Battle, Meant...

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:1-4)

David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. (First Samuel 17:22-24)

In the book of Deuteronomy we read the laws given by Moses to ancient Israel. Chapter 20 begins with a directive concerning warfare. The directive can be broken down into seven points:

v  The people were not to fear their enemies;

v  The people were to remember that God delivered them out of Egypt;

v  The people were to know that God would be with them in the war;

v  The priest was to announce Israel’s entry into battle;

v  The priest was to remind Israel not to be afraid;

v  The priest was to reassure Israel of God’s presence and role in the war;

v  The priest was to declare Israel’s victory before they began to fight.

The army of Israel, concerning Goliath and the Philistine army, failed to do what their law provided as standard protocol for warfare… but we see that David was not affected by Israel’s failure to keep the law. Let’s take a minute to consider the source of David’s success as a warrior. Pastor Sam shared two things about David that can encourage us today:

1. David had experienced the power of God. As a shepherd, David had received God’s power: to rescue his father’s sheep, and to avoid being killed by wild animals. First Samuel 17:37 gives us David’s mindset: “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

2. David had experienced the presence of God. First Samuel 16:13 shows us that David had an encounter with the Spirit of God: “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.”

Our modern-day warfare may not seem as dramatic as that of a boy defeating a giant, but in fact you and I may have to do some serious battling in the realm of the spirit. We face relatives who have given themselves over to deep evil. We hear the voices of prominent people, sometimes even those who claim to be people of God, and their words are full of fear. These who we love, and who are “the sheep of God’s pasture” (see Psalm 100:3), need to be rescued. And if we have experienced the power of God and the presence of God in our personal lives, then we are equipped to fight and win.

Today is a good day to take your experience onto the battlefield. The LORD is with you. Fight fearlessly.

All Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

"Weight" List.

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared with us a very sobering checklist. The scary thing about the checklist is that it does not refer to those who had no encounter with God, but rather those who claim to be Christians who love the Lord. We Christians, then, have a question to wrestle with: We say we know what Scripture says. Are we doing what it says we ought to do?

As we reflected on Psalm 100 and the importance of engaging worship in a manner that pleases God, we learned that it is God who knows the motives and intents of our hearts. He calls each of us to draw near to Him. But, though He calls, He has given us the freedom to answer according to our own will and inclination.

Our pastor noted that the inclination of our heart is typically demonstrated by our response to God's instructions. Let's review the list from the end of Sunday's sermon and take inventory of our own standing with God.

The Checklist: Where is your worship-life today?

• I know what God has said, but I don't care about doing what God has said.
• I know what God has said, but I fail in my attempts to do what God has said.
• I do what God has said, but only because I fear the consequence of not doing what God has said (Hell).
• I do what God has said, but only because I want to be compensated for doing what God has said (Heaven).
• I know what God has said, and the knowing has informed my doing: I am joyful in worship and joyfully obedient to Him.

Lord God, help us to move from mere reading and recitation of Your word; move us into a life of obedience to You, with the help of Your Holy Spirit. Cause our worship-life to be an authentic expression of joy and gladness, for the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Singing With An Attitude... Of Joy!

In his sermon on Psalm 100, Pastor Sam noted that the adjectives define the attitude with which we are to enter into worship. The psalm begins with the following directives:

v  Shout for joy;

v  Worship with gladness;

v  Come with joyful song;

v  Enter with thanksgiving and praise.

I wonder what our corporate worship would become if every person expressed joy, gladness, joyful song, thanksgiving, and praise in the presence of the LORD.

Interestingly, the psalm does not place any condition nor rider on this worship protocol. It does not toss in any disclaimers like, “Well, if you had a really rough day, if someone bumped into you on the subway, if you had to walk for an hour in the rain and mud, then it’s excusable to stand in the presence of the King of kings with a sour face.” No. We are called to express joy, even in the most trying of circumstances, when we worship our LORD. We are called to thank and praise Him.

Our God is the One who reigns above every inconvenience, every circumstance, and every tragedy. He can bring glory to Himself by forming our characters through crises. We may think we have nothing to rejoice about with regard to what we are suffering in life, but we have everything to rejoice about when we acknowledge who God is, what He says, and what He does.

The LORD is in our company. We are in His presence. Shout for joy!

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

In My Head And In My Heart...

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam spoke on Psalm 100. This particular psalm is familiar to our Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene family, as it is one that many of us memorized in childhood.

Let's review Psalm 100 in the King James Version (the way many in our community memorized it) and also in the New International Version. As we read each line, let us take inventory of our present standing with God:

v Are we aware of what God has said in His word?

v Are we doing what He has asked us to do?

v Is our relationship with Him characterized by our joyful obedience to His commands?

Psalm 100 (King James Version and New International Version)

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he who hath made us, and not we ourselves: we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Know that the LORD is God; it is he who made us, and we are his [see footnote a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless His name.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues throughout all generations.

[a] or and not we ourselves