Welcome to LifeLine Correspondence! We are so glad you have chosen to join us in this journey of walking with the Lord Jesus. What a joy it is to know there are people like you who desire something more. We believe that as Christians we are not only to experience the new birth but also, we are to grow and develop into His likeness. We are to experience maturity toward fruitfulness that will not only bring us into a closer relationship with HIM but also spark a hunger and desire in those who do not know Jesus as Savior. Our lives are active, walking testimonies of the Jesus in us. To start off this course of study, I want to take you to three words that will serve and follow us all throughout this journey in LifeLine. Those words are

We all start out with birth. Would you agree? After birth we experience growth and then development. Would you agree with that also? Of course! It’s part of the cycle. It’s just what happens. As in the physical, so in the spiritual. No one becomes a Christian unless they experience this spiritual birth. So, let’s begin and take a look at the first word. BIRTH. We find this word in the gospel of John. Listen to it:

“Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

Do you see the phrase “born again”? I’m sure that you have heard this many times expressed by people who have come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. They may even use terms or phrases like, “I found the Lord!” or, “I’ve just accepted Christ as Savior!” or maybe even “Guess what, I gave my heart to Jesus!”. These are expressions used to describe the born-again experience. But what does it mean to be born again?

I was speaking at a men’s breakfast several years ago in another city. There were over 100 men in the church fellowship hall. Men from various denominations; a Superintendent of a school district; mayor of the city; county commissioners; and various business owners and employees. It was quite a diverse group! I remember I had a short amount of time to present my devotion to these men. I realized this may be my only opportunity to present the gospel to them. Needless to say, I took advantage of this open door staring me in the face at such a time. I believe in divine appointments, do you? Well, whether you do or do not, you are actually a part of a “Divine Appointment” as we speak! This is a divine appointment for both of us. So, I proceeded to share with the men at the breakfast that it was imperative that we be born again or, as the scripture says, we could not enter the kingdom of God. We would not be saved. We could not see heaven. We would spend eternity in a Christless Hell. Friends, it is of utmost importance to know not only what the gospel is, but how we can respond to this gospel and make Jesus the Lord and Savior of our lives.

After the men’s breakfast that day, I returned to my church office. On the following day a dear lady in my church mentioned to me that an 80-year-old man, a life-long Lutheran, had attended the breakfast. He was her next-door neighbor. He knocked on her door and mentioned he had just returned from a men’s breakfast and that a preacher was there who talked about being born again. He said these words to her: “I have been a Lutheran all my life, and today I understood what it means to be born again for the very first time!” Truly, this is exciting! It is a wonderful thing to understand what it really means to be born again and to be ready for heaven when you die. Just like this kind gentleman who had been a Lutheran all his life, you too may have heard about being born again, but have never really understood it.

BORN AGAIN! What does it mean?

Let’s remind ourselves of the words in John 3,

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:3-7

I want to use an illustration that may help us in our understanding regarding this great truth of Salvation. Being “Born Again” is an absolute necessity if one is to see Heaven, to experience eternal life.

Let’s begin by reminding ourselves of the scripture in Genesis, the first book in the Bible, in which it states that God said he would make man in His own image. Yes, this is what the Bible indeed tells us.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” Genesis 1:26

We are made in the image of God in that He gave us personality. By personality we mean Intellect, Emotion, and Will. We have the ability to know, to feel and to choose. Let me say at this point, that all of us are the sum total of the thousands and thousands of decisions we have made in our life. The scripture goes on and says that God formed man from the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Look at the diagram below and follow along with me.

First, we see that we have a body. “God formed man from the dust of the ground…” (Genesis 2:7) Follow the line from the “body” circle to the center of the page.
Secondly, we see our spirit, indicated by the circle on the far right. “And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” (Genesis 2:7) Follow the line from the “spirit” circle to the center of the page.
Thirdly, we see our soul, indicated by the circle in the center. “And man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) Now take those two lines, body, and spirit, and follow them UP through the soul circle. The soul is the real you!

So, God formed man from the dust of the ground, (Body) and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, (Spirit) and man became a living soul. (Soul) Man became. BECAME. We do not have a soul; we ARE a soul. So, we repeat, the soul is the real you! Because we are BODY, we are conscious of the world around us. Because we are SPIRIT, we are God conscious. Because we are a SOUL, we are self-conscious. So, the real you, the soul, will never die. We will all spend eternity somewhere. There are only two alternatives as to where we will spend “forever” after we die. It is either Heaven, or Hell. This is according to the Bible.

“And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

And these verses in 1 Peter 1:3-5

“Which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again (born again) unto a lively hope… to an inheritance incorruptible… reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-5

Let’s say it again.

BODY: We can see it, touch it, and know what it is.
SOUL: The real you. The seat of the personality. (Intellect, Emotion, Will)
SPIRIT: That which communicates with God.
Can you see that in the diagram? Great! Now, let’s look at the next diagram, much like the first, but moving forward in explanation.

We see the same diagram, but the spirit, the part of us that communicates with God, has been, well, darkened, or shaded over and also notice that the communication with the Lord has been broken. What happened? In the book of Genesis, the Lord had told Adam:

“Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17

Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in disobedience, and they suffered the consequences of their actions. The Bible says their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked, and they hid themselves. They hid from their Creator. They didn’t want to be seen by the Lord. Much like I used to do when as a young boy I would hide from my parents when I had disobeyed them. Did you ever do that? Well, Adam and Eve heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. The Lord called to them and said, “Where are you?”.

Ok, I have a question. Did the Lord know where they were? Yes! Look at the diagram. When I was a boy, I used to think when the Lord said, “where are you?” he meant their physical BODY! But it wasn’t a physical “where are you?” but rather, a SPIRITUAL “where are you?”. Does that make sense? Why, yes, it does. If God created him, He certainly knew where he was. But the issue was not a geographical location question. It was a spiritual communication question. Something happened that cut off the communication between them and their God. I like to put it this way: “Adam, where are you? The relationship, the communication line between us has been cut!” Yes, that is what happened. So now, the “spirit” circle is shaded, darkened. The Bible speaks of it in Ephesians chapter 2 as being “dead in trespasses and sin”. When that communion or communication with God is severed or cut off, there is no real life. Why? Because sin has brought this separation. Sin is the root cause of spiritual death. The spirit is “dead in trespasses and sin.” The body is still alive. See the circles. The spirit is darkened, meaning it is alienated now from God. Paul calls it death in Ephesians 2,

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation (behavior) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:2-3

So, this is our condition as human beings when we are born. Dead in trespasses and sin, alienation from God. Sin has caused this universal condition of man. Listen to it:

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“For by one man sin came into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12

So, we are all in this condition for we all share in the consequences of Adam’s sin. Six months after my wife and I were married, we had suffered a terrible car accident. We had only been married a short time and of course, had no children at the time. By God’s grace and intercessory prayer by someone on our behalf, our lives were spared. Praise the Lord. But it occurred to me years later, that if we had perished in that accident, our children (which were not even thought of at that time) would have also perished, since they were “in our bodies” or “in our loins” as they say. Listen to the scripture in Romans 5.

“Therefore, by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation…” Romans 5:18

So, the bottom line is that we are all in this condition when we are born. None of us are born Christians. This being the case, the “real you” (see diagram below) begins to live or express itself out through the body. Look at it:

This is how life is. It’s a pleasing of the flesh. We follow the appetites of the body. If it feels good, do it. It is a saturation of pleasure. Our lives are LIVED OUT THROUGH THE BODY. We are described by Paul the apostle in this way:

“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation (behavior) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:2-3

So, it is clear. The result of this kind of life we all share is that we come to find that life lived in this sinful capacity has no meaning, or fulfillment. We have no purpose in life. We wonder why we are here on this earth. There is an emptiness on the inside that we cannot fill. It’s like a void or a chasm that seems like a bottomless pit. It just keeps going and going and we never seem to be able to quench the thirsting of our soul. We find no rest! We cannot climb out of this miry pit of sin that has us in its grip; this “slough of despond”, as John Bunyan calls it. Our lives are spent in endless activity in an attempt to bring joy, happiness and meaning to our lives. Some try to find happiness in drugs, or alcohol, or sex, or working endless hours making money to fill the void. I remember when I was a young boy growing up in a small town. I thought if I only had a skateboard, I would be happy. I got the skateboard. Then I thought, if I only had a bike of my own, I would be happy. I got the bike. Then I thought, at 16, if I only had a car, I would be happy. I got the car. Then I thought if I only had a girlfriend to put IN the car, I would be happy. LOL. You know how it is, right? Then we think if we could only get married, we would be happy. We get married. Then we think if we only had a couple of kids, we would be happy. We get the kids. Then we say if we could only get out of this apartment and get our own house, we would be happy. We get the house. Then we say if we could only get another house on the lake with a boat to get away from the first house and relax a little, we would be happy. On and on and on it goes, and where it stops, nobody knows! DO YOU KNOW WHY IT NEVER STOPS?
Because Jesus said,

“A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Luke 12:15

You and I will never find meaning and satisfaction; we will never fill the void; we will never find meaning and purpose in life until we surrender our lives to the giver of LIFE ITSELF, Jesus Christ. It’s called the NEW BIRTH! It’s what Jesus told Nicodemus. “You must be born again.” Do you remember? Nicodemus said, can a man enter into his mother’s womb and be born again? What was he thinking? Yes, he was thinking, BODY. (diagram)  But Jesus was saying, no, it’s not a flesh thing, it’s a  spirit thing. We need to be born again in our spirit. (remember our spirit is dead in trespasses and sin  and our relationship with God is broken, severed,  cut off by sin and we have no spiritual life in us) Listen to Jesus words.

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6

Well, how do we enter into this BORN-AGAIN experience? How can we restore this relationship?  How can we be reconciled to a Holy God? Well, it’s not by works that we do. We cannot work our way to heaven or to God. Many churches and creeds will tell you that you must DO certain things to experience forgiveness of sins and enter into a relationship with God. But all of that is false teaching. Some say you need to be baptized as an infant, or join a church, or confess to a priest, or take communion, or a myriad of other things that have no saving value. Listen, we cannot mow enough lawns to make it to heaven. The Bible is clear.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Hallelujah! This is great news! It’s the same for everyone. All must come the same way. By grace through faith. It’s faith in what Jesus did at the cross. It’s faith in His blood that was shed for my sin and yours. Faith? Yes, belief that the blood of Jesus is the ground, the foundation of being justified before a Holy God. It’s saying, I believe that what Jesus did at the cross in shedding his blood for my sin is the ONLY remedy for that sin. I realize that I cannot save myself. We sing an old song that says:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white
as snow.
No other fount I know.
Nothing, but the blood of Jesus.

Perhaps you are sensing at this moment the need to surrender your life to the Lord Jesus. Only He can satisfy your soul. Only He can bring you new life. Only He can make you ALIVE unto God and restore that relationship you so desperately need and crave. So, how do we do that?

1. Admit that you are a sinner, and you need a Savior. You cannot save yourself!
2. Believe that what Jesus did on the cross in shedding His blood is the ONLY remedy for your sin.
3. Confess your sins and confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Bible says, that if we
confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Notice, it’s the heart. With the heart we believe and with the mouth we confess. Heart is first. It’s your heart that matters. Don’t worry about the words you use. It can be a prayer that goes something like this:

Did you mean it? Yes? 10,000 Hallelujahs! You are a new creature in Christ. Old things pass away, and all things have become new. You have just been reconciled to God. Did you hear that? Now, things are different. Your spirit has been BORN AGAIN! Look at it in the next diagram:

Notice the spirit circle is now open! It’s alive in Jesus! Notice also that communication has been restored and you are now spiritually ALIVE IN HIM!

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ…” Ephesians 2:4-5

Notice something else. Do you see the arrows moving in another direction? Yes! Now the “real
you” wants to LIVE out through the SPIRIT! Woo! This is great news. You will notice that you no longer  desire to please the flesh. Your desire is to please the Spirit. To live out through the Spirit who now dwells within your spirit. He lives in you! There is peace. There is meaning. There is fulfillment. There is purpose. I no longer live for myself, but I live for HIM. This is being born again. The things I used to desire to do I no longer desire to do. The things I did not want to do, I now desire to do. I desire to read  his Word. I desire to go to church. I desire to pray and grow and develop in my spiritual life. I now want to please the Jesus in me. In the words of an old song:

“What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought,
Since Jesus came into my heart.
I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart.”

What a great way to say it! There’s been a great change in me! There is light in my soul! Is there light in your soul? Has there been a change in your heart? Maybe you are saying, I am a good person and that’s enough. You may be saying, Pastor Jerry, I don’t believe all of this. Well, being good enough, or not believing, doesn’t change the truth. Let me share a humorous anecdote with you.

The moral of the story is the man preferred darkness and denial to light and reality. The reality was that there was a worm in the fig. The reality of your life and mine is that there is a worm in our life. A worm called “sin”. We can say we do not believe it. But the worm is still there. We can even blow out the candle and go on as if nothing is wrong. But the worm is still there. We can say that preacher doesn’t know what he is talking about. But the worm is still there. While we are in darkness and denial, the worm is STILL there! But there is a way we can get the worm out of our life. God has sent His Son to die and pay the price for our sins so that we may have eternal life. He wants us to turn to Him and turn from our sin. It’s called repentance. The choice is yours. Stop living in darkness and denial. Don’t blow out the candle. Don’t silence the voice that keeps calling you to face the “worm” called “sin”. Jesus is standing and waiting right now to enter your heart. In the words of an old song:

The Savior is waiting to enter your heart.
Why don’t you let Him come in?
There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart
What is your answer to Him?
If you’ll take one step toward the Savior, my friend
You’ll find His arms open wide
Receive Him and all of your darkness will end
Within your heart He’ll abide
Time after time He has waited before
And now He is waiting again
To see if you’re willing to open the door
Oh, how He wants to come in.

When you are drowning you don’t get to choose the method of rescue. Listen, the lifeline has been thrown to you. Jesus is that lifeline. So, grab ahold! In the words of an old song:

This is the lifeline, oh, grasp it today!
See, you are recklessly drifting away.
Voices in warning, shout over the wave,
Oh, grasp the strong lifeline, for Jesus can save!

Yes, I have grasped the lifeline, have you? If you have, you are like me, a loser. And I am a loser of the greatest kind. For, “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” You see, I have lost my guilt, my sin, my shame, my stain, and my pain. Talk about free! If you grasp this lifeline of freedom today, you will experience a freedom no prison bars can hold!

Pastor Jerry

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought
Since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I have sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

Since Jesus came into my heart,
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Floods of joy over my soul like the sea billows roll,
Since Jesus came into my heart.

I have ceased from my wandering and going astray,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And my sins which were many are all washed away,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

I’m possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And no dark clouds of doubt now my pathway obscure,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

There’s a light in the valley of death now for me,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And the gates of the City beyond I can see,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

I shall go there to dwell in that City, I know,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And I’m happy, so happy, as onward I go,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

While sitting on a bus, I clearly heard a voice in my mind that said, "So… What do you want to do now?" My throat swelled up and my heart fell through the bottom of my stomach and landed on my seat. The accumulation of the many years of living my life as I had planned, had led me to this moment... where I was sitting on my heart and headed to prison for a 3-year sentence.

A year and a half into my sentence, I hit a wall. I couldn't stop pondering the thought of all the people I had hurt, including my mom, my children, my family, and my friends. I had an empty, cold, sharp pain in my soul that wouldn't go away. You can call this selfish, but what I missed most was the feeling of being loved. I couldn't bear to go on for another day, let alone, serve out the rest of my prison time. While alone in my cell, I broke down and cried, begging Jesus to reveal Himself to me. I asked Him into my heart to fill the void and to love me like a parent loves a child. I asked Him to prove to me that He is real, and that He loves me. I repented for the life I had lived, the people I had hurt, and the decisions I had made. I wanted to know if he could fill me with the love that I so desperately needed. Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, something instantly felt different. I smirked and asked the question, "Is... that...YOU?" I jumped off my bunk, I grinned from ear to ear in amazement. I knew for a 100% fact, that I was no longer alone! Jesus had answered my prayer and I knew from that day forward that Jesus was going to be with me no matter where I was, or what the circumstances would be. I now know what it means when the Bible calls Him the "Comforter". He let me know that I could face any situation in life because He was with me.

Shortly after that, I started attending Sunday Bible study. I've always been an "All or Nothing" type person. I wanted to be "all in" with my faith. I knew that meant I had to turn my entire life over to Him, but I wasn't quite sure how to do that. I wanted the faith to be able to die for Him. I thought of a scenario where there would be two lines. I could only pick one line to stand in. The first line led to two double cheeseburgers and a soda, then you could return to your cell. The other line was a choice for Jesus. At the end of that line was a fire pit. Now remember… In prison, you are ALWAYS hungry! And, of course, nobody EVER wants to burn to death! But I was hungry for the type of faith that doesn't falter, and decided I wanted to figure out how to get the kind of faith that would cause me to stand for Jesus no matter the circumstances. So, I continued to attend Bible study and read my Bible until the day of my release.

On the first evening of being home, as a free man, I stepped out onto the back porch and looked to the sky. I took in a deep breath of air and relaxed. While exhaling, I heard that very same voice in my head again, asking the question, "So… What do you want to do now?" It was then that I realized WHO it was, that proposed the exact same question to me 3 years earlier on that bus. I giggled to myself, and replied, "I'm sticking with you Jesus. You've already shown me that You're real and there's no hiding from You". Then I asked Him to send me a companion that I could share the rest of my life with. I felt that He had heard my prayer, and I began to seek for her, knowing that He would send her my way. I also thanked Him for answering my prayers about preserving my mother until I would be able to make amends to her and to show her how much I love her by looking out for her every need.

I am a cement finisher by trade, and I work with a lot of rough neck guys. Drinking and smoking pot seemed to be the norm after a hard day's work. I began drinking and smoking marijuana, not thinking anything of it

Four months later, I laid my eyes on a beautiful woman, and instantly asked, "Is that HER, Lord?" Before waiting on an answer, I followed her out the door and found a way to start a conversation. From that day on, we have never left each other's side. Tamara had a Christian upbringing and together we began to chase after the Lord.

As the weeks went by, the urge to drink alcohol dissipated. My 12 pack a day turned to six, then to three, then to one. As I read the Bible daily and my spirit man began to grow stronger, my flesh began to grow weaker. The alcohol no longer had a hold on me. I could no longer even stomach a sip of beer. But I still clung to my weed habit until, one day, I understood that the Spirit of God wanted to do more with me but was being held back by my fleshly desires. So, a few weeks after quitting alcohol, I gave up the marijuana also. I had thought that the marijuana was helping me to relax. Ironically, a week after quitting, I slept a full 8 hours without waking. That is something I had not done in over 10 years! The Holy Spirit, Himself, became my Peace and Comfort. I no longer needed substances to relax. Galatians 5:16 -17 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." The Bible had begun telling me and explaining to me what I was experiencing in my own life! I was amazed at how this "book" knew what was happening to me on the inside!

Tamara and I got married. We were reading our Bibles, listening to the Word, and we began exercising the power of prayer. We prayed for the healing of my wrists. I had osteoarthritis so bad in both wrists and it was threatening my career. I went from wearing wrist braces on both arms and severe pain, to no pain whatsoever today! Jesus showed us His miraculous healing power, both physically and spiritually. Something else odd began to happen to me. I began to notice that I had compassion and a care for others. This was odd to me because I was the type of guy who was selfish, greedy, and only looked out for myself. Now, I would willingly go out of my way to help someone in need. When I read Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart with new desires and put a new spirit within you", I realized that the Bible is a LIVING book and I now understood how it was explaining what was happening to me.

This was GOD'S WORD and I wanted to KNOW it and experience ALL that He has for me. I got water baptized in a friend's pond and then baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues, while sitting on the edge of the bed, alone in our bedroom with only Tamara and Jesus.

My childhood best friend and I had not seen each other in over 35 years. Until, after many days, I just couldn't get him off my mind. I reached out to his mother and figured out how to contact him. To my joy and surprise, he was a born again, Spirit filled, Christian. He invited Tamara and me to join him the following Sunday morning at Word of Truth Christian Church. We absolutely loved it from day one. Our pastor, Jerry Hunt, is one in a million. Actually, our entire church is one in a million! Pastor Jerry teaches the unadulterated Word of God faithfully. He uses the Bible to explain the Bible. He doesn't make excuses or compromises to please popular opinion or to be culturally relevant. Our church is soundly grounded on the Word of God and the Holy Spirit moves mightily in every service. I feel so blessed to be able to worship in a place where I know that God has divinely led me to be. I have made many other friends who I consider "family" and I'm continuing to grow in my faith. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for my life!

Donald S.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ² He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name’s sake ⁴ 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. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house
of the LORD forever.

What an incredible journey we have been on since we began to study this passage in the book of Psalms! I trust you have gained some insight into this great song of David. I know I have. We have titled this study,

I am sure you remember this:

The Lord is my Shepherd. The Shepherd.
The Lord is my Shepherd. The Sheep.
I shall not want. The Shortage.

Let’s review just a bit. Many sheep are experiencing a shortage in their lives. Jesus wants to fill that void and bring spiritual growth and development to their life. The following excerpt is a recap of the first lesson. Read this again and let it stir your memory.

It is time to stretch your mind and heart now! It is time to grow and flow! It is time to stop remaining stagnant in our Christian experience and march onward to develop into the mature SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE. He is the supplier of all your needs. You will not lack what you need to survive where you are! I hope someone hears that! Listen to it:

There it is! A great review as we wrap this up today.

Fundamentals matter, while accessories add style and make us look good. Fundamentals anchor us. While our shoes may not be up to date, they do keep the water out when I walk down a wet sidewalk. We see in this psalm that verse 6 is our concluding verse. It says:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6

The constant care of the Shepherd for you, His sheep, will bring goodness and mercy to bear upon you. This word “follow” is a most powerful word. It carries the idea of being pursued. Chased down. For those who are under the care of the Shepherd, know this, that Christ has a vested interest in you. It will be hard for you to get away; not that we desire to get away in the first place. Yet, though it is not impossible, it is difficult. The Holy Spirit will chase you down with His mercy. It is as the water that followed the Israelites in the desert.

“And did all drink of the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4

As one author puts it, “His mercy is like manna… it’s new every morning… it’s a pardoning mercy, a protecting mercy, a sustaining mercy, and a supplying mercy.” His mercies never come to an end. Great is His faithfulness. You can count on it.

We also see our Divine Habitation. I want to focus on the Divine Habitation; “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord…” Woo! Ladies and gentlemen, we shall dwell in the house of the Lord!! As mercy filled people, we may not look like much, but WE ARE GOING SOMEPLACE! An old song says, “I’ve a home prepared where the saints abide, just over in the glory land.” Jesus said,

“Let not your heart be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself!” John 14:1

This final fundamental is anything but final! It’s my assurance of eternal life. It is vital that you know where you will spend eternity. But this verse isn’t just about my eternal destination. It is also about dwelling in the house of the Lord; meaning that the spiritual relationship I have with the Lord is key and fundamental. I will dwell, I will make a home in the house of the Lord... The word dwell is a settled down feeling. A being at home feeling. If you reject the Savior, you wouldn’t be at home in His presence. No, not at all. The greatest fundamental is to consider where I am going to be at home all the days of my life and into eternity! I think of the verse in Psalm 27 which states:

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

When all is said and done, the most important thing to King David, is the spiritual not the material. All that matters is my relationship with the Lord. Here, David has taken all his desires, boiled them down; he has reduced them. Ladies and gentlemen, in the end, what matters most is not how many cars you have, or the size of your house, or how much money you have in the bank. No. When it’s all been said and done, there is just one thing that matters. Did you live your life for Jesus, or did you live for yourself? The most important thing is your final habitation. Paul the apostle says it this way:

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

That is the same thing. My friends, the Shepherd of our souls is providing this for us! It is vital and fundamental that we can say, as sheep, that our Shepherd has made up the shortage in our lives and we are not afraid of the future nor are we afraid of the present. We are looking down that great corridor of time and we see Jesus waiting at the end of it. This peering down the lane toward that great eternal habitation of the future is what will cancel all fear in the present. Did you catch that? As we are at home in His presence HERE, we will be sure to be at home in His presence THERE. Please get this! Ask the Lord to reduce you. To reduce your heart’s desire so that you want only HIM. To live only for Christ! To find a home in the presence of God in this life so you will be at home in the presence of God in the next life. To experience that DIVINE HABITATION. To want His will and to walk in His way. Then, like Enoch of old, you will have a testimony that pleases God. I leave you with three most important considerations seen in verse six.

How can I have the assurance of this DIVINE HABITATION in the next life? Start with the conclusion of THIS LIFE! Notice the conclusion is mostly one syllable words, AND. I. WILL. DWELL. IN. THE. HOUSE. OF. THE. LORD… FOREVER! It’s simple, not complicated. The message and question is simple. “Where will you spend eternity?” How fundamental is this! We spend time on a lot of things but give no thought regarding the CONCLUSION OF OUR LIFE. Everything comes to an end. True. Except your life! What? Pastor Jerry, what are you saying? Well, when you die, that is not the end. It is only the beginning. You will spend eternity somewhere. Did you know that we always look for the end of things? We can’t wait for the school year to end. We say things like, “Will this ever end?” or “We can’t wait for this week to end!” In fact, we call it the “Week-END”. But in this verse David is looking at the end of this life and the beginning of the next one. He’s so concerned about the next life that he is making right decisions in THIS life. Read David’s words again. “I will dwell in the house of the Lord, FOREVER.” This is nothing more and nothing less than a DIVINE HABITATION. Forever is on his mind. Is it on yours?

There is a connection between verse six and verse one. Do you see it? It may seem small, but it is there. I enjoy seeing things like this. Do you? Look at it. The Lord is… verse one. Verse six, the house of the Lord… He begins with the Lord and ends with the Lord. There must be a beginning IN CHRIST if there is to be a CONCLUSION in Christ. My connection with Jesus today is vital to my conclusion tomorrow. We talk about making connections with people. What does the word connect mean? According to Merriam-Webster, it means to become joined; to link together logically related elements in order to draw our conclusion. It means to associate, relate, unite, combine, and merger. It means to fasten together usually by something intervening. The conclusion of our life will be determined by association and union with the Christ of Calvary who intervened on our behalf to reconcile us back to God the Father. We must be joined together with HIM through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Savior. It is more than a mental acknowledging. You see, many people want the benefits of the Kingdom of God but don’t want to live by the rules of the Kingdom of God. There are many like the prophet Balaam in the Old Testament who said, “Let me die the death of a righteous man…” So many long to die the death of a righteous man, yet, as one old Puritan writer exclaimed “they do not want to live the LIFE of a righteous man.” It is one thing to want the result of truth, yet at the same time want nothing to do with the truth that brought the result!

I also notice its connection to this life. Verses 2-5, and verse 6. We see David’s life in this Psalm and all the way the Lord has led him and cared for him and provided for him and as he gets to verse 6 he says, surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Has it not followed him? “To follow” would be better stated to “chase down.” Has not His mercy chased you down? Has He not followed you “all the days of your life?” Yes, most certainly. He is the hound of Heaven to run after you with His mercy. Not just sinners, but Christians. This says He has not forgotten you! AND I SHALL DWELL… did you see it? The word “AND”. And I shall dwell… “And” is a conjunction. It links verses 2-6a with verse 6b. It’s to the one connected to the Shepherd of verses 1-6a who are going to be “chased down” by His goodness and mercy and then live forever in the house of the LORD of verse 6b!!

Hey, this is a psalm about Christians, not sinners. Prior to your salvation, His mercy spared your life – no doubt! His mercy did chase us down and still DOES chase us down the highway of disobedience and sin. And it is because of HIS mercies that you were and ARE not consumed. But to the sinner, the one who rejects the Lord, there is no mercy to look forward to. Only judgment. However, it doesn’t have to stay that way. This psalm joins this present life with the forever life. What I do in this life matters! Some say, no! Why do they say no? Because they live this present life as if all people, regardless of their connection or disconnection, will go to heaven anyway. The belief that everyone will eventually be saved regardless of the life they lived or their refusal of the Christ, is not a Biblical doctrine, but a false doctrine called Universalism. Movies, T.V. shows, DVDs depict that all people who die go straight to “a better place” known as heaven. They believe erroneously that they now have no suffering, no pain, just because they were HUMANS! No, not so! This is in direct opposition to the words of Jesus.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36

In order for me to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, there must be a CONNECTION to the Shepherd which is only possible because of His death and resurrection.

However, it’s not enough to just say that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. Let me show you the difference between a judicial truth and a personally applied truth. Here is a judicial truth: “Jesus Christ the Son of God is the Savior of the world.” That is a true statement which the devil himself believes. Please hear it. It is one thing to say, “Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world” but it is quite another thing to say, “Jesus Christ is MY Savior!” Truth must be personally applied to your life. You and I cannot just make a mental assent to a judicial truth and think we are ok. This is the plight of much of the postmodern Christian world. You see, the tragedy of the cross is not that Jesus died there. The tragedy of the cross is that He died there in vain for so many who refuse and reject Him as personal Savior and Lord. There must be a born again connection which is a reconciliation to God by His blood. From that, you and I can have the confidence to say - and it is RIGHT to say without arrogance - that I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER! I shall find a home in the house of the Lord. Who shall find a home in the house of the Lord forever? The sheep of His pasture. You see, the choice you make in this life gives you the confidence for the next one.

But my confidence in the next life also gives me confidence to walk and please my dear Savior in this life! My confidence in Him makes me not ashamed,

“For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

My confidence in Him causes me to know that all things will work together for good to them who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. It’s because of my connection to Him that I know that He will finish what He started in me the day He saved me. You could say a born again man/woman has “connections”. Yes. And I can now come boldly to the throne of grace with confidence as a result of my connection. My fervent prayer avails much, not little. What does this tell you? It says, don’t give up on your family. Don’t stop praying for your spouse, your children, or your marriage. If you have no confidence, I make a plea with you right now. Surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot afford to leave this world without the confidence of knowing that you have made things right with the Lord. Don’t assume all is well.

Several years ago, I did a tandem jump out of an airplane from 15,000 feet with an experienced skydiver. I had no parachute, as I was connected to the trained jumper. As we exited the plane, we free-fell for one-minute traveling at a speed of 120 MPH. The only confidence I had was in knowing I was connected to the man with the parachute. No connection, no confidence. I can say, I had the time of my life. It was an awesome jump! However, three years later, I saw on T.V. that someone had jumped from the same airplane, the same skydiving company, and with an experienced skydiver. But the lady jumper forgot to check her connections to the man with the parachute. She leaped to her death because she assumed she was connected. She thought all was well. However, all things were not well. Her false assumption cost her life.

As sheep we need to check and make sure we are CONNECTED TO THE CHRIST OF CALVARY. An old song says: “Be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the solid rock.” Listen, Christian, you have a shortage in your life that only Jesus can fill. Christian, call out to Him right where you are and say, Lord, there is a shortage of righteousness in my life. A shortage of holiness. I need you as Jehovah Tsidkenu, The Lord my Righteousness. I am walking through the shadow of death, and I desperately need to know you are Jehovah Shammah, The Lord who is there. Be the Restorer of my Soul, Jehovah Rapha. Sinner, unbeliever, you too have a shortage. Let the Shepherd come and lift you up out of the miry clay and set your feet on a rock and put a new song in your mouth. You have been through these lessons, and you know what I am talking about. Listen, this is it. Where will you spend eternity? It’s not too late. You think it is, but it isn’t. Call out to Him right now in that prison cell and surrender. Come on. You know you need to.

This may be the last time. Perhaps you are living under a false supposition. All things seem well. I am reminded of Mary and Joseph who had mistakenly left the boy Jesus in Jerusalem after the feast. The scripture says these words:

“But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.” Luke 2:44-45

Did you see the word? It was SUPPOSING. Yes, Mary and Joseph supposed Jesus was with the relatives. But they supposed wrong. It is possible to do that. It is possible to suppose wrong. It is possible to make a false assumption or a mistaken supposition. Have you done so? To make a false assumption and to remain in it without correction, is to find in the end that you have come up short. Much to the dismay of the lady skydiver who assumed she was connected to the trained jumper; she too came up short. A shortage none of us can afford.

Christian believer and sheep of His pasture, it is time to make our calling and election sure. Yes, daily we must examine ourselves and see if we be in the faith. For then we can look forward to dwelling in this Divine Habitation. We can get excited about being at home in His presence, forever. I remember my professor in Bible college telling us about the Omnipresence of God. He said that God is everywhere all at once all at the same time. You can’t exclude Him from anywhere. Wow! How great is that? And then he said it another way. Not only is God present everywhere all at once, but EVERYTHING is also in GOD’S PRESENCE! Woo! I can feel that! Phillip Keller, in his book A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT THE 23RD PSALM, says “not only do we get the idea of an ever-present Shepherd, but also the concept that the sheep wants to be in full view of his owner at all times.” I say “yes” to that. I don’t ever want to be out of His sight. Dear fellow believer, we are in full view of our owner at all times. That being the case, I Shall Not Want.

Pastor Jerry

Choices to be made. Regrets of choices made. No place to turn. No one to trust. Failure. Fear. Worthlessness. Condemnation. Darkness all around. Memories…

Does it seem to you that the enemy of your soul comes to taunt you in the actual physical darkness of night, when you are laying in your bed still from the happenings of the day? It is at those times that you begin to think, doubt, and fear begins to grow, mushrooming into a giant that demands your total focus. This has happened to me many times. I remember a time that I had allowed the voice of my enemy to speak so much fear into my heart that I physically could not move a muscle. This is the place our enemy wants us to be, a place where our eyes are on our circumstances and our heart has forgotten the goodness of our Lord.

Look above and read Psalm 61:1-3 again. The Lord used David to write this psalm at a time when he was far from home and surrounded by danger. In the middle of the darkness, when his heart is overwhelmed, at the end of the earth (physically and emotionally he can’t go on), he cries out to His God asking Him to hear his prayer. The Bible says in Isaiah, “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” David chooses to turn his eye to the Maker of the heavens and the earth. David chooses to look to the Lord who has been his Savior in the past and David knows He will be his Savior in this time of darkness, too. What does He ask of the Lord? Does David ask the Lord to remove him from his trouble and to send him home? No! He asks the Lord to hear him. Then David asks God to lead him to the ROCK that is higher than himself. David knows he is nothing and that he has no power or strength from within himself. He knows that the reality of life around him is more than he can handle alone. He needs a rock – something/someone strong and firm. Someone David can place his feet on and not slide in and sink into fear. Who is the Rock? In this lesson, Pastor Jerry used the verse from 1 Corinthians 10:4, let me remind you of it, “And did all drink of the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Jesus Christ is the one that can meet us in our darkness, in our fear. He is the One that has the power to give strength to the fearful heart. His perfect love casts out all fear. David knows that he can run to the Lord, for he says, ”For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” David remembers the times in the past when the Lord has been his shelter and strong tower. He knows that the enemy of his soul is roaming around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and that NO truth is found in him. In Psalm 56, David wrote, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”

There is so much to learn from this. Where is your focus? Are you allowing the enemy of your soul to speak fear into your heart in your time of darkness? Or will you choose to turn to the Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, the Life? Will you choose to turn your thoughts and feelings of fear over to Him? Will you let Him be your Rock, shelter and strong tower – your stability? Start by crying out to the Lord, He will attend (listen) to your prayer. In doing that first step, you have taken your eyes off the circumstances surrounding you and placed them where they need to be - on Him. Remember, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and a sound mind.” He wants you to have the Holy Spirit’s power and love within you, and to have a mind that is soundly planted on Him, the Rock. Into the darkness of your room. Into the darkness of your thoughts, the One you have chosen to turn your eyes to, will speak peace into your heart – a peace that is beyond all human understanding. A peace from The Prince of Peace - Jesus.

Praise the Lord for who He is.
Praise Him for what He has done and what He is going to do!
Praise the Lord that He is NEVER too far away to hear when we cry out to Him.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ² He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name’s sake ⁴ 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. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the
LORD forever.

What a journey we are taking through this great Psalm of David! Are you getting anything? Are you being challenged? Are you taking the time with the Lord to meditate on His Word? Are you getting alone with Him in the secret place? Are you believing Him to show you great and mighty things? Are you excited about what He is teaching you and showing you?

Let me emphasize something at the beginning of this lesson. What the Lord is teaching you is not just for you. His will for your life is to grow, develop and mature into the man or woman of God He wants you to be. Absolutely! However, His will for you is also entwined or wrapped up in other people. Why did He save me? To rescue me from sin, self, Satan, and a Christless grave. To enable me to glorify Him in this life and the life to come. But it is also to bring the Good News of what He has done for me to others! To live my life according to God’s will so that others may see Jesus in me. Fruit is grown to be consumed. The tree doesn’t eat the fruit, but others do. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! It is important to realize as Christians that it is not just a “me and God” relationship. It is. But it is more than that. It is not just a vertical relationship with God. It is. But it is more than that. Are there not others around us? Is there not a horizontal relationship? I mean, there are others that we engage on a daily basis. God’s will for me is not divorced from others. My walk with God will affect others. I will influence others. You will influence others. Like it or not, it just is the case. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

It is clear. It is not just an individual light for your house. It is a light for the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid. And so, with that being said, we arrive at a place in this beloved Psalm where we see His Divine Anointing. Even here, it is not just for me. It is. But it is more than that. I emphasize this because of all the misunderstanding regarding anointing that one will find from east to west and north to south! We left off last time with the Divine Provision. Why? Sheep have enemies. For one, there are snakes lurking in the holes of some of the best pastureland ever created. But snakes are not the only enemies of sheep. Listen to these words from David:

There it is. Divine Anointing! Another FUNDAMENTAL OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Another necessity to make up the shortage in a Christian’s life. Hallelujah! Yes, a shortage. In the day in which we live, we see shortages in the flock, in the church. Many of the under-shepherds in the church are not shepherds, but hirelings. As a result, there are great shortages in the church. But Jesus our Shepherd is here to make up that lack, that shortage. I guess you can say it matters who your Shepherd is. Would you agree? Absolutely. As a result of “shepherds” that are no shepherds, the flock is not receiving what it needs. In fact, the situation is grim. Jeremiah prophesies to the shepherds/pastors of his day:

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture…you have not attended to them…and I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them…” Jeremiah 23:1-4

This Psalm is bringing us back to the only One who can make up that lack and so enable us to live a godly life in an ungodly world. Listen to it:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.” Jeremiah 23:5

How great is this! We see in Jeremiah that THE Shepherd is coming! Well, He came, and He will come, and today He is living in my heart! Hallelujah! Is He in your heart? He is the Shepherd and Bishop of my soul. What about you? I want to remind us of the title of this series. The Shepherd, the Sheep, and the Shortage.

“The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”

There it is! He comes to make up my lack. My want. My shortage. This is good news. How does He do this? As we read this Psalm, we find all the things He provides which make up that shortage. One of the shortages is the Anointing. No doubt you have heard this term anointing many times. Let’s take a look at this subject as it relates to the Christian and our need for the Shepherd to administer this oil so necessary for sheep life. And let us pray that the Anointing returns to the church so it can truly be the church triumphant! We will focus on three considerations.

So much has been said regarding the “anointing” that one can get somewhat confused. But the practice of anointing referred to the pouring of oil from a vessel usually upon the head of the person to be anointed. To anoint means “to smear”, “to rub” with oil. Sacred or secular. In the Greek text, anoint is connected to a word that means to furnish what is needed. To touch, to light upon, to graze. So, it is a necessity, not an accessory. Also, there is some kind of contact.

In what could be called a secular sense, the practice of anointing with oil was for medicinal reasons, for hygiene, for hospitality in the home, and for burial. In a spiritual, or sacred sense the anointing of a person or object was to signify a setting apart of that person or object to the service of God. It was used to anoint sacred things, vessels, or furniture in the house of God. Those vessels were anointed to symbolize their separation and dedication to God’s service. It was a special holy oil, not to be imitated. It was made of olive oil compounded with four spices. (Exodus 30:23,24) Priests were anointed in the Old Testament for enduement of the Spirit for ministry.

“Thou shalt anoint them and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” Exodus 28:41

Also, the people of God, as the people of God, were anointed. In 1 Chronicles 16:21,22 we find these words:

“He [God] suffered no man to do them wrong…saying, Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm.”

So, in this sense, like the children of Israel, we who are washed, redeemed, and belong to the Lord our God, are His anointed. All because of Jesus, the Anointed One.

When the anointing is regarding people, it represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It speaks of the anointing or unction of the Holy One. (1 John 2:20) Let me ask you, is not the Holy Spirit a necessity in our lives? Has not the Holy Spirit set us apart for His service? Do we not have and need that unction from the Holy One? (Unction and anointing are translations of the same Greek word, chrisma.) It is good at this point to stretch you a little bit. In the Greek New Testament there are five verbs translated “anoint” and one noun “anointing”. Four of the verbs are used in a general way to refer to the anointing of things and people, sacred and secular. But the one mentioned above, “chrisma”, or “chrio” is a little more confined in its use. It is for the sacred anointing of people for God’s purposes. 1 John 2:20, 27 says:

The prophet Samuel anointed both King Saul and King David. The anointing was a divine necessity which gave the new king the legal right to rule over Israel. It has been said that by virtue of the anointing, the Spirit of the Lord was upon the king to help him accomplish his God-given tasks as the ruler of God’s people. When Samuel anointed David as King, the Bible says that

“…the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward…” I Samuel 16:13

Forward is a word that expresses a continuing of the anointing of the Spirit. It is not a one-time thing. As they were anointed for their task in the Old Testament, we can gain a little understanding of its use in the New Testament. As the Lord provided this anointing to fulfill their task and calling in the Old Testament, so the Spirit of the Lord will supply the necessary power to us for the accomplishment of our God given responsibility. I pray for an added dimension to be experienced in our lives. I pray that everyone reading this will ask the Lord for a fresh Baptism in the Holy Spirit! There is a definition of anointing that I want to share with you which says: “The anointing is the special presence of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of God’s servant which produces an inspiring awareness of the divine presence.” I like that. This anointing of the Holy Spirit will enhance the believer’s capacities or capabilities beyond the natural. It will bring to your life a greater God-awareness and Christ consciousness. It will bring Jesus into view! Hallelujah!

Who is the One in Psalm 23 who anoints the sheep? It is Jesus. The Shepherd. “Thou anointest my head with oil.” We also know that it is God who anoints us.

“He…who has anointed us, is God…”  2 Corinthians 1:21

But then, it is the Holy Spirit who anoints us. Yes, the active agent of the Godhead is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor…” Luke 4:18

Praise the Lord! Is this not one of the greatest things you can ever imagine? Here we see the anointing upon Christ to speak and preach under the anointing and touch of God. His preaching was such that the captives were set free, the broken hearted were healed, the blind could see, and the bruised were no longer in bondage. What power! What anointing! Paul’s words sum it up like this:

“My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”  1 Corinthians 2:4

This is how it was with Jesus and with Paul. From this we must conclude that Spirit-filled believers should expect to have an underlying attribute or mark in their preaching and teaching which infuses life and spiritual power that breaks through, interrupts, and even dissolves the disinterestedness, the nonchalance or half-heartedness of those who are listening. This is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that we so earnestly desire. The anointing that breaks the yoke. The unction from above. Lord, give us preachers who are anointed with power by the Spirit of God. Give us Holy Ghost filled anointed men and women of God who know what it is to experience that verbal and instructional unction from the Holy One.

As we have stated, this is the work of the Holy Spirit. But let me be clear. Our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, said that HE would send the Comforter to us. And the Holy Spirit did come! On the day of Pentecost there was a sound of a mighty rushing wind. John the Baptist said in the gospel of Matthew, that Jesus would “baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire.” So, we see that our Shepherd is right in the middle of all this Holy Ghost anointing.

Yes, He knows just what the sheep needs. With that in mind, let us remember that the anointing, the touch of God, the speech that is not with words of man’s wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, cannot be transferred to others at will. HE does it, not us. Neither can we anoint ourselves or say things such as “he has his grandfather’s anointing.” There is no “grandpa anointing”. It is the Holy Ghost anointing; it is the unction from the Holy One. It is the touch of God, from God. We cannot go and find it somewhere and bring it back in some sort of a spiritualized “doggie bag”. There is no channel of transference, or medium. When King Saul was rejected, and lost/forfeited his anointing, he went to a medium. That is witchcraft. We cannot buy the anointing, nor sell it, import it, or manufacture it. In the Old Testament, if a priest tried to manufacture it, pour it on man’s flesh, imitate it, put it on a stranger, or misuse it in any way, they were cut off from the community.

“Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.” Exodus 30:32,33

Sounds like the anointing is nothing to mess with. God takes it pretty seriously. So should we. So, we are thankful that our Shepherd is faithful to anoint his sheep with this precious oil of the Holy Spirit. What is the purpose of this anointing?

Let’s be up front. The purpose of the anointing is for the sheep. We need it. Remember we are talking about necessities and not accessories. Jesus himself needed the anointing. See if you can find what this anointing was for. Make a short list from these verses. Listen to His words:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord”. Luke 4:18,19
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” Acts 10:38

The importance of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is seen in the life of Jesus. And may we be reminded that the servant is not greater than His master. Jesus knew His preaching would need to be in power. In fact, Jesus would not begin His public ministry until the Spirit of the Lord descended upon Him as a dove at His baptism in the river Jordan. If Jesus needed the anointing of the Holy Spirit in power as that added dimension to His life, so do we. Remember the disciples of Jesus? He told them to remain in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. On the day of Pentecost, they received that infilling of the Holy Spirit, and they went and preached with a new illumination, a new insight, a new passion, and a new power, as that added dimension of anointing was upon them. These men had a success that was second to none in their day. In fact, the Bible says that they were accused of having “turned the world upside down”. WOO! Is this not the greatest thing you have ever heard? Can you imagine a church so anointed by the Holy Spirit, so endued with power from on high that we are actually accused of turning things “upside down”? So, the anointing is essential to effective preaching. We need to mention here, that every believer has an anointing for life and service, but, as one Pentecostal minister has stated: “there is also a special degree of anointing available to those who are called to full-time (special) ministry.” Let it also be emphasized that all the epistles were written to and for Spirit-filled believers.

Ephesians 4:11 gives us an overview of the gifts of Christ to the church for various functions and ministries in the body of Christ. How vital is our responsibility to function as Jesus desires to enable us.

We see that another purpose of anointing was to separate and to signify holiness unto the Lord. Moses was to anoint the vessels of the tabernacle and sanctify them or set them apart. Also, he was to do the same with Aaron and his sons. We will look at a few more:

To help us in spiritual warfare.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Ephesians 6:12

Roman wrestlers would anoint themselves with oil to keep their opponent from being able to grab ahold of them. How important is the touch of God upon our lives in fighting the good fight of the faith. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is powerful and necessary to our spiritual warfare. The scripture tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan. Has the accuser gotten ahold of you lately? Has he whispered in your ear that you have not measured up to the divine standard? Has the enemy told you that God has had to leave you? Listen, you have an unction/anointing from the Holy One that will remind you that no weapon formed against you shall prosper! The enemy may accuse you, but the anointing/unction of the Spirit will keep the devil from getting a grip on you. If you are a Spirit-filled believer, there is an added dimension to your arsenal! What is that? It is praying in the Spirit! Romans 8:26 tells us that when we don’t know how to pray as we ought, the Holy Spirit prays through us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Hallelujah! The need of the hour is more anointing, more of the touch of God, more of the Holy Spirit’s power, not less.

To establish and confirm us in Christ.

“Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God.” 2 Corinthians 1:21

To give us spiritual knowledge and insight.

“But you have an unction (anointing) from the Holy One, and ye know all things…but the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”  I John 2:20, 27

How great is this anointing of the sheep! We are the sheep of His pasture. Besides the above purposes, the Shepherd also anoints the sheep for other reasons. You see, sheep are bothered by flies, potential sunstroke, and scab, as well as head-butting other sheep. The anointing helps with these situations as well. There are nose flies that can lay eggs and the larvae travel up the nose and attack the brain which in turn affects the mind. As I have read and understand, the sheep can begin to hit their head and roll in the dirt. Blindness and even death can take place. They become frantic with fear or stomp their feet and end up disturbed, brainsick. They refuse to eat. They run frantically and soon drop over from exhaustion. We are sheep! Are there not spiritual flies that can cause us much trouble? This oil is a constant necessity. In fact, the Shepherd would anoint their heads with this oil in order to keep the flies away from the nose. The flies were present, yet unable to gain an advantage. Jesus knows what we need and when we need it. There are flies of irritation, frustration, and distraction and a host of other things sent by the enemy of our soul. He seeks to kill and destroy. The enemy of your soul is the accuser of the brethren. You may be experiencing this right now! But do not fear! When the enemy comes in like flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him and keep him from burrowing into your mind to make you think things that are false, untrue, and accusatory about your brother or sister in Christ, not to mention your God. If left unanointed; if we do not run to the Shepherd of our souls; if He does not anoint us with His Holy Spirit daily, it will affect my ability to function as a sheep of His pasture. It can affect my spiritual eyesight. It can affect my thinking and my decision making. It can cause me to accuse someone of something they did not do. I can become distracted and suspicious without cause, and my ability to influence others for Christ can be jeopardized. My ability to receive truth and revelation can also be hindered.

The Shepherd also used the oil on the head to aid them in head-butting. Yes, that’s a fact. The oil would help one sheep to slide off from the other sheep and prevent them from injury. How kind and gracious is the Lord. He knows you are going to have this happen once in a while. It’s just what sheep do. Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement over John Mark traveling with them on a missions trip. Yet in the end, they came together, and Paul said, “Bring Mark, He is profitable to me for the ministry.” Yes, Jesus anoints our heads with oil.

The Shepherd also anointed the sheep on the head for healing of bruises, scab, thorns, and wounds from briars. I think of the verse in James that tells us to call for the elders of the church to anoint the sick with oil. It is a symbol of the Oil of the Holy Spirit, and it speaks to the fact that He is the healer. Sometimes we need healing in our mind. Our thinking is in need of a touch. And yes, Jesus, the anointed One can heal every inch of our being. Body, mind, and soul. We sing a song in our church that says, “Look what the Lord has done, He healed my body, He touched my mind, He saved me it was just in time…” Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Ghost and fire. He will do it. Yes, He will do it! You will experience the anointing, that “Special presence of the Holy Spirit…which produces an inspiring awareness of the divine presence.” And then what? You will know what it is to say:

When you run to the Lord, admit that you are a sinner, ask for His forgiveness, and accept Him as your Lord (Ruler) and Savior of your life, then He lives (abides) in you! He begins to work and change you from the inside out. And as you grow and develop in your walk with Him, you find that those things you once longed for are replaced with a contentment – a peace in Him. No matter the circumstances that surround you, He gives to you His joy that is your strength moment by moment! A changed, joyful and freed heart will begin to praise the Lord for who He is and thank Him for His ever presence. This heart will also be able to sing “…For the Comforter abides with me.”

I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the narrow way,
For the hand of God in all my life I see;
And the reason of my bliss,
Yes, the secret all is this:
That the Comforter abides with me.

(Chorus)
He abides, He abides;
Hallelujah, He abides with me!
I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the narrow way,
For the Comforter abides with me.

Once my heart was full of sin,
Once I had no peace within,
Till I heard how Jesus died upon the tree;
Then I fell down at His feet,
And there came a peace so sweet;
Now the Comforter abides with me.

He is with me everywhere,
And He knows my every care;
I’m as happy as a bird and just as free;
For the Spirit has control;
Jesus satisfies my soul,
Since the Comforter abides with me.

There’s no thirsting for the things
Of the world-they’ve taken wings;
Long ago I gave them up, and instantly
All my night was turned to day,
All my burdens rolled away;
Now the Comforter abides with me.

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ²He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters. ³He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name’s sake ⁴Yea, 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. ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in
the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head
with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD forever.

Fellow student of the Word of God, it is time to go deeper into the Bible. It’s time for more growth and development. It is not enough to be BORN AGAIN, but to be constantly growing and developing in Christ. To always move forward toward Christian maturity. Digging into Psalm 23 is one of the greatest ways to experience that growth. Let’s go further into this Psalm and see what we can find.

Asking questions has always been a big help to me in studying the scriptures. I can see here in this verse that the Shepherd is preparing the table and in so doing He is divinely providing for our sustenance and safety! So, three simple questions about this verse in Psalm 23 are:

Who prepares?
What is prepared?
Where is it prepared?

Let’s review. I lie down in green pastures after I have fed on the Word and have had a drink of the Spirit. Ah, yes, the balance of the Word and the Spirit. Do you remember that? It is necessary so I may grow up in Him, be not tossed around by every wind of doctrine, experience the restoration that bends me back into shape, realigning me so I can walk in the paths of righteousness for the glory a honor of His name. This is all vital because of what I am about to face. The valley of the shadow of death is just ahead. Can you see the hand of God in all of this? I can. He sees beyond my scope of knowledge. Yet, when the valley comes, I will fear no evil, for He has been and will always be with me. Notice the rod and the staff are now mentioned. Listen to it:

Hmm. Apparently, I need this. The rod and the staff were very useful to the shepherd. At night as the sheep entered the fold to rest and retire for the night, the shepherd would swing the rod and lightly let it fall on the back of the sheep as he counted them one by one. It is at this time that the shepherd may find one that is sick, or limping, or even lost. But there is another use of the rod and the staff. What comfort could they bring to the sheep? Ah, it is right here in verse 5 that we see it. The shepherd uses his rod to prepare a table before the sheep in the presence of their enemies. He uses the rod to prepare a place in the field, in the pasture ahead of me because He knows the area of feeding is infested with possible vipers or adders (snakes). How great is our God! In fact, some of the best feeding pastures will be in places of danger. That’s why he doesn’t take us around the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but THROUGH IT! Excuse me? Yes, through it. Because on the other side of the valley is an abundance of food that makes it worth the trip. There is something in that pasture on the other side of the valley that you CAN’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE! Yes, the enemy is hanging out there for a reason. But the enemy is about to learn a lesson he will not soon forget! What is that? The Lord encamps around about those that fear Him! But also, another verse comes to mind:

“…When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord raises up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59:19

Woo! A standard against the enemy is about to be raised! I think I am feeling better already! Are you? So, the shepherd goes into the “grazing area” and prepares it so the sheep can come in and eat without fear. (Divine Provision)

Well, I think you know who that is! The Lord does the preparing before I get there! Listen to these verses:

“The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee…” Deuteronomy 31:3

“I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight…” Isaiah 45:2

“And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

“Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place
to pitch your tents in…” Deuteronomy 1:33

Wow. These are great verses. The shepherd is one step ahead of the Devil! Amen! You ought to shout or something! Go ahead, I’ll wait. So, the sheep stay behind while the shepherd goes ahead. He sees what the sheep cannot see. Jesus sees what YOU CANNOT SEE! Sometimes we don’t give enough consideration as to the WHO of this Divine Provision. Who has gone ahead? JESUS. Who has died for our sins? JESUS. Who has taken care of the enemy? JESUS. We must begin with the WHO before we deal with the WHAT. Why? There is an old song that says,

“No one ever cared for me, like Jesus;
There’s no other friend as kind as He
No one else can take the sin and darkness from me;
Oh, how much He cares for me.”

Someone needs to know right now that Jesus cares and has not forgotten you. Really, it is true! He has not only seen ahead, but He is doing something about it. He sees the enemy before we do. He has not been taken by surprise by any demon or devil in Hell! He knows what you are facing and just because I don’t see Him working, or preparing, doesn’t mean He is sitting idly by and doing nothing about it. In fact, HE’S ALREADY BEEN THERE AHEAD OF US! Hallelujah!

Listen, we can’t defeat the devil, but HE can. God wanted Israel to know that it is HE that shall tread down their enemies. It is the Lord’s arm that has gotten us the victory. You and I need to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Jesus is the WHO that has defeated death, Hell, and the grave. Why is it vital that the Shepherd do this preparing? Why is it imperative that He goes in ahead of the sheep? Why are the sheep stopped, kept from moving forward into this pasture? Why must Jesus be the one to prepare the table in the presence of your enemies? I want to go in, Lord! No, you stay behind for a while. Why? Because He can see what you cannot. What He does now, you may not understand. Jesus wants you to stay back! Don’t move. Stop! Go no further! It may seem to you right now, that your Christian life is at a standstill. But not to worry. He’s working; He’s preparing; He’s providing! (Divine Provision)

A table. Yes. Prepared for what? It is preparation for His provision! And this provision is two-fold.

1. Substance
2. Safety

First, it is for substance. We always think of food when we hear TABLE. But that may be more secondary than primary. Food is only a part of it. Jesus is preparing the table so the sheep can come in and feed upon the grass. It is selected, prepared food. But don’t stop there. It goes beyond that.

Second, it is for safety. He’s preparing a table for the express purpose of providing safety. The word “table” in the Greek Septuagint is “Trapezon”. A word of great importance. What does it mean? In simple words, it means, “on all fours”. Well, a table is just that. A flat surface with four legs. The four legs make it stable. In the book of Luke, chapter 19, we find this word used by Jesus as He spoke of the parable of the pounds. Let’s look at it.

“And another came, saying, Lord, behold here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee., thou wicked servant…wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?” Luke 19:20-23

The word in that verse we want to point out is the word, “BANK”. From A.T. Robertson’s word pictures in the New Testament, we find these words:

“Into the bank”. Literally, upon a table. This old word trapeza, from tetrapeza (tetra, four and pous, foot). It means any table, food on the table, feast or banquet, table for moneychangers, or bank, as here.” Gospel of Luke, page 243

Some people think that Psalm 23 at this point has changed from a shepherd scene to an all-you-can-eat restaurant like Golden Corral. The scriptures do not bear this out. The Shepherd is not preparing a banquet table with food on it. Jesus goes ahead of us to PREPARE a TABLE (a secure place) for us. He’s making divine provision for us. Why? Because enemies are there. The table speaks of a secure location. A bank is a table in that it is a place of security. Remember, “On all fours”. People would go into the bank and place their money on the table. It was stable, on all fours, in other words, a place of security. Jesus goes into snake infested territory to secure the location in order that the sheep can graze, eat in peace without fear! Is there anything to fear? I thought sheep can’t die from snake bites.

Well, sheep can die from snake bites. Many will tell you they cannot, but this is not so. Sheep can die from snake bites. So, what does the shepherd do? How does He prepare this “table”, this secure place? The staff and/or the rod is used. Isn’t it interesting that David mentions the rod and the staff right after the valley of the shadow of death and just before the table in the presence of our enemies? Hmm. This is most glorious to me. Yes, the rod and the staff will be of great comfort as Jesus secures a place for us to feed in the presence of our enemies. Let me quote to you from a respected source (C.W. Slemming) that has helped me understand this tremendous truth.

“The Shepherd’s method of dealing with this situation is to leave the sheep outside any such infested field while he takes from his girdle a bottle of hog’s oil. Then, scanning the field and raking over any long grass with his rod, he pours a circle of the oil around every hole he can find. The sheep are then allowed to enter and graze. As soon as the vipers beneath the ground realize that there are sheep above, up they come out of their holes but only to find they can go no further. The smooth bodies of the vipers cannot pass over the slippery oil, so they are prisoners inside the circle.”

Oh, believer in Jesus, what joy should come to our hearts today! When you find yourself in enemy territory, do not fear, for Jesus has gone before you to make it so that you can be secure in the middle of enemy infested situations. And listen to this. While you are going through this trial, this land of the enemy, Jesus will give you a WORD TO FEED UPON, a word to chew on, a word to sustain you and feed you and keep you alive, nourish your spirit, and bring the peace and calm to your heart. Listen to this verse in Philippians 4:7.

Notice, the verse says that His peace will be there. The peace of God will Keep You. It will keep your heart and mind. Keep is a word that means protect. It means to surround like a garrison, a sentry post. He will PROTECT your heart and your mind! Why my heart and my mind? Because that is where your trouble is. When you lay down at night, or when you are alone in your room, the mind and the heart can become active and begin to cause things to mushroom inside you. They become bigger than what they really are. But praise the Lord, Jesus is now your shepherd, and He has prepared the way before you got into this field of vipers. He secures the place so you can survive by feeding on His word and that very word will bring the peace that passes all your understanding and will protect your heart and your mind, so YOU don’t go AWOL! You don’t run from the trial or the enemy infested field. But you stand and face the trial and interpret the trial in the light of His Word that He has given you to feed upon RIGHT UNDER THE NOSE OF THE ENEMY!!! Is the enemy gone? No! He is still there. But he is powerless! Did you hear that? He is powerless! The Oil of Holy Spirit prevents the enemy from accomplishing his dastardly deed. The Holy Spirit will keep the enemy in his place so that all he can do is stare at you from his hole. This tells us how important the Holy Spirit is! Let me share with you what wrestlers in ancient times used to do to help themselves during a wrestling match. Before the match, the wrestler would smear (anoint) his entire body with oil. You already know what I am about to say, don’t you? Well, the oil would make it so the opponent could not grab a hold of the wrestler. Someone is reading this who is surrounded by the enemy of your soul telling you that you are too far gone to ever be forgiven by the Lord. The devil is telling you that your salvation is a sham, and that church or chapel service you’ve been attending is just giving you false hope. But listen, the Holy Spirit lives within you, and greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. The Holy Spirit within will act like oil that will keep the enemy in his hole and like the oil smeared on the wrestler, your opponent, though present, cannot get a grip on you!! Can you say amen? Well, somebody ought to! This is why the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is so vital as well. Yes, I mean Pentecost! It’s for every believer alive in Christ Jesus! The Bible tells us that we will receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon us. It’s true! It’s real! It’s powerful! It’s for you! It will help to keep you from running out on God and give you the power in prayer to protect your heart and mind in the middle of the night when the enemy comes around to hound you from his hole. Is there any question that our great Shepherd is divinely providing for His own?

Where does it all happen? In the camp of the enemy! In enemy territory! Why not just go around the enemy? Because there’s something the Lord wants us to learn and receive in that pastureland. Look where the enemy is. Look! In the place of some of the greenest, and most nutritious grass you’ve ever seen. What is this grass? It’s the Word of God that we feed upon. It’s nuggets of truth that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s divine provision of the richest kind. It’s revelation that causes you to rejoice when you receive it! It’s rich! It’s green! And it’s worth the trip and the preparation. So, where does the enemy like to hide? Where does the devil like to show up? Where the Word is. Where the grass is some of the finest ever. In the church that preaches the truth! The devil doesn’t have to worry about some pastures. There’s not much to feed upon. But when it’s rich land, and full of some of the best feed available, the devil takes care to send some of his most venomous vipers to infiltrate that place and take some of those sheep by surprise. However, “THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME in the presence of mine enemies”. Don’t fear and worry about these vipers. He has poured out the oil of His Holy Spirit to surround the enemy and keep him at bay, at a distance, as a prisoner in his hole. And in the middle of enemy territory, we as sheep will march right in and feed upon a Word that will sustain us in the presence of our enemies!!! Woo! I can hardly keep myself from shouting. The enemy thinks he has an upper hand, but the sheep just go right on eating while the devil’s snake is lurking beneath the ground unable to do anything but gaze while sheep graze. As that author we quoted above has stated, “The smooth bodies of the vipers cannot pass over the slippery oil, so they are prisoners inside the circle.”

Has the Lord your Shepherd given you any nuggets of truth to chew upon while you were in enemy territory? He has given many to me. I have been in some tight spots. It has been by his Holy Spirit that He has prepared the table of security for me, pouring the oil around the hole of devilish darkness that I might feast upon a word from the Lord in the presence of mine enemies. Words that have sustained me in that dark and tense moment when I thought the Lord had abandoned me. And they came just in time. (Divine Provision.)

Let me share one particular verse that the Lord has given me recently. Ok?

Whoa! This is for someone facing the onslaught of distress at this moment! I have to tell you, this is one of those nuggets, those luscious tufts of grass that you come across and are led to by the Shepherd. He has gone before you and prepared a table, a safe place where you can enjoy a divinely provided morsel of His Word in the middle of a trial or tribulation. Does anyone hear me? Is there anyone out there? Please take heart! His Word will feed you and sustain you in any circumstance of distress. The word distress in this verse means affliction, pressure, tribulation. The word enlarged is a word that carries the meaning of make room. HE gives me room; He makes room for me. In tight places it’s difficult to move around and even breathe! So, He gives me breathing room in a tight spot of distress and affliction. When the pressure is coming down upon me and squeezing me tight, He opens up the room and allows me to breathe! When you pass through the rivers, they will not overflow you! I go through the river, but He keeps my head above water!! I can breathe! We can say it this way, Thou hast made room for me when I was under pressure in a tight place. Is it not true that when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3) were in a tight place that Jesus came in the middle of the fire and enlarged them, made room for them by setting them free from the ropes that bound their hands WHILE THEY WERE STILL IN DISTRESS? Yes! So, what’s the lesson? Pressure serves a purpose! There are some things that you need to be loosed from and the only way is in the fire of distress.

Think about this. A sponge is filled with water. It is lying on a table. What fills the sponge? We will find out when pressure is placed upon the sponge and out it comes! We can tell what fills the sponge by what comes out under pressure! Pressure comes. It just will. My mom had what she called a pressure cooker. It was a device into which she put tough cuts of meat, the cheaper cuts. She would place the lid on the pot, and then screw it down tight. This type of cooking was faster, and it made tough meat tender! Woo! I can feel it already! Without the pressure the meat would take longer to cook, and it would be tough chewing. I hope it is coming through. The pressure is necessary to get the desired result. Maybe we are too tough, too arrogant, and Jesus wants to soften you up a bit. Then what you say and do is easier for people to assimilate and digest because you now say it in the spirit of meekness and not arrogance. Let your words always be seasoned with salt, the Bible says. Remember, it’s not just WHAT you say, but HOW you say it.

There is a fish that lives in the ocean called a “BLOB” fish. It is the ugliest fish in the world, so they say. What makes it so ugly? It lives very deep in the ocean. 2,000 to 4,000 feet deep. This depth is called the mesopelagic zone. The pressure at this depth is approximately 80 times that of the surface. So, naturally, it would be living under very extreme pressure. They have little to no bone or muscle. These fish have never been kept alive outside their natural habitat. In order to keep one as a pet you would have to replicate their environment by controlling the pressure, or they die. What are you saying, Pastor Jerry? Listen, without the pressure they are not able to survive and keep their shape. It’s the pressure that brings form and shape to the fish! I hope this is coming clear and getting you excited and triumphant! Because of the pressure they are able to live and move. So many times, I fear the pressure and the affliction. But not anymore! Jesus is using it to shape me, to conform me to His image! To keep me alive! To bring tenderness to my spirit and usefulness as a vessel of honor for HIM! If a scuba diver comes up too quickly from the depths, he or she will experience decompression sickness (DCS). Nitrogen bubbles will form in the body and can cause paralysis, or even coma and death. Sometimes we want to get out from underneath our distresses, or pressures too quickly. Lord, we say, get me out of this, now! But He is in control of the distress and pressure and knows just how quickly or slowly we need to come out of it. His hand is on us as the potter’s hand is on the clay. He knows how much pressure it will take to shape the clay, to form the clay into an instrument that He has in His mind.  He is forming you under pressure and the vessel that is created is going to be used for His purpose. And it’s under that pressure that you will be conformed to the image of His Son.

Hey, it is in enemy territory, or distress and pressure that we receive some of the best revelation of truth that can set us free!! (Divine Provision)

So, remember, Jesus leaves the sheep for a purpose. He says, stop, stay here. You feel abandoned because you don’t feel Him near you anymore. But wait. Christ has not abandoned you. He has only left for a short time to go into enemy territory for YOUR PROVISION! What? Yes! So, when we feel He’s left us, it may be for a reason. He’s getting the table ready! He’s securing the pasture for some powerful revelation of truth that will sustain you well beyond any trial or trouble. And look! He provides this in the presence of your enemies. I think it’s gonna be a good day.

Pastor Jerry

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and is safe.”
Proverbs 18:10
“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried; Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . . And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply. "Lord, I need answers, I need to know why! Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait? I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign, Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, We need but to ask, and we shall receive. And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry: I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, As my Master replied again, "Wait." So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . . and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign. I could shake the heavens and darken the sun. I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be. You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me. You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint. You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair; You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there. You'd not know the joy of resting in Me When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove. You would know that I give, and I save, for a start, But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night, The faith that I give when you walk without sight. The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee, What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee. Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true, But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me. And though oft My answers seem terribly late, My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ² He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name’s sake ⁴ 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. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house
of the LORD forever.

The twenty-third Psalm is all about the Shepherd - the Good Shepherd – Jesus Christ the keeper of our souls. It is written about Him to His sheep. The only way someone can be a sheep in the flock of this Shepherd is if that person has heard and responded to the call of the Shepherd. Each of His sheep understand that just as it says in John 10:15,

He, the Shepherd, gave His life on Calvary’s cross so that the sinner (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23) could confess their sins to Him, admit they need a Savior and turn to follow Him. His blood then freed the sheep from the penalty of sin, which is spiritual death, giving them new life and membership in His flock. What a wonderful, perfect place to be, under the care of the Good Shepherd. In a flock that has all its needs provided for, lacking nothing, cared for out of His love. Praise the Lord!

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with a young man from Ghana, Africa. He had grown-up shepherding his father’s flock of about 150 sheep. He related to me what a common day in the life of a shepherd was like. He also shared about the actions and habits of his sheep. Listen to some of the things he shared with me and while you do, think about the Shepherd and sheep of Psalm 23.

Each day, early in the morning, he would go to the sheep fold – the place where many shepherds of the village kept their flocks over-night – it could be a few hundred sheep all mixed together. The fold was a walled area for protection. All the shepherds would start calling their sheep and the sheep would separate from the others and respond to their shepherds call by following his voice. Think of the scripture in John 10:3-4,

Next, he would lead his sheep to calm water to drink, after the long night. First, the sheep would wait while the shepherd drank from the stream, and then when he was finished, they would step down to the calm water and drink. Does this remind you of the part of Psalm 23:2 that says, “… he leadeth me beside the still waters.”? (Jehovah-Shalom) After the sheep had their fill, he would then lead them to the place where he had chosen for them to graze. He told me that he had to be mindful of the amount of grass that was available, the size of his flock, the danger of the paths, valleys, and hills. He had to watch that the sheep did not decide to start feeding in someone’s grain field and ruin their crop. He had to look for shade for the sheep during the heat of the day, so that they could lay down and chew their cud – getting all the nutrients out of the grass. (Sound familiar?) He used his rod and staff or even a slingshot to protect his flock from dangerous animals that would come to hunt his sheep. He had to be on the look-out for people who would come and steal sheep for their own gain. All the time he stayed near his sheep, keeping a watchful eye on them, keeping their care in his mind. At the end of the day, he would return them to the water to drink and then they would return to the fold for the night. As he would arrive with the sheep, his father would always be standing there, looking at each sheep as it entered. His father would count them and look at how they acted. It was interesting to hear that his father would know how well he had done his job that day by the actions of the sheep. If they were stubborn and not wanting to walk, if they were distracted trying to eat from the nearby fields, or their stomachs were thin, then he would know that his son had NOT done the job that he had been sent to do. For the sheep reflected the shepherd’s care – “… he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” A well fed, contented sheep brings glory to its shepherd.

At one point, I asked this “no longer shepherd” if he considers sheep as being “dumb” – as I have heard people say. He laughed and responded that they were not dumb at all. In fact, he told me that they are smart animals that were created to have their needs provided for by someone else. They can learn - they learn to rely on and trust their shepherd. They learn to wait for him. They learn his voice. When he had one that was stubborn and uncooperative, his “teaching” was eventually learned and accepted, and the sheep became a cooperative sheep of the flock – for its own good and the good of those around it. Oh, how we are like sheep! We are in need of the Shepherd, but also created with the ability to learn what He has for us to learn. All of this depends on our willingness to stay near, obey and trust our Shepherd.

Throughout this conversation, I see/hear many things, but one thing keeps resonating in my soul. It is the presence of the shepherd in the life of his sheep. He is there all the time. This leads us to verse four,

The shepherd was there with his sheep when feeding, when they were lying down, and also when they were drinking by cool, still waters. His presence, his love was there with them when they had been injured and were in need of being healed. He was there on the paths of righteousness – lovingly leading and guiding them in “right-living.” The care He showed for them could be seen in the health of His sheep. And now we see that in the valley of the shadows of death – He is still there!

You and I have both experienced these valleys of shadows of death that are full of evil. Times and places in our lives when the circumstances around us press in, to the point where we feel that we cannot breathe. These may be times of loss, loneliness, or discouragement. Times of betrayal, regrets for poor decisions made, physical danger, or sickness. Maybe you are being pressed by others to do things you know are wrong. Possibly the work of evil is so powerful around you that you forget that you are a child of the King of kings. Are you crying as the Psalmist in Psalm 6:6-7

Maybe this valley is so dark and deep and long that you feel as though you have been walking in it forever and there is no other side only that it will lead to death.

Christian, I want you to look at one little word, but a word of great power and hope – through! “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death….” Through indicates moving in at one point and out at another point, especially the opposite side! You are going to make it through the valley. Why can we say that? Because the Lord, your Shepherd, promises it right here in this verse! There is another side and if you stay on the path, His path, it is headed in that direction. You will walk out the other side! Praise His name! There is hope! But why is there hope?

Look at what you and I should be doing (or should I say not be doing) while we are in the valley of the shadow of death. This verse tells us we should, “fear no evil.” Fear means to dread, be in panic or alarm in the presence or anticipation of danger. Since, this valley is the place where fear thrives, how can the Lord be telling us to fear not? Doesn’t He know what is surrounding me? Doesn’t He know the pain and ache of my heart? Well, in fact He does, because He is present there with you. It is His presence that is greater than any present danger. He is your hope! He is your ONLY hope. Psalm 27:1 says,

We should not be afraid of anyone nor anything. Nothing should cause fear for He is your salvation and, “Greater is He (the Lord) that is in me, than he (Satan your enemy) that is in the world.” Remember, He loves you; He cares for you. You are His most prized possession. Because of His loving presence, you should not fear any evil that is around you.

Let’s look at Isaiah 43:1-3 and see some parallel verses.

Oh, how great He is. Christian, He created you. He formed you within your mother’s womb. He redeemed you – paid for your sin. He knows the number of your days. You are the apple of His eye. He knows your name. You are His! His love for you knows no boundaries. His love is huge and vast, greater than we can even comprehend. In fact, that love cannot be measured. C. H. Spurgeon, a well-known preacher from the 1800’s once said something to this effect (not a direct quote). If God should pity me, I would understand it. If He would regard my misery and deliver me, I can comprehend that. But He looks at me with a love that is greater than the love I have for my own children. In fact, that love is so great that He gave His own Son in my place. Isn’t it a wonder that when it came to the question should we die or Christ die, God spared not his own Son but freely delivered Him up for us all? That you and I may go free. What mysterious love is that! If He has set His heart on me, of whom shall I be afraid? Now, I can walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I will fear no evil [why?] for Thou art with me.

The presence of the Lord your Shepherd within that dark valley will get you through. He is walking right through it with you. Deuteronomy 31:6 says,

He does not ask you to go through anything that He is not walking through with you. In fact, He does not ask you to go through anything that He has not already experienced Himself. You may think, “What? When did He ever experience this evil I am surrounded by, today?” The book of Isaiah was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ and yet the prophet announces exactly what Jesus the King of glory would face in His life here on earth. He left the realms of heaven to enter a sin sick world because of His love for you and me. Read Isaiah 53:3-5,

Jesus Christ knows your sufferings, sorrows, and griefs. He has experienced all your pain firsthand. He took on Himself the punishment of all sin – yours, mine, the entire world’s – through all yesterdays, today and tomorrows. This God, who is present and loves you with the unmeasurable love, will not allow you to suffer more than what you can handle with His help and His grace. He is your Jehovah-Shammah – The Lord Who is There.

As Jesus was about to return to heaven, after His resurrection from the dead, He gave His disciples instructions and encouraged them. Matthew 28:20 tells us that He closed by saying,

Yes, He returned to heaven at that point. So how is He with us always as He had promised? How is He with me today in the middle of this dark valley? John 14:26-27 tells us that the Father (God) would send the Comforter who is the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ place. The Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity would help the disciples remember all that Jesus had taught them while He had been living with them on earth. Then, He said in verse 27,

The Holy Spirit is with us in our valleys. He is ministering His comfort and peace within the troubled times. He is instructing us where to safely step through His Word. Because of His presence, we can walk with hearts that are not troubled nor afraid. The closer we are to Him the more peace we will experience. It is in His presence we will find fullness of joy no matter the circumstances.

Nothing in life is coincidental. In the green, grass filled pastures He is our provider. And in those wonderful times, it is often easy to become comfortable and maybe even a little self-reliant. He provides so wonderfully that we may sometimes forget that He is even there. The Shepherd has a reason for every valley we walk through. It is within those times that He is teaching us. Think for a moment, if we never had to walk through dark times, we would never experience Him as our Fortress, Strong Tower, Deliverer, our Shelter, our Refuge, our Ever-Present Help in time of need. It is within those times that we learn best who we are – sheep in need, and exactly who He is – Our Good Shepherd.

Look again at Isaiah 43:1-3.

This verse says when thou pass, not if thou pass. Christian, you are without a doubt going to face waters, rivers, and flaming fires. Valleys of the shadow of death are going to happen. There is no way to get around them. They are a part of a sheep’s life. But praise the Lord for the other word found in these verses – through. You are going to pass through the waters with Him. You are going to go through the rivers – which will not overflow or be too much for you because of Him. You are going to walk through the fire without being burned for He is there with you in the fire. Praise His name! Turn your eyes upon Jesus for He is walking with you through this valley of the shadow of death. And believer, He is walking with you right out the other side!

Christy

The name of the LORD is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and is safe.”
Proverbs 18:10
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 Peter 5:7

“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged.
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful?
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do your friend despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you;
You will find a solace there.”

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:  he leadeth me beside the still waters.  ³He restoreth my soul:  he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  ⁴Yea, 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.  ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:  thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Welcome back to this LifeLine study of Psalm 23. This is one of the best-known Scriptures found in the Bible. We are excited for this study, for as we dig into it, we find that from within, there is so much more to learn.

Today, we find ourselves at the portion of the third verse that reads,

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Let’s start right off by splitting this verse into three focuses,
1. Him
2. His Plan & Path
3. His Purpose.

Who is the He? As from the earlier verses, we know that the He, throughout Psalm 23, is referring to our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have also found that we are able see God’s character – who He is by what He is doing in these verses. The One True God is known by many names within the Bible and each of these names use a description of His character within the name itself. How awesome that His name tells us exactly who He is!

Remember in verse one, we found that the Lord is our Shepherd or as it would be written in Hebrew - Jehovah-Rohi? David wrote this Psalm after spending time caring for his father’s sheep. From his sheep experience and the experience of His Lord working in his life, David could see how the Lord was like a shepherd to him. So, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit he called Him Jehovah-Rohi – the Lord is my Shepherd.

We can also see that the Lord is shown as Jehovah-Jireh – the God who provides. Praise the Lord, He provides all that we need! Remember, it may not be all that we want, but He knows, in His unending, all-powerful, all-compassionate wisdom, exactly what each of His sheep need for each moment in time. Philippians 4:19 reads,

Thank you, Jesus, for knowing my needs and faithfully being my Jehovah-Jireh!

When we look at the Lord leading us beside still waters, we find that His name is Jehovah-Shalom – God our Peace. In Isaiah 9:6 we read,

Jesus Christ, and the price He paid with His life on the cross, made it possible for us to be at peace with God, through salvation from our sins. Then, in our Christian life, He leads us as our Prince of Peace to calmly grow and mature in Him. He surrounds us with a peace that only He can provide as our Jehovah-Shalom.

Next, we see our Savior as Jehovah-Rapha, meaning the Lord your healer. He is the one that can restore our souls. Yes, even as Christians, we take our eyes off the Lord, get distracted by the “things” happening around us, and find ourselves in need of being put right by the Shepherd. In Psalm 51:12 we read,

That is exactly what He does. Our Jehovah-Rapha heals the broken, hurt spirit restoring us unto Himself.

This entire Psalm is about Him and what He is doing in the Christian’s life. Now, we find ourselves here at verse three, and we see the Shepherd as Jehovah-T’sidkenu. He is the Lord God our righteousness! His character is RIGHTEOUSNESS! In all His ways He is righteous. That means there is not any lawlessness in Him. Jehovah-T’sidkenu can never sin, He hates sin and is the perfect judge of it. There is no way for Him to act in any other way, but to be 100% holy. Psalm 145:17 tells us,

See the words all in that verse? That means that it is not part or some, but inclusive of every motive, thought, word, and deed. His righteousness is consistent with all His other attributes. God’s righteousness never changes, it is the same yesterday, today and forever. In Psalm 119:142 we read,

All of us were born sinners and unable to make ourselves righteous in the sight of God. Romans 3:10, “… there is none righteous, no not one.” In order for us to one day stand before God, our Righteous Judge, we must be made righteous in His sight. This is the reason why Jesus Christ came to earth as a man, lived a perfectly righteous life, gave His life on the cross – paying the debt we owed because of our sins, and then He rose again victorious over sin and the grave. 1 Corinthians 5:21 states,

“For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Anyone who repents of their sins and trusts in Him will be dealt with as if they were righteous. So, our righteousness is not anything we do for ourselves, but it is what Christ has done for us! Our Lord Jesus is truly our Jehovah-T’sidkenu. He is our righteousness.

Shepherds must study and know the land where they will lead and graze their sheep. They don’t just take off one day guiding an entire flock over land that they have never seen. Before they ever take the sheep through those areas, they will travel over the paths, looking for places that have obstacles or dangerous areas that could cause harm. They choose a path that is best. Only after they have done this, they will be prepared so that when their flock arrives to a specific place that could be a problem, they will know the best way to guide them to safety. We could say, that the shepherd has it all planned out. The shepherd then goes out before the sheep and with great care, guides them on the best paths that he has chosen. The entire time the shepherd is acting with the interest of his sheep in mind.

Jesus has done the same for His sheep. Because He is righteous and only able to do what is right and good and true, then the paths that He chooses for us will only be right, good, and true. We can trust Him in the way that He leads. You may ask, “How does He lead me? How do I know what He wants me to do or where He wants me to go?” In scriptures we read,

“… and the sheep hear his [Jesus’] voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” John 10:3-4.

So, we know it is true - He does lead. According to this verse, the sheep are following the voice of their shepherd. We must have a listening ear for the guidance of the Lord. He will speak and guide through His Word. He will speak and guide us through the promptings of the Holy Spirit within our hearts. But, in order for us to hear His voice, we must open the Word, we must seek Him, we must have a hunger and a thirst for Him. In Psalm 143:8 and 10 the psalmist writes,

This is the prayer of a man who is listening for and seeking the voice of the Lord. He is wanting to be lead on the path of righteousness. A person who is crying out as this psalmist is, will hear and receive the direction of the Lord. Psalm 4:11 tells us,

“I [God] have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.”

This requires not only a listening ear, but trust on the part of the sheep. We must trust our Shepherd that where and how He leads will be the best path. A well-known verse in Proverbs 3:4-5 says,

Possibly you find it difficult to trust others because of hurt you have experienced. Unfortunately, we have been “burnt” by so many, that soon we place a “safety wall” around ourselves that protect us from the next hurt. But take a moment and look at who we are to trust for our leading here in this Psalm – really, throughout the entire Bible! This is your Shepherd. This is your Good Shepherd. This is your Righteous, Good Shepherd. He is the One that has walked before you. He is the One that knows the best path for you – on paths of righteousness. Just as the verse above says, we can trust in the Lord with all of our hearts.

Take a look at this song and let it speak to your heart as it does mine:

All the way my Savior leads me-
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me-
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me-
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.

Oh, Christian, let your Lord guide you. Trust Him for you can’t go wrong walking on the path He has chosen for you.

Remember that we said the shepherd goes out and “checks out” the paths before he leads his sheep. From this we can see that other paths do exist. Paths that lead other places and can be detrimental to us. Paths that may look nice and easy for a short time, but ones that the shepherd already knows leads to danger and destruction. Those other paths can be tempting. Look at Psalm 119:104,

“From your precepts [directions or rules] I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.”

There exists a false way. Proverbs 4:27 says,

Here we can see there is a way to the right and way to the left. Another verse, Proverbs 11:19

You and I are each left with a choice. And we each make that choice. Do you choose to follow the path that leads off in a direction that looks good to you but leads to evil and death? Or do you step out in obedience to your shepherd and follow His leading, trusting Him in each step? We find in 1 Peter 2:21, Peter writes,

You want to know the best path? Look to your Shepherd and step where He steps.

Now what happens when we are walking righteously, on the path of righteousness with the Righteous One? We find His purpose. It is so that your life points to Him. It is so that where you walk, what you say, what you do, points others to your Good Shepherd. In this, He receives all the glory, honor and praise! Look at a verse that we have read many times throughout our LifeLine Lessons: 1 Peter 2:9,

This obedience to His leading on His path is so you and I are able to show forth HIS praises. Look at these verses found in Psalm 40:1-3,

He turned toward, He heard, He brought you out, He set your feet, He established you, He put a new song of praise in your mouth, and why did He do all of this? So that others will see it, fear (respect Him) and trust in Him with a life of obedience! Praise the Lord for His path! Praise the Lord for He is leading! Praise the Lord for His righteousness! He is our Jehovah-T’sidkenu.

Hebrews 13: 20-21:

Christy

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:  he leadeth me beside the still waters.  ³He restoreth my soul:  he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴Yea, 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.  ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:  thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Here we are again, sitting down to study this most beloved Psalm.  My prayer is that it is becoming more and more clear to you the power behind these words.  In fact, they are not just words to be read or quoted or memorized (all good activities), but words with meaning, with life, words with power!  Words that were written over 3000 years ago by a king who had been a shepherd before being a king!  David, a man with experience shepherding - real-live sheep, but also a man ordained (set apart by God) to rule a nation, a people that God loved.  Twice in the Bible, David is described as "...a man after God's own heart."  Could the Holy Spirit inspire men to write those words about you?   David the shepherd/king was not a perfect man (we read of his choices to sin in the Old Testament), but he was a man who had a heart that leaned toward God, He wanted God.  Praise the Lord, that the Holy Spirit inspired David to write these words that you and I need to read today - all these years later.  The passing of time, does not change the meaning or power behind God's Word - for in Hebrews we read that,

And in John 1:14 the Bible tells us that Jesus is the Word,

So, this Word that we have is the same at the time of David as it is today.  And tomorrow, we will be able to pick it up and the Holy Spirit will continue to speak to the heart that is wanting to know more of Him.  Stop a moment and have a heart check.  Why are you reading this lesson?  Have you joined us with a hunger and a thirst for more of God?  If you have, you will be fed!

Ok, so let's stop right here and go back to the beginning and read Psalm 23 again.  This time, slowly thinking about the words as you do.  If you are anything like me, your mind races ahead, reads quickly, filling in what I know, and it is easy to miss the meaning behind these God inspired words.  When you read it this time, read it prayerfully.  Read it asking the Lord what He wants you to learn from it.  What nutrition for growth does He want you to pull from it as you chew and meditate on it?  What drink of cool clear water does the Holy Spirit want to give to your soul to restore it to life and health?  What exactly is the Lord saying to you, personally for you, where you are today?  Feel free as you prayerfully reread to take your pen and mark places that stand out to you.  Look for words that speak hope to your heart.  Look for words that tell you who the Lord is (Hint: He....)  and what He is doing through this one chapter of the Bible.  You could even mark the parts that show who He is addressing (hint: my...)  You could even put a little "?" by the areas that you don't have clear understanding.  Please, don't get bogged down with this, but let it be something that slows you down and helps you focus on the many truths in this six verse Psalm.  STOP!  Now is the time to prayerfully re-read.

In previous lessons we learned that the Lord - Jesus Christ is our Shepherd.  That means we must be His sheep.  Remember in the LifeLine study of The Beatitudes (Lessons 1-12), when we learned that the Beatitudes were written for Christians and their character development?  Here in Psalm 23, it is important to realize that when we accept Christ as our Savior, confess our sins to Him, and repent, He becomes our Good Shepherd, leading, guiding and caring for us his sheep.  So just as The Beatitudes are for Christians, Psalm 23 is also written to the ones who are following the Good Shepherd as a sheep in His fold.   We also learned that our Shepherd knows what is best for His sheep, we referred to this as divine sustenance.  The best of the Lord may not always be what the sheep (you and I) want, but it is exactly what meets our needs.  So, the Shepherd will provide the necessities for the sheep - those things that are necessary or needed for the survival, growth and development of His prized possessions - us!  The Lord loves us so much that He is going to provide the best for us - He is going to lead us to the best food and water - the Word of God enlightened to our hearts by the moving of the Holy Spirit.    It will be the grass (Word) that has the best nutrition to keep us spiritually well fed and healthy.  He is going to then take us to pastures where we can safely lie down and chew over the Word that He has given.  During that time of meditation, the wholesome nutrition from His Word will soak into us building our spiritual heath and giving us strength for the path ahead.  The Word will cause us to thirst, and the Holy Spirit will quench that thirst ministering and refreshing us through an understanding of Him!  Not only does He feed us and water us, but the Good Shepherd checks us over or "visits" us - to see if we have things in our lives that are hurting our development and stealing our peace and joy in Him.  The Lord will work to remove those things that "bug" us so that we can calmly walk with Him and not be so wrapped up in our little issues of distraction - experiencing discomfort, discontentment and possibly even influencing others the same.  Oh, the Lord is so good!  His love for us is so evident in His presence and guidance in our lives.  Truly, He is The Good Shepherd.

We have now arrived at verse three which starts as, "He restoreth my soul..."  In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read.

As His sheep in our Savior's flock, we have already been made new in Him.  Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we are set free from those sins that had bound us to the world.  We are brand new in our inner man.  Romans 6:6 says,

So, as a born-again sheep we have already been set up or established in His flock.  We have been changed and set free to safely follow our Shepherd wherever He may lead.  So why would our soul need to be restored if we are already in Him?

Sheep are not promised the perfect easy life.  As a Christian you know that difficulties and trials still come.  Circumstances still surround you, that distract you from your Shepherd.  Temptations are there calling you in their direction.  Maybe death knocks on your family’s door and grief puts its hand over your eyes.  And it is easy to wander off in a direction that looks "better" than where the Shepherd is leading.  Each one of us face these trials.  Some of them brought on ourselves by our own poor decisions and other trials because of the decisions of others.  The strength that we had experienced in the Lord, our Savior begins to weaken as we turn our eyes, our focus, toward our "problem."  David, the shepherd/king also wrote multiple times in Psalms 42 and 43, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted with in me?" Yes, even David experienced times of turmoil within his soul.  Let's look at why this happened to him.  In scriptures we read that David (whom God called "a man after God’s own heart") chose to disobey the Lord by not resisting temptation.   The enemy of his soul came at him by placing an enticing treat before his eyes, and David chose to not turn away, but to sin by having an affair with another man's wife.  This sin then was compounded as David saw the need to try to hide his sin from others, and eventually decided to set up the murder of the woman’s husband.  Yes, this is David - the man after God’s own heart.  This is David who had already written the 23rd Psalm!  How did these decisions affect David's relationship with the Lord his Shepherd?  In Psalm 32:3-4 he wrote,

David's soul was in turmoil.  He had no peace.  He was struggling with the knowledge of what he had done - he knew his guilt.  He was cast down.

Let's take a moment and have a sheep lesson.  Now I am talking about the sheep that actually "baa."  Did you know that sheep can get "cast"?  This is the strangest yet most interesting thing to someone who has not spent time with a flock of sheep.  Sheep are known for their character of wandering (sound like anyone you know?).  They easily are distracted by grass that is greener "over there."  Often, they find a place in the land that is a little lower and there they lay down much to their demise.  In the comfort that they have chosen, the weight of their body gets off center as they stretch their legs out to relax, and they find that they have rolled onto their side or back far enough that they are unable to get back up on their legs.  This is called a "cast" sheep.  In this awkward position, gasses build up in their tummies, blood circulation is cut off to their legs and if they are not found and righted, they will soon die.  A cast sheep is susceptible to the heat of the day and also to animals looking for an easy meal.  They are helpless.  They can do NOTHING for themselves.  A cast sheep needs to be restored.  This is the point where a good shepherd - who has lovingly been counting and caring for his sheep, realize that one is missing, goes out in search of it, finds it cast on its back, flips it back, supports it while rubbing its legs to get the blood circulation flowing, gently talks to it and stays near its side until the sheep is able to safely join the others.

Now back to David.  He needed to be up righted.  David had gotten distracted and disobeyed his Shepherd, getting himself into an awful position.  He had taken his eyes off the Lord and wandered so far away looking for the "better things" that he could no longer hear the voice of his Shepherd.  His soul was so cast down.  David needed to be restored.  That word restore means "to repair, renovate, to return someone; reinstate to a former condition, place or position".  Think of a house that is newly built.  It is beautiful and complete, serving its purpose for the family that lives in it.  Over the passing of the years, it begins to fall apart.  The faucets leak, the floors buckle, the termites come and fill themselves with the supporting wood structure of the house.  The roof sags, the shutters fall off one by one.  And after years of use and misuse it falls into disarray.  The house is no longer livable or just barely.  And then one day, someone comes along and sees the potential of that house, steps back, considers the cost, buys the heap and begins to renovate it.  After much work, it is restored to the structure it had been in the beginning.  In fact, maybe they even did some upgrades, and it is even stronger and more beautiful than it was in the beginning.  It was restored - completely!  Strong, useful, and beautiful.  

Just as sheep are not able to "uncast" themselves, David was not able to restore himself.  This was an act that only the Lord, God - The Good Shepherd was able to do for him.   David had to be willing to cooperate - humbly, repentant for his ungodly choices - sins.  He had to be willing to allow the Shepherd to set him up.  And we find in the Psalms that he was.  Psalm 51:10-12 is a point in David's life where He is calling out to the Lord.  You can hear the cry of his soul for restoration throughout this passage.  Listen:

A few short verses later we read

O Christian there is hope.  David knew that when He came to the Lord with a broken heart-felt desire for repentance of the sins he had committed, the Lord His Shepherd would not despise or reject him for the Lord knows the heart.   Back to Psalm 32, David said,

"⁵ I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.  I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.”

David had chosen to go another way, to do wrong, yet the Lord knew his heart and forgave his sin and restored His soul!   Thank you, Jesus!

Christian, this is so encouraging!  If the Lord restored David, He can do the same for you!  Are you in need of restoration?  Were you once focused on Jesus, hungry for Him, following after Him and now you find yourself distracted, feeling down, depressed, fearful and no longer experiencing the joy of your salvation?  Were you trying to get some of that "greener grass" just over there?  If so, take a moment and think about how David and possibly you turned away.  Was it because you took your focus off Jesus and set your mind, your desires on someone or something that is NOT the Good Shepherd?  Are you now a cast sheep frantically flailing about on your back?  You cannot fix this situation yourself.  You need your Good Shepherd to step in and restore you.  Earlier we read the beginning of Psalm 42:11, now let's read the entire verse,

Our hope is in God!  Begin to praise Him, turn your eyes and your heart back to Him.  You MUST turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Reminds me of a song named the same.  Listen to the first verse and see if it describes where you are today:

"O soul, are you weary and troubled?  No light in the darkness you see?  There's light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!"

And then the chorus:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,  Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace."

With your focus on Jesus all those other circumstances that are surrounding you will become dim!  The nonessential things of life will fall away.  Your time spent feeding and meditating on His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you will build your strength and right your "cast mind".  Your loving Shepherd will pick you up, place you back on your spiritual feet.  He will be Jehovah-Rapha (God your Healer) to you as He restores your soul and prepares you for the paths of righteousness that He has stretched out before you.

Need for attention and healing,
Need for food and comfort,
Need for support and understanding,
Need for money and freedom
And on and on the list goes.
You and I are needy people!

All of these needs are legitimate.  Praise the Lord that He is our strong tower.  When we face a problem or a difficulty, we can go directly to Jesus Christ - our Strong Tower and there  we will find that He cares for us.  "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runneth into it, and is safe."  Proverbs 18:10.

The story is told of a woman who was planning to attend a church service with her husband and son.  Just before they were about to leave the house, she started to feel ill.  Her husband was the preacher and was concerned with leaving her for that length of time.  He even considered cancelling the trip.  Just then the young boy spoke up and said, "Father, don't you think that if God wants you to preach today, He will take care of mother while you are away?"

Later in the day, when they returned home, they found that Civilla Durfee Martin was feeling much better.  During their absence, she had thought about what her son had said, she sat down and penned the words to this song which her husband then put to music.    These words have been an encouragement to hundreds of people throughout the decades.  God will take care of you!  A powerful promise from our loving Savior, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, God will take care of you!

Be not dismayed whate'er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.
 
Chorus
God will take care of you,
Through ev'ry day, o'er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
 
Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you.
 
No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

As we continue this great series on Psalm 23, we need to be reminded of what we have seen so far.  We see the three things we began with and by which this series of studies receives its title. 

This is also known as The Fundamentals of the Christian Life.  Jesus provides us as sheep with the necessary things needed to survive and maintain our existence as a sheep.  Did you know that Jesus is the Shepherd and BISHOP?  That's right.  1 Peter 2:25 says that "you have returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls."  That’s amazing.  What is a Bishop?  The word Bishop is "overseer".  From the word overseer we get the word "visit".  The word visit is found in various places and one of them is in James 1:27. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  Great words.  VISIT, it does not mean to go see someone and have a cup of tea and a cookie.  That may be included, but it really has the meaning of coming to the aid of someone.  To find out exactly what they need and provide it.  It is a kind of overseeing and correcting and providing the things which the bishop or shepherd or overseer have found to be lacking.  Hallelujah!  This is what Jesus does for His sheep!  What the Christian needs these days is a divine visitation from the Shepherd, the Bishop of our souls resulting in the supplying of our lack causing us to survive and flourish.  "I shall not want".  It's all there!  To not lack is to have what we need!  What I think I need may be not be a need, but an actual want or desire on my part.  HE KNOWS WHAT I NEED!  My parents knew what I needed, and sometimes that meant the application of the "board of education" to "the seat of knowledge".  If you get my drift!  Discipline is sometimes what I need.

So, what do I need?  At the top of the list for sheep is FOOD AND WATER.  Divine Sustenance.  From The Farmers Register; Vol. 3, it states: "Besides feeding, watering Sheep is considered to be of the greatest moment i.e., importance, and so receives the attention it requires."

He makes me lie down... do you see that?  As we have stated in past lessons, lying down is not eating.  The lying down assumes they have eaten.  Sheep lie down AFTER they have eaten because they eat standing up.  So, why lie down?  Digestion.  Ruminating.  Chewing the cud.  That means for us that we meditate on what we have eaten or read in the Word of God.  Meditation, musing, and waiting on the Lord, squeezing out the nourishment of the Word results in that Word becoming a part of us and our constitution.  Hallelujah!  It is important that sheep graze quickly.  Why?  Sheep eat standing up, head down, and therefore are vulnerable to predators.  When lying down, they are more alert, heads up, eyes up and the enemy is at a disadvantage.  Wow!  What an insight.  Meditating on the Word I have heard and read, will lend itself to the ability to detect error, and keep the enemy at a disadvantage.  Perhaps we are unable to detect error because we have aborted our time IN the Word and our time chewing on that Word.  How true it is when the scripture says in Psalm 119:11, "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."

Did you know "Cud-chewing" has a couple more benefits to the sheep?  Yes, it does.  Cud-chewing is the time when the wool on the sheep grows the most!  The scripture says: "Desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby."  Wool keeps warm.  Wool is used for other people's benefit.  Wool protects the sheep.  I am sure you can apply that in many ways.  But the cud-chewing also promotes THIRST!  Yes, thirst.  It says: "I need something else!"  Hallelujah!  Yes, we do need something else!  There is more to be experienced in God.  That something else is water.  Listen to it: "He leadeth me beside the still waters."  As you read the gospels you will see Jesus.  Experience Jesus.  But as you get closer to the book of Acts, in the gospel of John chapter seven and verse thirty-seven, you will hear Jesus say these words:

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.  He that believeth on me as the scripture has said, out of his belly (innermost being) shall flow rivers of living water.  (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"  John 7:37-39

What tremendous words!  Don't read over that too quickly.  Jesus was speaking of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit.  Listen to Isaiah 44:3:

How great is this!  I can hardly contain myself at the moment.  I am sometimes overwhelmed at how supernatural His Word is and how it brings the Old Testament together with the New Testament.  Scripture interprets scripture.  They blend together.  They agree together.  What powerful words.  But that's not all:

"In the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and, upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit."  Joel 2:28-29

Oh, it's just getting better and better!  In Acts 10:44,45 it says:

This agrees with Isaiah.  "...I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring."  Praise the Lord!  It's for us and our offspring!  Oh, how we need the water of the Spirit!  And how did we get there?  We were feeding on the Word, meditating, and ruminating on that Word and we were LED to the WATER!  WHO is the Word?  Jesus is the Word.  Jesus leads me to the WATER!  Look at it again!  "He leadeth me beside the still waters."  So, we need BOTH the WORD and the SPIRIT.  These are vital.  These are fundamental.  They are NOT accessories.  They are necessities.  And why do we need the Word and the Spirit?  In order to be restored in our soul!  HE RESTORETH MY SOUL is coming up next.  Look at the following diagram.

It is a pendulum that swings back and forth like that on a grandfather clock.  In our Christian life, as the pendulum swings to the left, the WORD side, we receive what we call Reformation.  The Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.  As it swings to the right, the SPIRIT side, we receive Rejuvenation.  Jesus said we will receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon us.  In Acts chapter 4 the people prayed for boldness to continue to preach the Word and as a result, they were filled with the Holy Spirit!  In Ephesians 3:16, we find these powerful words that speak to rejuvenation.  "That he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;". I must go on!  Listen to the scripture in Isaiah 28:11,12: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will I speak to this people.  To whom He said, this is the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing."   WATER is just that!  REFRESHING!  Can anyone deny the greatness of this Psalm?  No wonder He gives us food and THEN water!  Do we see a divine order here?  YES!  Back to the diagram.  When the pendulum is in the center, not only to one side or the other, but in the middle, we have BALANCE!  We need the Word and the Spirit in our diet to bring balance to our life.  Notice in the second verse of Psalm 23: "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures" (WORD).  "He leadeth me beside the still waters" (SPIRIT).   And notice, then, "HE RESTORETH MY SOUL!!"  A balanced diet brings restoration.  Wow!  I can get pretty excited about this stuff, can you tell?  Reformation, Rejuvenation, and Restoration.

When I speak of this water, what do I mean?  I take you back to the verses we have mentioned earlier.

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink...but this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified."  John 7:37-39

There is an experience available to the believer after salvation that is referred to in the scriptures as a baptism in the Holy Spirit!  Yes, John the Baptist mentions it in Matthew chapter three.  Listen to it:

"...but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.  He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."  Matthew 3:11

Jesus also bears this out to be true when He spoke to the disciples who were believers at this time.  They were born again!  They were already Christians, as we would say.  Saved!  After you are born again, you are eligible for this power from on high.  Listen to Jesus words in the book of Acts shortly before He ascends back to the Father.

"For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence [not many days from now]."  Acts 1:5

Hallelujah!  THERE IS SOMETHING MORE!  When you got saved you received LIFE!  Jesus gave that to you by His Spirit.  But there is something more.  There is now available to you as a born-again believer, POWER!  Take it from the lips of Jesus Himself:

"But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."  Acts 1:8

Oh wow!  This is amazing!  Yes, it is!  You may be saying, "Pastor Jerry, do you mean to tell me there is something more?"  Yes, there is something more!  And HE is leading YOU to it!  It is a refreshing!  It is power from on high.  But maybe you say, I am in prison and that can't happen to me here.  OH yes it can!  I just received in the mail a testimony from one of you taking this course, that they were just baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.  How great is this?  I am about to jump out of my chair just thinking about it.  Woo!  How great is our God!

Let me share with you another testimony.  I was pastoring in Port Clinton, Ohio, some years ago.  It was on a Sunday evening and in the door walked a young couple in their twenties.  They had never been to our church but enjoyed the service that night.  After the service, I introduced myself to them and they proceeded to ask me questions.  The young man said that they were saved and loved the Lord, but recently they have been longing for more.  He said, "There must be something more!"   My fellow believer, did you hear that?  "There must be something more."  Then, he said these words, "Do you think it could be this tongues stuff?"  I said, "No, I don't think it is, I KNOW it is!"  His eyes lit up and the expression on his face let me know that he and his wife wanted to know more of this Baptism in the Holy Spirit.  We invited them over to our home, and we talked from 6:30 PM until 11:00 PM about this powerful experience.  They came back the next week.  We did it all over again.  As we were finishing our discussion on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, they said "We want it".  I said, "Now?"  They said, "Yes, now!"  We laid hands on them and within a few minutes time, they were both gloriously filled with the Holy Spirit!  To make a long story short, that young man and his wife went into the ministry and became our associate/youth pastor in time to come.

I share this testimony to drive home to your heart that there is something more!  It's available for every born-again believer.  Yes, even you.  You are reading this, and you have been saying for months there must be something more.  That's because you are thirsty.  And Jesus is about to quench that thirsting in your soul.  How can it happen?  Let me give you some scriptures.  First, we must believe and be born again.  We have seen that already, haven't we?   Then, Jesus said in Luke 11:13: "...how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask?"  So, we see that we must ask.  So, ask!  But, then Jesus said in Luke 24:49:  "I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."  Tarry means "wait".  Wait in prayer, praise, and worship.

The Bible tells us in Acts chapter one, that they all continued in prayer and supplication.  Supplication is a form of deep petition and asking.  It speaks of great sincerity.  They believed it was for them.  And it is for you!  It is for every born-again believer.  Really?  Yes.  It is the something more you have been craving.  As you continue in prayer and praise you begin to sense a stirring in your spirit.  Yes, a stirring.  A rising inside.  It kinda feels like a nervous rising.  Like just before I had to give a speech in High School.  I like to say it this way.  It's like when you were a kid, and you had a bottle of pop in your hand.  You placed your thumb on the top of the opened bottle and shook it.  Do you remember doing that?  Of course, you do.  But the "fizz" did NOT come out as long as you held your thumb on it.  BUT, when you took your thumb OFF, what happened?  YES!  Out it came in a sudden burst of spray all over everybody who was standing close to you!  Listen, as long as you kept your thumb on the bottle nothing came out.  In like manner, as long as you keep your "thumb on the bottle" nothing will come out.  But as you sense that bubbling up in your spirit, that's the time to take your "thumb off the bottle" and open your mouth and allow Him to bring to the surface that wonderful burst of heavenly language they experienced in the book of Acts that only He can give.  Acts 2:4 says, "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."  They did the speaking, but the Spirit gave them the "wherewithal," the "impetus," "impelling force," "impulse," or "stimulus".  When you sense this, give in to it.   There is something more and it's about to take place in you!  Yes, you!  This promise is for you, and for your children and your children’s children.  Listen to it:

"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."  Acts 2:39

"But Peter, standing up with the eleven...said...but this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and upon my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."  Acts 2:14-18

Whoa!  How great is this!  I ask you, are we living in the last days?  You better know we are!  We are in "those days".  And that only proves once again that it is for you!  Yes, you were right, there IS something more.      
                                                                                 

They were in an upper chamber,
They were all with one accord,
When the Holy Ghost descended,
As was promised by the Lord.

(Refrain)
O Lord, send the power just now,
O Lord, send the power just now,
O Lord, send the power just now,
And baptize everyone.

Yes, this power from heaven descended,
With the sound of rushing wind;
Tongues of fire came down upon them,
As the Lord said He would send.

Yes, this “old-time” power was given
To our fathers who were true;
This is promised to believers,
And we all may have it too.

In 2 Kings chapters 18 and 19 we read of a king by the name of Hezekiah.  He lived about 700 years before Jesus Christ's earthly ministry.  He became king of Judah at the age of 25 and reigned for 29 years.  The Bible has a lot to say about him.  Unlike so many of the other kings of Judah and Israel during that time, the Bible says that Hezekiah did, "...that which was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his father David did."  He took a bold stand for God.  Hezekiah removed and broke up all the idols and images that the people had been worshiping in place of the One True God.  The Bible also says that he trusted in the Lord God and kept his commandments, and because of this, the Lord was with him, and he prospered in whatever he did.  That is quite an amazing testimony!

Others saw the stand that King Hezekiah took for the Lord and did not like it at all.  In fact, they mocked and threatened him.  One of those threats (which was not an empty one) came from the king of Assyria.  The Assyrians were a people who did not serve the One True Living God, but instead served man-made idols.   They were a cruel nation that were known for burning buildings, torturing prisoners and enslaving women and children.  Because of their brutal reputation, they were able to conquer other peoples without a fight by using fright.

It was from the King of Assyria that King Hezekiah received a nasty letter.  The letter was full of threats and intimidations.  He wrote that Hezekiah should not trust God, for God would deceive him by telling him that He would deliver them from the Assyrians.  He also reminded Hezekiah of all the terrible deeds the kings of Assyria had done to other peoples in the past by utterly destroying them.  He said that the gods of the other nations never delivered them, so the Hebrew God would not be able to deliver the people of Judah either.  This was one very intimidating letter.
How would you handle this letter?  Perhaps you would quickly throw up the white flag of surrender.  Maybe you would roll up your sleeves and come out with fists flying.  Or, maybe you would pick up your phone and text everyone on your friends list asking them what advice they could share with you in the matter.  Let's look to see how Hezekiah handled this very real threat.  In verse 14-19 of 2 Kings 19, we read exactly what he did.  It says that after Hezekiah read the letter, he,

This is the action of a man who knew his God.  The is an action of a man who wanted to see the situation through the eyes of His Lord.  Hezekiah knew that he and his army were no match for the hordes of Assyrians, but he also knew that God was on his side.  This was not the gods made by human hands, but The One True Living God, who made the human hands and all of the heavens and the earth.  In reality, the Assyrian King was throwing his full attack against the Lord God, yes, also against Hezekiah and his kingdom, but to insult the Living God was the greatest offence.

During this difficulty, Hezekiah got away from the distractions around him and placed himself into the presence of the Lord.   There in that place he could see more clearly and seek the direction from the Lord.   He knew the truth of Proverbs 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower.  The righteous run into it and is safe."  And so, we see here, Hezekiah climbing up into the strong tower of the Lord's name - He separated himself into the house of God and spread the problem out before the Lord.

We can learn from Hezekiah the importance of running to the Lord with our problems, laying them at His feet, and seeking Him for wisdom.  In Psalm 62:5, we read "My soul wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him."  And in Psalm 37:7 "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." As we wait patiently on the Lord for His direction, keeping our eyes and hearts focused on Him, He will give us a peace for our heart and an answer to the need.

Hezekiah got his answer.  In the following verses it says that the prophet (a man who speaks for God) named Isaiah, came to him with a Word from the Lord.  The Lord informed Hezekiah that He heard his prayer.  The insults that the King of Assyria had made against the Lord stirred the righteous anger of God.  Through Isaiah the Lord said that the King of Assyria would not make it to the city.  He would not shoot any arrows there, nor come before it with a shield.  Nor would he build a siege ramp against it.  Why?  Because the Lord would defend the city for His own sake.  In fact, he stated that the evil king would leave just the way that he had come.  Do you know the power of God to work?  Do you understand that when He speaks it comes true?  Where is Hezekiah?  He is not out preparing his troops for battle, he is peacefully trusting the Lord to do exactly what He said He would do. And that is exactly what the Lord did.  An angel of the Lord smote 180,000 Assyrians in the night.  And the next morning the remainder of the army along with their king headed back to their own land - defeated by the hand of the Lord!  The Lord of righteousness kept His word and defended the assault against His own name.  Hezekiah took that same name and headed into it as his strong and mighty tower.  From within the presence of the Lord, his perspective was put in place, and he saw the Lord work on his behalf.  Not only did he see the Lord work, but the kingdoms of the earth (to you and me today), can see the might of the Lord and know that He is God.

Psalm 23!  I hope you are enjoying studying this as much as we enjoy bringing it to you.  I think this is probably one of the most read and loved Psalms in the entirety of the book.  As we journey through this portion of scripture let us remind ourselves of the spiritual shortage that has taken place in the church world.  Especially in these last days.  But we know the Shepherd who can make up whatever shortage that exists in His sheep.  One of those fundamentals in short supply is Divine Sustenance.  We have discussed the need for Divine Sustenance in our lives as the sheep of His pasture and we continue with this thought.  In verse two we read:

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."

It is assumed by verse two that the sheep have been well fed.  THIS IS VITAL!  It is FUNDAMENTAL.  As has been already stated; sheep do not eat lying down.  But they DO chew the cud in that position.  Without proper nourishment the Christian will find himself in a weakened condition and experience a lack of growth, or decrease in immunity against false doctrine, or the infection of heresy.  No wonder it is the first fundamental of the Christian life.  Let me say that we need to lie down in the Word!  Chew on the Word!  It is time to meditate on this powerful Word that will not return void.  Let it become assimilated into your spiritual constitution as it feeds your spirit and renews your strength.  You will find it to be indispensable to your survival in this world and the next.  How vital, and important is this meditating, or ruminating upon the Word?  Why is it important that we do this?  Have you seen the need for doing this?  Have you had a tough situation or an individual that necessitates some divine wisdom from His Word?  Do you have trouble with obedience?  Are you experiencing a lack of joy?  Are your enemies taunting you, or dogging you?  Listen to these scriptures that may bring some insight into why it is so important that we meditate on the Word.

Notice the word above in bold italics, that.  Do you see it?  The Lord tells Joshua that he must meditate in the word day and night, THAT he may observe to do all that is written therein.  AND, he will have good success and be prosperous.  Those are exciting words!  The word THAT means SO THAT, IN ORDER THAT.  There was a purpose, a reason for meditating in the Word.  So that you may observe to do!  To do!  Meditating and pondering the Word is indispensable to obedience to that Word.  Do you have trouble with obedience?  Here is a powerful piece of advice.  “Lie down in the green pastures where you have been fed!”  But He also says it is indispensable to success and prosperity.  Why?  What does prosperity and success have to do with this?  What is this success and what is this prosperity the Lord is talking about?  Look at it.  Joshua's success was dependent upon his obedience to the WORD.  What is the Word?  Please hear this.  This is vital.  His Word is His Will!  As I obey His Word, I obey His Will!  As long as I remain in the will of God, I am successful.  In other words, our success is not determined by how much fame, or notoriety, or popularity, we experience in this life.  No.  Success is determined by whether or not I am IN HIS WILL!  Hallelujah!  You do not have to worry about people's opinion.  God's is the only one that counts.  Are you saved?  If you are, you are in His will.  You are a success.  Are you following His Word and desiring to walk in His ways?  Then you are a success in His eyes.  And as for the prosperity part, well, that is even more amazing.  He tells Joshua that his way will be made prosperous.  Prosperous?  You mean his checkbook will have unlimited amounts of cash?  Actually, no.  The word prosperous has this meaning and connection.  It carries the idea of being brought to a good conclusion; to make it to the journey's end.  Hey, that is so cool!  Let me ask you, when a person's business, at the end of the day, has made a profit, have things not been brought to a good conclusion?  Why, yes!  Spiritually speaking, as we continue to follow His Word and His Will, we may not have all this world can offer by way of things or possessions, but in the end, at the end of the day, we will be brought to a good conclusion; we will make it to the journey's end all in one piece!  How profitable is that?  Hallelujah!  When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!  It is important to observe and obey; it is important our journey be prosperous and successful.  Therefore, it is important that we meditate in His word.  And as we do, we shall be able to discern His will, be successful as we remain in it, and rest assured that we will be brought to a good conclusion and make it to the journey's end rejoicing.  Hallelujah.  So, Lord, make me to lie down in green pastures.

How awesome is this!  Meditating on Him and his Word brings satisfaction and praise.  Are you having a struggle praising?  Do you find yourself sinking into a mood of dissatisfaction?  Discontentment?  Discouragement?  Sometimes the night can bring this upon us.  Nighttime can be a tough moment of the day.  It is in the night that things mushroom in our minds.  It is in the night that negative thoughts seem to grow bigger and out of proportion.  I want to impress this upon you; do not fear the night!  Use it!  The air is cleaner in the night for it is being washed.  Time moves along at a slower pace in the night.  AND God starts His day in our night.  Really?  Yes.  Look at it and let it bring you to a place of satisfaction and praise as you MEDITATE ON HIS WORD with regard to this very thing!

1.  Genesis 1:5
"And the evening and the morning were the first day."

This is powerful to me.  God's day begins with the evening.  My day begins with the morning.  Wow!  When you are tired and worn out and looking for that place to lie down because you are completely exhausted and finished, that's when God is just beginning!  God's day begins with the preceding nighttime.  God's method is so different from ours.  So, never forget, God works in the dark!  Hallelujah!  Is someone getting this?  There should be a shout of joy reverberating over the entire room or dorm where you are reading this!  Look through the Bible and find the places where God works in the dark.  Here in Genesis 1, it says that "God said, Let there be light."  At least nine times in chapter one it states, "And God said, Let there be..." So, He creates something from nothing, and He does it in the dark.  Listen to it: "And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."  Listen to it: "and the evening and the morning were the first day...and the evening and the morning were the second day", etc.   What was not in existence today may be in existence tomorrow.  So, do not be discouraged, for out of the night the day is born.  It is in the nighttime that God causes something to come out of nothing.  Meditate on that word.  The Bible tells us "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning."  Psalm 30:5

2.  Exodus 14:21, 24
"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that NIGHT and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided...and it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and troubled the host of the Egyptians."

Woo!  Is this another amazing thing?  When did the waters divide?  In the NIGHT!  The impossible is made possible!  When?  IN THE NIGHT!  Do not look anymore at the evening or the dark as the end of it all, but as the BEGINNING of it all!  Well, one more Hallelujah is in order.  HALLELUJAH.  Meditate on that!

This is a great assignment for you today.  If you have your own Bible, look these scriptures up and read the passage.  Let me give you some scriptures to ponder, and to meditate on.  I guarantee you will begin to sense a satisfaction welling up within your soul bursting forth into an anthem of praise causing you to shout and look at your darkness in a totally different manner.

3.  Exodus 16:4,6,7
"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no....  And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even[ing], then ye shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:... And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord...."  
What do you see?

4.  Job 35:10
"But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;"
Psalm 42:8 – “Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.”  
Psalm 77:6 - "I call to remembrance my song in the night:  I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search."
Psalm 32:7 - "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.  Selah."
Psalm 16:7 - "I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:  my reins also instruct me in the night seasons."
What do you see?  What do these songs do for us?

5.  Acts 27:23
"For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,"
What do you see here?

So, Lord, make me to lie down in green pastures.

Psalm 1:1-3 – For our Blessing, Growth, and Development

"Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.   And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;  his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Meditating is one of the characteristics of the BLESSED individual.  The Psalm begins with the word "Blessed".  The blessed man or woman is the one who meditates in His law, His Word, day and night.  This word blessed in the Hebrew comes from a primitive word that means "to be straight".  A walk that is straight is blessed.  A straight walk is one that stays within certain marked lines or boundaries.  It is a limited life.  This is where many parents have gotten into a mess with their kids.  How is that?  Because as they were growing up the kids had no boundaries.  The truly happy Christian is the one that walks within the boundaries of HIS Word.  Not in the counsel of those who are ungodly, sinful, or scornful.  How can I walk within those boundaries of the Word of God?  Here it is:  "...and in His law doth he meditate day and night."  Do you see the connection between blessedness and meditation on His Word?  Between meditation on His Word and straight walking?  Between walking within the boundaries of God's prescribed will and meditation on God's Word?  Yes!  So, Lord, make me to lie down in green pastures!

But also, look at the results that follow this.

Look at the growth and development as a result of this meditation.  We will be like a:

1. Planted tree - Someone planted it.  God did.  He will be involved in everything that pertains to life and godliness.  And you will see God's hand in your life.  Meditate on that.
2. Steadfast tree - He plants you by the rivers of water.  What is like water to us?  The Holy Spirit, and the Word!  The strongest trees are those by the water.  Get to the water.  And the winds of false doctrine will not take you down.  Meditate on that.
3. Useful tree - When you are meditating on His Word, drinking it in, you cannot help but be fruitful.  Why the fruit?  It is not for you.  It is for others to taste and see that the Lord is good.  That is what makes us useful.  Meditate on that.
4. Abiding tree - Your leaves will not come and go.  Think of the Pine tree.  It is always green!  Nobody really notices the Pine especially in the fall when the leaves of other trees are in their glory and beauty.  But when all the leaves are fallen, then, they notice the Pine!  Meditate on that.
5. Prosperous tree - Ah, prosperous.  Remember Joshua 1:8?  Here the meaning carries the same idea.  Here in Psalm 1, it can be stated this way: "and in whatsoever he doeth, he himself shall prosper."   It is not cash and checks arriving in the mail.  Then what is it?   Whatever I do, whether it fails, falls, fumbles, or turns out phenomenal in man's eyes, I myself will be brought to a good conclusion.  In other words, all things will work together for my good and His glory!

So, grab your Bible and go lay down in those green pastures, chew on the Word over and over again.  Let it feed you, nourish you, and stir you to action.  As you do, you will emerge from that time alone with God and His Word agreeing with the words in Jeremiah 23:28,29

How marvelous is this!  As we spend time musing and meditating on His Word, that same Word will accomplish three things.
              1. It will be like wheat to us and not chaff.  It will feed us.  His Word will sustain us.  It will nourish us and be a staple food in our diet.  We will not be able to get along without it. 
              2. It will be like fire to us.  It will kindle a feeling in our hearts.  It will burn inside of us.  Like the men on the Emmaus road in Luke 24.  After listening to Jesus expound the Word to them, they said, "did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?"
              3. It will be like a hammer to us.  It will be effective!  It will produce results.  It will break the hard things into pieces.  It will bring about a change in your life.  Lord, we need the hammer of your Word.  Listen to it:

            The Bible says that "God is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort."  When we face difficult trials in life, or times when we are surrounded by darkness, grief, loneliness, confusion, or maybe we even feel that there is NO HOPE, the Lord Jesus, our strong and mighty tower is still there, unmoving, and unchanging.
            A couple of years ago, I faced a "dark night" of my life.  One of those times which we never think we will see and yet it comes.  My young daughter, Maria, unexpectedly passed into Glory.  It was sudden, and even though I knew that she was in heaven with her Savior, my mother's heart was broken at my loss - my empty arms.
            Let me share with you the powerful way the Lord showed His comfort to me.  He faithfully was that strong tower in the middle of the grief that surrounded me.  That very night, as I put my head on my pillow, tears flowing and feeling numb from the day, I began to think of the enormity of what had just happened and all I could pray was, "Lord, Jesus."  AND then God...  Yes, and then God, the One Who is the strong tower, reached down into my heart and poured a song.  This was a song of comfort in my night of grief.  The words "Hallelujah, to the Lamb. King of Glory.  Great I AM.  So beautiful are You, the Holy Lamb" began to well up within my heart.  Praises to Him for who He is began to flow.  I knew that He is the Lamb who died for me and anyone else who confessed Him as their Lord and Savior.  In truth, because of Who He is and what He had done on Calvary's cross, Maria would be with Him forever.  I knew that He was still King and ruler over all, greater than any earthly grief.  And in the middle of it all, He was/is still beautiful and holy, pure, and good.  He at that moment covered my grief with His overwhelming presence and brought comfort to my heart.  That song that He gave to me rolled through my thinking and in my heart the entire night.  When I dozed off and awakened, it was still there.  When the morning light came through my window and a new day dawned His mercies were still new that morning, and "Hallelujah to the Lamb" was still welling up within my heart.  Please do not get me wrong, I was still grieving my daughter, but I was not doing it alone; I had been drawn to and was locked up in that Strong Tower - the One who is the God of ALL comfort to those who run to Him.

The Shepherd The Sheep And The Shortage, what a fitting title for this series on the 23rd Psalm!  In this beloved Psalm, we see:

 * The Shepherd - Jesus Christ (Jehovah-Rohi - the Hebrew name for the Lord our Shepherd), the one who leads and guides and provides for His sheep.
* The sheep - anyone who believes, has repented of their sins, and made Jesus Lord of their life and
* The shortage - those necessary, fundamentals that He supplies that are vital to the survival of His sheep that He so dearly loves.

 If you are a Christian, then you will be comforted and encouraged throughout this study, for you will find that it is all about your Great Shepherd who is lovingly caring for you, even when you are walking though the valley of the shadow of death and when you are in the presence of your enemies.  He is making you lie down; He is leading you; He is restoring you; and it is He that is anointing you.  He is still there beside you, guiding you through, working it all out for your good - to grow and develop you into a Christian that is lacking no good thing.  It is all about Him!

Praise the Lord, He knows exactly what we need.  He knows what is vital or necessary for our existence.  Remember in our last lesson, we talked about accessories and fundamentals?  Those things that are not truly important for your survival are accessories.  Many times, those are the very things that we let distract us in life.  We spend our time and energy trying to get the accessories all matching, but yet we could survive without them.  This is the place where the enemy of our soul wants us to be - distracted with the non-important accessories, running in circles wasting our time, letting the days and years pass as we really don’t accomplish anything of any spiritual importance.  On the other hand, the fundamentals are those things that we MUST have for survival.  In our physical lives you can think of important fundamentals as being oxygen to breath, water and nutrition, shelter and the list goes on.  Just take away oxygen for four to six short minutes and you can see how fundamental it is - a person is left lifeless.  Spiritually, there are also fundamentals, and here in Psalm 23 we see them laid out before us.  These fundamentals are provided for each of us by our Shepherd.  For the first verse tells us, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall  not want."

He is our Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord our Provider.  He is our provider that makes us not have any want by providing for all of the Christian's Spiritual needs.
Our Shepherd, Jesus Christ knows us individually.  He is our bishop or overseer of our soul.  Think of someone that is watching over your every need.  In James 1:27 Paul writes:

One may read this verse and think, "to visit" means to meet together for tea and cookies and a nice little chat.  But a deeper look at this word reveals that it means to "bishop" or "oversee."  This visit is intended to aid or investigate their needs with purpose of helping or providing for the person.  In another part of a letter that Paul wrote from prison, he instructs his friends to visit him and bring his coat and parchments.  During biblical times, many of the essentials that prisoners needed were brought by friends or family who came to visit them.  So, here again we see that the visit was a form of caring for him - providing for his needs.  A shepherd would do the same for his sheep.  He would "visit them" by caring for them.  Each evening as the sheep entered the sheep fold, the shepherd would stand at the door and allow the sheep to pass between his legs one at a time.  Not only was he making sure that each one was there, but he was also squeezing them and running his fingers through their wool.  He would check for parasites, burs or little things that would bring irritation to the sheep.  He wanted to find those things that would keep his sheep from resting and sleeping comfortably.  The shepherd also did not want the sheep to disturb the other sheep in the fold due to its own discomfort.  Jesus is our Shepherd, and He is so very good!  He wants to do the same for you.  He loves you so much that He wants to "visit" you by putting a squeeze on you and seeing what you lack.  This may be uncomfortable, but He does it only to bring good to you.  He wants to remove from you those things that disturb your peace, He wants to pluck out those things that hinder your growth and make sure that you don't have error that is detrimental to your spiritual health.  This is all done by Jesus "visiting" you.  He may do this through the words of a Pastor, Chaplain, or fellow Christian.  The Lord Jesus may visit you by speaking to your heart though the reading of His Word - the Bible.  The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16,

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

"Oh, Lord, 'visit' me!  Please remove from me those things that are harming my Spiritual development.  Remove from me those non-essential distractions that are weighing me down.  Help me to focus on what is truly fundamental - You!"

So, what exactly does our wonderful Shepherd provide?  We have seen that there is a shortage, and the Lord Jesus Christ wants to make up that shortage.  He wants to provide for you and me what is fundamental or vital for us so that we may become contented, productive, happy sheep.

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters."  Psalm 23:2

Here we see the beginning of a list of what the Shepherd provides for us so we are not lacking nor in want of any good thing.

This is so exciting to see because that first statement "He makes me to lie down in green pastures" is suggesting that there is food involved for these sheep.  "He leadeth me beside the still waters" is suggesting that there is water available to drink.

Eating and drinking are both fundamentals for the survival of sheep, and the Lord Jesus Christ will provide both of these fundamentals for the sheep that He loves - you and me.  Many people look at this verse and get the idea that the Lord leads the sheep to the green pasture and says, "Ok, guys, lay down here in this green pasture and eat away."  Not being a shepherd myself, I once read, that shepherds take their sheep out in the early dawn when the grass is covered in dew.  They let the sheep eat to their hearts content, getting both the food and the water that they need.  As the sun rises higher in the sky, and the heat of the day intensifies, the shepherd then leads the sheep to a cool shaded green pasture so that they can lie down in the shade in safety and peace.  Here in peace, they can ruminate or chew the cud without distraction.

What exactly is chewing cud?  Sheep have four parts to their stomachs.  They eat their food; it goes into the first stomach where it is partially digested.  After the sheep has lain down in safety, it brings that food back to its mouth, where it chews it again, breaks it down even farther getting more nutrients out of it.  This process is repeated until all possible nutrients are removed, and the sheep has the nutrition that it needs to sustain it for a time.   When you think of it, it is kind of disgusting from a human's point of view, but it is amazing how God created this animal to be able to eat and process its food.  As we see here, when you lie down in the green pasture it is not to eat.   So, when Psalm 23 says, "He makes me to lie down in green pasture," we know that these sheep have already been fed, and now it is time for them to rest and to start ruminating or chewing their cud in comfort and safety of the green pasture.  Their caring shepherd has guided them to the places that best provide for their need.  To the best food for feeding and then to the greenest pasture for rest and digestion.

You may be wondering how this applies to the Christian's life.  Oh, it does without a doubt!  Think about it.  Do you know that it is vital, absolutely fundamental, that every sheep, every Christian has enough to eat and to drink?  Sure, without it, you would die.   Eating is a fundamental here in Psalm 23.  Jesus Christ, the Shepherd, is going to make available to us, His sheep the nutrition that we so desperately need.  The Lord will make the Word of God available to speak truth into your heart - for it is His word that sustains you.  It is His word that gives the Christian the nutrients that he/she needs to be a contented healthy Christian.  Maybe you have heard someone say or even said it yourself, "Wow that message gave me something to chew on!"  What is being said, is that message gave me something to meditate on, to think about, to ruminate on - just like a sheep.  After, you have read the Word, it might do you some good to think about it again and again, to bring it back to your memory and "chew on it" meditate on it a little more, asking the Holy Spirit to help break it down for your understanding.   And each time you do, you get more and more spiritual nutrition  or understanding from it.

Let's stop and think about what we are not referring to when we use the word meditate.  We are not talking about meditation as a nothingness, or a vacuum of thought.  Many eastern, transcendental religions encourage this type of meditation, that is a clearing of the mind to "nothingness." According to scripture it is clearly demonic.  We are talking about thinking and meditating on the Word of God - filling our mind and heart with its truths so that we can gain more understanding and growth from it.

It is not only important as a Christian that you eat and drink, but it is vital what you eat and drink.  An old preacher, back in 1600's, William Gurnall said, "If you don't eat, you die, but if you eat poison, you die sooner."  It matters not just that you eat, but what you eat.  If you eat the wrong thing, it could mean the end of you.  Look at society today.  We can see the old saying, "you are what you eat" is so very true.  Today, there is a shortage in the church of pastors feeding their sheep the good solid food of the Word of God.  When the church has not been well fed, you can imagine the weak and anemic condition of its congregation.  Without proper food, the Christian lacks strength and cannot resist infection.  In Ephesians 3:14-16 Paul says,

This is so important for you to be well fed so, your body will be strengthened.  When you eat, it helps to restore your soul.  It is difficult to go on walking in paths of righteousness if you are weak and can't even take a step.  You need to be well nourished to face the valley of the shadow of death, or else that valley will get the best of you.  Paul says He prays that you be strengthened by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, in your inner man.  The Christian needs food and drink in order to stay healthy.  You are what you eat.  If all I ever eat is chocolate chip cookies and candy (of course I like them), but if that is all I eat, guess what will happen to me?  My physical constitution will be weakened.  If you eat good quality food - your fruit and vegetables, they will nourish your body unlike the junk food.  Hey, isn't that why it is called junk food?  If you eat the good stuff instead of the bad stuff you are going to be healthy and your immune system is going to be stronger, so that you will be able to resist colds and flus that come at you.
 
Take a look at two men.  One eats healthy food and the other junk food.  When the flu virus comes in and hits both men, one gets the flu, and the other does not.  Is it because one man is a better person?  NO!  It is because one man has been eating junk food and the other man has been eating good food.  The issue is not the flu, but the constitution of the man.  The same spiritually applies.  If one man does not strengthen his spiritual constitution by feeding on the Word of God and meditating, ruminating, chewing the cud and letting the nutrition of the truth of it soak into him to strengthen him, if he does not do this, then he becomes spiritually weak.  If the other guy reads the Word, meditations on it, builds a relationship with the Lord, and strengthens his inner man, then guess what?  When the temptation walks in the door and hits both men, one gives in to the temptation and the other man doesn't.  Is it because he is a better man?  NO - but it is because his spiritual constitution is stronger.  So, it also is not the flu, is it?  NO - it is not.  It is not the temptation, is it?  It is not the temptation that hits you on the street, that determines your conduct.  It is not the temptation that comes your way that causes you to act the way you do, because the same temptation comes and hits both men, but one does succumb and other one does not.  Why?  Because the one has built up the resistance of His inner man.

I think that this lesson is obvious.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still water.  Why?  Because Jesus our Shepherd knows that there is a valley coming.  He knows you are going to need strength in your body and health for your soul to recover.  He knows you are going to need strength to fight not just infection but the enemy of your soul.  Ephesians 6:12 says,

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  

We need, it is vital, it is fundamental to make up the shortage as Peter says in 1 Peter 2:2,

"...desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"

Divine sustenance is the first fundamental for a reason!  It is so very important, that we cannot bypass around it

The Testimony of Dave - A Gentleman in our Church

Many years ago, I gave my heart to the Lord, and He saved me, but over time, I walked away from Him and backslid.  For many years, I lived a life away from the Lord.  It was my fault, I had taken a wrong turn, the wrong direction, and had chosen to walk away from Him.  Praise the Lord, during that time, I had people praying for me!

Within the past year, I started going to church again, and there Jesus started speaking to my heart.  I asked the Lord to forgive me, and He faithfully saved me.  God is so very good!  I can trust Him, for He will NEVER let me down.  I was lost in sin and my destination was hell.  Now, because of Jesus' saving grace, my destination is heaven!  To me it seems that "Thank you" just seems like it is not enough, for I am absolutely NOTHING without Him!

Let me share with you the change that He has made in my life.  The Lord became my tower of salvation.  And in Him, I have found a peace that passes all understanding.  Inside the safety of His powerful name, I am at peace.  I have found safety and security in the Name of the Lord.  Now, I go to the House of the Lord every service and look forward to the word the Lord will speak to me, from the Word of God.  Every opportunity I have, I go to the altar and spend time on my knees praying and crying out to God on behalf of my family.  At times in the past, I would not go to the altar, but now I go for as long as I can, and I meet with my Heavenly Father there.  Praise the Lord, He baptized me in the Holy Spirit, and now I find the Holy Spirit nudging me and letting me know the places I should not go and the things I would not watch.  I don't want to disappoint Jesus - the One who loved me so much to give His all for me. It was His love for me that held Him to the cross.  I keep praying for Him to help me to recognize the voice of His Spirit and hear what He has to say to me.  This does not mean that I am now perfect, I still slip and make mistakes, but the Lord picks me up, corrects me and sets me back on the right path.  I want to live a life pleasing to my Savior!

There have been times in my life when the Lord has just washed over me a "wave" of peace.  One such time was when my wife was very ill.  The Doctor called to tell me that they were going to put a trach in her, I felt in my heart that they were not to do that procedure, that the Lord would intervene.  The next day when I went to the hospital to visit her, she was up walking around and off her ventilator.  Not only did she not need the trach, but the Lord Jesus did what the doctors could not do and healed her.  A couple of years later she did pass into Glory.  When she did, she left with a smile of peace on her face, prepared for where she was going.  I miss my wife, but I do not wish her back to this earth, for she is experiencing a love that I can not fully understand here on this earth.  I am ready for heaven for there I will see my Savior and my wife!

Because of what the Lord has done in my life, I want others to know Him.  I am not a preacher, but every opportunity that He gives to me, I share about Him.  The enemy is a liar and tries to tell me that I am not worthy to share with others, but this is NOT true.   I have been praying for the Lord to speak to my children.  Slowly they have been opening up and coming to me, asking questions.  I can see God working in their lives.  As a parent and grandfather, I can't think of anything greater than for my children and grandchildren to follow Christ.  Just recently, one of my sons came with me to church and the Lord met him at the altar of prayer and now he has given his life to Christ.  Now He is a changed man.   I am so thankful that He has found the peace that can only be found in the name of the Lord.
 
I want to tell you in the words of a song, "It is no secret what God can do.  What He has done for others, He can do for you!"

** Hallelujah!  The Sunday following Dave sharing this testimony with me, his second son surrendered his life to Christ!  The Lord of peace is faithfully answering Dave's prayers!  **

We begin a new series here at LIFE-LINE CORRESPONDENCE.  How exciting to be a member of this great family called the Kingdom of God, and if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you are right in the middle of it!  We want to thank you for being an integral part of LIFE-LINE CORRESPONDENCE. 

By way of introduction, Psalm 23 is a Psalm of David.  The most beloved shepherd of the Bible.  Do you know this man, David?  Of course, he is also known as the King of Israel.  But David was a shepherd before he was a king.  Being a shepherd prepared him for the time when he would take the throne as Israel's King.  Yes, King David!  The sweet Psalmist of Israel.  Psalm 23 is one of the most loved and read psalms in the Bible.  It is often quoted at funerals or life celebrations of loved ones.  It has a tremendous lesson for us as Christians in this day and age.  An in-depth study of this great psalm will benefit us greatly as we consider our walk with the Lord.  In fact, it is FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR SURVIVAL!  The Shepherd of our souls will be seen as the One who makes up the shortage in our lives and supplies just what we need so that we will never lack for that which is vital, or needful to our survival as sheep. Come and journey with us into this great Psalm and discover "The Fundamentals of the Christian Life" as we discuss the Shepherd, the Sheep, and the Shortage.

Why do we title this series the Shepherd, the Sheep, and the Shortage?  Well, look with me at the first verse:

The Lord is my Shepherd.  Ah, there it is!  The Shepherd.  His name is Jesus.
The Lord is my Shepherd.  Ah, there it is!  My Shepherd.  I am the Sheep.
I shall not want.  Ah, there it is!  No want.  No lack.  Shortage.

Many sheep are experiencing a shortage in their lives.  Jesus wants to fill that void and bring spiritual growth and development to your life.

You will notice that this is the main clause.  "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want."  What is a main clause?  It is also known as an independent clause.  It can stand alone.  It has a subject and a verb.  It is a complete thought.  It can have a dependent clause with it which has a complete meaning as it is connected to the main clause.   So, The Lord is my Shepherd, and because of that fact, I do not lack for anything that is necessary to my survival as a sheep.  "The Lord is... I shall not want."  That suggests leadership!  That says He knows what I need.  The wording here is not in line with the modern selfish notion of felt needs.  Jesus knows what things we have need of before we ask, as it says in Matthew chapter six.  Since He is the Shepherd, HE knows.  And because I am His sheep, I shall not want!  Case closed.  And YOU shall not want!  Hallelujah!  Anxiety is now lifted!  Worry is brought under the power of the Holy Spirit and made subservient to the ONE who is in charge of your life.  It is time to stretch your mind and heart now!  It is time to grow and flow!  It is time to stop remaining stagnant in our Christian experience and march onward to develop into the mature SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE.  He is the supplier of all your needs.  You will not lack what you need to survive where you are!  I hope someone hears that!  Listen to it:

"The Lord thy God knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness.  These forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee, thou hast lacked nothing!"  Deuteronomy 2:7

Again, someone needs to hear that!  Listen, He has taken care of you, has He not?  He has supplied your needs.  Notice, needs, not wishes, or mere desires.  What you and I think is needful - felt needs - is different than what God knows is needful.  Listen to it:

"And thou shalt remember all the way the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart... He suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not... thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee."      Deuteronomy 8:2-5

So, the children of Israel needed not only food but chastening.  I am sure they did not think they needed the chastening!  But God knew.  He knows our need also.  The scripture tells us in Hebrews that the Lord chastens us or disciplines us because we are his sons and daughters.  What a compliment!  Thank the Lord, He does not let me get away with anything.

Also, take notice of this most important feature of Psalm 23.  The Lord is my Shepherd.    This Psalm talks about HIM!  It is all JESUS!  We see Him.  The Lord!  Look at the all the names of God in this Psalm.  Is it coincidental?  I think not.  Go through the Psalm again with your Bible in your hand and see the Lord in this!

What a powerful Lord and Savior.  Jesus the Lord God almighty is all over this Psalm.  This is nothing but the Divine hand of God.  Yes, it matters who our Shepherd is.  This sheep in Psalm 23 knows its Shepherd.  Do we?  He knows what a good Shepherd is and consequently what a bad Shepherd is.  Jesus tells us there is a difference between a shepherd and a hireling.  A hireling runs when trouble comes.  He leaves the sheep to fend for themselves.  He is only interested in the paycheck.  But a shepherd, Jesus said, "lays down His life for the sheep."  Lord, give us shepherds who can feed the flock so that they may never lack for that which is FUNDAMENTAL to their existence and survival.  The Lord Jesus is that Shepherd!  He is the Chief Shepherd as the Bible tells us.  He is the Bishop of our souls.  Try to find those phrases in the Bible.  "Chief Shepherd" and "Bishop of our soul."  Pastors are under shepherds.  We need good under shepherds.  Pastors are under shepherds who are responsible to feed the flock of God.  Pray for your chaplain, and the pastors you know or have known in the past who have fed your soul the unmixed word of God.

Important to this Psalm is the way in which the Shepherd makes up the shortage.  What do I mean?  I mean the Divine order of the supply.  He makes up the shortage in my life and knows exactly which should be first.  As we move along, we will see that He does not leave anything out that is VITAL, or NECESSARY!  What does that indicate?  It indicates to me that the church, the under shepherds, must get back to the necessities of the Christian life.  Some may say the BASICS!   Many Christians have been satisfied with the ACCESSORIES more than the NECESSITIES.  Let us be straight forward.  Too often we have been more concerned with our outward appearance than our inward condition.  A sub-title for this series could be, "Do My Shoes Match My Purse?"  LOL.  Really?  Yes.  I remember when I was in the hospital and had to have a minor surgical procedure.  I had to wear a gown that was open in the back with strings.  It was not something I would wear to a dinner party, for sure!  They did not seem to care how I looked.  Why?  Because fashion is not their passion when they are trying to KEEP YOU ALIVE!  In the church we have become enamored with accessories and not fundamentals!  We seem more concerned with our shoes matching our purse, or our tie clashing with our socks.  Sadly, the fundamentals have become accessories and the accessories have become fundamentals and the sheep are being eaten by wolves!  Has the church and the ministry become more concerned with their image in the community rather than being conformed to the image of Christ?

So, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  There it is.  The rest of the Psalm goes on to tell us about this Shepherd and what HE deems necessary, fundamental, and vital, to our survival as a sheep in this wolf infested world.  He says what is necessary.  The fundamentals are what He says is fundamental.

Now, what are those fundamentals that He provides that will make up the shortage in my life?  I will list them in order as they appear in the text.  Are you ready?

How great is this?  I think you can see that this could take a long time to get through, right?  Absolutely.  So, buckle up and get ready for the Shepherd, the Sheep, and the Shortage.  He has a plan for your life, and it is no coincidence that you have decided to walk through this with us.  Do not lose heart.   Try to memorize this Psalm.  You will not regret that.

"Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."   Psalm 119:11

There is an old song that I love to sing.  It is a simple one and the words go like this:

He supplies all your needs, my friend.  HE does.  This Psalm will make that clear.  Notice in this Psalm how many personal pronouns refer to JESUS, the Shepherd.

The sheep have a shortage only the Shepherd can supply.  

Life.  Life has so many different facets.  Just think of all that you have experienced, joy, sorrow, beauty, pain, expectation, loss of hope, trust, fear, and the list goes on and on.  Everyone of us seek and cling to the "positive" times of life.   Those times when everything is going smoothly and life is good, it all seems to be in our favor.  We have the perfect job, everyone we know loves and appreciates us, our tummies are full and yesterday, today, and tomorrow is a sunny vacation.  In reality, we know that this is not the way life goes.  The difficult times will come:  our boss lets us go, a loved one dies, a family member seems to turn against us, the loan comes due, the car hic-ups for the last time, we are searching under the couch cushions for grocery money, and everything we touch seems to turn to dust.   These difficulties may come so "deep and heavy" that we feel like we are buried without a hope of ever "breathing" again.  Have you experienced this?  Are you experiencing this right now?

Friend there is hope for you!   You may not be able to remove the difficulty in your life, but you can "run" to a tower of hope.   In Proverbs 18:10 we read,

Flip back to Psalms 61:3 and you will find,

"For thou hast been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy."

How is the name of the Lord a strong tower?  How can we run to it and be safe?   And who is this enemy?  These are great questions and as we answer them, may the Lord open your heart to the hope you can find in Him.  A hope that stands against the fiercest opponent for we are promised in His Word, "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world."

When you hear the words, "strong tower" what pictures does it bring to your mind?  I think of the Middle Ages, a time of castles, knights, danger, and battles.  I picture a tower of stone built on a hill surrounded by fields, and in those fields peaceful working peasants, harvesting their grain so that they would have food to survive the winter.  They always work within sight of that strong tower that stands on the hill.  I think of an urgent warning sounded to the coming of danger, and all the peasant folk dropping their tools and running toward the tower, a place of safety from whatever is coming.  How about the strong doors closing as the last person enters separating them from the impending evil?  All this followed by the assurance that they are safe because they have made it into the strong tower.  In fact, we find a portion in scripture that describes this very thing:

"But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower." Judges 9:51.

We can see that safety is in that tower.  Remember back to Proverbs 18:10 "The Name of the LORD is a strong tower..."?  So, the Lord Jesus Christ needs to be the tower that is in your and my life.  Most importantly, He must be our tower of SALVATION.  Scripture makes it clear that we are all born sinners and we are in need of a Savior.

"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23.

Jesus came, and because of His love for you and me, paid the price for our sins as it tells us in Romans 6:23

Praise the Lord for who He is and what He did out of His love for us.  Now how can we have this great salvation?  Again, we find in Romans

Whosoever means anyone.  Anyone who recognizes the sinful life they are leading.  Anyone who is sorry for and repents or turns away from their sin shall be saved.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."    Romans 10:9-10

This strong tower on the hill, He is your salvation.  The Lord Jesus Christ is your only hope.  Without Him as a strong tower - your strong tower, you would be separated from God and spend an eternity in hell.

My friend the choice is yours, are you willing to heed the alarm I am sounding for you?  Are you willing to run to Jesus Christ the "Strong Tower" for your soul?  Don't delay, your enemy is seeking whom He may devour.  Climb into Jesus, find safety within His walls.

"...whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21

The wonder of what you gain from Jesus, your Strong Tower, firstly is your salvation from sin, and then as you grow as a Christian, as you grow in Him, you will find that you continue to face trials in your daily walk.  Your Strong Tower, Jesus is available to you as each trial comes.  He offers to you, strength, joy, power, and a perspective over your problems that you never had before.

"¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:  ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,  ³Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ⁴Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  ⁵Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  ⁶Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.  ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  ¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ¹¹Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  ¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  Matthew 5:1-12

Ah, we have reached the last Beatitude!  The culmination of the review of Christian Character.  Do you remember how we began this journey?  We stated it in terms of Character plus Conduct equals Influence.

So, we can say that out of character (who we are) comes conduct (what we do), and out of conduct comes influence.  Jesus is giving us in these eight Beatitudes a rundown of the Christian's character.  Our character will lead us to act in a particular way and so influence those around us.  Let me give you an example from this chapter in Matthew.

"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

There it is!  Character shines.  Conduct is the result of that light, which is good works.  Then, look at the influence.  Men will glorify your Father!  POWERFUL!  Your works will be done in such a way as to glorify your Father, not you!  Hallelujah.

The final Beatitude to cap it all off is Persecution.  Yes, this is one of the greatest, most astounding of all!  At first sight it appears that this Beatitude is just a result or what we can expect from what has been stated before.  But looking at it, you will see that it is a further description of the Christian in that it is persecution for the sake of RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Right living - right being.  We do not have to go looking for persecution.  Persecution seems to find us.  Why?  Because of whom we have become!  Because of how we walk!  Remember, our previous beatitude was Peacemaking.  Well, some will not accept your effort to share with them the glorious truth that can give them the same peace you have, and they will chide you for it.  They may come after you with strong words of disdain, and even anger.    This is happening to someone reading this lesson right now.  You wonder what to do, or how to handle it.  Remember, true persecution is the direct result of peacemaking.  You need to know that.  It is because you have a passion to see one of your fellow human beings come to know Christ and experience the same peace you have that this has come upon you.  Let me add that all persecution is not of the "blessed kind".  It may be persecution, but the promise will not apply because it is for the wrong reason.   More of that later.

The word persecute in the Greek text of the New Testament is the word dioko.  It has the meaning of press, pursue, or follow after.  Is that not what persecution is?  It is like someone who constantly follows you, pursuing you trying to cause disturbance and upset.  

In Paul's letter to the Philippians chapter three, he tells us these words:

"Concerning zeal, persecuting the church...."   Philippians 3:6

This is what Paul did prior to his salvation.  And then he tells us the following in the same chapter  

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3:14

Do you see the two words in BOLD print?  They are the same in the Greek.  Persecute and Press.  Before Paul was saved, he pressed the church, pursued the church, followed after the church, and wouldn't let up 'til he put them in prison for their faith.  But then, after he surrendered his life in faith and repentance to Jesus Christ, he says I now PRESS, or pursue, or follow after the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and I will not let up 'til I apprehend that for which I have been apprehended of Christ Jesus!  Hallelujah!  In the same manner he persecuted, pursued after the church to do it harm, he now pursues, persecutes, or follows after the Lord Jesus Christ to gain the prize of this wonderful, dynamic high calling of God!  WHAT A GREAT CHANGE!

Soon after Paul was saved, his opponents then pursued HIM to persecute HIM.  They followed him, hounded him, surrounded him, pressed him in order to stop him and undermine the message of Christ and Him crucified.

You will find this word persecute in other places in the scriptures in both a positive and negative way.  In a positive way Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:15, is telling us to follow after that which is good.  There it is.  Follow after.  Persecute that which is good.  I find it also in Hebrews 12:14 telling us that we need to follow peace.  Follow hard after peace.  Persecute and press after it.  But he then says, "and holiness, without which no man shall see God."  Wow!  I must ask myself at this point if I am doing that.  1 Corinthians 14:1 says we should "follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts..."  What is he really telling us?  He is trying to press home to us the great need to pursue these things without letting up.  We do not stop until they are ours!  Oh, what a word!  I am so moved right now with conviction and excitement at the same time.  Why?  Because I see my need to pursue Him, to pursue what I know to be my very need.  I see that I have been slacking in my relationship with Jesus and that I am not pursuing that which is good.  I am not following hard after peace, or love, or spiritual gifts as much as I follow after other things that have no eternal value.   Are you pursuing the Lord?  Are you following hard after Him?  We get concerned when someone is "stalking" us, or following us, or pursuing us.  We see their effort to cause us grief.  However, have we been pursuing the Savior as tenaciously as our enemy has been pursuing us?  Maybe the word persecute has caused me to think a bit more.  Hmm.

One old preacher from England used to say; "you will never outgrow persecution."  Christian man or woman of God, you may as well get used to it.  In other words, we may never reach the place where the world will greet us with open arms.  Jesus said, "If the world hates you, don't forget they hated me first."  If we are looking for the "easy" life, let us not hold our breath.  It is not going to happen.  Jesus told us we would have tribulation in this world, but not to be afraid because He had overcome the world.  He also told us that if we live godly in this present world, we will suffer persecution.  So, there it is.  And what do we run into here?  It is this.  The word BLESSED.  It is the word that describes those who are persecuted for the RIGHT REASONS.  And then, the promise.  "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven".  Notice, that the result of the first beatitude and the result of the last beatitude are the same: "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Notice also that the first beatitude is about the Poor in Spirit, and the last one is about the Persecuted.  Whoa!  The poor and the persecuted.  The kingdom of heaven.  How true it is that Christ does not use the same scale as the world in determining who is blessed and who is not.  But then, the bible is clear about this when it says, God's ways are not our ways.  He sees not as man sees.  His value system is not like ours.  So, cheer up!  It is what God thinks that matters and not anyone else.  Again, Hallelujah.  I am feeling better already!

So, let us begin and follow this outline:

                I. The Recipients of Persecution
               II. The Reasons for Persecution
              III. The Reaction to Persecution

Who is Jesus referring to?  It makes a difference, does it not?  Yes, because the blessing is a real blessing if you are one of the recipients!  I look at the scriptures and see that those who receive this persecution, and are blessed because of it are:

1. Born after the Spirit.
"But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now".  Galatians 4:29

So, the recipient of this persecution is he or she that is born after the Spirit.  In other words, born again by the Spirit of God.

2. Living godly in Christ Jesus.
"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution".  2 Timothy 3:12 

Whoa!  Look at that.  All who will live godly.  What is it to live godly?  That would be a great study for you after you finish this lesson.  One may need to look at it negatively in order to see it positively.  Who are the ungodly?  Some good places to search are the book of Jude in the New Testament.  In the Old Testament, Proverbs 16, and Proverbs 19, as well as the book of Psalms.

3.  Not of the world.
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you".  John 15:19

Oh, my.  This is great stuff!  I hope you are seeing what I am seeing.  Who are we?  Friends, we are NOT of the world.  Not only that, but we must not love this world.  What is of the world?  
Look at 1 John 2:15-17.

To love the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is to love the world.  Why should we not love the world?  Look at the reasons in 1 John 2:15-17 above.

a. Because the world is contrary to the Father.  It is incompatible with God!  Notice, all that is in the world is not of the Father.
b. Because the world is temporary.  It is passing away!  It will not last.  It is all going to end someday.  But notice, He that does the will of God ABIDETH FOREVER.  That is being NOT of the world.  Yes, living within the confines of the will of God has a tremendous end result.

4. Servants of the Lord.
"The servant is not greater than his Lord.  If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you". 
 John 15:20

5. Ministers, Preachers, Prophets of the Lord.
"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience".   James 5:10

"And now, behold I go bound to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me".  Acts 20:22-23

"Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted?"  Acts 7:52

1. Because of the Word
"And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended".  Mark 4:17

Now this is interesting.  Have you ever been persecuted because of the Word or for the sake of the Word?  Jesus says that when these people who are shallow in their faith face this kind of thing, they get offended.  The word "offended" is the Greek word, "skandalizo".  It means to stumble, or to put a stumbling block in the way of someone in order to cause them to fall or trip.  To stumble.  Dear fellow believer, persecution will come because of the Word of God.  The fact that you have heard the Word, believe the Word, and obey the Word, makes you a target.  When His Word finds a place in your heart, the pharisees will follow after, pursue, hound, press, persecute you because of it.  This is what happened to Jesus.  Do you remember?  Listen to it:

"I know that you are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you."  John 8:37

They sought to kill him.  They pursued him in order to kill him because the Word he preached was not welcome in their hearts.  Fellow believer, the servant is not greater than his master.  They will want to undermine it and create pressure upon you.  Because of the way I preach, I will have to endure the fallout.  Stephen was stoned because of his preaching under the power of the Holy Spirit.  But Stephen was not deterred.  He did not compromise.  However, it did bring conviction and resulted in slander and an unjust verdict which ended his life.  Listen, whatever you do, do not allow any persecution to stumble you.  Do not allow it to trip you up on your journey to the heavenly city.  I have made up my mind that nothing will stumble me.  I am going through.  How about you?

2. Because of righteousness
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake..."  Matthew 5:10

What does this mean?  What does it NOT mean?

A lot of persecution is the result of our own doing.  Some Christians claim they are being persecuted for just about everything.  LOL.  Yes, they may be persecuted, but the promise will not apply!  Our text does not say that we are blessed if we are being persecuted for our lack of wisdom; our argumentative spirit; arrogance, or putting our foot in our mouth, or for bringing shame to the name, or behaving in an obnoxious, un-Christlike manner.  Our testimony, especially those who bring the word of God, must be one that is of good report.  Listen to it:

"A bishop...must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."  1 Timothy 3;1, 7

Good report = "Excellent Testimony"
Those without = "Non-Christian community"

It does not say we are blessed if we are persecuted or suffer for being a busy body.  Listen to it:

"But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.  Yet if any suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this behalf."  1 Peter 4:15-16

There may be suffering for being a busybody, but the promise and blessing does not apply.  The word busybody means someone who is self-appointed to oversee in other men's matters.  To meddle in the affairs that are not his or hers.  They set themselves up as the overseer to push others to conform to their Christian standards.  Whoa!  That hurt.

So, what DOES it mean?  Ah, this is good!  Are you getting something?  Say, yes!  Good.   Well, the answer is found in the text.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for RIGHTEOUSNESS sake."  Matthew 5:10

There it is!  Righteousness.  Right living.  Being right.  Being like Jesus.  Not perfect and not sinless, but righteous.  Oh, my friend, this is most glorious!  It does not get any better than this.   The righteous are persecuted because they are not of this world.  It is not because we are good, or noble, or deserving.  It is because we are different.  We are not better than anyone else.   We are better off, yes.  David was persecuted by King Saul because he was of a different spirit.  There was something about David that convicted Saul.  It was not because David was valiant, or gutsy, but because he was upright.  Daniel was thrown into the Lion's den NOT because he was better, but the Bible says an excellent spirit was found in him.  Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the King's meat.  Yes, Daniel was different, not better.  Daniel was righteous.  His actions were the result of character and made his enemies angry.  You may remember that Daniel prayed three times a day in his room.  Doing this made others in high places look bad.  Daniel did not make a big show of his righteousness and prayer time.  He did not parade it in front of the leadership.  No, he was quiet and unobtrusive.    Sometimes you may do something that is completely the result of your love for God and your hunger and thirst after righteousness.  If this results in being followed or pursued as was Daniel, then, rejoice!  You are in good company.

Even Christ was persecuted and killed for this righteousness.  There was something about Jesus that condemned the Pharisees.  He would walk into a room and because of who He was, the Pharisees and others could not engage in certain behavior.  I recall one episode in the gospels that the Pharisees had sent some men to take Jesus and bring Him in.  They returned without Jesus.  Why?  They told the Pharisees that "never a man spoke like this man."   Wow!  They were prohibited from doing what they had every intention of doing!  Oh, what could Jesus accomplish in me if I could sense that very same presence that would restrain my behavior!

This beatitude says that a Christian is like his Lord, not the world.  When the world gives accolades to the church and comes into popularity with them and never offends the world but is easy to get along with, then the church is in dire straits.  I ask you, if the world is consistent to be the world, and the church is consistent to be the church, will the two entities be closer to one another or farther apart?  The answer is FARTHER APART!  What has happened to the righteousness the church claims to have?    I am reminded of the words of D. L. Moody, that great evangelist, who said:

"Christians should live in the world, but not be filled with it.  A ship lives in the water, but if the water gets into the ship, she goes to the bottom.  So, Christians may live in the world; but if the world gets into them, they sink." D.L. Moody

Let us remember the words of Jesus:
             
"Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you!  For so did their fathers to the false prophets."  Luke 6:26

Yes, righteousness is the word that reinforces, or upholds all the other beatitudes.  In fact, Jesus will tell us a bit more of what He means by it (righteousness) in verse eleven.  Listen to it:

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." Matthew 5:11

For my sake means because of me!  Isn't Jesus the personification of righteousness?  Absolutely.  Any righteousness we have comes from Him, and because of Him.  It is imputed righteousness.  Imputed means that the righteousness of Christ is treated as ours by faith.  Christ"s righteousness is designated or placed into our account; it is given to us and we are constituted righteous because of our repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus and what He did at the cross.  Hallelujah!    Persecution is what happens because you have chosen to associate with the King of Kings.  Excuse me, one more HALLELUJAH!  Have you ever heard that phrase "I feel your pain"?  Well, when we are persecuted for righteousness sake, because of HIM, we are feeling what He is feeling.  Our right living has caused others who do not know Jesus to vent their disapproval of our God!  It is not with you they are so angry, but it is JESUS in you!  Remember Jesus said, "they hated me before they hated you".  So, "righteousness" is the real reason for this persecution.  Do not take it personally.  It is Christ they are angry with.  And may we not forget that it is the persecution which comes upon us for living right and for being accused falsely because of Him.

As to our response to this persecution, Jesus does not leave us in the dark.    How should we react?

1.  Rejoice and be exceeding glad.
Well, there it is!  Listen to it:
 
"Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  Matthew 5:12

Dear friends, we are not to bring persecution upon ourselves.  We avoid it without doing injury or violation to our conscience.  But plain and simple, when it happens, REJOICE!  Why?  There are three words that come to mind from this verse that explain why.

1. Compensation - Great is your reward.
             2. Destination - In heaven
              3. Identification - For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Hey, this is proof of who you are!  You are identified with some of the greatest men and women of all time.  It is also proof of where you are headed and what you will receive when you get there!  Do not despair.  Look up!  It is all coming to a glorious conclusion.  Do not back off now.  Do not give up now.  Do not become a slacker now!  You are closer than ever to the heavenly city whose builder and maker is God!  Why rejoice?  Listen to it:

"And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name." Acts 5:41

It is a sign of a person who is walking worthy.  Woo!  Like I said, it doesn't get much better.

2.  Love your enemies.  
Listen to it:

"But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you."  Matthew 5:44

"If you love them that love you, what reward have ye?  Do not even the publicans the same?"  Matthew 5:46

3. Bless them that persecute and curse you. 
How I respond when I am reviled is very important.  Listen to it:

"Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not...therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."  Romans 12:14, 20

Bless is the Greek word eulogeo.  It means to speak well of.  In other words, be true to your testimony.  Blessing him is the same as quenching his thirst and satisfying his hunger.  And some say that kindness is as effective as coals of fire.

4.  Do good to those who hate you. 
Matthew 5:44 (see above) 

5.  Pray for them.
Matthew 5:44 (see above)

6. Fear not.
I love this.  I have to say, this is grand.  What an honor.  Listen to it:

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul..." Matthew 10:28

"But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.  And it shall turn to you for a testimony...and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.  But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls."  Luke 21:12, 13, 17

There it is!  Do not fear!  Ladies and gentlemen, our testimony is about to rise to the next level! 
 
Excuse me - Hallelujah.

Little is known of George A. Young.  In fact, the exact date of his birth and death are uncertain.  To earn a living, he did carpenter work, but his call and passion was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who would listen.  Few people heard of him during his lifetime, he made no "claim to fame."
Finances were very tight in the Young household.  Most of the time the family had enough money for just that day.  It was a real struggle for George to support his wife and family, but he did not back down on his call to preach the message of Jesus Christ.  And through the years, the Lord provided for them exactly what was needed.
George's call to share the truth of God's Word with the lost did not make him friends.  In fact, some turned against him because of the conviction that the Word of God worked in their hearts.  They did not want to change and therefore did not want to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ and what He wanted and could do in their lives.  In rejecting the Lord, they rejected the message and also rejected George himself.
After many years of scrimping and saving, George was able to build, with his own hands, a simple little house for his family to call their own home.   They were thankful to the Lord for everything that He had provided for them.  One weekend, George was to preach in a church a few towns away.  His entire family went with him and they stayed in that town through the entirety of the meetings.  When they returned home, they found that some of the towns people who hated George and his message of Jesus Christ had burnt their new little house to the ground.  They lost everything but their lives. 
Here is the beauty of this "tragic" story.  George continued in his service to the Lord.  He continued seeking Him and serving Him.  He did not allow the deeds of the lost to hinder his call by the Lord to share truth of the power of Jesus' blood to forgive sin.  In fact, George took the persecution and struggles he faced because of his obedience to the Lord, and he wrote a song.  This song is still sung today, all these years later.  George's song speaks of the care of God, the leading of God.  It speaks of the difficulties of life that the Lord leads his children through, but always returns to the faithfulness of God to stay with His children through the difficulty and out the other side.  It is a song that reminds us of Psalm 23 and the care of the Shepherd for His sheep, giving rest and comfort to the tired.  Its words remind us that the Lord will give songs in the night seasons (difficult times)-– songs of hope that minister strength to the hurting heart.  George reminds us of Isaiah 43:2 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." And his message is that through it all, God is always leading those who are willing to be lead.
Are you being persecuted for your stand for Christ?  Are you facing times of difficulty because of your obedience to His Word?  If not today, you will tomorrow.  Remember dear Christian, none of this is a surprise to God.  He is with you through the fire.  May George Young's song help you keep your focus on the Lord and His plan for you.  May it encourage you to trust Him as God leads you along.

George A. Young

In shady green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Chorus
Some through the water, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

Through sorrow befall us and evil oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
God leads His dear children along.

"¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:   ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ³Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ⁴Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  ⁵Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  ⁶Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.  ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  ¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ¹¹Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  ¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  Matthew 5:1-12

What a great Beatitude!
We will look at this using the following outline.
I.   Position
II.  Definition
III. Acquisition

Blessed are the peacemakers comes to us in the seventh position of the eight beatitudes.  We have finished the Christmas season, and are into the new year.  As I reflect on that blessed time of celebrating our Savior's birth, I am thinking of the verse in the gospel of Luke chapter two verse 14.

Yes, there is a desperate cry for peace in our time.  The world is longing for peace.  The individual soul desires peace.  Man has made many attempts at world peace and has failed.  For some, peace is just the absence of war.  But that is not true peace.  It is just an agreement to stop shooting at each other.  So, why have all their peace conferences failed?  Why do all these world leaders find themselves at an impasse every time they get together?  Could it be that they are approaching the issue from political, social, and economic perspectives?  The answer is, "yes".  The problem is not political, social, or economic.  It is spiritual.  This is why they fail.  The approach is man oriented and not God oriented.  The Bible gives us the answer.  The heart of man needs to be changed.  Jesus said that it is out of the heart that evil comes.  Murder, adultery, etc.  So, the source of the trouble is the heart of man.  Being in the seventh position, it follows "pure in heart".  Ah, how appropriate!  What follows the purity of the heart?  PEACE!  That is so cool!  Do you see it?  YES!  Listen to the scripture in James 3:17:

Whoa!  How great is this!  In fact, you will find many references in the epistle of James to the sermon on the mount.  See if you can come up with some verses in that great letter of James that refer to this great sermon.  What is the condition of my heart?  Maybe the answer to this question will reveal to us why people are having such a hard and difficult time making peace among themselves.

Without the purity of heart, all our attempts at world peace or any other peace will be futile.  Why?  Simply because all efforts to accomplish something by the arm of the flesh is not starting at the beginning of the problem.  It is only treating a symptom of the disease and not the disease itself.  It would be like trying to treat a water problem down-stream by pouring in a bottle of chlorine when there is a dead carcass up-stream at the source.  We try to make laws to cause people to behave as we think they should.  We try to legislate righteousness.  Though the effort may be much appreciated, and we should make good laws, yet, good as they may be, they never deal with the dead carcass up-stream!  We must get to the root of the problem.  What is that root?  It is sin.  As we stated above, this beatitude is in the seventh position.  It is interesting to note that in the book of Proverbs chapter 6 verses 16-19 we find these words:

The seventh thing God hates is the sowing of division, or discord.  Yet the seventh thing God promises to bless is a peacemaker!  A believer who by his/her life and testimony, sows peace by way of purity.  Yes, the pure in heart is just before the peacemaker.  Let me ask you, is not the reason there is so much discord, and division in the world due to the fact that there is so much impurity in the heart?  My dear friends, we cannot ignore this.  What is going on inside (of us) is directly related to what is happening outside.  Can we not see this?  Sadly, most of the world does not simply because the god of this world has blinded the minds of men.  Lord open our eyes.

So, what is a peacemaker?  We need to see it negatively as well as positively.  What it is not, and then what it is.

1.  Being a peacemaker is not avoiding trouble, or conflict.  It is not peace at any price.  It is not being a pacifist.  It is not compromising in order to get along.  Doing so, is just another means of avoiding truth in order to keep the peace.  A peacemaker, though he loves the sinner, will make no league with him.  The peacemaker will not put his or her spiritual safety at risk.  Oh, but Pastor Jerry, the Bible says "Follow peace with all men..."  (Hebrews 12:14) Yes, it does say that.  But here we are once again face to face with the same old problem.  It is only quoting a portion of the verse and not the whole.  We will always find ourselves in a dilemma when we do this.  Listen to the rest of the verse:

Ah, there it is!  Do you see it?  I know you do.  Peace and holiness are connected in this verse.  Now let's see the connection between holiness and purity.

We can see that holiness and purity are connected.   How so?   Without holiness and purity there is no seeing God.  If there is a choice between peace and holiness, we choose holiness.  Why?  The Bible tells us:

 "There is no peace saith my God, to the wicked."  Isaiah 57:21

2. It is not peace at the expense of truth.  Proverbs 23:23 says:

He is not a peacemaker who unites himself with error.  Purity is always a precedent to peacemaking.  Jesus said that "He did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) Ah, but, Pastor Jerry, the Bible says He is the prince of peace!  Yes, Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  You will find in Isaiah the prophet these words:

"And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace..."  Isaiah 9:6

Then how do you reconcile this?  Is there not a contradiction here?  You may say, "How can Jesus be the Prince of peace and yet the Bible says He did not come to bring peace but a sword?"   It is quite simple when you realize that Jesus the Prince of Peace draws His sword in the INTEREST of peace!  Hallelujah!  If you had a cancerous tumor in your body, you would want it removed, correct?  Yes!  Well, there will be no PEACE in your body until the surgeon comes and takes a scalpel and cuts that mass out of you!  There is no contradiction here in these verses.  Jesus has come to bring peace by the blood of His cross.  He came to cut out of you the thing that is causing you to have NO PEACE!  Is it not true, that when you surrendered your life to Jesus and He took (cut) your sin away, you had a real peace in your heart for the first time in your life?  Absolutely!  Listen to it:

"And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto himself."  Colossians 1:20

"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  Romans 5:1

This peace came the moment your impure heart became pure through the blood of His cross.  The moment you were justified by faith you had a peace that could not be explained any other way than by a supernatural cleansing of your heart by the blood of the Lamb of God!  I am thinking of a song:

"NO CONDEMNATION HAVE I IN MY HEART,
HE TOOK MY SINS AWAY,
HE TOOK MY SINS AWAY.
HIS PERFECT PEACE, HE DID TO ME IMPART,
HE TOOK MY SINS AWAY."
~ He Took My Sins Away - M. J. Harris

Yes, He took them all away!  Praise the Lamb forever!  Glory to God in the highest!  Yes, the angel's words at the beginning of this lesson are found in  Luke 2:14:

So, all the earth is now at peace?  Oh, no.  This verse actually says, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among men in whom He is well pleased."  Ah, that is it!  Just because Jesus came to earth to die on the cross and bring peace, does not mean that everyone automatically has this peace.  Peace comes to those in whom He is well pleased.  How does one get to be one of those men/women in whom He is well pleased?  It happens when I allow the Prince of Peace to come and draw His sword and cut out of me the cancer called sin.  He confronts me with who I am, and He cuts out the filth, the disease called sin that has been eating away at me preventing the peace that I so desperately crave.

1.  A peacemaker is one who is spiritually at peace.  It begins as I make my peace WITH God, and then, I experience the peace OF God!   A peacemaker is someone who has been saved by the blood of the Lamb.  He has a new view of himself.  He sees that in him dwells nothing that is good.  He sees the wretchedness of his sin is the reason he had no peace within.  But now, he says, since Jesus came into my heart, there is a light in my soul for which long I had sought!  It's no longer all about me!  It's all about Jesus!  What does that do for him?  He now sees others in a different light.

2.  A peacemaker sees others differently!  We used to look at others and envy them.  Well, didn't you?  Yes, you did.  You could not understand why others had the things you never had.  It almost made you angry.  In fact, you WERE angry at times.  You said that life was not fair!  You wondered why you were dealt such a bad hand!  You may have even wondered why ol' Joe next door had two houses and a boat on the lake and yet he lives like the devil all week long.  Admit it.  You used to be like that.  But now, as a saved man/woman you do not see ol' Joe that way anymore.  NO!  You ask, "Why is ol' Joe like that?"  As a peacemaker you answer by saying, "I know why ol' Joe is like this."  Yes, Joe has been blinded by the god of this world just like you used to be.  He is blinded by Satan.  Poor Joe!  He needs Jesus!  Joe needs the SAME PEACE THAT I HAVE!  He does not need our envy, or resentment.  Ol' Joe needs our prayers, our pity, and our testimony.  Why?  Because he is one of our fellow human beings.

3. A peacemaker is meek.  Ah, remember our last lesson?  We made mention of the figure of speech called "correspondence".   Or overlaid repetition.  We drew a diagram for you and connected or corresponded the meek man with the peacemaker man.  It looked something like this:  

Do you see the line going from meek to peacemaker?  Meekness corresponds to peacemaking.  In other words, the greater the meekness the greater our peacemaking will be.  Meekness feeds our ability to be a peacemaker.  The two are related and connected.  Meekness is the attitude that does not need to retaliate.  When a sinner maligns him, or says all manner of evil against him, the meek man does not stand up and fight the man for his accusations.  In fact, the meek man knows that he is actually worse than what that sinner has accused him of.  He knows that if it were not for the grace of God he would be in a worse condition.  This kind of a spirit, or attitude lends itself to the greatest peacemaking ever!  Lord, increase my meekness.

Friends, as peacemakers, we know why the world is as it is.  Therefore, it is our desire to share and bring this gospel of peace to those who are in darkness.  We want them to know the same peace we have come to enjoy!

There is only one way to this peace.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Peace in our family, our world, our church, and in our institutions is only possible and directly linked to peace with God through Jesus Christ.  The church must get back to its priority!  Our priority is not political peace, or world peace, but spiritual peace.  The spiritual internal peace with God through Jesus which leads to the external peace with our fellow man.  What must the church do to get back to and emphasize its priority of peacemaking?

1.  Christians must PRACTICE it.   Demonstration.
 May we learn to control our tongue.

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:" James 1:19

2.  Christians must PROTECT it.    Preservation
May we guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Ecumenism = a movement promoting union between different religions then, is not an option.  Compromising truth for the sake of getting along has no place.  

"Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  Ephesians 4:3

3.  Christians must PREACH it.      Proclamation

"How beautiful ... are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace...." Isaiah 52:7

4.  Christians must PRAY for it.     Supplication

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6,7

Listen, our nation is on the verge of judgment.  We need to stand in the gap and pray.  Not just for the peace of Jerusalem, but for the peace to come into the heart of man and keep us in perfect peace.  Pray for God to show mercy to this country.  Pray for the light to shine.  Pray for the president, congress, pastors, and people.   Remember that Abraham prayed for Sodom.  God said if there were 10 righteous people, He would not destroy it.  Just think what 10 righteous people could have done.  Let us begin to pray as never before.  It is not too late.

Peacemakers shall be called the children of God.  Are not peacemakers already children of God?  Yes!  In fact, the only one who can be a real peacemaker is a child of God!  Then why does it say this?  The answer can be found in the meaning of the word "called".  Called means "owned".  They shall be owned as the children of God.  Hallelujah!  Are we seeing something here?  I hope so.  This is a great thing to be sure.  We are His children!  But we shall be called or owned as children.  What does that mean for us?

1. We do not belong to ourselves anymore.  1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us:

So, we do not belong to ourselves anymore.  We belong to Him!  He should take the initiative in my life.  Ah, so a peacemaker is someone who does not call the shots but is someone who is ready to do the Lord's will.   This will make for a great peacemaker.  Why?  He who is owned by God does what pleases God.  He or she does not think of themselves first anymore.  They think of others.  Listen to it:

"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, ... and He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."  Philippians 2:4-8

2.  We become imitators of God.  Ephesians 5:1 says:

In the Greek text, "as dear children" is a purpose clause which can be better rendered "because you are His children."  We, because of who we are in Him, should desire to be followers of God, or better yet, imitators of God.  They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery.  By imitating God, we show how much we love and believe in Him and are thrilled to be called His children.  Peacemakers are people who greatly desire to imitate their Father.  Not just because they are His children, but also because HE IS THEIR FATHER!  This is an awesome privilege and a wonderful opportunity.   However, we must be honest here.  It is also a grand responsibility.  How so?  Let me ask a question.  When you walk through a store and see a young child, with their parent, who is acting up and misbehaving, about whom are we drawing certain negative conclusions?  Yes, the parent!  Dear fellow believer, people are also drawing conclusions about our Heavenly Father based upon the actions of His children.  May we who are called "children of God" keep in mind that the reputation of our Father who art in Heaven is on the line.  To be a peacemaker is to be like Jesus.  Therefore, Jesus does not adjust to us, but we adjust to Him.

3.  We are His possession.  1 Peter 2:9 says:

The word peculiar means to be surrounded by;   to be owned.  As children of God, we are surrounded by our Father.  This is a great truth.  Let me illustrate this to you as we close out this lesson.  Before you were saved, like a black dot on a piece of paper, you were vulnerable to all the enemy's tactics, temptations, etc.  See Illustration:

All of his arrows pierced your soul and hit you full force.  You were exposed to all his wiles, and methods.  His purpose in attacking you is always to kill and destroy.  But one day you surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus 100%, and you became a child of God.  As I Peter 2:9 says, you became a “peculiar” person.  A man/woman surrounded by God.  Owned by the Creator of the universe!  Things are not now as they once were.  The situation looks much different.  See illustration:

The dot is now surrounded by the circle.  The circle is the Lord!  Do the arrows of the enemy still come at you?  Yes, they continue to come full speed.  But there is a hindrance!  They must pass through the circle before they can get to the dot!  If they are allowed to pass through the circle, the purpose changes. Nothing can get to the dot without the Lord Jesus allowing it.  So, instead of all this trouble being meant for evil, killing and destruction, it is now meant for good!  10,000 Hallelujahs!  See illustration:

What does this have to do with peacemaking?  You can enter into this life of peacemaking without fear!  You can witness without fear.  You can be led of the Lord without fear.  Yes, you may be persecuted for trying to get ol' Joe saved, but it does not bother you.  It comes with the territory.   And you will notice that as a child of God, owned by God, surrounded by God that the devil can do nothing but by Divine permission.  Now, you approach your Christian life with a new attitude.  Because you are a child of the Highest, any situation or circumstance regarding peacemaking, persecution, COVID-19 or anything else will be faced with a new perspective.  In the words of Joseph to his brothers, "you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good".  Excuse me, but that calls for one more Hallelujah.

Written by: Margaret Jinkins Harris

In this lesson, Pastor Jerry quoted a portion of the song that is printed below.  It has powerful truths written in it’s simple lines.  If you look closely you will see the sinner held captive in His sin and the changes that are made in him when he turns to Christ, confesses his sins, and begins to live a life of dependence on the Lord.  Look at the difference between the first line of each verse and the last two lines of the verse.  That complete change can only happen because Jesus Christ (the center two lines) takes sin away and sets the bound captive free!  “If the Son [Jesus] therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36.   Don’t wait, He will do the same in your life today.

I came to Jesus, weary, worn, and sad,
He took my sins away,
He took my sins away.
And now His love has made my heart so glad,
He took my sins away.

Chorus
He took my sins away,
He took my sins away,
And keeps me singing every day!
I’m so glad He took my sins away.
He took my sins away.

The Load of sin was more than I could bear.
He took them all away,
He took them all away.
And now on Him I roll my every care,
He took my sins away.  (Chorus)

No condemnation have I in my heart,
He took my sins away,
He took my sins away.
His perfect peace He did to me impart,
He took my sins away.  (Chorus)

If you will come to Jesus Christ today,
He’ll take your sins away,
He’ll take your sins away,
And keep you happy in His love each day,
He’ll take your sins away.  (Chorus)

"¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ³Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ⁴Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  ⁵Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  ⁶Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.  ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  ¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ¹¹Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  ¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." 
Matthew 5:1-12

We have made our way through the first five beatitudes and now we come to one of the most blessed of them all!  They are all wonderful in their own way.  However, this one has a most powerful and dramatic effect on us as Christians.  By way of a short review, we need to remind ourselves that at the first, we must see ourselves as of no consequence.  We are nothing without Him.  Have you come to that realization?  The first three beatitudes have revealed to us our desperate need.  They show us how much we are full of ourselves!  We realize that in Christ Jesus lies our only hope and we mourn over the discovery of our sinfulness and impurity.  What I learn about myself causes me/us to hunger and thirst!  Yes, to hunger and thirst with the promise that follows, THEY SHALL BE FILLED!  To hunger and thirst is a very powerful thing.  It is pivotal.  It is like a hinge on a door.  The door opens and closes by way of a hinge.  We say things, like, "The whole case hinges upon the evidence...".  This means that so much depends upon our hunger and thirst!  So much is resultant from and depends upon this hunger.   From this we see the powerful results, such as, being merciful, purity in heart, and peacemaking.  The last beatitude is Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake...   What is this?  It is the end result of all that has gone on before this.  Look out!  Some people are not going to like this new-found faith of yours!  They will not be pleased with your new outlook on life.  It will rub them the wrong way.  It will cause them to be annoyed.  Many times, this is due to the fact that your life is a "conviction" to them.  It is the Holy Spirit trying to stir their hearts and draw them to the Savior.

To begin, we will look at this beatitude using the following outline:
              I.   Position
              II.  Definition
              III. Acquisition

I.  Position  
This beatitude is in the sixth position.  It follows and is resultant from hungering and thirsting after righteousness.  It is also the outflow of a merciful individual.  It is found in a structure called "correspondence".  This figure of speech in Greek is called EPI-BOLEE.  It means to throw upon, or overlaid repetition.  Hey, sometimes it is good to stretch yourself a little, right?  Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it may sound.  LOL.  Let me show you a diagram that will help to make it clear.  You ready?  Here it is:

1. Blessed are the Poor in spirit
      2. Blessed are they that Mourn
         3. Blessed are the Meek
            4. Blessed are they that do Hunger and Thirst
   1. Blessed are the Merciful
      2. Blessed are the Pure in Heart
         3. Blessed are the Peacemakers
            4. Blessed are those who are Persecuted for...

How many see the correspondence?  Number one and number one correspond to each other.  Number two and number two as well.  And on it goes.  You can see the "overlay".  Do you see it?  This is so exciting!  Why is it so exciting?  Well, let me show you another diagram that may throw some light upon it.

At the bottom of the "mountain" is poor in spirit.  As we make our way up the mountain, we come to mourning, which is the result of being poor in spirit and so on.  The correspondence of one to the other can be seen by drawing a line connecting the corresponding beatitude.  Let's do that.   We will draw a line from poor in spirit to merciful.  Now, from mourn to pure in heart.  Then, from meek to peacemaker.  And, from hunger and thirst to persecution.  Your diagram should look like this:

There it is.  This is why it is exciting.  Let's look at a couple of these.  Poor in spirit corresponds to the merciful.  Those who are poor in spirit, who have a correct view of themselves, can have a correct view of others.  They are the ones who can extend mercy to others for they know that they themselves are bankrupt and have received undeserved mercy.  Do you see why we need MORE of this poor in spirit beatitude?  It will enhance the mercy.  Look at the ones who mourn.  What did they mourn?  They mourned over what they saw.  What did they see?  Their sin.  Listen to it.  "Blessed are the pure in heart..."  Who are the PURE in heart?  Those who are mourning over the IMPURITY of their heart.  Have we seen the impurity of our heart?  If we have, we will mourn over our condition.  There is only one way to have a pure heart.  It is to surrender the impure heart to Jesus for cleansing by His precious blood!  Hallelujah!  So, we see that this beatitude is in the sixth position and it emphasizes to us that the pure in Heart are those who mourn over the impurity of their heart.  A people, a church, who do not mourn over their sin will have an issue with purity.  Let's pray and ask the Lord to do in us as the psalmist did in Psalm 139:23, when he said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts."   Could it be, that, to the degree that I mourn over my impurity I will experience the joy of purity?

II. Definition
The definition of pure in heart is most important to an understanding of the beatitude.  To be pure in heart is not sinlessness.  If we as Christians say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  (I John 1:8) We see the mistakes and sins of others in the Bible.  Abraham, David, Moses, Jacob.  Men in the New Testament, such as Paul.  In Romans 7 he stated that the things he didn't want to do, he did.  Then he said in the 24th and 25th verses of Romans 7,

Notice he said, WHO!  Friends, the Who is Jesus Christ.   That is the cry of a man who has seen himself, mourned over what he has seen, repented, and cries out for deliverance on the inside.  One evidence that a person has a pure heart is the consciousness that he carries and the burden that he has for the IMPURITY that still dwells within him.  

To be pure in heart is not mere externalism.  Only what you see on the outside.  It is not ceremonial correctness, or outward holiness.  Man does not see how God sees.  Someone said many years ago that legalism is what man sees and holiness is what God sees.  I like that.  Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.  There it is!  The Pharisees in the New Testament were all external.  They were concerned with the outside.  But Jesus said,

"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."  Matthew 15:11

"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies..."  Matthew 15:19

So, the heart needs attention.  Listen to the scripture.

              "Keep [guard] thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

Out of the heart the boundaries of my life are drawn.  What is the one most important area I need to guard?  My heart!  This must be my focus.  Why?  Listen to Jeremiah:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
 Jeremiah 17:9

Ah, this is proof that we cannot legislate righteousness.  Our inner man is the "heart" of the matter.  Yes, it is good to make good laws.  Legislation that lines up with the Word of God is desperately needed in our nation.  But we must be plain about it.  We must not skirt the issue or beat around the bush, as they say.  While making good laws are necessary and a must, the law can never change the motive of a man's heart.  God said that He would write HIS LAWS ON THEIR HEARTS!   Hallelujah!  So, if God can do that, then it will not matter what man does.   Let me put it this way to show how important the heart is.  If every woman in America was born again by the blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, it would not matter if man's law says abortion is legal.  For the law of God would be written on the heart of every woman.  So, God's law written on the heart would be the standard of behavior.  One more Hallelujah! 

Listen, only God can change the heart.  So, it's not a "head" religion (Christian creed) or a "hand" religion (Christian service) but a heart religion that leads to the outward manifestation of the inward change.  So, what does this beatitude mean?  

Consider the "heart".  

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."  Proverbs 23:7

Notice, it says, as he THINKETH.  Think.  Where does he think?  IN HIS HEART.  There is a connection between the head and the heart.  Our heart is the place where we think, feel, and make decisions.  We are made up of Intellect, Emotion, and Will.  These are the elements that make up personality.  We all have the ability to think, to feel, and to choose.  Sin has infected the human race.  Sin has corrupted man's personality.  He's not thinking right, therefore, he misinterprets the facts of what’s going on in his life and that affects his feelings, his emotions.  They, too, are not correct.  This in turn can cause a person to make decisions he or she will ultimately regret.  So, my heart needs to be changed because it is the problem.  Listen to Jesus' words again:

Man's trouble is not his environment.  Many people say that if they only had a better neighborhood to live in, or a better job, or a world that didn't have so much evil in it, they would then be able to live a Christian life.  I remind us of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.  A garden that the Lord created.  A perfect environment.  Yet, they still fell.  They still disobeyed and by that act, sin came into the world and death by sin.  (Romans 5) So, placing man in a perfect environment will not fix his heart problem; it will not save him.  Also, education will not fix the problem.  It cannot save him.  There are professors of the highest IQ in colleges and universities who cannot keep their marriage together!  NO, it is sin that infected us as human beings.  It is sin that has destroyed our God-given faculties.  Our intellect has been marred by sin.  My understanding is darkened.  The Bible says that the minds of men have been blinded by the devil.  Our emotions have been twisted.  My feelings are those of misery and without purpose.  My will is then perverted because of sin and I choose evil.  I choose wrong.   But Christ came and He meets the need of my heart!  He is the heart changer!  Let me show you something.  Are you up for it?  Why, certainly you are!  Listen, as I stated before, because of sin, our whole personality has been corrupted.  My intellect, emotions, and will.  My ability:

Jesus knows this and He meets that great need of mine to have my heart put back to a right relationship with the Father.  He came down to this earth to be the Savior of my soul.  He fulfills a work that only HE can.  What is that work?  It is the work of a prophet, a priest, and a king.  In the Old Testament, they had prophets, priests, and kings.  What was the office of prophet?  A priest?  A king?  What was their "job", or calling?

Here is the great news!

As PROPHET, He illumines my mind and shows me what sin is!  As PRIEST, He tells me He loves me by dying on the cross for my sins and shedding His own blood on that tree of Calvary!  And as KING, Jesus becomes the ruler of my heart and teaches me how to make decisions that will glorify Him!  My personality has received a divine make-over!  I now think differently, feel differently, and I choose differently!  Can there be anything so marvelous as this?  NO, a thousand times, NO!

Christianity is an inward HEART thing, but shallow religion is just an outward show thing.  Change begins in the heart.  But know this, the change on the inside will always be seen on the outside.  Blessed are the pure in heart.

Consider the pure.
 
What does this word mean?   One could say, single.  Also, sincere.  It means unmixed.  It is not Jesus and something else.  Pure means, undivided.  Another way to say it would be, without pleats.  It is the opposite of duplicity, or double dealing.  We may have heard someone say about another person that they are "two faced".  So, divided has the idea of two-ness.  Pure has the idea of singleness.  Or, not divided.  Blessed are the undivided in heart.  Listen to it:

"Unite my heart to fear thy name."  Psalm 86:11

Unite is a good word.  One part of me wants this, and another part of me wants that.  O, Lord, UNITE my heart.  I want what you want, O, Lord!  I want my will to be united to yours.  The purer the heart, the more conscious I become of the filth of my own heart.  I mourn over my pride, my impatience with my spouse, or family.  I weep in private over my unholiness.  I see that I have a form of godliness, but I am denying the power.  I see the fountain of my impurity.  Ah, but that causes me to come, and cry, and weep at the altar wherein lies a fountain filled with blood!  Hallelujah!  Do we do this?  Do we weep over the impurity we see in our own heart?  God will answer.

Listen to it:

Jeremiah 32:39 says it this way:

So, it is when we allow something else to come in and be in competition with God that we get into trouble.  Think about it.  Hasn't that happened to you?  It has happened to me.  It is not that I am rejecting God, but I am putting Him on the sideline, or as they say in football, "on the bench".  We disregard Him.  We mislay Him.  Friend, there are things that are striving for the mastery in your heart.  As one preacher said years ago; we begin by wanting God and something else.  If that is allowed to continue, it changes to wanting the something else, and God.  And I am talking to someone today who needs to hear this.  God will not be in competition with us and something else.  Let me share a verse with you that may shed some light on what it is to have a divided heart.

"Israel is an empty vine...their heart is divided." Hosea 10:1-2

Wow!  God said their heart is not single, not pure, not united.  Jesus said if our eye is single our whole body will be full of light.  So, if it is not single, we lose light.  We forfeit the ability to see clearly.  Hmm, no wonder things are not in focus for me sometimes.  But, hey, when you read what the Lord is saying to the people in Hosea 10:1,2 we see what this divided heart is actually doing.   Looking into this word, divided, we see that the Hebrew word is "smooth".   How can "smooth" mean divided?  In those days, they used smooth stones as dice.  They would throw them in an act called "casting lots" because they wanted to divide something.  So, it is a gambling term.  Your heart has become a gambling house.  We would call it, a Casino.  They were gambling with God.  Kind of like tossing a coin.   "Heads, we go to church and worship God; Tails, we play golf!"   When it comes up "Heads we go to church", we quickly shout "Two out of three!"   The truth is, we really want something else.  Their heart had become a Casino - divided, not pure, mixed, not single, not united.

Let's face it, we are having trouble with a divided loyalty.   A pure heart is a loyal heart, a clean heart.  Not a sinlessly perfect heart.  No.  But it is a heart that is no longer divided.  A heart that recognizes that in me dwelleth no good thing.  A heart that says like Paul,

I have found that the closer I get to Jesus, the more I realize my need of Him.  I want to tell you something that happened to me that brought this truth home to my heart.

Some years ago, I was flying a kite with my son and my father in an open field.  My son was small, and my dad was watching as I started to run with the kite on that very windy day.  As I ran, the kite being close to me, it rattled and shook as it tugged and jerked in my hand.  The wind then began to catch the kite and took it soaring into the air.  Up and up it went.  It reached a height that was almost out of sight.  The string that I held in my hand, connecting me to the kite, was not tight.  It was looped and I could move my hand about and experienced no jerking nor tugging of the line!  It was as though I had nothing in my hand!  I felt no tug at all!  NONE!  This was a very powerful lesson to me.  In fact, I remember saying to myself, "I feel no tug."  Then the Lord spoke to me immediately.  Yes, right then I heard the voice of the Spirit say these words to me.  "Jerry, that's right, when you are far away from me, you feel no tug like you do when you are close to me."   I was convicted at that instant.  I knew that to be close to the Lord meant that He would put His finger on me.  I learned that He would jerk, or tug the line of my spirit, my inner man because He chastens those who are sons and daughters.  I thanked the Lord that He loved me enough to confront this misguided attitude of mine.  For, sometimes, we think because we feel no tug on the line that we are in good shape spiritually and that we are one of God's favorite children!  I prayed from that time on that the Lord would confront me, and not let me stray from Him, but "jerk" my chain, "tug" that line and let me know that the closer I draw to Him, the closer He comes to me.  But when that happens, look out!  He's about to rattle your cage.   Don't resist.  Just say, "Thank you, Lord."

III. Acquisition

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  There it is.  What is the acquisition?  They shall see God.  Yes, I want to see God.  Do you?  Not just when I die, but even right now.  But how?  Through Jesus the Son.  The scripture says:

"No man hath seen God at any time; but the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him."  John 1:18

Jesus said,

"He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father."   John 14:9

So, we start there.  Come to the One who can take that impure heart and cleanse it from sin.  And you will get a glimpse of the Savior who has died for you.  From this we come to understand that seeing God depends not upon our own understanding in the natural, but upon the cleanliness of our hearts.  My friend, above all else, get your sins forgiven and this will open a line of vision for you to see and know your God.  You will see His grace, His mercy, His counsel, and His will.  You will see God in your circumstances.  You will begin to see Him for you will be looking for Him.  What will seeing God do?  Well, I give you one thing it will accomplish in you.  Acts 7:2 says it like this:

Wow!  Praise the Lord!  What will a glimpse of the God of glory do for you and me?  It was seeing the God of glory that caused Abraham to get up and move away from all the things in the world that were in competition with his relationship with the Lord.  One glimpse, one vision, one sighting of the God of glory (Jesus) will do wonders for you and me.  It is that one beam of glory seen in the face of Jesus Christ that will send away that lust in your heart.  It will push you in HIS direction.  It will cause you to abandon the thing that is holding you back.  And the closer you get to someone, the easier it is to see them.  Get up, take a step towards the Lord of glory.  Don't be passive.

"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts ye doubleminded."  James 4:8

It is a blessed thing to do so!  Yes, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."   Why shall they see God?  An old preacher from England said many years ago that the reason the pure in heart shall see God, is because they are the only ones who want to.

On July 1st, 2020, my dad heard the words of Jesus, "Well done, good and faithful servant ... enter into the joy of the Lord."  He was home.

I've always been a Daddy's girl.  When I was little, he was my hero and in my eyes he was perfect.  He was always a good dad and I had no idea the life he was living.  I didn't know that when our car disappeared it was because he had gambled it away.  I didn't realize that when he was gone to "work" for days at a time, he was out drinking and doing drugs, or when we suddenly had to move away from our home, that it was because the bank had foreclosed.  The devil had him right where he wanted him, but God had bigger plans.

When I was four, my mom heard the gospel, saw herself for the sinner that she was, repented of her sins, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior.  My sister and I were both saved soon after and for the next six years we never stopped praying that the Lord would reach my dad.  He wouldn't come to church with us and didn't want to be "preached" to, but the Holy Spirit started working in his heart.  He decided to see for himself what this was all about, so when no one was around, he picked up a Bible, opened it up, and read, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  He told us later that he instantly knew that God was real.  How powerful the word of God is!

On a Sunday morning, May 9th, 1993, while driving down the road, my daddy surrendered his life to Jesus, and nothing was ever the same in our home.  You can imagine the joy when he told us of his decision.  His past was forgiven, and he was a new creature in Christ!  His life was changed, and he wanted to share that with everyone.  He decided to go back to the bars so he could talk to his buddies and of course he would just drink sodas... you can imagine how that went... Satan was right there to tempt him back into his old habits.  God brought him to a crossroads where he had to admit that he couldn't quit on his own, and he asked God to deliver him from those old habits that held him.  God answered the cry of his heart, and completely took his desires away, even for cigarettes.   God is our deliverer, and if He can do it for my dad, he can do it for you!

Our family was now serving God together, what a change had taken place!  We were united in Christ; we had a beautiful home, and my dad had a good job as co-owner of a construction company. A few years had passed, and the Lord started to speak to my dad's heart about being partners with this ungodly man who had started being deceitful in business.  It was a big step, but he left the partnership and started his own company.  He called the new company, "Acts II Construction – Building Bridges for Jesus."  From almost the moment my dad got saved, he had a heart for souls and was very bold in sharing the gospel with those who needed to hear.  He used the profits from his company to support ministries and help missionaries reach the lost for Jesus.  He, himself witnessed to everybody, from guys on his job sites, to engineers, and waitresses at lunch time.  

In 2009 God called my dad to the mission field.  With a direct word from God, he headed out across the world to share the good news of salvation that had so changed his own life.  He would travel when he could, preach multiple times a day, and run his business back home over the phone and fax.  God was touching hearts and lives through his ministry, thousands were getting saved, healed and filled with the Holy Spirit.  In 2017, he felt led to close his business, and be on the mission field almost full time.  He traveled to 26 countries and preached to everyone he came in contact with, from the poorest homeless person to the president and congress of countries, and from the cab driver to crowds of thousands.

He spent 37 years of his life serving himself but spent the next 27 fully serving Jesus.  I can only imagine how many people have been changed because of this one man saying yes to Jesus.  When he came to the end of his life, and stood before God nothing in His past mattered, it was covered by the blood of Jesus!  Regardless of the decisions you have made and the life you've chosen to live, God can redeem or change it and turn your life completely around, for your good and His glory!  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Would you live for Jesus, and be always pure and good?
Would you walk with Him within the narrow road?
Would you have Him bear your burden, carry all your load?
Let Him have His way with thee.

              (Chorus)          
              His power can make you what you ought to be;
              His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free;
              His love can fill your soul, and you will see
              'Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.

                           Would you have Him make you free, and follow at His call?
                           Would you know the peace that comes by giving all?
                           Would you have Him save you, so that you need never fall?
                           Let Him have His way with thee.

                                         Would you in His kingdom find a place of constant rest?
                                         Would you prove Him true in providential test?
                                         Would you in His service labor always at your best?
                                         Let Him have His way with thee.

"¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: ²And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ³Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ⁴Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  ⁵Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  ⁶Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.  ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  ⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  ¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ¹¹Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  ¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  Matthew 5:1-12

As we march onward through this great Sermon on the Mount and especially the Beatitudes, we find ourselves faced with Blessed are the Merciful.  What a joy to reach the place of mercy!   These beatitudes are speaking to us of Christian Character.  Yes, character.  Do you remember the equation we have used in the past?  If not, it is this:    C+C=I

It all begins with character.  The gospel puts weight upon who we are before it places emphasis upon what we do.  Later, in the Sermon on the Mount there will be mention of actions or conduct.  Someone said, "We do not control Christianity, but Christianity controls us.  As we walk and talk and live, we are declaring by conduct exactly what we are."

Also, let us be reminded that each beatitude is a logical outcome of the previous one.  First, we are poor in spirit.  The Bible says, "In me dwelleth no good thing." (Romans 7:18)  If that is a problem for us at the moment, then we need to get on our knees.  Then, we mourn the sinfulness we have seen in ourselves.  I mourn and cry as did Isaiah, "Woe is me, for I am undone.  I am a man of unclean lips..."  And like Paul the apostle, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"  Paul went on to answer this question of his with these words in Romans 7:25, "I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord!"  10,000 Hallelujahs!  I am now thinking of a song!

After this mourning takes place, I am now seeing myself in a new light.  I am now seeing others in a new light.  Meekness has now arrived on the scene and what others do to me or say about me carries no hurt or insult.  Why?  It is because my Lord has seen the worst about me and what He knows is far worse than what ANYBODY ELSE KNOWS, yet He LOVES ME ANYWAY!  HE FORGAVE ME ANYWAY!  (Excuse me, friends, but that deserves another Hallelujah!)  There is no need to retaliate anymore.  There is no reason to get even.  You see, no one knows what God knows and He knows I am worse than what OTHERS could ever think about me.  Knowing this, I now have a passion for righteousness.  I have a discontent with everything in my life that is UNLIKE God.  I Hunger and Thirst for more righteousness.  I long for more of Him.  I cannot produce this righteousness, nor create it, but I can put myself in the way of getting it.  Jesus has promised to satisfy that hunger and quench that thirst.  "They shall be filled."  As that hunger and thirst are satisfied, it is a foregone conclusion that my attitude towards others will be different.  I will see their difficulty because I have seen mine.  I have had a glimpse of my wretchedness, my lostness, and my sinfulness.  I now see that what they need is mercy!  Yes, the mercy that was great and the grace that was free.  They need the pardon that was multiplied to me!  I separate the sinner from the sin.

What is mercy?

Negatively speaking, mercy is not found in the natural man.  The unsaved.  It is not being "easy going."  It is not being "kindly disposed."  As you know, some dogs are nicer than others.  Some dogs are more "kindly disposed" than other dogs.  Mercy, or being merciful, is an attribute of God.  It is spiritual.  It is not turning a deaf ear or a blind eye to sin.  No.  The Bible says that all have sinned.  The scripture points out that no one is righteous.  Mercy is what God is, and He does not turn a deaf ear to sin.  He does not excuse our unrighteousness.  He is not "easy going" regarding the breaking of His commandments.

Merciful means that God sees the suffering and sin of man.  He pities the human race and then does something about it.  What did He do?

God the Father saw that you and I were hell-bound sinners and was so moved with compassion that He came down to earth to do something about it.  Through Jesus we have experienced that mercy in our lives so we cannot and will not withhold that mercy from others!  My mercifulness is the outcome of what I have already received and experienced.  So, when someone has done me wrong, and they are in my "power", so to speak, I do not give them what they deserve.  Why?  Because I was not given what I deserve!!  Can someone say, Amen?
   
It is not, "Be merciful, so you will receive mercy", any more than it is "Forgive, so you will be forgiven."  No.   It is this:  Because I have received forgiveness, I cannot withhold forgiveness from anyone.  And if I do, I prove that I do not know what forgiveness even is.   What is mercy?  It is pity in action.

It was mercy on Joseph's part, after his brothers mistreated and sold him as a slave, that caused him to forgive them and show them mercy when they were in his power to crush them and make them pay for what they had put him through.

It was mercy in David to spare King Saul when Saul was in David's power to kill him.

It was mercy that caused the Samaritan to bind up the wounds of the man left for dead on the road to Jericho in Luke chapter ten.  To take that man to a motel and pay his bill.  It was not just pity.  Others may have had pity on the man.  The priest, and the Levite may have had pity.  But mercy gets out the wallet and the band-aids and applies the character.

Oh, my friends, it was mercy that cried from the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do".  And it is that same spirit of mercy which caused Stephen in the book of Acts chapter seven verse sixty to say, "Lay not this sin to their charge".  Stephen could never have said such a thing had he not been the recipient of that same mercy and forgiveness.  This is what Christians are and therefore do.  This is what Jesus did for you and me.  Can we do any less for those who have trespassed against us?

How do we feel about sinners?  How do we feel when we are wrongly accused?  What do we do when we have been wronged and we are in the "driver's seat"?  Are we merciful?  Do we get our "pound of flesh" as they say?  Do we see sinners as Satan's slaves in need of mercy?  Do we pity them?  Pound them?  Pray for them?  If I am not merciful, then perhaps I do not know what is to have received mercy from the Lord Jesus.  Do we separate the sin from the sinner?  In our relationships do we hold over people's heads that trespass they committed against us 10 years ago?  Are we ever going to let him/her forget the day they wronged us?  Listen, I am compelled to tell you this.  If we are going to make a mistake, let us make it on the side of mercy! 

Sometimes we need to repent of our unforgiving spirit.  Perhaps we need to let that husband, or wife off the hook.  Maybe it's YOU who needs the forgiveness and the mercy.  Listen, Satan has held your sin over your head long enough!  Cry out to the Lord!  Stop holding it in!  Say, "Lord, I have sinned.  I need Your mercy and forgiveness!"  Perhaps that joy and gladness that we desire is being held up by our lack of mercy to others.  You have been walking around despondent, discouraged, and despaired.  I am talking to someone right now who thinks that they have sinned past the line of His grace and mercy.  The Devil has told you that all is lost.  He has convinced you that forgiveness was not meant for you.  He has held that lie over your head and it is eating you alive.  It is an attitude that is controlling you and causing you to lash out at others and withhold mercy from them.  Yes, it is true!  Sin makes a slave out of us.  It keeps us bound.  But confession and repentance releases and frees us.  I like this little illustration:

Ah, that is the question to us!  How long will we let the sin we are holding within our hearts make a slave out of us?  It's robbing us of our joy and gladness.  It's keeping us from being merciful.  The enemy of your soul is holding you captive.  How long will we allow the enemy to keep us in bondage?  
1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."   His mercy awaits you.  Your freedom is one confession away.   Listen to the words of this song:

It was at Calvary that the price for your sin and mine was paid.  Have you experienced it?  If not, you can.  If you have, then walk over to that person who wronged you; extend a hand of mercy and experience joy unspeakable and full of glory.  Confess your sin of unforgiveness, your lack of mercy, and...    "Remember the duck!"

The year was 1748.   In the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Ireland, a ship named The Greyhound was caught in a tremendous storm.  As the waves crashed the ship, and the crew was sure they were going down, a sailor by the name of John Newton tied himself to the mast.  In the fury of the storm, John cried out to God for mercy, a God he had not given much thought to for most of his life.  A God that he had walked, or can we say, ran far away from.  A God that he had blasphemed and mocked.  A Savior that he now remembered in his time of need.

John Newton was born in 1725 to a God-fearing mother and a sea captain father.  For the first seven years of His life, His mother taught Him from the Bible, speaking scriptures to his young heart, instilling in him truths of who God is and how to live a life for Christ.  When John was seven, his mother died from Tuberculosis, and John was sent to school to learn to be a minister.  He did not do well and by the age of eleven, John Newton took his first trip to sea on his father's ship.  This began the sea-life for John.  A life that plummeted far from the loving Savior of whom his mother had taught him.

John Newton was press-ganged into the Royal Navy.  He rebelled and fought against any authority in his life.  After deserting and being caught, he was placed in irons, and flogged.  Later, at his request, he was placed aboard a slaving ship.  This began his years of work transporting human slave cargo to the Americas and England.  John Newton had fallen into such a state of anger and arrogance.  In his own words he said, "I sinned with a high hand," he later wrote, "and I made it my study to tempt and seduce others."  At one point he was even thrown off a ship and became a slave himself to slave-dealers on an island off the West coast of Africa.   After, being rescued, and returning to sea, he became even more hateful and very few of his fellow sailors even wanted to be around him.

Now tied to the mast, that angry, God cursing, deplorable, slave trader, John Newton found himself in a two week-long storm, - a storm that he was sure would lead to his death.  And at that moment, the Lord, in His mercy brought to John's memory the words of scripture taught him by his mother, all those many years ago.  His eyes were opened to the "uncertain continuance of life."  A scripture that he had learned as a child came to his mind, Proverbs 1:24-26, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh;"  As that storm raged, John saw the state of his heart.  He pleaded for God to hear him and in His mercy save him.  He understood that he was a sinner, as stated in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  He knew that the way he was living was not bringing glory to God, and that he needed Jesus Christ's forgiveness.  In the Lord's, grace and mercy, in His unfailing love for John, He listened to John's cry and answered him.

This Psalm is a great description of John Newton's life:

Psalm 40:1-3, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."

After, John's surrender to the Lord, he gave up the life of the sea and of slave ships.  He gave up his anger and rebellion.  The Lord took him out of the deep, miry clay and the pit of sin he had chosen to live in and put his feet upon a rock and that Rock was Jesus Christ.  Would you believe that John Newton became a pastor?  His ways were established by the Lord.  He wrote and spoke out against slavery.  And even today this man, John Newton influences your and my life.  For the Lord put a new song in his mouth, a song of praise.  For it was John Newton that wrote the words of a hymn that is sung around the world, reminding us of God's work and change in a life that is surrendered to Him.  Look closely at this song and see if you can see the work of God's mercy!

Amazing grace!
How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost,
But now I'm found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught
My heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did
That grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers
Toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Twas grace has brought
Me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

When we've been there
Ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We'll have no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun.

"¹ And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: ² And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ³ Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ⁴ Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  ⁶ Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.   ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ¹¹ Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  ¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matthew 5:1-12

As we take another look at this great message from our dear Savior, we are reminded that this sermon was preached to His disciples.  So, this message is for Christians.  One who is not a Christian, cannot live this Sermon on the Mount.  It would be wrong to ask them to do so and equally wrong to assume they could.  Also, it is a message that presses us to face ourselves and our inward heart condition.  It is one thing to hear a message, but it is quite another to apply it to our lives.  You may have said at one time, as you listened to a sermon, "So and so needs to hear this!", when in reality, it is we who need to hear this.  Isn't that true?  Also, I can hear with my physical ears, or I can hear with my physical and spiritual ears.  It is one thing to listen to the Word and it is quite another to obey the Word.  It is one thing to know the Bible backwards and forwards (maybe you know people like that) but it is another thing to know the One who wrote the Bible.  A person can know the book, but it is vital that we get to know the Author of the book.  If you can get to know the Author of the book, He will help you get to know the book!  Amen.

"Lord, we pray today that you would come and help us to understand your Word.  Open our understanding to understand.  You did that for your disciples, and we are confident that You desire to do that for us, your servants, because our need is great, in Jesus name."
 
The Sermon on the Mount, as it is called, is a powerful, if not the most powerful message ever to come from the Savior.  The main emphasis in this sermon is get us to see that Christianity is not a series of do's and don'ts.  It is not a works salvation.  The Sermon on the Mount is not
"live like this and you will be a Christian."  No, but rather, "because you are a Christian you will live like this."  The general direction of this message is Christian Character.  What is a Christian?  The Lord is letting the disciples know that Christianity begins with who we are inwardly and then it will manifest itself outwardly.  There is a logical order and arrangement to this message.  Jesus begins with the Beatitudes.  The characteristics of a Christian are listed here in Matthew 5:3-10.

The Beatitude we are interested in today appears in verse six.

              "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
Matthew 5:6

This is the fourth beatitude.  The first three beatitudes mainly concern us.  We look at ourselves, examine ourselves, see our weakness and our sinfulness.  We face our selfishness and pride.  We then, mourn over it, abhor, or hate it and we come to see that without Jesus, we are nothing and we surrender to His Saviorhood and Lordship.  This, then, affects our relationships with others.
Here in the fourth beatitude, we see a shift.  Everything up to now has led to THIS.  This beatitude is more positive than the first three.   Up to now, we realize we are sinful people in need of a Savior and are nothing without Him (poor in spirit).  We mourn over what we have seen about ourselves and are comforted because of His saving grace.  This affects our dealings with those around us.  We are challenged by those around us who trample upon our new-found faith and the urge to defend ourselves can be great.  Yes, we are meek now; we do not react as we used to before we knew the Lord.  But our meekness needs to be augmented or increased.  We realize we are not as meek as we could be or should be.  As we see ourselves and our need, we now look to Jesus for help.  Lord, I need you!  So, right here is one of the greatest verses from the lips of Jesus.  This speaks volumes!  I do not need the latest techniques and modern approaches in solving my dilemma with self or with others.  I need HIM!  I need His righteousness more and more to be exhibited in me.  I already have His righteousness, yes, but the need and hunger for more compels me to pursue tenaciously like a thirsty man searching for water.  I am compelled to stop here and add this verse and side note for you because I sense right now that someone reading this needs it.

Why is the psalmist panting for the living God as a deer for the water?  Many times, a deer, or hart, will pant for the water brooks simply because it is thirsty.  But listen, at other times, the deer pants for the water brooks because it is seeking to escape the dogs that are chasing it.  Ah, yes, this is so even in our lives.  Are the dogs hot on your trail?  Have they picked up your scent?  The enemy of our soul seeks to steal, kill, and destroy our faith.  He wants to disrupt our righteousness and weaken our resolve to fight the good fight of faith.  It is here that we run to Jesus.  It is here that the deer, by instinct, runs to the water to put that river between him and the dogs.  What is our first instinct?  You and I need to put Jesus between us and our problem.  It is true, the water is refreshing, rejuvenating, and restoring, but it is also restraining.  It is much like the presence of God that came between the Israelites and the Egyptians who were pursuing them.  It guarded the children of God.  It protected them.  The enemy was still there, but paralyzed, immobile, and unable to do anything until the people of God were safe on the other side.  Hallelujah!  Put the Lord in between you and the problem.  Run to Him.  Lord, increase my desire to run to you instead of taking matters into my own hands.

Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst after righteousness.  It begins with "blessed" or "congratulated".  Blessedness is a condition of heart.  It is based upon the inward rather than the outward.  It goes beyond the world's idea of happiness.  Happiness is not attained by experiencing pleasant happenings.  This blessedness is something spiritual.  It is the result of something that has happened IN us so that regardless of what is "happening" around us, we are still rejoicing and remain unmoved.  How is that accomplished?  Why is that the case?  I take you back to the word BLESSED.  This is a word used in that day to describe the social position of the wealthy, who because of their wealth, were above the normal cares and worries of lesser people.  Do you see something?  YES!  Bringing this word into the realm of Christianity it opens up a whole new perspective.  Listen, my friend, you may not have this world"s wealth, yet you are rich in Jesus!  Listen to it:

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."     2 Corinthians 8:9

To God be the glory!  What does this mean?  As a born-again blood washed child of God, I am rich!  And because of that wealth, I am above the normal cares and worries and anxieties of those who do not know Christ as Savior and Lord.   I have a blessedness within me that lifts me up above the shadows and cares of this life.  I am alive in Christ!  These are the people who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Dead people do not hunger!  Hunger and thirst after righteousness is a sign of life.  The first thing a baby does is cry for milk.  Spiritual hunger is as natural as breathing.  You know something has taken place in you when you desire more of God.  Are you hungry? 

Blessed ARE those who do hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Not after experiences.  Not after blessedness.  We are not to seek blessedness or happiness.  Blessedness is not only a condition of the heart, but it is the outcome of a search for something else.  It is the result of being poor in spirit, of mourning, etc. and in this verse, the result of hungering and thirsting after righteousness.  Make no mistake about it, the world and many in the church are seeking after the wrong thing.  When the world and even the church, have as their objective notoriety, acceptance, happiness, success, before righteousness it is absolutely certain they will never get it.  Do you want acceptance, success, or even blessedness before or instead of righteousness?  Then perhaps we are treating a symptom instead of a disease.  Maybe we are only concerned with getting rid of the pain we feel instead of what is causing the pain.  If a doctor only cares to get rid of your pain while taking no measures to get at the root of it, it is time to get a second opinion.  If a church is only concerned with making you feel better and does not deal with the sin that is causing your pain, then it is time to find another church.  Feel good church is nothing more than what one old preacher called, Hot Tub Religion.  It feels good and relaxes me.  Ever been in a hot tub?  They are fantastic!  However, if you stay in a hot tub too long your blood pressure can drop, and fainting has been known to happen.  Many churches are experiencing a drop in blood pressure (if you know what I mean).

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Blessedness is the result of seeking after righteousness not blessedness.   What is this righteousness I desire?

1. I desire a right standing with God.  It is Justification.

When I am saved, His righteousness is imputed to me which enables me to be justified.  Justification is the act of God whereby He, (as I place my faith and trust in Jesus and what He did for me at the cross) takes me out of the world and puts me into His kingdom and counts me as though I had never sinned.  In Jesus I am declared not guilty.  Not because of my righteousness.  NO.  I have none.  The Bible says:  there is none righteous, no, not one.  It also declares in Romans 3:23 that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."   So, I have no righteousness.  It is HIS righteousness that I stand in.  Praise God!  Do you desire to have this righteousness?  Even as a Christian?  Paul the apostle did.  Listen to it:
             
              "...for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness...but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."        Philippians 3:8-9

Friend, if you do not know this right standing with God, today is the day to change that.  Surrender to Him through the precious blood of Jesus.  There is no other way.

2. I desire a continued righteousness.  It is Sanctification.

As I grow in grace, I experience His righteousness imparted to me and I am enabled to honor God in my life.  This is sanctification.  As justification is when the Lord takes me out of the world and puts me in His kingdom, sanctification is when the Lord begins to take the world out of me.   In other words, sanctification is something that happens when I am saved.  However, it does not stop there.  It continues to take place as I walk with Jesus on a daily basis.  So, sanctification is a once completed action, and an ongoing process.  Praise the Lord!  Do we as Christians hunger and thirst for this continued righteousness?  Not only to be saved from sin, but to be delivered from the power of sin, the pollution of sin, and one day, ultimately, to be set free from the presence of sin!  I want to be free from the desire to sin.  Do you?  Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst.  Do you see something?  It is a continuous action.  Those who hunger and still do!  Those who thirst and still do!  Is that you?  Then you shall be filled!

Christians are people who hunger after Him and His righteousness.  Matthew 6:33 says:  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..."  There is a connection with seeking God and seeking and desiring His righteousness!  It says: "I want Him!"  Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is a desire to be holy.  It is a desire to walk in fellowship with Christ.  A desire to be like Jesus.  To be an imitator of Him.  A man or woman who is hungering and thirsting after righteousness hates the very idea of sin.  They are at war with that thing that grieves the Holy Spirit, that causes distance and hinders their relationship with their heavenly Father.

Are you hungry and thirsty after this righteousness?  Hunger means that I am in need.  It brings a consciousness of my condition.  This hunger will not go away until is it is alleviated by food.  If I do not eat, it can get painful.  Do you know that feeling?  However, they say that if you let the hunger go unfed for too long, it will go away.  You will not feel it.  This is what is happening to many Christians.  Their hunger is there, but they ignore it and soon it subsides.

How do we know we are hungry after this righteousness?

1. When we are aware of our unrighteousness.  When I get hungry, I get a pain in my stomach.  Do you?  In fact, it can get so that I actually hear it!  I thank the Lord for the conviction of the Holy Spirit that causes me to sense my unrighteousness.  Maybe He is speaking to you about your unrighteousness.  That pain in your heart may be the Spirit of God.  Pay attention to that emptiness and experience the filling that only He can give

2. When we do not have to be persuaded to come to the table and eat.  A hunger to spend time with the Savior is a natural thing for a Christian.

3. When we eat only that which can satisfy the need.  A Christian does not eat just anything.  Goats eat anything.   Old neckties, shirts, and tin cans.  But sheep, no.  In other words, they avoid what is opposed to righteousness.  In the words of a preacher from the 1600's:  "If you don't eat you will eventually die.  But if you eat poison, you will die sooner."

4. When we take advantage of the opportunity to obtain this righteousness.  There was a man in the Bible who sat by the road and heard that Jesus was coming down that road.  He began to yell to Jesus to have mercy on him.  Christ's disciples tried to quiet him down.  He yelled all the more for Jesus to have mercy upon him. Jesus did.  He received what he hungered and thirsted for.  This man simply put himself in the way of getting what he needed.  He got in the way!  We must get in the way of receiving what it is we are thirsty for.  My little boy, four years old at the time, wanted me to give him a cookie.  I was on the phone in a serious conversation.  He kept begging me and I kept putting him off.  So, he decided to get in my way!  He came up to me, and sat on my foot, wrapped his arms around my leg and refused to let go.  I had to walk around with this kid on my foot or give him the cookie.  I gave him the cookie.  Though I cannot produce this righteousness myself; I cannot make myself holy, I CAN put myself in the way of receiving this righteousness.  Wherever this righteousness is being preached, go!  Whenever it is being proclaimed, put yourself there.  If there is a prayer meeting and you can be there, attend.  Mary sat at Jesus feet.  She knew where to go and to whom.  And Jesus said, "One thing is needful:  and Mary has chosen the good part, and it will not be taken away from her."   Martha was mastered by the many things, whereas Mary was mastered by the one thing.

5. When we constantly think about this righteousness.  We consider it; it is on our mind.
 Sometimes just thinking about food makes me hungry.  I did not say I thought about great amounts of food.  Just food.  Does that happen to you?  But, also, when I am hungry, I think about FOOD!    LOL.  Do you hunger for this freedom, this righteousness that is not only imputed to us but is also imparted to us?  Does the enemy whisper in your ear that you were never saved? Do you see so little evidence of sanctification that you wonder whether you were ever saved to begin with?  Take courage!  I ask you; have you had, or do you have the least little twinge of hunger and thirst in your heart to be more like Jesus?  I tell you, that little urge of desire is from the Lord, not your mother!  Cherish that urge.  Love that urge.  Hold on to that urge.  Feed that urge.  If the Lord gave it to you, then that is the sign that He is setting the wheels in motion to fulfill that desire.  So, praise Him.  Come on and praise Him!  Listen to it:  "Blessed are those who DO hunger and thirst after righteousness".  Did you see it?  It does not say "who are full..."  If you are conscious of your need then you are a candidate.  Come and hunger.  Come and thirst.  Bring that small, tiny, but real urge to the Lord.  Bring your lack of desire to Jesus and tell Him that you desire to have more desire.  Maybe you are not a Christian, but you are now aware of your sinful condition, your unrighteousness.  The Holy Spirit is working!  Come and confess your sin to Him and repent.  He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Listen, my friend, my fellow believer, the Lord is drawing you today like the lover in the Song of Solomon.

"...draw me, we will run after thee: the King hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee."                   
Song of Solomon 1:4

Listen to this:

              "For He satisfies the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."  Psalm 107:9

I love that!  He satisfies the LONGING soul.  Longing means to run up and down.  Did you see that? He satisfies the RUNNING soul!  Hallelujah!  One who runs means business!  He or she is serious! Our Father is looking for those who are serious about this righteousness.  He fills the hungry soul. The hungry soul and the longing soul are the same!  Hallelujah!  Am I getting excited?  Absolutely!  Why?  Because He satisfies the RUNNING soul.  The serious soul.  The hungry soul.  The one who runs after Him!

In the words of a song we sing in our church:

Blessed are those which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Are you hungry and thirsty after this righteousness?
Then it may be time to put on your running shoes.  

Pastor Jerry

Hello, I pray that your heart is ready to receive from the Lord.  I pray for those who are experiencing incarceration to repent and ask the Lord into their hearts and lives.  You know, He loves you and died for you!I want to share with you for a moment.  My name is Jan and I worked at the Lima Correction Institute in Ohio for many years.  It was a good job and I met good people who had made bade choices in their lives.  Remember, for every choice you make, there is a consequence, be it good or bad.
As a Correction officer, and a Christian, I met with other officers every Friday morning before work for a time of Bible study and prayer.  We prayed for those incarcerated, those working and for the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone each day.  One week, the leader of our group was not going to be able to be there, so he asked me if I would lead it for that week.  Before the meeting, I was praying and asked the Lord to guide me, I found myself drawn to Matthew 13:31-32.
            "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field:  Which indeed is the least of all seeds:  but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."
            This scripture is called, "The Parable of the Mustard Seed."  I went to the store and bought some mustard seeds and put them into little baggies to share with everyone in our Bible study group.  We had a good Bible study together that day.  Everyone shared with the others a story of faith and how the Lord had worked in their life.
            As the day went on, I was in my dorm working, doing what needed to be done.  I went out into the hallway and while there, felt led by the Holy Spirit to call one of the people who was an inmate to me.  I told him that I had something to share with him.  Out of my pocket I pulled one of the little bags of mustard seeds.  I explained to him what it was.  The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds.  Sometimes, that is exactly how our faith is - it is so tiny, just barely there.  Yet, the Lord honors it and He is able to grow our faith in Him as we have a heart that hungers and thirsts after Him.  And from that faith, He is able to work and do great things for His honor and glory.  I told him that just as one of these tiny mustard seeds can grow into a big plant, so can our little seed of faith grow.  Not in our own strength but in the strength that the Lord Jesus Christ gives.  I told him that if he prays, asking the Lord to forgive him of his sins, admitting that Jesus Christ is Lord and surrendering his thoughts and actions - his life to Christ, then his little seed of faith will grow into a huge strong tree of faith!  The young man took the little baggie of seeds and walked away.
            It was not until two or three months had passed, that this same man came up to me and wanted to talk.  He told me that on the day that I shared the baggie of seeds with him, he was experiencing one of the most difficult, dark days of his time in that institution.  He told me that I would never understand what our discussion meant to him and how it full changed his life.  He wanted to thank me for taking the time and obeying the voice of the Lord to talk with him.  He then opened his Bible, that he was holding, directly to Matthew 13:31-32 and there, taped beside those verses was that little baggie with the mustard seed that I had shared with him.  I told him that Jesus would stick closer to him than a friend no matter where he went.
            I praise God for this moment and others like it!  I thank Jesus that He is faithful and true and that He can change a life if one just hungers and thirsts after Him.  God is so good.  Lean on Him and trust Him 100%.   He is faithful!

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
Your head upon My breast."
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
The Living Water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink, and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that Life-Giving Stream'
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"I am this dark world's Light;
Look unto me, your morn shall rise,
And all your days be bright."
I looked to Jesus and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that Light of Life I'll walk,
 'Til traveling days are done.

"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  Matthew 5:1-12

We are looking at the greatest sermon ever preached by the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.  It does not get any better than this!  Let us not forget that this sermon was preached to the Lord's disciples.  It is a message that describes the Christian and his/her character.  Let us put it like this:

It begins with who we are, character.  It then proceeds to the result, which is, conduct.  From there it issues in influence in other people's lives.  We can see this in verses 14 and 16.  Listen to it and see all three (Character, Conduct, Influence) come into view.

"Ye are the light of world.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  Matthew 5:14,16

Did you see it?

You ARE the light...  Character.
Let your light so SHINE before men, that they may see your good works... Conduct.
And GLORIFY your Father which is in heaven.  Influence.

I think we can all see that our lives are going to have an effect on the ungodly.  So much depends upon our reaction to the working of the Spirit in us and how we allow Him to shape us and make us into a vessel He can use.  As we continually yield, cooperate, and bend to His leading our lives speak louder and louder and then what we say carries weight, credibility, and balance.   It says that our good works will influence them in such a way as to make them glorify GOD!  Not us!  So, my lifestyle, my works are to be done in such as way as to make them think of my FATHER!  This means how I live should not draw attention to how good I am, but to how good HE is!  In the book of Acts chapter 4:13 it states that "when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus."

The heart condition INSIDE of us will show itself OUTSIDE of us and affect those BESIDE us.

The beatitude we are dealing with today is the third in a list of eight.  Blessed are the meek...  The first three beatitudes are as follows:

BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT...
BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN...
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK...

In the first of these three we take a look at ourselves.  We examine ourselves.  We see our weaknesses, our sinfulness, our selfishness, and pride.  In the second, we mourn over what we saw, and we abhor, or hate it.  In the third beatitude, it gets a bit more difficult.  Why?  Because it is here, we begin to add other people to the mix.  Did you see that?  The first two are affecting just us, personally.  The next one BRINGS IN OTHERS.  It is a logical conclusion that after I have seen myself in the sight of God as nothing but a sinner, empty handed and without hope, that I say with Isaiah, "Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips...for mine eyes have SEEN the King!"   I CANNOT LIVE THIS CHRISTIAN LIFE!  I am helpless.  Seeing that my righteousness is nothing but FILTHY RAGS, I then mourn over that.  I cry out with Paul, "O wretched man that I am!"

Now, that is the just the way it is.  Have you gone through that?  If you are like me or anyone else who has had an encounter with the living God, you will know that I speak the truth.  So, I say, "I am sinful, I am wretched, I am undone."  This is as it should be.

However, to say all that to myself, about myself is one thing.  But when someone else comes along and chimes in with:  "Yes, that's right Jerry, you ARE wretched!  You ARE no good!  You ARE sinful!"  My self-preservation kicks in and I instinctively say, "HEY, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" or, "WAIT A MINUTE, RIGHT THERE, YOU!" or even, "YOU CAN'T TALK TO ME THAT WAY!" 

Do you see what we are facing?  Listen, my friend, we are new creatures in Christ.  We belong to another realm.  It's called the Kingdom of God.  We are no longer what we once were.  And our desire is to reach others with this gospel which can set them free from sin and death.  I can see my own sin, and worthlessness, etc.  I can face it and be honest with myself about myself.  But let me ask you, is it difficult to have other people say the same things about us without us resenting it?  I always prefer to say honest things about myself to myself rather than to have others agree with me!  This is what we are facing in this beatitude.  So far, I have been looking at myself, only.  But now, other people are thrown into the mix and THEY are looking at me!  The problem is, they are agreeing with me!  So, what is meekness?

Meekness is an absence of the spirit or attitude of retaliation.  It is a quality of the Christian.  It is generated by the Spirit of God.  It is not just "being nice".  That can be just biological.  As if to say some animals are nicer than others.  No, a meek person is so because they have become poor in spirit and have mourned over their sinfulness.  They now apply that in the way they relate to others.  They don't retaliate when someone comes along and expresses how "bad" we are.  I like to say it this way.  When someone comes up to me and says, "You're no good, you lousy person", I turn and say, "Actually, I am worse than what you say.  You don't know the half of it.  You see, God knows how bad I really am, and He loves me anyway; He died for me anyway; He forgives me anyway!   So, honestly, there's nothing you can say to me or about me that's worse than what God already knows!"     Woo!  How great is that?   Listen, this takes the pressure off.  This is a liberating truth!  BLESSED ARE THE MEEK!

Meekness is connected in the Bible to lowliness.

Matthew 11:29 says, "For I am meek and lowly in heart..."

Ephesians 4:1,2 says, "Walk worthy with all lowliness and meekness..."

Meekness is connected to gentleness.

II Corinthians 10:1 says, "I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ..."

Titus 3:2 says, "Speak evil of no man, but be gentle, showing meekness to all men..."

Meekness is not being lenient or easy.  Eli in the Old Testament was lenient and easy on his boys and would not restrain them.  Something Eli paid dearly for.

Meekness is connected to guidance and teaching.

Psalm 25:9 says, "The meek will he guide in judgment.  The meek will He teach His way."

We can see that meekness and teachability go together.  One is teachable and submissive when one is meek.  We see meekness in many examples of men and women in the Bible.
For instance, when we look at Moses, we see that he was the meekest man on the whole earth at that time.  What great possibilities Moses had waiting for him in Pharaoh's court.  He was next in line for the throne!  Yet when He came to see who he really was, that he was a Hebrew and not an Egyptian and that his people were in bondage, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.  In fact, the Bible tells us that he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.  He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt and he forsook the entire enterprise and chose not to assert himself but to humble and take the position of one who was nothing; totally bankrupt without the Lord.  When the children of Israel murmured against him and wanted to overthrow his position, he took it to the Lord.  He did not retaliate against them.  He prayed.  He does not defend himself but humbles himself.  This is meekness.

David was being hunted by King Saul.  David had a chance to kill Saul in a cave and receive the throne.  Yet he does not take the advantage.  What about us?  When someone is in our power, do we take the opportunity?  David did not, for he knew that Saul was God's appointed king and he would not lay a hand on him.  He repaid evil with good.  Do we? 

In Acts 7, when Stephen was being stoned, he also did not retaliate.  He looked up and said, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."  Wow!  Could you and I do that?  Do you always want to see others suffer for what they did to you?  Are you sensitive about yourself?  Are you finding that you are always on the defensive?  Do you swim in self-pity?  John Bunyan said, "He that is down, need fear no fall."  That's great stuff!  Always remember that we are to overcome evil with good.  Always remember that a man who is meek needs no one else to satisfy him.  That's why Jesus said, "the meek shall inherit the earth."  The meek person knows that in Christ he/she has all things right now IN HIM!  It's what Paul said in Philippians 4:11. "I have learned that in whatsoever state I am in therewith to be content."  

Ah, but then there is Jesus.  On the cross Jesus cried, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  He holds nothing over their heads.  He didn't hold my sins or your sins over our heads, did He?  Not at all!  He didn't say, "Look what you did to me.  I will withhold forgiveness from you till you can make up for that!"  No, "He humbled himself and bore our sins in His own body on the tree that we should live in righteousness, by whose stripes we are healed."  

              "Christ left us an example to follow…Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously."  I Peter 2:21,23

Since He did that for me, I now have no need to harbor any bitterness in my heart nor an unforgiving spirit towards those who have done me wrong.  Why?  Because the Bible says that you have been set free in Jesus and He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!  Someone is reading this and is harboring in your heart a spirit of unforgiveness.  This has not been dealt with and now a root of bitterness has sprung up and is choking your spiritual life right out of you.  You feel like you spiritually cannot breathe.  It's keeping you up at night.  But there is hope right here!  Right now!  If you were ever going to make a mistake, always err on the side of mercy.  Let it go!  Forgive!  It's not worth it to keep hanging on to it.  You only hurt yourself.  But, pastor, you have no idea what they did to me.  Maybe, maybe not.  But then, we have no idea what the Jews and the Romans did to Jesus, either.  We have no idea what our sins have done to Jesus.  Yet, He forgave them, and He will forgive us if we ask.

I am reminded of a great woman of faith, Corrie Ten Boom, who was placed in a German concentration camp in World War II.  What they did to her, and her family cannot be described without tears.  Yet when she was released, she had a difficult time forgiving her captors.  This was such a strain on her relationship with the Lord, that she finally went to see her pastor.  The pastor took Corrie to the bell tower of the church.  He began to pull intensely on the rope thereby sending out a sound that could be heard in the town.  He kept pulling the rope.  The bell kept ringing.  Then, he let go of the rope.  However, the bell continued to sound but then slowed in its ringing.  First ding, then dong.  Then ding, then, dong.  Slower and slower swung the bell and farther apart were the rings until at last it came to a stop and rang no more.  The pastor told her that as long as he held on to the rope, it continued to ring.  As long as Corrie held on to the rope of unforgiveness, it too, continued to sound and create agony within her heart.  But when he let loose the rope, even though the bell continued to ring, it slowed its pace and its rings were farther apart until finally there was no sound.  "Corrie," he said, "you must let go of the rope."   Someone reading this needs to let go of the rope and give it to Jesus.  Yes, it may ding once in a while, but refuse to touch that rope and continue to look to the Lord Jesus.  As you do, you will come to see that Jesus has taken that unforgiveness and given you something better in its place.  His divine presence!  Really?  Yes.  For His presence acts as an anesthesia.  It's like going to the dentist and getting a shot to numb your tooth.  You do not feel the pain.  His presence is like that.  In His presence is fullness of joy!  My pastor used to say, "Lord, give me the anesthesia of your presence, and you can cut out of me anything you want."  The same goes for you, my friend.  That includes the temptation to retaliate.  It includes the root of bitterness that is giving you a spiritual toothache and infecting your spiritual countenance.   Let go of the rope.  Give it to Jesus.  He will exchange your pain for His presence!  In that presence you will receive spiritual food, a piece of bread, that will nourish your heart and prepare you to receive and experience more meekness.  Listen to this verse in Exodus.

"Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times."  Exodus 25:30

Whoa!  Did you see that?  There is what is called the bread of His Presence!  Have you had your bread today?  You will get it in His Presence.  It will feed you, sustain you, and satisfy you.  And when you spend time in the secret place, you will come out of it with a new meekness that now puts God between you and your problems rather than bitterness.  No more is it a spirit of retaliation, but a new resolve in you that says, "it doesn’t matter what happens to me anymore, it only matters that God is glorified in my life."

This is meekness.  This is the fruit of the Spirit.  This is Christianity.

Type your new text here.

So many times, it is easy to quickly read something and move on to our next activity, never truly focusing on what the Lord is trying to tell us.   I encourage you to take time now to stop and evaluate.  Maybe you need to reread the lesson and pull from it the nuggets of Truth that are there.  Think about how it speaks to you in your situation.  Is the Holy Spirit addressing an area in your life that needs attention?   Since your "heart condition INSIDE of you will show itself OUTSIDE of you and affect those BESIDE you" do you need to go before Jesus in prayer, asking Him to change you, the "inside you," to be more like Him and have a "Jesus" affect on those around you?  Don't wait - ask the Holy Spirit to work and change you now, today.  Ask Him to help you to be a person of meekness.  Maybe you need to let go of a rope of unforgiveness and allow the Lord to begin a new work inside of you.  Don't wait.  Address it now.  Let Him work.  He is able!

Possibly, today, your eyes have been opened to the state of your soul.  You now see yourself as nothing, sinful, lacking, and miserable, a person in need of a Savior.   You do not have to stay this way!  The Lord Jesus Christ knows your condition and He is waiting for you to turn to Him with a heart that confesses its sin, wanting change, and desiring to be a "new creation".  Talk to Him today in prayer.  Tell Him what you have done and ask Him to forgive you and wash you clean.  Jesus Christ died on the cross so many years ago thinking of you, today, at this time.  He bled and died and rose again so that you, today could be forgiven, made clean and set free!  Today is the right time, today is the day of Salvation!  He is waiting for you.  Don't put it off, don't delay for you will never regret a life changing decision made for Jesus.    Praise His name!

Music is a beautiful gift from God!  He uses it to speak to or hearts.  Sometimes the Lord will instruct and comfort us with a song.  Sometimes the songs we sing to Him are prayers - words telling Him what our hearts desire in Him.  Always our songs should be filled with worship and praise to the Lord for He is worthy of it!  

"I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high."  Psalm 7:17
 
Here is a song that is a prayer to the Lord.  Today make it your prayer.

Judson W. Van DeVenter

1.  All To Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live. (Refrain)

2.  All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now. (Refrain)

3.  All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine. (Refrain)

4.  All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain)

Refrain:
I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my Blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

"¹ And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: ² And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ³ Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.  ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  ¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ¹¹ Blessed are you, when men shall revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  ¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."  Matthew 5:1-12

What a powerful list of characteristics which describe the Christian.  As we look at the beatitudes, we find that they are in a divine arrangement.  Nothing is accidental when it comes to the Word of God.  Here is the list:

1.  Blessed are the poor in spirit...
              2.  Blessed are they that mourn...
              3.  Blessed are the meek...
4.  Blessed are those who do hunger and thirst after righteousness...
             5.  Blessed are the merciful...
             6.  Blessed are the pure in heart...
              7.  Blessed are the peacemakers...
              8.  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake...

The first four are more passive and have to do with our attitude toward God.  The second four are more active and have to do with our attitude toward Man.  Regarding God, the blessed man is concerned with his own "nothingness".  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  He is concerned about his own heart condition being that of brokenness and emptiness; one of spiritual bankruptcy. He or she is aware of the truth that we cannot save ourselves and we need a Savior.  This first beatitude is the key to all the rest.  It is what we call FUNDAMENTAL.  Necessary.  Vital.  Poor in spirit carries the idea of brokenness.  One must be empty before he/she can be filled.  With the gospel there are always two sides.

1.  A breaking up (an emptying; a pulling down) 
2.  A building up (a raising or constructing)

For the most part, people do not like this process nor the order of it.  Many want only the love of Jesus emphasized.  Many ministries and messages and are only fixed upon that one theme.  It is a great theme, is it not?  Of course, it is.  Listen to it:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

However, it is vital that we consider the whole counsel of God, correct?  I have found, even in my own experience, that sometimes I was so in need of encouragement or help that I went to the Bible like I would a promise box or a fortune cookie.  I would pick up the Bible and randomly open it and see what it said.  If it were not to my liking or if it did not speak to my desire, I would say, "Ok, let's try that again."  I would keep this up until I landed on a verse that gave me the "desire of my heart", so to speak.  Does that make sense to you?  Have you ever tried that?  I wanted the Bible to give me an answer that would promise the quickest remedy or tell me I was the "Apple of His eye!"  -- LOL.  I completely forgot about the fact that maybe the Lord was wanting to show me my sin, or my failure.  I was to learn that before He could "bless" me I needed to come clean.  Did you hear that?  Come clean.  Repentance.  I began to realize that before I could be truly blessed and experience the riches of His grace, I must first be emptied of passion, self, sin, and pride.  To acknowledge that I was nothing without Him.  Listen to this verse in Luke 2:34, speaking of Jesus:

"And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel..."

Wow!  Did you see that?  Look at the order there.  The FALL and RISING again of many.  So, there needs to be a breaking, a falling, before there can be a rising, or a building.  Before I can go up, I must first come down.  Before I can climb this mountain, I must first be brought to the great reality and admission that I cannot climb this mountain!  Poor in spirit is a helplessness that drives me to the Savior.  "It is a dependence upon another to whom one is answerable.  They are so dependent that they are vulnerable to exploitation by the one who holds the power."  We are so proud of our independence and self-reliance, are we not?  Yet, a beggar says, I can do nothing of or by myself.  I am dependent on someone else.  In Acts 3:4,5, it says these words about the beggar at the gate:

"And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.  And he gave heed unto them expecting to receive something of them."

This man at the gate was dependent upon, and at the mercy of others to throw into his cup a mere coin to enable him to see another day or eat one more meal.  He did not realize that this day would be his last day at the gate and his first day on his feet!  Hallelujah!  Today can be YOUR last day at the gate, and your first day on YOUR feet!  I say to you today, Look up!  Expect to receive something!  Open your ears and listen to His voice as Jesus wants to lift you out of that miry clay of sin and slavery and set your feet on the solid Rock!  To give you the power to live an overcoming life for Him and be His vessel of honor right where you are.  Yes, right where you are!  But it takes a coming down before a rising up.  This is not a bad thing; this is a good thing!  Broken and contrite.  Pulverized.  Broken of pride; broken of passion and self; broken of my independent spirit; broken of self-reliance.  Poor in spirit is not an outward show.  It is an inward condition.  Someone right now is feeling this.  You are saying "this is where I am right now."  Yes, it is.  There could be nothing so great as to come and fall at His feet and say, Jesus, I have tried to do this on my own and it's not working!  I am like that beggar in Acts chapter 3.  I have gone to church expecting and received only a voucher for a meal.  I have been sitting at the gate of religion and it has left me with nothing but dead ceremony and empty liturgy, but I am coming to you expecting to receive something!  Say it!  It’s good to do!  Yes, friend, the answer to our lameness and paralysis is not silver and gold, but the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

Review these powerful scriptures:

Isaiah 57:1      
            "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."

Isaiah 6:5         
              "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."

Job 42:5,6
            "⁵ I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.  ⁶ Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

Daniel 10:7-9 
            "⁷ And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.  ⁸ Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.  ⁹ Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground."

One who is poor in spirit will be broken, and honest.  He or she will be concerned about the internal focus.  They are desirous to be not conformed to this world or pressured into its mold.  They are people who realize that they do not belong to themselves but are Chosen people, Royal people, Holy people, and Peculiar people.  As a poor in spirit person grows, they become more broken than before.  They continue to repent.  They find themselves becoming more dependent and less independent than ever before. We have said there is a coming down before there can be a rising up.  Absolutely!  Listen to it:

              "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up."  James 4:10

Being poor in spirit is not a onetime thing.  It continues as long as we live this Christian life.  What a powerful truth we have launched into today.  Well, we are just getting started.  It gets better!  The next beatitude is this:

This naturally follows the first beatitude in the divine order of things.  To be poor in spirit is to see ourselves as we really are.  Sinful.  Sinners.  Like Isaiah saw himself.  How was that?  In Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah says that when he saw God, he then saw himself.  He saw what he was really like.

"Woe is me, for I am undone (cut off); I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."  Isaiah 6:5

Unclean.  There it is.  Well, at the same time he sees this uncleanness, he says something else.

             "Woe is me."

There it is!  This is a mourning over what he has just seen, is it not?  Yes!  We too must mourn over the same sinfulness in our own hearts.  Blessed, (happy) are those who mourn.  Look, let's face it, the world sees this statement as pure nonsense.  Mourning is the one thing the world does not want to do.  But the Bible says, Blessed are those who do!  In fact, they are the only ones who ARE HAPPY!  Listen to what the writer says in Luke.

"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh... Woe unto you who laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep."  Luke 6:21,25

How unlike the world are those who mourn over their sins!   Mourning shows that we are different from the world.  The world is not interested in this mourning for sin.  They stay away from it like the plague.  Proof of this is seen in the effort made to avoid it.  So much time and money is spent on activities or entertainment to run from this very thing.  Pleasure, movies, travel, sports, gambling, and other avenues of escape.  I remember television commercials that advocated grabbing for all the gusto you can because you only go around once in life.  (a famous beer commercial) Or, perhaps you remember this old saying:  Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.  How sad!  How empty.  But notice, we as Christians believe the exact opposite.  Do not avoid it!  Embrace it!  Blessed are they that mourn.  BLESSED!  I beg us to hear these words of Jesus.  The Christian lives a different life!  Actually, an opposite life to the world.  For example: the Christian loses to win.  Jesus said,

"He who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who seeks to lose his life for my sake, the same shall find it."  Matthew 16:25

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"  
Mark 8:36

Let us read one more time this verse in Luke 6:25:

"Woe unto you that laugh now!  For ye shall mourn and weep."  Luke 6:25

"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."  Luke 6:21

This is a spiritual mourning because it is a spiritual bankruptcy.  The mourning is a direct result of being poor in spirit.  It is just as night follows the day.  These first two beatitudes are telling us that CONVICTION comes before CONVERSION.  The negative is first, then the positive.  Conviction.  Conversion.  Comfort.  Hallelujah!  Comfort!  What is that?  It is a word that means called alongside to help.  He will come along beside you to comfort you.   This English word comes from a Latin word COM-FORTIS.  Com = with.  Fortis = strength.  How cool is this?  To those who mourn over their sins and repent, they will experience a strength that only Jesus can give.  In the Greek language this word comfort is Parakaleo.  It means to call near.  One who comes near in time of need like an advocate.  A lawyer!  Whoa!  Jesus is my advocate.  Jesus is my lawyer.  What great strength would come to you if Jesus walked into the courtroom as your lawyer?  Peace would rule your heart.  Worry would leave and strength would take its place.  Well, I have some news for you.  Jesus IS your advocate.  The Holy Spirit is your Paraclete!  Even if as a Christian you sin, the scripture tells us in I John 2:1, 2

              "And if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world."

What does propitiation mean?  It means in a nutshell, to turn away God's wrath.  Jesus is our advocate for He is the one who died in our place and because of Him, we can now be reconciled back to the Father.  He speaks for me.  His blood speaks for me.  It is still capable, effective, active, adequate, and effectual to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.  Is there a witness in the house?
There is no sin He can't forgive if I am repentant, sorry and mourn over my failure in that sin.

Did you know that our Lord himself mourned?  Not over His own sin, for He had none.  He wept over Jerusalem as it rejected Him as Savior and brought upon themselves eternal ruin.  He also mourned and wept at the grave of Lazarus in John chapter 11.  Why?  Because of what sin has done to the human race!  And every believer must mourn over it.  Why?  Because we have some semblance of understanding as to what sin has done to a Holy God.  So, what sort of man is he who mourns?  Let us take a look at this.

SPONTANEOUS
It comes voluntarily right out of the heart that knows and sees its true condition. 
Listen to it.

"And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment."   Luke 7:37,38

This is something that was totally out of the blue.  No one saw this coming.  She began to weep.  She was a sinner.  She was spontaneous to break the box and pour its contents over his feet.  What love, what prodigal love!

SPIRITUAL
It is mourning for sin, not for suffering. 
Listen to it.

"For I know in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not...but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."  Romans 7:18,23

In the book of Exodus, Pharaoh wanted the plague of locusts to go away.  He did not want the plague of sin in his own heart to go away.  He did not mourn THAT!

Mourning is Spiritual, like that of David in Psalm 51:3:

              "For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me."

Like the Prodigal son in Luke 15:18, 21.

              "I will arise and go back to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee…And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son."  

SPECIFIC
True mourning is specific.  It is specific sin.  Peter wept over the fact that he denied the Lord.  Three times he said he never knew Jesus.  Then the rooster crowed!  I can imagine that Peter never again heard another rooster crow without being affected and reminded of his specific sin.  But he was also reminded of Christ’s specific forgiveness!

SPEEDY
Don't wait!  As soon as you see yourself and see your sin, WEEP NOW!  Blessed are you who weep now!  Don't put it off!  Today is the day!

SUSTAINING
True mourning is a sustaining characteristic.  It seems like it is always happening.  Think about a foot pedal on a keyboard.  There is what is called a sustain pedal.  When a note is played and the pedal held down, the note is sustained as long as you keep the pedal to the floor.  In other words, for a Christian, mourning is something that continues on for our entire trek through this world.  We are continuously seeing our sin as we grow and develop in Christ and the Holy Spirit keeps His hand upon us pressing and speaking and leading and convicting the heart and soul. But the music that comes as a result of that is quite amazing.  There will be times when it lets up.  But that is because there needs to be room for other notes to be sustained by pressing so as to make themselves heard and blended with others for a glorious sound.  It may go on and on, but eventually the piece will be finished, and we will see that it was a stroke of genius on the part of the Holy Spirit to have his hand heavy upon us.  For then we will experience the greatest comfort that comes from knowing that my mourning has been turned into laughing.  In the Greek text, the word MOURNING is successive, meaning this, Blessed are the ones who are mourning, for they shall be comforted.

SENSITIVE
A hard heart is like stone.  It cannot feel much if anything at all.  Someone said, "A person can feel a stone in the kidney, but not a stone in the heart."  One who is mourning in a true fashion is sensitive to the Spirit's prompting.  Why?  Because they are already poor in spirit!  He or she knows when they have stepped outside the boundary of God's will and committed sin.  I feel that many in the church today have lost a sensitivity to sin.  Is it possible we have lost our sense of what it means to be poor in spirit?

SUBMISSIVE
True mourning is just that.  Submissive.  It bends.  It's flexible. A hard heart will not bend.  It has a most difficult time complying with the Word of God.  Many are like the anvil.  An anvil is the heavy block of steel on which metals, usually heated until soft, are hammered into shapes.  When the hammer hits the anvil, the hammer bounces back from it.  The anvil repels the hammer.  But one who mourns over his sin has been heated up.  A mourning heart is a bendable heart!  This is why it is comforted.  It is blessed and happy because it bends to the will of the black smith.  Look at it.

              "And his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law does he meditate day and night." 
 Psalm 1:2

Pastor Jerry, where is the bending?  It is in the word delight.  Delight means soft, pliable, bendable.  Bend toward His Word and you will see your desires change!  They would be in line with His desires and that will cause joy unspeakable in your life.  You are perhaps not bending to His will and His Word.  This is why we seem to be always in need of outside stimulants and/or calming agents.  We need to be comforted.  But the best comfort will come when we see ourselves for who we really are and mourn over what we have seen.  We confess that to the Lord, bend to His convicting power and He will shape us into a vessel of honor for Him.

              "Blessed is the man who delights greatly in His commandments."  Psalm 112:1

Ah, there it is!  Blessed is the man who BENDS to His commandments.  This word DELIGHT has the meaning of "to bend towards, and applied to the will", it implies entire, and full inclination towards an object, or person.  To will anything is to purpose that in the doing of it you find pleasure.  We are always the happiest, and delighted when we bend toward His will, His Word, His law, His ways!  Hallelujah!  I feel that!  Maybe we are not as delighted to be serving Him as we used to be because we have been a little obstinate, unbending.  We have not been mourning enough over our sin that the Lord has been putting His finger on.

              "Make me walk in thy commandments, for in them I delight."  Psalm 119:35

Woo!  This is getting good!  So, bending creates comfort!  To the ones mourning, true delight is theirs because they are submissive, bendable, and pliable.

SYMPATHETIC
They mourn over the sins of others.  Listen to Isaiah, and Daniel, and Nehemiah.

             "Woe is me...I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."  Isaiah 6

              "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments; neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets...neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws..." Daniel 9:5, 6, 10

              "And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven...I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee; both I and my father's house have sinned..."  Nehemiah 1:4, 6

These men were moved over the sins of their fathers and their people.  Isaiah said, "Woe is me."  It is important to note that they also included themselves in this.  Daniel expressed it as "WE have sinned, and rebelled."  Nehemiah mourned and wept over what his nation had done but said, "both I and my father's house."  We; I and my fathers.  Could it be that if we don't mourn over the sins of others it may be a sign that we are not mourning over our own?  But if we do enter into a mourning over the sins of others, we shall also be comforted.  The Lord will come along side us and help us.  Nehemiah wept.  This is also significant.  There will be times when tears will flow over our own sins and the sins of others.  Jesus experienced this.  "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not."  Listen, never underestimate your tears.

              "Put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in your book?"  Psalm 56:8

The scriptures tell us in the book of Revelation that there are "vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints".  Yes!  Isaiah 38:5 says that God has seen Hezekiah's tears!  The Lord continued by saying that He would add to Hezekiah's days fifteen years.   Apparently, the Lord heard his tears.  Saw his tears.  His tears were his prayer.  Sometimes there are no words.  Do you agree?  John Bunyan said that "it is better to have heart without words, than to have words without heart."   Tears are music to God's ears.  He does actually hear them!  Listen to it.

"...for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping."  Psalm 6:8

I don't know who you are, but you have been weeping day after day.  Your heart is crying, and you are without words.  Take courage!  HE HEARS THE VOICE OF YOUR WEEPING.
Mourning leads to comfort.  Really?  Yes.

              "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning."  Psalm 30:5

              "They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy."  Psalm 126:5

So, let us not avoid the mourning over our sins.  Let's not be quick to pass off that prompting of the Holy Spirit to mourn over the wretchedness and sinfulness of our hearts.  Why?  Well, because if we do not mourn over what we have seen about ourselves today, we will mourn over them on another day.  Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Comforted?  Yes, in fact, they are the only ones who are.     Just ask Peter.

Author:  Charlotte Elliott

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt received,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve:
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Looking back at my salvation experience, it was a decision that was a long time coming, but when it happened it was suddenly. At the time I did not see or recognize God in my life, but afterwards, I could see Him moving, protecting, and calling me.

Growing up my parents took me to church every Sunday, and they taught me right from wrong. If I did anything that was right or good, it was out of obedience to my parents, not out of a decision of my heart.  I had no understanding of who God was, or if there was even a God.  Going to church to me was like listening to children's stories, no different than Jack and the Beanstalk.

As I grew, I began to explore life, and seek things out that gave me pleasure like music, relationships, and drugs.  Surprisingly, I was introduced to the Grateful Dead through a Sunday school teacher, and the classic rock of the 60's and 70's became my church.  My friend group became those who sought after the same things I did.  My life revolved around going to concerts, hanging with my friends, and scoring the next high.  I felt it was my choice, I should be left alone, I wasn't hurting anyone.  I recall nights lying in bed before I fell asleep and thinking to myself that this life was all there was, and a cold feeling would engulf me.  Still I did not seek the Lord, but found myself playing with an Ouija board, writing school reports on paganism, accepting a new age book from Hare Krishnas, and wearing Egyptian and new age symbols on necklaces. To tell the truth I was just wandering. I had nothing to live for except for the now and that's what I did. I sought the pleasures of this world, like my flower child heroes.  I grew my hair out long, ran around barefoot, and my life revolved around the next drug induced experience.
In my soul there was an emptiness that couldn't be filled.  During this time, I thought it was normal to contemplate taking my own life, to the point of having picked out a way to do it.  At one point I even tried to clean myself up, giving up drugs and even cutting myself off from my friends.  This change did not last long, and only seemed to cause me to fall farther, and into harder drugs.

God was there all along, without me knowing, saving my life when I was in car accidents, with encounters with police and judges, somehow getting me home safe to my bed at night, and opening a door for me to go to Bowling Green State University.  Despite me changing my dorm room number from 66, to read 666, God was knocking on my door.  I had an emptiness inside me that I could not explain, and soon the same drugs that I enjoyed so much, no longer gave the pleasure they had for years.

Nearing the end of my first year of college, my father called me up and asked me to join him at a Christian event for men.  This was not something I would normally be into, and at the time I couldn't explain why, but it called to me.  We traveled to Three Rivers stadium in Pittsburgh for a two-day event.  What I heard that opening night, to my ears, was the first time the truth of Jesus Christ was shared with me.  God the creator, who loved me unconditionally, was separated from me by sin, and yet while I was a sinner, He had laid down His life for me.  He paid the debt I could not pay and wanted a relationship with me!  One year prior I had been in the exact same football stadium, with floor seats at a Grateful Dead concert, but this time I had come down to the field during the altar call to give my life to Christ.

My life was not the same from that minute on.  The emptiness that was inside of me was gone!  Now I knew who I was, I was a child of God, loved, and redeemed.  I had many more lessons to learn, and tears to cry, but God was there through it all.  The first lesson I learned after my salvation experience, came when I was arrested and sitting in a jail cell.  The very thing I promised God never to do again, I was now arrested for.  I felt like a promise breaker and that I would be separated from God's love.  Yet, God reached out to me again, and let me know I was still His child.  He wasn't seeking a perfect man, but a heart and soul after Him.

Today, I strive to be that kind of man.  Humbled knowing I will never reach perfection but striving to do my best.  Seeking and searching after Him and His will, listening to Him when He speaks, obediently following Him, and on bent knees seeking forgiveness when I stumble.  These years later I am still learning, and the more I pray, the more I read the Bible, the more He feeds my soul.

Psalm 51
 
              "¹ Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  ³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  ⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.  ⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.  ⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.  ⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  ⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  ⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  ¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  ¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  ¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.  ¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.  ¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  ¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  ¹⁸ Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.  ¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."

Seeing the multitudes prompted Christ to do something.  What did He do?  He gathered around Him the twelve disciples, sat down, and began to teach them.  What did He teach them?  He taught them that the Kingdom of God is first spiritual then material.  He taught them that what comes out of their mouth has its source in the heart.  He taught them that out of character comes conduct and out of conduct comes influence.   He taught them the importance of the inward versus the outward.  What is this Christian character that produces the Christlike conduct that creates the Christian influence so badly needed in this world?  We will find it in the Beatitudes.  Each one begins with the word BLESSED.  The list in order is as follows:

Before we begin our look into the beatitudes, we need to ask a vital question.  For whom is this sermon intended?  To whom did Jesus preach?  To whom does it apply?  It was not preached to the unbeliever.  No.  It was spoken to the disciples of Jesus.  This does not mean that unbelievers were not standing around and listening.  I am sure they were.  However, this was directed at the twelve men he chose to follow him.  How do we know this?  Listen to the words of Jesus:

"You are the salt of the earth..."  "You are the light of the world..."  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify YOUR Father which is in heaven..."   Matthew 5:13,14,16

And then the very first two verses of Matthew 5 declare this:
"...and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him and he opened His mouth and taught them, saying..."
So, let it be noted that unbelievers are not the "light of the world".  Unbelievers are not the "salt of the earth".  So, the message has to do with the disciples of that day and disciples of today!  That is, you and me, fellow believer!

Now, then, the beatitudes are at the very beginning of Christ's message to these men.  They are a declaration of the character that identifies the Christian.  The first word is blessed.  Blessed are... and on it goes from the first beatitude to the last.  Blessed means happy, or to be congratulated.  It is a word that speaks to the condition of the heart.  In secular usage, it was a word used to describe the social position of the wealthy who, because of their wealth are above the normal cares and worries of those who have not this wealth.  Listen, fellow believer.  No matter where you find yourself at this moment, you, because of the RICHES OF HIS GRACE AND YOUR POSITION IN CHRIST, you are now ABOVE the normal cares and worries of those who have not this WEALTH in CHRIST!  Somebody needs to shout!  You are blessed!  You are rich!  You are wealthy IN HIM!  So, the cares and worries that absorb others; that preoccupy others, do not overwhelm you!  Is it not true that people are worried and anxious over many things?  Is it not true that the cares of this life cause many to be discouraged and down?  The whole world is longing for happiness, for contentment, for meaning.  Yet in their pursuit of this happiness they always seem to come up empty.  Why?  Listen to Jesus' words:

 “...A man’' life consists not in the abundance of the things that he possesses." Luke 12:15
"For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”"Mark 8:36

The word HAPPY or HAPPINESS, has to do with happenings.  You can see this in the word itself. Happy-ness.  Happening-ness.  A person's mood is determined by happenings.  If the happenings of my life are to my liking, then pleasurable feelings rise within me.  If I do not have to face difficulties, I am good.  If I can get away from them, not face them, or evade them, all is well.  But happiness which comes by just avoiding obstacles or difficulties only leads to more misery.  Opposite to that is The Sermon on the Mount which says, if you really want to be happy, this is the way to go.  And the first thing to consider is our character.  It is not conduct first, but character.   So, what is this character?

The first one is "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  This is the first in order.  Jesus is not just randomly tossing these beatitudes around and letting them land where they will.  No.  He places "blessed are the poor in spirit" first because out of it comes all the rest, and because without this "poor in spirit" one cannot even get into the kingdom!  This is vital and fundamental.  So, what does it mean to be poor in spirit?  In short, it is to see myself as nothing before God and totally helpless to save myself.  The word poor carries the idea of brokenness.  Something broken and emptied.  A vessel must be emptied before it can be filled. When it comes to the gospel, the good news of Jesus, there is always two sides.  A breaking and an emptying and then a filling or a building.  People do not like this.  Have you noticed?  Many only want the love of Jesus, not realizing that before they can be truly blessed and experience the riches of His grace, they must first be emptied of all passion, self-reliance, pride, and dependence on self.  We must first acknowledge that we are nothing.  Look at this verse in Luke 2:34:

Can you see the breaking, the falling, the emptying, and then the building, the rising again of many?  Let us look a little bit more at this word "poor".  There are two words for poor.  Two kinds of "poor".

The poor laborer has nothing great to speak of.  However, the beggar has nothing at all.  This is the word in Matthew 5.  A beggar.  The beggar is helpless.  His sense of helplessness drives him to the Savior for his needs and defense.  There is a total dependence upon another to whom he or she is answerable.  They are so dependent that they are vulnerable or susceptible to being taken advantage of by those who hold the power.  Isn't it true that many people are proud of their independence, or self-reliance?  However, a beggar says, "I can of my own self do nothing". Totally at the mercy of someone else.  Isn't it true that we live in a world of "I can do this"?  Like that old song Frank Sinatra used to sing entitled, "I Did It My Way".  Yeah, you did it your way, or maybe you are doing it your way.  Question:  So, how's that working for you?

We are so independent in this "land of the free and home of the brave".  I am reminded of my boyhood days growing up in a family of five boys, me being the youngest.  When one of my brothers would say "let me tie your shoe", I would respond, "I can do it myself!"  When you were young, your parents' goal was to get you to go from dependence to independence, right?  To teach you to tie your own shoes, feed yourself, to dress yourself.  Yes, that is correct.  It is right to teach our children to be independent and make responsible choices in this life, so they are not a burden to society.  That is right and good in the physical, material world.  But in the spiritual sense it is not that way.  While we go from dependence to independence in the physical, in the spiritual we go from independence to dependence!  It is meant to be that way.   Do you see that?  Think about it.  The longer I serve the Lord the more I know that I need him. My dependence grows and my independence dissipates.  A poor in spirit person is constantly realizing that without Him, I can do nothing.  How does one come to this?  It takes an encounter with God that will break us.  It takes a broken and contrite heart - pulverized and crushed.  So, I conclude that I need Jesus!  It is like climbing a mountain.  In order to climb this mountain, I must first admit that I cannot climb this mountain!  It is a spirit of abject spiritual poverty and humility.

Let's look at the scriptures and see what they have to say to us about being poor in spirit.  Many verses of scripture teach this most vital truth and necessity.  

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."   Isaiah 57:15

So, poor in spirit is not an outward show, but an inward condition.  Notice, it is poor in spirit.  Listen to this:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne...then said I, Woe is me!  For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."   Isaiah 6:1, 5

So, Isaiah has an encounter with God and says, "Woe is me!"  "I am a man of unclean lips". Basically, Isaiah says, I have seen myself before a holy God and I have come out as nothing, as sinful, as an unclean man!  Ah, see?  This is poor in spirit.  He is in the presence of God and compared to Him, I am as nothing.  That's good, Isaiah!  Now the Lord can do something with you.  Now, my Christian friend, the Lord can do something with you as well.  It's about time we see ourselves correctly as we really are!  Do you remember Peter?  In Luke 5:8 Peter said, when he saw all the fish that the Lord had caused them to catch, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord."  He caught a glimpse of Jesus as never before and Peter, an impulsive, self-confident man, says, Depart!  Wow!  Can we see what happens to a man or a woman who has a glimpse, an encounter with the living God?  We don't jump up and throw our hands in the air and HIGH FIVE Jesus.  We bow, we bend, we recognize who WE are because we have recognized who HE is!

Oh, this is so cool.  The Word of God gives us illustration after illustration of what it is to be poor in spirit.  Look at this one:

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."    Philippians 3:3

That's what Paul was like after he was saved, not before.  Before he was saved, he was a killer of Christians, a persecutor of the New Testament church.  But one day on the road to Damascus, on his way to persecute some more followers of Jesus, Paul has an encounter with the Christ! He falls to the ground, and then says to Jesus, "Lord, what will you have me to do?"  Later, you will find Paul writing these words: "In my flesh dwelleth no good thing."  Whoa!  Now there it is again.  A person who has come to the end of themselves is asking the Lord for direction, not giving direction, or making demands.  In fact, he recognizes then and now that in himself there is nothing good.

When you look in the book of Job, you will find another example of this beatitude.  You will see what a glimpse of God, the Creator of the universe, can do in a person's life.

"I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.  Wherefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes."  Job 42:5,6

When the prophet Daniel had a vision of the Lord, I notice the results of such an encounter in these words:

"Therefore, I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.  Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face and my face toward the ground."  Daniel 10:8,9

Prostrated on the ground, Daniel saw his corruption.  Do we?  Have we?  Notice it says, "my comeliness, (my purities, my goodness) was turned in me into corruption."  Now, wait, this is important.  Don't move on too quickly.  He saw his corruption, yes.  But not the corruption of his impurities.  No.  He saw the corruption of his purities, his uprightness.  Whoa!  Yes, my dear fellow believer in Christ.  The longer we go on in this Christian life, and have encounters with the Lord of glory, we will see more and more the impurities of our purities.  The Bible says, "There is none righteous, no not one."  And, "All our righteousness is as filthy rags".

Are we conscious of our total inadequacy? Am I comparing myself to the lowest or the highest standard?  You see, one who is poor in spirit has had and encounter with the Highest!  The result of that encounter is that I am now the lowest.  It is the same as Jesus said in the gospels when He referred to the Pharisee and the publican.

"Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you; this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."  Luke 18:11-14

Did you see that?  What powerful words!  What is Jesus telling us?  Well, the Pharisee was comparing himself to the publican.  The lowest man he could find.  As the Pharisee compares himself to the lowest man he can find, he immediately feels better about himself!  My fellow believer, we can usually find someone worse than us, right?  I mean, come on, I know I am bad, but look at that person!  At least I am not as bad as THEY are!  I thank thee, Oh God, that I am not like THAT person!  This is nothing more than Pharisee-ism.  Religiosity.  When the Pharisee compares himself to the lowest standard, he always comes out higher!  But notice the publican. He is comparing himself to the God of the universe.  He would not even so much as "lift up his eyes unto heaven".   He "smote his breast" and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner."  What is the publican doing?  He is comparing himself to the HIGHEST standard.  Friend, when we compare ourselves to the highest standard, we will always come out on the bottom of the list! Ah, yes!  This is it!  Really, Pastor Jerry?  YES!  10,000 times, YES!  Look what happens when the publican compares himself to the Highest.  He has a correct view of himself!  He sees that in him dwells no good thing!  He says, Woe is me!  I am a sinner!  This is poor in spirit.  And with the result being this: "I tell you; THIS MAN went down to his house justified".  Can somebody say AMEN?   Do you want to be justified?  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Blessed is the one who knows that he/she is a sinner and we need a Savior.  Blessed is the man that knows his sinful condition and who comes like the publican and cries, "have mercy on me a sinner!"

Have you been comparing yourself to others who are worse than you?  Why?  I will tell you why I have done that.  Because it makes me feel better about my own shortcomings.  I am not so bad now.  I am not good, mind you, but at least I have found someone worse than me.  This keeps me from true freedom.  I stay sealed in my own sinful condition.  I am not truly happy.  I am not blessed.  I remain a frustrated, miserable, fault finding sinner in need of a Savior.  But it does not need to stay that way.  Call on Jesus now.  He will never push anyone away!

What about Jesus?  Was He poor in spirit?  Absolutely.  We see this in His life.  He became flesh and dwelled among us.  The Bible says He took on Himself the "likeness of sinful flesh".  Though He was equal with God, He took upon Him the form of a servant and made Himself of no reputation.  In John 6:38 Jesus said: "I came, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me".  Poor in spirit.  In John 5:30 Jesus makes it clear, "I can do nothing of myself".  Poor in spirit. He also said, in John 14:10: "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."   Poor in spirit.  So, Jesus was totally dependent upon His Father.  

We must feel that we are nothing.  We are nothing.  We look to God in submission without any self-reliance.  Without the Lord, we are all headed for a Christ-less grave.  But thanks be to God, as we humble ourselves and come before him with a broken and contrite heart, confessing our sins, He will forgive, redeem, and cleanse us from sin and then He will be with us and in us!   I will say it in the words of a song my Dad used to sing in church.

Without Him, I would be nothing
           Without Him, I'd surely fail
            Without Him, I would be drifting
            Like a ship without a sail
           
Jesus, O, Jesus
            Do you know Him today?
            Please don't turn Him away
            Oh, Jesus, My Jesus
            Without Him how lost I would be!
Without Him, Mylon Le Fevre  1963 Angel Band Music

Am I poor in spirit?  If I am a Christian, I am poor in spirit.  But do I continue to be poor in spirit? Do I lament that I am not as poor in spirit as I should be or could be?  Do I say, Woe is me, for I am undone?  Like Paul, do we ever say, "O wretched man that I am…"?  Do you rely on your natural talents or ability?  Do you rely on your own morality or goodness?  Do you find yourself comparing yourself to someone not as good as you?  Are you conscious that in you dwelleth no good thing?  Do you ever find yourself repeating John the Baptist's words: "He must increase, but I must decrease"?   Am I conscious that I am nothing in the presence of God?  Am I concerned about having man's approval rather than God's approval?  What are the things I pray about?  External things, or my inward condition?  Do you desire to humble yourself or do you try to humble others?

Poor in spirit people know they are not perfect.  They know the Lord calls the shots and they are happy to have it that way.  They seek first the kingdom of God, and like Jacob, after his wrestling match with God, they walk with a limp and thank God for the reminder of such an awesome encounter with the Most High that changed them for eternity.  Poor in spirit people have a new perspective on life, on sin, on circumstances, on temptations, and every negative thing that takes place.  How can that be?  They know who they are in Christ!  They know they belong to the One who paid the ultimate price for their salvation and they are not their own.  As it says in 1 Peter 2:9: "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;"

Yes, a peculiar people.  What is this word peculiar?  It doesn't mean strange or odd as it does in our modern English.  It means to be "surrounded by".  It means to be "owned by".  Because you are poor in spirit and because you are who you are in Jesus, you are no longer going it alone! And whatever comes your way, God will use it for His glory and your good.  This is how I learned it years ago.  It means that as a dot is surrounded by a circle, so the Lord surrounds you!  You are His private possession.  But as you, the dot, are surrounded by God, you are also protected. How so?  Before you were saved, you (the dot) were not surrounded by the Lord.  You were out there all by yourself, a vulnerable target of the devil.  Every arrow (trial, temptation, sorrow,) he shot at you hit the mark.  You gave in.  But, when you surrendered your life to Christ, your position changed and now you are the dot surrounded by the circle, the Lord

Himself!  But the arrows do not stop coming at you!  Do they?  No. However, notice the difference.  Now, the arrow cannot get to you unless it passes through the "circle" of your God! He must allow it to penetrate and pass.  And since that is the case, the purpose of that trial changes from that of your destruction, to your development.  Amen!  So, a poor in spirit person has a new perspective on life, on temptations, trials, troubles, and every negative situation. Now instead of whining about everything, we have the same attitude as Joseph had toward his brothers who tried to destroy him.  He said,

            "...you thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good...? Genesis 50:20

Blessed are the poor in spirit!

I am so blessed to be able to share with you today the working of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life.  Throughout my entire life, He has pursued me and not given up on me and I praise His name.

When I was 4, my mother abandoned all 10 of her children and left us with our father.  I was the ninth child.  I remember this as being a terrible time in my life.  Rejection and abandonment leave a deep pain in the heart.  My father did remarry, but with that came the difficulties of living with a harsh stepmother.  Looking back now, I can see that the Lord has been my help from that time until now.

Even during this time, my father faithfully took us to church, and at the age of eight, I gave my heart to the Lord.  I remember writing in my little Bible the date that I received Jesus Christ as my own personal Lord and Savior.  I had faith as a child.  Unfortunately, I did not continue living for and growing in Christ.  In my teen years I walked away from Him choosing to go my own way, rejecting what I knew was right.  In fact, at 18 I found myself sitting in a Texas jail having been arrested for "vagrancy and investigation".  I had run from the difficulties in my family life, searching for something that would bring meaning.  You know, God is faithful, and He continued to pursue me even there.  His hand of protection was on me for He is my Father Who is in Heaven and He cares for each of His children.

Yet, I still did not return to Him.  In my 20's I was married with children and spent 10.5 years in the military.  During this time, I continued to walk farther and farther away from the Lord.  I started smoking and drinking and soon I found that I no longer had control of the drink, but that it had control of me.   Softly and tenderly Jesus continued to call me.  He called deep within me, I heard His voice and am so thankful for His forgiving power.  I surrendered my life back to Him.

While in the hospital recovering from a near fatal accident, the Lord Jesus came down into my room and in a miraculous way just took the desire for alcohol away from me - it was completely gone.  I had friends say that if they would give me  a drink, I would down it, but I respond with a Bible verse that says, "...Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." By the power of God, it has been 50 years and I have not had one smoke nor drink.  The Lord is faithful to save!

Friend, I do not know your situation.  Perhaps you have been abandoned by father and mother, or spouse.  Maybe you feel forsaken and alone.  You are NOT alone.  You have a Father God in heaven that loves you and is not too big to fit into your heart.  All you need to do is ask Him and He will enter in, change your life and you will never be the same again.  We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God, but He is so faithful that if we confess our sins Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us from those sins.  Lay out yourself before the Holy God.  He knows where you are and what you are going through.  Surrender to Him and He will bring a peace that passes all understanding into your life.  He will change you from the inside out!  Amen.

Psalm 27:9-14   9 "Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.  10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.  11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.  12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

                                                                                                       

How important is character?  In the above passage, we read the words of Jesus in that greatest of all sermons we call the Sermon on the Mount.  What powerful words and what a powerful impact they must have made on the disciples who heard them.  The Character Equation, as I have called it, consists of three elements.  Character, Conduct, and Influence.  The equation is:  C + C= I.

Is it not true that every one of us has influence upon others?  It may be good influence, or bad. Nevertheless, it is influence.  We don't want our children to hang around other children who will be a bad influence on them.  Why is this so?  Because the Bible says:
"Evil communications corrupt good manners."  I Corinthians 15:33
  
Moffatt's translation puts it this way: "Bad company is the ruin of good character."  So, it matters who we hang around with.  Make no mistake about it, character plus conduct equals influence. It all begins with character. When you add character and conduct you get influence. Out of character comes conduct and out of conduct comes influence.
C + C = I.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ gathers his disciples around him, and He teaches them what true Christian character is.  Christianity is not something I do, but it is first and foremost, something I am.  Many people believe that you do certain things and in the performing of those certain things, one is therefore a Christian.  This is not so.  It does not mean that Christians don't DO certain things.  Of course, they do.    But the Sermon on the Mount is Christ's message to the believer which says, it's not "Live like this and you will be a Christian."  No.  But, "Because you are a Christian you will live like this."

So, let's dive into the Sermon on the Mount and find out about Christian character and how it affects the life of the believer and those with whom he/she comes in contact.

What prompted this message?  What caused Jesus to preach this message to His disciples that day on the hillside?   Two things are very clear.
           
1. People and
2. Prayer
Let's take the first one…

People
            "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him."  Matthew 5:1

People!  He saw the people!  Look at it.  He saw the multitudes and then he turns from them as if he is leaving them and goes up into a mountain and begins to talk to his disciples.  He wants to get to the multitudes, of course.  However, in order to do so, he gets 12 men and teaches them so they can go to the multitudes and reach them for the glory of God.  What happens when you see people without God and without hope?  Does it touch your heart?  Does it make you want to say something?  These people were lost and in need of hope.  Jesus realizes that in order to do this He needs to get these men on board with how this is to take place.  May we be sensitive enough to see people!  When Jesus looked at people, he looked at them three ways. He looked AT them, THROUGH them, and PAST them.  Most of the time we only look AT people. But thank the Lord, Jesus looks PAST them.  What is that?  He looks beyond their faults and sees their needs.  He looks past your faults and sins and sees YOUR need!  Hallelujah! Remember, Jesus does not look at us in the light of our present failures, but in the light of our potential.

Now, the second one.

Prayer

"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.  And he came down with them and stood in the plain ... and he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor for yours is the kingdom of God." Luke 6:12, 17, 20

This is Luke's gospel record of the sermon Jesus preached.  He says Christ preached this message after He had prayed all night.  Can you imagine?  An all-night prayer meeting with the Father ends with Jesus having a message to preach to the men who would soon, in the book of Acts, turn the world upside down!  How cool is this?  If every preacher would spend half that time in prayer what kind of preaching do you suppose would come forth from their lips in these last days?  My dear fellow Christian, this is the kind of thing we need in our lives.  Not just for preaching purposes, but to live our lives as his willing servants and be the influence this lost world needs. We must never underestimate the power of prayer and the need for it.  One senior preacher said years ago, "we talk so much about prayer, we think we did it."

"And when He was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying ..."
 
How is Jesus going to reach these multitudes?  The procedure is to get 12 men yielded to the King, Jesus Christ, and teach them.  Pour into them.  Fellow believer, He wants to pour into you as well!  He wants to teach you!  It takes a teachable spirit and a hunger to be able to sit at his feet and receive.  Attitude is very key here.  May I ask you something?  Do you have a teachable spirit?  That is, is your attitude one that receives teaching, or do you have the answers already?  Why is that so important?  The scripture says,

"Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent and hast revealed them unto babes."  Matthew 11:25

That is, He hides things.  Did you hear that?  He hides things.  He hides things from the "know it all's".  Yet, He reveals things unto the humble - those who know that without Jesus they are nothing. This teachability also lends itself to guidance from the Lord.  Our attitude towards Him plays a vital role in divine guidance.  Let us always remember that the attitude of our heart towards God establishes the basis of guidance from God.  How can He pour into me and reveal things to me if my attitude is, for example: "God dealt me a bad hand in life?"  Always endeavor to keep your heart soft before Him.  God is not responsible for every brown blade of grass in my front yard!  As we keep our hearts pliable, and our attitude teachable, He will open his mouth and reveal things to us in a most remarkable way.  He is the Lord, and I am the servant.

The personality, or nature of this message is an unfolding of principles in a teaching, preaching sort of way.  It's not just teaching.  It's not just preaching.  It's both.  My pastor used to say to me, "Jerry, good teaching is preaching, and good preaching is teaching."  I never forgot that. One of Christ's main principles he is trying to get across to them in this sermon is this:  The Kingdom of God is first spiritual, then material.  Let me give you an example of this.

The Sermon on the Mount is three chapters long.  Matthew 5, 6, and 7.  In Matthew 6:9, Jesus tells them how to pray.  You probably know this one by memory, I'm certain.

"Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven…"
 
And then this scripture from Romans:
 
"The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."  Romans 14:17

Many think that the kingdom of God is only a physical one.  We can see that the kingdom of God is a spiritual matter before it is a material thing.  It's not meat and drink.  That means it's not material first.  His kingdom WILL come to earth someday.  But for the believer, the Christian, the kingdom of God is within us.  (Luke 17:21) The kingdom is His reign in our lives. He lives in us.  His kingdom rule over my heart.  He's in charge of my life.  Spiritual first.  "Thy kingdom rule come in this earthen vessel."  Jesus is going to push this home into their hearts. He wants to bring it home to your heart as well.  The day you surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ He began to dwell, live, make a home in your heart.  That means that He rules your life. He is the king of your heart.  You and I now want to please Him first and not ourselves or anyone else.  Why? Because we do not belong to ourselves anymore.  We belong to Him.  Listen to it:

"What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, and ye are not your own?  For you were bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."  I Corinthians 6:19,20  
 
So, because of this fact, the Sermon on the Mount is not to be used as a set of rules or ethics, or morals that a man does his best to follow and that is all.  Oh, no.  This message is only for those who are not their own.  For those who have been washed in the blood, who have made Jesus king of their life.

In verse 2 it says Jesus opened his mouth and taught them saying ... Taught who?  The disciples. We must never forget that this message is for Christians.  It is a proclamation to us, His church, who are the blood washed children of God.  This sermon is complete.  It has no wasted words.  He leaves nothing out.  He speaks with freedom, and liberty.  In fact, that's what the phrase "He opened His mouth" infers.  It's a way of saying, He spoke with liberty; He spoke with freedom, and He leaves nothing out.  What a great thing.  The church needs a proclamation like this.  I am afraid there is too much left out of our preaching these days.  To gain the crowds and appease the people, we have sacrificed much of the truth.  However, it is the truth that can set people free.  It's truth that confronts sin, and leaves nothing out.  It is truth that exposes the problem and conceals nothing.  It's truth that proclaims, exposes and makes manifest things as they really are.  Praise the Lord for the Word of God!  We need a genuine God sent message.  When hearing or reading a message there are some key ingredients to look for which mark it as genuine.  Jeremiah the prophet gives us three.

"The prophet that has a dream let him tell a dream; and he that has my word let him speak my word faithfully.  For what is the chaff to the wheat? Saith the Lord.  Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"  Jeremiah 23:28-29.

So, what are these ingredients?

            1. His word is like wheat.
            2. His word is like a fire.
            3. His word is like a hammer.

This is powerful to me.  His Word is like wheat in that it feeds my soul.  It has substance to it. There's something about the proclaimed Word of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit that gives nourishment and causes growth.  If the power of life is to work in us, we need real food.  His Word is also like fire in that it kindles or sparks a feeling in my spirit.  I like what the two men on the Emmaus road said in Luke 24:32.

"Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and opened to us the scriptures?"

Did you see that?  BURN!  Their hearts burned!  The power of a genuine word is that it causes the heart to be stirred.  Like ashes in a fire that is about to go out, His Word can stir them up and bring that fire back again!  And the Lord is doing that to YOU!  Yes, YOU!  You are being brought back again to a renewed hunger and thirst for the living God!  Somebody needs to know that!  He has not forgotten you, nor has He forsaken you.  You think you've been left where you are only to waste away.  Well, you are wrong.  He is bringing you to a place in your life where you can grow and develop like you were supposed to but for some reason, whether of your own making or not, it didn't happen.  But the Word of God is coming to you now, and it's causing a stirring, a burning, and a moving inside and it clicks in your spirit.  Doesn't it?  Well, doesn't it?  Say, yes.  Good.

And His Word is like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.  It takes more than one blow from a hammer to crack the rock.  It may take two, three, or maybe four blows from the hammer of God's Word before we begin to see something happen.  So, keep reading it!  Keep listening to it!  Keep going to church where the message is preached!  Don't stop the hammer coming down on you.  Ask the Lord to allow that word to find a place in your heart.  To lodge there.  To take root, and to grow for His glory.  His word is effective!  It will hit us.  It may hurt us.  But rest assured it will help us, and it will heal us!  Hallelujah!

The principles of this message are in two parts.  First, we see the general principles and then, secondly, the specific principles. We will only speak to the general.

First, the general principles are listed in order in verses 3-16.  They begin with the Beatitudes.
The characteristics of a Christian in verses 3-10.  Then, in verses 11-12 we see what kind of a reaction the Christian receives from non-believers. Then, in verses 13-16 the function of the Christian in society.   So, let's list the Beatitudes.  There are eight in number.

• 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• 2. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
• 3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
• 4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
• 5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
• 6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
• 7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
• 8. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Each of these characteristics of a Christian explodes with the undeniable truth that the Christian is different from those who are not Christian.  An error of the church in modern times, is that it thinks being like the world is attractive to the world.  But this is not the case.  Christian, our attractiveness to the world is not in our SAMENESS, but in our DISTINCTIVENESS.  We are different!  We are not better, no, but we are better off.  Do you see the difference?  We are better off, but we are in no way better than anyone else.  Yes, we are distinctive; different.  How so?

We live by a Distinct Rule.  What is this distinct rule?  It's the Bible.  The Bible is our distinctive. It is what sets apart the believer from the non-believer.  This book says the we are not our own.  In 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 it states, as you may remember, that we are not our own.  We do not belong to ourselves.  So, we are to behave in a manner that glorifies God both in our bodies and in our spirit, which belong to God.  So, we are not to hold up the Bible and then pull it down to the level of our experience, but we are to rise to the level of ITS experience!  Opposite to the unbeliever, we believe the Bible is our only rule of faith and conduct.  The B.I.B.L.E. yes, that's the book for me!

We also live by a Distinct Reasoning.  We are to have a different mindset.  The Bible says that we are to have the mind of Christ.  What is that?  Well, the scripture tells us in Philippians 2:6-8 that Jesus did not consider being equal with God a thing to hang on to or grasp.  But He emptied himself.  Did you see that?  He emptied Himself.  He emptied himself and became a servant.  A servant.  Yes, a servant.  Ah… this is it!  His mindset, His reasoning was, I am a servant of the Lord.  Listen to the scripture: "He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:8.  We now think differently than we used to.  We used to think we were Number ONE!  But now, we know that we are not Number One, nor number two, or three or four!  The reasoning and mindset of a Christian is Jesus is the Lord and I am the servant.  I am not in charge, He is.

We live by a Distinct Ruler.  Who is this Ruler?  Jesus.  He is my Savior, but also, He is my Lord. We sing a song that has these words: "Ruler of my heart today, Jesus Lord to me…"  He is Lord of my life which means that instead of me taking the initiative for my life, He does.  It means that we as Christians do not take matters into our own hands.  We do not seek revenge.  We do not call the shots.  He is sovereign and in charge.  I am not.  This brings great satisfaction to my spirit and now, I do not live my life in fear.  "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."   Hebrews 13:6   Ten Thousand Hallelujahs!

So, we are distinct.   Christian friend, the lines are being blurred as to the fundamental difference between a Christian and a non-Christian.  This must be addressed.  The world has crept into the church and the church is gradually taking on the world's mindset.  The line of separation was clearer in times past.  We have been sold the idea that the church must be attractive to the sinner outside, and we need to become like them if we are to influence them. This is just not the case.  We do not love the same things the world loves.  We do not hunger and thirst for the same things the world, or sinner hungers and thirsts for.  Listen to the Beatitude: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst."  After what? After popularity? No. After money? No. Position? No. Blessed are those which do hunger and thirst after righteousness!  Righteousness is right standing with God.  Ask a man on the street who wants nothing to do with Christianity what he is seeking.  You will see that what he wants and what the Christian wants are two different things.  Because we are different in the things we desire, it then becomes obvious that the Christian is different in the things he/she does.  If we as Christians continue to be different from the world, we will find that the church and world will not be getting closer together, but further apart.  So, the problem is not with an inconsistent world, but with an inconsistent church.  Are we consistent?  Lord, help me to be consistent.  When I fail, help me to repent.  When I obey, teach me to praise you, for it is you, Lord, in me, that conquered in the first place.  I desire my character to produce godly conduct and my conduct to result in influence that brings glory and honor to you, Lord Jesus.  Fellow believer in Christ, do not be ashamed of the fact that you are distinct, or different.  Don't be ashamed of the gospel, and don't hide your light under a bushel.  Cherish your relationship with Jesus.  Be thankful for the character He is producing in you by means of testing and proving.  Why? Because the Christian, i.e.  the poor in spirit, the one who mourns, those who are meek and hunger and thirst after righteousness, etc.  are considered by our Lord Jesus to be BLESSED!  YES, I SAID BLESSED.  Each Beatitude begins with that word.  How does it feel to be called Blessed by the Lord Himself?  Pastor Jerry, what does blessed mean in these verses?  Ah, glad you asked.

The Greek word for blessed here, is a most wonderful word.  It was used in secular circles and carried over into the sacred, or Christian.  It means, to be happy, or to be congratulated.  But it goes a bit deeper.  "It was a word used to describe the social position of the wealthy who are, because of their wealth, above the normal cares and worries of other people."   Is there anyone reading this that has already started to shout?  Well, I have.  Listen, because of Jesus death on Calvary and my surrender to Him in repentance and faith, the Bible says I am rich!  Not in material things, but in the wealth and riches of His grace.  Listen to it:

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be [become] rich."  II Corinthians 8:9

You may not have this world's wealth, but you are rich in the grace, and mercy He has poured out upon you through His Son Jesus Christ.  This now places you and me in a position where we are now ABOVE THE NORMAL CARES AND WORRIES of those people who have no relationship with Jesus Christ.  Your position is a position of BLESSED!!  You don't need to be anxious anymore.  You don't need to worry about this virus thing anymore.  You don't need to stay awake at night and be consumed with doubt, fear, and frustration.  You are now a child of God!  It doesn't mean there will be no problems to face.  Oh, no!  But because of your wealth and riches in Jesus, your position as a child of God, you need not fear or worry.  Why?  Because the peace that passes all understanding will protect your heart and your mind through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Why my heart and my mind?  Because that's where your trouble is.  And He will keep you from fleeing your faith and keep you from running to the world for help. Somebody needs to hear this.  You've been told by the enemy that you are history.  You've gone too far!  It's over for you.  You have sinned past the point of His grace.  Listen, there is no sin He can't forgive and no bondage He can't deliver you from.  As a man/woman of godly character, you are blessed. And from that character comes conduct and out of that conduct comes influence to a lost and lonely world.  Praise Him!  You’ve only just begun!  Concentrate on letting your light shine before men, (character) that they may see your good works (conduct) and glorify your Father which is in heaven (influence).  It doesn't get any better than this!

When I was a young boy growing up, my brothers and I had a swing set in the backyard.  Surrounding that yard was a fence marking the boundaries within which we were supposed to remain.  We could play in the backyard, but we could not go outside its limits without penalty.  Many times, I tested the waters.  That didn't go well.  Lol.  I found that when I obeyed and stayed within the boundaries of my parents will, or fence, things went better.  Can I get an Amen?  Lol. So, I learned in a hurry that remaining within the confines of the fence, I didn't have to worry about the consequences of disobedience.  

God has a will for our lives.  He wants us to find that will and do it.  Where can we find this will of God?  Look no further than your Bible.  You will see that it has an Old Testament and a New Testament.  The word testament means, will, purpose, disposition.  This book, called the Bible, is just that.  I find that when I am obedient to the will of God for my life as I know it to be from His Word, my joy is greater even if my circumstances are not.  There is nothing greater than knowing I am in His will.  However, being in His will does not exempt me from trial, trouble, or tribulation.  Some would have us believe that when we get saved all is roses forevermore.  There are those in Christianity who would have you believe that if something bad happens to you, it is an indicator that you have sinned, or you have left the will of God. This is not the case in every circumstance.  Someone needs to know that.  It is true, I have made many mistakes and have taken myself out of His will with no one to blame but myself.  However, although I cannot escape the consequences of my disobedience, with repentance and tears, I find forgiveness and I can get back into His will.  Hallelujah!

Let's look at someone who was in the will of God, yet at no time was He ever out of that will.  He always remained within the boundary of His Father's purpose for His life.  That person is Jesus Christ.  What can we learn from Him?  Listen to it:

            "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil."  Matthew 4:1  

Whoa!  What did we just read?   The Lord Jesus, always in the will of God, was led by the Spirit into a wilderness; a dry desert; a place with no fast food restaurants, or cell phone reception, or ATM machines.  We just mentioned above that at no time was Jesus ever outside the confines of His Father's will.  Yet, here he is in a wilderness; a dry, dark time of His life.  I hope you can see what I see.  Do you?  Let's dig into this a bit more.  Perhaps we can learn some valuable lessons that will unlock and unravel some of the confusion that surrounds us from time to time regarding His will and the trials we are now facing.

As we begin, we will equate the wilderness with trial, storms, trouble, darkness, or tribulation.  So, what do I learn?

            I.   The Wilderness is Inevitable
            II.  The Wilderness is not Accidental
            III. The Wilderness is always Profitable

Let's take the first one.  "The Wilderness is Inevitable."   Jesus said:

"In this life you will have tribulation." John 16:33

That’s clear.  Listen to this:

            "Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake." Matthew 5:11

Notice, He didn't say IF, but He said WHEN.  It is something that happens to every Christian from time to time.  You will suffer loneliness, misunderstanding, and just plain hatred for being a follower of Jesus.  Hey, Jesus experienced the same.  The scripture says that the servant is not above his master.  In the book of Acts chapter 16 we read that Paul and Silas were put in prison.  Why were they there?  Well, the Bible tells us that a demon possessed girl had been following them around for a few days and after some time, Paul, by the Holy Spirit, discerned her condition and cast out the demon.  A great day for the girl, right?  Absolutely.  However, this girl had brought in a lot of money for the people to whom she was a slave.  This didn't go over too well with them because the money she brought in by her fortune telling, was gone.

            "And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and brought them to the magistrates…and when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely."  Acts 16:19, 23

So, here are Paul and Silas in a prison cell.  Why were they in this cell?  Was it because they did something wrong?  The answer is no.  They were in this position because they did something right!  You may be in a predicament right now, not because you did anything wrong.  It may be that you are facing this storm or wilderness because you remained within the boundaries of the will of God for your life.  Jesus was in the wilderness and He was always in the will of His Father.  So, this lets me know that one can be in the wilderness, storm, trial, or darkness and be IN the will of God!  But, you ask, what good is that?  Great question.  Listen to the writer of the book of Acts:

"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them."
 
Wow!  Now that’s fantastic!  The prisoners heard them!  Did you see that?  Listen, you may be going through this experience because there are others who need to hear you pray, and praise, and sing despite the mess you're in.  You may be in the hospital for someone else's benefit besides your own!  Praise God!  I'm feeling better already.  I'm feeling like I have a purpose.  I'm starting to see that God can trust me to go through the wilderness without whining and complaining and feeling like God has abandoned me.  Isn't it about time that the Lord has some people He can count on?  It's not a sin to go through a rough wilderness.  It's not a sin to be going through a darkness experience from time to time.  Listen to these words:

            "Who is there among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of his servant, yet walks in darkness and has no light?  Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God." Isaiah 50:10

There it is.  You fear the Lord.  You obey His voice. But darkness has invaded your life through various trials.  What do you do?  You trust in the name of the Lord!  You stay upon your God!  Stay means rely.  Rely upon your God.  So, here we see that it is something that happens to those who are walking in obedience.  This is for someone today.  Though you may be in the dark, the dark does not need to be in you.  In fact, God is in your darkness.  He is?  Listen to the scriptures:

            "And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was."  Exodus 20:21

Where God was!  God is in your darkness!  Even Moses knew that darkness was not the end of things.  In fact, he found that it's in the darkness you will experience a new dimension of God's presence that you couldn't get anywhere else.  There are things you will see in the dark, experience in the dark, that you could never see or experience in the light.  Listen, my dear fellow believer, GOD IS THERE IN YOUR DARKNESS!  We sing a song in our church the words of which are these:

            "When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace.  In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.  On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."

Hallelujah!  I do not fear the dark like I used to.  I do not fear the wilderness as I used to.  I am learning to see that it's in those times He shows me who He is in a greater way than if I had remained in the sunshine!  Let me ask you a question.  Are the stars in the sky out in the daytime?  Yes.  But you can't see them.  Why?  Because it's not dark enough!  Woo!  Somebody needs to shout!  There are things to be discovered in the darkness.  Listen to it:

            "And I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, which call you by your name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3

So, what are some of the treasures you will find in the darkness?  I give you three.

            "What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light." Matthew 10:27

            1. What I TELL you... Jesus has something to say to you in the dark.  It's in the dark times, the place of dry wilderness, where we need to be the most attentive.  Get ready, He is about to share something with you.  Don't miss it by whining and complaining and murmuring.
            2. That speak ye in LIGht... You are coming out of this!  It's temporary.  It will not last forever.
            3.  That SPEAK ye in light... you are going to live to tell about it.  You will have something to say after He has something to say.  That's always the way it seems to happen.  In the darkness you will get a word to keep you going, to keep you walking, to keep you rejoicing.
So, the wilderness is inevitable.  It comes to those who are living within the boundaries of the will of God as they know it to be.

Now, the second one.  "The Wilderness is not Accidental".

            "All things work together for good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."  Roman 8:28

It's the providence of God!  What is the providence of God?  It is the act of God whereby He works all events to fulfill His purpose.  Hallelujah!  It's what happened to Joseph in the Old Testament. He had been sold into Egypt as a slave by his brothers who disliked him.  In the end, Joseph became a ruler in the land of Egypt.  Listen to it:

            "And his brothers fell down before his face, and they said, behold, we are thy servants…but Joseph said, you thought to do me evil, but God meant it for good." 
Genesis 50:18-20

Jesus was led by the Spirit.  And when God is leading us, nothing is seen as outside His control.  He will use the bad to work the good.  He will cause the attack of the devil to backfire and God will receive glory.  What the devil means for evil, God will use it for good!
There was an evangelist named George Young.  He and his wife traveled and preached in the early 1900's.  The townspeople where he lived did not like George because of his straightforward preaching of the gospel.  Nevertheless, George and his wife continued to follow the will of the Lord in bringing the gospel to those who would listen.  After some time, George and his wife decided to build their first house.  The day finally came when it was finished.  They moved in and were quite content.  Soon after moving in, they were scheduled to preach a week of meetings in another city.   They returned home to discover that the townspeople had burned down their newly built home.  They were devastated.  But they did not lose hope, nor did they seek revenge.  As George sat down in the middle of the burned remains these words came to him:
            "Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood.  Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song, in the night season and all the day long."
 
HALLELUJAH!
The title of that song is "God Leads Us Along".  I wish I could sing it for you.  But let me give some of the verses of the song.  I want to show you that even though you have had it rough lately, or you were accused unjustly, or perhaps you were misunderstood, or just disliked for the stand you took for the Lord,  nothing is accidental when you remain inside the fence.  Listen to it and think of how George felt:
            "Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads His dear children along; Sometimes in the valley, in the darkest of night, God leads His dear children along.
            Though sorrows befall us, and Satan oppose, God leads His dear children along; Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads His dear children along."

Well, praise the Lord!  Did you notice the word darkness in there? Valley? Sorrow?  Then did you notice the words grace, and conquer?  How could George write this kind of song after seeing what those people did to him and his wife?  He saw trial, wilderness, and darkness through the eyes of God!  He had to sit down and get alone with God and begin to see how God sees.  He saw that the servant is not above his master.  He saw that God loves the ones who did this to him and that out of tragedy comes, joy.  Out of sorrow, hope.  Out of evil, good.  Instead of lashing outward at people, look upward to the Lord.  You, too, will come out of your tragedy singing:

"Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood.  Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song, in the night season and all the day long."
 
Yes, nothing is accidental.
           
Let's look at the final one.  "The Wilderness is always Profitable."
I am learning that when I remain in His will as I know it to be for my life, not only do I see the wilderness was not accidental, but I benefited greatly from it.  Let's look at some of the ways in which we can profit.  When I stay inside the fence, I experience these four things:

1. I am Sustained.
2. I am Successful.
3. I am Secure.
4. I am Safe.

1. Sustained.  In the wilderness, after 40 days of fasting, the devil came to Jesus.  He said to Him,

"If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.  But Jesus said, It is written, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."   Matthew 4:2-4

What is the "word that proceeds out of the mouth of God"?  Is not His Word His Will?  Yes!  This book is His will and testament!  What was Jesus saying to the devil?  He was letting him know that he would rather be hungry and IN THE WILL OF GOD, than to have His stomach full yet OUT OF THE WILL OF GOD.  The spiritual profit is greater than the material any day!  It seems the church world is far too focused on the material these days.  We need to get back to what really feeds us.  Let's get back to the thing that really sustains us.  His Will!   Amen!  There are times when I concentrate too much on the material that I forget the spiritual.  I forget that His plan is more important than my plan.  But when I do His will, He takes care of the rest.  When I focus on the spiritual, He takes care of the material.  Listen to this.

            "In the meantime, his disciples came and gave him some food, saying, Master, eat.  But he said to them, I have meat to eat that you know nothing about.  Therefore, the disciples said to one another, Has any man brought him something to eat?  Jesus said to them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work."  John 4:31-34

Isn't that the greatest thing you've ever heard?  What was Jesus saying?  He was telling them that what fed him; what sustained him; what kept him going, was not the material, but the spiritual.  What fed Jesus?  What sustained Jesus?  What is it that will feed you?  Sustain you?  Yes!  The will of God!  Jesus was witnessing to a woman caught in sin.  He was doing the will of God.   And as he remained doing so, the material got lost in the spiritual.  He didn't need a hamburger and fries, i.e. the material.  He had something better.  Did you get that?  As you and I stay inside the fence, doing His will, food or rather, the material, takes a second place.  Things of this world do not feed us.  They do not sustain us.  They will never satisfy.  How many times has the spiritual been lost in my preoccupation with earthly things?

            "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 
2 Corinthians 4:18
           
2.  Successful.  I will be successful.  Really?  Yes.  In what way?  Ah, that's a good question.  How do people these days define success?  Well, in the church world, they define it by how many people are coming to the services.  They measure success by how much money came in the offering, or by the size of the building program.  However, that is not how the Lord measures success.  Clearly, success is measured by whether I am IN THE WILL OF GOD.  I see that in the life of my Savior.  He was in God's will every moment.  Yet it appeared to many that He wasn't.  I mean, after all, He died a criminal's death.  While He hung there in agony, those standing by said, "He saved others, himself he cannot save." According to man's standard, Jesus would be considered a failure.  The Bible says they all forsook Him and fled.  He was not the only one, however.  Jeremiah the prophet preached for forty years and no one listened.  Noah preached for 120 years and the only ones to get on the Ark were his family.  Was Noah a failure?  According to the standard of man, yes.  According to the standard of God, no!  God told Noah to build the Ark.  He did just that.  He obeyed.  He didn't walk outside the boundaries of God's will.  He stayed inside the fence.  And if you are doing what the Lord commanded, you too, are a success. Why? Because you are doing and being what God has called you to do and be.  It matters not what man's opinion is.  My pastor told me years ago that he would rather have the smile of God's approval and the frowns of men, than to have the smiles of men's approval and the frowns of God.  That is good advice.

3.  Secure.   As we persevere to abide within the boundaries of His will, we experience a security in Christ which no thief can break through and steal.  I do know some insecurity lies in all of us just because we are made of flesh.  But it's knowing I am living within the borders of His intended purpose for my life that I do not fear.  Sometimes people fear for their positions at work, or in ministry, or perhaps even in the home.  Husbands feel like they are in competition with the kids for the love and affection of their wives and vice versa.  Pastors feel like they are competing with other ministers and ministries.  We must admit that we suffer sometimes from a virus of insecurity.

I am reminded of Moses after he led the Israelites out of Egypt.  They were about to go in to the promised land, but after hearing the negative report of the spies decided the plan was too risky.  Angry with Moses and Aaron for bringing them into such a desolate situation, they decided to stone the two brothers, choose a new leader, and return to Egypt.  All well and good, but they didn't take into consideration that Moses was God's appointed leader.  What will Moses do?  Somebody wanted his job!  Instead of defending himself, he took it to the Lord.  That's what we should do.  The Lord speaks to Moses and declares these people are no longer His people.  He will wipe them out and start over again!  Whoa!  Oh, Christian, see how God defends His own?  Think about that for a moment.  God will take care of you!  The Bible says God  "puts one down and sets up another."  Don't fear for your position.  Don't worry about the promotion.  If God doesn't want you to have it, why would you want what God doesn't want?  You don't need to shift to survival mode and become defensive.  Leave it in the hands of the Lord.  I'm talking to someone right now.  Find your security in the will of God.  Period.

4.  Safe. That's a big word these days.  We hear a lot about safety first.  There's safety in numbers.  Better safe than sorry.  However, stepping outside the perimeters of His divine intention can jeopardize our spiritual, even physical safety.  The safest place is in the will of God.  It was safer for Christ to be hungry and in the will of God.  It is safer to have one car and be in His will, than to have two cars and be out of his will.  Staying in the will of God brings ultimate satisfaction.  You may miss a few meals and drive an older car, but you will be happy.
Safety and comfort are not synonymous.  You can be comfortable, yet not safe.  Noah was in a boat that smelled and was uncomfortable.  Despite the conditions inside the ark, the alternative was far worse.  The cross upon which Jesus died, was most uncomfortable, yet it was the will of God. And Jesus was safe in the arms of His Father.  Are we not thankful that Jesus stayed within the boundary of His Father’s will?

Brother or Sister in Christ pursue the will of God.  Establish yourself in it. Keep your eyes on Him who is invisible. Hey, how can I expect Him to reveal His will and guide me in all my ways if I hide sin in my heart?  How can I know His plan for me if I refuse to walk in the light of His Word that I hold in my hand?  The things that derail guidance are often not the big obvious things but the small trivial matters of the heart.  The Psalmist declares:

            "Cleanse thou me from secret faults.  Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright and innocent from the great transgression."  Psalm 19:12-13

My friend, if you have wandered away from the will of God, you need not stay outside the fence.  There is no need for you to remain one minute longer in this frustrated condition.  God can take up where you walked out!  He can make all things new.  He can restore all the years the locust has eaten.  Don't allow that nasty grasshopper of disobedience to eat up your joy, your peace, and your assurance any longer.  Give yourself up!  Get back to the cross and the blood.  He will never forsake you and you will get up from your time with Him a stronger more determined man or woman of God.  If you've stepped outside the boundary, repent and say, Lord, I've stepped outside your will.  I ask you to forgive me, and today, I place myself back in your will.  Then thank Him for it, walk on, and go to the hardware store and buy a lock for the gate that is in the fence!

Today, I want to look at the first three verses of Psalm 1.  What a powerful Psalm.  It is the first of 150 Psalms that give us a look into "How Do the Righteous Worship."  Listen to the words:


This is describing the righteous man, the righteous woman.  He is describing the godly person in contrast to the ungodly person.  The ungodly are described in verses 4-6 while the godly are portrayed in verses 1-3.  He says that the righteous man, the godly man is the blessed man!

Did you know that when you became a born-again Christian you immediately fell into this category?  Wow!  I am blessed!  Ephesians chapter one tells us that we are blessed.  It says that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus in heavenly places.  One can only truly be blessed when they are IN CHRIST JESUS.  What does blessed mean in Psalm 1?

It can be translated as happy.  Happy is the man...  It comes from a primitive Hebrew word meaning to be straight.  To walk straight.  The New Testament tells us that "straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life."  The straight walk is a narrow walk.  Straight carries the idea of limits, or boundaries.  Notice in Psalm one it says, "Blessed is the man who walks NOT, stands NOT, sits NOT."  Do you see limitation?  Do you see boundaries?  He is a man who is careful who He walks with, stands with and sits with.  That calls for discretion and choices and boundaries.  He is a man who has set limits on his behavior and the company he keeps.  This does not mean that we must exit the public arena and live in a cave.  We don't become monks or hermits.  No.  But we must remember that while we are IN this world we are not OF this world.  So, the blessed man/woman is known not only by what he/she DOES, but by what he/she does NOT.  The blessed man is happy and lives a life of meaning and purpose.  Let's go a bit further.

Why is the blessed man happy?  Well, it makes sense that he or she would be happy simply because they are living a life of meaning and purpose!  Before you were saved, life was mere existence.  No purpose, no meaning, no joy, no real fulfillment.  Think of this.  Have you ever played a game of basketball with some friends or even on an organized team?  What makes the game meaningful?  What gives it order, and purpose?  What makes it a fun game to play?  I remember in High School we played basketball in Gym class with the guys.  The teacher would say: "Today, we are going to play without rules!"  He called it "Cowboy Basketball".  Anything goes!  NO rules!  This was not to my liking.  Why?  Because everybody did what they wanted to do!  They would scratch, claw, jab, ride on your back, knock you down, and carry the ball instead of dribbling the ball. There was no "out of bounds".   It reminds me of the verse in the book of Judges the last chapter the last verse where it says: "There was no King in Israel and every man did that which was right in his own eyes".  There was no right or wrong.  Each person was a law unto himself.  Well, this is what happens when there are no rules.  But when there are guidelines and a referee to call the game it becomes meaningful.  The rules of the game bring purpose and meaning to the game and it is a joy to be a part.  When a child has no limits, or no boundaries they can become self-centered, manipulative and disrespectful of authority not to mention just plain unhappy.  I have experienced also that children brought up with boundaries and rules in accordance with love are better adjusted and happy.  I know, for I was one of those children.  I didn't like my parent's rules at times, but one thing I knew; they loved me.  When I was a youth pastor many years ago, teens would come into my office crying in shame for the life they were living.  They often told me they had no boundaries.  They could come home anytime they wanted, and their parents had no regard for their arriving late or not at all.  They felt their parents didn't love them.  I asked them if they wished they had limits, or boundaries.  The answer was yes.  The same is true with a Christian.  As we live within the boundaries of His Word, we experience freedom, joy, true blessing and happiness.  Listen to the what the scripture says:

"Where there is no vision, the people perish, but He that keeps the law, happy is he."  Proverbs 29:18

This is a most powerful verse of scripture to help us see the importance of the Word of God in our lives as Christians.  Let's look at this word VISION.  In the Hebrew text this word vision means "word".  In I Samuel chapter 3 verse 1 it says:

              "The word of the Lord was precious (rare) in those days, there was no open vision."  

There it is.  Vision.  The word of the Lord was a rare commodity back then. There was no open word.  Let's quote Proverbs again substituting "word" for "vision".

              "Where there is no word the people perish…"

Now, let's take the word "perish".  What is the meaning of this word?  Perish in the Hebrew means to cast off restraint.  It means to dissolve.  It means to lose that which holds something together.  One could say to come unglued.  So, we have:

              "Where there is no word from God, the people cast off restraint."

Wow!  How cool is this?  So, what restrains us?  What keeps us from coming unglued?  Yes, you are right!  The Word of God.  Listen to the scripture:

              "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."  Psalm 119:11

I can see that His Word keeps us in bounds.  It is His Word that helps keep us from sin.  His Word will let us know when we are out of bounds.  Now, let's remind ourselves of the whole verse in Proverbs 29:18

              "Where there is no word from God, the people cast off restraint, but He that keeps the law (word) HAPPY IS HE!"  (emphasis mine)

Can you see blessing? Can you see happiness?  The blessed life is the life that is lived within the boundaries of His Word.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.  By contrast, a life lived in rebellion to His Word always ends up meaningless, empty, unhappy and yes, without God and without hope.  I know I keep saying this, but it is something that cannot be overemphasized.  I am the happiest when I am living within the boundaries of His will for my life as I know it to be in His Word.  So, what are the conditions for this happy, blessed life that we are to live?  They fall into two categories.  One is negative and the other positive.  The first one is stated in the first verse.

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful."

Some just do not like the negative.  However, it is sometimes very necessary to know what something is NOT in order to get a better understanding of what something IS.

So, the blessed man is someone who does NOT walk, stand or sit with certain types of individuals.  

• The man who walks is moving.  He is going in a certain direction.  In this case, he is walking in the counsel of the ungodly.  Let's call it, OTHER'S COUNSEL.
• The man who is standing has stopped moving.  He is pondering and listening.  In this case, he is standing in the way of sinners.  Let's call this, OTHER'S CONDUCT.
• The man who is sitting has stopped walking and standing, and has now taken a more permanent, fixed position of disdain.  Let's call this, OTHER'S CONTEMPT.

Can you see a downward motion in their behavior?  It begins with walking in the counsel of those who do not take God into account.  Counsel here is purpose, will, desire, or resolve.  We are not to walk in the purpose, or plan or desires of the ungodly.  If continued in, there will be a time when we cease to walk and begin to stand in the way of sinners.  This is a further step downward.  It has gone from counsel to conduct.  Refuse to go in the direction of the ungodly and refuse also to go from thoughts to practice.  Sin starts in the mind.   As this progression continues, having gone from counsel to conduct, the person then takes the third downward step.  He or she sits in the seat of the scornful. From counsel to conduct to contempt.  Whoa!  This has gone from bad to worse!  Scorn is to mock, deride, make sport, and to treat with disinterest.  He or she now smiles at the things that used to convict him.  The faith of his mother is now something he looks at as just an over zealousness; being out of touch with the real world.  There was a time when they used to commend their mother's faith, but now, they just pour contempt upon it.

Lord, thank you for opening my spiritual eyes to see the greatness of your love and forgiving power through the blood of Jesus!

Ah, but now, the positive condition of the blessed man.  What is it?  Look at verse two of Psalm one.

    "But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law does he meditate day and night."         

This condition is twofold.  The first is that he or she delights in the law of the Lord.  The second is that he or she meditates in that law day and night.  What is delighting in the Word of the Lord?  Good question.  One dictionary says, to be soft, pliable.  Another from a Hebrew dictionary explains it this way. "The primary meaning seems to be, to bend; to bend towards; and applied to the will, it implies entire and full inclination towards an object or person; to will anything, is to purpose that in the doing of which he shall find pleasure."  Whoa!  How cool is this?  To bend toward.  In the bending we find a distinct joy and pleasure for we are bending to His will and not ours!  Listen to it: "But his delight is in the law of the Lord…"  His bending is towards the law of the Lord.  Lord, may we prefer this Book over other books for in our bending towards you, we find the greatest pleasure and delight.  Christian, the best way to be shaped and conformed into His image is to have the right attitude towards His Word.  Let it form your convictions and boundaries for your life.  Lean in towards His Word and allow it to adjust you, shape you and then the initiative for your actions in life will change.  He will take the initiative, not you.  When that happens, you don't get ahead of God and do something foolish like Abraham did.  What did Abraham do?  He was told he was going to have a son in his old age with Sarah, his wife.  When it didn't happen, he took matters into his own hands.  Have you ever done that?   The result was the birth of Ishmael.  Abraham got ahead of God and acted on his own initiative.
Listen to these verses about delighting.

• Psalm 112:1 "Blessed is the man who delights greatly in His commandments."
• Psalm 119:35  "Make me walk in thy commands, for in them, I delight."
• Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Something to think about.  Maybe our desires would be more in tune with the Lord's if we were more flexible, and bendable to His Word and His will.   Maybe this is a reason why our desires are not being granted or fulfilled.  When was the last time you complained that the Lord never gives you what you wanted, or desired?  Perhaps it's not God at all who is to blame.  Maybe it's me.  Ever thought of that?  Maybe I haven’t been as "delighting" in His law as I should.  If I'm not bending to His will, why is it a surprise that joy, pleasure, true delight and the desires of my heart are evading me?  It's my attitude towards God that is hindering the guiding hand of God!  My pastor shared the following words with me over 30 years ago and I never forgot them.  He said, "The attitude of your heart towards God establishes the basis of guidance from God."  What powerful words.  What has been your attitude towards God?  Do you delight in His Word, or do you grumble at His Word?  I used to grumble at it.  Really.  I still have issues sometimes.  But my heart's desire is to bend.  My heart's cry is, Lord, create in me a clean heart.  He knows our weaknesses.  We must admit them to the Savior.  He sees the attitude of my heart.  Yet, He wants ME to see it, also.  Then, I can go forward.  His guidance will become clearer and clearer day by day.  Be patient with the Lord.  Don't hurry Him.  To hurry Him is find fault with Him.  We all want the Lord to guide us.  We cry out to Him for it.  We say, "Lord, what is your will for my life?"  I hear Him saying to me, "Your delight should be in the law of the Lord."  "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."  He will GIVE you the desires of your heart.  He will give you desires that blend with His, mesh with His and then your will and His will be on the same page.  Hallelujah!  Don"t start with you and your problems.  Start with God! Ask Him to help you delight in His Word.  Start there.  Watch the transformation.

"And in His law does he meditate day and night." 

Meditate.  What does this mean?  A person who is bending and willing for the Word to impact their life is a person who gives due consideration to this act of meditating on His Word.  Notice I said meditating on HIS WORD.  Meditate means to think.  To muse is another word.  Have you ever gone to an amusement park like Six Flags, or Cedar Point, or Disney World?  They have roller coasters and rides of every sort.  Why are they called "amusement" parks?  Because it's a place where you do not have to think! A-Musement.  The letter "A" makes the word negative.  It means "no-thinking".  It's fun!  You put your mind on hold for the day and have a great time!  I love amusement parks!  But when it's over, I go back to the work a day world.  I must return to the humdrum routine of life.  And my problems are still causing me grief and worry.  I can say, however, that it is much better to "think" on His Word.  To meditate on the scriptures is to roll over and over in my heart and mind what His Word says.  Another word to describe this is "ruminating".  What is ruminating?  It is what a cow does when it eats.  It chews the cud!  Ah, now we're getting somewhere!  When a cow chews the cud it eats, swallows, regurgitates, and then does it again and again.  The cow is continually absorbing or sucking the nutrients out of the grass it is eating time and time again so it can receive as much benefit out of the food as possible.  Wow.  This is great!  THAT'S what you do when you meditate on His Word!  Oh, somebody needs to say, AMEN!  Start now to do this and you will find yourself on the receiving end of this most fantastic experience.

Well, what is that, you ask?  Listen to it.  Here is what you can expect.

              "And he shall be like a tree planted by the river of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Can you see it?  Look at it.  He shall be:

1. A planted tree - Like a tree planted
2. A stable tree - By the river of water
3. A useful tree - Brings forth fruit
4. A consistent tree - Leaf does not wither
5. A prosperous tree - Whatsoever He does shall prosper

He compares you and me to a tree!  A tree is a living organism.  It grows and develops.  You and I are expected to grow and develop.  When you were born again, you began a journey called eternal life in Jesus.  When a baby is born, they grow!  Right?  A blessed man is a growing man.  A blessed woman is one who is growing in grace and developing into a tree that is stable, useful, consistent, and prosperous.  Ah, prosperous!  This is a most exciting term for a lot of people.  Who doesn't want to prosper?  As we bring this to a conclusion, we will look at the prosperity of this blessed individual.

How does this read in the Hebrew text?  Why is it important to know this?  Because there are many who can get a wrong idea of this prosperity.  They immediately, as would be obvious, think that prosperity means cash, money, things.  Not only that, but when one knows of what the psalmist is intending for us, it opens the floodgates of understanding and causes one to stand up and rejoice!  Really!  You need this!  I need this!  Why?  I am talking to someone who has been questioning God's goodness. Asking why they are in this predicament, or trouble or situation.  You are wondering why; asking how long, and it's causing you to become bitter, impatient and discouraged.  The devil is telling you to quit this whole thing.  It's not worth all the sorrow, the pain and price.  But I'm telling you to hold on!  The psalmist is telling you to keep delighting, keep meditating, keep walking in the straight path.  The psalmist is encouraging you to hang on to your blessing!  Don't allow the enemy to sabotage your salvation and talk you into giving up on the Lord!  The Lord didn't cause this trial in your life, but He is using it for HIS GLORY and YOUR GOOD!  Don't forget that.  Have you ever thought the reason you may be going through this as a believer is because the Devil knows you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you are a new creature in Christ, and now there is something about you the Devil is worried about?  Hallelujah!  This is for YOU!

Listen to it: "And whatsoever he doeth, shall prosper."

First, the word prosper means, "to be brought to a good conclusion".  Whoa!  Did you see that?  It means to "make it to the journeys end".  Wow!  Say what?  It carries the idea of arriving at your destination all in one piece.  In the Hebrew text, the phrase is best said this way:

             
I can say this is good news!  What do I mean?  Look at what it does NOT say.  It does not say, "And whatsoever he does shall prosper".  That's not always true, is it?  No.  It says, "In whatsoever he does, he himself shall prosper."   This is a totally different thing.  The man who delights in God's Word, who bends to it, meditates on it and walks not, stands not, and sits not is the man who shall be brought to a good conclusion of things and arrive there in one piece!  So, in the end, it's not whether you succeed in the world's eyes or fail; it's the man or the woman you have become in the process!  Your success is not found in what people think of you, but in what God thinks of you.  Your success is not to be found in whether you are rich or have had no troubles or trials in this life.  Success is to be determined by whether you are in His will, being a vessel of honor for His glory.  This gives us a perspective on life that will keep us in perfect peace.  This enables us to have the attitude of whatever happens, good or bad, yes or no, up or down, we will make it to the journey's end and be able to stand before the King of Kings not having my own righteousness, but HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  And you will be able to say that in all my journey in this life; with all the troubles and trials I have had to endure; with all the devil has tried to throw at me, I'M STILL HERE!  I'M STILL SERVING THE LORD!  And what the devil meant for evil in my life, God meant for good!  You yourself have prospered.  The providence of God is working in your life.  The providence of God is that act of God whereby He works ALL events to fulfill His purpose.  Good events and not so good.  Amen!  You may not have any money, but that's ok.  You may not look successful, but that's ok.  You have a treasure that goes beyond what money can buy.  II Corinthians 4:7 says: