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(Note from Danny): The other day I was in a burger joint getting some breakfast and this lady asked me which Psalm was Psalm 19. (It happens to be my license plate on my car.) And I told her how it starts to refresh her memory of which one it is. When she left I got to thinking about the chapter as a whole. It has a definite progression. The psalmist starts out observing the sky and sees God's glory in it. Then he starts to reflect on God's Word and is brought to a realization that he is lost without God. And he ends by saying, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

I believe that the psalmist is basically trying to teach us that as we look at creation around us, it should draw us into a realization of God's glory and that we are lost without Him. Thus leading us to have a stronger desire to walk uprightly before Him and to listen to His voice even closer.

The end of that chapter has been my theme for decades. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

Read the rest of the article to see how I believe that the heavens declare the glory of God.....

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I have noticed that people are searching for the meaning of this passage. I don't think I have ever taught on it specifically. So I am going to try to explain my thoughts on what this passage means. I mean, how can stars sing? They are huge balls of burning gases and stuff, right? And in what way do they glorify God?

"The heavens declare the glory of God", how? Have you ever looked up into the night sky and thought, how does that glorify God? I used to. But then my second year in college, I got interested in astronomy. I would look at the pictures of various objects in the Messier catalog. And as I got older and looked at them more, I really began to be struck by the beauty of it all. I recommend you spend a few days, or weeks (years even) looking at the archives of the Astronomy Pic of the Day website by NASA. I can almost guarantee that after a few days you, too, will be struck by the beauty of the night sky. See I had a bit of an edge on most people who live in cities. I grew up in a very small town in south central Ohio. There were no cities near enough to me to create any city lights to block the night sky. So every evening when the sun went down and I happened to still be outside (which was most everyday in the summer), I could look up at the sky and see the extremely dense strip of stars and nebulae that make up what we can see of the Milky Way galaxy going right over my house. That started the love of the night sky in me. It just didn't really settle in until I joined Pegasus, the astronomy club at my college. Then I got to see the night sky through a telescope. Nothing like that in the whole world. (To the best of my current knowledge anyhow.) And once you begin to see the beauty of it all, you realize that only a loving creator could have done anything like that. And that is only looking at it. We aren't even talking about the physics of it all. Did you know that the core of the sun is 27,000,000 degrees Farenheit? And it burns up approximately 4,000,000 tons of its own mass every second, yet scientists believe that it is so large that it could last another 5 or 6 billion years? That is thoroughly amazing!

But still how can it say, "There is no speech nor language where there voice is not heard"? I want you to check out 2 pages. Well, make it 3. The first is from Stanford University and the second is from University of Birmingham UK. The first one is a page on Stanford's site that talks about the song of the sun. It is amazing what you can hear when you have the right equipment. I would listen to all of the files that they have. I found them very interesting. And actually very musical. (Be looking for a musical piece from me centering on these sounds.) Next go to University of Birmingham's solarsound page. And listen to their recordings. They have some amazing recordings as well. And remember that what you are hearing is recordings of the sun. Not wind or instruments, but that big yellow, burning ball in the daytime sky. Finally go to University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank site and listen to some pulsar's.

So as you can see the stars do sing. They do have a voice to declare the glory of God. Just as the Psalmist said many times and in many ways. "And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself." Psalm 50:6 "And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints." Psalm 89:5 "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof." Psalm 96:11 "The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory." Psalm 97:6 "Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights." Psalm 148:1 "Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens." Psalm 148:4 These are just a few examples of the scriptures and of the songs of stars. Search the web and you will find many sites on radio astronomy. There is even an internet radio station that is nothing but radio astronomy sound. It is Radio-Astronomy.net. If you click on the little speaker on the top of the Listen page, it should play in whatever you use to stream mp3's. It is some interesting listening. May not make the Top 40, but it is kind of cool.

Hopefully this clears up how a star can declare God's glory. How it can have a voice to be able to sing His praises. If it does, then the rest of the passage is pretty self-explanatory. Music is a universal language. It evokes pretty much the same emotional responses in everyone regardless of whether they can understand what the person is saying or not. We can not understand what the stars are saying, but we can listen to the music of their song and understand how the music makes us feel. Now if one believes that the stars were merely created by the big bang and there is no God that had a hand in their creation, then their song is meaningless. But if one believes that a loving, creative, and intelligent God created the stars to sing His glory, then their song becomes something of great beauty and love.

There are two things I want to leave you with. One is a video of a song/musical arrangement that I did a few years ago. I had seen a picture of Orion's nebula just after having read Psalm 8:3-4 "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?" And that started the spark for Psalm 19 Records, et al. And then I went to the International Worship Institute that summer and heard Matt Redman speak on the Wonder and Majesty of God. And the whole thing just came together. I knew then what the Psalmist was trying to say. Take a look at this video, please. If you want to know exactly what stellar noises I used in the piece email me and I will send you the list. Then take a look at this one last thing. Just 'below and to the left' of the 'leftmost' star in the handle of the big dipper is a galaxy known as M51, the Whirlpool galaxy. Scientists have discovered what they believe to be a black hole in the center of M51 that has caused a structure of dust and gas that forms a large 'X' that may be around 100 light years across. Now if you look at the image, do you see an 'X' or do you see what I see? A cross. I believe God placed a reminder of the gospel within M51 for when we could finally see it, to remind us of His love.

Does this help clear up Psalm 19? Feel free to email me if you have any other questions about this or any passage. I will do my best to answer them or steer you to someone I believe can answer them.

Psalm 19:4-8
4 In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The most prominent celestial body in the sky is our sun. This, of course, is due to it's proximity. But this passage says that the sun is also a very happy and excited celestial body. How do I know this? Verse 5 says that the sun is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. I know how I felt the morning after my wedding night and it definitely wasn't sad or gloomy. Rather I was ecstatic. And I am no athlete but if I was, I can imagine that I would be rather excited to participate in my sport for the big game. Like, I doubt any of the guys in the Super Bowl were thinking, "I wish I didn't have to be here today." They were mostly likely all very excited to be able to play in the Super Bowl.

We now know that the earth's spin is what makes the sun appear to traverse the sky. But I believe the point is that it will always make it's journey from east to west in the sky. It doesn't matter where you live you will see it. You can not hide from it unless you live deep within a cavern. The far north may not get to see it some during the winter, but it always returns in spring. There is no hiding from it. Just as there is no hiding from God. Psalm 139:7-12 says, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." If we can not hide from the sun, why would we think we can hide from God? Anyhow, I digress. With our technological advances, we can now sit in air conditioning and keep cool even in the heat of the Arizona desert. But when the psalmist wrote this, he did not have such comforts. There is no hiding from the heat of the sun when you live in the desert. I live in the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona. During the summer, the temperatures are always in the triple digits. It gets hot. If you are outside, you can't hide from the heat of the sun. Even in the shade it is hot. The core of the sun is 27 million degrees farenheit. The surface is 9000 degrees farenheit. That is the same temperature as the core of the earth. Watch some videos of volcanic eruptions. As the lava flows everything in it's path is incinerated. And it has already cooled a lot by the time it reaches the surface.

The whole point I believe of the first half of this chapter in Psalms is that we serve an awesome God. There is none like Him in all creation. He created the sun, but causes the earth to spin so that we can have some respite from it's heat. But so we would remember that the sun is still there at night, He created the moon to reflect the light of the sun. Let us always remember how awesome our God is. He created the entire universe, holds it in the palm of His hand. Yet He loves us so much that He gave His Son to die for us. He truly is awesome.

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(Psalm 8:3,4 KJV)
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

Have you looked up in the sky on a beautiful clear night? Especially out in the country where the lights of the city can't interfere with the view. I grew up in the country in southern Ohio and the nights skies were always phenomenal. I started to have a growing love for the stars and the wonders of space. The above picture is M31, Andromeda Galaxy, which is 2 million light years away and yet can be seen with the unaided eye within the constellation Andromeda. There are many wonders within the heavens and if you have never taken the time to look up, do so. (Or at least take a look at the Astronomy Pic of the Day.) The Lord God Almighty is the Maker of Heaven and Earth. He created all the stars, moons, planets, nebulae, blackholes, dark matter, supernovae, pulsars, quasars, all of the universe. And He did this how? In verse 3 above we see that He made it with His fingers! He is a powerful and awesome God. He is in need of nothing, and no one. But what does the Word say? 'What is man that you are mindful of him?'

What is man? (Genesis 1:26 KJV) "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." We are made to represent Him in the earth. We are to be His representatives. That carries with it the authority that He has, we have. (Ephesians 2:5-7 KJV) "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." God has seated each of us, that believe in and call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in heavenly place with Christ.

Where is Christ seated? (Ephesians 1:19-23 KJV) "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." So Christ has been seated at the right hand of the Father to reign supreme with Him. But Ephesians 2 said that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. That means we have the same authority as Christ. We can walk in the same power and authority that He does. Psalms 8 says that God "hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." (Psalm 8:5b, 6 KJV) Why would He do this? Why would the God who created all of this with His fingers give us, mere men, dominion over all the Earth?

God never does anything without a purpose. So what is His purpose in giving us the same power and authority that Christ has? Ephesians 2:7 says, "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." That He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and kindness. That all may know of His love for us. The Word says that angels look at salvation and wonder. (1 Peter 1:10-12 NLT) "This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen. They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours. And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen." And this is His salvation that He would not only give His Son for us, but that He would give us His Son's authority while on earth. We don't have to wait until we get to heaven to have this authority. We have it right now. Ephesians 1 says that we not only have this authority in this world but in the world to come. So that tells me that we have this authority now. So let us choose to love God and follow Him. Let us choose to live in the 'image and likeness' of the Most High God.

 

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Genesis 32:24-32
24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" 27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." 28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Are you Jacob or Israel?

Have you ever wondered why on earth Jacob would wrestle all night with an angel? Some scholars even believe that this was actually Christ Himself. Why would he dare to wrestle with God or even an angel for that matter? Let's look at his life. He was called Jacob because it mean 'supplanter'. He had hold of Esau's heel when he came from the womb. He took Esau's birthright and his blessing basically by means of trickery. (Of course, this wouldn't have happened if Esau had valued them as he should have.) He had spent almost 2 decades in the service of his father-in-law, who changed his pay 10 times trying to get out of paying him at all. Now he was returning home as the Lord God had told him to. But Esau was coming to meet him, so Jacob was afraid. He no longer wanted to be Jacob, the supplanter or the trickster. He wanted to change his spots, so to speak. He wanted a blessing from the Lord that he didn't have to trick anyone to get.

Now if he had quit wrestling with the Lord, would he have gotten his blessing? I don't think so, for the Word says that day was breaking when he even asked for the blessing. I believe that Jacob thought if he could win the wrestling match, he would then have the right to a blessing. But what he didn't realize is that God blesses for the strength of our resolve and hearts, not the strength of our muscle. We need that same bulldog tenacity that Jacob had that night. Christ said in one of His parables that the king, who regarded no man, would grant the request of the widow 'because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' (Luke 18:5)

In Matthew 7, Christ says, 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' Each one of these verbs is in a tense that means to not stop doing it. Ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. If we don't give up, we will receive the blessing. The writer of Hebrews says, 'Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.' (Hebrews 4:14) The word profession is translated elsewhere as 'confession'. It means to say the same thing as God with the same motive of heart as God. Christ has been seated at the right hand of God and makes intercession for us. Our part is to hold fast our confession of faith and to not let go no matter what. Just as Jacob held on to the angel and would not let go except the angel blessed him, we need to hold on to God and not let go even though He blesses us. We need to hang on until we are no longer Jacob, the supplanter, but we are Israel, the prince of God.

 

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1 Peter 2:13-25
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men-- 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (emphasis added)

Honor The King

With the elections being today, I wanted to cover a topic that the church really needs to grasp. Honor the king. We need to learn that when we disrespect the authority over us, then we disrespect God. Romans 13:1-2 says, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." He who resists the authority placed over them, resists God. Power here is exousia, which in Greek is authority, magistrate, jurisdiction. I like that word, jurisdiction. Resist the one that has jurisdiction over you and you resist God. We Americans tend to think that we have a right to gripe and complain about authority, but the Word says that if we gripe about those in authority, then we gripe about the one who put them there. For "there is no jurisdiction, authority, power that is not of God." Resist is antitassomai, to arrange oneself against, to oppose. Sure, as Americans we have the right to speak out against the authority and what we see them doing wrong. However, if we are to be like Christ, we must lay down our rights and will and pick up the will of God. Christ said that He can do "nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." (John 5:19NKJV)

Let’s go back to that word, ‘honor’. The Greek word ‘honor’ is timao. This word translates as to esteem, to fix a value upon. In other words, we are to value as precious those in authority over us. Tell me something, if we question everything they do and gripe about them constantly. If we ridicule and mock them, do we esteem them as precious? I don’t believe so. If you truly value someone as precious you don’t ridicule or question everything they do. I would never ridicule my wife or question what she does. And she would never ridicule me or question my decisions. We value each other as precious, we honor each other.

The Word does tell us what we should do. In 1 Tim 2:1-3 God says, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour." So we are to pray for them and give thanks for them. This is the way we will live a ‘quiet and peaceable life’. We need to pray that God gives them wisdom. Even if they do not follow God, He controls their heart. Proverbs says, 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." So God is in control. Don’t fret about what the President does or doesn’t do. As long as he doesn’t tell us to do something that goes directly against God’s Word, then give him the honor and respect due his office. And pray for him that he has wisdom and understanding and that he would come to know God as his Lord and Saviour.

So as the elections come to a close today. Let us remeber to honor the President and pray for him, whomever he may be.

 

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James 1:3-4
"Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

The testing of our faith works patience. Or when we are placed in a situation where we must choose between faith or doubt, the decisions for faith that we make will continuously, even after the test, work energetically towards patience. But if we choose to doubt then that test will work energetically away from patience. We are always growing. We are either growing stronger in the Lord, or we are growing stagnant.

So many times when we are in the trial, we cry Lord deliver me from this trial. When we should cry Lord guide me through this trial. For if we are removed from the trial before we have learned what we needed to, then we will not have the revelation to be able to accomplish what God has in store for us. If we go to tech school to be an IT tech, but we quit halfway through, then we are bound to come across problems that we don't know how to handle. And we will not be able to perform the task at hand with confidence and accuracy. However, if we allow the teacher to guide us through the course then, when the course track has had it's complete and thorough work and we graduate, we will face each challenge with the confidence of one who has experiential knowledge. So if we will stay in the trial and cry, "Lord, guide me through this trial!" rather than, "Lord, deliver me from this trial!", then once we come out on the other side and have learned what that God is faithful, we will have the strength and the clarity needed to face the next test.

 

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James 1:6-8
Let him ask continuously without a hint of questioning or deliberating in his mind whether he will receive. Why is this? Why must we not question God's willingness to give? Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith you do not have the power to be well-pleasing to Him. For if we doubt His willingness to give then we doubt who He is. And if we doubt who He is, then we doubt His very existence. And since He is the 'I AM', the self-existent one, then doubting Him is doubting His glory or goodness. Therefore do not have even a hint of questioning in your mind when you ask. For His word also says, "for he who asks continuously, shall receive".

But why are we like the waves if we doubt? He isn't speaking of the ocean here, this word is thalassa or sea as in the Sea of Galilee. Waves of the ocean will get to shore regardless of the wind, however the waves in a sea like the Sea of Galilee, start for shore by the tidal pull of the moon, however, if a storm arises the wind can blow the waves wherever the wind is blowing. We can start for the receiving of God's promise but, if we are like the waves of a sea, we will be blown off course and doubt God by any contrary circumstance that comes along. God would rather us be like ocean waves and reach our destination regardless of the outside forces acting against us. For this shows Him and all of nature that we have faith in Him above all.

How does this show that? Let's go back to the waves. Why is it that the ocean waves will follow the tidal pull more than any outside force that acts on it, where the waves of a sea can be blown about by a strong wind? Simply put the moon has a stronger influence or pull on the ocean than the sea. The ocean has more mass than a sea; therefore the moon exerts more of a gravitational pull on the ocean than the sea. Look at it as the degree to which we believe God will cause us to be pulled more by Him and His Word than outside forces. So the point at which we start to question, is the point at which our faith stops. So if we will believe what God has told us until someone else says something different, that is the end of our faith. If we believe God until we see something that says the opposite, that is the end of our faith. However, if we believe God regardless of any outside force, then God is the end of our faith. At what point do you start to question what God has said? I want to leave you with this; there was a woman that had a very large goiter (growth on her throat) who came to a meeting held by Smith Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth prayed for her and she glorified God for healing her. Smith came back to that same area a year later and that same woman came in and testified of how God had healed her the year before. That would not have been strange, except that everyone there could see the goiter was still there. However, she believed in God not the goiter. The next year, the same thing happened. Then the third year when she again testified of how God had healed her, people came up to her and asked how she could say God had healed her when the goiter was bigger than ever. That night she asked God to let others see His healing as she saw His healing. The next night when she came to service the goiter was gone. She knew her destination, and was not going to let anything keep her from it. God's pull on her faith was so great that no wind or doctrine could steer her away from the One she believed in. She was steadfast and God was the end of her faith.

 

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James 1:2,3 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." But how can it create patience in our lives? And he goes on to say, "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." So are we to stay in the trial? Are we not to seek the way out? Are we to walk through valley of the shadow of death? Why doesn't the Lord just lift us out of it? So that patience may have her complete work. If we don't stay in the trial and yield to God in the trial, then the work being done by patience may be birthed prematurely. That is an appropriate word. For the word complete in the Greek, is teleion. This means complete, perfect or mature. So if we do not, hupomenoi, remain up under the work that God is doing in our lives then that work will not be mature, and therefore we will not be mature.

How do we manage to remain in the trial in a way that will allow patience to have her complete and perfect work? We need to decide what we are going to yield to. Do we yield to the pressure of the trial? Or do we yield to the presence of the Most High?

1 Peter 4:12-14, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."

Not exactly what we think of when we think that we are blessed and should rejoice, huh? But Peter says that we should rejoice in the fiery trial. Paul tells us several times to rejoice in our trials. And, as we see above, James says to 'count it all joy'. Why on earth would they say that? They had learned to yield to the presence not the pressure.

In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul says, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

See Paul had learned to be, autarkes, content or happy whether he was able to stuff himself with food, or if he was to starve. Whether he had everything that he could desire, or had nothing whatsoever. How? In his own words, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." He had learned that it is the presence of Christ in our lives that, endunamounti, continuously empowers us. So this is not a one time thing. We don't get saved and then we have all the power we will ever need. Nor do we get baptized in the Holy Ghost and have all the power we will ever need. No, we need to be continuously in His presence so that He can continuously give us the power we need to "let patience have her perfect work".

Let us look at an example of a common person who yielded to the presence and not the pressure. "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." (Mark 12:41-44)

Here we see a certain widow who gave all she had into the temple treasury. Now, the way I understand this, this box was the 'poor box'. The temple would use it for alms. She could have said, 'I am poor therefore, I should keep my money since the temple should be giving this money to me anyhow.' But she wasn't looking at her circumstances, she didn't yield to the pressure of poverty. Instead, she yielded to the presence of the Most High and gave all she had.

What happens when we yield to the pressure? How do we know we are yielding to pressure? There are several ways to tell when we are yielding to the pressure rather than the presence. And I will list a few of them.

1 Focus on the problem
When we yield to the pressure our eyes get on the problem and we can't seem to get over it. Have you ever noticed that if you look at a problem long enough it tends to get bigger? If we focus too much on the problem then we get so we can't see anything else. God didn't design us to worry. When you worry, there are even physical problems that can result. Christ tells us in Matthew 6 to 'take no thought for tomorrow'. I believe we can take this to all of our problems. In 1 Peter 5 we are told to 'cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you.' This is what we are to do. Christ told us to take up His yoke for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:30) Why is His yoke easy and His burden light? I would say that it is because He carries the majority of it. We only carry enough to know that we are with Him. We are the little donkey pulling with a bunch of Clydesdales. So we need to focus on Him and let Him focus on the problem. When Christ walked the earth, what was it that He said He did? When a leper would come to Him, did He worry how He was going to heal this leper? No, He said that He could do nothing of Himself, but that which the Father showed Him, that He did in like manner. (John 5:19) So we should do the same. When a problem arises, don't look at the problem, look at the Father. And that which the Father shows you, so do you in like manner. This will always succeed.

2 Get Discouraged
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." (John 14:1) Don't get discouraged. When we yield to the pressure, we will get discouraged. That is Satan whole idea by putting us under pressure. If he can't puff us up with pride, then he will beat us down with discouragement. Don't allow him that satisfaction. If we yield to the pressure we will get so we think that we are not worthy of being in the Lord's presence. Or that we are not worth anything to Him and He can not use us for anything. But when we yield to the presence we know that we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". (Philippians 4:13)
There are times when we all feel like God has left us. When we feel like we are walking through a dark valley. The dark enchanted forests we read about in kids books. We traverse the forest starting at every little croak and snap we hear. But what is it that the book of Psalms say? "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."(Psalm 23:4) Notice that the psalmist didn't say 'I will fear no evil for You lift me out of the valley.' No, he said 'for You are with me'. God doesn't promise to lift us out of the valley. We have to go through the valley sometimes in order to grow. God may know what the response of our heart will be, but He wants us and all creation to see what that response will be. I know when you are in the valley all you want is to get out and see daylight again. But if you will remain, the reward at the end is so much sweeter. I know that there was a time when I walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Lord, it seemed like the valley of death, forget the shadows. I cried many times for God to deliver me from the valley. But I knew in my heart that He was with me. And eventually my head caught up with my heart and I decided that it didn't matter if God delivered me from the valley or if He allowed me to walk through it the rest of my life. I finally decided that, like Job, I was going to say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation." (Job 13:15,16a) And as I my spirit and soul learned to rejoice in the Lord and praise Him in the darkness, I saw the light at the end of the valley. And God has brought me out of the valley. Now in my mind, I would like to never go through something like that again. But because I did, I believe that the next time I have to go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for my Lord is with me and His rod and staff will comfort me. I know that I can do it, for I have.

3 Crack
Now I find the Greek language fascinating. At least ancient Greek that is. The reason for this is that so much of our language actually comes from ancient Greek. Take for instance the Greek word for pressure or press down which is piezo. Now anyone who works in electronics knows this word. For it is used to refer to a substance, usually a crystal, that when pressure is applied will vibrate at a certain frequency. So in the case of a crystal, when one applies pressure to it by applying electricity to it, while encased so it can't expand when heated, it will vibrate at the frequency dictated by it's material and size. That is the way it is supposed to work. But sometimes the crystal gets more electricity than it can handle and it will crack instead.
Now we are kind of like that crystal. When trials come our way they put pressure on us. God said in His Word that He would never allow more than we can handle. So we should always be able to handle anything that comes our way. But we can only do it through Christ. When we yield to His presence we will vibrate with the praises of Him, as we were created to do. However, we if we yield to the pressure then we will crack under that pressure.

Now if we yield to the presence rather than the pressure our outlook is completely different. The problem is in no wise too big for God to handle and we realize that we were not designed to handle the problem. So we follow the Word of God and "cast all our cares on Him for He cares for us". (1 Peter 5) I heard Rod Parsley, pastor of World Harvest Church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, tell one time of a woman in his congregation who came to him and started telling him of all the troubles she was going through. Well she was a bit surprised when Pastor Rod started to dance. She looked at him incredulously and asked, "Didn't you hear what I am going through?" He replied, "Listen to your own words, you are 'going through'. If you are going through, you are not remaining there but God is bringing you out." So rejoice that He is delivering you. He is not making you remain in the trial but bringing you through the trial. Psalm 23 says, "Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death". (emphasis added) We are not remaining any longer than we wish to. I truly believe that when we learn to praise Him through the trial then the trials will get shorter.

I can talk all I want on how the trying of our faith works patient and let patience have her complete work that we will be lacking nothing, but that isn't going to convince anyone to rejoice in the midst of it. I know, for I remember when I was going through the valley. The thing that helped me most was the book of Psalms and songs that spoke of God's faithfulness through trials. So I am going to leave you with a song.

"As I sit in the darkness
Being deafened by silence
I start to wonder
Where are You, Lord? But I know in my heart
That You are still with me
You'll never leave me
You gave me Your word

So in the shadows
I will still praise You
I'll lift my voice
Louder than before
And when the darkness
Bears down upon me
From deep down within me
Your praises will pour

When it gets to be midnight
The fear overwhelms me
I feel so lonely
That I start to cry

But You said in Your Word
That joy comes in the morning
And Your Spirit will lift me
To the cotton candy sky

So in the shadows
I will still praise You
I'll lift my voice
Louder than before
And when the darkness
Bears down upon me
From deep down within me
Your praises will pour"
("In the Shadow" words and music by Danny Groff © 2005)

 

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As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas season, let us not forget to give to our Father in heaven who has given us so much. My kids make out Christmas wish-lists for me so that my wife and I can make sure that we are buying things for them that they desire. I know that I don't like looking forward to opening a Christmas present only to find something that I don't like or want. So I try not to give someone something that I don't think that they would like to have. Something that is a desire of theirs. But what do you get the person who not only has everything (for the earth is His and the fullness thereof-Psalm 24:1), but created everything(John 1:3). I believe this would be the start of God's Christmas wish-list:

1. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
a. When I think of what God desires or wishes this is the first thing that comes to mind. Now I love going back to the original Greek text and seeing what it says. I happen to use the Majority Text compiled by Hodges/Farstad. The Greek word for 'willing' here is boulomenos - to continuously wish or desire something. This isn't will as in what is God's will or plan for us but more like a desire like I desire to own a 12 string acoustic guitar. So God doesn't wish or desire any to be apolesthai - utterly destroyed, but all should metanoian - have their mind renewed. What does it say in Romans 12? Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. God is no respecter of persons, we know that Christ came for all and died for all, that we all might have eternal life.

2. John 4:23 "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him."
a. When God created Adam, they had a relationship that was lost when Adam fell. And God has been seeking that relationship since. When Christ died and rose again, we were given the opportunity to have that relationship with God. The word 'seeks' in this verse is zetei - to seek for something that you strongly desire, typically something that you have lost. The Father is seeking for true worshipers for this is what He strongly desires.

3. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
a. The word 'will' here isn't the typical word thelema. Thelema is will but it is more along the lines of what are your plans or ambitions. As when Christ said 'Not my will (plans or ambitions) but yours be done'. The Father desires or wishes to give the gifts of the Spirit to those who serve Him. The gifts are for proving His Word to be true. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" (Hebrews 2:3,4) Thereby the world can believe. The vast majority of the time, Christ and the apostles (through Christ's name and power) healed the people before they repented and believed. The gifts of the Spirit are so the world will know that they can believe in He who sent that Spirit.

4. Hebrews 6:13-17 "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing (wishing or desiring) more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:"
a. God desires above all things to show us, the heirs of the promise, the total 'unchangeableness' of His promise to us. I like the way the Revised Standard Version put verse 17: "In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath." You see if we don't believe Him, how can we convince the world to believe Him? So He has given us record of His promises fulfilled so that we may believe. For we know that, "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

So let us give the Father the things He desires.
1. Let us 'be transformed by the renewing of our minds' (Romans 12:2)
2. Let us worship Him in spirit and in truth
3. Let us give ourselves over to Him so that He may give us the gifts of the Spirit
4. Let us 'believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who search for Him out of a strong desire'

 

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John 4:23-24 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

This is a passage that I have been pondering on for awhile now. My prayer has been continuously, "Lord, please teach to worship in spirit and in truth." I believe I have a decent understanding of worshiping in spirit. Allowing the Holy Spirit to guide my own private worship and when I am lead worshiper at church. I think I am getting a pretty good handle on that part of it. But to worship in truth. What does that mean? I don't lie when I worship. How can I? Anything I attribute to God that is good is going to be true. He truly is my salvation, my provider, my healer, my refuge, my rock, my fortress. He truly will never leave me nor forsake me, but He truly will always be by my side to help me through anything. I have heard this, I have seen this, ---- I have lived this. I have not only heard this with my ears and spoken it with my mouth, but I have seen this with my very own eyes. He has provided for me and been there to pull me through. So what does it mean to worship in truth?

I consider myself a bit of a student of Greek, the language the New Testament was written in. So let's look at what Christ was saying literally in that passage. He said that true worshipers "en pneumati kai aletheia dei proskunein." Okay, what does that mean? Let's look at it word for word. 'En' pretty self explanatory - in. 'Pneumati' literally means breath, and is used for wind and Spirit. So our worship must be the breath of our spirit but it must be a breath that is supplied by the Holy Spirit. 'Kai' -- simply a conjunction, and. 'Aletheia', here is where the crux of this lesson lies. Aletheia is always translated as truth or true. But the 'letheia' part is lethe when un-conjugated. If any readers happen to know any Greek mythology, you will recognize the word. Lethe in Greek mythology is one of the rivers of Hades. One drink from this river will cause the drinker to forget all that has ever happened before. The word lethe literally means to forget. Coming from the root lanthano, meaning to conceal. The 'a' at the beginning of the word aletheia denotes a negation. So it negates the letheia. Making it to mean to un-forget or un-conceal. What is it to un-forget something? It of course means to remember. But what is un-conceal? Aaahh, to reveal. Worship is a response to revelation. (To really understand this buy and read Matt Redman's book 'Facedown'.)

So we must remember the revelation that we have been given of who Christ is and what He has done. I have to admit that I had forgotten the revelation I had of Him a few years ago. It is so easy to get complacent in our walk of worship. I had a revelation of how He is there to help us through trials awhile back. I was going through a very bad time in my life and really wasn't sure about a lot of things. But when I would get by myself and just basically whine to God about what I was going through, He would always remind me that He is there all time.

"You were there all the time
Holding out Your hand reaching for mine
Telling me how much You care
And all the time, all the time You were there"
("You Were There" ©2005 Danny Groff)

But the situation was taken care of and I had become happy and content again. And complacent. I had forgotten the revelation of how He is always there. I have written several songs based on that idea over the past few years, but I tended not to remember the revelation any longer when I worshiped God. But recently God has reminded me. When I started to look at how I worship compared to what Christ said about true worshipers. Do I worship in truth? I don't think I am completely there yet but I do believe that I am on my way now.

So let us always strive to remember the revelation. For it is in the revelation that we find the truth of who He is and what He has done.

 

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Psalm 33:8
"Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him."

I consider myself one of the biggest promoters of the need for a sense of wonder in our view of God. But there are times when I am by myself and I sit and wonder. Not at God’s goodness, not at His mercy, not even at His might and power. Rather I wonder if I truly wonder in God at all. Do I truly have a sense of awe in Him? Do my thoughts of Him cause me to stop and go, "Hmmm"? Or do I just take Him for granted. How do I know? How can I tell if I am truly in awe of God?

I don’t believe you can be truly in awe of God until you fear Him. One of the definitions of the word used for awe in the above text is: to dread, fear, stand in awe, to be afraid. To truly be in awe there must be a sense of fear. 1 Samuel 12:14 says. "If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God." If we fear the Lord, then we would obey the Lord. Hmmm. What did God say to King Saul through Samuel?

"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22) To obey is better than sacrifice. We bring the sacrifice of praise, but do we obey His voice?

Another interesting note in 1 Samuel 12:14 is that God said that if we fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice and do not rebel against Him the not only will we continue to follow the Lord but so will the king who reigns over us. Hmmmm. So He is saying that if we don’t like what the president is doing and we think he isn’t following God, then rather than complain or protest, we should examine our own lives and make sure that we are truly following God. So if I truly wonder at God, if I have a true awe of Him and fear Him as I ought, then the whole country will be affected by it. Not just my life, and my family’s lives, but my neighbors’, my friends, my co-workers, my bosses, everyone. So let us learn how to wonder at Him in every sense of the word.

 

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John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

He has appointed us that we should 'go' and bear fruit. But what is He referring to? I was always taught growing up that this meant that we were to go witnessing and lead people to Christ. Which I believe is something that we are supposed to do. However, I don't believe that this is what Christ was referring to at this time. In the verses before this Christ had been talking about the vine and the branches. That He is the vine and we are the branches and that if we abide in Him then we produce fruit. Everyone would agree that when He said that, He was referring to inward fruit. So why would He all of a sudden switch gears to refer to outward fruit? Christ was never about what we do, as much as He was about what we believe in our hearts. For out of the heart of man, the mouth speaks; or the body does. But He said to 'Go'. That is a command. Let's take a look at what He said in the language He was speaking at the time: hina humeis hupagete kai karpon pherete. Hupagete, meaning to withdraw, or be lead away. A good example of what I believe He was referring to is found in Mark 6:30-33, "30Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. 33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him." In this passage the disciples has just gotten back from the missions trip that Jesus had sent them on and they were telling Him what had happened. But there were so many people wanting Jesus' and the disciples' attention that they didn't even have time to eat, more less rest. So Jesus told them to get off by themselves and rest. But in verse 33 the crowds saw them departing, hupagontas, withdrawing to refresh. See Christ said in John 15:5 that whoever abides in Him and He in them will bear much fruit. For without Him we can do nothing. I believe that those times when we get off by ourselves and just spend time in God's presence, allowing Him to shape us and mold us, that is when we bear much fruit. For we are abiding in Him. And why are we to retreat to bear fruit? Because when we get off where there are no distractions, then we are more able to give God our full attention and He can do a greater work in us. This is why the fruit that we bear when we are alone with God remains. It is when we take what God is wanting to birth within us to heart and make a quality decision to keep it and cultivate it so that it continues to grow that we shall receive whatever we ask of the Father in the name of Jesus. For I believe that it is then that we will not be asking outside of His will.

So in conclusion, we need to take the time to get off by ourselves and spend time alone with God. No distractions of any kind to keep us from the mission at hand. To learn of Him and to spend time with Him. For the more time we spend with someone, the more we become like them. And we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt. 5:48) But we can only do this by being alone with Him, by ourselves, with no distractions.

 

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The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4 NKJV)

If you go outside on a clear night and look up, what do you see? Are you like Pumbaa from Disney's 'The Lion King' and see "balls of gas burning billions of miles away"? Or are you like his buddy, Timon that always thought they were fireflies that got stuck in the sky? Or maybe you take a more scientific approach and think of them as huge natural nuclear reactors. When I look up into the night sky, I see the glory of the Lord of all creation, maker of heaven and earth.

The book of Psalms says that the heavens declare the glory of God. The book of Romans says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. " (Romans 1:20 NIV) We can see from this passage that God placed them there to show us His glory. That way we would have no excuse for not worshiping Him. For we look at the vastness of space and the billions upon billions of stars and we have to remember that He laid out the heavens. "He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear (the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, constellations in the northern sky of the northern hemisphere) and Orion (a constellation in the eastern sky of the northern hemisphere), the Pleiades (a star cluster in the eastern sky of the northern hemisphere) and the constellations of the south." (Job 9:8-9 NIV) He alone made the stars and put in them into configurations that we could recognize so we could find our way around the earth that He made. He holds the universe in the palm of His hand. That is unfathomable to me. I can't even comprehend how big God is. Or how powerful. Look at the account of creation in Genesis 1. Genesis says that God spoke and the universe came into being. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time getting things to come out right when I make them with my hands and power tools. But God spoke all that is into being and the Word says that it was good, or perfect. I find that to be awesome.

How can you look into the night sky and see the stars and not be in awe of Him. Scientists believe that there are more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sand on the face of the planet. This includes ocean floors and deserts, etc. But we serve such wondrous and wise God that He knows each of the 100 billion trillion stars (that is 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars) by name. Psalm 147:4 says, 'He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.' I'm lucky if I can remember the names of everyone in my church (and it is pretty small), there is no way I could remember each star's name. Even if I could know it. But we serve an all powerful, all knowing God.

But the thing is, with all of His power and all of His wisdom. That is not all of His glory. What did the Psalmist say? "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Psalm 115:1) To His name be the glory because of His love and faithfulness. You see, He is a sovereign King. He is THE Sovereign of all kings. There is none that is higher than He. When Adam fell, He could have wiped the slate clean and started all over. Who would have questioned Him? Who would have had the authority? No one. But yet, He loved us so much that He paid the price for us to be able to come into His presence once again. THAT is His glory!! He is, as one of the ancient desert fathers once said, Most Omnipotent, Most Holy, Most Righteous, Most Omniscient, Most Sovereign, Most Loving, Most Faithful, Most Gracious, Most Kind. Even though if He but close His hand we would cease to exist and no one would be able to question or blame Him, He loves us so much and desires fellowship with us so much that He paid the ultimate sacrifice to redeem us to Himself. And on top of that, He doesn't force a relationship with Him on us. We can still choose to reject Him if we please. Even once we accept Jesus as our Lord, we don't HAVE to work on the relationship or serve Him. But He desires it enough that He will continue to call.

Let us recognize His Glory, His love and give Him the love and worship that He desires.

 

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Psalm 23:4
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me."

There are times in our lives when we don't seem to be able to find God's presence. Times when we feel as if our prayers get about 4 feet above our heads and then fall flat. In those times we may even start to wonder if we should even go on pretending to pray or to worship God. I went through one of those times awhile back.

I had gone through a divorce that left me feeling like a complete failure, totally useless to anyone. But I had since remarried to a most wonderful woman, who is truly a gift from God. I had been on a mountain for a good while, but then it seemed like everything was going against me. It wasn't anything I could really put my finger on, my marriage was still wonderful, I was the worship pastor at a church where the pastor pretty much gave me free reign for the music of the church. But I just felt discontented and like God wasn't really listening when I prayed. I knew in my head that He would never leave me nor forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5) But for the life of me, I couldn't get past the feeling that I had been abandoned on the side of the road.

It was in the pit of this that I sat down to do some personal worship and just started playing my guitar. Since I was feeling abandoned and starting to feel like I did when my former wife first left me, the chord structure followed it and ended up in a very minor key. (Music majors will realize what that means. It means that your music will end up sounding very ominous, very sad; almost scary.) When I went to open my mouth and sing His praise, His worship, all that would come out was, "As I sit in the darkness/Being deafened by silence/I start to wonder/Where are You, Lord?" And I realized that was what my heart was crying at that moment. Where are You, Lord? As I continued the verse just poured from my heart; "But I know in my heart that You are still with me/You'll never leave me/You gave me Your Word." And when I finished that verse my whole mood changed. I realized that though I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I would fear no evil for He is with me. I was only going to go through the valley, I wasn't going to make it my dwelling place. And besides, it was only the shadow of death. It wasn't actually able to do me in. I was in His care, not my own. He really is with me at all times, even if I don't feel like He is. No, especially when I don't feel like He is.

When I had this revelation it started to affect what I was playing, and I shifted to a major key (major keys make music sound happy and light). And my heart's cry became, "So in the shadows/I will still praise You/I'll lift my voice even louder than before/And when the darkness/Bears down upon me/From deep down within me/Your praises will pour". When we find ourselves in times of darkness, times when we feel we are lost in the valley, don't let it take away our song. That is when we need to sing the loudest. That is when we need to praise Him even more than before. Then the valley may not go away, but it won't seem as dark as it once did. For things are never as bad when you have the best Companion to walk through it with you.

 

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I am going to discuss in this teaching, who is this Jesus? Who is this person that Christians everywhere revere as God, Himself, as the Messiah, the one who is faithful and true? Is He the Son of God, or just a good man and teacher? Is He a prophet who spoke of being free in the kingdom of God? Or is He more than that? C.S. Lewis, the British author of The Chronicles of Narnia amongst other books, said this,
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

The French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, said,
"I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of people would die for Him."

Throughout history people from all over the world have proclaimed that Jesus had to be more than mere man. Even those who did not follow Him believed this. Albert Einstein was a well-known physicist, mathmetician and proclaimed atheist, however, he said,
"As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene....No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life."
Even as an atheist, Einstein had to admit that Christ could be no myth. Napoleon said that Christ could not be a mere man, but that He had to be something more than man.

What The Prophets Said

Let's start with the Prophets of the Old Testament. Isaiah had quite a lot to say about the Christ, who He is, what He would do. Isaiah 7:14 says, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah said that He would be called Immanuel, literally meaning God with us. Proclaiming Him to be God come down to earth to live among men as a man. Isaiah also called Him Redeemer in 59:20 saying that the Redeemer will come to Zion.

"In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious." Isaiah 11:10 This verse proclaims that Christ is descended from David, therefore the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. And as rightful heir to the throne of David then He would reign as King of Israel. So He is declared in the inscription that Pilate had written on a sign on the cross, "This is Jesus, King of the Jews". Of course the Pharisees didn't want Him proclaimed as King of the Jews. I believe mostly because if the people believed this, they wouldn't listen to the pharisees anymore.

"The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land." Jeremiah 23:5 He will be descended from David. A king who will prosper. His name will be Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord is our Righteousness. II Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." So through the gift that God gave us we are able to stand righteous before the Most Holy God. If you read the Old Testament, this theme runs all through it. That He will be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times...He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace." Micah 5:2,4-5 Here Micah says that He will be the Ruler of Israel, but also says that He shall stand and feed His flock, referring to Him as a shepherd. Why would He be called a shepherd? Shepherds had to provide everything for their sheep. The sheep didn’t go out hunting for a place to eat. They were easily preyed upon by predators. They were easily spooked and would flee, scattering themselves. So the shepherd had to find them food, provide protection for them and find them a quiet place to rest. Christ provides all that we need. Philippians 4:19 says, "my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Christ referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10. He said that He was the Good Shepherd because He gave His life for the sheep. He gave His psuche in the Greek, or His will, ambitions and desires.

So the Old Testament prophets said that He was the rightful king of the Jews. That He would be a shepherd who would protect and provide for His flock. That He would pay the price required to redeem man back to God once again. If we desire the Garden of Eden, we need only to look to Christ. He is our Garden of Eden. In Him, we have all we would ever need. Audio Adrenaline did a song called What You Need. The chorus went like this:
It's not who you are, it's who you know It's not where you've been it's where you'll go It's not how you look, it's how you see It's not what you want, it's what you need

What we need is Jesus. He is the way the truth and the life.

What People that Knew Him Said

The People
Luke 2:25-32
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

Here we see Simeon proclaim Him to be the Lord's salvation sent to all people, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. So a devout man of Israel, not a priest was the first to recognize Christ as the Messiah. Many times in New Testament it says that the Pharisees didn’t make a move against Him for the people held Him as a Prophet.

John the Baptist
In John 1:29-31, John the Baptist, when he first sees Jesus, proclaims, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.”

The Disciples
In Matthew 16, when Christ asked who the people said He is, Peter replied, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” But when He asked who the disciples said He is, Peter replied, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-17)

The Pharisees
The Pharisees were divided as to who He is, some believing Him to be the Christ, the One prophesied to come and others believed Him to be a blasphemer. Nicodemus came to Him at night to question Him about savlation. He believed that Jesus was the Christ, the coming Messiah. But he didn't want to be put out of the temple. (see John 3)

Demons
About every time Christ came in the presence of someone possessed by a demon, the demon within them would cry out, like the Legion in Mark 5, “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God?” So the demons knew who He was. They knew that He had been prophesied to come. So they were afraid He had come to cast them into the lake of fire.

The Centurion at the Cross
However, I think the most profound proclamation of Him by someone who saw him came from the centurion standing at the foot of the cross when He died. It says in Mark 15:39 that when the centurion heard him cry out and give up the ghost, he said, “alethos outos o anthropos Uios Theou en.” Alethos, This is the truth, but probably better said, It has been revealed, my eyes have been opened and I know this is the absolute truth, this man is the son of God.

What He Said About Himself

In the 4 gospels, Christ referred to God as His Father at least 73 times. Thereby claiming Himself to be the Son of God.

Luke 4:17-21
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

This passage in Isaiah has long been held to be referring to the Messiah. So when He proclaimed that this scripture had been fulfilled by Him, He was proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah.

John 9:35-37
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."

I don't think He could get any plainer than this. The man who had been healed asked plainly who was the Son of God that he might believe on Him. And Christ plainly answered, "Me."

Mark 14:61-62
Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

If the last passage left any doubt as to who Christ claimed to be, this one removes it. When the High Priest asked, "Are you the Christos (Christ)". You have to remember this term The Christ was to be reserved for the prophesied Messiah. The one Isaiah mentions in chapter 7. To which Christ responded, "I AM." Some Bibles have these 2 words in all caps, why? By saying this the way that He did, He not only agreed that He is the Son of God, but that He is Ego eimi, The self-existent One. What is the significance of this? It is the very thing that God told Moses to tell the children of Israel when they asked who sent him. He told Moses to tell them that I AM sent him.

John 8:54-58
Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

Jesus not only proclaimed that God is His Father, but that before Abraham was even born, He was already the self-existent one. Here Jesus once again uses the term Ego eimi. You have to remember that this was a term that to the Jew was equivalent to saying that one was Jehovah’s equal, so Jesus was saying that when they spoke to Him, they were speaking to God. For He and God were one in the same.

John 10:30
I and My Father are one.

When you read this passage with the previous one in mind, it makes more sense. For when He said that He and the Father are one (esmen – forever remain in unity), you can see why He would use the same term that God used when He was speaking to Moses.

John 14:6, John 10
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Christ says that He is the only way, the only truth, the only life. For He said that no one comes to the Father but by Him. In the original Greek it would be better said that not even one person can come before the Father without Jesus. This is a hard statement. We want to think that everyone is going to heaven. But Jesus says that He is the only way to be in the presence of the Father. In John 10, He says that He is the only door into heaven and that anyone who tries to come or claims to know another way in is a thief and a robber. We would think a thief and a robber are the same thing, but in the Greek they are completely different. A thief is kleptes, one who takes something not belonging to them by stealth. This would describe someone who is trying to come into heaven by a road or a means other than acceptance of Jesus as their Lord. But a robber, or lestes, is one who takes something not belonging to them by violence. The men who beat up the person in the parable of the good Samaritan were robbers, or lestes. So to me this is talking about someone who teaches another way to get to heaven. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

John 3:16
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.

Christ is proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God and the only way to the Father. The Light of God, Jesus, came into this world but the world would rather remain in darkness than to have the light. (John3:19) But He doesn’t stop with the world when He walked it. But rather, He is calling today as well. In Revelation 3:20, Christ says that He stands at the door and knocks if anyone will open to Him, He will come in and have fellowship with them.

Who do you say He is?

I say, He is the only way. He is the only Truth. He is the one who was, who is and who is yet to come. He is the Almighty God. He is the one who saves us from all bondage. He is the one who loves us so dearly that He gave His life for us even though we deny Him over and over again. He is the mystery that cannot be fully understood although He is easy to comprehend.
Olson and Grenz, theologians who wrote the book - 20th Century Theology, said, "God is imminent within human experience as the transcendent mystery that cannot be comprehended in spite of its absolute nearness." In other words, if we think we have a grasp on God, we had better take a closer look at what we are holding on to. He is a mystery that we can not fully comprehend. But should we just give up trying? As the apostle Paul would say, God forbid. We should try all the harder because of this. For to get to know Him, it to get to be like Him. I like what I have heard Matt Redman say concerning the mystery of God:

He's the suffering servant who commands the universe
He's the sinless friend of sinners
He the lion and the lamb
He's the God who rests, but never sleeps
He's the God who issued these ornate designs for this grandiose temple made up of the most extravagant, elaborate materials you can imagine down to the tiniest detail, yet He's the God who witnessed a little widow putting in 2 tiny coins worth almost nothing in the world's eyes into the temple treasury and was utterly pleased with that.
He's the God of the infinite and the intimate
He's the King whose footstool is the earth, yet humbly He knelt down and washed the earth off the feet of His disciples
He's the one who hung in agony on beams of wood, that He, Himself, had called into being.

But who do YOU say He is?

It doesn’t matter for you who I say He is, it only matters who you say He is. Romans says that Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) And For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Rom. 10:10) In Matthew 10:32-33, Christ says that any who confess Him before men, He will confess before the Father and any who deny Him before men, He will have to deny them before the Father. You see God the Father gave us a gift 2000 years ago and we have but to receive that gift. And if you gave a gift to someone and they never received it because they denied that you gave it to them, wouldn’t that kind of tick you off? Well if we have been given the gift of eternal life and refuse the gift given to us by the Father, He has no choice but to allow us the end that we have chosen. If you have not yet received that gift, please do so now. Or if you had it at one time and have since lost it, it isn’t lost, the Father has it for you and is waiting for you to receive it once again. Remember, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (II Corinthians 6:2)

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Job 1:21, & 2:10
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."

I know, you're probably thinking, "Oh, joy. A teaching on misery and how it is good for us." I used to think the same thing whenever I heard someone mention that they were teaching on Job. But awhile back I was reading a book, I can't remember what one now, but the author mentioned something from Job that glorified God. So I went to check on the passage, and lo and behold, it amazed me at the glory of God! So I started looking at the book of Job and noticed that the book of Job talks a lot about the glory of God. So that is what I am going to be teaching on for the next few lessons. I have been teaching on this on Wednesdays at my church. And I just feel I should share this with the body as a whole.

Let's start with what Job says when he hears of all the disaster that has befallen him on that first fateful day. "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." I have heard many people say that this is incorrect and that the Lord gives but He doesn't take away. But I don't think that this is what was in Job's heart when he made this statement. I believe what was in his heart was that the Lord is sovereign and we have no place telling Him anything. Job 34:13-15 says "13 Who gave Him charge over the earth? Or who appointed Him over the whole world? 14 If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, 15 All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust." Did we give Him dominion over the earth? Did we set up the laws of physics? Did we create all there is? NO. He is Lord of all creation, maker of heaven and earth. There is none like unto Him in all the universe. Psalm 89:11 says, "The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them." He has established the earth (Psalm 93). "When I look into the heavens, see the works of Your hand. See the stars which You created, just as numerous as the sands." (Struck By Your Beauty - words and music by Danny Groff - from In the Shadows) " When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?"(Psalm 8:3,4) Scientists estimate that their are approximately 100 billion trillion stars in the known universe. That means that there are more stars in the known universe than there are grains of sand on the entire earth. (They estimate that there are approximately 1 billion trillion grains of sand.) Yet God holds the universe in the palm of His hand and, according to Psalms 147, "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name." That is the marvelous God we serve. But I digress. In the book of Psalms God says, "If I were hungry I would not tell you. For the earth is mine and all the fullness thereof." (Psalm 50:12) He is sovereign, He has no need of anything from us. I really like how Matt Redman put it in Breathing the Breath. "I have nothing to give that didn't first come from Your hand. I have nothing to offer You that You did not provide." (Breathing the Breath - words and music by Matt Redman - from Facedown)(sorry, Matt, if I messed up the words I was trying to type them from memory. dlg) If He but closes His hand, we cease to exist. He is most sovereign.

God is Sovereign

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. No matter what you think about this passage, God said that Job didn't sin by saying it. Well if it is incorrect then why wasn't it sin. Not only did he speak out of his ignorance (see Job 42:3), but I believe what he was saying from his heart is that God is a sovereign god. He can and will do as He pleases and not as we please. In Job 2:10 he reiterates this: "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" Once again he is saying God is sovereign and so being we must accept anything that He gives us whether we like it or not.

In Job 13:15, Job proclaims, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." Habakkuk 3:17-18 says,
"17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls- 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

This is one of my favorite psalms. It isn't in the book of Psalms but it is a psalm sung by the prophet Habakkuk. I will praise the Lord even if things are not going my way. For He is sovereign and I am privileged to praise Him.

Psalm 24:1-2
1 "The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters."

Psalm 89:11-12
11 "The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them. 12 The north and the south, You have created them;"

David is proclaiming that the whole earth belongs to God. It doesn't matter who rules on the earth, the earth is still the Lord's and the fullness thereof. In one of the psalms, God says through the psalmist, "If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all it's fullness." (Psalm 50:12) Paul quotes Psalm 24 in 1 Corinthians 10. Bringing the idea forward to the new covenant. By doing so, he brings forward the truth that God is sovereign. And in so being, does as He pleases.

Job 34:13-15 says,
"13 Who gave Him charge over the earth? Or who appointed Him over the whole world? 14 If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, 15 All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust."

Did we give God charge over the earth? Did we establish His kingdom? Did we set Him on high? No. Psalm 115:3 says, "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases" And again in Psalm 135:6, "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places." We did not set Him up as King above all Kings. We did not give Him the throne above all thrones. Psalm 93:1 says, "The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength." He established all that there is. Everything that exists does so because He spoke it into being.

Since we did not 'vote' Him in as Lord of all creation, we do not have the right or the power to hinder Him in His plans. Job 9:12, "If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'" Which one of us can stand before Him and say, "What do you think you are doing? Who gave you permission or the right to do that?" He is sovereign, He doesn't need our permission. This is reiterated in Job 11:10. What God has set forth in the book of Revelation is going to happen. We can not change it, nor should we want to. As His creation and children, we should desire to see His will.

No one appointed God king, rather it is He who "removes kings and raises up kings."(Daniel 2:21) Job 12:23 says, "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them." I know, "We are a democratic nation. The people decide who will rule here." Hmm, but Daniel 4:17 says that "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men." The Most High is the ultimate ruler over the kingdoms of men. I am not saying that we shouldn't vote. You not only have the right, but the responsibility to vote. I am saying however, that if you wish to be a part of what God is doing in this nation, then don't vote for who you want to be president, but rather who God is saying He will set up as president. As Christians, we should go to God and ask Him who to vote for. But we tend to follow the worlds belief of separation of church and state, at least to this degree.

"For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength." Job 37:6 He commands the things that we think happen by science. Does He not much more command us and our affairs? Isaiah 45:23 says, "I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath." Paul brought this forward to the New Testament in Philippians 2:9-11, "9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." In his book, Facedown, Matt Redman put it, "He is the King above all King, and He has the throne above all thrones." In 1 Timothy 6:15, Paul calls the Lord, "He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords." He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We should never deem to do anything of ourselves, but should always look to our Most High King.

There are many other places in scripture that tell us that God is King above all kings. Check out; Psalm 47:7, Psalm 83:18, Psalm 95:3-7, Psalm 97:9. These are just a few of the places that reveal to us that He is Most High over all the earth. But let's take a look at one more place. Let's look to Heaven and see what the angels and heavenly beings refer to Him as. In Revelation 4:8, we see the four living creatures crying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" And in 4:11 the twenty four elders cry, "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." And again in Revelation 5:13 all of creation sings. 'And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" '

As a sovereign King, He has need of nothing. I believe that we of the faith movement are a little too fond of thinking that God can't do anything without us. I like how Job put it. "Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?" (Job 22:2) "If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?" (Job 35:7) Psalm 8:4 poses the question, "What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?" If we are really truthful with ourselves, we are nothing outside of Christ. God does not need us for anything. What makes Him so wonderful is that He desires us. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of health, prosperity, and peace, and not of distress or affliction, to bring you to what I long for." (Danny Groff translation) Christ told the woman at the well that "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." (John 4:23) The word seeketh in this verse is the Greek word means to search for something that was lost. He created us to worship Him and with the fall of man, He lost that worship. The book of Psalms says that God inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3) Now the word inhabits in that verse can also be translated to dwell, remain, to abide or settle. Now you don't settle somewhere that you don't like. But my favorite thing about that word is that it can also be translated to marry. Hopefully if you marry someone, you love that someone. God loves our praise and worship. It is the thing He desires most. The Word says that God desires obedience over sacrifice. But it must be an obedience driven by a love for Him. For then it is merely another form of worship. Someone that you hold in high regard, you would do anything they ask of you. However, if you only obey because you have to, it is merely a sacrifice.

16 "If you have understanding, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words: 17 Should one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn Him who is most just? 18 Is it fitting to say to a king, 'You are worthless,' And to nobles, 'You are wicked'? 19 Yet He is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; For they are all the work of His hands." (Job 34:16-19)

He is a sovereign King, He commands respect and reverence. I am not British, nor have I ever been to England. (although I hope to someday) But I am sure if you ask someone from there how one should act in the presence of the Queen, I am sure that they would say, "With respect and reverence for her majesty." I have heard of how they prepare a table for the Queen and it is amazing. Now the Queen is a great woman, I am sure, however, she is still just a part of mankind, created by God. However, God is altogether otherly. He is in no way like us. We are made in His image, not vice-versa. So how much more is He deserving of even greater respect and reverence when we are in His presence? In Psalm 50:21 God says, "You thought that I was altogether like you; BUT" (emphasis added) He is not like us. Nor will He strive to be like us. He is something completely different. He is wondrous, we are plain. He is mysterious, we are simple. He is all powerful, we are powerless. He is the Creator, we are the created. You get the picture? He deserves all the reverence and wonder and awe that is within us. "Dominion and awe belong to God"(Job 25:2), it is reserved for Him alone.

God is Mighty

4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? 5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He overturns them in His anger; 6 He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; (Job 9:4-6)

God is a mighty God. Back in the 80's there was a praise song that said, "What a might God we serve, What a mighty God we serve, Angels bow before Him, Heaven and earth adore Him, What a might God we serve."(Author Unknown © 1986 Integrity's Hosanna! Music) The angels bow before Him and heaven and earth adore Him. If all of heaven and every other creature on earth adores Him, then shouldn't we?

13 "With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. 14 If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. 15 If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. 16 With Him are strength and prudence." (Job 12:13-16a)

Who can stand against God and live? No matter who we are, we can not stand against God and succeed. Look at the first passage in this chapter. Verse 4 says, "who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?" The answer of course is no one. I think we can all agree that the angels are mightier than we. Yet Lucifer himself could not harden himself against God and prosper. Lucifer was 2nd only to God. If you read Isaiah 14, you will see the account of Lucifer, what he was like, and what caused his fall. He thought he could stand against God and exalt himself above the Almighty. But he was defeated and will be cast into the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment. (Revelation 20)

34 "Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, And His strength is in the clouds. 35 O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!" (Psalm 68:34-35 NKJV)

Because He is Almighty, He alone can give strength and power to His people. I like the beginning of verse 35. "O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places." He is more awesome, more deserving of honor and glory than any of the places that we call holy. For He is Almighty. When Christ appeared to John in Revelation 1, He called Himself, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8, emphasis added) John wrote that He is the Almighty, the pantokrator, from pantos - all, every and kratos - strength, might, power. He holds all power. There is none as powerful as He. There is none as mighty as He. Of whom else can it be said,
"9 He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. 10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, And his eye sees every precious thing. 11 He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light." (Job 28:9-11)

Only One, the Lord God Almighty, Lord of all creation, Maker of heaven and earth. Who else could stop the earth or turn it back? (Joshua 10:12-13;II Kings 20:8) Or who else could speak all things into being? (Genesis 1) This is a powerful God. I like what the song Indescribable says,

"Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow Who imagined the sun and gives source to it's light Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night None can fathom"
(Indescribable, Laura Story © 2004 worshiptogether.com songs)

None can fathom the ways of God. "Who can know the thoughts of man but the spirit of man? Even so no man understands the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." (1 Corinthians 2:11)

And who can stand against Him? "I am persuaded that not even death and not even life, and not even angels and not even beginnings or origin or principalities and not even powers, and not even things present and not even things to come, and not even height and not even depth, and not even any other created thing, shall ever have the power to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) If nothing that is or ever has been created, nor anything we have ever done or ever will do; if no angel of heaven nor demon of hell can separate from God's love, then why would we think that any sickness, any disease, any depression, any poverty, any addiction, any bondage of any kind could ever stand against the God that we serve? We serve THE ALMIGHTY GOD. There is none other. All else pales in comparison to the Lord of all creation, Maker of heaven and earth. Let us revere Him as such.

God is Mysterious

8 "But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause- 9 Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number." (Job 5:8-9)

He does great things, that can not be search out. In Romans 11:33, Paul exclaims, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" God is great in all things, we can not find Him out. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3) What is that God says of His ways in relation to our ways?

8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
17 "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. 18 For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole." (Job 5:17-18)

7 "Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? 8 They are higher than heaven- what can you do? Deeper than Sheol- what can you know? 9 Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea." (Job 11:7-9)

To us, He is a mystery. We can not fathom the depths of His wisdom. I Corinthians 3:19 says, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." In I Corinthians 1:21 Paul says, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." How can we understand a paradox? I Corinthians 1:27-29, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." That no flesh may glory in His presence. No one can say, "I have figured out God by my own wisdom." God has chosen the foolish things like preaching the gospel to confound the wise. To the world it is foolishness to give your life for someone that despises you. I like how Matt Redman put it in his message at the International Worship Institute in 2004.

"He reveals and He conceals. He invites and He hides. He confounds and He confides. He terrifies and He befriends. He thunders and He whispers. He's the suffering servant who commands the universe. He's the sinless friend of sinners. He the lion and the lamb. He's the God who rests, but never sleeps. He's the God who issued these ornate designs for this grandiose temple made up of the most extravagant, elaborate materials you can imagine down to the tiniest detail; yet He's the God who witnessed a little widow putting in 2 tiny coins worth almost nothing in the world's eyes into the temple treasury and was utterly pleased with that. He's the God who rebukes and He receives. He's the God whose anger lasts a moment but His favor lasts a lifetime. He's the God of the infinite and the intimate. He's the one who hang in agony on beams of wood, that He, Himself, had called into being. He's the King whose footstool is the earth, yet humbly He knelt down and washed the earth off the feet of His disciples."

How can you think of all He is, without being in awe of Him? I can't. "He's the one who hung in agony on beams of wood that He, Himself, had called into being." He's the God who created the human race knowing that one day He would have to sacrifice His only Son to be able to allow His creation to come into His presence. That is how badly He desires our worship. Does He need it? No. But the truly amazing thing is that He desires it.

2 "Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?" (Job 22:2-3)

Does He truly need us for anything? He gains nothing if we walk uprightly before Him. Does He truly need our worship? Of course not. Then why does He dwell in the praises of His people? (Psalm 22:3) One of the true mysteries of God is that He doesn't need our worship, but He desires it. He chooses to glory in making us the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. "Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one" (Job 36:5) I show you a mystery, God is mighty, God is sovereign. He is Jehovah, the completely self-existent one. He is El Shaddai, God Almighty. He is Adonai, the sovereign Lord and Master of all creation. There is nothing hid from His sight. If we go to the highest height, He is there. If we go to the deepest depth, He is there. If we could go to the beginning of time, He is already ancient of days. If we could go to the end of all time as we know it, He is still fresh and new, never changing. And He is still King above all kings and sits on the throne above all thrones. But yet in all that He is, He is a lover of all He has created. He is the sovereign King that allows us to choose to serve Him. He desires us to worship Him, yet in spite of being sovereign, He doesn't force it but waits patiently for us to open our eyes and see Him. He is the God who, in spite of knowing that one will never come to a realization of Him, still sent His only Son to die for that one and calls to them over and over again.

When you think about the mysteries of God, how can you help but wonder at His love for us? When you look at His creation, and remember His love, how can you help but stand in awe of Him? As Matt Redman said in his book Facedown, "When we face up to the glory of God, we will find ourselves facedown in worship."

God is Merciful and Just

"11 He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety. 12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans. 13 He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them. 14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope at noontime as in the night. 15 But He saves the needy from the sword, From the mouth of the mighty, And from their hand. 16 So the poor have hope, And injustice shuts her mouth. "(Job 5:11-16)

He is a God of mercy and justice. Psalm 136 says over and over again "For His mercy endures forever." Matter of fact this phrase is used 33 times in the book of Psalms, over half of them in Psalm 118 and Psalm 136. Now how is this to His glory? It is part of the mystery of God. "He is the God whose anger lasts but a moment, but His mercy endures forever." (see previous chapter) "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5) In Malachi God is getting after the Israelites for not bringing their tithes into the temple. He makes a statement that explains why His mercy endures forever. "For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob" (Malachi 3:6) Since He does not change, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever, then His mercy will last forever. And the same mercy that He showed David, He will show to you and I. And does everyday.

22 "Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents." (Job 22:22-23)

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) He will never turn us away if we turn to Him in our trouble. There is never a time when we stumble that He will say, "Sorry, I just can't take it anymore. You are on your own now." We can never blow it so bad that when we turn our hearts to Him, that He will not receive us. Why? "For His mercy endureth for ever" (Psalm 136) I like how Elihu put it in Job 33. He was talking about how man is chastened for his sin, but God will always restore him if he but turns to God.

23 "If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, 24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom'; 25 His flesh shall be young like a child's, He shall return to the days of his youth. 26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. 27 Then he looks at men and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.' 28 He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light. 29 "Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, 30 To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life." (Job 33:23-30)

Notice he says that God will do this not once or twice but three times with a man. I don't think he means it is three strikes and your out, but rather he is saying that God is always merciful and kind. He is always just and will always have mercy on the one who stumbles or falls to lift him up and set him on his feet again. There was a song in the 80's, I think, that said when we come to God with a sin and repent saying that we just can't get it right and keep doing the same thing that God responds by saying it is always the first time we sinned. For each time we sin and come to Him and repent of our sins, He throws them as far from Himself as the east is from the west. He throws them into the sea, never to bring them up again.

My Heart Wonders at the Lord

"At this also my heart trembles, And leaps from its place. 2 Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, And the rumbling that comes from His mouth. 3 He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth. 4 After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard. 5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend." (Job 37:1-5)

These are the words spoken to Job by his younger friend Elihu. You probably have not heard of Elihu. Most sermons I have heard on Job from any denomination talk about Job's 3 friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. You don't see mention of Elihu in chapter 2 of Job and most preachers don't mention him either. But in chapter 32 we see where he speaks up. He says he kept quiet because he was the youngest one there and he wanted to hear the wisdom of their words. But he rebukes them for trying to justify their beliefs rather than God. We see in the chapter 37 what causes his heart to tremble and leap for joy. Why does he feel this way? My family has a little Yorkshire Terrier named Kyle. And when we have been gone awhile (like more than 5 minutes) and we return, he just shakes all over with excitement at seeing us again. When we come to the Lord, we should be excited to the point of shaking to see Him again, even if it has only been a couple minutes since we last saw Him. He is the most exciting person in our lives. The Greek word for worship used in the New Testament is proskuneo. We translate it as to prostrate oneself in homage. But the literal translation is to kiss towards. When I pick up our dog and I am talking to him, he licks the air trying to get the chance to lick my face. We need to desire God so much that we would kiss the air trying to get to kiss Him.

Let us never forget that He is the God of mystery and wonder. He is the God of paradox. We can not fathom all that He is, but He will reveal Himself to us a little at a time. He truly is the God who reveals and conceals. Our minds can not grasp everything about Him, so He reveals what we are ready to comprehend and conceals what is beyond us. In our society of free information, we tend to think that He is hiding something from us or that He should reveal all that He is to us at the beginning. And if He doesn't then obviously He is not the good God that we believed Him to be. Baloney! He conceals what we can not comprehend out of the goodness of His heart. There are some things that it is better not to know until you are ready to know it. Had I known that the woman I met in college, and married, and I would end up divorced years later, I would never have married her. But I would not have had the 3 wonderful daughters that I now have because of that union and there were many other good things I would have missed out on. Also, I may not have gotten as close to God and understood His love for us as much if I had not gone through the divorce. I'm not saying that the divorce was of God, but I am saying that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

14 "Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. 15 Do you know when God dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine? 16 Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge? 17 Why are your garments hot, When He quiets the earth by the south wind? 18 With Him, have you spread out the skies, Strong as a cast metal mirror? 19 "Teach us what we should say to Him, For we can prepare nothing because of the darkness. 20 Should He be told that I wish to speak? If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up. 21 Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies, When the wind has passed and cleared them. 22 He comes from the north as golden splendor; With God is awesome majesty. 23 As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. 24 Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart." (Job 37:14-24)

We need to just wonder at God and be happy that He loves us. We can not say to Him 'The world should be run thus'. "What is man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8) Without God we are nothing. 14 "If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, 15All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust." (Job 34:14-15) He holds our very breath in His hand. If He but close it, we cease to be.

We need to balance the truth that He IS a sovereign God and can, and will, do as He, and only He, pleases, with the truth that He is an all loving God who happens to get pleasure in blessing us with the desires of our hearts. (see Psalm 37:4)

How do I keep the wonder of God in my heart?

This is always a good question to ask. How do we keep our hearts so in awe of the awesome and wonderful and mysterious God that we not only worship Him with our very lives, but we are kept sinless by this awesome fear of Him? I think the answer lies in Job.

4 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7)

To me, these verses start me thinking about the wonder of God. He is the creator of all things. When I try to comprehend the eternity of God, the truth that He has always been from eternity past and always will be, it boggles my mind. It is a mystery to me how someone could have no beginning and no end. Then try to comprehend how He created all that there is.

Then He goes on to ask "Or who shut in the sea with doors?" (verse 8) Have you ever sat at the beach and just considered the ocean? It is a vast body of water. So what keeps it from overflowing and taking over the land? Sometimes the waves hit the shore like they didn't really want to stop and wouldn't have if it were up to them.

When you stop and take a look around you, how can you help but wonder at God? I like the way the song Indescribable by Laura Story put it:
"Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow Who imagined the Sun and gives source to its light Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night, none can fathom"

I sometimes watch the lightning storms in the deserts of Arizona where I live and the lightning is amazing. When you watch it jump at least 5 miles from the ground to the sky, can you even imagine the power? But then I stop and consider the one who created and commands such power. Who is the more powerful, the lightning or the One who commands the lightning? Then consider the sun. It is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at the core and it burns up about 4 million tons of its own mass every second. But God created it in such a way that it would last several billion years even at that rate. Can you imagine what it would be like if the earth didn't rotate? Think about the wisdom God showed in creating just our solar system. If the earth's orbit varied by 1 degree either way, we would either freeze or fry. If the earth didn't rotate, so that we would have the coolness of night, one side would always be in the light and would eventually be uninhabitable from the heat and the other side would always be in the dark and become uninhabitable from the cold. Everyone would have to live at what is called the terminus or terminator. It is where darkness of night and light of day meet on the earth. I can not fathom the wonders just in our skies.

What did God do when He wanted to teach Job to consider Him? He pointed to nature. He said to look at the animals, and He mentions some pretty strange critters, and consider that He made them. None of them evolved from something else. A horse never used to be a hippo. Look at one of the ways God shows this. Animals can not breed across species. If a dog and a cat were to mate, you would not end up with a cat-dog. You would not end up with anything for a dog and a cat can not reproduce. Read Genesis 1, and you will see all through that God created everything "after its kind". In other words, He didn't set things in motion and an amoeba became a fish and a fish became a mammal, and a mammal became a monkey and a monkey became a man. No, He spoke each creature into being, except man which He created with His own hands.

Throughout chapters 38 through 41, God speaks of creation. He speaks of the heavens, lightning, snow, the sun in 38. Then in 39 He speaks of the wild animals, the goats, ox, ostrich. Then in 40 He speaks of His strength. "Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?" (Job 40:9) Then goes on to speak of the behemoth. Then He spends the entire chapter 41 speaking of Leviathan. There has been a lot of speculation of what these last 2 creatures were, but I am not going to venture a guess. The way God describes them, I don't think such creatures exist today. But read these chapters and see how God says to keep a wonder of Him in our hearts.

So all we need to do is truly look at creation to be able to have a wonder and mystery about the God that we serve. My favorites are deep sea and deep space. How can you look at the creatures that live in the deeps of the ocean and not wonder at God? Or how can you look at the beauty of deep space, the nebulae and the galaxies, and not see the beauty of His holiness? I challenge each one to truly take a look around and see the wonder of our glorious God. I leave you with these verses to ponder:

1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard." (Psalm 19:1-3)

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