Thursday
Evening Bible Study
May
25, 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
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 138 Promises Kept
: A Psalm Of David.
:1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing
praises to You.
:1 Before the gods
gods – ‘elohim
– rulers, judges; divine ones; angels
This could be referring to the
pagan “gods”.
It could also refer to human rulers
or judges.
It could also be referring to God
Himself since 2346 times in the Old Testament, this is how it is translated (“Before
God I will sing praises”)
:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your
lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your
name.
:2 You have magnified Your word above all Your name
I’ve heard many pastors say that even though the Jews properly reverence
God’s holy name “Yahweh”, God considers His own Word even more important than
His name.
They will understand the “word” to refer to the Bible, and then talk about
how important the Bible is.
Don’t get me wrong here – the Bible is awesome and very, very important,
but I’m not sure that’s what David is saying here.
The language here is not actually that clear.
Look how different translations handle this verse:
(Psalm 138:2b ESV)
…for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
(Psalm 138:2b NIV)
…for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your
fame.
(Psalm 138:2 NLT) …for your
promises are backed by all the honor of your name.
We use the phrase:
“A man is as good as his word”
God keeps His Word. He keeps His
promises.
David is praising God because He has kept His word and
answered David’s prayers.
:3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with
strength in my soul.
:4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, When they hear the words of Your mouth.
the kings will hear God’s “words”
:5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, For great is the glory of the Lord.
:6 Though the Lord is
on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
:6 He regards the lowly
Lesson
Pride and Intimacy
There is a connection between humility and closeness to God.
(James 4:6–10 NLT)
—6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you. 8 Come close
to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify
your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be
tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be
sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves
before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
Pride is a relationship killer.
When we are filled with pride, our relationships with others are affected.
We can think that everyone ought to be bowing down and
kissing our toes and we feel “hurt” when we aren’t treated as we “deserve”.
Somehow, when you walk in humility, you don’t seem to get
hurt as much by the same things, and you respond differently.
The same thing goes in our relationship with God.
We get closer to Him on our knees.
Illustration
There was a Christian band in the 80’s called Degarmo and Key. Their lead singer wrote,
As a young Christian, I thought that our group’s evangelism efforts should
focus on celebrities. My theory was that the poster people could influence more
folks for Christ than us ordinary-Joe types. Occasionally I would hear of a
celebrity conversion, but I was usually disappointed that not many seemed to
follow. That taught me an important lesson: God doesn’t build His kingdom on
the fragile backs of star power. Glitz doesn’t go very far with the Lord, and
Isaiah tells us why:
(Isaiah
66:2 NKJV) …“But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a
contrite spirit,
And
who trembles at My word.
-- Dana Key of
Degarmo and Key, By Divine Design (Nashville, 1995), p. 97.
Illustration
Hudson Taylor once noted that “God uses men who are weak and feeble enough
to lean on him.”
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 57:15 NKJV) For thus
says the High and Lofty One Who
inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will
stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will
save me.
:8 The Lord will perfect that
which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord,
endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
:8 Your mercy, O Lord, endures
forever
This is the same phrase that we looked at last week in Psalm 136.
The word translated “mercy” is chesed,
God’s loving-kindness.
:8 The Lord will perfect that
which concerns me
David has been talking about God keeping His “word”, His promises.
Lesson
Unfinished Business
God knows what He has planned for you, and He doesn’t quit until He’s done
what He wants to accomplish in you.
There are a whole lot of TV shows now that are all about taking run down
houses and fixing them up.
In God’s eyes, you are the “distressed property”, and He promises to do a
work in your life to make you into something beautiful.
Illustration
Years ago, a fellow bought the
house next door and it was quite a “fixer-upper”. He was a fellow who had a lot of fix-it
skills. He seemed to have some wonderful
plans for the house next door. One of
the first things he did was to tear out much of the inside. He told me he was building a new kitchen for
his wife. He supposedly tore out walls
and replaced all kinds of stuff. On the
outside of the house, he began all sorts of projects. He started building very neat looking pillars
and fences around the front yard. He
began to put nice siding on the house.
He replaced some of the windows and doors. All of his projects had one thing in common.
Before we eventually moved I hadn’t seen him finish any of the projects. He would just move on to the next project
before finishing the one he was working on.
Some fixer-uppers
finish their projects.
Illustration
Once someone came on Michelangelo chipping away with his chisel at a huge
shapeless piece of rock. He asked the sculptor what he was doing. “I am releasing the angel imprisoned in this
marble,” he answered.
Jesus is the one who sees and can release the hidden hero in every man.
-- William Barclay's
Commentary on The Gospel of John
God has a plan in mind for each of us.
(Ephesians 2:10
NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
God promises to finish His projects.
(Philippians 1:6
NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good
work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
(1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV) He who
calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Song
Dm
In my trouble
Bb C Dm
Bb C
You will answer me
Dm
With Your Mighty Hand
Bb C
Dm Bb C
Against my enemies
Dm
Fulfill Your purpose
Bb C Dm
Bb C
That You have for me
Dm
You reign forever
Bb C
Dm Bb C
You won't abandon me
Dm Bb2 C
All the kings of the earth
Dm Bb
C
Will praise Your every word
Dm Bb2 C
They will sing of Your ways
Dm Bb
C Dm
For great is the Glory of the Lord
Psalm 138 / Words & Music by David Dunagan / ©2007
by David Dunagan / Psalm138.doc
Psalm 139 – Who God Is
: For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
:1 O Lord, You have searched
me and known me.
:1 You have searched me and known me
In our present age, we are quite aware of what “searching” is all about.
Those of us with smart phones have the vast repository of the internet at
our disposal, able to search right on our phone.
I did a quick search today of my name.
I found that people have copied some of my pastor-to-person articles and
posted them on their websites.
I found that some people have quoted me in their Bible Study notes (like
I’M the expert!)
I
even found a few pages about my dad, since he’s Richard Sr., and I’m just a
junior.
God doesn’t need to search the internet.
He searches US.
And He knows all about us.
:2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought
afar off.
:3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my
ways.
(Psalm 139:3 NLT) You see me
when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
:4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
:4 You know it altogether
We like to think that we are quite ingenious at times, especially when we
come up with something pretty witty to share with others.
Do you know these jokes?
I bought the world’s
worst thesaurus yesterday. Not only is it terrible, it’s terrible.
My friend says to
me, “What rhymes with orange?” I said, “No it doesn’t.”
What’s the
difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy, and the other is a
little lighter.
You know, they’re really only funny if you’ve never heard them before, but
once you’ve heard it, not so much.
It makes me wonder if God laughs at any of my jokes.
Illustration
Area 51
You’ve all heard of the Air Force’s ultra-high-security, super- secret base
in Nevada,
known simply as “Area 51?” Well, late one afternoon, the Air Force folks out at
Area 51 were very surprised to see a Cessna landing at their “secret” base.
They immediately impounded the aircraft and hauled the pilot into an
interrogation room. The pilot’s story was that he took off from Vegas, got
lost, and spotted the Base just as he was about to run out of fuel. The Air
Force started a full FBI background check on the pilot and held him overnight
during the investigation. By the next day, they were finally convinced that the
pilot really was lost and wasn’t a spy. They gassed up his airplane, gave him a
terrifying “you-did-not-see-a-base” briefing, complete with threats of spending
the rest of his life in prison, told him Vegas was that-a-way on such-and-such
a heading, and sent him on his way. The next day, to the total disbelief of the
Air Force, the same Cessna showed up again. Once again, the MP’s surrounded the
plane, only this time there were two people in the plane. The same pilot jumped
out and said, “Do anything you want to me, but my wife is in the plane and you
have to tell her where I was last night.”
God doesn’t need anyone to tell Him where you were last night.
:5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
(Psalm 139:5 NLT) You go
before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I
cannot attain it.
:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me
wonderful – pil’iy
– wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary
The word was used one other time,
when the Angel of the Lord was asked by Samson’s dad what His name was:
(Judges 13:18 NKJV) And the
Angel of the Lord said to him,
“Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
David is saying that when he realizes how much God knows about him, it
blows him away.
Lesson
Omniscience
The word means “all-knowing”.
God knows everything.
He knows everything about me.
Everything.
Sometimes this knowledge is comforting to us.
He knows my needs.
(Matthew
6:31–33 NKJV) —31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What
shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly
Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
I worry sometimes thinking that God might not know about
what I’m going through, but He knows.
Some people pray as if they need to inform God of the
situation. You probably don’t really
need to do that. Just get to the point
and ask for His help.
Sometimes God’s omniscience is a bit intimidating.
He sees and knows everything we think or do.
Illustration
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic
school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun
made a note, “Take only one, God is watching,” Moving through the line, to the
other end of the table, was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. One of the
boys wrote a note, “Take all you want, God is watching the apples.”
Actually, God is watching everything.
God even knows all about the things that I try to hide from other
people. He even knows my thoughts.
Sometimes God even shares some of that knowledge with
others, like when God shared with the prophet Ezekiel about the secrets of the
leaders of Israel.
(Ezekiel
8:12 NKJV) Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of
the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For
they say, ‘The Lord does not see
us, the Lord has forsaken the
land.’ ”
:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Some people are freaked out at the thought of God seeing them, and they
respond by trying to run from God.
Francis Thompson (1859-1907) wrote a poem title “The Hound of Heaven” in
which he describes God as a hound chasing his prey and not giving up, following
closer and closer.
At the beginning, it sounds as if God is some terrible monster who is out
to destroy him, but in the end the poet realizes that there is no one who loves
him more than God.
Sometimes we don’t like the things associated with God, such as learning to
deny ourselves.
Yet in the end, it’s all for our good.
:8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell,
behold, You are there.
:8 heaven … hell
hell – sh@’owl – sheol,
underworld, grave, hell, pit
God is present both in heaven AND in hell.
:9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea,
:10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
:10 Even there Your hand shall lead me
Lesson
Omnipresence
God is everywhere present at the same time.
The prophet Jonah learned this the hard way.
(Jonah 1:1–3 NKJV)
—1 Now the word of the Lord
came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for
their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found
a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go
with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the Assyrians were a
very wicked people, and Jonah hated them.
Jonah would rather that God wiped out the Ninevites rather
than save them.
So Jonah ran.
You know the story.
God sent a storm, then God sent a big fish.
Jonah ended up in Nineveh.
You simply can’t outrun God.
God is everywhere, so stop trying to run away.
:11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall
be light about me;
:12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as
the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
God can see you whether it’s night or day.
His vision is better than night vision goggles.
:13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
:14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Lesson
Creator
He is our Creator.
We can look at all of creation to see His fingerprints, but we can also
look at ourselves.
He made us.
It is amazing to see how quickly babies are formed in the womb.
It used to be that you wouldn’t hear a heartbeat for a couple of months,
but with modern technology a doctor can detect an infant’s heartbeat 10 days
after conception.
Our little granddaughter Ruth Ann is about six weeks from being born, and
she’s quite a playful child.
Here’s an ultrasound pic from Tuesday.
Sarah said she was moving her lips and looked like she was blowing
kisses at the camera when they were scanning her.
Alexander Tsiaras works in medical imaging and worked with the NIH to create
these images of the development of a baby.
Here’s Mr. Tsiaras explaining the development of the human heart. I don’t know if Mr. Tsiaras is a believer or
not, but listen to his wonder at what he’s explaining.
Illustration
In A.D. 399 Saint Augustine said, “People travel to wonder at the height of
mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at
the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars—and they
pass by themselves without wondering.”
Who is God? He’s my Creator. He made
me.
:15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And
skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
:15 skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth
David is speaking metaphorically of his body being formed in his mother’s
womb.
:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they
all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none
of them.
:16 Your eyes saw my substance
David speaks of God knowing all about him, even before he was formed.
Lesson
Life in the womb
God knew us even as we were being formed in the womb. It sounds like He even wrote a book about us.
Illustration
The public schools teach situational ethics, that what’s right and wrong
depends on the circumstance.
However, one teacher who wanted to illustrate the faultiness of human
reasoning gave the following situation to a class of students:
“How would you advise a mother who was pregnant with her
fifth child based on the following facts.
“Her husband had syphilis.
She had tuberculosis. Their first
child was born blind. Their second child
died. Their third child was born
deaf. Their fourth child had
tuberculosis.
“The mother is considering an abortion. Would you advise her to have one?”
In view of these facts, most of the students agreed that
she should have an abortion.
The teacher then announced, “If you said ‘Yes’ you would
have just killed the great composer Ludwig von Beethoven!”
Life exists at conception.
Abortion is taking a human life.
:17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum
of them!
:18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the
sand; When I awake, I am still with You.
:17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me
precious – yaqar
– to esteem, be prized, be valuable, be precious, be costly, be appraised
Lesson
Overwhelmed
David said God’s thoughts were more than the grains of sand on the earth.
Maybe David is just being poetic, but what if we took this number
literally?
Someone once estimated that there are 1025 grains of sand on the
earth.
How often do you have a thought about someone you love? Maybe 100 times a day? (It’s probably more
like 25 times a day, for some of you less romantic types it’s probably once a
week J)
If the average person lives 80 years, that is 29,200 days. If you thought about your loved one 100 times
a day, you’d think about them 2,920,000 times in your life (assuming you could
think about them as an infant). That’s
roughly a “3” with 6 zeroes after it.
There are 86,400 seconds in each day.
If you could think about a person once a second for eighty years, you’d
be thinking of them 2,522,880,000 times which could be rounded to a 3 with nine
zeroes after it. That’s assuming you’re
thinking about them in your sleep.
You’re quite obsessed with this person, aren’t you?
Yet God thinks of us more times than a 10 with 25 zeroes after it. God
would have to be thinking of us more than billions and billions of times a
second. That’s a lot of thinking.
Do you get the idea that you’re on God’s mind?
And what does He think about when He thinks of you?
(Jeremiah
29:11 NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.
:19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore,
you bloodthirsty men.
:20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name
in vain.
:21 Do I not hate them, O Lord,
who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
:22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
:19 that You would slay the wicked
David is obviously having a hard time with someone.
He’s being honest with God about what he thinks about wicked people.
Balance David’s ideas about the wicked with God’s ideas:
Being a just God, God will make sure that sinners pay the price for their
sins.
(Romans 6:23 NKJV) For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
God wants the wicked to be saved.
(1 Timothy 2:4 NKJV) who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
(2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)
…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance.
God doesn’t take pleasure in a wicked person’s death.
(Ezekiel 33:11
NKJV) Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
God did something to save the wicked.
(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.
:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
:24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way
everlasting.
:23 Search me, O God
In the first verse, David said that God had searched him.
Now he asks God to KEEP searching him.
Lesson
Self-examination
I find it’s easy to examine other people and find what’s wrong with them.
I don’t much like to face the fact that I need work.
Give Him permission to keep examining your life.
We need to keep looking at ourselves in the mirror.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 7:3–5
NKJV) —3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not
consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from
your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite!
First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Illustration
Sometime ago Denalyn, Max Lucado’s wife, bought a monkey. He goes on to write,
I didn’t want a monkey in our house, so I objected.
“Where is he going to eat?” I asked. “At our table.”
“Where is he going to sleep?” I inquired. “In our bed.”
“What about the odor?” I demanded. “I got used to you; I guess the monkey can
too.”
-- Max Lucado, In
The Grip of His Grace (Word, 1996), p. 164.
Illustration
Many years ago the London Times ran an article asking the question, “What
is wrong with the world?” It encouraged readers to respond. I am sure the
editor must have read the following reply more than once before its profound
truth sank in.
Dear Sir,
In response to your question, “What is wrong with the
world?”
I am.
Yours Truly,
G. K. Chesterton.
Songs
Tran: A2 E/A
A2 E/A A2
Where can I go
E/A D2
E/D D2 E/D
Where can I run to
A2 E/A A2
Your strong right hand
E/A D2
E/D D2 E/D
Is there to see me through
D E/D D E/D
If I rise upon the wings of the dawn
A2 E/A
D6/A E/A
Or the far side of the sea
D E/D D
E/D
Even there you'll be my guide
A2 E/A
D6/A E/A
You won't let go of me
A2
D/A E/A
Search me Lord and know me
A2 D/A E/A
Know my every thought
A2
D/A E/A
Cleanse my heart, please lead me
A2 D/A
E/A
In the everlasting way, Lord
D/F# E/G# A2
All my days
July 14, 1998
Psalm 139/ Words and Music by Dave Dunagan and Rich
Cathers / © 1998 Dave
Dunagan / Psalm139.doc
Tran I 2x –
Verse (Dave) – Bridge (add Lisa) –
Chorus (all)
Tran II 2x – Verse – Bridge - Chorus
Tran II 2x – Bridge - Chorus
Tran II
Tran I: G D/F# C2
G D/F#
Where can I go
C2/E /C
From Your Spirit Lord
G D/F#
How could I hide
C2 /C
From your eyes
G D/F#
For you have searched me
C2/E /C
And known my heart
G D/F# C2/E /C
Every dream, fear and desire
Em C
And if I take the wings of the morn
Em C2
Dwell in the depths of the sea
Am7
G/B C
D
Even there Your hand's forever leading me
G D/F#
So search my heart
Em C
And make it pure
G D/F#
Em C2
For I am Yours forever
G D/F#
Search my heart
Em C
And make it pure
G D/F#
Em C2
For I am Yours forever
Tran II: G D/F# Em C2
Search My Heart / Words & Music by Joseph Tata / © 2002 Calvary Chapel Music /
Search.doc