The Word of God and Affliction

 Temple Baptist Church - 6-9-2024

Psalm 119:153-160

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Psalm 119: 176 verses broken down into twenty-two stanzas with each stanza correlating with one of the 22 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet.  Each stanza is comprised of eight verses which, in the Hebrew Bible, each verse begins with the associated letter  of the Hebrew Alphabet forming an Acrostic.  What a wonder that we hold in our hands tonight! 

 

B.  Tonight, RESH  – the twentieth letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.  A numerical value of 200 which means to be poor.

 

C.  RESH  – poor, wickedness, evil, or wicked person.

 

D.  This stanza is one of a saint crying out in his affliction.  Affliction: depression, that is, misery: - afflicted (-ion), trouble.  To take a browbeating! Browbeating: to intimidate with overbearing or to bully.  Today, we find “bullying” in the news quite often though it has always been around.  When I was a kid, there were bullies in our school.  You could either cow tail to them or you could stand up to them.

 

Psalms 22:23-24  Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.  (24)  For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

 

Psalms 102:1  A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.

 

E.  There are four types of afflictions that I need to take a short look at before dissecting these eight verses.  The word “afflictions” means trouble, depression, or misery.  When afflictions come, we need to biblically identify the source of the problem.

 

1.  There is Personal Affliction.  Self-infliction or self-inflicted – inflicted or caused by oneself.  The product of poor judgment and bad choices.  There are times when we get our feet dirty walking through this sinful world.

 

John 13:8-10  Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.  (9)  Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.  (10)  Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

 

a)  We need to learn to daily look at ourselves through the lens of the Bible.  It is then that we will find that affliction is often because of our actions and thoughts.  Then, “lay the axe to the root of the tree”.

 

b)  The First Mention of Affliction is in the context of affliction that causes pain and is found in sinfulness.  Psalms 25:16-18: “Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.  (17)  The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.  (18)  Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.”

 

James 1:21-25  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.  (22)  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  (23)  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  (24)  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  (25)  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

 

c)  Let him pray! 

 

James 5:13a  Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.

 

d)  God is ready and able to hear, forgive, and restore the self-afflicted. 

 

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

2.  There is Natural Affliction.  Somethings are simply out of one’s control as they are natural problems linked to our humanity.

 

a)  Some things are out of our control such as sickness, disease, having to live in a sinful world and sinful flesh.  God’s people get sick, and God’s people die.  That’s called life.

 

2 Kings 13:14  Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

 

2 Timothy 4:20  Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

 

b)  God’s plan for human sickness.  Human sickness is a result of Adamic sin.  We are born to die!  A time to be born and a time to die.

 

James 5:14  Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

 

3.  There is Divine Affliction.

 

a)  Divine Affliction causes one to keep God’s word.  Before chastisement, the sinner went astray but after chastisement, the sinner keeps God’s Word.  Psalms 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

 

b)  Divine Affliction teaches the afflicted His statutes.  Psalms 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.

 

c)  Divine Affliction shows God’s faithfulness to His children.  Psalms 119:75  I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.

 

Hebrews 12:5-7  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:  (6)  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  (7)  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

 

4.  There is Hatred’s Affliction.  Here we find the meaning of our context.  Wicked, evil, ungodly men afflicting God’s people.

 

Matthew 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

 

Luke 6:22-23  Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.  (23)  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

 

F.  Now let us look at these verses in light of affliction.

 

1.  Verse 153.  The Psalmist’s affliction was not deserved.  “Consider … deliver … I do not forget thy law” 

 

a.  Too often, when a child of God is having extreme difficulty, people tend to believe that he/her are being judged for personal sin.  I have had people ask me if I thought that their affliction was of the Lord.  My answer is always, if God is judging you, you will know both that it is Him and why you are being judged.

 

b.  David told the Lord to judge him and his motives.  To examine and prove his reins and heart.

 

Psalms 26:1-2  A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.  (2)  Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

 

2.  Verse 154.  The Psalmist knew that he had to look outside of self for deliverance.  “plead … deliver … quicken … according to thy word” 

 

a.  He placed his faith in this particular situation upon the veracity of God’s Word.  God seldom gives us the where, when, and how of deliverance but does guarantee a biblical one.

 

b.  He asked for the restoration of life, indicating that the one he now had was sub-par at best.  In the bad times, we tend to remember the good times and long for them once again.

 

3.  Verse 155.  “Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not they statutes.”

 

a.  The Wicked will be brought to nought soon enough.  There is no salvation for them in this world nor in the world to come.

 

b.  The reason for this is refusal to seek the Word of God!  They are God haters and Christian haters, all because they are Bible haters.

 

4.  Verse 156.  “tender mercies … according to thy judgments”

 

a.  Though the wicked are far from the blessings of God, the mercies of God are close.

 

b.  Every morning, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness.  God promised David, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

 

5.  Verse 157-158.  The Psalmist now realizes the end of the wicked.

 

a.  Verse 157.  Spiritual enemies will be a guaranteed way of life for the righteous.  Here we find the integrity of the Psalmist in continuing in the right way of the Scriptures.  “Many are my persecutors and mine enemies … yet do I not decline from thy testimonies”

 

b.  Verse 158.  The Psalmist was grieved, not so much because of his persecution, but because of the temporal soon to be eternal condition of the lost. 

 

Psalms 73:17-19  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.  (18)  Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.  (19)  How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

 

Job 42:10  And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

 

6.  Verse 159.  The Psalmist’s love for the Word of God brought about the deliverance, new life, and lovingkindness of the Lord.

 

7.  Verse 160.  The Word of God magnified.  It is in this verse that we find: the purity, righteous judgments, and eternality of the Word of God.

 

a.  The Perfection of the Word of God.  The Word of God can be trusted as we have the Spirit of Truth to interpret it for us.

 

b.  The Righteous Judgment of the Word of God.  The Word of God is always right in all its precepts and judgments.

 

b.  The Eternal Preservation of the Word of God.  The Word of God will always be there with us and for us.

Joy In Tribulation

 Temple Baptist Church - 5-22-2022

Habakkuk 3:1-19

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  In verse one of the “prayer of Habakkuk,” we see that it was a hard time for both Israel and God’s man.  It was a time of affliction and chastening of God’s Israel and not a pleasant time.  Because of the continued rebellion of Israel, God brought the Chaldeans to spoil the people and the land.

 

B.  In our text, the Holy Ghost bursts our perception of what joy is all about.  Times were hard and certainly not happy for Habakkuk, but there was in his heart a settled peace of God that passeth all understanding.  There is a vast difference between happiness and joy.  His unhappiness with his situation did not dictate the joy in his heart!

 

C.  The Christian life should be one of joy instead of fear and drudgery.  Many erroneously equate joy with happiness.  Happiness is something that comes and goes.  I believe that God wants the child of God happy, but life is often hard and hard to understand. 

 

1.  Happiness is like a bubbling stream.  It is greatly affected by each little bump or rock in the bed over which the water flows.  This world causes sorrow and people try to find happiness in the abundance of their possessions.

 

Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

 

2.  Joy is like the depths of the ocean.  Calm even when the surface is greatly disturbed by the storm.  Christian joy is a result of being filled with the Holy Ghost and has nothing to do with things.

 

Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

 

D.  First, let me say that Joy is a choice that we make.  Not one of us (including this pastor) enjoys sickness, hardship, trials, etc. but we often have no choice but to endure these things.  I have often said that, when these times come: and they will, we can come out bitter or better.

 

E.  I want to look at four examples of joy.

 

1.  THE FATHER’S JOY – The death of His Son! 

 

Isaiah 53:10-12  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

WHY JOY? 

 

a.  It was not the circumstances that brought God the Father joy!  This was the brutal death of His only begotten Son!

 

2 Peter 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

b.  It was because of His great love for sinful man!  I will never understand a love like this:  the love of God that sacrificed His only begotten Son for sinners like you and me!  Oh, what love!

 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

2.  THE SAVIOUR’S JOY – The sacrifice that He made!

 

Hebrews 12:1-2  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

 

WHY JOY? 

 

a.  It was not the circumstances that brought God the Son joy! 

 

1)  He was facing the cruel cross.

 

2)  He who knew no sin would become sin for us!

 

b.  It was because of His great love for you and me!  It was because of His great love for the Church, His Bride!  He was not looking forward to Calvary; He was looking beyond Calvary!

 

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

Romans 5:6-8  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

3.  THE SINNER’S JOY – The cross of Calvary!

 

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

 

WHY JOY! 

 

a.  It is not the circumstances of Christ’s death that brings the sinner joy.  I am sorry that He had to take my shame and disgrace.  I am sorry that my sin nailed Him to Calvary!  I am glad but I am sad.

 

b.  What brings the sinner Joy is the blessed result of Calvary!  Because of his great load of sin that is gone.  Because his sin’s penalty was paid at Calvary!  Because his life was changed completely at Calvary!

 

4.  THE SAINT’S JOY – The soon appearing of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

1 Peter 1:8-9  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

 

Titus 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

 

1 John 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

WHY JOY? 

 

          a.  It is not the circumstances of life that brings the saint joy.

 

                    Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

 

1 Peter 1:6-7  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

 

b.  What brings the saint joy is the great longing to see his face!  It is his great longing for home!  It is his great longing to spend an eternity with the One who loved us and gave Himself for us!  It is his great longing to see the One who died for him.  Face to face with Christ for "we shall see Him as He is!"  Oh that will be glory for me!

 

Conclusion:  As a sinner, you will never find joy in the things of this world.  The only joy and peace that you will find will be in Christ and His great salvation.  As a saint, you will never find joy in the things of this world either.  It is not the world that I love.  How I hate it and how it affects me!  You and I that are saved will only find joy and peace in serving the Lord.  Our hearts should cry, “Even so come, Lord Jesus!”

God’s Seven Angels- Part One - The Messages of the First Three Agels

Temple Baptist Church - 7-4-2021

Revelation 14:6-10

 

As the Tribulation systematically unfolds, the judgments of God systematically increase.  Though we have finished the first half of the Tribulation, marked by the Abomination of Desolation and the fall of Satan, there is no visible break on earth.

 

A.  Throughout the Bible, we have seen different types of angels with different purposes.  In the last half of the Tribulation Period, angels carry out different tasks for God. 

 

1.  Tonight, I want to look at the three pronouncements made by angels in these verses. These seven angels will also later introduce the Seven Trumpet Judgments.

 

2.  The first three proclamations are prophetic in nature.  They are an explanation of what will transpire during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period. 

 

3.  Once again, I want to reiterate that there is no pause in the Tribulation Period on earth while these last few chapters are taking place.  Time on earth has not stood still as these chapters are a parenthetical and explain the second half.

 

B.  The First Angel:  The Pronouncement of the Everlasting Gospel.  For the first time in history, an angel is given the responsibility to preach the gospel.  Up until this time, the preaching of the gospel has been committed to men. Because the Church has been raptured out, the 144,000 along with those saved being martyred, God now sends a special angel with a special message for the inhabitants of the earth: the Everlasting Gospel.

 

(The reason for the Everlasting Gospel is prophesy that Jesus Christ will win and the Beast will not!  Verse 7 – “the hour of his judgment is come.”  Verse 8 – “Babylon is fallen.”  Verses 9-11 – Those who “worship the beast” will be “tormented with fire and brimstone … for ever and ever.”  Nothing can defeat the gospel, the work of Jesus Christ in redemption.)

 

Revelation 14:6-7  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,  (7)  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

 

1.  This angel will not ascend to earth but will fly in the midst of heaven so as to be seen and heard of all mankind: to every nation, to every kindred (ethnic group), to every tongue, and to all people.  “Every creature needs a preacher.”  Here, we find that God is STILL no respecter of persons.  Jesus Christ died for all mankind and the true gospel is inclusive, not exclusive.

 

2.  “For God so loved the world … to every creature … who will have all men to be saved … the whole world … not willing that any should perish!” This truth is made plain throughout the Bible.  In the Tribulation Period, this gospel is not to the Jew first but to all people at the same time.

 

3.  The Everlasting Gospel is the last hour message of the gospel to the earth because eternity is at hand.  During great tribulation, it is the good news that mankind does not have to perish but place their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The message has not and never will change as salvation is all about what God did for mankind, not what mankind does for God.

 

a)  The Angel cries, “Fear God.”  An ingredient necessary for both repentance from sin and acknowledgement of the Person of almighty God.  Jesus Christ was declared to be God through His resurrection from the dead.  Do not fear Satan, do not fear the antichrist, do not fear death, fear God!  (We live in days of “No Fear.”  The man who has no fear is fooling himself.  God is to be greatly feared because He holds both life and death in His hands.)

 

b)  The angel cries, “Give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.”  A declaration by God that all glory belongs to God and unrepentant sin will be dealt with both here on earth and in eternity to come.  The last invitation has come.  Be saved now, or join the rest of the world living under God’s judgment.  Flee the wrath to come.

 

c)  The Angel cries, “Worship Him!”  For He has created all things in heaven and earth.  All things are by Him, through Him, and to Him!  He is certainly worthy of all glory and praise.  The greatest proof for God is found in His perfect creation.  (As the natural follows nature, glorification follows God.  The heavens, the earth, and all that in them is glorifies the Creator.)

 

C.  The Second Angel: The Pronouncement of the Fall of Babylon.

 

Revelation 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

 

1.  “Babylon is fallen.”  The culmination of almost 6,000 years of anti-God government is coming to an end.  From the Plains of Shinar to the City of Seven Hills, the progressions has spired downward spiritually.  This worldly system is not atheistic, it is anti-God.  The final political empire of the Antichrist will end in utter destruction and God’s enemies ultimately cast into the Lake of Fire.

 

2.  “That Great City.” A reference to the city of Rome, as this is where the last and enduring world power began and where the end-time religious system is situated. 

 

3.  “Because.”  Through her great power and influence, ALL nations will drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.  Wine here is a metaphor for the intoxicating influence of this system of government that causes the people of earth to con-habituate with her and not with almighty God.  Intoxicated with her pleasures, her rebellion, her hatred, and her idolatry God.

 

4.  As fornication is an illicit joining of two people, thus it is with the One World System and those who willingly join it.  Their judgement will be together because they have become one.

 

D.  The Third Angel: The Pronouncement of the Judgement of The Worshippers of the Beast.

 

Revelation 14:9-10  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,  (10)  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

 

1.  Those who worship the beast will receive his mark.  You and I do not know what this mark is, but I believe that it will be both visible and damning.  It is the ultimate spiritual fornication where the bearer of this mark has rejected God for the final time.  This judgment alludes to the fact that those who cross this line will be eternally reprobate.  No chance of salvation though they will hear the preaching of the First Angel.

 

As they have drank from the cup of her fornication, they will also drink at the cup of God’s indignation.

 

2.  As they were intoxicated with the wine of fornication of the beast, they will also be made to drink of the wine of wrath of God which will be poured out unmingled with His mercy and grace.  At the White Throne Judgment, even the heavenly bodies will flee from the face of Him who sits on the throne.

 

3.  I have always found this last statement to be horrifying.  In the Lake of Fire, these will be tormented for ever “in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”  They will always see the Lamb of God who died for them and whom they chose to reject with NO hope of salvation!  Those in the Lake of Fire will realize the ultimate wrath of a holy God for all eternity.