Psalm 116 - Purpose and Thanksgiving

Hello Project Ezra!  I pray that you are having a blessed week, and are looking forward to sharing God’s amazing message of grace this weekend.  Our suggested reading for this week is Psalm 116, which is a prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance.  It’s an encouragement for me, because even though understanding of the law and bringing people to conviction over their sins is vital, it’s too easy, for me at least, to swing to far in that direction and to forget to praise and thank God for His grace toward me.  Legalism is always a danger, and leads us to an idolatrous attitude where we see ourselves in control and our obedience as the deciding factor in our salvation.  I believe that the way to avoid going down that path is to rejoice in the grace we have been given, and to spend time praising God, first for our salvation, and secondly for the changing of our hearts and minds that demonstrates that our salvation in secure.

In our outline, we will be talking about the source of comfort and peace for the unbeliever.  In truth, there is no peace for them, since true peace only comes from a right relationship with God, and that’s what we want to point out.  In our hearts we know we have sinned and deserve judgment, but those outside Christ try to fill space with everything other than Him.  We want to call them to abandon those worldly pursuits and come to Christ instead.  Then they will be able to give God praise for the gift of salvation, as the Psalm writer did.

I pray this is an encouragement, and that through your faithfulness to God’s call, that many will hear His word proclaimed today.

All for His glory,

Dan

INTRODUCTION

READ PSALM 116

I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful

You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling

Our gracious God is the source of our salvation and comfort, and true peace is only found in Him

Is He your source of comfort?  Or is He a source of fear, or hatred or loathing?

What are you trying to find comfort in?

Are you searching for comfort in Money?  Fame?  Education?  Success?  Physical pleasure?  Entertainment?

None of these will ever satisfy you, because they are not what you were designed for.

Your existence is not an accident.  You were beautifully designed with a purpose.

You were designed to glorify and have fellowship with God (Ephesians 1, 1 Corinthians 10:31)

But we often search for comfort, peace, and fulfillment outside God, to maintain our own autonomy.

We want to be free, free to make our own choices and chart our own path.  We want to be our own gods.

We rebel against God, even against His goodness, because we think we know ourselves better than He does.

But God is our creator.  He knows our design and our purpose.

When we break His law and deny His rule over our lives, we rebel against our design and purpose.

We will never find true peace in rebellion against God, only His righteous judgment.

We all deserve God’s judgment for our sins.  Sins are moral crimes, acts of rebellion against who He is, and what He has told us to do.

God will judge us for our lying, because He is a God of truth.

He will judge us for stealing or coveting, because God has graciously given us all we need, and we have no right to demand more.

God will judge for lust and adultery, because He is a faithful God, and our relationships are meant to mirror His faithfulness.

He will judge those who murder, whether in deed or in hateful thoughts, because all life belongs to Him, and we have no right, outside of His righteous laws, to take that life.

And in all these things we set ourselves up as higher than Him, and wiser than Him, and commit idolatry by trying to make ourselves god in His place.

We are all, by nature, rebels against our king.  We are all, by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2).

But our king is merciful.  Though we deserve death for our rebellion, He will deliver our souls from death, if we will humble ourselves and trust in Him.

2000 years ago Jesus Christ, God in human form, came to earth to suffer, die, and rose again so our souls could be delivered.

Jesus willingly went to a Roman Cross to that justice could be satisfied (Colossians 2)

Our God is a just and righteous God, who told us that He would not leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34)

So Jesus took that guilt, our guilt, and bore it.

Isaiah 53 tells us:

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6, ESV)

God provided a payment for sin.  Through repentance toward sin and trust in Christ alone, we can be made right with Him.

Through Jesus sacrifice, we can find true peace, and a restored relationship with our creator.

What will you do with that truth?

Will you turn to Christ and live?  Or will you remain in your sins and receive the judgment you deserve in hell.

There is no second chance, and there is no alternate plan.  All other God’s are false, and all other means of reconciliation are lies from Satan.

Turn to Christ today, and you, like the Psalm writer, will be able to come before your God, not in fear, but in worship and praise, lifting up His name in thanksgiving.

What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord

I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people

I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord

Job 9 - Our Sovereign God

One of the most vital aspects of God’s character, yet at the same time often the most misunderstood, if not downright vilified, is the concept of God’s sovereignty.   The idea that God not only created everything, but controls everything and dictates how we should act, is repugnant to the natural man.  As Christians, we know that God’s sovereignty is truly a gift, not a curse, but those outside of Christ, because of their fallen nature, cannot get past their desire for freedom (so called) and autonomy to see who God truly is, and what a blessing it is to be His bond-slave.

I don’t believe there is any message that is so clearly presented in the book of Job than the message that God is sovereign.  It is very clearly the point of God’s questioning of Job in the final chapters.  But even as early as chapter 9, this week’s suggested reading, it is clear that Job understands something of that truth.  However, he is not rejoicing in God’s sovereignty.  He is complaining about it.  He doesn’t understand what God is doing, he knows he has no recourse, and he’s frustrated.  If you have spent any time sharing the gospel on the street, you have heard similar complaints, and likely have talked to people who have walked away from church when things in their lives have gone wrong.  The problem of pain and suffering can be one of the most difficult questions to deal with, for believers and unbelievers alike.  But when God brings you to a deeper understanding of what His sovereignty means, it turns from a source of frustration to an amazing blessing and a joy.  Yes, God has allowed pain and difficulty, but He has also promised that He will wipe away every tear from those who are trusting in Him, and bring them into His kingdom.

So this week I encourage you, as you are reading, to challenge others, and yourself, regarding the sovereignty of God.  Present a God that is sovereign in His power over His creation, and in His judgment of His creation’s disobedience.  Then, present a God who is sovereign in salvation.  Our God is mighty to save, and  as Psalm 138 tells us, the Lord will fulfill his purpose for you, and He will not forsake the work of His hands.

All for His glory,
Dan

INTRODUCTION  

READ JOB 9 

In Job 9, Job asks questions and makes statements about who God is, and what He is like 

They are questions that ought to make us pause and think. 

Stop and listen for a moment, and you will see how these truths impact you 

Job asks "Can a man be in the right before God?  Who can contend with Him?" 

Then Job talks about what God is like, about His power.

Job says that God removes mountains, and overturns them in His anger 

He says that He shakes the earth out of its place 

He commands the sun and it does not rise, and He seals up the stars 

Job tells us God made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades.  These are star clusters and constellations we still recognize today. 

He says God passes by, but we do not see Him, that He moves but we do not perceive Him. 

He ask  if God snatches away, who will turn Him back?  Who will say "What are you doing?" 

And Job reminds us that God is not a man that we might answer Him, and there is no arbiter between us. 

This whole passage emphasizes a message that is at the heart of the book of Job, and indeed the entire Bible.

It is a message Job understood in part, but not fully, until the end of the book.  And it is a lessen all of us need to learn, or to understand better. 

That truth is that God is sovereign.

When we say God is sovereign we mean that He has the authority and ability to do what He desires with His creation.   

It means nothing happens in this universe unless He either causes it, or allows it. 

1 Chronicles 29:11 says "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all." 

Psalm 115:3 tells us "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." 

The idea of a sovereign God is a wonderful thing when He is a God who will take our side, and be our support.

But we get much more uncomfortable when He becomes our ruler, one who dictates what is right and punishes what is wrong. 

We don't want someone to control us.  We want to believe we can and should control our own lives. 

It is that desire that drove Adam and Even to sin in Eden, and it is that desire that drives us to deny or rebel against God today.   

It come from a desire for autonomy, and ultimately, from pride. 

But we are not our own.  We belong to God, and He has made His power and authority clear, in the world around us, and within us.

God has revealed Himself to us in His creation

Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands

Romans 1 also tells us that what can be known about God is plain to those who deny Him, because He has made it plain to them.  For His invisible attributes, He eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from the things that have been made, so they are without excuse.

God has also revealed Himself in His word. 

2 Peter 1 tells us how men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit

2 Timothy 3 reminds us that all scripture is breathed out by God

But even if you disagree with these truths, you cannot escape the law God has written on your heart

Our conscience is God’s internal witness to His existence.  You know you are wrong when you break His law, even if you try to suppress it.  You feel guilt when you sin, because you know you are guilty.

We will all stand in judgment before God one day.  You may not have thought much about that, or you may have thought that was OK, since God sees your heart and knows your good intentions.

But God does know your heart, and that’s not a good thing

Consider the 10 Commandments.  You would probably agree with many of them.  But a moment of reflection will show you that even those you agree with, you have not kept.

GOD THROUGH A FEW OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT THEY HAVE BROKEN GOD’S LAW AND ARE GUILTY BEFORE HIM.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ told His followers to be perfect, as His Father was perfect.

All of us have fallen far short of perfection.  All of us are guilty of breaking God’s law.

Guilty criminals like us deserve to be punished, and the punishment we deserve for our rebellion against the God of the universe, is eternity in Hell.

In Hell, those who have rejected God and broken His law will suffer in a place of fire and darkness and pain, paying the price for their past and continued hatred of God.

But though we deserve pain and punishment, God, who is not only sovereign but loving and merciful, made a way of escape.

We could not satisfy our sin debt, so Jesus Christ, God the Son, satisfied it for us on a Roman Cross.

When Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, He lived the perfect life we never could, and then died a perfect death.

He nailed Himself, and our sins, to the cross.  And there, justice was satisfied.

Then He rose from the dead, ascended, and now sits at God’s right hand.

Now, if you turn away from your sins and put your trust in Christ alone, you will still stand before God one day.

But when you do, God will no longer look at your sin.  Instead, He will look at His own Son, and see His perfection credited to you. 

Only through that gift of grace, only through that perfect life, substitutionary death, and representation before God on judgment day, can you escape the Hell you deserve.

I deserve Hell, but I won’t go there. 

I will spend eternity in heaven, but not because I’m good. 

I will spend eternity in heaven because GOD is good, and because Jesus Christ died to save me.

Are you trusting in Christ?  Are you trusting in the only way to salvation?

If you are not, please, turn to Christ and live.

God is sovereign, and God is good.  Humble yourself, throw yourself on His mercy, and He will save you.

And because God is sovereign, He will keep you, and you too will have the joy of knowing God, and spending eternity in loving worship of Him.

Then you can say, as Paul did in his letter to the Philippians, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ!

2 Thessalonians 1 - Jesus Christ the Judge

Hello Project Ezra!  This week our suggested reading is from 2 Thessalonians chapter 1.  Paul encourages those in the church he planted, and then reminds them of the Day of Judgment, and the wrath that Jesus Christ will bring on those who have rejected Him.  This is a Jesus that most people don’t like to think about.  Often Jesus is thought of as kind and meek, in contrast to the angry, wrathful God of the Old Testament.  But this is just one of many passages that demonstrated that is not the case.  Jesus Christ is our savior, but He is also judge to those who remain in their sins.  We want people to see all of who Jesus Christ is, so that they will repent of their sins and trust in Him, rather than remaining in their sins, unworried, believing God is all love, and that they have no justice to be concerned with.  I pray that God will be with you in your outreach this weekend, and that souls will be saved. 

All for His glory,
Dan

INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND THE PROJECT

READ 2 THESSALONIANS 1

Many of the books in the New Testament were not written as books, but as letters

The Apostle Paul, likely the greatest missionary the world has ever known, wrote many letters to churches he had planted, to instruct and encourage them.

2 Thessalonians is one of those letters, written to a church in the city of Thessalonica

Paul starts by letting them know he has been boasting to the other churches about their endurance under persecution.

He then reminds them that God will eventually bring them relief, and judge those who have been attacking them.

He talks about the day of final judgment, and his description is sobering.

He describes Jesus Christ coming in power, with an army of angels at His side.

This Jesus is not the meek and mild man many have imagined Him to be.

This Jesus comes in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance.

He comes not only to judge those who chose not to obey His message.

The passage says He comes also to judge those who do not know Him.

Ignorance will be no excuse before God, on that final day.

All those who fall under God’s judgment will be punished forever.  The horror of that judgment is beyond human comprehension.

Does that shock you?  Does it bother you to think about spending eternity separated from God’s goodness, and under the full weight of His wrath, in a place called hell?

The idea of Hell should bother you, but for a different reason then it probably does.

It probably bothers you because you think it is unfair.  It should bother you because you know in your heart that it is what you deserve.

If you look at yourself in light of God’s law with a tender heart, you will not see it as unfair or arbitrary.

When looked at through the mirror of God’s law, we see that punishment as it truly is.  We see it as justice.

When is that last time you compared yourself to God’s law, in light of God’s perfect holiness?

Habakkuk 1 says “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”

Yet we have done evil in God’s site

Exodus 34 tells us that you will not leave the guilty unpunished.

Yet we are guilty before Him

GO THROUGH THE LAW OF GOD (10 Commandments) TO BRING CONVICTION OF SIN

But we are not here to condemn you.  Your condemnation comes from God, not us.

John 3 tells us:

Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

But we are here because we wish for you what Paul wished for the church in Thessalonica

We pray that God may make you worthy of His calling, that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you.

None of us are truly worthy of God’s calling.  But by His power, our lives can be changed.

Biblical salvation is not something we choose to do, but something God does in us.

Ezekiel 36 describes it like this:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

This is what happens when someone is born again, when they repent of their sins and trust in Christ alone.

Repentance is a change in direction.  It means turning away from sin, from those things that God hates and commands us to stay away from, and turning our eyes to Christ.

We must trust in Jesus Christ alone, because only He paid the penalty for sin.

2000 Years ago Jesus, God in human form, came to earth and lived the perfect life we could never live.

Then He willingly went to a Roman cross, and died a horrible bloody death, so that our moral crimes could be paid for, and we could go free.

Now He sits at the Father’s right hand as our advocate, our lawyer for the Day of Judgment.

Because of His sacrifice, all those who turn from their sin and trust in Him alone will be seen as clean.

Christians are right before God not because they are good, but because of the perfect goodness of Jesus Christ.

Only if we are clothed in Jesus Christ’s righteousness, only if His perfection has covered our sin, can we enter heaven.

So put your trust in Christ today.  Humble yourself and cry out to Him, and He will save you!

PLEAD WITH PEOPLE TO TURN TO CHRIST.  YOU MAY WANT TO REVIEW THE BASICS OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE AGAIN, WHEN CALLING PEOPLE TO REPENTANCE.

Romans 2 – God’s Kindness, Our Rebellion

Hello Project Ezra!  This week the suggested reading is Romans chapter 2.  I came across it during my daily Bible reading, and I can’t imagine why I didn’t chose to use the chapter sooner.  It is a wonderful chapter.  It has many great springboards into the gospel, but this week we will be focusing on verses 4 and 5, on God’s goodness and patience that is meant to lead us to repentance, but that we are instead storing up wrath for ourselves.  I also changed the focus of the use of the law, looking at our sins against God for the perspective of several of the 10 commandments. Though we sin against others, I was reminded again that our sins are ultimately against God, and when we consider that truth our sins take on a greater weight, a weight that I hope will be felt by those who hear the reading this week.  Thanks for being part of the project, and may God bless your time of outreach this weekend.

All for His glory,
Dan

INTRO

READ ROMANS 2

Do you presume on the riches of God's kindness and patience, not knowing that His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

Have you ever considered God's kindness toward you?

Have you ever considered how patient God has been with you?

Whether you would consider yourself a Christian or not, you know in your heart that there is a God.

And if you listen to your conscience for more than a minute, you will realize that God has every reason to be unspeakably angry with you.  And yet, He has held back His judgment.

We were created with a purpose, but each of us has acted in rebellion against that purpose

We are here for a reason, but in our hands that reason has been twisted and distorted, or simply ignored.

We were created for the glory of God, and for relationship with Him

But instead we try to avoid Him, and attempt to steal His glory for ourselves

When we talk about sin, we usually think about bad things we have done to other people

I often talk to people about God's law, and how every one of us has broken that law in regards to other people.

But in Psalm 51, David says “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. (Psalm 51:4, ESV)

That tells us that all our sins are primarily against God, and against other people only secondarily

If that is true, our sins are much more serious than most of us think

Take a moment to compare your behavior with God's law, and how that behavior relates to Him

We put ourselves uppermost in our own thoughts, when He should be, and so break the first commandments

We create gods in our own image, idols which we can control

In doing so we lie about who God is, to ourselves and others

We covet God’s sovereignty, claiming God’s power as our own. 

And rather than giving glory to God for who He is, we steal that glory for ourselves

Finally, we are unfaithful to the one who gave us life, and called us to relationship with Him

Even the smallest sin is infinitely sinful against an infinitely holy and perfect God.  But our sins have been anything but small.

Our rebellion has been against the Lord of the universe.  We are guilty of treason against the one who holds creation in a palm of His hand.

Indeed, as Hebrews 10 says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Romans 2 tells us, those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will receive wrath and fury from God.  And that is exactly what each of us deserves

God’s wrath and fury will be carried out in hell.

Those who find themselves there will spend all eternity paying the price for their sin and rebellion.

But though God is just in punishing those who break His law, He takes no pleasure in it

He takes pleasure when they turn to Him, and live

Some would argue that the fact that evil still exists means God is imaginary, or impotent

Instead, it shows that He is patient, and kind.

His patience and kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, and to faith in Jesus Christ.

2000 years ago a man was born in an out-of-the-way corner of the Roman Empire

That man, Jesus of Nazareth, was more than a Jewish teacher.

He was more than a healer, or a worker of miracles.

He was God in the flesh, perfect in every way.

And after living a perfect life for 33 years, he went to a Roman cross and willingly laid down His life.

He became the perfect sacrifice for sin, satisfying God’s perfect justice.

Then He rose again, proving His power over death, and ascended to God’s right hand.

Now those who turn away from their sin and rebellion, and turn to Him, trusting in His perfect sacrifice alone to save them, are made right with God.

Those who follow Christ will stand in heaven not based on their own goodness, but on the goodness of Jesus Christ, the God-man, the savior of the world!

He is the king of kings, and the lord of lord

Have you made your peace with the king?  Or will His wrath be revealed to you on the final day?

Don’t be foolish.  Don’t cling to your pride and lose soul.

Humble yourself.  Turn from your sin and to the savior

Repent and trust in Him today.  Turn to Christ and live!!