Thankfulness

Berean Baptist on June 26, 2017

Psalm 92:1

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.” On the day I wrote this article, I was pleasantly surprised to open my Bible to read this verse in Psalm 92. I had just finished working on a sermon for the Living for Jesus series in which the subject of thankfulness was one of the major themes. This gave me the opportunity to write on the subject and give insight to those who might not hear the sermon.

My angle on thankfulness comes from the topic of prayer. One of the essentials of prayer is that we show God an attitude of gratitude. Christians are people that love to do things for others because helping others is part of the new spiritual life given to us in Christ. He was always giving to others, especially for the needs of poor lost sinners who can find salvation only in Him. Even though we should give unselfishly as He gave whether or not others compliment us or give thanks, still there is definitely a warm feeling when we know others appreciate our efforts. It makes it much easier to follow through the next time there is a need when we know those we help sincerely value it. Most of us would be at least a little reluctant to give again if those we help constantly take from us without acknowledging what we do.

This is a very simple principle, and yet there are many Christians that never pause to offer God thanks for the many benefits received. They constantly go to the well of God’s grace with hand outstretched and grab from Him without showing the gratitude He deserves. There is a point, I believe, when God stops giving because of ingratitude. Many things can hinder prayer and surely this is one. You see, we are commanded to give thanks, and if we treat God despitefully by acting as if we deserve what He gives, it is sin. Sin always hinders prayer. Sin is the fuel of ingratitude. As we read this psalm, it is hard to imagine the author was not wholly in tune with God which caused him to do the natural thing for Christians—to thank God for His lovingkindness and faithfulness.

One more point I would like to make. The inscription of the psalm is, “A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath Day.” The Sabbath was the Old Testament day of worship. Everything stopped—all secular activity stopped on the Sabbath so everyone could concentrate their thoughts on God. The cessation of worldly pursuits leaves the mind open to contemplate God’s wonderful works. This is the reason Christians should make it a point to go to church and worship. We need the time to get away from everything else we think about to consider God. What can we think about God other than how He so graciously gave us salvation through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? Will this not lead you to thankfulness and praise?

Self-absorption is no recipe for caring about what God thinks. Let’s take the time to reflect on His blessings and give Him the thanks He so richly deserves. You will feel good for it because you know it pleases Him.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

His Psalm

Berean Baptist on June 19, 2017

 

Psalm 91

One of the things I really enjoy about church is watching the young boys and girls as they leave their Sunday school and Pioneer Club classes. Many of them will show me the papers they colored or the crafts they made that relate to the incredible stories told in the Bible.

I remember when I was very young my dad gave me a huge children’s Bible with illustrations of the many miracles that God did throughout scripture. I think about the parting of the Red Sea or the collapse of Jericho’s walls or Gideon’s men as they shouted, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” Those stories captured my attention with excitement as I imagined them. However, it was not until I was older that I understood the greatest miracle was not what God did by overruling nature or supernaturally tearing down walls or how three hundred men frightened multiple thousands of Midianites. The greatest miracle was when God became incarnate. The Almighty God who did these things took on human flesh and came to live among us.

I am reminded of the magnificence of this miracle when reading the 91st Psalm. This is a psalm for Jesus with its blessed promises of the Father to protect Him while He made His sojourn among the wicked of this world. None of us can imagine what it was like for Christ to have knowledge of His former exaltation in heaven as He walked in the lowliness of human flesh on earth. In one sense, it must have been a frightening prospect in His humanity as He was daily aware of the extreme hatred of religion against Him.

His first foray in His public ministry was to be led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This awful period was a foreshadowing of how difficult the way would be. He was without food for forty days and at His weakest moment, Satan approached with his greatest temptations. It is very interesting that Satan quoted this psalm he dared Jesus to leap from the pinnacle of the temple. Satan asked Him to prove verses 10-12: “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” These verses are true without the test and Jesus accepted them by faith.

It is also interesting that Satan was selective in his quotations as many that mishandle the scriptures often are. The next verses promise that Christ would tread on the lion and the adder and the dragon, and trample them under His feet. Who can miss that Satan is the roaring lion, the slimy serpent, and the great red dragon of Revelation 12? A little more quotation and Satan would prophesy his own destruction!

Verses 15 and 16 require special attention. Jesus had to go to the cross—this was His mission in the Incarnation. But, He trusted God to deliver Him. He was taunted with that trust as the crucifiers said, “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him…” Jesus only needed to wait three days for verses 15 and 16 to come true: “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” Now, He is alive and honored at the right hand of the Father forever.

Yes, the Incarnation is the greatest of all miracles. Jesus did not fear it even though He knew what it would bring. Psalm 91 was for Him—to strengthen Him by the promises of the Word of God. If only we would trust the Word as much!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

 

How Will You Enter the Kingdom?

Berean Baptist on June 12, 2017

Psalm 90

This psalm begins the fourth division of the Psalter and runs through Psalm 106. Each of the five divisions corresponds to one of the books of the Pentateuch and this one is linked to the book of Numbers. The theme is the same as Numbers with key topics of unrest and wandering.

Psalm 90 is a song of Moses which feels in places like a funeral dirge because of the despair of forty years meandering around the desert with no definite timetable for receiving the inheritance God promised. Verses 9 and 10 have the ring of a man who thought he would die before seeing the promise fulfilled: “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

We remember from the Pentateuch the carnage of the wilderness wanderings. Before it was through, all of the males that left Egypt above the age of twenty years had died. The cause was the sin of not trusting God even after they saw the amazing plagues brought on Egypt that enabled their freedom from slavery. There were further examples of God’s power such as the parting of the Red Sea. Time after time God showed what He was able to do, but still when they came to the borders of Canaan they were too frightened to enter. They supposed walled cities and giants were too much for God.

From there, it was mostly downhill as time after time Moses’ leadership was challenged. Following God’s way was a reluctant enterprise which angered God. Paul alluded to their faithlessness in 1 Corinthians 10:5-11. Particularly verse 5 gives God’s mood because of their transgression: “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” Notice how Moses said the same in verse 7 of the psalm: “For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.”

There isn’t much hope expressed in this psalm. It is mostly the pleadings of Moses who often played the role of intercessor for constantly sinful, complaining people. This psalm is a reminder of how our lives can become fruitless and wasted when we are disobedient to God. Why should Christians live in defeat when every resource is available for triumph? God intends we should have a glorious entrance into His kingdom, not one in which we say we barely made it by the skin of the teeth.

This section ends at 106 with a repetition of wilderness sins, but it also mentions God’s faithfulness to never abandon His people. I believe this teaches that it is never too late to experience revival. We desperately need it when holiness is in short supply. Ask God to help this church and all His chosen people not to take His commands lightly. There is a great difference in the success of the Christian life depending on how you serve Christ. I do not want to enter heaven moaning and groaning, but with glorious expectation. May God help us to make it so?

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Patience Will Pay

Berean Baptist on June 5, 2017

Psalm 89

Psalm 89 is a great reminder of the patience needed as Christians try to live for Christ in a very hostile world. As you read this psalm, you can feel the disappointment of the author as he wonders what has happened to the promises of God. He begins the first part with an expression of the faithfulness of God to the Davidic Covenant, and then continues with a repetition of God’s promise to preserve the throne of David to all generations. He reminds us of God’s promise to never recant and thus break this covenant.

The psalmist knows this is true as he wants to maintain his assurance with God, but the present circumstances seem too much until he finally asks, “Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in truth?” Whatever his present problems, they seemed to overwhelm his patience as he pleads with God to deliver him from his enemies.

This psalm contains many references to Christ because the exalted language could not refer to any other. Especially interesting is verse 27 which says, “Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” This takes us beyond David to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the firstborn of all creation, meaning He is preeminent over all—He is the highest in rank of all. The promise is that David’s throne would be made higher than all thrones, which will be fulfilled when Christ begins His glorious kingdom on earth.

I thought about our patience for this to happen as I studied for the message this week. When Jesus appeared before Pilate, Pilate asked Him if He was a king. Jesus replied that He was but His kingdom was not an earthly one. He meant that at that time He had no designs on overthrowing Rome or being involved in any type of political insurrection. However, His answer was not a denial that at some point Pilate and all of Rome’s Caesars and all powers on earth would bow to Him. He made this clear to Caiaphas just hours earlier when He said He would sit on the right hand of power and come in the clouds of heaven.

Jesus was patient for this to happen. There were steps to the kingdom that were ordained and each step had to be painstakingly fulfilled before He would claim His crown as the world’s king. His present suffering was one of those steps. We must think of this when we are prone to depression because we have so much suffering to endure. The call for patience is modeled after that of Jesus. Paul wrote that if we die with Him, we shall live with Him; if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. Likewise, there are steps in our lives to be taken before we reach the final reward of our heavenly home. We are encouraged to faithfully endure each of these steps because God’s promise will not fail any more than Christ will fail to sit as the everlasting king on the throne of David.

Remember this as you pray. Pray that Christ’s kingdom will come and God’s will is done. But as you do, be patient and walk the steps God has planned for your Christian life.

Pastor V. Mark Smith