REJOICE GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYERS

Proclamation:

"Praise be to The Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.  The Lord is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.  Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever." Psalms 28:6-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of King David which were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After lamenting about his situation, David prayed for deliverance, then offered praise and thanks to God, even though his situation had yet to change.  David knew that God would hear him, strengthen him, protect him, help him, save him, and bless him, so he was joyful and thankful before anything happened.

Application:

After we pray, we should have faith, believe and behave as if our prayers have already been answered.  Our faith in God should allow us to know that He hears our prayers and that He will bless us because He loves us, not because we deserve it.  Let us exercise a little more faith in God with each passing day.  If we pray for rain, then we should go and get our umbrella because we know that the rain is coming.

OBEDIENCE SACRIFICE AND BLESSINGS

Proclamation:

“Some time later God tested Abraham.  He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ … Then God said, ‘Take you son, you only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’  Early the next morning … he took his son … When they reached the place … Abraham built and altar … he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar … and took the knife to slay his son.  But The Angel of The Lord called out to him … ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy’ … Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram, caught by its horns … he took the ram and sacrificed it … The Angel of The Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said ‘… I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.  Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.’”  Genesis 22:1-18 (NIV)

Explanation:

The Lord God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him. (Genesis 17:1-7)  God kept His promise and Abraham was an old man when his son, Isaac, was born. (Genesis 21:2)  When The Lord God called to him and told what He wanted him to do, Abraham was obedient and took his son to the mountains to offer him as a brunt offering unto The Lord.  Before he actually slayed his son, The Angel of The Lord stopped him and showed him a ram that was caught in the bush.  Abraham called that place “The Lord Will Provide”. (Genesis 22:14)  Because he was willing to sacrifice his son to please God, The Lord promised to bless him and his descendants, who would be too numerous to count. (Genesis 22:16-17)  He promised that through Abraham’s descendants all nations on the earth would be blessed, referring to Jesus, The Christ. (Genesis 22:18)  The genealogy of Jesus can be traced back to Abraham. (Matthew 1:1-16)

Application:

Abraham passed his test of faith in God by showing his obedience to God.  He was willing to give up the son that he loved in order to obey God.  What sacrifices are we willing to make to obey The Word of God?  All too often we choose to please ourselves and our lustful, sinful nature instead of sacrificing our personal wants, wishes, and desires in order to please God.  We offer excuses when we are presented with the opportunity to choose to obey The Word of God and we give in to pleasing ourselves.  Abraham is often referred to as the father of the faithful.  He was truly blessed, God even used his enemies to be a blessing to him.  If we want to be blessed more in the future than we already are, then maybe we should be more obedient to God's word and His will than we are currently.  God gave us a free will and He allows us to choose to be obedient or not.  Following Him requires some personal sacrifices.  However, with obedience and sacrifice comes some special blessings.  Remember, some blessings are conditional.

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

Proclamation:

"Do you see a man who speaks in haste?  There is more hope for a fool than for him." Proverbs 29:20 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon, who was blessed to be the wisest man ever. (1 Chronicles 1:11-12)  Words spoken in haste are rarely helpful.  Solomon was encouraging the people of God to think before they speak.

Application:

Some people say whatever comes to their mind.  "Whatever come up, comes out."  As their thoughts occur they are uttered, without the benefit of being processed or filtered by their brain.  Speaking without thinking is not a very good idea, especially when we are angry.  "… He who restrains his lips is wise." (Proverbs 10:19 KJV) or, as translated in a different version of The Bible, "... He who holds his tongue is wise." (Proverbs 10:19 NIV)  Some things that we think are better off if they are left unspoken.  If what we were going to say is not going to help someone, then we should probably keep that thought to ourselves.  It is a good practice to always think before you speak.

DO NOT BRAG OR BOAST ABOUT YOURSELF

Proclamation:

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips." Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live. (2 Chronicles 1:11-12)  Solomon wanted the people of God to know that bragging is not a good thing to do.  One should not seek to honor one’s self. (Proverbs 25:27)

Application:

Do not brag or boast about who you are or what you have.  Jesus told the parable about the certain rich man who said to himself "... you have plenty of good things laid up for many years ..." and The Lord told him "You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you." (Luke 12:16-21)  If we brag about what we have, we may not get to enjoy it.  "All such boasting is evil." (James 4:16)  Arrogant boasting about our accomplishments and possessions leaves God out of the equation.  By bragging we are taking credit for what He has blessed us with and allowed or caused to happen.   Personal aggrandizement, self-seeking honor and pride can lead to one's downfall.  "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.  When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." (2 Corinthians 10:12)  "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom The Lord commends." (2 Corinthians 10:18)  Be humble, lift The Lord up, and He will lift you up.  We should not promote ourselves, promotions are blessing from God and He exalts whom He chooses. (Psalm 75:6-7)  A good academic exercise for us would be to describe ourselves without saying what we do or did, what we have, or who we are related to.  In all of our ways and self-descriptions we should acknowledge the blessing of The Lord. (Proverbs 3:6) 

THE PENALTY FOR SIN AND THE GIFT OF GOD

Proclamation:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 6:23 (KJV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome.  Paul wanted them to know that death is the punishment for sin.  However, believers in Jesus, The Christ, will receive the God given gift of eternal life. 

Application:

We all have sinned. (Romans 3:23)  None of us is righteous. (Romans 3:10)  We all deserve the penalty of death for our sins.  Death is both physical and spiritual.  The physical death is the separation of the body and the soul.  Man is just the dust of the earth into which God breathed the breath of life and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)  Without the God given breath of life the body dies and the soul returns to God.  The spiritual death is the eternal separation from Jesus, The Christ.  This "second death" occurs when the soul is cast into the "lake of fire" for eternal damnation and torment.  The only way to escape the second death is by belief in Christ and the acceptance of the gift of eternal life. (John 3:16)  We cannot pay the debt that we owe for our sins.  However, Jesus has already paid the debt for us with His death on Calvary and He has given us the opportunity for eternal life with Him, if we believe in Him.  At some point in time we will all die.  The question is, after death, where will your soul spend eternity?

NOW WHEN I AM OLD AND GREY

Proclamation:

"Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, My God, until I declare Your power to the next generation, Your mighty acts to all who are to come."  Psalms 71:18 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words are believed to have been written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  David stated that he wanted to tell all who would listen about the righteous deeds and mighty acts of God. (Psalm 71:15-16)  He stated that God had taught him things since the days of his youth. (Psalm 71:17)  Now he was asking God not to forsake him and to spare him until he had declared God’s power and mighty acts to the next generation.

Application:

Do not discard or disregard the "seasoned" senior saints, there is a lot of wisdom tied up in all those years that could be useful to the believers of the world.  For we who are old have seen, and experienced, and learned a lot during our Christian walk that could benefit the younger generations.  We can truly testify, based upon our trials and tribulations, about the strength and power of The Lord, and what He has done in our lives.  To the young I say, listen when the elderly speak, you just may learn something.  God is not through with us old folks yet, and with His help there is still some kingdom building work for us to do.  To the old I say, share what you have learned with the younger generations, with your children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and anyone’s child who will listen.  He has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others.  God has left us here among the living because work is not done.  That is why we can pray this old man's prayer.  We need to praise Him for all that He has done and we need His help to guide our tongue as we speak to the younger generations.

GOD SEES ALL THAT WE DO

Proclamation:

“For your ways are in full view of The Lord, and He examines all of your paths.”  Proverbs 5:21 (NIV)  The King James version of The Bible reads: "For the ways of man are before the eyes of The Lord, and He pondereth all his goings."  Proverbs 5:21 (KJV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon, who was blessed to be the wisest man to ever live. (2 Chronicles 1:11-12)  Solomon wanted the people to know that The Lord God was watching them all of the time and sees everything that they do.  His purpose was to encourage them to behave in a Christ-like manner.

Application:

Imagine a video camera being focused upon you, 24 hours each day, 365 days of the year.  Would you want that recording played back to all of your family and friends in church, especially if it included all that you said and thought?  That which is done in the dark will soon come to the light.  Some people say, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  It is as if they believe that God is not there and that He does not see all that goes on in Las Vegas, and everywhere else.  God sees all of our actions.  He also hears all of our spoken words, and He can read our minds and our hearts.  He knows all of our thoughts and the motives behind our behavior.  It is a sin to think sinful thoughts. (Matthew 5:28)  For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)  God knows us, and He love us in spite of our sinful behavior.  However, on judgement day, Jesus is going to judge each of us on all of our thoughts, words, and deeds. (Matthew 12:36-37, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, and Revelation 20:12-13)  We should repent now and ask for forgiveness for all of our sins, and pray for His help to avoid them in the future.