Wait Upon the Lord

In Psalm 27, we see David writing about coming through trials by the grace of God. Remember David spends much of his young life fleeing a murderous King Saul. His wife is taken from him to be given to another man. Priests who help David are murdered by Saul. A city David delivers from possible enslavement betrays him to Saul. He lived in what shelter he could find in woods and in caves. Later, David would have to flee from Absalom, usurping the throne. Time and again, David faced distress, trials, and discouragement.

Among all of this, we have Psalm 27, where David calls God his light and salvation. David asks, in verse 1, who he should fear. He expresses confidence in God’s deliverance and ultimate salvation. He trusts in God’s protection, and he sings praises to the God in whom he trusts. David calls on God to never hide from him or forsake him. Where all others may turn from David, he trusts in the God of his salvation. He concludes by admonishing any reading this psalm to wait on the Lord and take courage in Him.

David’s Patient Trust

In the first six verses, David declares his trust in God. His focus is on God’s house, His temple, His tabernacle. David expresses a desire to be where God is, and, in faith, he looks forward to that reunion with his Lord. Verses 7-12 then expresses the difficulties David faces in his faith. He pleads for God’s continual presence, knowing difficulties surround him at every turn.

Finally, verses 13-14 conclude with ultimate confidence. Wait on the Lord. This is the difficult part, for we are creatures that like instant gratification. We are a culture of instant rice, same-day delivery, and ten-minute oil changes. We do not like to wait, but, when it comes to God, we must be patient, for He is patient with us.

A Fellowship with God

Waiting on the Lord requires continued fellowship with God. In I John 1:6-7, we have fellowship with God, one to another, when we walk in the light, when we follow His ways, the path He set out before us. This is built upon a life of prayer. I Thessalonians 5:17-18 calls on us to pray continually. We see this in David’s life, in thanksgiving, in praise, in petition, in repentance. In all things, David would turn to God. For us to have fellowship with Him, we must continually turn to Him.

Maintaining our fellowship with God takes continuous effort. Hebrews 2:1, Hebrews 4:6, Hebrews 6:1 – these verses and more highlight the effort it takes to maintain our relationship with God. We have to stay in the fight. Remember Elijah, in I Kings 19, when Jezebel puts a price on the prophet’s head. Elijah flees to Mount Horeb where God appears in a quiet voice, pushing Elijah to continue his work and to prepare others to participate in that work. Elijah’s work lasted his whole life and extended beyond it. His relationship with God was a continual effort, and ours is as well.

Waiting on the Lord

Once we’ve established that relationship, we have to work with God on His timeline and on His terms. There are some things He simply does not promise us. He never promised to remove our trials. See those under persecution in Acts 4. They do not pray for God to remove all obstacles. Rather, in verse 29, they pray for strength and boldness. Also, God never promised us to make life easy. In fact, we know the Christian life brings trials and difficulties.

The most difficult thing is that God does not have to explain Himself. Remember Job. He asked God for that very thing before being humbled in God’s presence. He has promised, however, to strengthen our hearts and hold us up. James 1:2-3 tells us our trials will make us stronger, and James 5:15-16 shows us those trials equip us to then help others through theirs. Finally, James 4:6-8 promises us that the nearer we draw to God, the nearer He will come to us. Like David, we can turn to God in all things, growing closer to God while facing our trials, looking to a future with Him. As David writes in Psalm 28:6, we can trust in Him, bless Him, and pray Him. He is the Rock of our salvation.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Value of a Soul

We value things like our health, our jobs, our friends and families, but, when we experience something that shakes our foundation, sometimes circumstances force us to step back and look at what matters beyond the things of this life. While jobs, relationships, and even health are important in life, it is not these things God values the most. For a snapshot of what God views as important, look no further than Luke 12:13 where one comes to Jesus, demanding that his brother rightfully split their inheritance. Jesus responds by telling a parable of one who laid his trust in the things of this world while making no provisions for his soul. In verse 21, Jesus admonishes that people should strive to be rich toward God.

What God treasures the most for and about us is our souls. In the parable, the wealthy man seems to think he has provided for his soul by amassing sustenance for many years, but God then uses that same term to demonstrate his spiritual unhealthiness. While this man had provided for himself for a time, only God can make provisions for eternity.

The Worth of a Soul

Why does God place so much emphasis on our souls? For one thing, it is something singularly unique. We can change jobs; relationships come and go; health fluctuates; but we only get one soul, and no one else can affect our souls. He has invested a great deal in providing for and saving our souls, and God has paid an incredible price for our souls. When it came to our creation, God granted us a part of Him, making us in His image, giving us eternal souls. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus is speaking to the worth of our souls, and verses 26-27 asks what could possibly be more valuable than our souls. We are quick to chastise Esau for selling out his physical birthright, but are we any better when we sell out our spiritual birthright for the things of this world? We have, within us, a part of God that He values immensely. We should value it as much.

God is patient regarding our souls. In II Peter 2:5, Peter calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, and that is exactly what he was during the century in which he built the ark. II Peter 3:8, then, reminds us that God counts time differently than us, that He is patient, waiting for all to come to repentance. In the days of Noah, God waited 120 years for a small number to respond to His salvation. Every soul that is saved matters greatly to our God.

This soul salvation comes at a great price. John 3:16 beautifully sums up the love it took for God to provide for the saving of our souls. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we have all hurt our souls with sin, but the following verses assure that Christ took those injuries for our sake, rising up as a propitiation for our sins. The beginning of Romans 5 tells us we can, in no way, be worthy of that sacrifice, but God’s great love provided it anyway. What does it take to save our souls? It takes the ultimate sacrifice of one spotless and pure from sin.

The Value of One

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables in a row, each illustrating the value God places in saving one soul. Likewise, do we value the souls of those we know and love? Are we making sure we are providing for their eternal needs while we strive to provide for the physical? Are we teaching what is truly valuable to God?

Isaiah 52, one of the four servant psalms written by this prophet, records God calling on His people to come out of sin, looking to that suffering servant for guidance and salvation. Rather than looking to ourselves, our relationships, our health, and our possessions in measuring our fulfillment in this life, we should be looking to the needs of our souls. Only in God can we find provision for our eternal needs and rely on Him to save our souls where we cannot.

lesson by Tim Smelser

My Redeemer Lives

We sometimes sing a song called I Know That My Redeemer Lives, and it may come as some surprise that the words from that song are inspired by an Old Testament passage. In Job 19:25, Job states:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

The term redeemer comes up some twenty-five times in the Bible, and, with just a couple notable exceptions, the term almost always refers to the Messiah. In this context, Job has lost everything, but he expresses confidence that His Lord will be a mediator, and advocate, a messenger, and a redeemer. Two thousand years before the birth of Christ, Job shows understanding that God will not leave His creation without access to Him.

Job’s Redeemer

In Job 9:33, Job longs for an arbiter, or a mediator, between him and God, so that one might argue his case. In I Timothy 2:5, Paul explains that we do have a Mediator between God and man who is both man and God – Jesus Christ. Then, in Job 16:18-19, Job expresses confidence in a witness in Heaven. He understands he has an Advocate before the father, one who will serve to represent those who cannot represent themselves. Job knows he has divine representation before the Father, and I John 2:1 reminds us that we also have an Advocate in Jesus Christ.

Returning to Job 19:23-25, Job expresses a desire to have his words recorded that others may know as he does that his Redeemer lives. Despite his deteriorating health and morale, he seems to be growing spiritually, expressing confidence in a Redeemer and a Savior who would appear before God with him. I Peter 1:18 reminds us we were delivered and redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice. Christ is our final Redeemer who delivers us from the chains of this life.

Finally, in Job 33:23-24, as Elihu is reminding Job not to be so self righteous, he speaks of a messenger without equal who lifts us from the pit. Isaiah speaks of such a one in Isaiah 61:1-3 who lifts His own out of darkness, cleansing them, and delivering them. Jesus, when speaking in His hometown, applies this passage to Himself. He is the messenger who soars above the thousands.

Conclusion

Throughout Job, a picture begins to form, and that picture finds clarity and resolution in the personage of Christ. Whether or not he understood the full import of his words, job looked beyond the things of this live, looking for reconciliation with His God. He had faith that such a Redeemer lives, and we can have that same hope. Jesus is our Advocate, our Mediator, and our Redeemer. He is what we need most, and He will cleanse us and lift us up when we turn to Him.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Humility & Peace

There is one vital ingredient if we are to have unity and peace: humility. We desperately need humility in our lives and in our congregations if we are to work for peace, and, if there is one congregation we can point to as needing humility above all else, that is the congregation at Corinth in the New Testament.

Here is a congregation where factions split behind various leaders and figureheads. Some promote celibacy while others live in sexual sin, calling it freedom in Christ. Some abuse the Lord’s Memorial. Those with spiritual gifts seem to vie for prominence and attention during worship, behaving disruptively to gain attention. There are even those who deny the resurrection.

Five times in his first letter to this book, Paul calls for humility: I Corinthians 4:6, chapter 4:18, chapter 4:19, chapter 5:2, and I Corinthians 13 then explains Christian love, a love that is not boastful but humble. The heart of Corinth’s problem is one of pride or arrogance. These are dangers Paul would reinforce with Timothy in I Timothy 3:6 and 6:4 as well as in II Timothy 3:1. Paul obviously sees humility as an essential ingredient in our Christian lives, especially if we are to live peacefully with one another and our God.

Pride and Separation

Pride and arrogance keeps us from our true selves. Proverbs 16:18 warns that pride leads to a fall. Why? Because we blind ourselves to our own limitations. Proverbs 14:16 warns against arrogant recklessness born of overconfidence. Galatians 6:3 tells us we deceive ourselves when we think we are better than we are. In short, we fail to see ourselves the way God sees us, and the way we measure ourselves differs from the way God measures us.

Pride also keeps us from one another. Galatians 6:2 calls on us to bear each other's burdens. How can I do that if I’m too full of myself? Romans 12:3, after telling us to avoid conformity with this world and encouraging us to live sacrificially, begins an entire passage about service through humility. We should not esteem ourselves above our brethren. Verse 16 calls for harmony, asking us to put others first without conceit. I Peter 5:5 tells us to clothe ourselves in humility, and in Matthew 18:2-4, after the apostles had been arguing over who was the greatest, Jesus calls on His followers to have childlike humility if they would be great in God’s kingdom.

Finally, a lack of humility keeps us away from God. Proverbs 8:13 tells us God hates pride and arrogance. Chapter 21:4 calls haughtiness sin. James 4:10 tells us God lifts up the humble, and I Peter 5:5-6 says much the same thing, reminding us that God resists the proud. Think about the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5; in verse 3, Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, those who have been emptied of self. Once we empty ourselves of pride, we make room for God in our lives.

Conclusion

In Job 1:1, we are told Job was a perfect, upright man, and, in verse 8, God calls Job His servant. Chapter 2:3 repeats this assertion that Job is God’s humble servant, fearing God and turning from evil. Can God say the same about any of us? After chapter upon chapter of Job’s friends tearing him down, we come to Job 31:35 where Job declares His innocence before God. He becomes proud in God’s eyes, and God responds in chapter 38-39, putting Job in his place. Chapter 40:3-5 then records Job’s humbled response. Now, if righteous Job could not be prideful before God, how can we lift ourselves up in arrogance?

In humility, we can see ourselves as God sees us. Humility allows us to serve one another, and it is humility that will draw us nearer to God. As little children, we need to empty ourselves of self-interest and all arrogance, coming to him in meekness and humility so He will draw nearer to us.

lesson by Tim Smelser

God's Vineyard

Jesus, in Mark 12, uses the picture of a vineyard, possibly indirectly referencing Isaiah 5. He tells of a man who prepares and protects a vineyard before putting it into someone else’s care. Those who work the vineyard harm and kill those the master sends to collect his due from the vineyards – even to the point of murdering the master’s own son. Jesus explains that those listening should be careful of rejecting that which the Lord has provided for them, even God’s own Son.

In Isaiah 5:1-7, God shares a song about a vineyard, carefully prepared, protected and tended. Instead of producing good grapes, however, only wild fruit and weeds come forth. Therefore, the Lord says He will remove the protections from the vineyard and tend to it no more. God proceeds to explain that this vineyard is a parallel to His people, the way He cares for and protect them, but He withdraws from them when they fail to respond to His care as they should.

The Work of a Vineyard

Tending to vineyards, raising up olive and fig trees – the people in Jesus’ and Isaiah’s audiences would have been familiar with the things they spoke of in these illustrations. They would know of the diligent preparation and care it would take to keep a vineyard healthy and safe. They would know the difference between cultivated fruit and wild fruit. In this context, God asks, “What more could I have done?” in Isaiah 5. He has provided care and blessing beyond measure, but the people were still not what they should have been.

In verses 8-10 of Isaiah 5, God condemns those who live greedily, those who exploit their resources to the point of destroying their environment. In verses 11-12, God proclaims woe upon those who pursue vices from dawn to dusk, giving no regard to spiritual matters. Verses 18-19, He speaks of those who drag sin through their lives while claiming to care about God’s work. In verse 20, He warns those who replace good for evil and vice versa. Finally, verse 21 condemns those who hold their own wisdom above God’s.

God tended to His vineyard and had expectations for it, but the fruit of His people were worthless. Because they dwelt in sin, because they promoted evil, because they elevated themselves above God, God promised, in verses 24-25, that His anger would be kindled against them, and that He would level His vineyard. They were His vineyard, but they took themselves away from Him.

God’s Spiritual Vineyard

We are God’s vineyard today. What fruits do we produce for Him? Hebrews 6:7-8 speaks of ground tilled and tended to by God that will either produce herbs or thistles. I Corinthians 10:13 illustrates how God tends to us – in that He keeps a hedge around us, protecting us from temptations we will be unable to handle. Like the vineyard of Isaiah 5, God has tended to us, has protected us, and has showered us with blessings. I John 4:4 reminds us that God is greater than anything in this world. His blessings, His care, His protection – these things are more substantial than anything this world can throw at us.

What are we doing with God’s care and protection? He has done for us as He had done for the children of Israel in Isaiah 5. We are His fertile ground. We are His vineyard. Do we, like those of the past, take those blessings for granted? Are we producing bitter fruits because of our greed, our pride, because of our love for evil? What would God do with the fruits we produce in His vineyard?

In Matthew 6:19, Jesus warns us against placing our treasures in this world, being motivated by materialism. II Timothy 2:22 tells us to flee the lusts of this world and their temporary attractions. Returning to Hebrews 6, the author of that book speaks of those who pile sin upon sin, in verse 6, and then crucify the Son of God all over again. We are tempted to call evil good and good evil, and Romans 1:22 reminds us that we can be foolish in God’s eyes while wise in our own.

Conclusion

We may recognize God’s role in our lives. We may honor His Son with our words, but what fruits are we producing? In John 15:1, Jesus calls Himself our vine, and we are branches from Him. We either bear much fruit, or Jesus warns that His Father may prune us. Ten times in that chapter, Jesus reminds us to abide in Him, to base everything in our lives around Him, to hinge every word and decision on the basis of His word. If we truly abide in Him, allowing His word to dwell in us, then we will not put God’s efforts to shame. We can be a vineyard producing fruits unto righteousness.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Unity and Peace Among the Brethren

We need to strive for the attitude and the relationship of a close family in our local congregations, a family that is loving, encouraging, and eager to do the work of the Lord. We need to be a place where we respect and love one another and where every member of Christ’s body feels welcomed and needed. These bonds of our Christian family should be even stronger than those of our physical family.

Disunity in the Family of God

We have, in our culture, a passion for dramatics and sensationalism. When working with one another, though, we have to avoid this temptation. Proverbs 17:9 warns us against spreading troubles and rumors, causing separation among the brethren. Instead, we should seek love and forgiveness with each other. The harm caused by rumors can take a lifetime to undo. Proverbs 17:14 calls strife and contention like water released from a dam. Our foolish arguments can become uncontrollable; feelings escalate and devastation follows, all based on personal interpretations or second- or third-hand accounts of events.

In Proverbs 26:17, we are warned from meddling in someone else’s quarrels, in inserting ourselves into others’ business. We hear one side of a situation in progress, and we try to make judgments based on few facts. We want to get our two cents in without seeing that those two cents were poorly spent. There is a big difference between encouragement and meddling, and Proverbs 26:20 tells us that depriving a fire of wood quenches it.

Proverbs 26:21 and Proverbs 15:18 both warn us against stirring up strife, against serving self at the expense of others. Proverbs 25:18-20 also tells us to be trustworthy in our interactions with others. When we manipulate or spin information, we undermine our trustworthiness as much as if we simply outright lied. Proverbs 22:14 addresses insincere flattery, empty words meant to get somebody on your side, being a “yes-man.” We practice deceit when we assign motives to actions that we don’t truly understand, when we voice agreement without commitment.

Conclusion

For a family to remain functional and cohesive, we need to deal with each other honestly and selflessly. We need to show wisdom and calm in our interactions with each other. Proverbs 16:7 tells us we should be at peace with God first. Then we can have peace with one another. Proverbs 15:8 encourages us to exercise self-control. Proverbs 18:13 reminds us to be slow to respond and quick to hear.

Proverbs 20:3 asks us to avoid starting quarrels with each other, and Proverbs 15:1-2 reminds us to answer with love and gentleness when disagreements do arise. Proverbs 10:19 advises us to be people of few words, to avoid talking ourselves into a hole. Finally, Proverbs 10:12 emphasizes the importance of love. That should be at the center of our relationships with one another. Whether building up or rebuking, love should be the motivation of our actions.

The blessings we have in the relationships born of our Christian family are valuable beyond words. Let’s be careful to keep those relationships intact and maintain peace and unity among our Christian family.

lesson by Mark Ritter

Rest That Awaits Us

Hebrews 12, after lifting up numerous examples of enduring faith in chapter 11, speaks of Jesus as the captain on our faith, using a term seldom used in the Bible. Joshua, Saul, David, and Hezekiah were referred to as captain in parts of their reigns, and the Hebrew writer impresses on us that Jesus is a better ruler than even these. This same author quotes from the Psalms of David, and invokes more Old Testament imagery, in chapter 4:1-11, speaking of the rest into which we may enter.

Despite having some great leaders, the people of the Old Testament never found true rest in the Lord. He speaks of their disobedience, of their disbelief – not in God’s existence or His power, but rather in His all-sufficiency and His ability to provide something better than they already knew. Time and again in their history, the children of Israel demonstrate they long for and are content with the things of this world. They do not trust in God’s all-sufficiency and always keep God’s promises at arm's length. Whether it’s coming out of Egypt, leaving the wilderness, living amidst the idolatry of Canaan, or returning from Babylonian captivity, they demonstrate a willingness to just stay where they are.

Are we like this spiritually? Are we content stagnating in our spiritual growth? Simply arriving into God’s deliverance is not the rest in itself (Hebrews 4:8-10), and we have a rest promised to us if we are diligent to remain faithful. Like ancient Israel, however, we fall short when we grow content in stagnation, when we grow resistant to facing the challenges of discipleship. Remember how often the children of Israel affirmed their faith in God and promised their obedience, falling short time and again because their actions did not support their words. Hebrews 3:16-19 reminds us this lack of faith and trust kept Israel from ever finding true rest in the Lord.

God has an eternal plan to save us and give us rest (Hebrews 1, Ephesians 3:11). We may not follow that plan, however, and be content with something that approximates that plan but cannot provide the ultimate peace of Hebrews 4:9-10, this cessation of all labor to live in God’s glory for all time. Think of the imagery in Revelation 21-22, where death, tears, suffering will be forever erased. All the trials we face in this life will be behind us, and we will find our peace in Him.

We cannot be content with where we are spiritually. We cannot become sedentary. We cannot keep looking back at the comforts we left behind to follow God. Our path is not the easy path. Instead, we must strive forward to be like and with Christ. God has promised us something better, but it takes obedience, faith, and growth to reach that promised rest.

We have to listen to those good tidings of Hebrews 4:2-7. We have to then be obedient to that word like the Hebrew writer admonishes us in chapter 4:6 and 11. Then we can never become complacent with our progress. Our actions and our attitudes convey our faith in God’s all-sufficiency, in His ability to provide something better. We cannot consider ourselves to have arrived until we hear Him say, “Enter in, good and faithful servant.”

lesson by Tim Smelser

Good King Hezekiah

In II Kings 18, we read of a king in Judah called Hezekiah. The scriptures tell us there was no one like him before or after him of those kings of Judah. In the first month of his reign, Hezekiah begins to restore Jehovah worship. He tears down idols and idolatrous places of worship. He stands up to overwhelming forces due to his steadfast faith in the Lord. What is it, though, that really made him such a great man? Why is it that the Bible tells us no king before or after him was greater?

Factors Working Against Him

It was not his father who made him great. His father Ahaz, recorded in II Kings 16, was very wicked. In II Kings 16, Ahaz engages in child sacrifice. He shuts up the temple of the Lord. He participates in excessive idolatry, and he leads the nation of Judah into those same practices. Hezekiah is not the product of his father. Still, remember II Timothy 1:5, Proverbs 3:1, and Ephesians 6:4. God does want us to set the proper examples for our children. He does care about the responsibilities of parenthood, but Ezekiel 18:20 reminds us that children can do well despite our parents. Hezekiah was great despite his upbringing.

Unfortunately, neither was Hezekiah great because of his family legacy. In II Kings 21, we read of Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, who rebuilds the idols, even placing alters to false gods in God’s temple. Manasseh restores child sacrifice to the land of Judah. Now Manasseh does repent in his old age, but his actions lead to deep personal loss on his own part. Hezekiah may have been a great king, but the legacy he left was far from great.

In II Kings 20, we see that pride does not make Hezekiah great while he shows off his great possessions to the Babylonian emissaries – people from that same nation that would eventually enslave Judah. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride precedes a fall, and Hezekiah’s pride did not please his God.

Hezekiah’s Great Stature

Despite these things, we cannot discount II Kings 18:5.

…There was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

Why? Because he sought God’s word first. II Chronicles 31:20-21 tells it all.

Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

He may not have been the leader the people wanted, but he was the leader they needed. He spoke out against, and removed, evil. II Kings 18:4 records him purging idolatry from the nation, even idolatry introduced by his own father. In II Chronicles 31, we can read the details of his restoration of true Jehovah worship in Judah – to the point of inviting their rival brethren from the northern kingdom of Israel to that worship.

Hezekiah sought to know and do God’s word. He sought to restore true worship in the land and purge all forms of evil from among his people. Finally, II Kings 18:5 tells us that Hezekiah trusted in the Lord. In II Kings 19:14, when Hezekiah receives an ultimatum from an unstoppable enemy, we see the king abandon self, go to the temple, spread the letter out on the floor of the temple, and prayed.

Conclusion

That the same could be said of us! Could God claim about you or me, “There was none like him/her,” in our efforts to follow God’s word, in keeping evil from our lives, and in trusting Him in all things. Nothing can keep us from that standard – our upbringing, our culture, our flaws. We can be like Hezekiah, setting our hearts to serve the Lord. We may never be great in the world’s eyes, but we can be good and faithful servants to our Lord, great in His eyes.

lesson by Tim Smelser