Psalm 68

Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel

This psalm is a psalm of David and the Glory of God is revealed in His goodness to nation of Israel.

Who God is:
                       Father to Father less
                       Defender of widows

Our nature is we care about ourselves, our families, our needs.
but with God He looks who are helpless, who have no hope, who cannot defend themselves.

James 1:28 says 
Pure and undefiled religion is this:
To visit orphans and widows in their troubles.
How James can write this is because He knew who God is in His holy habitation.

Presence of God

1) Wickedness should perish
2) Righteous rejoice exceedingly.
3) God went out before His people, at His Presence 
        a) earth shook
        b) heavens dropped rain.
        c) Sinai itself moved

Gods presence is revealed like this
He sends plentiful rain
The congregation dwell in the rain. What a beautiful picture of Church being led by the Holy Spirit.
God confirms His inheritance by sending rain.

Ephesians 1:13,14
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[b] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the 

Not only does He sends rain, but He also gave the Word.

*********************************Psalm 68: 21-35******************************
Verse 6: God makes lonlies into families.
Take this as Promise  for people who are waiting on God.
And the deeper meaning is that, if you are lonely soul where God brings that lonely soul and puts them in Godly family.
You are no more a single individual, you are part of the family.
where you will be cared, nurtured in the Word, supported, strengthened.

Now that the ark of God has come into camp of Israel. they were singing and dancing and playing the instruments.  David says these words.

V 28 : Your God has commanded your strength
v 34: Ascribe strength to our God the Rock His strength is in clouds.
v 35: The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.

It is God who commands the strength for the weak.

When you go to interviews they ask what are your strengths.
We tell all things that we are strong in. like I say am a very smart engineer, i analyse the things very well.
I am a problem solver.

In our weakness, His strength is revealed.
Every time we are weak ,know that this is an opportunity for God to be glorified.

2 Corinthinas 12:9 :  in our weak areas Gods strength is made perfect.
As I shared before Acts 7:25,
when Moses was strong  at 40 He thought He could deliver.but during his weakness of 80 years old, God s strenght is made perfect, He could divide red sea, led millions of people through wilderness.



What is the strength or power for a Christian.

Paul says in Romans 1:16 that Gospel of Christ is the Power of God.
The very fact that Christ died for me is the strength  for me.
This gospel of Christ gives me Strength.
And paul says I am not ashamed of it.

In India, it is common things that if police catch you, then people say I know MLA.
they are not ashamed of MLA or MP m, because they know that there is power in that position.
Sometimes I think dont see this strength because we are ashamed of it.
we dont show ourselves as Christians , we feel shy of being seen as Christian and we dont see this power.
But Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek

1 Corinthians 1:24 says Christ is the Power of God.

Phillipians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.



Where is your strength comes from today.
Psalm 28:7 says

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.

When we are connected in the Church, there is strength.

A rope is stronger than the individual fibres which make that rope.

The each individual fibre has weak spots along its length. and at those weak points they break easily.

but when connected with other fibres , they weakspots are evenly distrubuted.and the twist that is in the rope cancel out the weak spots and thats what makes rope stronger.

Church when God makes lonlies into families, the weak spots of individuals are corrected and the every individual is eddified in the congregation.

There the strength of God is revealed.

Where are we getting our strength from. our own talents, our treasures, our ancestral backgrounds or the influences of the world,

For the believer the strength is in gospel of Christ, Christ is the power of God.

and In Church , the power of God is revealed to every individual.

Joshua

Joshua - meaning Jesus  - God is my Salvation

If Moses took the people out of Egypt and crossed red sea, then it was Joshua who brought the Israel to the promised land.


Joshua life is life of a christian believer -
slavery - because he lived minimum of 20 yrs in slavery (Numbers 32:11)
red sea deliverance (baptism) - 40 years
after crossing jordan - he lived till 110 years of age. This is victorious christian life.

Chapter 1
v1 - Joshua Moses's aide, assistant.
It is not the sons of Moses who became the leader, not the elders of the tribes,it is not the council of ministers, or like priesthood its not like sons of Aaron, but to lead the nation of Israel to see every promise being filled .
God choose a man who is a assistant.
See numbers 27: 18-21. Moses asks for replacement for him, and God said bring Joshua.


Numbers 32:10,11,12 -  Everyone who came out of egypt who age is above 20 did not enter the promised land except Caleb and Joshua.

https://bible.org/seriespage/1-commissioning-joshua-joshua-11-18


V12-15 -
 2 and half tribes setttled east of Jordan - Numbers 32:1
These 2 and half tribes going to war with rest of brethern indicates that if you are at rest, doesnt mean you can really be rest untill your brethren live victoriously.

V16,17,18 - Just as we heeded Moses in all things. we will heed you.

Chapter 2 : V10
Faith comes by hearing.
Rahab heard that God of Israel has done great things for them.
When was the last time that you had some great acheivment and people realized that it is God who had done it.
story of december salary.

Being a witness to Christ, being a testimony.
Everything in this world needs testimony.
if you are born , birth certificate.
if you are married, marriage certificate.
for the world to know who true God is we should be the testimony.

Israel captured all the cities of Amorites.
Numbers 21 : 21- 25



Hebrews 4:8 - Lord Jesus gives eternal rest.

Victorious Life

2 Corinthians 2:14

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Here Paul gives thanks to God by claiming that God always leads us in triumph.

Triumph means great victory or a processional entrance of a general after victory. 

God always leads us in Triumph in Christ

then why do Christians see many defeats in their life.
Whenever you want to do some thing you will see obstacles in life. you feel defeated in every situation. Even though you want to do good, you will ultimately face accusations from people.

How do we connect to this verse in our lives.

Leads us - Are you led by God.

People who are led by themselves
 doesn't see victory or triumph 

Suppose you have to make a decision whether to stay in one place or move to another place. in Nj or Texas.

lot of emotions will come into place.
here in NJ winter is bad, let me move to texas.
texas no state tax, will save more , let me move to texas. 
but on the other hand, you will say here lot of friends how will i make friends there. Here i have good pastor whether i will find a pastor there. If your emotions lead you to take a decision then ultimately you will see its fruit .
But when you sit in the presence of God, take counsel from the Word of God, take counsel from people of God and take a decision you will see that God leads you in triumph wherever you go.

what is the meaning of In Christ.
Have you ever seen emails of christians, at the end you will see "In Christ"
This sounds very spiritual email.

In Christ -  you dont write In Jesus.
Christ means the Annointed One.
The annointing gives the victory.
In Christ - You are a new creation (2 cor 5:17 )
In Christ - You are all made alive (1 cor 15:22)
In Christ - You are all sons of God ( Gal 3:26 )
In Christ - You are all one (Gal 3:28)

And outside of Christ, you don't see victory.


Led by God - In Christ. is what gives us victory.

I want to show the life of one man who has seen so many victories in life in the bible and what made him see so many victories. What is his secret.
what is his life that he had seen such great victories.


Joshua - man of Victory.
We see Joshua first time in Exodus 17:10 fighting the battle with Amalek.
Verse 14: God told Moses , to write this victory and also let Joshua hear this writing. Faith comes by hearing.

So Joshua introduction is with victory and his ending was also a victory.

What is so special about this man that he saw many victories in life.
only once at Ai, he faced a defeat because of one person sin in the camp, but once that person is gone, he saw the victory again.

First we will see his character.

1) A humble man who loves God.

A obedient man to Moses. He is the second in command for Moses.
Whatever Moses says He does it.
Before God elevates you, he tests your obedience to the people above you.
in Exodus 17:8 when Moses said to Joshua , go and fight, he just went and fight.
That is why bible says be obedient to authorities above you.
These are the days when people want positions in church, they try to overthrow others.
But Joshua was a man who always has this serving heart.
There is never an instance where Joshua seeking that position of Moses.
Moses own brother and sister sought for that position, but never did Joshua.

Serving 40 years is not easy under a man. at some point in those 40 years you might want a bigger position. but Joshua served Moses.
Joshua is never in the business of climbing the laader.
No wonder , God did not chose Moses sons for the next leadership, God chose Joshua to be the leader.

The secret of victorious man is his obedience to the authorities God placed above that man.

2) A man who walks by faith, not by sight.
         Spies report.
As i mentioned earlier , most of the people walk by sight.
as in the case of choosing a place or a career, people take decisions by what they see with their natural eyes rather than spiritual eyes.
Open the eyes of heart , such kind of songs when we sing , we should sing with the meaning Lord open my eyes to walk by faith not by sight.
Majority report - Numbers 13:27 
Minority report - Numbers 14:6

2 characteristics of a godly man.
The Lord is with us 
Do not fear people.
and he doesnt go by what he see, but he sees that his God is bigger than what he physcially sees.
did the other see anything wrong - no, they saw huge people, joshua also saw huge people.
but the difference, with spiritual eyes, Joshua saw that His God is bigger than gaint people of the land.

Even in our situations - suppose you are constantly defeated with anger or short temper.
God is with me, although it looks like gaint , but by my God i can overcome.
David also saw goliath as huge man, David saw God more bigger than goliath.
The secret of victory is seeing who God is in our situations and not what the majority says.

3) A man who walks by the Word of God and promises of God.
God 

Joshua 8:35
God - Joshua read the whole Word of God to people of Israel.
What importance Joshua gave in leading the people of Israel.
These are the days where half truth is preached or only to please people are preached.
but Joshua is not a man pleaser but read the whole Word to the assembly.
what a leader Joshua is.

Joshua 1 : 5-6
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them

God gave a great promise to Joshua that no man can stand against him. 
A man who goes by promise of the Word of God.

Paul says Every promise in the bible is yes and amen.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says 

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

When you find a promise in the bible , attest your amen.
when you say Amen, you say Yes Lord I believe it is for me.

4. single minded goal towards victory.

When marching towards victory - there might be obstacles like sin of achin.
Joshua spared no sin to come infront of victory. He did not take any joy in sin, but removed source of sin and marched towards victory.


Joshua 12:7- ending
Joshua defeated 31 kings in all 
-----------------------
The result of his walk with God is

all the people obeyed Joshua. Joshua 1:16,17
and all the enemies subdued before Joshua.

Psalm 65

Psalm 65

Satisfaction.
The are many surveys in the world that are going on about one thing is Satisfaction.
If you visit a bank then bank will send an email or phone call asking about how satisfied you are with the service.
you visit dunkin donuts, on the receipt you can see telldunkin,com.
Another most common satisfaction people talk is Job satisfaction.

restaurants wants to know how satisfied you are with food.
Gadget companies wants to know how satisfied you are with their latest gadget.
Everyone wants to how satisfied you are with the things of this world.

David says We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house.

David is a man who was anointed in his teens that he will become king.
After many years he became king.

you waited many years to become something, and once you become that something you will be satisfied.

But David didnot took satisfaction in becoming the King and not satisfied with the riches that he gets by becoming king. or the royal authority.
In all these surplus , abundant things he has, he says I am satisfied with the goodness of your house.
what a contrast man he is from all others.
be it a king or be it a shepherd.
be it a joy or be it a sorrow.

By what you are satisified, that is your heartbeat is, that says who you are.
for some people however sad they are, if you give biryani, they will be satisfied.

David says I am satisfied with the goodness of your house.
Today Gods House is Church.
Are you satisfied by being part of Church.
Are you satisfied that you are saved and you are actually spending time with the fellow heirs of eternal life.

Also today when a person is satisfied then they think they are blessed.
But bible says differently  turn to Deuteronomy 14:29

29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Psalm 64

During the time of Oppression, But still Rejoicing in the Lord.

David is a man who went through suffering and still rejoice in the Lord.

I always wonder how can you be joyful when you go through suffering.

Every time i went through suffering, i was prayer.

The psalm teaches that secret of being joyful through suffering.

and the key is meditation.

What are the situations that he is going through.

People are talking bad about him, abusing him with words, trying to attack him , they are making schemes to kill him.

In these suffering times, what David is doing is he is meditating on God.

one thing that this psalm teaches is if you go through suffering, and if you meditate on suffering you cannot find joy and rarely you can find deliverance from that suffering.

but a person who meditates on God in times of suffering will see the joy and not only joy he will see deliverance.

What is this meditation.

Today people meditate on lot of things.

When i was 15 yrs old i started yoga, pranayam. and focusing mind on nothing.

Later when after believing in Lord Jesus Christ i saw that there was joy in me because i came to know God.  I have peace because i came to know God.

It is the meditation of God that will bring joy, peace.

The more you ponder upon God, all these by products start coming out.

Psalm 1:2 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    And in His law he meditates day and night.

A believer's delight should be the Word of God.

The best blessing that you get through meditation is being Planted .

Being planted means taking deep root inside and bear fruit outside.

Genesis 4:12.

The curse that Cain got is he will be a homeless wanderer and there is no fruit.

these are very inter connected.

When a person doesnot meditate on God, the Word doesn't control that person, then there is no plantaion or no root, and that person will be a wanderer and ultimately no fruit.

Psalm 63

In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

my soul - thirst for you.
my flesh - yearns for you.

A dry and weary situation is one when you look around there is none to help. and in those situations we seek God.

David went through lots of dry and weary situations in his life. where every time a situation comes up when there is no help. His soul , flesh longed for God.
Be it a lion or a bear or a goliath , during any situation , these are all dry situations, but his soul n flesh longed for God.

There are 2 things , having desire for God.
another is seeking God.

Many people have this desire for God. But there are few who seek God.

Having desire for God is one things and then you keep that desire for sometime and then it gets cold and you forget about it.

Hebrews 11:6

Verse Concepts

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

But having desire for God, then you seek Him. God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Matthew 7:7 says - Ask it will be given to you, seek you will find.

This is a great promise - Ask God, seek God, knock God.
when you seek God, He will be found.


Effects of seeking God

Satisfied - Verse 5  - He is satisfied. He is not a grumbler, just like a person who feasts on meat.

Joy - There is inexpressible joy for that person.

Meditation -verse 6 - whether its bed, or work, wherever he is, he meditates on God.

Confidence in God  - Verse 7 - Even toughest times, he has the unmovable confidence in God.

Song of Mary

Meditation of Mary's song

The song "Mary did you know", when i first heard it, i was thinking why the song writer is asking so many questions to Mary.
like Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water.
Mary did you know that your baby boy heal the blind.

Yes it is a song praise in the form of a question.
But after listening to this song again and again, i wanted to know what Mary knows.So I said let me look in scripture abut what Mary knows.
Then i found this song.

You should know a teenage girl about 15 to 16 years age.
The Romans Catholics idolise mary and evangelical christians neglect how God used Mary.
But one thing we should know is God has chosen Mary.
out of all the young women who were there in the land of israel, when God wanted to send His only Son Jesus Christ, He chose Mary.

The only thing that she knew about the baby is what angel Gabriel told her.
V 31 "you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

And this song that she sings when she met her relative Elizabeth.
In this song you will really know what Mary knows about her God.

V 48. Man is body soul and spirit being.

Mary says, Her Spirit rejoices in God my savior.
and Her Soul exalts/magnifies God.

Lets take an example, suppose you take joy in the way certain sportsperson play.
If you take joy in the way that he plays, then in your every talk you will exalt that person, you will talk good about that person, you will elevate. you try to wear his printed t shirts.

what Mary says is in my Spirit, I rejoice in my Savior. and so my Soul exalts my Lord.

how many 15 year old teenage girl can say these words. only a girl who is deeply in love with God can say these words.


V 48. She realized that God has regarded the humble state of His bondslave.

we seen that all apostles considered themselves as bond slaves of Jesus Christ.
that is after they were filled with Holy Spirit.
When angel brought her the Word, despite her questions she said, Let it be done according to your word.
But here is teenage girl who considers herself as bond slave. today when most of the teenagers are bondlaves of gadgets, fashions, here is a girl who who can say Lord I am your bondslave and you looked at my humble state.

You may ask Mary did you know your baby boy will one day walk on water.
She will say i know my Gods Name is Holy.

If you ask Mary did you know that your baby boy will heal the sick.
She will say i know my God has done great things. No wonder He will do all these things that you are asking. that is her faith.

Verse 52.
One thing Mary realized is that God resist the proud, but exalts the humble.

Verse 53 is a crucial verse.
He sent away the rich who thought they have everything, but He filled the hungry with Good things.
When rich is mentioned, you can say wherever you don't seek God you can consider that as richness.
because the biggest sin a man can do is not depending on God. and one who is rich and does not need God they will be sent away empty handed.

But one who is hungry for God will be rewarded. Mary as a teenager was hungry for God. and what other good can come to her, that the womb of this girl is chosen as an entry point for the savior to come into this world.

She is so hungry for God. God blessed her with Savior. He did not bless her with all the richness of the world. How do you know? even after the birth of savior, she is still poor and when she took Lord Jesus for dedication Luke 2: 22- 24, they brought turtle doves.

what Mary knows is God is God who keeps His Promises. She knows all the promises are Yes and Amen.


Chruch, this song is not to say great things about Mary, but taken this so that Church will be encouraged through the life of Mary.