Hearing What God Has to Say

 Praise God for His Communion with Us

 Book of Psalms Chapter 84

 We should ask ourselves, are we longing to go to the House of the Lord, or do we see it as a burden?

 This Psalm begins with added words that say, "My soul longs for the courts of the Lord".

 Psa 122:1  A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. 

 We may not know who wrote this Psalm, but we can be sure that it was the Holy Ghost that led that person!

 We should all strongly desire to be in the house of God at the appointed times.

 1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

 How terrible it will be for those who use the House of God to promote their lies and falsehood!

 We know that there is a great falling away of the Gospel in America and much of this can be blamed on the false messages coming from the pulpits.

 We all need to find a place of worship where the truth of God is preached.

 We go to the House of God to hear what God has to say and not what someone who is a child of the devil has to say.

 Assembling in the House of God is a commandment of God!

 Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 

Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

 If we love the Lord, we will go to see Him and hear what He has to say regularly.

 There are so many other places in this world where people would love to go to the House of God but cannot because of the politics in their country.

 Our souls are craving to be with the Lord Jesus and Prayer and Worship are what we have until He comes to take us home.

 Because we are filled with God's Holy Spirit, we will always have the desire to go home to Heaven!

 *****Psa 84:1  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 

 Here again, we see the instructions to the Head Musician to accompany this Psalm with a Harp. There was probably more than one of them.

 Who was Korah? Korah was the son of Izbar the brother of Amram. Amram was the father of Moses.

 It was this Korah who rebelled against the leadership of Moses.

 Two hundred and fifty princes who were men of renown joined with Korah and God sent down fire from Heaven and destroyed them.

 Two more, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in rebellion at the door of their tents and God opened the earth and dropped them straight into Hell with their wives, their children, and all their possessions.

 These sons of Korah mentioned here became the leaders of the music provided at the worship service.

 The sons of Korah never rebelled again and remained close to the Lord and were the choir at every worship service.

 The word "amiable" is a term of affection used in romantic poetry.

 Whoever this Psalmist was, guided by the Holy Spirit, loved to worship the Lord in any place where people gathered to do so.

 Psa 27:4  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. 

 This psalmist just loved to be in the presence of God, and we should all be able to say this!

 *****Psa 84:2  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

 It is not a beautiful building. It is not the beauty of the sanctuary or the color of the carpet that we are to acknowledge when we come to the house of the Lord.

 If we are not seeking the Living God, we are coming to the House of God for the wrong reason!

 This Psalmist ached to be at the House of God.

 The place we go should be a place where people go to experience God's glorious presence, seeking a movement of God.

 Soul, heart, and flesh mean every part of our being should want to get closer to God.

 Most of this world refuses to accept that there are three parts in our nature.

 The soul.

The heart.

The flesh.

 This psalmist knew the truth!

 It is a privilege to be able to go to the House of God!

 Many places do not allow a place to worship Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 In every House of God, there must be an altar where we can offer up our prayers and give ourselves to the Lord.

 *****Psa 84:3  Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. 

 This psalmist says that every animal in God's creation seeks a place to build a home because it is in their nature.

 It is no different for humanity! 

We desire a place we can call home, and it is the House of God where we can learn about our true home and be with others, who are seeking the same thing.

 He says even the birds loved to build their nests close to the house of God.

 In the Tabernacle and the Temple, there were three altars.

 1) There was the altar of the burnt offerings in the outer courtyard, where sacrifices were offered.

2)There was the altar of incense in the inner courtyard which is a picture of offering our prayers.

Note how the smoke of the incense altar rose toward Heaven.

3) Then there was the "Mercy Seat", the Ark of the Covenant.

This is the altar upon which the blood of the atoning sacrifice was sprinkled, where God's presence was centered.

 Sparrows and swallows were abundant in ancient Israel, and they were considered a worthless nuisance, but not to this Psalmist because they were a creation of God.

 If they found a place to lay their eggs at God's house, then maybe they represent any stranger who might be trying to get into the House of God.

 We are all strangers in this foreign land, "the world" but we can find refuge in the House of God.

 When I first stepped into this Church, I knew I had found what I was missing in my life, praise the Lord it felt like home.

 We should all love to be in the presence of God!

 The Jews could not go into the Holy of Holies, but the Lord Jesus Christ removed the obstacles that keep us from going right into the Throne Room of God.

 Today God's presence is within us, but we are still to gather with all those who love the Lord as we do, we also need to set aside some time daily to be with the Lord.

 If we truly love the Lord, we will want to be close to Him and we do this through worship and prayer.

 Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

 We can get many blessings by being in the house of the Lord.

 *****Psa 84:4  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

Psa 84:5  Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

 For those descendants of Korah, they would spend their lives taking care of the House of God, and they loved it.

 What a job!

 It is a blessing to go to the House of God!

 It is a blessing to be in the presence of God!

 We are made whole when the Holy Ghost comes to live within us!

 This is also when we can feel the joy of the Lord!

 This is when we can continuously give God the praise He deserves!

 We can never give the Lord too much praise because we know greater rewards still lie in our future.

 We find that our strength surely comes from the Lord God of all creation.

 With Jesus in our hearts, we are just as determined to get to our home in Heaven as those Jews who were determined to be in the presence of God as they traveled to Jerusalem to worship a Living Savior.

 We will one day certainly be in the actual presence of God, but the closest we can come to this today is to worship in the House of God.

 For those who do not like to worship in the House of God, they will certainly not like Heaven!

 Many Jews traveled many miles to worship at the Temple of God and today, Christians struggle to get out of bed on Sunday and get in their car and drive to the House of God.

 I admit I have laid out also, but I missed a blessing on those occasions when I said to myself, I just do not feel well enough to go today.

I do not think I ever came into this church feeling bad that I did not leave feeling better!

This has not happened very often.

 We must not ever lose our longing to worship!

 *****Psa 84:6  Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. 

 The valley of Baca would be the "Valley of Weeping" and maybe like the "Valley of Death" and not a real place.

 These are places of grief that we feel in our hearts for some reason.

 I think we all have visited both these places on many occasions.

 It is the rain of "God's Grace" that can get us through these times of grief.

 If our heart is filled with the Lord, then the blessings of the Lord can come from even these places and can cause an increase in righteousness and even true holiness.

 This Baca represents the troubles and trials of this life, the painful experiences we all suffer.

 Being in God's presence we will forget these trials and look forward to blessings, even the "Showers of Blessings".

 Ezk_34:26  And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

 The Holy Spirit is teaching us that we can make pools of refreshment out of life's deserts if we gather in the House of God where we can find the presence of God!

 What happens to us when we are obedient to God?

 *****Psa 84:7  They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. 

 Our relationship with God gets stronger and stronger.

 This is added to the blessing we can get on our journey to Heaven's gates.

 The journey of the Jews to worship in the Temple is a picture of our journey in life.

 We will face many obstacles, but there is no reason we cannot enjoy the trip.

 Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth".

 We do not have to fear death as it is like pouring grease on a walkway, we just slide on into Heaven a little bit quicker.

 We should remember if we die in our service to the Lord, then this was His plan to bring us home.

 This is when we will spend eternity with the Lord.

 Heb 11:14  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 

Heb 11:15  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 

Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

 There are certainly many dangers as we travel home, both trials and temptations yet, we are blessed on our journey because the Lord is traveling with us, all the way.

 Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 

 We will get stronger as we travel as we grow in the "grace" of the Lord.

 2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

 Our hope is in the Lord so our hope will sustain us at every step of the way!

 *****Psa 84:8  O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. 

 There is nothing wrong in asking God to hear our prayers.

 If we are one of His children in good favor with the Holy Spirit who abides within us, God will certainly hear our prayers and if He hears our prayers He will answer our prayers.

 We must live our lives in such a way that the Lord will always hear our prayers.

 That way is to live according to the Word of God!

 Who are we speaking of? We are speaking of The Lord God Jehovah, Yahweh, the God of all of Heaven's angelic forces.

 Here again, we see that the angels have a Commander, and this Commander knows every move His angels make, and they will not go against Him at any time without His knowledge and He will stop them before they do anything against His Sovereignty.

 God has never lost control of His created beings.

 The angels have only one time to make a mistake against the Lord, but we as His created humans know that He is the God of the second chance.

 God has pledged His "Mercy" and His "Grace" to all those who call upon Him!

 God is our shield, and we can hide ourselves in Him.

 *****Psa 84:9  Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. 

 To assemble in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is a blessed thing to do!

 This is what the Church of the Living God must do!

 He is still the God of Hosts because He is still the God that fights our battles for us!

 God's anointed is not David, God's anointed is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 At his best David was a "type of Christ"!

 God the Father proclaims this of His Son.

 God the Holy Spirit makes sure it is written for all the world to see.

 God the Son is the fulfillment of the written Word of God!

 Heb 1:1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 

Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

 Mat_3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 Mat_17:5  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

 Mrk_1:11  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 Luk_3:22  And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

 The Lord Jesus Christ is Israel's protector just as He is for the Church!

 The Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah who came from the line of King David.

Remember the Lord Jesus Christ was one hundred percent God and He was one hundred percent man while He was upon this earth.

Do not be fooled by this.

If the Lord Jesus came down in all His glory all humans would have died.

It was the glory of God that was laid aside so He could come with His message of salvation.

 2Sa 7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 

2Sa 7:13  He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 

2Sa 7:14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 

2Sa 7:15  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 

2Sa 7:16  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

It is the Messiah who is our guide, our shield, and our protector as we go through this thing called life!

 It is the Messiah who will gather us up and take us home to our place in Heaven.

 *****Psa 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psa 84:12  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

 It was the Lord Jesus Christ who opened my mind to the truth of the Gospel!

 Psa 40:6  Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

 There are so many blessings that come from a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus that we cannot even know them all.

 A personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ brings complete satisfaction.

 I will be like this Psalmist and say that one day in the courts of the Lord Jesus is far better than a thousand of the best days life has to offer.

 When we get to Heaven, we will begin a never-ending day!

 The worst job in Heaven, if there is such a thing, is also far better than to dwell in the home of the richest man upon this earth.

 We just cannot compare apples to mansions!

 We cannot compare a meal on earth to a meal at the Lord's Table!

 There is total satisfaction in the Lord!

 1Co_10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

 Whatever task I have in Heaven I will be satisfied with it!

 *****Psa 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

 It is only our Lord Jesus Christ who could make such a promise as this!

 It will be a pleasure to serve in God's presence!

 The Lord Jesus Christ is my sun while I complete my days on this earth!

 Jhn_8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

 Why is the Light of Jesus Christ needed?

 Act_26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

 The Lord Jesus Christ is the light of my life!

 Isa 60:19  The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 

Isa 60:20  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 

 The Lord Jesus Christ is also my "shield".

 Psa 3:3  But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 

Psa 3:4  I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 

 The pure fact is that the Lord will never leave us unprotected or uncomforted!

 We should just read about how blessed we are.

 We should know how blessed we are to have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior!

 We freely get all these things if, we have faith in the One True God!

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

Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

There should not be a day go by where we have not prayed for God's help through that day.

The world is simply this wicked!

Why would we not accept these blessings when there is nothing in this world to compare them to?

The one thing we must remember is that there is no work that we have to do to receive these blessings of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ has completed all the work for our salvation and all we need to do is believe that these things are true and accept His gift.

It must be complete faith.

God is all good, there is no good without the Lord!

There is no good that He will not show us in due time.

After meeting Jesus, we must walk in truth and holiness and these things are not that hard!

Amen

God Will Deliver Us From This World of Sin

 Praise God for His Deliverance

 Book of Psalms 81

 It is believed by many that this Psalm was chosen and sung at the dedication of the second Temple.

 It is also believed by many that the word "Gittith" means a Harp that King David brought from the city of Gath.

 It is also believed by many that this Psalm was the same one used at great Hebrew festivals, especially during the Passover.

 Most people believe this Psalm was sung at the Feast of the Tabernacles also called the Feast of Booths.

 We must not forget the true meaning of the Passover where our Savior was sacrificed but the Feast of Booths is a celebration of our deliverance.

We must never forget we are a delivered people!

 It was love that has rescued us from our sins!

 We should understand that the main reason the Passover was observed every year was so that the next generation would know the truth about this festival.

 This is the same reason for all the festivals.

 Exo 12:26  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 

Exo 12:27  That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 

 We know that the Lord Jesus is our Passover and the true reason we celebrate Easter.

 This Psalm would remind the Hebrews of the goodness of God in the past and this same God would always be the same because He never changes.

 The Atheists would never agree, but by nature, man is a worshiper.

 Mankind will render homage to something or someone!

 Atheists worship lies and they make up almost all of them.

 God is a person and not some abstract of the mind or some mental concept such as evolution!

 God is a person, a Divine person, related to us. God is our strength!

 God is greatly to be feared!

 Psa_89:7  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

 Holy Holy Holy is our God!

 Sing with a joyful sound to the Lord.

 *****Psa 81:1  To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

 God has ordained congregational worship!

 Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

 Sometimes worship is to be solemn such as the Lord's Supper, but on this day the worship was to be loud and joyful.

 We serve a great big God and we are to make a joyful noise to Him. To shout joyfully!

 Yes, He is the God of Jacob.

 Jacob was the fulfillment of the prophecy.

 His conception is stated to have been supernatural.

 Gen 25:21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 

Gen 25:22  And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 

Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 

 Jacob's mother Rebekah felt that she had to deceive her husband Isaac to make sure this prophecy was fulfilled.

 Jacob's name means the supplanter.

 The name Jacob recalls the weakness of God's people to trust God to deliver them from the bondage of Egypt.

 Through the power of God, they were delivered.

 It is the same for every child of God who has been delivered from the bondage of sin.

 We must never forget the God who has done this miracle for us to have everlasting life and not everlasting death.

 God can fulfill His prophecies without our help, but Rebekah was right, her son Esau was not the person needed to lead any new nation.

 *****Psa 81:2  Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 

Psa 81:3  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 

Psa 81:4  For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 

 The Festivals of Israel were marked upon a calendar and they were to be kept because they all pointed to the Messiah though Israel did not figure this out and those that did kept silent.

 This call to a joyous celebration was addressed to the whole congregation!

 To the Levites as the appointed leaders of the music.

To the Priests whose duty it was to blow the trumpets.

To the congregation who were to worship the Lord with joy and happiness for what God had already done for them.

 Num 10:8  And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

 2Ch 5:11  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: 

2Ch 5:12  Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) 

 It was at the Tabernacle and later the Temple where God would meet with the children of Jacob.

 It is the trumpet, the shofar, a ram's horn, that calls for the singing of praise to begin, and it also calls for the humbling of God's people.

We can be bold in going to God but we need to be humble when we get there.

 It is the God of Jacob who is the Deliverer of Israel!

 Psa 20:1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; 

Psa 20:2  Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; 

 God has commanded the Church to assemble to worship Him just as He commanded the people of Israel.

 The deliverance of Israel from Egypt is a clear picture of our salvation, our deliverance from the bondage of Satan.

 The new moon represents the beginning of Israel's restoration.

 God reminds Israel that when He had redeemed them, they still rebelled afterward.

 This is our warning not to fall into the same trap, but today we know this holds true for many of the places of worship who are rebelling against the truth of God.

 It would not hurt for us to look back at the early Church which made many mistakes but were corrected by the Apostles.

 We should also understand that those who do not attend Church regularly are living in disobedience to the command of God.

 Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

 *****Psa 81:5  This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.

 The children of Israel became slaves in the land of Egypt.

 It is hard enough being a slave, but the children of Israel did not understand the language of Egypt and the taskmaster used the whip to speak a language that they would understand.

 The writer of this Psalm, probably Asaph, was reminding all of Israel of their deliverance out of Egypt.

 Those, that were alive that day were many generations from those who were delivered and they needed to be reminded of how great our God is.

 They needed to be reminded of the power of God to divide the waters of the Red Sea.

 They needed to be reminded of the manna that kept them alive for forty years.

 They needed to be reminded of the water that flowed out the Rock.

 They needed to be reminded of the rebellion of some of the people and the judgment of God.

 We sometimes forget the many things that God has already done for us!

 God removed Israel from that great burden!

 *****Psa 81:6  "I" removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.

 In this verse we see the Lord speaking.

 The children of Israel were the lowest form of life to that Pharaoh of Egypt, but God gave them liberty and deliverance.

 It was by God alone that the nation of Israel escaped from Egypt.

 Things may have been done differently in the many other nations, but Israel received this great gift by the hands of God!

 They no longer had to make bricks to build the great monuments of Egypt.

 We must understand that it is through faith in the Word of God, that the burden of sin that we were under, slid into the grave of our Savior, where He took that sin to Hell where it belongs!

 We can call upon God at any time of the day and He is ready to listen to us.

 *****Psa 81:7  Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 

 God heard the children of Israel as they cried out in sorrow from Egypt which is known to them as the Iron Furnace.

 Jer_11:4  Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the "iron furnace", saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

Those who say that the children of Israel were no slaves in Egypt are calling God a liar.

They were not known as the children of Israel while they were there but only by the name Hebrew or a name assigned to them by Egypt.

 The children of Israel needed to be reminded of this many times.

 Though our sins are forgiven, as the children of God, we need to look back sometimes to see what God has saved us from.

 God had led them with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night, to keep them from going astray.

Once we start down that road of deliverance we need to stay on it!

 It was these same things that brought fear to the Egyptians!

 These things remind us of the Holy Spirit who has the same power of God and will lead us all the days of our life and be with us even in Heaven.

 God has done so many things for us and for them, then why will we not worship Him?

 *****Psa 81:8  Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; 

Psa 81:9  There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. 

 God is still speaking here in these verses.

 It breaks God's heart when we do not listen to what He has to say. 

All He asks is for us to listen and then, we can compare it to what the world says and we will see that our God speaks the truth and the world speaks in lies.

 Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 

Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 

Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

 Israel's duty of allegiance was to God alone. This was the main principle of the covenant God made with them.

 It is the same for the Church. We owe nothing to this world. 

We are not even citizens of this world once we conceded our ownership to the Lord Jesus Christ

 Our allegiance is to our Savior!

 What more can we ask of God? He sent His Son to pay our sin debt we could have never paid.

This is the meaning of the word propitiation!

He claims us as His children and promises to care for us throughout eternity.

 There is not another God like Jehovah though there are many false gods in this world.

 Our own nation believes there may even be a god somewhere in outer space other than Heaven.

 God brought Israel through all the trials they faced in the wilderness.

 I spent my forty years in the wilderness and I can assure you I never want to go back to it.

 All Israel had to do was to listen to what God had to say and God expected a measure of devotion from them.

 Deu 5:6  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 

Deu 5:7  Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 

 Anything we put before God becomes the god in our lives.

 God alone can save us from our sins!

 Our God Jehovah is the One who wants a personal relationship with Him!

 It is this same God who has blessed us so many times and we deserved none of those blessings.

 *****Psa 81:10  I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 

 "God simply says open up your mouth and I will fill it" which means: 

Jas_4:2  Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

 Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

 God is always ready to supply all our needs.

 Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 

Mat 7:8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

 God said to either pray for mercies or just accept the mercies He will give us!

 God should not have to remind us of all these things continuously as He does.

 How many more miracles would the world have seen in the days that the Lord Jesus was upon this earth, but He could not because of a lack of faith?

 How many blessings have we missed out on because of a lack of faith?

 We could say we live the life we live today according to the amount of faith we show to the Lord.

 We should really think about that one!

 A wise man said: God cannot give lavishly unless we desire largely.

 Everything we have from God depends upon our faith!

 The greatest gift the Lord can give us is the Holy Spirit, and we need a refilling every day.

 The only thing God desires from us is our faith!

 Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 Israel just refused to listen to what the Prophets of God had to say.

 *****Psa 81:11  But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. 

Psa 81:12  So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. 

 Our own self-will can cause us to be disobedient to the truth.

 Why does God give us commandments instead of suggestions?

 Because we are a stubborn and rebellious people just like Israel.

 God gave us the example of one group of people to show us how we are all like them.

 No nation has seen the power of God as have the Israelites.

 Because every nation and every country is made up of people, God now deals with us as individuals.

 The same characteristics of rebellious people exist today so the same commandments apply.

 This world will never reach a point where the Ten Commandments are not needed as a reminder of what righteousness looks like.

 God will not force His will upon any person, He just gives us the truth.

 We live in a world where the "THEORY" of evolution dominates the minds of almost all scientists and the nations listen more to scientists who teach a false science with useless theories than the truth of God.

 God will judge us according to His Word, and according to our disobedience to it.

 It is the word "judge" that people do not like. No one wants somebody else telling them what to do!

 This begins with childhood and never leaves us.

 This why it is so important to raise our children, teaching them that none can live according to our own will.

 Pro_22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

 This is the most important thing we can do as parents.

 Pro_20:11  Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

 You see, we become "judges" of our own children so we can get them in the right direction in life.

 You can bet that those who want to influence our children to a certain doctrine clearly understand this and we have allowed it to happen far too long.

 I say all this because we are God's children so, why would we think He should be different?

 There is a right way and a wrong way to raise children and God's way is the right way.

 Job 8:4  If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression; 

Job 8:5  If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; 

Job 8:6  If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. 

Job 8:7  Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. 

 We all want our children to grow up and do better than we did and Jehovah God is no different and this is another reason God sent His only Son to this world as an example of and a teacher of righteousness.

 We can only push God so far and He will allow us to go the way of the world if we insist on doing it, but we must understand that our ending will not be pleasant which is putting it very lightly.

 Most people reject the idea that we have a soul that cannot die because it was made by God Himself and they only concern themselves with their body that will only live to be seventy or weighty years old for most of them.

 It is the soul that gives "life" to the body!

 Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 

 We are only a lifeless bundle of dirt without our soul!

We all know what happens when we are put in a grave, we change back to the dirt we are made of.

 We need to listen to what God has to say!

 Most people are beginning to see that this world has a doctrine that is only good for the elite and bad for everyone else, and this is what the Bible teaches us, if "IF", we have the right Bible and not a world-altered Bible.

This world and our own nation may take away our freedoms but God will never take away our freedom to choose.

He just only wants us to know there are consequences to every choice we make.

 God pleads with us to not listen to the world.

 *****Psa 81:13  Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! 

Psa 81:14  I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. 

God may give us up to our own decisions, but for most of us, until the day we die, we can still turn to God and repent.

Sadly there are some who find it is too late to do so.

We here nations talk about some imaginary red line, but God has a real red line that must not ever be crossed.

Gen_6:3  And the LORD said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man", for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

God gave the world that existed in the time of Noah one hundred and twenty years to change and only Noah repented to righteousness, and the Lord allowed Noah's family to go with him.

The entire world of humanity and all land based animals died in a world-wide flood that could have been avoided and it was not because some angels came down to be with the women on this earth.

Those who believe in such a thing make my God to be powerless against His angels and He is not. 

He tossed Satan out of Heaven so hard that he appeared as lightning.

God uses Satan for His purpose, but God does not tolerate the foolishness of other angels and they cannot impregnate a female from this world. They are not made as we are!

God does not reject His people forever.

We know this because we read from the history of Israel and this lesson is for all believers.

If God was through with Israel, there would be no New Testament which means a New Covenant.

You see God does not ever give up on His children, but He will surrender them into the hands of their enemies where they want to be, as He did Israel many times.

Today, we see this thing in reverse for a short time where "those who hate the Lord" will pretend obedience to God as if God does not know this.

Mat_13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Mat_13:26  But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Mat_13:27  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

Mat_13:29  But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Mat_13:30  Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

*****Psa 81:15  The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

Psa 81:16  He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

The enemies of God are the enemies of God's people.

If Israel had submitted themselves to the Lord their happy time would have lasted forever.

Israel would have had the finest things in this world.

Famine would have been an unknown word in Israel.

These things are also happening in America today.

America was far more prosperous than it is today because the elite has decided to kick God out of every portion of our lives and we now see America on a slide to Hell that may be irreversable.

They will find out that their riches do not buy them everything they seek and those actors who get paid to be something they are not, need to be what they are. Just people with a good job. 

We do not need to hear about their politics. I respect their ability for free speech so, they need to respect mine!

There is no doubt in my mind that to be a Democrat you have to be a demoncrat or you cannot be accepted in that party.

God provides the necessities of life to every Christian!

A satisfied life usually has no complaints!

God offers abundant life but few there be that realize it!

Deu 5:29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

As Christians, we are to gather in the name of the Lord!

We are to exalt the Lord in worship and prayer.

We are to hear what the Lord has to say from His Word.

We are to respond positively to what God has to say to us.

We are to act like we are God's children and not the children of the world!

God always thrives to provide the best for us.

When we do these things we will be spared the consequences of our sin.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 

This is the only answer this world will ever get!

It is really very simple!

Amen