“Praise the Lord!” was my comment to my teammate as I returned to the bench after the series of downs. It was the last game of the season of my senior year. I had never been a good football player. I had never even suited up before my senior year. The coach had let me start the first two home games. During both games, he yanked me out because of poor performance on the field. I rarely played after that. But this was the last game of the season. My best friend, who had sustained a mild injury in the previous game played both offense and defense. Coach wanted him to play just offense in order to preserve his strength during the game. So, I received the call to play his defensive spot. All week long I was praying that the Lord would allow me to play above my ability so as to bring glory to His name. The Lord answered that prayer. I played above my ability because of Him. When my teammates commented upon my play level, I had no other choice but to say, “Praise the Lord!” It was His doing.
Assuming Saul reigned 40 years, assuming David was 30 when he became king upon the death of Saul, David was born in Saul’s 10th year as king. Assuming Jonathan was 15-18 years old when he began leading 1,000 men, assuming that was in Saul’s second year as king (see August 21, 1 Samuel 13), there is a 25-27 year age gap between Jonathan and David. Yet there was this natural friendship between Jonathan and David. Perhaps Jonathan saw something of himself in David. Maybe, like himself, he saw a 15-year-old who wasn’t afraid of overwhelming odds. David had the same kind of spirit as Jonathan. Jonathan was secure in his relationship with God. David was not a threat to him, but an encouragement. It was refreshing to see someone like himself who would trust God in the midst of overwhelming odds.
What a contrast with Saul! Saul, for whatever reason was always insecure in his relationship with God. Maybe it was because his father was bent. Maybe it was a lack of self-confidence. After all Saul was the one found hiding in the baggage when it came time to anoint him king. One thing is certain; Saul had great difficulty in full obedience to the Lord. He couldn’t wait for Samuel, so he took it upon himself to lead in sacrifice. He couldn’t wait for the answer from the Lord via the priestly ephod, when Jonathan unexpectedly began the rout of the Philistines. He rashly made a vow when commanding his troops not to eat anything during the battle. This led to the soldiers eating blood (a clear violation of the law) when they finally had a break. He did not fulfill the command of the Lord when he defeated the Amalekites. He saved the best for himself, rather than destroying all. He teetered on leading the army into battle against the Philistines in the valley of Elah, and let 15-year-old (or less) David go fight the giant. Instead of rejoicing over the victory that God gave, he became jealous. What a contrast with Jonathan and David!
So God sent a distressing spirit upon Saul. For some people it just doesn’t seem right for God to send an evil spirit upon someone. How can a good God send an evil spirit on someone? For an explanation better than I can give on that subject, go to this website:
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1278
Saul was focused upon his own glory. Jonathan and David both understood the glory of God. Focusing upon His glory resulted obedient acts of valor when the occasion demanded it. Saul’s focusing upon himself resulted in disobedient acts of valor when the occasion demanded obedient acts. Oh by the way, after reviewing the game films of the last game, the coach told me, “If I knew you could play that position like that, you would have been there all year.” Well, that is the rub, I couldn’t play the position like that. I was playing above my ability. The Lord was teaching me to focus on His glory. When we do, He glorifies Himself, and lets us enjoy doing it with Him. Lord, may I always focus on your glory so that when the occasion demands it, I will walk with you in obedient acts which bring glory to Your name! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 56
PSALM 56
Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” a Michtam of David When the Philistines Captured Him in Gath.
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the LORD (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
13 For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the living?
PSALM 34
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David When He Pretended Madness Before Abimelech, Who Drove Him Away, and He Departed.
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
David writes two Psalms out of this one experience. Obviously it made quite an impact upon him. David had been delivered from the paw of the Lion and the bear. He had defeated the Philistine champion of Gath, Goliath. But to be pursued by one whom you had loyally supported is indeed unsettling. It was so unsettling that David ran to his former enemies for help. What happened to trusting in the Lord? Even the best of us have our moments when we seek fleshly help rather than rely upon the Lord. It didn’t take David long to realize that he had jumped from the frying pan into the fire. But it did re-teach him a lesson. He was forced to re-learn that only God can be trusted.
Now that is one of the essential things about our Lord. He can and must be trusted. Though man can torture me, though he can ridicule me, though he can torture my family, though he can kill me, God can and will keep all that I have committed to Him. He will restore it when He returns. So, I can say with David, “What can man do to me?” Nothing can happen to that which I have committed to Him. I can and will trust Him. He is worth my trust. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
EZEKIEL 25
1 Peter 4:17 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” Many people tire quickly of Ezekiel because it is chapter after chapter of judgment. Indeed the first 24 chapters of Ezekiel deal with the glory of God in particular as He is dispensing judgment upon the house of God. The time had come for God to judge His house. Now a shift has come in Ezekiel. He begins to judge the countries outside the house of God. The judgment upon His house was harsh and hot, but the house of God, the descendants of Abraham, the descendants of those with whom He made the Mosaic covenant are still recognizable today.
What about the peoples to whom He now turns His attention? What about, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. Those people groups are no longer recognizable even though there are people living in those lands which still bear their names. Where does Amman, Jordan get its name? Probably from Ammon. Where do the Palestinians get their name? It is derived from the Roman designation of the area which referred to the area as Palestine which meant Philistine. But would a Palestinian today claim to be a Philistine? Absolutely not! Would one born and raised in Amman, Jordan claim to be an Ammonite or a Moabite or a Edomite? Absolutely not! The cultural identity of those groups from the day of Ezekiel has been lost, but not the Israelite! Hmmm. . .
The fact that there is therefore, now, no condemnation for those to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, does not protect us from the judgment of the house of God. There is a difference between a judgment that brings condemnation and a fiery judgment that disciplines and burns away what is ungodly. Judgment that brings condemnation ends in eternal separation from our loving King. Judgment that disciplines and burns away what is ungodly purifies us and brings us into loving relationship with our Father and Lord. Lord, it is to Your glory that I be purified of all ungodliness. Lord, I welcome Your discipline, and I also choose to walk according to Your Spirit. Yielding to You, I claim the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit to walk as you have called me to walk. Magnify Your glory by showing the world what You will do with one sinner who will yield to You. Lord, do not stop on the individual level. May the congregation which I pastor yield corporately to You. May we claim the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit to walk as you have called us to walk. Magnify Your glory by showing the world what you will do with a congregation that corporately yields to You. Lord, do not stop with this one congregation in Stillwater. May the church of Stillwater yield corporately to You. May we claim the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit to walk as you have called us to wallk. Magnify Your glory by showing the world what you will do with church of a community that corporately yields to You. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 CORINTHIANS 8
There is one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we are for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
Through Jesus comes all things. He called into being the stars. He put them into motion. He designed the laws of physics & chemistry. He created the first cell. He created how the physical interacts with the spiritual. He designed how interpersonal relationships ought to work. He designed how I ought to relate to myself. He designed how I ought to relate to Himself.
Through Jesus we live. What are all the implications of that? I breathe because He enables it. But that is a shallow concept of life. He enables eternal life. What is eternal life? Is it just breathing forever? This is eternal life -- that we may know God and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent. He enables me to know my Creator. May He grant me to know Him more! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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