’s mercies
we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
David wrote,
(Psalm 103:10 The
Message) He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us
back in full for our wrongs.
When Paul was defining love, he wrote that love…
(1 Corinthians 13:5
NASB95) …does not take into account a wrong suffered
The picture is that of writing down every last little thing and remembering
it. When you love others, you learn to
deal with the problems, forgive, and then let it go.
That’s what God does.
:4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
:5 I wait for the Lord, my
soul waits, And in His word I do hope.
:6 My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the
morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
The Psalmist is describing a long night of agonizing over a situation.
:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is
mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.
:8 And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.
:4 there is forgiveness with You
Lesson
He forgives
I’ve been reminded a lot lately of the fact that I too am a sinner.
Sometimes, after I’ve had a successful stretch of time when I didn’t do
some particularly horrible thing, that I kind of forget about God’s mercy and
forgiveness.
And then I stumble and do something stupid.
I can get lost in confusion, guilt, and condemnation.
Until I remember that I too am a sinner.
And God’s forgiveness is for me as well.
There were churches in the first couple of centuries that began to teach
that if a person sins AFTER having become a Christian and being baptized, that
they would need to do something different to earn forgiveness.
For some churches, this is where the idea of “penance” comes in – that you
have to do a certain amount of good deeds before you can find forgiveness with
God.
I think that “penance” is not a totally bad idea – because true repentance
that is connected with forgiveness will result in a change of behavior, or
doing a certain amount of good deeds.
But we don’t do anything to deserve God’s grace.
We simply trust God to forgive us.
A verse I was sharing with someone this week was:
(1 John 1:7 NKJV) But if we
walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Jesus is light and He’s constantly shining light.
When He shines light and I walk in that light, I find that
all my dark sins are exposed.
I can respond by either running from Him and hiding my
sin, or bringing it to Him and asking for forgiveness.
John wrote,
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
When He forgives, He completely forgives.
He is “just” in forgiving us because Jesus died for ALL of
our sins, not just the ones we committed before becoming a Christian.
Psalm 131 – Peace
: A Song of Ascents. Of David.
:1 Lord, my heart is not
haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor
with things too profound for me.
:1 things too profound for me
Lesson
Stress and pay grades
I think that sometimes it’s healthy to know your limits.
I’m all for having opinions on things.
But keep in mind that some things are just way beyond your pay grade.
There are some things that are just not appropriate to be doing. To illustrate, I have a “cat video” … sort
of…
Today Greg Laurie was invited to the White House for the National Day of
prayer.
He posted it on Facebook.
Deb told me there were more than a few “Christians” blasting him for having
anything to do with President Trump because Trump is such a notorious sinner. One guy said that Greg was “selling out”.
I’d say those people don’t know Greg Laurie, and they don’t know why he
does things.
Greg likes to do things like hang out with sinners because
sinners need Jesus.
Greg likes to take the opportunity to share Jesus anywhere
he’s invited.
Yet some people would rather criticize things, things they
don’t even understand.
I think that sometimes we bring more stress on our lives than we need to
because we get all wrapped up with things that aren’t our responsibility.
Sometimes the things we worry about are the responsibility of the
government when we ought to be praying.
Paul wrote,
(1
Timothy 2:1–2 NKJV) —1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings
and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and reverence.
We ought to be praying for our leaders.
Some of the things we worry about are simply God’s responsibility.
Learn to put these things in God’s hands.
:2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his
mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
:3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
:2 Like a weaned child
weaned – gamal – to deal
fully with; (Qal) to wean a child; (Qal) to ripen, bear ripe (almonds)
It’s a word about coming to maturity.
A weaned child is one that has grown up to the point where he/she no longer
needs to be breast fed.
They no longer need to be pulling at mommy’s shirt or demanding the same
kind of attention.
It’s a metaphor of peace, contentment, and rest.
:2 I have calmed and quieted my soul
Lesson
Finding Peace
You can choose to live a life filled with worry and anxiety, or you can
pursue a path of experiencing peace.
You have a hand in whether or not you will experience God’s peace.
The Psalmist said that HE had calmed and quieted his soul.
Paul wrote about one way this happens.
(Philippians 4:6–7
NKJV) —6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.
The peace of God comes through prayer.
It comes by putting the problem in God’s hands.
It comes through trusting God to take care of the
situation.
I think the key to experiencing this peace is found in
whether or not I can actually “thank” God for hearing my prayer and promising
to take care of it.
But Paul doesn’t stop there when it comes to finding God’s
peace.
Paul also wrote,
(Philippians 4:8–9
NKJV) —8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me,
these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Make a choice as to what things you think about.
Make a choice as to what things you choose to do.
It’s kind of like making a choice in the kinds of music
you listen to.
Illustration
As a music major, I recall studying a type of music called
“Twelve Tone”.
It sounds like this:
Video: Arnold Schoenberg – Piano
Concerto Op. 42
Does that sound lovely?
The idea behind “Twelve Tone” music is play all twelve
notes within an octave before you repeat any of the other notes.
You and I are used to listening to music in which there
are seven notes in a scale, and they form a “key”.
Twelve Tone music is like the person who tries to be
involved in everything, who has to control everything.
Unlike this Psalm.
When you choose to limit yourself to the seven notes
within the key you’re playing in, things sound a little simpler, a little more
peaceful.
Video: Matt Redman – Bless the Lord