The Importance of Christians Highly Exalting Almighty God for His Amazing Largesse to the Undeserving Children of Men!

Psalm 108: 5.        ‘Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.’

So finally it’s Friday; the day we’ve all been looking forward to, and although it’s somewhat cloudy, we really don’t care, and have offered up our Friday Mantra: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here!’ But please note, that doesn’t mean we can laze around at work today. No! It means we still have to be diligent and do whatever is needed in the name of Jesus, because that’s what He expects of us.

And today we’ll look at an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one doesn’t sound familiar to me, but who knows, I might have shared it before. The fact is that they are all worthy to be shared again and again for they are inspiring, encouraging and tell lots of truths about our situations. This one is titled ‘Rare Moments of Delight.’

So please read with me: ‘Because you are God And Your Word is unquestionable There are things I assuredly know Even when my heart is a brambled desert And every ounce of emotion is drained: I know Your LOVE is everlasting I know You will never forsake me Nor will you leave me comfortless I know I can come to You boldly I know you will teach and instruct me You will guide me with Your eye I know my past is forgiven And my future is secure. But, oh, dear God How I praise You for the marvel Of those rare, mysterious moments when suddenly, without a flash or a sound You add to my knowing The ecstasy of feeling and I am lifted to peaks of delight!’  

Oh friends, the poem doesn’t only gives us some of the many promises that our great God has made, and what we know from reading His Word, which keeps us safe and secure, but there’s an even greater feeling, one where He just intuitively flashes us some information that we were not expecting, which brings us even closer to Him. It’s what we sometimes call receiving a Zeppo. That sudden intuitive feeling that something is right, or it’s what we should do. It’s like when I was looking through the book today for a poem to offer, when I came to the one we just read, there was this feeling like the Lord was saying that’s the right one. So I just used it. At times like those we feel and extra connection with our God, renewing our convictions that He is indeed real and looking out for us.

And all I want to do now is remind us of some of the scriptures that we spoke of in the poem. For instance God’s everlasting LOVE. The Bible says it in different ways in several scriptures, but this one from Jeremiah probably says it the best. ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED you with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with LOVING-KINDNESS have I drawn thee.’ (Jer. 31:3) And as per never leaving nor forsaking us, there are again several scriptures that point out that promise, but Moses said it quite early to the children of Israel. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6)

Then as per never leaving us comfortless, there’s this great scripture from Bruh Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, where he talks about the Comfort of God. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

Wow! What a magnificent scripture! God comforts us so that we can comfort others with the comfort we receive from Him. And don’t forget the Holy Spirit that dwells within us is also know as the Comforter. (John 14:16; 15:26) And Jesus also promised, ‘I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:18) So there’s lots of comfort to be had from our Holy Trinity!

Then, as per going boldly to God, we all know the scripture from Hebrews that says: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) Now, boldly there doesn’t mean proudly or arrogantly, but humbly with the confidence that God will not turn us away. And as per His teaching and instructing us, Bruh David says it quite clearly in Psalm 32: ‘I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.’ (Ps. 32:8)

And finally, as per our forgiven past and safe futures, there are many scriptures that address those points, but for time’s sake we’ll only check out a couple of statements from Jesus. The first is one we all know: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:17-18) Then later on Jesus declares to His accusers: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my hand.’ (John 10:27-28) You cannot get any safer or more secure than that my faithful brethren!

And lest we forget, (smile) the Bible Promise for today’s poem comes from Psalm 108. ‘Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.’ (Ps. 108:5) That’s the NLT (New Living Translation). Meanwhile the KJV (King James Version) says: ‘Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;’ (Ps. 108:5) And though we are King James people here, (smile) I like the NLT version, and we’ll use it as our Bit. Now let’s go to the throne of grace, confidently, but humbly, through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid to help in these very troubled times.

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And though we pray good prayers, friends, the truth is that until we come together as the supposed one body of Christ, and begin seriously living for Him, getting divine aid will always be a problem for us. Much LOVE!

…Christ has given us the victory…we now have to make sure we don’t lose it…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

God is ALWAYS with Believers; Be They on the Mountaintop or in the Valley!

Psalm 23:4.        Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

And it’s another Sunday, this one the first day of June, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, when many churches celebrate the Ascension of Christ which happened this past week Thursday. The Lord spent forty days on earth after He rose from the grave, and on that day, while He gathered with the disciples on Mount Olivet (the Mount of Olives), He gave them the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), also telling them to remain in Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:4). 

‘And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld (looked on), he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.’ (Acts 1:9:11) Yes friends, Jesus went away, but He will come again, when He comes to judge the earth. 

Now, the scholars offer these explanations of those verses. ‘While they beheld suggests several things that are not apparent. Unlike the appearances and disappearances of the former 40 days in which Jesus instantly appeared and vanished, this was a gradual and visible departure. This was different and final. He would no longer appear to them. His next appearance on earth will be at the Second Coming when he visibly (Rev. 1:7) and bodily sets His feet on Mount Olivet (Zech. 14:4).’  

And since Jesus left from the mountain, and will return to the mountain, it’s appropriate that we begin our worship today with the song, ‘God On the Mountain.’ (smile) The story of the song is a wonderful testament to God’s goodness and faithfulness. In a nutshell, Tracy Dartt, the author, was in California building swimming pools with a partner in 1974, and though on the outside things looked rosy, in reality they were not. They discovered they had more pools to build than they could afford, and nothing they did could alleviate the problems. 

The partner wanted to file for bankruptcy, but Dartt felt that was right. So, in frustration, the partner turned everything over to him, including the massive debt. And all they could do was pray. And did they ever pray! However, while things were going good, Dart and his wife Sharon had founded a country gospel group with another couple, called ‘Country Congregation, for which he wrote all the music, and they were functioning fairly well with a recording contract in hand. 

And as the Lord would have it, in the midst of the turmoil, he awoke from a troubled sleep at two o’clock one night with a tune echoing in his mind. He picked up pen and paper and began to write. The first verse came, and as he thanked the Lord for being his God in the valley, the chorus came. And in roughly thirty minutes the song was completed. He thanked the Lord and went back to sleep. The next morning things were still up in the air and they prayed for the Lord to show them His will. 

Shortly after he got to his office, someone called and requested a pool for an injured athlete. A few days later another call came for another pool. And so it went on, until they built some 12 pools in the off season, when no one else was building any. And they were able to save their business. And yet, people still say that the Lord is not a good and faithful God and is always with you, wherever you are! Nonsense! 

So, finally, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartfelt, mid tempo version of this testimonial song to our great God. Singing: ‘Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain And you’ve got peace of mind, like you’ve never known. But things change, when you’re down in the valley. Don’t lose faith, for you’re never alone. (Chorus: For the God on the mountain, is the God in the valley. When things go wrong, He’ll make them right. And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God in the night.) 

You talk of faith when you’re up on the mountain. But talk comes so easy when life’s at its best. But its down in the valley, of trials and temptations That’s where your faith, is really put to the test. (Chorus: For the God on the mountain is the God in the valley. When things go wrong, He’ll make them right. And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day, is still God in the night. (2)’ 

And isn’t that gospel truth my faithful brethren! Our God, when we’re celebrating on the mountain top, is the very same God who walks with us when we’re in despair in the valley. That’s why Bruh David could famously proclaim from Psalm 23: ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.’’ (Ps. 23:4-5) 

Yes friends, that how good our God can be to us when things look ever so bleak, with no apparent way out of our unfortunate situations. And that’s why the psalmist Asaph in Psalm 73 – Prosperity of the Wicked – could also write these marvellous words of assurance. ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none on earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (who are unfaithful to thee). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73:25-28) 

Now that’s how Christians ought to be talking…while also walking the talk! For our God is undoubtedly a good God, who has promised to never leave not forsake us (Heb. 13:5), and He never breaks any of His promises, so we can stake our lives on any promises He’s made. And furthermore, as Bruh Paul writes of Him to the Corinthians: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4) 

Now what more can we ask for my fellow believers? We have a God who is always with us, whether we’re on the mountaintop or in the depths of the valley, one who comforts us in times of trouble, even to the extent that we can comfort others with the comfort we receive from Him! Wow! What a magnificent God we serve! If only we would use our innate wisdom to give Him the right gratitude and reverence He deserves, our lives would be so much better! Much LOVE!

…whether we’re on the mountaintop…or in the valley…Christians must always be fighting…the good fight of faith…  

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien