PSALM 102
Psalmist pleas with the LORD verse 1- 3
Hear my prayer – O LORD – and let my cry come to YOU
hide not YOUR face from me in the day
when I am in trouble
incline YOUR ear unto me
in the day when
I call answer me speedily
For my days are consumed like smoke
and my bones are burned as an hearth
Psalmist describes his present conditions verse 4- 11
My heart is smitten – and withered like grass
so that I forget to eat my bread
by reason of the voice of my groaning my bones
cleave to my skin
I am like a pelican of the wilderness – I am like an owl of the desert
I watch – and am as a sparrow alone on the housetop
Mine enemies reproach me all the day
and they that are mad against me are sworn against me
For I have eaten ashes like bread
and mingled my drink with weeping
BECAUSE of YOUR indignation and YOUR wrath
for YOU have lifted me up – and cast me down
My days are like a shadow that declines
and I am withered like grass
Psalmist declares LORD on the throne verse 12- 13
But YOU – O LORD – shall endure forever
and YOUR remembrance to all generations
YOU shall arise – and have mercy upon Zion
for the time to favor her yea the set time is come
Psalmist describes relationship of LORD to Jerusalem verse 14- 17
For YOUR servants take pleasure in her stones
and favor the dust thereof
So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD
and all the kings of the earth YOUR glory
when the LORD shall build up Zion
HE shall appear in HIS glory
HE will regard the PRAYER of the destitute
and not despise their PRAYER
Psalmist wants history to remember actions of the LORD verse 18- 22
This shall be written for the generation to come
and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD
for HE hath looked down from the height of HIS sanctuary
from heaven did the LORD behold the earth
to hear the groaning of the prisoner
to loose those that are appointed to death
to declare the name of the LORD in Zion
and HIS praise in Jerusalem
when the people are gathered together
and the kingdoms – to serve the LORD
Psalmist proclaims LORD is unchanging God verse 23- 28
HE weakened my strength in the way – HE shortened my days
I said
O my God – take me not away in the midst of my days
YOUR years are throughout all generations
Of old have YOU laid the foundation of the earth
and the heavens are the work of YOUR hands
they shall perish – BUT YOU shall endure
yea – all of them shall wax old like a garment
as a vesture shall YOU change them
and they shall be changed
BUT YOU are the same – and YOUR years shall have no end
The children of YOUR servants shall continue
and their seed shall be established before YOU
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Hide not YOUR face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline YOUR ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
(3334 “trouble” [yatsar] means distressed, be in straits, vexed, besieged, affliction, to wrap, or hampered.)
DEVOTION: The Psalmist comes into the presence of the LORD with boldness. He asks the LORD to hear his pray for he is crying out to the LORD in a time of great distress. He is coming into the present of the LORD with boldness because he is asking for an answer quickly.
When we come into the presence of the LORD during our daily prayers are there times when we have a real important need to be met and we know that only the LORD can meet it? Is there extra emotion involved in our time of prayer? Can the LORD understand when there is real affliction happening in our life?
The answer of course is YES!!! HE knows our needs before we ask HIM. HE knows what HE has allowed in our life to show us that we need to depend on HIM more than on ourselves or other human beings. HE wants us to make sure that we know that HE is the only one who can deliver us from every circumstance HE allows in our life.
The Psalmist knows this fact and expressing it in his prayer. His boldness is in asking the LORD to answer his prayer speedily. Have you asked this way? I know I have and sometimes HE answers as fast as I want and other times HE wants me to wait a while. HE knows what is best. I need to understand that fact.
CHALLENGE: Our needs have to be brought to the LORD with the expectation of an answer quickly but also with an acceptance of an answer in the future. There are lesson we need to learn from HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day, and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. (2778 “reproach” [charaph] means to treat with contempt, for example verbally, to annoy, taunt, to scorn, revile, ridicule, or to mock.)
DEVOTION: Once you become a genuine believer you will find that there are people outside in the world who will use every opportunity to put you down. Also, there are those who are inside the church who enjoy putting fellow believers down because it will make them look good to some people in the church.
God wants us to know that only the enemies of the faith should be putting down those who are trying to live the Christian life. It is hard enough to have those outside the faith giving you a hard time but when it comes inside the church because of jealousy, or unbelief regarding our change of life.
The sad fact is that there are people inside the church who like to be fruit inspectors and what they are looking for is not the same thing as what the LORD looks for in the life of believer.
HE has a standard but HIS standard is to help up mature in our faith while those who are looking for faults in the church are looking to make themselves look better than other people.
We don’t need enemies in the church because we have enough outside. Those who are genuine believers should be encouragers of others not fault finders.
There are people in this world that get extremely mad if one of their friends turns to the LORD and begins really following HIM. This hurts but it is a fact. Once we make are real commitment to the LORD we can’t go back to our old habits and actions. God wants to see a genuine change of character.
CHALLENGE. We are not to worry about what our friends think of us once we make a commitment to the LORD. Some will follow us in the LORD. Others will not. Our prayers should be for both groups.
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: 16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, HE shall appear in HIS glory. (7200 “appear” [ra’ah] means to come into sight or view, present oneself, to be visible, to let someone be seen, or to show oneself.)
DEVOTION: There is coming a day that is promised in the Bible when Jesus Christ will return in HIS glory. HE will not be like someone who has lost but someone who has won the victory. HE will be coming as a conquering hero not a defeated enemy.
We need to looking forward to the day when Christ returns with our hopes and prayers. HE might not come in our lifetime but HE is still coming to call HIS church home to heaven.
It will be a day of victory for all those who are genuine followers of the LORD. We are looking forward to that day through our works and prayers. We want to see everyone we love come to a saving knowledge of Jesus before that day comes and we will WORK to the end each day of life or that is the way it should be in our actions and prayers.
I have many relatives and friends who have not make this genuine commitment to the LORD and so I am praying that I can have opportunities to share my faith and also tell them that I am praying for them.
The LORD uses human beings to reach other human beings and so we HAVE TO witness every chance we get to those we love. It is sad to hear or see someone we love die without Jesus.
Christ is coming in all HIS glory one day and our prayers are that it would be soon but also our prayers need to be just as strong for the salvation of those we know and love.
CHALLENGE: It is going to happen. Are we ready?
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 18 “This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (Written– 3789 כָּתַב [kathab /kaw·thab/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1053; GK 4180; 223 occurrences; AV translates as “write” 210 times, “describe” seven times, “subscribe” four times, “recorded” once, and “write up” once. 1 to write, record, enroll. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to write, inscribe, engrave, write in, write on. 1A2 to write down, describe in writing. 1A3 to register, enroll, record. 1A4 to decree. 1B (Niphal). 1B1 to be written. 1B2 to be written down, be recorded, be enrolled. 1C (Piel) to continue writing. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: When we are going through difficult times it seems that nothing is happening and the Lord is not listening to the groaning and utterances of anguish that pours from our lips! The psalmist is expressing the same concerns as he cries out to the Lord in the midst of his distress. He desires a quick answer as he is withering away in the circumstances he is entangled.
How often we feel like we are at the end, the point of exhaustion and about to give up and then the word of God shines like a beacon in the midst of that darkness and we have hope. God’s word has been written so that it might be used throughout time to give strength to the weary and hope to the hopeless! It is used by the Holy Spirit to encourage the fainthearted. As the psalmist wrote these words to encourage his people may they encourage us today to know that the Lord is at work in your life no matter how difficult it may be right now!
CHALLENGE “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” (Heb. 12:3-4) Take courage in the words of the Scriptures that have been written for our edification and encouragement. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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: 23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days. (6031 “weakened” [‘anah] means looking down, browbeating, to depress, abase self, afflict, chasten self, deal hardly with, exercise, force, humble self, do violence to or submit self.
DEVOTION: Many of the Psalms are written as a cry for help from the LORD. Sometimes the help is needed in a battle against an enemy. Sometimes the cry for help is because the psalmist is a follower of the LORD but has fallen into sin and the LORD has chastened him because of it.
Here we have a psalm written by someone who the LORD is chastening. He doesn’t want to die at a young age and asks the LORD to hear his prayer and give him longer life. Those who are followers of the LORD are promised HIS presence and also HIS blessing. One of the blessings of those who follow the LORD is sometimes long life. Does that mean that true servants of the LORD don’t die young? NO!!!
The LORD knows how to humble HIS people. The LORD humbled this psalmist. One of the reasons we need humbling is that our pride gets in our way. When we are proud of ourselves and not in the LORD, HE has to get our attention.
Apparently, this psalmist was thinking that his life was going to be shortened by the LORD because of his pride. He prayed for the LORD not to cause his life to end pre-maturely. The New Testament informs us that if we don’t examine ourselves, the LORD sends weakness, sickness and pre-mature death to HIS servants. The only way to turn the other way is to confess our sins and walk in the right way.
Our prayers are important to our relationship to the LORD. This psalmist mentions prayer at the beginning of this psalm. He asked the LORD to hear his prayer. He doesn’t want the LORD to hide from him. He knows that if he regards iniquity in his heart the LORD will not hear him. Do we realize this fact? Some people think that the LORD is willing to always listen and answer our prayers. They don’t remember the statement we just wrote. Remember to keep short accounts with the LORD. That is the only way we receive blessings from HIM.
The LORD is preparing the church for HIMSELF. The church is called the bride of Christ. If it is getting weak it is because it is not remaining faithful to the LORD. Just as Jerusalem was conquered, so the church can fall into false teaching. We need to pray that the LORD will strength HIS church. We need to realize that our time might be short. Many are prophesying that we are presently in the birth pains. HIS coming may be soon. That means we should be working harder to reach our world for Christ. The church has been lauded to sleep. She needs HIS strength to conquer. Pray for strength.
CHALLENGE: You have to determine if you are weak or strong in the LORD. You have to determine if you are an active witness for the LORD or passive. You have to ask yourself where you stand in your world.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Prayer verse 1, 17
Cry verse 1
Incline YOUR ear verse 2
Answer verse 2
Voice of my groaning verse 5
Regard prayer of the destitute verse 17
not despise their prayer
Asked the LORD to not take him away verse 24
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Praise the LORD verse 18
Declare the name of the LORD in Zion verse 21
HIS praise in Jerusalem verse 21
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 12, 15, 16,
18, 19, 21, 22
God’s indignation and wrath verse 10
LORD endures forever verse 12
Remembrance to all generation verse 12
Arise verse 13
Show mercy verse 13
Set time to favor Zion verse 13
Name of the LORD verse 15, 21
Creator verse 18, 25
Looks down from the height of HIS sanctuary verse 19
From heaven did the LORD behold the earth verse 19
Hears the groaning of the prisoner verse 20
Name of the LORD verse 21
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 24
Laid the foundation of the earth verse 25
Heavens are the work of HIS hands verse 25
Endure verse 26
Eternal verse 27
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Enemies verse 8
Heathen verse 15
shall fear the name of the LORD
Kings of the earth verse 15
shall fear YOUR glory
Generation to come verse 18
Prisoner verse 20
Appointed to death verse 20
Kingdoms verse 22
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Reproach believers verse 8
Mad at believers verse 8
Heathen verse 15
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Pray verse 1
Trouble verse 2
Desire answered prayer – speedily verse 2
Face indignation of God for sin verse 10
Face wrath of God for sin verse 10
Mercy verse 13
Favor verse 13
Servants verse 14, 28
Fear of the LORD verse 15
Prayer of the destitute verse 17
Praise verse 18, 21
Serve verse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Author of Psalm verse 1- 28
Wants a speedy answer to prayer
Days consumed with smoke
My bones are burned as an heath
Heart is smitten
Heart is withered like grass
I forget to eat my bread
Voice of groaning
Bones cleave to my skin
Like a pelican in the wilderness
Like an owl in the desert
Like a sparrow alone on a house top
Eaten ashes like bread
Mingled my drink with weeping
YOU have lifted me up and cast me down
I am as withered grass
LORD weakened my strength in the way
HE shortened my days
Didn’t want LORD to take him away
in the midst of my days
Zion verse 13, 14, 16, 21
Servants take pleasure in her stones
Servants take pleasure in her dust
Sanctuary verse 19
Jerusalem verse 21
Praise heard in
Gathered together verse 22
Children of YOUR servants shall continue verse 28
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
LORD appears in HIS glory verse 16
Heaven verse 19
Appointed to death verse 20
Perish verse 26
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QUOTES regarding passage
Traditionally miscalled a penitential psalm (the fifth of the seven; see the introduction to Ps. 6), this is in fact the cry of one whose sufferings are unexplained, like Job’s. As the title implies, it is a prayer which others who are near the end of their endurance can echo, finding words here that lead them ‘into a large place’.
The troubles, to begin with, are private griefs, but later they are transcended by concern for Zion, whose destiny is glorious yet painfully slow in coming to fulfilment. A final passage draws out the contrast between the human time-scale and the Lord’s eternity, bringing the psalm to a majestic conclusion which is quoted in praise of Christ in the opening chapter of Hebrews.
So the psalm, we learn, is Messianic; and in the light of that, the sufferings and the world-embracing vision of the speaker lead the mind to Psalm 22. For the ground on which Hebrews 1:10–12 discerns the Son of God here, see the comments on the final verses of the psalm. (Kidner, D. (1975). Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, pp. 392–393). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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This psalm is classified as one of the seven penitential psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Some of these psalms are so designated because of their confessional nature; others are classed in this category because of their use within the Christian community. Psalm 102 is an example of the latter. It emphasizes the suffering and discipline often associated with sin (cf. vv. 10, 23–24). The psalm exemplifies the literary genre of an individual lament. This lament arises out of an exilic situation, when the godly together with the wicked had been exiled from the land. For other exilic psalms, see 42, 43, 74, 79, 137; see Ralph W. Klein, Israel in Exile. A Theological Interpretation (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979, esp. pp. 21–22). The Mishnah lists this psalm as one of those used while fasting (Taanith 2.3).
The structure of the psalm reveals two basic literary elements: lament and prophetic-hymnic. Kraus explains the prophetic-hymnic section as a special exilic development. The godly felt that they too had been rejected by the Lord and that the fulfillment of all the prophetic promises was in doubt. The purpose of the prophetic-hymnic section was to set ablaze a fire of hope in the promises of the Lord within the hearts of the godly (Psalmen 2:695). We shall follow this expository structure:
A. Introductory Prayer (vv. 1–2)
B. Lament (vv. 3–11)
C. Promises (vv. 12–22)
B′. Lament (vv. 23–27)
A′. Concluding Perspective (v. 28) (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, pp. 644–645). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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102:10–11. Moreover, he was convinced that God’s wrath had consumed him. Because God had allowed this to happen, he felt his life was about over, like the evening shadow that indicates a day is almost gone (cf. 144:4) and like the withering grass (cf. 102:4). (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 866–867). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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One of the first steps toward personal peace and victory is to accept the fact that there will be changes in life, and how we respond will determine what these changes do to us and for us. The psalmist responded by turning to the Lord for help. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be exultant (1st ed., p. 46). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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102:10, 11 a lengthened shadow. The time of sunset is used to describe the psalmist’s desperate sense that his life will end shortly because God has punished him by withdrawing His presence and strength. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 102:10). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 10. Because of thine indignation and thy wrath, &c.] This was the burden of his complaint, what gave him the greatest uneasiness; not so much the reproach of his enemies, and his other outward afflictions, as the sense he had of God’s wrath and indignation. The people of God are as deserving of his wrath as others; and when they are awakened to a sense of sin and danger, or the law enters into their consciences, it works wrath there, and leaves nothing but a fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation, till comfort is given; and under afflictive providences they are very ready to conclude, that the wrath of God is upon them; but this is only their apprehension of things; it is not in reality: for God has not appointed them to wrath, and has swore he will not be wroth with them; Christ has bore it for them, in their room and stead; and being justified by his blood and righteousness, they are saved from it; but then the sense they have of it is very terrible, and there is no rest, peace, and comfort in their souls, whilst under the apprehensions of it: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down; as a man that, in wrestling, has the advantage of his antagonist, lifts him up as high as he can, that he may throw him with the greater force upon the ground; in like manner the psalmist thought the Lord was dealing with him: or this may express his changeable state and condition, sometimes lifted up, and sometimes cast down, and which is the case of every believer, more or less; all have their liftings up, and their castings down: when God first calls them by his grace, he raises them from a low estate, lifts them up out of an horrible pit, takes them from the dunghill, sets them among princes to inherit the throne of glory: when he comforts them with the consolations of his spirit, he is the lifter up of their heads; when he grants his presence, and lifts up the light of his countenance: when he discovers his love, and makes their mountain to stand strong; when he shews them their interest in himself, as their covenant-God, in Christ, as their Redeemer and Saviour, and grants them the communion of the Holy Ghost; and when their graces are in lively exercise, then is it a time of lifting up: and they are cast down when corruptions prevail, when grace is weak, when God hides his face, and when afflictions lie heavy on them: this was now the case of the psalmist, and perhaps the remembrance of his liftings up in former times was an aggravation of it. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 4, p. 128). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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10. “Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up and east me down.” A sense of the divine wrath which had been manifested in the overthrow of the chosen nation and their sad captivity led the Psalmist into the greatest distress. He felt like a sere leaf caught up by a hurricane and carried right away, or the spray of the sea which is dashed upwards that it may be scattered and dissolved. Our translation gives the idea of a vessel uplifted in order that it may be dashed to the earth with all the greater violence and the more completely broken in pieces; or to change the figure, it reminds us of a wrestler whom his opponent catches up that he may give him a more desperate fall. The first interpretation which we have given is, however, more fully in accordance with the original, and sets forth the utter helplessness which the writer felt, and the sense of overpowering terror which bore him along in a rush of tumultuous grief which he could not withstand. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 88-110 (Vol. 4, p. 253). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture
Genesis 12-15
Promise: A statement assuring that someone will do a particular act or an assurance something specific will be guaranteed in the future.
Promises are valuable in the lives of people. We launch into the unknown on the promises made by our marriage partner, we accept an occupation based on promises made to us at the time of hiring. Children will stand at the window and expectedly look out at an empty driveway anticipating a parent’s return. When a promise is made there is an anticipation of its fulfillment!
The same is true here in Genesis 12 as Abram accepts the spoken word of the LORD. The challenge is to accept the promise and to act in accordance with no real understanding of what lies ahead. That is what Abram and Sarai did as they packed their belongings and headed into the great unknown.
Along the journey, Abram makes some wise decisions and some rather poor choices. Abram continues to learn and understand the ways of God in each chapter as the blessings of being a follower of God was made evident. Abram had become a great nation as he had become rich in gold, silver and livestock (13:2). He walked with kings and led armies to victory, but he still did not see the promise he desired!
There are times we walk by faith, and we see the Lord’s blessings and power manifested but, the one thing we envision most is absent! Like Abram we will have to trust that the One who promised will also bring to fulfillment His promises. In Chapter 15 Abram again hears from God, and He reaffirms His promise.
May we be assured that God will keep His promises and rest in the reality that this Promise Maker is a Promise Keeper! With an Expectant Hope, Pastor Miller
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Joseph and his brothers reconcile.
INSIGHT
Forgiveness! Where would we be without forgiveness? Without forgiving and being forgiven?
We see in this chapter a very moving example of Joseph being willing to forgive the very ones who some years earlier had plotted to kill him. Notice that Joseph’s ability to forgive was rooted squarely in his theology: “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
If we lay hold of eternal rather than earthly things, we can more easily forgive when someone robs us of earthly things. Forgive and accept forgiveness. (Quiet Walk)
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JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption 1 Corinthians 1:30
Let me show you the essential difference between justification and sanctification. Look at it like this: Justification is an act of God the Father; sanctification is essentially the work of God the Holy Spirit. There is this division of work in the blessed Persons of the Trinity. It is the Father who declares righteous and just. It is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies.
Second, justification takes place outside us, as in a tribunal; sanctification takes place within us, in our inner life. I stand in the court when I am justified, and the judge pronounces that I am free; it is a statement about me, outside me. But sanctification is something that is worked and takes place within.
Third, justification removes the guilt of sin; sanctification removes the pollution of sin and renews us in the image of God.
And therefore, last, by definition justification is a once-and-for-all act. It is never to be repeated because it cannot be repeated and never needs to be repeated. It is not a process but a declaration that we are pronounced just once and forever, by God. Sanctification, on the other hand, is a continuous process. We continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord until we are perfect beyond the veil.
So there is nothing quite so erroneous and confusing and unscriptural as to mistake the essential difference between justification and sanctification. That is the whole trouble with Roman Catholic teaching and all Catholic piety. If you confuse sanctification with justification, you will be doubtful as to whether you are justified or not. If you bring in your state and condition and sin that you may commit, then you are querying your justification. But if you realize that justification is forensic, external, and declaratory, you know that you are justified whatever may be true about you.
A Thought to Ponder
Justification removes the guilt of sin; sanctification removes the pollution of sin.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 174-175, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).
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Moses and the Shining Face
“And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand…that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.” (Exodus 34:29)
Moses had been alone with God 40 days and 40 nights, simply communing with God and receiving the tables with the Ten Commandments. When he finally descended, the glory of God so radiated from him that the people could not bear to look at his face, and he had to wear a veil even to speak to them.
The council of Jewish leaders had a similar experience as they interrogated Stephen concerning his Christian testimony: “And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15).
None of us today ever seem to exhibit such glowing faces, nor is anyone likely to mistake us for an angel. But perhaps this is because we have not spent the time in His presence that Moses did, nor preached the Word in the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit as Stephen did. Nevertheless, we should have a different countenance than before we met the Lord. Men should be able to say of us as it was said of Peter and John: “They marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (4:13).
In fact, God even promises that this will be so to the extent that we spend time in His Word, which itself is alive with the light of His glory. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
May God enable us, therefore, to be “holding forth the word of life,” even “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15-16). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles, they are not likely to bring
forth much fruit to the glory of God. It is good for young believers to begin with a firm
hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the Lord has taught in his Word.
Why, if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only
lasts for a time I would scarcely be at all grateful for it; but when I know that those whom
God saves he saves with an everlasting salvation, when I know that he gives them an
everlasting righteousness, when I know that he settles them on an everlasting foundation
of everlasting love, and that he will bring them to his everlasting kingdom, oh, then I
wonder, and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to
me! (p.77)
The combination of the preaching gifts of Spurgeon and the prayers of the church was
mighty in the hand of God. (p. 78)
Spurgeon was no exception, but his approach to the situation was a prudent one that
young ministers would do well to imitate, ‘I am quite certain that, for my own success,
and for the prosperity of the church, I took the wisest course by applying my blind eye to
all disputes which dated previously to my advent. It is the extremity of unwisdom for a
young man, fresh from college, or from another charge, to suffer himself to be earwigged
by a clique, and to be bribed by kindness and flattery to become a partisan, and so to ruin
himself with one-half of his people.’ (p. 80)
The preachers address their cold, “packed- in-ice” discourses to the educated portion of their audience; and the majority, the uneducated poor, are unable, in these “scientific” sermons, to learn the way of holiness, from the simple fact that they are above their comprehension.
Mr Spurgeon goes to the root of the evil; his discourses are such as a child can understand, and yet filled with the most elevating philosophy and sound religious instruction. Taking the Word as his only guide, and casting aside the writings – however antiquated – of fallible men, he appeals to the heart, not to the head; puts the living truth forcibly before the mind, gains the attention, and then, as he himself says, fastens in the bow the messenger shaft, which by the blessing and direction of the Almighty, strikes home to the heart of the sinner. (p. 82)
We do not go snowballing on Sundays, we go fire-balling; we ought to hurl grenades into the enemies ranks. (p. 84)
According to Michael Haykin, ‘As Spurgeon had examined the preaching of some of his Baptist contemporaries, he had noticed in their sermons that the “Atonement is scouted, the inspiration of Scripture is derided, the Holy Spirit is degraded into an influence, the punishment of sin is turned into fiction, and the resurrection into a myth.” (p. 86, Preachers Who Made A Difference by Peter Jeffery)
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The Truth in Us
“For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.” (2 John 1:2)
The word “truth” occurs more in the gospel of John than in any other book of the New Testament, and it occurs in the first epistle of John more than in any other book except John’s gospel. Then, it occurs more in John’s two one-chapter epistles (2 and 3 John) than in any other New Testament book save John and 1 John. Surely one of the great themes in John’s writings is truth!
God is, indeed, the God of truth, and His written Word is “the scripture of truth” (Daniel 10:21). “For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth” (Psalm 33:4). The Lord Jesus Christ is, in fact, the very incarnation of truth. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He asserted (John 14:6).
Surely truth dwells forever in Christ, for He is Himself the Creator and is thereby the very definition of truth. But how can it be that truth dwells in us and shall be with us forever? This is certainly not the case with the natural man.
It can only be by the Holy Spirit, of course, and this is what Christ—who is the truth—has promised. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
That being so, with the Holy Spirit of truth indwelling us forever, our words, and deeds, and our very lives should be characterized by truth and complete consistency. “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25). “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Joanne W (MO): So you don’t want to go to HIS house on earth, yet you expect to live in HIS mansion in heaven???? – great point!!
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I just happened to have the TV on and heard a great message by Charles Stanley on living a life obedient to God. Made me sit down and take notes. Three great points I took away.
1. The biggest enemy of obedience is partial obedience
2. You will not live an obedient life with a closed Bible
3. Obey God, leave all the consequences to him.
Thanks Nicole Petersen Ward)
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