We do not normally think of David as having relationship problems, but many of his psalms prove otherwise. Let's read two examples: Psalm 38:16: "For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot stumbles they magnify themselves against me." Psalm 41:9: "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." In these two examples. David was beset by people who wanted to humble, or shame, him and by a friend who betrayed him in some way. Just read on in the Psalms and you will find many passages similar to these.
David knew what we should know, i.e., that one of our biggest problems in this world is "other people." Think about it, how many of your heartbreaking, or heartrending moments have been because of what other people said about you, or did to you? Jesus spent a lot of time trying to help us love and relate to people, because He knew that they would not always be easy to love and would not always be our friends. I should also add that other people might have a problem understanding us. Just saying! Paul wrote about relationships with other people, because he knew that they would be the cause of a lot of our problems, as well a lot of our delights. This is why it is so important to practice loving people on a daily basis. If we are to ever "love the unlovable" we will have to be filled with God's Spirit of love and really apply it. I'm afraid that in our churches we too often fail the "other people" test. The New Testament tells us only to love them. We need to heed the New Testament. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
(I brought this article over from October, 2014.)
“They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause. 4. In return for my love they accuse me. But I continue to pray.” HCSB Prayer is a necessary aspect of Christian living. David certainly agreed. He was surrounded by enemies and his main recourse was prayer. It is also our main recourse. I want to share with you why I think that it is necessary to pray. First, we need to pray because it is our means of fellowship with God. Prayer is not just talking to God and giving Him our wish lists. It is being still and quiet and listening to Him as he speaks to our hearts. It is impossible to stay close to God if we do not take time for prayer and meditation. Second, we need to pray because it is our means of spiritual defense. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 that we should put on the armor of God as a means of defense against our main enemy Satan. In verses 13-17 he described the armor of God, and in verse 18a he wrote, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” After we have put the armor on, we will still need to pray in order to defend ourselves against the devil. In Acts 12 when Peter had been imprisoned because of preaching Jesus, we are told that the church “prayed without ceasing for him.” In the night an angel of God came to his cell and rescued him. It is noteworthy that the Holy Spirit had Luke write that the church prayed before Peter was rescued. It was their first line of defense. They didn’t lay plans to go and rescue Peter themselves. They didn’t say that they needed to go hire a lawyer to get him released. They went right to the source of defense – to God. Third, prayer is our means of offense. Before we attempt to do anything, we should pray about it. When you teach a Sunday School lesson, sing a solo, prepare to preach or anything that you do for the Lord, you need to consult Him in prayer and get His leadership. He is your main resource to really get the job done. In the latter part of Ephesians 6:18 and in verse 10 Paul gave them a reason to pray, not just for themselves, but for him as well: “Praying always with all supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints: 19. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.” Paul knew that he needed the prayers of his fellow Christians if he was to be an effective preacher. That’s why it’s so important, not just to pray for your own service, but for the service of others as well. I have heard missionaries who were on difficult international fields say that the main thing they want us to do for them is to pray. I will even suggest that if you want your pastor to be effective, you should pray for him on a daily basis that the Spirit will bless his ministry. (That works better than criticizing him.) Fourth, prayer is a means of helping us love our fellowman. For example, if there is someone in your life that you just don’t like, put him or her on your prayer list. I have found it difficult to dislike anyone that I pray for on a daily basis. You should make it a point to pray for all people in your life, but you should especially pray for those with whom you have a difficult time. I have found that when I have had detractors in a congregation, if I prayed for them the relationship could be resolved. I’m not telling you that it is easy, but it is necessary. At least two things happened: (1) they changed their attitude about me, (2) I changed my attitude about them, and even saw why they felt as they did. That last one is tough and it can only come about by prayer. Finally, prayer is our power source because it connects us to the power of God. It is impossible to live the Christian life and do Christian service without praying down God’s power. Yes, it is necessary to pray. Yes, prayer is a necessity in your life! Bro. Joe "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."
Psalm 100:5 reveals to us that we can enter God's gates with thanksgiving because He is good. When the Bible tells us that God is good, we cannot imagine His goodness until we become personally involved with Him through Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life, died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He forgives us and, through the Holy Spirit, comes to live in our hearts --- in our lives. I know this is true because He is living in my life. He comes into our hearts by grace, meaning that we do not deserve His forgiveness or presence, but He gives them to us anyway. He wants us to trust His word. Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If you sincerely repent and invite Jesus into your life He will come into your heart -- into your life. The Lord is good, and He is as good as His word. Just trust Him and invite Him in. If you haven't done that, there is no better time than this present moment. We can trust that God's "mercy is everlasting." I cannot explain God's mercy, but I can tell you that I have experienced it, and am receiving it, knowing, and believing, that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, rose from the grave, and is alive today and has received me into His kingdom. I did not say that I deserve it, but I trust in His grace (His unmerited favor), and His everlasting love. You can trust that if you sincerely come to Him, He will receive you by His grace. Almost every night, before I go to sleep, I thank Him for His mercy and grace. (I sometimes just close whatever book I am reading and fall asleep, but I know that I am safe in His everlasting arms. As the old hymn reminds us: "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene...") I trust that His "truth endures to all generations." Jesus' truth is as pure today as it was 2000 years ago. His forgiveness is as available to you today as it was when the apostle Paul received it. Revelation 3:20 gives us a great promise from Jesus: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man/person, hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him/her and sup with him and he with me." The promise still stands! Believe Him, receive Him and obey Him! Selah. Bro. Joe "Enter into His gate with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him and bless His Name."
Entering into the temple was to enter into the presence of God. This verse reveals to us how we should enter into His presence. We are to enter the presence of God in a spirit of thanksgiving. We should realize that enter the presence of God in thanksgiving because He allows to enter in His presence. We call it grace, which is "God's unmerited favor." Of course you realize that we do not deserve the privilege of entering into God's presence, but because of His "unmerited favor" we can enter into presence. The grace and the love of God allow us into His presence. We need to take every opportunity to take God's word for it, and, by His grace, enter into His presence in prayer. I make it a practice each morning to thank God for His grace, and for allowing me to address Him in prayer. He offers the same privilege to you. The Lord is available to you to either ask Jesus into your heart and life, and if that is the case in your life, ask Jesus to help you each day. If you have not made Him available to you, I invite you to ask Jesus to forgive your for your sins, and to come into your heart and life. If you are sincere, He will hear you and save you. You can be saved today, this minute, if you desire the salvation that Jesus offers you. Why not now? Bro. Joe "know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
We are reminded that the Lord we are serving is God. This means that there is no one greater than the Lord we serve. We owe Him reverence, praise, and obedience. This should cause us to bow in worship and praise of Him, He alone is worthy of our praise. He alone is the source of our lives, our loves and our service. Have you praised Him today? We are reminded that the Lord we are serving is our creator: "It is He that hath made us and not we ourselves." We are never independent of His presence and we are never able to say "I did it myself..." Whenever we wake up in the morning, He is present to welcome us to the day. When we go about our business during the day, He is present to lead and guide us through the day. When we go to bed at night, He is with us. My prayer each night before I go to sleep is to thank Him for being with me and loving me. God's presence is a great source of assurance, comfort and safety. He is our creator! we are not self made! I thank God each day that I am not dependent only on myself and on my limited human resources. We are reminded that "we are His people and the sheep of His pasture." Through His Son, God has received us to Himself and has made us "His people and the sheep of His pasture." How do we know that "we are His people and the sheep of His pasture"? Because He has promised us that by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, we are related to Him. We are "blood kin." This means that through the blood of His Son, we can be saved, live the Christian life and join Him in heaven. I pray that you can say with the psalmist that you belong to Him, and that you are among the "sheep of His pasture." Jesus is standing at your "heart's door" and waiting for you, if you have not already invited Him in, to invite Him in. Trust Him by grace today, and if you have already trusted Him as your Savior, pause now and praise and thank Him! I just did! Bro. Joe "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing..."
The first thing that the text tells us is to "serve the Lord..." The first definition of a "Lord" in the Webster Dictionary is: "One having authority and power over others..." That is a good definition of the lordship of our Heavenly Father. First, do we recognize the Lord Jesus as one who has "authority and power" over us? Does that describe the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives?call a scene in a movie named "God's little Acre" where the main character had a plot in his garden that he called "God's Little Acre." He kept moving "God's Little Acre" from a fertile plot to a less fertile plot. That is somewhat the way we treat the Lordship of God in our lives. If it is to our advantage, we see a call from God as the definite will of God. I have discovered, however, that this is not always the case. When I graduated from seminary, I took the largest church that called me. Let us say that I made a mess out of that call. I always said that God did not call me to be a "country preacher." The next call from that place was, guess what? A country Church. The next call was to a another country church. (I do not mean to belittle those churches, they were good churches.) When I became an Associational Missionary, it was to minister to an association of primarily country churches. I guess you might say that God called me to be a country preacher. In my old age I have learned to be proud of the label: "country preacher." Evidently, that is what God intended for me. I have written all of the above to tell you that I have learned to "serve the Lord with gladness" wherever He chooses to call me. At this point in my life I am a member of my late wife, Mary's home church, Pine Forest Baptist Church, Bainbridge, Ga. You guessed it! It is a country church, at least it is outside of the City Limits of Bainbridge. I guess you might have guessed at this point that I am, after all, a "country preacher" and glad that the Lord chose me for each of the places that He, and the church members allowed me to be their pastor. I have actually decided that I am, after all of my education, a Country Preacher. I wrote all of the above to tell you that i have concluded that whatever God has called me to is what I am glad to do. I'm just glad that God has allowed me to serve Him since 1960. Like any honest preacher will tell you, he is glad that God allows him to serve. (I'm a Southern Baptist and we only have male pastors. There are some fine women who would disagree with that. (Hey, it is what it is.) At this point in my old age, I am glad that God allows me to write these CouchPotato articles. I didn't go to college and seminary to be a writer. Frankly, some of you might suggest that I am still not a writer. Well, to each his/her own opinion. I am doing what God has, obviously, called me to do at this point in my life. However, if you ask me to preach at your church I will. (A shameless hint.) I am a Southern Baptist, but I will preach at any church that calls on me to preach. Hey, I preach from the Bible, which is not a denominational document. Years ago, I decided that my sermons would be verse by verse from the Bible. If you do not want expository preaching, you probably do not want me to preach at your church. Hey, this article has gotten too long, so I will stop here. I am serving the Lord with gladness for whatever He allows me to do. Selah Bro. Joe "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands..."
"Making a joyful noise" is a matter of opinion. Christians all over the world have an opinion on the subject. I will add one more opinion on the subject. A "joyful noise" is praising the Lord. Jesus began the Lord's Prayer with "Our Father Who art in heaven.,," (Jesus did not speak King James, but I prefer that translation in this instance.) When I pray I begin with praising our Lord, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus began the Lord's Prayer with 'Our Father which art in heaven..." Among many other things, this is a reminder that we are addressing One who is far beyond us, but through His Son, we can address Him. He is the Lord of everything in the universe, i.e., there is no place where He is not the Lord. He is the Lord of all that we can see, and of all that we cannot see, all that we can imagine, and of all that we cannot imagine. Some have said that "If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." What we think of Who He is and What He is not really a matter of interpretation. The Bible clearly reveals Him to us. We see Him at work in creation, through His Son and in the lives of people through His Holy Spirit, and in the destiny of the world. We also see Him at work through churches throughout the world. Next, I thank Him for being the God of the universe, and for loving us in spite of our sins. I thank Jesus for coming to earth, living a perfect life, and dying as the sacrifice for our sins. Without Jesus, we would all be hopelessly lost. The Bible teaches us that through faith in Jesus we can be saved. That means that we surrender our lives to His will. He forgives us for our sins when we honestly confess them to Him. (I really, really appreciate that aspect of prayer.) Through faith in His Son, Jesus, we can be saved. Jesus comes into our lives, forgives us (daily and hourly) and uses us through the power of the Holy Spirit. I truly, truly, truly thank Him for using me. I am not worthy of His using me, but by His grace, and by faith in His Son, He uses me under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. (Don't fuss at me. You are not "worthy" either." We are saved by grace - God's unmerited favor. ) I remember when I first started preaching, and preaching every Sunday at Beulah Baptist Church in Nankin, Georgia, I would almost be surprised that I, of all people, was preaching. (My computer underlined Nankin;. But there is a Nankin....But to be precise we can say Quitman, Georgia and Madison, Florida. Nankin is twelve miles from Quitman, Georgia and twelve miles from Madison, Florida.) Thank God that Beulah Baptist Church, called me and asked the Smithville Baptist Church to ordain me. And thank God that they did........... I am saved by grace through faith. I am called to preach because of God's grace. I am writing CouchPotato articles through God's grace. When I preach, which is not often these days, I preach by grace. This article has gotten too long, so I will stop here. Selah Bro. Joe "Know ye that the Lord He is God.....
Why should "all ye " make "a joyful noise unto the Lord," "serve Him with gladness" and "come before His presence with singing"? Verse 3a answers that question: "Know ye that the Lord He is God..." The Hebrew word that is translated "Lord" is the familiar word "Jehovah." David is reminding his readers that the Lord/Jehovah is God/Elohim. David used two familiar Hebrew words for God, with which his original readers would have been familiar. Jehovah/Lord is Elohim/God. To use our vernacular the "Lord God" is not to be toyed with and He is to be taken seriously. I think we forget sometimes that our "church work" is serving the "Lord God." We are not serving the founders of our churches, we are not primarily serving "our" church. We are serving Jehovah Elohim, and we should not forget it. Before you say too many negative words about your church your preacher, or your fellow members, you should remember that you are about the Lord's work and it is the most serious work on this earth, because we introduce people to eternal life with "Lord God." When we focus on being critical of our church, we might be turning someone away from "Lord....God." That, dear friends, is very serious business. I had planned to make commentary on this entire verse in this article, but I thought it would be wiser for me stop here and let the idea that you are serving "Lord God" sink into your heart and soul.. Jehovah/Elohim is very serious about His work, and as His servant, He takes you seriously. LET'S "COME BEFORE HIS PRESENCE WITH SINGING." Let 's just be glad that "Lord God" loved us enough to send His "only begotten Son" into the world to save us from sin and hell. (Start singing!) I actually just sang "Holy, Holy, Holy." Plus I sang "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, and evermore shall be, world without end Amen, Amen...." Just to be on the safe side, I also sang "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost....Amen" To be on the safest side I also sang, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong (we) are weak but He is strong....." (Selah) Bro. Joe "Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing..."
Whenever I read "come before His presence with singing," the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" comes to my mind." That is the opening song I remember in my younger days in the Smithville Baptist Church. When I attended my first protestant service in Navy Boot Camp, I thought that they had the whole thing wrong when we sang the Navy Hymn. I finally adapted to that hymn in time. I don't remember what opening hymn we sang in the Protestant Worship Services on the USS Hornet. Let us say that I took a "sabbatical" so to speak from worship services for two or three years. I began attending the Protestant services after I encountered Jesus, or He encountered me on my bunk on the U.S.S.. Hornet. This occurred in a matter of months before I was discharged from the Navy. This was when my life turn took a turn for the better - so to speak. The encounter with Jesus on my bunk on the Hornet, reminded me of the call into Christian service that I had made when I was about twelve years old. Let us say that my life did not measure up to that call until I received a call on my bunk on the Hornet. I entered the Southern Baptist Ministry in the Smithville Baptist Church after my discharge from the U.S. navy in 1960. Correction: "Measure up" might be an overstatement. My pastor, Rev. Ernest Vines, urged me to attend college. (I thank God for Bro. Vines for spending time with me and helping me make the decision to enter the ministry.) My Dad, Lofton Smith Beauchamp, Sr. drove me to the college where I was enrolled in Norman Jr. College in Norman Park, Ga. I had a problem called "graduation from high school," but i had taken some GED courses in the Navy, and Norman College received me based on those scores. (It probably did not hurt that I was entering as a ministerial student.) The first day of class, in a New Testament course I met a delightfully skinny girl from Climax, Ga, named Mary Alice Ezell who became my girl friend, and eventually my wife. God brought her into my life at just the right time. She encouraged me to study, and to forget that I was a high school dropout. Ironically, we met during her last quarter at Norman College and my first quarter. We were married about three years later. It took a while for the "Old Beauchamp charm" to charm her, but it eventually worked. To make a long story short, we were married in September of 1963. In 1965, our first daughter Faith was born. In 1967 our second daughter Hope was born. As I always write: "The rest is history." If you know me, you probably know a lot of that history. Selah (If The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Gaskin is reading this: Shhh.) Bro. Joe "Serve the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing."
This verse issues a challenge to us to which we need to give serious thought: "Serve the Lord with gladness." Are you glad that God allows you to serve Him? I remember in my first years of ministry I was amazed that I was actually preaching, and actually serving as the pastor of a church. About a year before that I was a Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy. Of course, I had given thought about what I would do when my enlistment was completed, I had talked seriously to Bro. Ernest Vines, who is my "father in the ministry," about the call to the ministry. He told me that if I was serious about the call to ministry, I would need to come before the church and ask them to license me to preach. Of course, I did not need a license to preach, but if I was serious about entering full time Christian service, I would need to be sanctioned by my home church: Smithville Baptist Church. They knew me well, but voted to license me to preach anyway. i guess the rest is history....so to speak. When Mrs. Jean Radford, the chairwoman of the Beulah pulpit committee, approached me after my second Sunday there, and told me that the church had called me to be their pastor, I literally had to sit down. Of course I accepted the call, but I was literally surprised that they had called me to be their pastor. The Beulah Church has a special place in my heart, and I am sincerely thankful to them for allowing to be their pastor for four years before moving to another church. The Beulah Baptist Church of the Nankin Community in Brooks County, is my "first love" in Christian ministry. That was over sixty years ago, but my heart still flutters when I think about their call, and my years there as their pastor. I am now retired and living in a pool house in my youngest daughter's backyard. I am now doing more writing than preaching, But I am still "serving the Lord with gladness." I am still glad that He allows me to minister in His Name. I am surrounded by several Bibles that I have read and preached from over the years. I continue to "serve the Lord gladness," and I am still glad that He allows me to do it. Frankly, I am still surprised that He allows me to do it! Selah Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|