Thursday
Evening Bible Study
December
22, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
Next Thursday – Movie night
This is a two hour movie. We will
start promptly at 7:00pm and go until 9:00pm.
We’ll do the full popcorn/snack movie night.
We will be showing …
Now on to Psalms…
The English word psalm comes
from a Greek word that means “a poem sung to musical accompaniment”, or in
particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim,
which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook
of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well.
It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from
Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I
said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus
in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s
“soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
We’re going to find every kind of
emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.
For every sigh there is a Psalm.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs academically,
with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 100 - Attitudes
: A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
:1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord,
all you lands!
:2 Serve the Lord with
gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
:2 Serve the Lord with
gladness
serve – ‘abad
– to work, serve; to serve as subjects
gladness – simchah
– joy, mirth, gladness
Lesson
Attitude in serving
In the Old Testament culture, one way out of difficult financial times was to
sell yourself to another Israelite as an indentured servant.
You were not allowed to be an indentured servant for more than six years.
(Exodus 21:2–6
NKJV) —2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the
seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall
go out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out
with him. 4 If his
master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife
and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the
servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not
go out free,’ 6 then his
master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or
to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall
serve him forever.
When we first came to the Lord, we too came in great need.
We too chose to become His “servants”.
Yet hopefully we grow in our relationship with the Lord and instead of
serving out of our great need, we serve because of a great love.
Do you serve Him because you love Him?
Sometimes we lose our joy in serving because we make the mistake of serving
people rather than serving the Lord.
We ought to serve one another. But we serve one another because it’s the Lord
that we’re serving.
We look for the Lord’s reward, not people’s reward.
:3 Know that the Lord, He is
God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are
His people and the sheep of His pasture.
We serve God because He is our God, our maker.
:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with
praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
Lesson
Attitude in worship
Though we are actually always in God’s presence, there is a sense that we
don’t really remember or realize it.
Worship starts by coming into His presence.
The attitude we have when we come is important.
Illustration
A newlywed farmer and his wife were visited by her mother, who immediately
demanded an inspection of the place. The Farmer had genuinely tried to be
friendly to his new mother-in-law, hoping that it could be a friendly,
non-antagonistic relationship. To no avail, she kept nagging them at every
opportunity, demanding changes, offering unwanted advice and making life
unbearable to the farmer and his new bride. While they were walking through the
barn, the farmer’s mule suddenly reared up and kicked the mother-in-law in the
head, killing her instantly. At the funeral service a few days later, the
farmer stood near the casket and greeted folks as they walked by. The pastor
noticed that whenever a woman would whisper something to the farmer, he would
nod his head yes and say something. Whenever a man walked by and whispered to
the farmer, however, he would shake his head, no and mumble a reply. Very
curious as to this bizarre behavior, the pastor later asked the farmer what
that was all about. The farmer replied, “The women would say, ‘What a terrible
tragedy’ and I would nod my head and say, ‘Yes, it was.’ The men would ask,
‘Can I borrow that mule?’ and I would shake my head and say, ‘Can’t. It’s all
booked up for a year.’
We don’t like being around people who are complaining and nagging all the
time.
Neither does God.
It is not always easy to begin worship with thanksgiving, but it’s an
important discipline.
What are you thankful for?
In case you’re scratching your head, the Psalmist gives us some ideas.
:5 For the Lord is
good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all
generations.
:5 For the Lord is
good …
Lesson
Reasons to worship
Sometimes it’s not easy to worship.
Sometimes you are going through a difficult time in life, and you just have
a difficult time singing praise songs to God.
It’s at those times that worship becomes a “sacrifice”, a difficult but
good thing to do.
(Hebrews 13:15
NKJV) Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
A sacrifice is something that costs you. It’s not always easy to give a sacrifice.
Yet it’s important.
The psalmist gives us three more really good reasons for worship (He’s
already mentioned that He is our Creator).
He is good
You may not always understand what God is doing in your life, but you can
know this – He is good.
(1 John 1:5 NKJV) This is the
message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and
in Him is no darkness at all.
Sometimes we have to say “I am grateful that You are good”
by faith, because we don’t understand a difficulty in our life.
But it’s true. God
is truly good. He does not have secret
plans to ruin your life.
(Jeremiah
29:11 NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Everlasting mercy
When we blow it, we are in need of mercy.
His mercy is everlasting.
When Jeremiah was struggling over the destruction of Jerusalem, he wrote
this:
(Lamentations
3:21–23 NKJV) —21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22 Through the Lord’s mercies
we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new
every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Maybe “everlasting” is too big a concept to wrap your head
around.
Then try “new every morning”. His mercies are.
Unchanging truth
Our world is constantly changing.
Things that our culture thought were wrong twenty years ago are no longer
considered wrong.
God’s truth never changes.
We’ll talk more in Ps. 102 on this.
Song
Enter His Gates
(Ps.100:4,5)
D A/D D G/D
Enter His gates
D/A A G/A A
With thanksgiving
D A/D D
G/D
And His courts with praise
D/A A D
Give thanks to Him
Bm G
Bless His name
D/A A G/A
A
For the Lord is good
Bm G
And His love
D/A A G/A A
Is e--verlasting
written January 24, 1989
Enter His Gates
(Ps.100:4,5)/ Words & Music by Richard Cathers / © 1989 Richard Cathers /
EnterGat.doc
Psalm 101 - Integrity
: A Psalm of David.
We have another Psalm of David’s.
:1 I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
:1 I will sing of mercy and justice
David is going to be talking about being a man of integrity, a man who does
the right things and thinks pure thoughts.
Yet don’t forget David’s own history.
David committed some pretty hefty sins – committing adultery with
Bathsheba, then having her husband put to death to cover it all up.
Mercy and Justice are two contrasting character traits of God.
When David sings of God’s mercy and justice, keep in mind…
He will judge all sin.
He requires that we walk in purity and holiness.
We can sometimes get the wrong idea about this and begin
to think God is like …
Video: Liam Neeson Auditions for
Santa
The good news is that when we blow it, there is a way to find forgiveness.
We ought to be glad for both justice and mercy.
We have a song with a line in it:
“Justice and mercy meet at the cross”.
God judged our sin when He laid the punishment we deserve
upon Jesus.
God shows us mercy as we trust Him for the forgiveness
that comes from the cross.
:2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I
will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
:2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way
perfect – tamiym
– complete, whole, entire, sound; healthful; having integrity
We don’t know when David wrote this, but if it was written after his sin
with Bathsheba, then he is sharing some principles that he’s learned the hard
way.
:2 I will walk within my house with a perfect heart
Lesson
It begins at home
Integrity isn’t just what others think about you, it’s about who you really
are.
Integrity isn’t about how you act at church or when you’re with friends.
Integrity is about what you’re like when you’re at home. Alone.
Remember this Christmas movie, when a boy was left at home alone…
Sometimes we do things a little differently when we’re
home alone…
When I’ve counselled with couples who are struggling in their marriage, sometimes
I’m simply at a loss because the face they show me at church is not the face
they show their spouse at home.
David’s great sin started at home.
(2 Samuel 11:2 NKJV)
Then
it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of
the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was
very beautiful to behold.
I may get challenged about walking with God when I’m at church, but if I am
going to be a man of integrity and get serious about my sin, I need to be
honest with myself in my private moments, when nobody else is around and nobody
else is watching.
:3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall
away; It shall not cling to me.
:3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes
Lesson
Removing Temptation
Ultimately, temptation starts on the inside.
(James 1:14–15
NKJV) —14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires
and enticed. 15 Then, when
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.
You cannot eliminate sin from your life by removing every temptation, but
it can help.
If you struggle with alcohol, it is helpful to remove alcohol from your
house.
If you struggle with pornography, it is helpful to put filters on your
internet access.
:4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.
:4 A perverse heart shall depart from me
David may be talking about other people with a “perverse heart”, or his own
heart…
(Psalm 101:4 NLT) I will
reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.
Lesson
Heart Issues
Yet there is a truth here that the real issue of integrity has to do with
the heart, and it starts with your own heart.
I cannot remove my own “perverse heart” completely because I will retain my
sin nature until the day that I physically die.
But I can work on my heart.
After his sin with Bathsheba, David wrote,
(Psalm
51:10 NKJV) Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within
me.
Yet I can work to transform my heart and the way I think.
(Romans
12:1–2 NLT) —1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your
bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy
sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship
him. 2 Don’t copy
the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new
person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will
for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
:5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who
has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure.
:6 My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell
with me; He who walks in a perfect way, He shall serve me.
:6 He who walks in a perfect way
Lesson
Good influences
It helps to surround yourself with people who want to live a life that
pleases God.
It’s like having an older brother to look up to.
Do you know who those people are in your life?
Who are the “faithful of the land” that you know?
Do you make a point of spending time with those people?
That’s part of what fellowship at church ought to be about.
This is what groups like the James Gang or Celebrate Recovery are about.
Sometimes it’s good to have breakfast or lunch with a healthy friend.
:7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies
shall not continue in my presence.
:8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all
the evildoers from the city of the Lord.
:7 He who works deceit …
Lesson
Bad influences
David has listed several qualities of people that he doesn’t want to
influence his life:
Those who slander others (vs. 5)
Those with pride (vs. 5)
Those who deceive others (vs. 7)
Just as we want to surround ourselves with people who are a good influence
on us, we want to be careful to limit the kind of influence that bad people
have on us.
If you have people in your life who are enticing you to come over to the
“dark side”, then you have problems.
The Bible says,
(Proverbs 13:20
NKJV) He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the
companion of fools will be destroyed.
(1 Corinthians
15:33 NKJV) Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
We don’t always have a choice as to whether we spend time with certain
people.
It might be people at work – and you have to work with them.
It may be family members – you can’t choose your family.
Yet you can make choices as to just how these people will influence you.
It may be that you will need to speak up from time to time
and simply say that you don’t appreciate what they’re talking about.
It may be that after you spend time with the family after
Christmas, you need to spend some time with God – praying and reading His word
– to cleanse your mind.
Psalm 102 – Unchanging God
We live in a world where things are
increasingly growing old and out of date.
We want the latest phone, the
latest operating system, the newest gadget.
We no longer have appliances fixed,
but we throw them out and buy new ones.
Though sometimes it’s fun to have
some new gadget, I have to admit that sometimes I wish I didn’t have to take so
much time learning some new gadget so it can make me more productive.
I think that sometimes the better
things are the things that don’t change.
: A Prayer of the Afflicted, When He is Overwhelmed and Pours Out His
Complaint Before the Lord.
A Prayer of the Afflicted
afflicted – ‘aniy – poor,
afflicted, humble, wretched
Do you ever feel like you’re “afflicted”?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed?
Then pay attention to this Psalm. It
might be just for you.
:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
:2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear
to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
:3 For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a
hearth.
:4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my
bread.
:5 Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my skin.
:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.
:7 I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.
:8 My enemies reproach me all day long; Those who deride me swear an oath
against me.
:6 a pelican of the wilderness …
All these descriptions of birds are pictures of extreme loneliness.
:8 My enemies reproach me
One of the difficulties facing the psalmist has to do with people who are
causing trouble.
:9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping,
:10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; For You have lifted me up
and cast me away.
:10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath
When we are afflicted, it seems at times that even God is against us.
:11 My days are like a shadow that lengthens, And I wither away like
grass.
:11 I wither away like grass
Lesson
Common Troubles
We all go through troubles.
We may think that our particular troubles are the worst that anyone has
ever experienced.
And there may be some truth to that thought, but the reality is that we all
go through troubles.
We can all feel lonely and forsaken.
We can all experience the pain of having someone target us to give us
trouble.
We can all feel like God is against us.
Paul wrote,
(1 Corinthians
10:13 NKJV) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man;
but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that
you may be able to bear it.
The word “temptation” can also be translated “trial”.
You may be tempted to sing, “nobody knows the trouble I’ve
seen”, but chances are someone has been there and done that.
Even Jesus was tested or “tempted”:
(Hebrews 4:15–16
NKJV) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.
Help comes when we ditch the pity party and realize that help if available.
:12 But You, O Lord, shall
endure forever, And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
:13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor
her, Yes, the set time, has come.
:13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion
Another difficulty the Psalmist is facing has to do with the troubles of the
city of Jerusalem.
Perhaps this was written after the city had been destroyed by the
Babylonians.
:14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her
dust.
:15 So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
:16 For the Lord shall build
up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.
:16 the Lord shall build
up Zion
Even after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, God was not finished with the city.
Even after Rome would destroy Jerusalem, God was not finished with the
city.
God may bring times of chastisement and rebuke into our lives, but He’s not
done with us either.
:17 He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise
their prayer.
:17 He shall regard the prayer of the destitute
Lesson
Pray
When I am facing difficulties, I may at times choose to find a hole and
crawl into it.
God’s desire is that I come to Him for help.
(James 5:13–18 NKJV)
—13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful?
Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the
church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord. 15 And the
prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he
has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much. 17
Elijah
was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not
rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he
prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
If you are “destitute”, you need to pray.
:18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to
be created may praise the Lord.
:18 a people yet to be created
That’s us. We are the beneficiaries
of those generations before us who have learned to pray and trust God in their
difficulties.
:19 For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to
death,
:21 To declare the name of the Lord
in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem,
:22 When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
:22 the kingdoms, to serve the Lord
At the end of the Tribulation period, all the nations will be gathered in
war against Jerusalem.
Jesus will return and conquer the nations that are threatening His people.
(Zech. 14:16)
(Zechariah 14:16 NKJV) And it
shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which
came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles.
:23 He weakened my strength in the way; He shortened my days.
(Psalm 102:23 NLT) He broke
my strength in midlife, cutting short my days.
:24 I said, “O my God, Do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your
years are throughout all generations.
:25 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are
the work of Your hands.
:26 They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like
a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.
:27 But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.
:28 The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will
be established before You.”
:27 But You are the same
Lesson
Grasp the Unchangeable
When we are “afflicted”, part of our struggle comes from the fact that
things are changing.
Not all change is bad, getting the latest phone is kind of fun … until you
realize you have to learn a whole new operating system…
It might be our health that’s changing.
It might be relationships that are changing.
It might be a job that changes.
We saw in Ps. 100 –
(Psalm 100:5 NKJV) …His truth endures
to all generations.
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 40:7–8
NKJV) —7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the
people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands
forever.”
God’s truth never changes because He never changes.
(Hebrews 13:8 NKJV)
Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
When you are “afflicted” and struggling with life, cling to the person that
never changes.
Cling to Jesus.