Sunday, October 21, 2007

It was a good day, Pastor was up to Par..

Sunday School for this morning, got to the end of this post this morning.
Psalm 5

Verse 1
Crying unto God
a. Have you ever cried unto God?
Many times now this week I have cried in prayer to God, concerning my dad. But I thank God we can cry unto God.

Just as David hear is asking God to give heed to his prayers or to mark well.
In this prayer it is as David is calling unto God as if he is lost.

What I mean is do you know what one does immediately when found to be lost? We start yelling aloud.
Or when a child gets lost they start yelling in agony. But the thing is this the lost child directs his call to one person and that is mommy.
Well this is the point David is making in 2. His focus is on God.

2 Chronicles 14:11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

I wonder where your direction is, or what is the direction of your life?

David’s direction was heavenward.
Let me ask you another Question. Where was Stephens’s direction when he was in distress? Now remember he was beening beaten and stoned. He was Looking unto heaven.
Not first heaven nor the 2nd, but he pierced through to the 3rd heaven. Now he being full of the Holly Ghost saw Jesus.

Acts 7:55-56 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Oh Stephen said,” Behold” In other words he is saying,” Do you see what I see, I see the Heavens Opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.
In distress he was looking unto Jesus.

David said I will look up.

Verses 4 – 6
We see that sin is hated and hateful.
Deuteronomy 25:16 For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Do you know what an abomination or the definition of the word is? Now Biblical, the word and it new dictionaries have down played many words today.
It is something that is disgusting in the sight of God. In the sight of God.
David displeased the Lord once.
2 Samuel 11:27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

In our daily Christian walk how many times have we really displeased God.
Some have a hard time with sin because they don’t want to give it up.
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Scripture is very clear what to do concerning living a separated life.
And it is very unfortunate that to some or most it isn’t popular amongst Baptist churches or people.
How do we live a life most pleasing to God, well #1 is?
1. Lay aside:
let us lay aside every weight; or burden; every sin, which is a weight and burden to a sensible sinner, and is an hinderance in running the Christian race; not only indwelling sin, but every actual transgression, and therefore to be laid aside; as a burden, it should be laid on Christ; as a sin, it should be abstained from, and put off, with respect to the former conversation: also worldly cares, riches, and honours, when immoderately pursued, are a weight depressing the mind to the earth, and a great hinderance in the work and service of God, and therefore to be laid aside; not that they are to be entirely rejected, and not cared for and used, but the heart should not be set upon them, or be over anxious about them: likewise the rites and ceremonies of Moses's law were a weight and burden, a yoke of bondage, and an intolerable one, and with which many believing Jews were entangled and pressed, and which were a great hinderance in the performance of evangelical worship; wherefore the exhortation to these Hebrews, to lay them aside, was very proper and pertinent, since they were useless and incommodious, and there had been a disannulling of them by Christ, because of their weakness and unprofitableness. Some observe, that the word here used signifies a tumour or swelling; and so may design the tumour of pride and vain glory, in outward privileges, and in a man's own righteousness, to which the Hebrews were much inclined; and which appears in an unwillingness to stoop to the cross, and bear afflictions for the sake of the Gospel; all which is a great enemy to powerful godliness, and therefore should be brought down, and laid aside.

In the book of Hebrews Paul delt heavily with the Jews because they at times took old worship and tried to blend it with Christianity. This is the weight that hindered true worship.

To lay aside is the action needed for the putting away of the weight. We may know the way but don’t take the forward step towards the goal.
The convictions I have today are not the ones I got when I first got saved. It took some laying aside.
My willingness to serve God as pleasing to Him took my actions.

2. The weight: The weight is what is the load we carry.
On a side note there is something you need to leave to God. You are carrying a load you can’t handle.

That weight is a hindrance to your race.
What God wants us to see is this?
a. There is a hinderance
b. That is what causes the beseting.
Now read the scripture again;
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

c. Now to explain what easily besets us.
(Illustrate about how a racer can get distracted and be caught standing around)
d. A racer who is focused has only one thing in mind, the prize.
e. To beset is to be left behind standing.
f. When we as Christians refuse to lay aside that sin will be left behind standing.
g. What ever the weight lay it aside.
h. We have a due reward, how do you want to be left standing before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

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