PSALM 84

LEARNING FROM OUR LONGING

the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance.

1 Chronicles 9:19

Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

2 Chronicles 20:18–19

Longing for God’s PRESENCE

You may have noticed that the books you really love are bound together by a secret thread. You know very well what is the common quality that makes you love them, though you cannot put it into words… Again, you have stood before some landscape, which seems to embody what you have been looking for all of your life…

All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it – tantalizing glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear. But if it should ever really become manifest – if there ever came an echo that did not die away but swelled into the sound itself- you would know it. Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say, ‘Here at last is the thing I was made for...’

It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want, the thing we desired before we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and which we shall still desire on our deathbeds, when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work…All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness. (CS LEWIS)

[Nest pics]

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You..”

(Augustine, Confessions)

Relying on God’s STRENGTH

Trusting in God’s GOODNESS

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

Ephesians 2:22

...In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Revelation 21:3

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness.

Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever.

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still.

Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. (AW TOZER)

Growing Up and Working Properly

Ephesians 4:15-16

1. Every part of the body needs to keep growing. Am I growing? (vs 15)

2. Every part of the body needs to keep working. Am I working properly? (vs 16)

July 18th 2021 (3rd in Re-Turn series after Earl) 2 Chronicles 20:1-23

Return Requires RELIANCE

PRAY

Thank you for gathering us, thank you for loving us and giving us your son and your word that we may know you. This morning would you help us have a proper understanding of our need for you. Forgive us for self reliance and not trusting you, help us to RELY on you... and RETURN to how you want us to live both FOR and WITH you...

When God tries to get your attention, HE ALWAYS has a good reason. 2 Chron-20

I haven’t been able to stop thinking through this YEAR how I don’t want to miss whatever it is the Lord is trying to teach me (and us)... and not just because I don’t want to have to go through a nother wave of the class... I want whatever it is that God wants for me. Are you like that, would you agree... if sovereign, almighty, loving, merciful and gracious God has something for you, do you want it? we should

-The problem is we get focused on the NOW and the “BACK TO NORMAL” we forget that the best it ever was, all the good or plenty, all the freedom and abundance was always only ever GRACIOUSLY by God’s design... like it or not we are reliant!

-For the nation of Israel God works in exile, captivity, he works in our lives through difficult circumstances, job loss, illness, relational breakdown, pandemic to help us more accurately see how RELIANT we are on HIM!... All that it was, was because of HIM for Israel and so for us, SO like them RETURNING REQUIRES RELIANCE...

Maybe you are thinking, I know I am reliant!! It’s desperate... but maybe like me so often, you need a reminder of how IN NEED we really are & how then we should live!

This is our 3rd week in our RE-TURN series. In this series we are looking at KINGS and EVENTS from 2 Chronicles, that were recorded for GOD’S PEOPLE IN EXILE: (((1&2 Kings-How did we get here 1&2 Chronicles- Can we restore what we had?)))

So what are we looking to RETURN to? Are we looking to get life back to all that we provided and produced... cause apart from GOD’s GRACE that was nothing

The lesson here is about: FULL RELIANCE on GOD... Israel ((LIKE US)) needed God’s PROVISION and for Him to PRODUCE... All the Blessings we want, all the end of restrictions, all the restoration of relationships, provision of work, physical healing, purpose in life, SALVATION FOR A LOVED ONE, emotional peace.. IT IS and was ALWAYS and ONLY FOUND IN THE LORD. If that is what we want, then RELIANCE on the one who can provide & produce is Required & Jehoshaphat is our example

Read along with me vs.1-2-Now you might be thinking.. OT Narrative, sounds about right. But for Jehoshaphat and Judah this is a surprise. For starters Jehospaphat had been doing a good job trying to get rid of idol worship, pointing the nation to God, he had an alliance with the King of Israel (remember the kingdom is divided) and that guy was not good and God wasn’t pleased with that. But he had recently been promoting justice, putting in good government and judges and promoting worship

... Now all of a sudden this Coalition from across the Jordan valley is coming in fast and ready to battle. (((MAP- they got real close real fast, so no time to prep 35iskm away))) Notice this isn’t a small COALITION vs.2 a great multitude, that’s the Bible’s way of emphasizing they had NUMERICALLY OVERWHELMING SUPERIORITY

-This is the stage for us to learn 3 important PRINCIPLES of RELYING on GOD.

vs.3-4 Here is the first practice that RELYING on GOD requires... we must

1.) SEEK THE LORD (vs.3-4) hopefully you can see that all 3 times in these 2 verses

Exp.

SEEK THE LORD.. Everything has just changed, over night, and it’s bad

-Jehoshaphat’s reaction is a PERFECT EXAMPLE for us!.. Now it says he was afraid, which is understandable, but he doesn’t stay in this place of worry and fear and anxiety. It says He set his face to seek the Lord, There is a seriousness in his pursuit of divine help... PAUSE: is that what we do

TITLE: CHRIST IN US, THE HOPE OF GLORY

TEXT: COL 1:27-29

1) CHRIST IS IN YOU (V27)

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Tim Keller quote:

In Matthew 27:51 we are told that the moment Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom as if by two mighty hands from above. At his death Jesus dismantled the old temple, and at his resurrection he established the new one. Now when we unite with the risen Christ by faith, through the Holy Spirit, the Shekinah glory presence of God that had dwelled behind the veil, inaccessibly, is now available to us.

And what this means for the church is remarkable. It means that a Christian is not primarily a nice person who subscribes to certain beliefs and codes. Christianity is instead a radical regeneration of the heart and a reorientation of the life. We are regenerated when we believe (John 3:3), because now the same divine presence that once shook mountains, terrified people, and killed living things on contact lives in us. That means that we who believe in Jesus are now temples in which the Holy Spirit of God dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16). It means that being a Christian gives us access to the presence of God through prayer. Moses’s unrealized yearning to see the light of God’s glory and face (Exodus 33:18) is now our privilege (John 1:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6).

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2) CHRIST IN YOU IS THE HOPE OF GLORY (V27)

3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Col 3:3-4

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Elizabeth Elliot quote:

“God came down and lived in this same world as a man. He showed us how to live in this world, subject to its vicissitudes and necessities, that we might be changed—not into an angel or a storybook princess, not wafted into another world, but changed into saints in this world. The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.”

3) SO TOIL IN PROCLAIMING CHRIST (V28-29)

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IMPLICATION #1: PROCLAIM CHRIST

IMPLICATION #2: TOIL WITH CHRIST’S POWER

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BIBLICAL BALANCE:

WE PROVIDE THE TOIL

GOD PROVIDES THE POWER

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He whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Lina Sandell

Truly Transformed // Rom 12:2 // Mike Armstrong // 9.26.21 // T-WEST

I can truly be transformed when I…

1. Determine the ways I’ve conformed to this world (v.2a)

2. Renew what I think about and actually believe (v.2b)

3. Experience that God’s will really is the best thing ever (v.2c)

Rom 12. Have u ever gotten 2 the place in your life where u just knew — something’s gotta change here [diet/exercise — sin that’s become a runaway train — anxiety — spiritual discipline] — all of us face these types of moments where it hits us that, ‘man, I need 2 get this thing fixed/growth — I need 2 b transformed.’

Well 2day we’re gonna explore how 2 do that & do it well/biblically. How do u & I actually change? Practically speaking, how do we grow in an area that’s been a problem — what’s our responsibility & what’s the Lord’s responsibility in this process? How can we get 2 a place where we truly live/function as God intends us 2 — w/ joy/gratitude/peace/confidence in the Lord — & out of a strong realization of the identity he’s given us as believers?

So what we’re gonna do here is look at Rom 12:2 — Now it’s just 1 v but it’s a very helpful 1 b/c it actually tells us quite a lot about this idea of transformation — READ & PRAY

I can truly b transformed when I… 1. Determine the ways I’ve conformed 2 this world. This is the 1st step 2 transformation — if u & I really wanna change, then we need 2 b properly aware of what the problem is exactly — v.2a: Do not b conformed 2 this world — conformed means “in compliance w/ (rules/standards/laws)“ — meaning here that the world has its ways of thinking/beliefs/behaving/driven by certain desires that r out of line w/ how Christ-followers r 2 think//believe/behave/& even the desires we’re 2 have inwardly — simply put — the world’s way of doing things is contrary 2 God’s ways & as believers we’re not 2 become like/conform 2 that. Now in the original language that word conformed carries w/ it the sense that when u conform 2 something, an inner change has occurred — which makes sense — what we do/how we act/behave on the outside is never just an external thing — it always flows from what’s going on inside (heart/mind) [going 2 your favorite coffee shop every day…] — what we do flows from what we think/believe.

So think about it like this — if u wanna b transformed in the area of anger/sexual immorality/fear/addiction/bad eating habits/watching too much TV — the issue is not just the external act of giving in2/doing those things outwardly — the issue is that somewhere inside you’ve conformed 2 this world in your thinking/beliefs/desires — & out from those inner thoughts/beliefs/desires you’ve chosen 2 act/live outwardly in world-conforming ways, instead of God-conforming ways — which r always best.

So as u consider where you’re at spiritually this wk, start thinking carefully & determining the ways you’ve conformed 2 this world — & while you’ll likely come up those outward issues like gossip — impatience w/ my kids — coldness 2wards my spouse — (outward actions) — really start 2 think about what’s going on inside — the thoughts/beliefs/desires behind those actions — cuz that’s where the root of these issues r found. It takes some careful thought 2 determine what those things r — cuz remember — how u & I r conformed 2 this world begins internally — in what we think/believe/desire — we discover where those things r off/out of line w/ what’s true/good/right in God’s eyes, then we can attack the problem at the root & begin 2 see transformation begin 2 happen outwardly in how we actually live — Rom 8:6: 4 2 set the mind on the flesh is death, but 2 set the mind on the Spirit is life & peace. Now all this sets us up 4 this next thing:

I can truly b transformed when I… 2. Renew what I think about & actually believe. So if the 1st step 2 transformation is determining what’s biblically off about our thinking/beliefs/desires — then the 2nd step is 2 get those thoughts/beliefs/desir

Return to Prosperity

2 Chronicles 26:1-23

So far, we’ve taken looks at three kings… Solomon, Asa, and then last week Jehoshaphat.

And now this week, a fourth king, Uzziah.

• If Solomon was the king who built the wealth, and Asa and Jehoshaphat the ones who secured the borders, Uzziah is the king who really gets to enjoy the wealth.

Under Uzziah’s reign Judah reaches enormous levels of wealth and prosperity…almost like nothing seen before.

So I’ve been praying that as we look at these words…at this man Uzziah…that his life will give us some helpful lessons in what real prosperity looks like, and how to get it.

But, it’s one thing to be prosperous…another thing entirely to KEEP it.

Uzziah is the king, the man, at a time when it was sweet to be a king. He’s the one who really enjoys the prosperity…but, the prosperity is going to burn him to the ground.

And there are lessons for us, that warn us…and ones that encourage.

[PAUSE] But we’ll get to that in a second…

Let’s look at this story, and let’s see more. 2 Chronicles 26:1…

And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. 3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.

Ok, so this is introductory stuff…let me explain a bit…

Uzziah, is made king at 16 years old after his father, Amaziah dies…normal succession stuff…

But what is exceptional, for any king, is that he would reign for 52 years!

A couple more things are helpful to see…

Mention of the city Eloth in v2. That’s a port city on the gulf of Aqaba – why is that important?

Port city – means water – means ships – means trade – wait for it…means $$$$$

Translation: Uzziah is taking the nation UP!

See this also…more importantly… v5…

He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

Zechariah (not the guy who wrote the book of the Bible…someone else, same name) instructs him in the fear of the Lord…which is a good thing…because he’s just eligible for his G2!

Any 16-years old here? Wow, right?!

I’m sure most 10th graders can do a great job as a king…maturity is rock solid in place.

But just in case, he’s got help.

BTW. How amazing to be raised this way…in the fear of the Lord…what a starting place…

But notice…this results in Uzziah seeking the Lord…and this terrific statement: as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper

That last word…v5…prosper…you wanna hear something neat about that word?

In the Hebrew, it carries with it the idea of forced entry.

In other words, any would-be obstacles in Uzziah’s path to success, the LORD would kick down the doors. The Lord is battering down the walls of any opposition to his man, Uzziah.

Modern day battering rams are small [SLIDE]…

The hand of the Lord with you…now that’s some kind of Prosperity…

Here’s the first point of today’s message:

When it comes to prosperity, we must remember…

1. Prosperity comes from the Lord (v6-15)

The Lord chooses to blow down any walls that stood in Uzziah’s way…

Let’s look the next few verses and see what the Lord does…v6

6 [Uzziah] went out and made war against the Philistines and broke through the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and he built cities in the territory of Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in Gurbaal and against the Meunites. 8 The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.

I won’t do the map thing for you this time, but that’s South, West,

TITLE: When we are weak

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 4:7-9

Keys that unlock a life of endurance that does NOT lose heart:

1 – WE ARE NOTHING, JESUS IS EVERYTHING – V.7

2 – WHEN WE ARE WEAK, THEN WE ARE STRONG - V.8-9

2 Corinthians 12:10 – “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

When we are weak, then we are strong because of Christ’s surpassing power working in us:

2A. Even under tremendous pressure – V.8a

2B. Even in the midst of great loss – vs.8b

Philippians 3:8 – “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

2C. Even when enemies pursue us – vs.9

2D. Even when we get knocked down – vs.9b

TITLE: Jesus’ Prayer for our Unity

TEXT: John 17:20-23

Jesus’ prayer for our unity:

1 – GOD’S WORD AT THE CENTER – V.20

D.A Carson - “[Unity]… is not achieved by hunting enthusiastically for the lowest common theological denominator, but by common adherence to the apostolic gospel, by love that is joyfully self-sacrificing, by undaunted commitment to the shared goals of the mission with which Jesus’ followers have been charged.”

2 – GENUINE ONENESS AS OUR MARK – V.21-23a

Romans 12:4-5 – “ For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

3 – GREAT IMPACT AS THE RESULT – V.21b, 23b

2 final exhortations:

- We need to help one another

Ephesians 4:1-3 – “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

- We need God’s help together

Title Slide:

Grace for the Repentant

Luke 23:39-43

Slide 1: There is grace for those who repent.

Slide 2 (definition): Repentance is the inward change of mind, rooted in the fear of God, which, when accompanied by faith in Jesus results in an outward change of life.

Scripture Slide: Acts 2:38 ESV And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture Slide: Luke 17:3-4 “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Main Point Slides:

Evidence of grace in those who repent…

Bold rejection of Unbelief (vs. 39-40)

Humble recognition of Sin (vs. 41)

Remarkable faith in Christ (vs. 42-43)

TITLE: The People With You Are Too Many

TEXT: Judges 7:1-22

[together on one slide]

Psalm 138:6 - For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.

1 Peter 5:5 - …God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Big Take Away: We should embrace weakness, because it protects us from pride

In our weakness…

the LORD protects his glory (v1-8)

- God loves to do things in a way that seems foolish to men, but displays his glory more clearly.

Build an ark in the desert. Escape through, not around, the Red Sea. Speak to a rock when you need

water. March around a walled city and blow trumpets when you want to defeat a city. Send a boy with a

slingshot when there is a giant in the land. Pour water on the wood at Mount Carmel before you ask for

fire to fall from heaven. Tell twelve men to feed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. - John Piper

- 1 Corinthians 1:22–24 - For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ

crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews

and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

- Ephesians 2:8–9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is

the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

- Deuteronomy 20:8 - And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who

is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like

his own.’

- 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect

in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ

may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships,

persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

the LORD gives his assurance (v9-14)

- 1 Corinthians 15:56–57 - The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to

God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

the LORD provides his strength (v15-22)

- Judges 21:25 - In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

- Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold,

your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a

donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

- Matthew 21:6–9 - The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey

and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on

the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that

went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who

comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”