How to plow the heart?

Who brings the seed?

It’s not the preacher or believer –

It’s the Holy Spirit

You & I got the privilege to plow the heart.
When the heart is plow and prepared – then ‘Holy Spirit’ will bring the seed.

No one can bring/give people to Salvation. We cannot bring anyone to Salvation.
It’s only the Holy Spirit that brings to conviction & Salvation.

We should plow the heart and get them prepared and ready for the Holy Spirit to put the seed – deep down the heart.

Acts 2:37 (ESV)

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter could have preached that we will heal you – make you walk, etc
But he did not preach that way – he preached about their sins, sin of their father, fore-fathers. He said you killed ‘Jesus Christ’, You’ve killed the Messiah…Then, they were pricked in their heart

This is not the time to take the advantage of the difficulties of the people, not the time to test the emotions. But it is the time to test the conscience of the people – word should go straight to the conscious . Preaching should not be to whip up the emotions but it should go to the conscience. Then only the seed will come. Otherwise they will get some compassion.

How to plow/ prick the heart.

Numbers 32:23 (ESV)

23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Here the word says that your sin will find you out. You might sin and find the pleasure for a while… But one day your sin will catch you one day.

When a fisher man goes for fishing, he puts the food at the end of this fishing rod. The fish will enjoy the food for a while but the rod will then catch you and fisher man takes you out. Similarly you sin for a while and enjoy it for a while. And then your sin will one day catch you.

Ecclesiastes 8:11  (ESV)

11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.

You can see above verse that God will not immediately punish people for the sins. He will give opportunity & time to come out of the sin. Since God is not speedily punishing people for the sins – so the people carry on continuing to do more sins.

When someone did theft for the first time they were not caught, so they continue to do the theft.
When someone first bribed, they were not caught so they continue to do it again.
When someone first did adultery they were not caught so they continue to do it again and again.

Why God is not punishing immediately. Because God by His mercy gives opportunities over opportunities to rectify and correct the sins. If He starts punishing then there will be no one living. He gives opportunities over opportunities. It doesn’t mean that HE has not seen it.

Jeremiah 16:17 (ESV)

17 For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

Here God says that everything I see. When someone sins God sees it. Our iniquities are not hidden from him. He knows and sees our ways.

Ezekiel 11:5 (ESV)

And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind.

When a person is sinned not punished then they may think that God doesn’t know or seen it. It is clear in the above verse that God even knows what we think.

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All our ways are before the God

And everything that comes in our mind are also before God.

Jeremiah 17:1  (ESV)

The Sin of Judah

17 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars,

 Every sin we commit is written in our conscious of our heart. It is written with sharp diamond. So when sin is not punished immediately – people keep on doing sin. And this sin is written in the heart.

Keep on preaching about the sin. If you speak about their physical needs they might be cry and want it. But they don’t look for a Savior.

Keep and preaching about their sin and exposing it again and again. Then their heart with prick for their sins and they will start looking for a Savior not for a Healer.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 (ESV)

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with[a] every secret thing, whether good or evil.

How God will bring it before judgement?

Psalm 90:3 (ESV)

You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”[a]

The Lord will say one day – children of man return.
In some place people say that they are born again and again for 84 lakhs time. Consider as per their saying they must have sinned in each life whether born as a man or cow or bird etc. Every with birth you have sinned and so the no of sins are too high ! Then they will realize how madness/ untrue is believing many births in earth.

There is only birth in this earth !

So God is going to call – children of man return

Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV)

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the message is what should be preached ! It is not the material blessing. We must tell about the Judgement Day that is coming and all will be standing before the White throne – Great and Small, Educated and Uneducated, All avatars and prophets will stand before the Great White Throne on Judgement.

When we stand before God, He will call his witnesses. Who are the first two witnesses?

Job 20:27 (NKJV)

27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.

It’s the Heavens and Earth. Heaven will not give a partial report neither Earth will give a partial report.

Whether Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Believer etc sow in the fields and it yields crop. When the rain comes it will not see which caste, religion he or she is – it will rain everywhere and in every land whether Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Believer etc

In the same way when God calls, Heaven and Earth will give impartial report before God. That’s why in the below verse we read like this

Isaiah 1:2 (NKJV)

The Wickedness of Judah

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master’s crib;
But Israel does not know,
My people do not consider.”

 Wherever there are material things – we can so many people gather there. There is a day coming where God is going to take back everything. So God is saying above that people have forgotten the God. Give the knowledge of the God not the material blessings.

People come to Christian conventions, pray and after sometime goto some other worship place and again to some other Gods, etc. No give the right knowledge of the God and they will know it.

If ‘Paul’ lives today what he will preach. He might call all these healers and rebuked them and declare them as wolfs, thieves coz they want only your money not worried about saving you.

What people needs today is a Savior not a Healer !

Habakkuk 2:11 (NKJV)

11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it.

The Stone will cry – every sin that has been committed inside the room – The stone and timber will cry.

All Sin committed in the open – Heaven and Earth will Cry !

In the book of Revelation; it mentions about a video that is recorded, that’s the memory video. Everyone’s memory book will be opened that day and that video will give the true report. This will not tell the intention what you thought – it will tell the intention from the conscious. We should preach these kinds of messages so that the heart is pricked and they search for the Savior.

Jeremiah 2:22 (NKJV)

22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God.

We should preach to the people that by going to so called Holy places and taking bath is not going to wash your sins away. You cannot wash your sins by doing good things.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death is not a place! It’s an exit. It’s a passage.

When we goto Railway Station or other place we can see ‘Exit’. It’s a passage. Similarly Death is a passage not a place. Through the physical death our Soul & Spirit will go out from the body.
There are two places “Place of Rest” and another “Place of Torment”
We should preach that if your sins are not forgiven then you will be in the place of permanent torment. Only way for the forgiveness of Sin is through Jesus Christ. And if your sins are forgiven through Christ you will enter the resting place.

Physical death is an passage.
Spiritual death is Hell Fire. Lake of Fire

 

Your sin will take you to the Lake of Fire. That’s the message we should give to all people – blind, sick, leopers, healthy people. Your soul will goto Lake of Fire. Then people will ask what’s the way. Then we can say that father God has laid all sin in one person.

Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)

All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

All our sins are laid upon him.

John 1:29 (NKJV)

The Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Tell the world to Look at the Lamb of the God who can take away the sin of the world. Rather than saying Jesus healed that lame man and so He will heal you also. We need to give the healing from the sin not from the body needs. Body needs will be healed when God wants to. But we need to deliver from the Lake of Fire.

If you see a man is burning; his hands are burning, his dress is burning. What will you say to him – are you thirsty drink some water? A man bound in a house is burning will you give glass of water to drink. What he needs is to deliver from the fire. People are caught in the Hell fire. What they need is not the money, healing but they need a Deliverer from the Hell of Fire.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

When you are a new creation all your old is gone, all your olden curse is gone. No more curse on you. All sins forgiven. That’s the love of Christ at the cross.

Tell the world about the Love of Christ at the Cross !!!

 

Do you really Believe in Jesus Christ?

What we are …..

What we are –
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?

http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/do-you-really-believe-bruce-ball-sermon-on-growth-in-christ-91362.asp?Page=1

eg:
Take an empty cola bottle sometime and fill it half full of water. Then, take some vegetable oil and fill it the rest of the way. Then try to shake it with all your might so it will become all mixed up. What happens? The moment you stop shaking, it begins to separate from one another, doesn’t it? What is the moral? The moral is that, by their very nature, oil and water do not mix.

The same is true with Godliness and worldliness.

You might say that we live here and we need to be in the world. We might need to be in the world, but does the world have to be in us?

2 CORINTHIANS 5:20 tells us where we stand in relation to the world.
2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

In EPHESIANS 2:19,
Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

we are told that we are citizens and members of God’s household. We are no longer citizens of this world, and as the song says, “This World is Not My Home, I’m Just a Passing Through.” And since we belong to God; since we are citizens of heaven working as ambassadors here on earth;
we need to focus more on God and less on the world, but to do so, we need to make sure that
we really believe in God, and not just think we do.

eg:
When I was going to school, I had a physics professor who was teaching us about the law of the pendulum. We all know what a pendulum is, right? It swings from side to side, and it always decreases in the length of its ark with every swing. The professor had nailed a rope to the wall just above the blackboard. To this rope, he had attached a baseball. He asked how many of us really believed in the law of the pendulum and we all raised our hands.

With that, he pulled the rope to one side and marked where it was on the board. Then he let go of it and every time it swung back to his side, he put another mark where it stopped. The end result was he had many marks, all closer to the center than the one before, proving the law was true. He asked again how many of us really believed in the law, and we all raised our hands once again.

Then he took us to the auditorium, where he had hung a thick nylon chord from the rafters just above the stage. Attached to this chord was a 100-pound weight. He asked for a volunteer. He had a chair sitting on the side of the stage and he had the man who volunteered sit in it. He then took the weight, which was hanging in the middle of the stage and carried it over to about an inch from the boy’s face. He asked him if he believed in the law of the pendulum, and the boy, starting to get a little worried by now, said he did.

With that, the professor let go of the weight and it swung clear to the other side of the stage, and then began to come back. I have never seen anyone move so fast in my life as that young man trying to get out of the way.
Did he believe, or did he just think he believed?

This is not a particularly long sermon, rather it is particularly short, but I felt like I should talk about the belief Christians have, or at least, should have.

The first thing we need is…

1. A BELIEVING HEART

In JOHN 1:7, we are told that Jesus came so that all men might believe.
That is how we believe; through Jesus Christ. Without Jesus there is no belief.
John 1:7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.

That is confirmed in JOHN 20:31, when it says that by believing in Jesus Christ, one may have life in His name.
John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe[a] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In order to be a real Christian, and in order to receive eternal life, we must be real believers.
We must have a burning in our hearts to be with Jesus; to know more about Him; and to know Him more.

Remember the story about the young man who sat on the chair waiting for the 100-pound weight to come back towards his face? There are many Christians who have the same type of faith in their belief in Jesus. They think they believe, and they say they believe, but when push comes to shove, they get out of the way as fast as they can.

Remember when Peter told Jesus that he would follow him into death if necessary? A few verses later, we see where Peter denied Jesus three times. Peter was like that young man on stage, too. He thought he believed, but when he was pushed, he collapsed like a house of cards. And we cannot have faith unless we really believe.

Everybody believes in something. What is it that you believe in? And how much do you really believe in it? It is very easy to think you believe when there is no risk involved. It is more difficult to truly believe when you risk losing something very important.

Just like the student, we need to know the basics of what is offered to us. He needed to know what the law of the pendulum was, and we need to know what the law of salvation is. It is eternal life in heaven, with God the creator.

Once we understand what is offered, we are ready to find out …

2. WHAT IT IS WE REALLY BELIEVE IN

USA Today took a survey several years ago and asked Americans in the top 1% income bracket how much they would spend for three things: Great intellect, true love, and a place in heaven. Those wealthy people said they would be willing to spend an average of $407K for great intellect, $487K for true love, $640K for a place in heaven!

So, some people think they can buy their way into heaven. That falls right in line with people like that great theologian, Sophia Loren. She said, and I quote, “I should go to heaven; otherwise it’s not nice. I haven’t done anything wrong. My conscience is very clean. My soul is as white as orchids, and I should go straight, straight to heaven.”

George Barna conducted his own survey, and 51% of those surveyed said they believe that if a person is good, or does good things for other people, they will get their spot in heaven. So we see that Ms. Loren’s beliefs have been around as long as there have beenpeople on the earth.

We see the fallacy of this in ROMANS 9:30-32 –
Romans 9:30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal.32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.
‘What then, shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it – righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

Why not? Because they pursued it, not by faith, but as if it were by works.’

In ISAIAH 55:8, we are told,

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.’

Why are we so intent on taking God’s word and trying to change it to fit our desires instead of just accepting His word as the law we should live by? But by our works is how we live, isn’t it? We must earn the respect of others and earn promotions at work. We can sing about the best things in life being free, but when it comes to the things of this world, it all has to be earned. And that is how most people think about going to heaven; it must be earned by what we do.

The Israelites had a believing heart, but what they believed in wasn’t helping them. They believed they had to follow all the laws of the Old Testament to get to heaven. They were just like the people today; good and earnest people who have it all wrong when thinking about their relationship to heaven.

Those who believe in works or some other way of getting to heaven besides believing in Jesus are not bad people. They are wonderful people who have the right heart, but their heart is misdirected. The trouble with works getting you to heaven is that you have to be in 100% compliance – in every thing, all the time. That, in itself, is impossible for us to do. That is the same thing as saying you can never make any mistakes. None of us could live up to that expectation.

Mark Twain once said that if doing good was what got us to heaven, you could not get in, but your dog could. Like Paul says, you cannot be good enough to get into heaven any more than you can stand on the earth and touch the stars.

The Bible is very clear in what we should believe in. It does not mince words and it uses no metaphors to explain it. Pure and simple, we need to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent to be our ONLY way to heaven. He is our Redeemer and our Savior. He is THE path, not ONE OF THE paths.

So, we need a believing heart, and we need to realize just what we really believe in. Once we have these down pat, we are then ready to …

3. STOP RUNNING AWAY

The student sat in the chair, and when the weight started swinging back his way, he quickly jumped out of his chair and ran away. He believed, but he believed only until he had to risk losing something, like his head.

Many Christians are the same way, too. They go to church and do all the things, and they will continue to do that until a serious challenge comes along. With our finite minds, we must have certain logical steps to take us into Christian maturity. God knew this, so we find His instructions in the Bible.

In MARK 9, we read where Jesus healed a demon-possessed boy and then the boy’s father came up and said, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.” We are much like that boy’s father. We all believe, but we also sometimes … don’t believe. In other words, we believe with our intellect, but we do not believe with our heart. We need to do like the boy’s father did and ask Jesus to help us have more belief.

We need to do the same thing Jesus told Thomas about the scars in His side. In the last part of JOHN 20:27, Jesus said, “Stop doubting and believe!”

We have a natural tendency to run away before we commit. We see that all the time with people who say they are Christians, but will not go to anybody and tell them about Jesus. I truly believe that being non-committal towards Jesus is a sin. If we don’t know Him here, He has promised to not know us there.

Let me ask you a question. Picture yourself at your wedding. You are standing there and the minister asks you if you will take your fiancé for better or worse, etc. What do you think would happen if you just looked around and said nothing? Do you think you would hurt your fiancé?

If the minister asked you if you took that person to be your spouse, what do you think the response would be if you were absolutely silent? Again, do you think you would hurt your fiancé? Do you think you would be helping yourself? No, you would be doing more damage to that person and to yourself than you could ever calculate.

That is the same with your relationship to Jesus. Many people freeze up when asked to state their relationship to Jesus. Many people would actually rather deny Him than take the risk of having somebody mock them by confessing Jesus. Isn’t that what Peter did on the night they arrested Jesus?

ROMANS 10:9 promises us,

‘… if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him, you will be saved.

Now, before we go any further, let me say that we must believe in Him, and we must confess Him. And, if we confess Jesus is our Lord, and that we have Him in our hearts, doesn’t it make sense that we would also be striving to do what He wants us to do?

In ACTS 2:38, we are told to repent and be baptized. It means just that.

Stop running! Get on B.A.S.E. with God.

BELIEVE – ADMIT – SURRENDER – EXPRESS

Believe that Jesus is Lord; Admit to yourself that He is your Savior; Surrender your heart to Him today; and Express Him to others around you.

The young man who sat in the chair on the stage had a decision to make. He could trust the truth, or he could run when it got uncomfortable. We have that same choice to make today.

that one day you will have no other place to run to, and you will find yourself in that long line, waiting to be judged one-on-one with the Lord. When you find yourself standing there, what are you going to feel like when He looks directly at you and says, “NEXT”?

I think the only option we have today is to be sure we are protected against tomorrow’s onslaught. Are you protected? Would you like to be? Do you think you should be?

Psalms 91

Psalm 91

I. Where do we dwell? Psalm 91:1

a. The Psalmist declares that his dwelling is in the secret place, under the shadow of the Almighty. The first word is “shelter” in verse one. This literally means “a hiding place – to cover, to hide covertly or secretly”. The King James translates the Hebrew words here “secret place”.

These same Hebrew words are translated “hiding place” in Psalm 32:7 – “You are my hiding place: you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Eg of mosquito cream hides us like God hides us from evil harms.

b. Later in verse 9, he declares that the Lord is his refuge and for those who have made Him their refuge, we have nothing to fear!

II. What will we say? Psalm 91:2

a. The writer tells us his faith confession, “I will say of the Lord…”

b. Hebrews 13:5-6

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭6‬ NIV)

Paul says that he will confess what God says about him. God has said, so Paul will say will say in agreement (confession, affirmation).

c. Psalm 107:2

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!!” Don’t do what the members of a worship team used to do at a church I once pastored. When singing the chorus, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”, many of them would yell “SO!!!” This didn’t edify me or encourage the body, nor did it scare the devil.

d. What we need to say is: WE ARE THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD WHOM SHALL WE FEAR! (Isaiah 43:1) WE ARE REDEEMED FROM THE HAND OF THE ENEMY. (Psalm 107:2b).

III. Where have we set our love?

a. The Hebrew idea for the word love in this verse is “delight”.

b. Psalm 1:2…his delight is in the law of the Lord.

c. It is within the Word of God that we are going to find answers, direction and comfort in a troubled time.

IV. Who will we call upon for help?

Psalm 91:15

a. It is in a time of great tragedy or

conflict that we begin to discern within who or what have we placed our trust.

b. God promises that if we call upon Him, that He will answer and He will deliver. Psalm 50:15 puts it this way, “and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, AND YOU WILL HONOR ME.”

c. Romans 10:13

for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ NIV)

Jesus reinforced this insight when he said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (John 15:7)

Conclusion: How do you answer these four questions? How you answer will either bring you great hope through Christ or you leave you with an awareness that you have built upon shaky ground.

Indulge the alliteration with this bird’s eye view of what this Psalm says DWELLING in God’s presence offers us:

V. 1 – REST in God’s shadow.

V. 2,4 – REFUGE in God’s fortress.

V. 3 – REDEMPTION from temptation.

V. 5-6 – RELIANCE upon His promises.

V. 7-8 – RETRIBUTION upon the enemy.

V. 9-10 – RESORT from wrath.

V. 11-12 – REINFORCEMENT from angels.

V. 13-14 – RESCUE from danger.

V. 15 – REQUESTS answered.

V. 16 – RESILIENCE promised.

NOTICE THE SEVEN “I WILL’S” OF THIS GREAT PSALM

Vs. 14 – 16

1. I will deliver him – vs.14

I am afraid today to live without this verse.

All people have times when they need God’s help.

Isa. 43:1-2 – apply to Noah and 3 Heb. Children

They all fit vs. 1 of our text.

2. I will set him on high – vs. 14

Maybe this means he will help him

Psalms 34

Psalms 34

34:1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

Do we ever praise the Lord enough or give thanks too much? Is there ever a limit to our praise and thanks? No, never. Thanksgiving to God should be a never ending practice in our lives.

e.g. of looking things positivelysitively
When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely isle, he drew up in two columns what he called the evil and the good, as follows:
– He was cast on a desolate island, but still alive—not drowned, as all his ship’s company were.
– He was divided from mankind and banished from human society, but he was not starving.
– He had no clothes, but he was in a hot climate where he didn’t need them.
– He was without means of defense, but he saw no wild beasts, such as he had seen on the coast of Africa.
– He had no soul to speak to, but God had sent the ship so near to the shore that he could get of it all things for his needs.
So he concluded that there was not any condition in the world so miserable but there was something positive to be thankful for in it.

I Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Give thanks in all circumstances. Or praise the Lord in all circumstances.
That doesn’t mean you like every circumstance of your life. It’s just you can see more than just the negative things in your life. You see the positive, the good and you praise the Lord for them.

Why praise the Lord? Why not? He blesses in many ways so why shouldn’t we be quick to praise Him? Specifically, what has the Lord done for us?
1- The Lord has answered my prayers (4)
2- The Lord saved me from my troubles (6, 17-19)
3- The Lord blessed me with good (7-10)

I. THE LORD HAS ANSWERED MY PRAYERS

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

e.g..- An English publication offered a prize for the best definition of a friend, and among the thousands of answers received were the following:
“One who multiplies joys, divides grief.”
“One who understands our silence.”
But here is the definition that won the prize: “A friend—the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”

The Lord is even more than just a faithful friend. He hears you when you pray and answers your prayers. And He delivers you from difficult situations. Can’t you think of some situations that would have been far worse had it not been for the Lord’s grace and help?

Matthew 7:11 “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

John 14:13-14 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

The Lord is on your side and wants to give good things to you and bless your life. And all you have to do is ask and ask in the name of Jesus.

II. THE LORD SAVED ME FROM MY TROUBLES

6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

e.g: A Jewish man, who was known to like liquor, explained that he drank only to drown his troubles. “After you drown them, why do you continue to drink?” he was asked. “You don’t know my troubles,” he sighed. “My troubles are excellent swimmers. I try to drown them, but they swim  right up again!”

Everyone experiences trouble in this life. It’s because we live in a fallen world where there is sin and evil and all kinds of negative things.

What kinds of troubles have you experienced in life? Did you ever get turned down for a job when you just knew it was going to work? Did you ever get fired from a job? Did you ever lose a good friend? Did you ever loan anyone some money which was never repaid? Did you ever have an accident which put you in the hospital? Did you ever experience a health problem that never seemed to go away? Did your family or kids ever cause you trouble? Did you ever have trouble with your finances?

I suspect that we all could sit and make a long list of troubles that we’ve experienced in this life.

e.g:.- A 73-year-old woman in Lutterworth, England was fined for driving south on a north-bound lane of a highway. She remarked to the officer: “I thought something was wrong. The traffic seemed to be coming the wrong way.” And someone said that in life, the traffic always seems to be coming the wrong way.

Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

e.g.- A teacher read to her class the text, “My yoke is easy.” “Who can tell me what a yoke is?” she asked. A boy said, “A yoke is something they put on the necks of animals.”

Then the teacher asked, “What is the yoke God puts on us?” A little girl said, “It is God putting His arms around our necks.”

God desires to put His arms around us and comfort us and give us help in life.

I Peter 5:5-7 “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Praise Him! Praise Him!

II. THE LORD BLESSED ME WITH GOOD

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

The Lord is good and He gives to us good stuff. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” James 1:17

e.g.- An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout “PRAISE THE LORD!” Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, “There ain’t no Lord!!”

Hard times set in on the elderly lady, and she prayed for GOD to send her some assistance. She stood on her porch and shouted “PRAISE THE LORD. GOD I NEED FOOD!! I AM HAVING A HARD TIME. PLEASE LORD, SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!” The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, “PRAISE THE LORD.”

The neighbor jumped from behind a bush and said, “Aha! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries, God didn’t.” The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, “PRAISE THE LORD. He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them. Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 31:19 “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.”

Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Psalm 103:2-5 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits– 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

What good things has the Lord blessed you with? You need to stop and think, and consider all the good things the Lord has given to you and praise Him!

CONCLUSION

1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

e.g:.- It was said that Charles Wesley wrote his first hymn just three days after his conversion to Christ. That hymn was “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” What a testimony to his salvation! As the years passed, he is said to have written 6,500 hymns and gospel songs on every conceivable subject.

Charles Wesley was apparently full of praise for everything God did for Him. What about us? Can we not praise Him for all the answers to prayer we’ve received? And for saving us from many troubles? And for blessing with good?

I will praise the Lord at all times. I would say that’s a very good practice. Every time you recognize something good in your life, why not pause and praise Him?! You just might be pleasantly surprised as to what will happen in your life.

Psalms 44

Psalms 44

The Introduction

e.g.: An 80 year old couple were having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them. When they arrived at the doctor’s, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory. After checking the couple out, the doctor tells them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left. Later that night while watching TV, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asks, “Where are you going?” He replies, “To the kitchen.” She asks, “Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?” He replies, “Sure.” She then asks him, “Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?” He says, “No, I can remember that.” She then says, “Well I also would like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down cause I know you’ll forget that.” He says, “I can remember that, you want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.” She replies, “Well I also would like whip cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down.” With irritation in his voice, he says, “I don’t need to write that down I can remember that.” He then fumes into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes he returns from the kitchen and hands her a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment and says, “I knew you were going to mess it up – You forgot my toast.”

Sometimes we are better at forgetting than remembering
There are other times when we remember things we should forget

Body
A. The distant past (1-3)

1.    Remember What God Has Done – 1-3
A.    Creation
B.    Salvation (Raksha)
1 Peter 1:19-20 – 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish  and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
C.    Protection
Romans 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
D.    Inspiration
i.    The Scriptures
ii.    The Holy Spirit

B. The nearer past (4-8) – The Problems of the Present (44:9-22)

2.    Remember What God Is Doing – 4-22
A.    Preservation
1 Peter 1:5 – Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
B.    Transformation
God is in the process of changing us into the image of His Son
He is changing our minds to be more in line with His thinking
C.    Intercession
i.    Prayer: Ephesians 6:18, 1 Timothy 2:1
ii.    Christ interceding: Hebrews 7:25
D.    Preparation: John 14:2-3
Disaster during faithfulness

But read verses 17-22 carefully. “All this happened to us, though we had not forgotten you or been false to your covenant” (44:17). “Our hearts have not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path” (44:18). Let these words sink down into our ears and hearts: disaster had struck Israel and sin was not the reason for the calamity. The people had not turned away from the laws of the Lord nor had their hearts left the Lord. Though the people had not broken their covenant with the Lord, they were being crushed and covered in darkness.
Too often we do not allow for ourselves that disaster can strike our lives though we have not committed sin. We especially do not allow room for this possibility in other people’s lives. Consider the strain of the words written in this psalm. The people of Israel are being destroyed by their enemies. They are being plundered and scorned by their enemies.
III. Prayer for the Future

3.    Remember What God Will Do – 23-26
A.    Vindication
i.    Some day all our enemies will be judged:     Revelation 20:11-15
B.    Acquisition
He will rapture us – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
He is preparing a reunion feast for us – Revelation 19:7-9

C.    Purification
i.    We will become like Christ – 1 John 3:2-3
ii.    We will not have the presence of sin..
D.    Creation
Speaking of the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:27
.    2 Peter 3:13
A. Continue turning to God for help

B. Trust in God’s unfailing love

Final Thoughts:

Sometimes there is no explanation for the suffering of the faithful.
Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
In all the things we suffer, we are made to be more than conquerors. We can and will be victorious and conquer all strife when we continue to place our lives in God’s hands. We will endure and will see that the present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory we will have in the Lord.