Isaiah 30 - God's will

God’s Will

How to know God’s will – After the fact.

Walking by faith – Sometimes the “Faith” part of our walking with the Lord is to use the tools God has given us (education, wisdom, knowledge, common sense, etc.) to decide on a given course of action.

Hannibal Smith – A Team -Have you ever heard the saying, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will confirm to us that we have made the right decision in a very special way.

There are a couple of scriptures where we can see how God confirms the rightness of obedience after the fact. Let’s look at those this morning:

Exodus 3:10-12

¹⁰ Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

Two Promises: I will be with you; I will give you a sign

How did giving Moses a sign after he obeyed the command help Moses?

Have you ever had a situation where you were sure you did what God wanted – but only after the dust had settled?

Isaiah 30:19-22

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ²² Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”

Passage written for Judah, and speaks prophetically about Christ’s coming and the work of the Holy Spirit. The OT context for this passage is Isaiah telling Judah they would be punished for worshipping Idols, they would then turn back to God and he would hear and answer them.

God has not changed. He sometimes molds us and allows us to grow in our reliance on him through adversity.

Do we look at adversity and affliction as bread and water?

How can adversity help us to hear that voice saying “This is the way; walk in it.”?

Psalm 127 Prosperity

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.
² It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors;

For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

What does it mean for the Lord to build the house?

Solomon talked about Vanity in Ecclesiastes.

2:12-17 Wisdom is vanity

2:18-23 Work is vanity

5:10-11 Being rich is vanity

Ultimately he says in Ecclesiastes (12:13) Fear God and keep his commandments.

Children

Blessing and a responsibility

³ Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Blessing

Tim speaking at Graduation Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Responsibility

How do the blessings and responsibilities of being a parent impact you?

How can fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood be a blessing?

Psalm 73 Good things/Bad people

Why do bad things happen to good people?

1.       No one is good, except God. Mark 10:18

2.       We are all sinners.

3.       Prosperity, good health, good relationships, are all results of obedience to God – Wrong!

Sometimes bad things happen as a consequence to sin or unwise choices.

Sometimes things happen that seem bad, but are not really bad when you look at the long view.

Sometimes we walk through difficult circumstances so that God can be Glorified.

John 9. Read 1-9.

Was it mean for God to make this man bear blindness for many years, just so that He could cause a controversy with the Jews?

V13-41 Read

Jesus used this encounter to give sight to the blind man and force the Pharisees to see who He was.

They chose not to acknowledge his Deity.

How do we handle the “bad things” that come our way?

1.       Is it the result of sin? Is God punishing us?

2.       Is this something that God us using to bring Glory to Himself?

a.       Yes – recognize it

b.      Not sure – Trust in His goodness Mark 10:18.

Psalm 34 - David in despair

Have you ever heard of the saying, Praise your way out of despair?

1 Samuel 16:7-13 – David Anointed to be King.

What do you think was going through David’s mind during that ceremony?

How do you think he visualized his ascent to the throne?

1 Samuel 17:41-54 David Kills Goliath

VICTORY! How do you think this event fit into David’s idea of how he would become king?

Was he saying, “I love it when a plan comes together”.

1 Samuel 18:20-30 David Marries Michal, Saul’s Daughter

One more step in the process. Marrying the King’s daughter. Not only that – she loved him.
David then goes through a long series of events – 15 years worth – where he flees Saul. He comes back, then leaves, multiple times. His ascent to the throne of Israel is looking pretty shaky. He goes through trial after trial. The passage below is one of the lowest of the low points.

1 Samuel 21:10-end and 22:1-2.- The bottom falls out – David flees Saul.

This is about the time David writes Psalm 34. He is in the pit of trouble. For many of us, despair would beat us down to a pulp. Let’s read this Psalm.

Psalm 34.

·         It is an acrostic with all but the last verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

·         V7 The angel of the Lord – the Pre-incarnate Christ. Camping around those who fear Him.

o   HA - Card

 Does praising God in time of trouble help? Why? How?

What do these verses claim that God can and will do?

·         Interesting side note: senses used

V5  looked

V8 Taste

11 Listen

V12 see

V13 tounge (taste) Speaking (hearing)

V15 eyes of the lord, ears open

Psalm 23

David pictures the Lord in the role of shepherd. What did the ancient shepherd do?

Is there a modern equivalent to the shepherd for us?

Like many of the Psalms, David is praying in a way that acknowledges God’s goodness, regardless of his current circumstances. This is the perfect prayer to pray when we are nowhere near green pastures or quiet waters. This prayer helps to remind us that God is loving, caring, and generous even when our circumstances would shout otherwise in our ear.

Verbs – V2,3

Makes me lie down

Leads me

Restores

Guides

V6. We can be sure of God’s love for us.

How can we experience the certainty of dweling in the house of the Lord forever?

Psalm 3 - David's debacle

David, although he was a man after God’s own heart, made some bad decisions and fell short of being all that he could have been. Today we are going to work through some of the events that let up to his writing Psalm 3.

2 Samuel 13

The Story of Amnon and Tamar – 1-13 Amnon concocted a scheme to get alone with Tamar, then raped her.

²¹ Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.

                What does this verse say about how David handled this situation?

                What happens in a bad situation when anger is added to the mix?

                What had David done to influence Amnon? Absalom?

24- 39 Absalom found out about it formulated a plan to kill Amnon

³⁷ Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸ So Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹ The heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.

Chapter 14 – 1-20 a long and complicated story about how Absalom was banished, followed by V21

²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I will surely do this thing; go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”

Read 14:25-33 Absalom and David Make up.

Read 15:1-18 Absalom steals the hearts of Israel, and a coup ensues.

Talk about a messed up situation.

1)David is one of the most revered people in the Bible, but he had some serious character flaws.

                Why do you think he had such trouble with his children? Was it just bad luck?

2)One reason that David is so revered is because he was human and made mistakes like we do, but David knew enough to turn to God when time got rough.

Read Psalm 3 (Silently)

What is David expecting from the Lord at this tragic time in his life?

What experience has David had that allows him to pray V7?

What can we expect from God when we face trouble?

What about even trouble that we bring upon ourselves?

Psalm 1 - God's word as a priority

Psalm 1 ALL Read it.

Something that troubles me is to see people who attend church for 10 or 20 years, give, sing, fellowship, and otherwise seem to be nice people – suddenly turn away from all that they previously claimed to hold dear to pursue some other way of life. Sometimes leaving their wife or husband, children, and church to live a completely different lifestyle.

This type of action make me wonder, “Did the preacher’s sermons make any impact? Did the CG or Sunday School teacher make any impact? How did this person start down a path of rebellion?

I am convinced that people who make that kind of drastic life change, didn’t come to the decision overnight, but over a longer time. I also feel strongly that Preachers and SS teachers can only go so far, but as Psalm 1 teaches us, “Meditating on God’s law” consistently leads to blessings that ONLY God can give. I also think that ignoring God’s law, as revealed in His word, is a recipe for disaster in any life.

So, as a CG leader, one of the most important things I can do is to try to point everyone, including myself, in the direction of the Bible. That is where God is going to speak to you and to me.

Today, I want to go through some practical and useful ideas on how to be consistent in meditating on His law.

1)      What are some of the most common excuses for Christians NOT spending time reading and studying the Bible?

a.       I don’t have time.

b.      There are other things I have to do (Work, School, that take all my energy)

c.       I get enough Bible at church

2)       How can you get into the habit of daily Bible reading?

a.       One Year Bible

b.      Use a good translation for you

c.       Quiet place, regular time

d.      Pray before reading – Ask God to help you understand

e.      Talk about what you read! Husband, wife, friend, co-workers

f.        Add it to your calendar or todo list

g.       Change it up if it is not working!

h.      Technology – iPad, iPhone, Tablet, Computer

Bottom line – It has to be important to you.

                Your priorities will eventually triumph. Is God’s word a priority for you?