Hebrews 4:16 Time of Need

Hebrews 4:16  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. (NASB)

My son is away at school an upper class-man at Fresno State and on track to graduate in four years.  I am blessed by his diligence toward his schooling as he continually gets high marks.  I am likewise blessed that he has found employment with a company that has turned into more than summertime work.  He has continued to work through the fall semester and has now started back during the spring.  In addition, the work is in his field of study so at least the work experience will qualify him upon graduation for full time employment somewhere.  At best, the company he works for may want him permanently.

All those remarks on our blessings are to set the premise for our suffering.  His work requires him to travel half an hour to and from the yard where he can pick up his company truck.  That extra wear and tear has taken its toll and we have recently found ourselves with unexpected repair bills.  Front end, tires, starter and flywheel, tune up, towing and now a catalytic converter add up to thousands of dollars we hadn’t planned on spending.

OUCH!

What to do, what to do?  As I write the BLOG today this is what’s on my mind and I have to turn back to Scripture to remind me to pray.  I have in Jesus a “Great high priest” Hebrews 4:14 who has walked among us and suffered all we have suffered and so much more.  I also have to put in perspective my troubles with those of others facing much worse.  I am so blessed yet find a situation for which I don’t have an easy answer.  I need to give this one to the Lord and pray and think and yield to Him.  I don’t need to panic or face despair or get angry; none of that will help.

Scripture says I should pray so pray I will.  I won’t pray for the easy answer but I will pray for the revelation of His perfect will under these circumstances.  If we are called to a season of doing without, well maybe that’s just what we need.  What I do know is that God’s Word is true; when I draw near to the “Throne of Grace” I will “Receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.  AMEN!

Psalm 60:11-12 God is Sovereign

Psalm 60:11-12  “O give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain.  Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries”. (NASB)

As David led the army of Israel against its enemies they came upon hard times.  In David’s leading of the army of Israel this was rather rare but as depicted in Psalm 60 they had a hard time.

The verses shown are the final two from this psalm in which David explains rather than complains about the circumstances he faces militarily.  He says, “O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry”. v1  In that phrase David gives room to say that perhaps God was simply standing back and allowing hardship to come on His people. 

David goes on to say, “You have made the land quake, You have split it open; Heal its breaches, for it totters.  You have made Your people experience hardship; You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger”.  v2-3  Here there is no longer wiggle room.  It was God who did this thing.  He made the land quake.  He split it open.  He made His own people experience hardship.  He diminished their capacity to fight.  God in His sovereignty and for His own purposes did these things to His own people.

So, as a premise to David’s lament God had perhaps allowed rather than directed some external force to bear upon Israel.  But, He also took direct action causing hardship too.  He did these things for His own purpose.  Having said this it is important to remember that God had and has the capacity to prevent calamity in the lives of His people.  He is sovereign; it is up to Him.

What might the purpose have been for not only allowing this misery but also directly causing hardship?  Well at the very least it got the attention of David, the leader of His army.  David writes in the psalm of the promises of God.  He writes of the promises to deliver His people.  “You have given a banner to those who fear You, That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.  That Your beloved may be delivered, Save with Your right hand, and answer us!  God has spoken in His holiness: ‘I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.  ‘Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.  ‘Moab is My washbowl; Over Edom I shall throw My shoe; Shout loud, O Philistia, because of Me!’". v4-6

Could it be that Israel had gone off without remembering God and they had to be called up short?  I think that is exactly what was happening.  The tell tale is our closing two verses for the day.  By the time David pens the last he has adequately acknowledged the difficulty he faces and put God and His plan back into it’s proper and primary position. 

David becomes reliant on God saying, “O give us help against the adversary”.  He continues expressing the futility of going it alone, “For deliverance by man is in vain”.  And finally he says that we can triumph over our enemy by relying on God; “Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries”.

The lesson for us is at least two fold.  First, we should always remember that God is sovereign.  Simply put, He plays chess while we play checkers.  "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares 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 

Second, it is always better for us when we allow God to lead.  When we go it alone; when we seek deliverance by man, our efforts are in vain.  When we are sensitive to what God wants and obey His leading we will always find success.  Not on our own account will this occur but because He will succeed; He is sovereign.

To God be the Glory!  AMEN!

Isaiah 6:1-3 Holy, Holy, Holy

Isaiah 6:1-3  “In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.  Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.’" (NASB)

Have you had those questions in your head about heaven.  You know, how does it look?  What’s going on?  In my childhood I had this idea of blue skies and clouds.  Don’t ask me why.  As I’ve been under Biblical teaching I’ve adjusted my conception of heaven but there’s still plenty of mystery.  So what is heaven like?

The prophet Isaiah had a very special opportunity, one that very few have had.  He was given a glimpse into heaven.  Isaiah 6 records what he saw.  He records that this vision of heaven was given to him in the year if King Uzziah’s death.  History tells us that happened in 754 b.c.  One commentator notes that this coincides with the birth of Romulus, Rome’s namesake.

Isaiah reports that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne.  Hearing this before I had in my head this was God the Father on the throne.  But Scripture is clear that God the Father is invisible; He doesn’t appear in bodily form.  “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation”.  Collosians 1:15  This passage in Collosians gives us the clue we need.  Jesus is “The image of the invisible God”.  So Isaiah saw Jesus on the throne.

The throne was, “Lofty and exalted”.  That Jesus is seated on the throne is an indication of His office as King Jesus.  Only the King sits on the throne.  That the throne is “Exalted” is an indication of His majesty.  Others have used the phrase “High and lifted up”.  There is no throne higher than the throne of Jesus.

Then Isaiah reports that the robe Jesus wears has a train.  ”With the train of His robe filling the temple”.  His train is so expansive that it actually filled the whole temple.  Barnes comments, “The Orientals regarded such large robes as indicative of grandeur and state”.  Certainly the description of Isaiah with a robe completely filling the temple could not be matched by any earthly king.  His robe is fuller, His throne is higher.

Next Isaiah tells us there were Seraphim standing above Him.  What are Seraphim?  The word Seraphim refers to “Fiery ones”.  They have feet and faces so they seem humanlike in appearance except for their six wings.  ”Each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew”.  The covering of the face and feet with four of the six wings denotes an act of reverence in the presence of Jesus.  It is worth noting, these heavenly beings are holy and yet they cover themselves in the presence of Him.  This is an indication of the reverence we should have coming into His presence.  And when do we come into His presence?  Every time we pray.  Think about that before you just toss a one liner toward heaven without contemplating what is really going on.

What were the Seraphim doing?  They were calling to one another saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory”.  These heavenly and holy beings were continually calling this out to one another.  “Holy, Holy, Holy”  Barnes suggests that this indicates something like a three part harmony.  Each one singing a part as they all harmonize this praise.

What a picture of heaven.  Jesus in all His splendor; King Jesus on His throne higher than any throne.  Adorned with the most magnificent of garments being worshiped by these holy Seraphim who repeat time after time, “Holy, Holy, Holy”.

One day we’ll see this scene for ourselves and we won’t just be observers.  We’ll be participants in the worship of Jesus in His very presence and singing ourselves, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts”!  AMEN!