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The human situation, the divine solution...

Jeremiah 31:15-20 The human situation, the divine solution  * “She refuses to be comforted” (Jeremiah 31:15). Often, we dig a hole for ourselves.  * “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears” - This is what “the Lord” says to us (Jeremiah 31:16). If anyone else says this to us, we might well say, “It’s all right for you to say that. You’re not suffering like I am.” God gave His only Son - to die for us. He knows what we’re going through. He’s been there, and He hasn’t forgotten it, He came out the other side for us - the resurrection.  * “They shall come back from the land of the enemy; there is hope for your future” (Jeremiah 31:16-17) - “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). How are we to understand our times of suffering?  * “You disciplined me” (Jeremiah 31:18) - There is a purpose of God in our suffering. “Bring me back, let me come back, for You are the Lord my God” (Jeremiah 31:18) - the story of t...
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God is our refuge and our strength...

"God is our refuge and our strength..." (Psalm 46;1). "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). First, the truth about God; Then, our feelings are brought into line with the truth about God, Facts; Faith; Feelings * Facts - Christ's death and resurrection for us * Faith - I believe the facts. My faith is built on the sure foundation - Christ, the rock of my salvation. * Feelings - Never start with feelings. They will lead you astray. Safety; Certainty; Enjoyment * Safety - We have been saved by the Lord. It's His doing - not ours. * Certainty - We believe His Word. We stand upon His promises. * Enjoyment - We enjoy His blessing.
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How are we to pray?

2 Chronicles 7:12-22 The gathering together of God’s people - “I ... have chosen this place for Myself” (2 Chronicles 7:12). Note also 2 Chronicles 7:15-16 - “... this place... this temple.” The key verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14. Taking this verse together with Acts 1:12-14, we may say, ‘This is the kind of prayer that leads to Pentecost.’ What we have here is humility, prayer, longing for God and repentance. We must ask, ‘How are we to pray?’ * We are to pray with humility. Remember the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14). * We are to pray with longing for God. Prayer is more than just words. There is to be intensity and persistence. The parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8): She kept on praying until she received an answer. We are to “cry out to God day and night” (Luke 18:7). * We are to pray with repentance. Our words are to be backed up by our life. When God hears this kind of prayer, arising from our hearts and lives as well as ...
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The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith (with links to audio version)

Here are two links to an audio version of a lecture given in January 1987:  The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith,Part One The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part Two _________________________________ The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God.   All Scripture is God-breathed. We experience the Breath of God upon our life when we listen attentively to the God-breathed Scriptures. Paul speaks, in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, of the  relationship between the Breath of God (the Holy Spirit) and the God-breathed Word (the Holy Scriptures) – ‘the Holy Scriptures … are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work’. 1) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to make us wise.     The wisdom which comes from the Spirit and the Word is a special kind of wisdom. It i...
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Moses didn't realize that his face was shining - but the people saw that his face was shining!

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord ... when he (Moses) came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35  they saw that his face was radiant" (Exodus 34:29, 34-35). Moses didn't realize that his face was shining - but the people saw that his face was shining! There's an important lesson for spiritual leaders here. Moses was too aware of his own shortcomings to realize how much blessing was coming out from him to the people. We should never think, "How much I've been blessed" without also thinking, "How much I've sinned." It's by the grace of God, that the blessing comes to us. It's by the grace of God that the blessing comes out from us and reaches out to others. We must never forget what Paul said about himself and his calling: "Although I am less than the least of all the ...
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God's Purpose, God's Spirit, God's Glory, God's People, God's Blessing

In Ezekiel 38:23, we read about God's purpose in history - "I will show My greatness and My holiness. I will reveal Myself to many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." It is important that we see the divine dimension in the events which take place here on earth. There are political events, but politics isn't everything. There's more than politics. There's the work of God. He is working out His plan, "I will pour out My Spirit on the nation of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:29). True blessing comes when God pours out His Spirit. This is something for which we must always - the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel 40-43, we have a description of the temple. We can measure the physical dimensions of the temple, but there is something that we cannot measure: "I saw the glory of the Lord fill the temple" (Ezekiel 43:5). This is the spiritual dimension. This is the presence of the Spirit of the  Lord. We look beyond the ...
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