Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Whatever It Takes To Get People to Jesus
Deuteronomy 22:1-22; Mark 2:1-12 / Psalm 40:1-17
I. Crowds Gathered To Hear Jesus
A. Jesus made waves; heaven disturbs the common order of life. “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.” (Mark 2:1)
B. As the crowds grew, Jesus preached to them. “And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.” (Mark 2:2)
C. If leprosy could be healed, perhaps other problems could be as well; four people trusted that God would heal another crippled person. “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.” (Mark 2:3)
1. People who turn to the Lord will find opportunities for blessings. “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” (Proverbs 8:34)
2. Forgiveness and healing are closely united in God. “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;” (Psalm 103:3)
D. The believers would not stop till they got their companion to Jesus. “And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.” (Mark 2:4) “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)
E. Jesus spoke to the heart of the problem. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Mark 2:5)
II. Religious and Cultural Leaders Objected
A. People who benefit from the established order have trouble dealing with disruption. “But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,” (Mark 2:6)
B. Presuppositions kept people from considering the truth. “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7)
III. Jesus Exposed the Problem
A. Jesus understands everything. “And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?” (Mark 2:8)
B. The real issue was the person and work of Christ; He Who can do the greater can certainly do the lesser. “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?” (Mark 2:9)
C. Jesus was making a deliberate statement to prove a point. “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)” (Mark 2:10)
1. The forgiveness of sins is God’s prerogative alone; Jesus was announcing His divinity. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)
2. Jesus understood all the players on the Capernaum stage and their most hidden motivations. “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
D. Christ demands that changed hearts demonstrate themselves in changed lives of new obedience. “I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.” (Mark 2:11)
E. Changed lives glorify God and that is the purpose for life; the paralytic displayed Jesus’ authority and immediately began to enjoy what God had done for him. “And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” (Mark 2:12)
The great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh! hear the voice of Jesus.
[from The Great Physician by William Hunter]
Friday, April 25, 2008
Some People Talk Too Much
Leviticus 16:1-17; Mark 1:40-45 / Psalm 33:1-22
I. No Problem Is Too Big For Jesus
A. A man came to Jesus with a dreadful problem. “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” (Mark 1:40)
1. No problem is too big for God. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:” (Isaiah 59:1)
2. The household of faith was established on confidence that nothing is too hard for God. “Is any thing too hard for the LORD At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:14)
B. Leprosy was one of the most horrible diseases. “Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.” (Numbers 12:12)
C. Leprosy was a physical illustration of a much worse and much more widely distributed disease; similarly, sin first rots and then kills. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)
II. Jesus Helps
A. Jesus is compassionate. “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.” (Mark 1:41)
B. Immediately the problem went away. “And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.” (Mark 1:42)
1. People go to hell, not because their sins are too big for God, but because they do not come to God for help. “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)
2. God does not hold grudges the way people do. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
C. Jesus gave the man specific instructions. “And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;” (MARK 1:43)
D. Jesus directed the healed man to follow the rules revealed in Scripture. “And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” (Mark 1:44)
E. Disobedience is never an option; personal opinion or preference is no match for the Word of God. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (Isaiah 40:7-8)
III. Disobedience Obscures Grace
A. Instead of doing as he was told, the healed man complicated the work Jesus came to do. “But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.” (Mark 1:45)
B. The Bible provided specific guidelines for diagnosing both leprosy and its cure. “When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.” (Leviticus 13:2-3) “Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest; And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.” (Leviticus 13:16-17)
C. People who self-medicate sin destroy themselves; only God’s ways prevail. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
D. Let everything be done in God’s time and way. “A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;” (Ecclesiastes 3:7) “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Remember What the Holy One Has Done
Psalm 30
I. Praise the Savior
A. At the dedication of his palace, the shepherd boy who had become king of God’s people gave the glory to the Savior [nb Lord] for what had taken place. “A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.” (Psalm 30:1)
B. The Savior had heard David’s prayer. “O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.” (Psalm 30:2)
C. David professed that only the Savior had kept him out of hell; David is a marvelous exemplar of grace. “O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” (Psalm 30:3)
D. Only grace stands between sinners and eternity in hell. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” (Revelation 20:1-3)
E. Reflection on grace and its necessity in the sinner’s life should move a believer to songs of thanksgiving to the Savior; the utterly sinless Jesus went to the cross to save His people. “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” (Psalm 30:4)
F. Believers deal with hard times, sorrows, and grief by reflecting on the eternal joy which comes to them through grace. “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)
G. Jesus paid for redemption on the cross and now eternity opens for His people. “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;” (Psalm 103:17)
II. Experience Teaches Believers
A. God providentially broke David’s self-confidence; life’s shadows educate. “And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.” (Psalm 30:6-7)
B. If David had to beg the Savior for help, it should not surprise anyone that life can be too difficult to handle apart from grace. “I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.” (
C. God has something better in mind for His people than cessation of sin and pain; appealing to God simultaneously comforts a believer. “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?” (Psalm 30:9) Prayer is better comfort than any worldly distraction.
D. The grave isn’t life’s purpose; man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. “I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” (Psalm 40:10)
E. Believers know better than to rely on themselves; the Savior hears His people. “Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.” (Psalm 30:10) “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Have I been in sin long sleeping,
Long been slighting, grieving Thee?
Has the world my heart been keeping?
O forgive and rescue me;
Even me, even me,
O forgive and rescue me.
[Even Me by Elizabeth H. Codner]
III. Testify
A. David exemplified the pattern when he gave God the glory. “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;” (Psalm 30:11)
B. Let the heathen know what God has done; testimonies are part of going to God’s house. “A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:1-2)
C. As believers glorify Jesus before the watching world, they become what they were designed to be. “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” (Psalm 30:12)
Sing with me then, ye favored men,
Who long have known His grace;
With thanks recall the season when
Ye also sought His face.
[Spurgeon’s Paraphrase]
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Galilee Road
Psalm 5:1-12; Mark 1:35-39 / Psalm 116:1-19
I. Jesus Began with Prayer
A. Jesus, Who could do whatever He wanted, chose to begin the day in protracted solitary prayer. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35) “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6) Luther prayed three hours every day.
B. Jesus prayed at the start of everything He undertook. “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” (1 Timothy 2:8)
C. When He was baptized, Jesus prayed. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,” (Luke 3:21)
D. When He was transfigured, Jesus was praying. “And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.” (Luke 9:29)
E. When He prepared to select the apostles, Jesus prayed. “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12) In the last hours before the betrayal, the trial, and the murder, Jesus prayed. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:” (John 17:1)
II. Important Business Demanded Attention
A. People were always watching Jesus; God’s people live in a watching world. “And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.” (Mark 1:36)
B. People who genuinely mattered to Jesus implied that there were more important things for Him to do than pray. “And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.” (Mark 1:37)
C. Having prepared, Jesus set off on His heavenly assignment; He preached to the people. “And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.” (Mark 1:38)
D. God’s Messiah came to reveal grace. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)
E. People who love the Bible should expect Jesus to be like Moses. “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;” (Deuteronomy 18:15) “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)
III. Prayer Is the Foundation for Faithfulness
A. Galilee experienced the power of a prayer-filled life. “And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” (Mark 1:39)
B. The power Jesus displayed in prayer and prophesy caused fear in those who did not turn to Him. “If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” (John 11:48)
C. Evil hearts are unable to benefit from the ways of grace. “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25) “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” (Proverbs 9:27)
D. If Jesus could find time for payer in all situations believers can find opportunity for prayer in all situations. “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Among the greatest monuments of what can be accomplished through simple faith in God are the great orphanages covering 13 acres of ground on Ashley Downs, Bristol, England. When God put it into the heart of George Muller to build these orphanages, he had only two shillings (50 cents) in his pocket. Without making his wants known to any man, but to God alone, over £1,400,000 ($7,000,000) were sent to him for the building and maintaining of these orphan homes.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Jesus Heals
Isaiah 53:1-12; Mark 1:29-34 / Psalm 103:1-22
I. Jesus Overcomes the Dark Side of Life
A. Christianity functions on the family level; the family is the fundamental and normal social safety net. “And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.” (Mark 1:29-30)
1. There was no element of today’s prosperity gospel in what Jesus was doing; even birds have better housing arrangements. “And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58)
2. God has no reason to measure life as the world measures it; all reality is always at His command. “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 50:10-12)
B. When Jesus healed the suffering woman, she went to work. “And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.” (Mark 1:31)
C. When life gets better, word spreads. “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.” (Mark 1:32)
D. Jesus was healing, not just changing attitudes; Jesus produces changed lives. “And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:34)
II. The Messiah Heals in His Own Way
A. The world is looking for the wrong kind of healer. “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:1-4)
B. Consider the great leaders of humanity; their strengths do not matter to God and eventually people see their ultimate human weaknesses. “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.” (Psalm 147:10) “His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.” (Daniel 2:33)
C. How could the solution to the human condition come from a homeless person who cares about old ladies? “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4)
D. Human saviors command resources, but Jesus cares about the helpless. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8)
E. Each Communion season returns to the story of the Passion and the amazing substitutionary atonement. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:6-9)
III. Come To the Genuine Healer
A. Share the testimony of the healed. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:” (1 Corinthians 11:23)
B. Jesus sustains; be refreshed. “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24)
C. Jesus is the blood sacrifice; feast on the Passover lamb of eternity. “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25) “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
D. Acknowledge the One Who has done what no other could ever do. “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Psalm 29
Dr. Edwin P. Elliott, Jr.
I. God Is All Powerful vs1, 2
A. Life’s drama calls people to review the human purpose: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever. “A Psalm of David. Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.” (Psalm 29:1)
B. Everything in life must focus on God—the center of all which takes place. “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14)
C. Show God the respect which He deserves; holiness is true beauty. “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalm 29:2)
II. Providence Summons People to Glorify God vs3-9
A. The pagans and the secularists hear the sound but they do not understand the words. “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.” (Psalm 29:3)
B. The non-believers are half right; God is always speaking in grand and terrible ways. “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (Psalm 29:4)
1. All the great forces in the world of experience point to God but people who refuse to see become willfully misdirected in their imaginations. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” (Romans 1:18-20)
2. The world, which cannot comprehend the voice of God, becomes progressively more insane. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21)
C. It is not some impersonal force which man can manipulate which dominates reality but the personal intervention of God; Mother Nature is a misrepresentation of Providence. “The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.” (Psalm 29:5) David was using the words of the Pagans to direct them to God.
D. All the great forces of life ultimately obey God. “He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion [Mount Hermon] like a young unicorn.” (Psalm 29:6)
E. The mysterious and impossible serve God. “The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.” (Psalm 29:7)
1. No mystery eludes Providence. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
2. The Bible repeatedly presents God as the consuming fire. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” (Matthew 3:11)
3. The flame which reveals is God; remember Moses’ encounter with the flame which presented itself without consuming the bush; the marvels summon the mind to the Creator. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” (Exodus 3:2-4)
F. When great storms arise, anyone in God’s house will glorify Him. “The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovered the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” (Psalm 29:8-9) “The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” (Joel 3:16)
III. Embrace Heaven’s Power vs10, 11
A. The great I AM is always king; do not expect Him to share His throne with His creatures. “The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.” (Psalm 29:10)
B. The marvelous works and wonders of God are capped by His loving mercy for His people. “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11)