"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE, AND WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR YOU"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE, AND WHAT GOD WILL DO FOR YOU"

(Taken from today's reading Sept 6th, in the One Year Bible)

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

Some explanatory thoughts, applications, questions and a prayer:

David was no stranger to danger. He was very well acquainted with enemies, and with those who would love nothing more than to take his life right away from him. But David was also personally well acquainted with the Living God. He knew the Lord, loved Him, feared Him, and sought to obey Him. In David's writings there is no end to the verses that jump out at us and have a tremendous impact on us, such is the one we are considering today. May God's bless you as You read this simple but Divinely Profound Truth. Especially if you find yourself in some type of trouble.

1. God asks us to call upon Him in the day of trouble.

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

To call upon the Lord means, to "put your trust in Him”.
And in this verse, it means to "put your trust in Him in times of trouble”.

Times of trouble come to all of us, and will until they no longer have an opportunity to do so, because we will be in heaven with Jesus.
But in the meantime as we journey towards heaven, certainly we will have "times of trouble”.

The other thing we have now, which we will not have in heaven, is faith.
When trouble comes, we are to say no to every option except "trust in the Lord”.

2. God promises to deliver us.

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

The beautiful thing about what God says here is that it is true.
The reason that it is true is very simple.
God cannot lie.
So what does He say here?
He says I will deliver you.
As you call upon me in the day of trouble, I promise to deliver you.
Or as the NLT puts it "I will rescue you”.

3. God tells us what we will do following His delivering us.

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

Now we are able by looking at this verse to see the sequence of what happens to the child of God.
A day of trouble will come.
The christian calls out to God, puts their trust in God.
The Lord hears them and delivers or rescues them.
And the believer glorifies God.
Or the believer is now giving honor to God, praising God, thanking God, exalting God, telling others about how faithful God is.

Some Questions:

1. Is this a day of trouble for you?

2. Do you need God to rescue you?

3. Do you know that you have faith or the ability to trust in God?

4. Do you know that all other options are not productive?

5. Please realize God's great love and concern for You, and His almighty ability to do just as He says He will do.

6. Stand by, wait on Him, be patient, He will rescue you, He will deliver you, and you are going to praise Him, and that's for sure.

A Prayer:

Lord, Your Words are so sweet to our souls. They fit us like a good glove fits our hand. They comfort us like nothing we know. We find You speaking to us through Your Word as if You know just exactly what we need to hear at just the right moment. Lord for the people we know who are today going through a day or time of trouble (and surely there are multitudes) we pray for them. Prompt them to look heavenward, to turn from their feelings and their circumstances and to simply reach out and embrace You with a sincere heart. You promise to help. Make Your help tangibly seen, felt, and understood by them today, Lord. You can do it, and we pray that You will. We can hardly wait to see Your face, face to face in heaven. Once we get there, no more faith, just the greatest of joys forever and ever. We will see You personally, and enjoy You eternally. Thank You Lord. In the name of Your wonderful Son, Jesus Christ.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHY GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS WORD"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHY GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS WORD"
(Taken from reading the One Year Bible on Sept 5th, 2014)

Proverbs 22:20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

Proverbs 22:21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

As we know, the Book of Proverbs is God's Book for us, to give us His wisdom for daily living. In it the Lord addresses the various circumstances that we might face, and gives us His wisdom on how to respond to them. Or He may be pulling back the curtain that keeps us from seeing what lies behind it, that is, warning us of dangers that are near, and how to avoid them. Sometimes a verse or two is a summary type verse, and that's what these two verses are like. They summarize what God has done for us, and why He has done it for us, and how it might help us and others in the days ahead in our lives.

1. God has actually given us His Word in written form.

Proverbs 22:20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

These words were of course written by Solomon, as he summarized what he had done for his child and children. He had written and recorded well over a 1000 proverbs and insured that his children had them.
We can also apply this as our Father in heaven making sure we have His wisdom in written form.
The Bible is God's Book.
He has made sure that we have one. It's the all time best seller down through the ages.

2. God's purpose in giving us His Word is to tell us of "excellent things, of counsels of knowledge”.

Proverbs 22:20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

Here we have a description of what is in the Bible as a whole:
"Excellent things of counsels and knowledge”.
That's 3 things in particular given to us in His Word.

God has given us His sayings.
God has given us His advice.
God has given us His knowledge.

3. God wants us to know the certainty of the words of truth.

Proverbs 22:21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

We know what God has given us based on the earlier verse, but here we have some of God's purposes in giving us His Word.
He wants us to know the certainty of the words of truth.
Or to put it another way, "He simply wants us to know the truth”.

How kind and loving of God that in a world filled with lies He has given us His Word and wants us to know the truth. The truth, of course, is Jesus Christ.

And the truth will not only set us free from all that binds us, but it will give us life, conform our new lives into the image of Christ, and is the method by which God sets our lives apart to Him.

He makes us holy through His Word. He satisfies our hungry soul, giving us light to know where we are standing, and where we are walking, etc. He also shows us the riches we have in Christ and the wonderful hope we have for the future in glory with Him.

4. God also wants to equip us so that we may give out His truth to those who are asking questions about life and God.

Proverbs 22:21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

Lastly here's one more reason God has given us His Word, so that when someone asks us a question about God and about life, we are equipped to answer them with the truth. Not our opinions, or our ideas, or the ideas of other people, but God's truth.

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

Some Questions:

1. Can we take a moment to say thank You to God for what He has given us by way of the Written Word the Bible?

2. Who else has given us what we find in the pages of Scripture?

3. Isn't it wonderful and glorious that our Father in heaven wants us here on earth to know "excellent things of counsels and knowledge”?

4. Do you know that by having a real and regular devotional life, that is being a man or women that reads and studies the Bible that you will become equipped to help those who are seeking answers about life?

5. Do you know that God has given you a pastor teacher to help you learn the truths of Scripture and to show you by example and by precept how to apply God's Word in your life?

6. If you need help in being more committed to daily reading and regular attendance at worship services, will you pause now and confess Your need to God and ask Him to change your heart and fill you with a unending desire for Him and for His precious Word.

A Prayer:

Lord, we are constantly finding something to be grateful to You for. And here today, it's Your Word. Thank You for providing for us a Bible.
The Bible is Your Word. And You have not only given it to us, but You have given it to us very purposefully. You want to equip us for the work of the ministry through it. Lord, for many of us, it may be that we neglect Your precious gift, and are not attentive to Your Words, much less putting them into application as we ought. For these things we repent and confess these things to You, and ask Your forgiveness. May we become men and women of the Word, equipped as Your ambassadors to minister the truth to those in our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S WISDOM FOR LIVING"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S WISDOM FOR LIVING"

Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;

Proverbs 22:18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

Proverbs 22:19 So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.

Proverbs 22:20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

Proverbs 22:21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer:

The Book of Proverbs is God's book of wisdom for everyday practical wisdom. Imagine, if you will, God sitting down with you, and telling you, now this is the best way for you to live your life, and here's why. Here are the things to pursue, and here are the things to avoid.
And, here is the deeper reason of things that lie beneath the surface of life.
In other words, God explains life to you and seeks to guide you into the blessings of life, and to keep you from the dangers of life.
Such is the Book of Proverbs. We are going to look at 5 verses today, and just draw out one simple truth from each verse.

1. God calls us to listen to Him as He speaks through the wise, and to than apply our hearts to the knowledge He gives us.

Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;

God speaks to us, and He desires that we listen. The choice is ours, the ability to listen has been given to us, but we must exercise our ability. And if we do, we are going to hear God tell us wise things.
Not only does God call us to listen to His wisdom, but then to apply it in our daily lives.

Jesus often spoke about "listening" and the Bible tells us explicitly the importance and the benefit of putting God's wisdom into application. And the danger of just listening but not doing.

2. Here is one of the benefits of listening and doing. And an exhortation to abide in the wisdom or the word of God.

Proverbs 22:18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

In other words, it's "good" to keep the truths of God within ourselves.
It's "good" to keep them in us to the degree we know them and can talk about them readily.
One way to accomplish this is to become a person who makes it a daily practice to read and meditate on the Word of God.
To be a person who has a real devotional life. And just like we eat physical food every day, so we ought to take in God's Spiritual food day by day. "Give us this day our daily bread”.
What better thing is there in life than to have God's life giving, life changing Word in our lives.
This is wisdom for sure.

3. If we are regularly taking in God's Word it will increase our faith, and thus we will be able to trust in God more readily.

Proverbs 22:19 So that your trust may be in the LORD; I have instructed you today, even you.

The entire purpose of God giving us His word is so that our faith or trust in Him may grow.
The Bible tells us that our faith comes from the Word.
More Bible, more faith.
It's truly that simple.
It's just the way the Lord has set it up.
This is the instruction that He has given us in life.
He has filled us with advice and knowledge through His Word.

4. God has gone to great lengths to make sure we have access to His wisdom, counsel and knowledge.

Proverbs 22:20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge,

Proverbs 22:21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?

Jesus told us how it's His Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. In other words it's pleasing to God to be able to speak into our lives and give us His leadership.
He does this by and through His Word.
He wants us to know the truth of His things.
That way we will know how to navigate our way through this life.

Some Questions:

1. Would you admit that God has given you the power of choice, the freedom to make decisions?

2. Do you believe the best choice you can make is to line your life up with God's Wisdom for life.

3. Haven't you found God's ways to be pleasant, and isn't it a blessing to have that sense of knowing the truth of God's Word?

4. Do you find that when you are in the Word it truly does help give you more faith?

5. Would you take a moment to express your gratitude to God for giving you this wonderful book called "Proverbs”?

A Prayer:

Father, thank You for giving us this book of Wisdom. Along with the Psalms, they make a dual package of wisdom comfort hope and joy.
Thank You for the entire Bible. But thank you for laying out things the way You have in Proverbs. You have covered "all the bases" as we like to say. You have given us the freedom of choice, and we pray that You move in our lives to make us men and women who choose to receive Your Word in a meaningful way day by day as we wait to go to heaven. It will surely make our lives such a blessing to You, to ourselves, and to the world around us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT A PROMISE FROM GOD TO US"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT A PROMISE FROM GOD TO US"

2nd Corinthians 6:18 Will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.

2nd Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Some explanatory thoughts, explanations, applications, questions and a prayer:

Paul spent the majority of this 2nd letter to the Corinthians trying to protect them from the influence of false teachers who had crept into the church and were polluting it and corrupting it. The teachers were not only false in their teaching, but they were also false accusers of Paul, undermining his authority by accusing him to the Corinthians of not being a legitimate apostle. Truth accepted and responded to produces changed lives, lives that are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Lies from Satan do not accomplish the goal of God.
In these two verses we have both a promise and what we ought to do with that promise and what God will do in our lives as a result.

1. Here's the promise from the Lord:
2nd Corinthians 6:18 Will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.

God was calling His own people back to Himself. The false teachers had effectively put a wedge between the people's potential growth and God by their lies and false doctrine. Thus God was calling the people to come back to Him.

And not only calling them to come back to love Him back, but affirming to them that He would be their father in real life. He wanted to be responsible for them, and to take care of them. Listen again to what He says to them.

2nd Corinthians 6:18 Will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.

The wonderful thing here is that this is a promise from God. Therefore it's true. It was true for the Corinthians and it's true for you today also. He wants to be in your Father, and He wants You to be His children. And this expression is from the LORD Almighty.

Praise God for His heart of love towards His people.

2. Here's what we ought to do with this promise from the Lord, and here's what will happen to us if we take it to heart and respond appropriately.

2nd Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Now we have application. First we have a promise and now we have application. That is the normal sequence in the Bible. God tells us the truth, and than tells us what to do with the truth, and tells us what will happen to us if we apply His truth, or in this case His promise.
Let's look at this application in some detail.

(1) We have these promises.

You and I as believers are possessors of this promise and all the promises in the Bible. They are ours. They belong to us.
There is no question about that. It's not as if this may be ours, no, it is ours. You have this promise also. God has made this promise to you and He cannot lie.

Here's how this promise reads in the NLT:

2nd Cor 6:18 Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

(2) Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and and spirit.
Not only are we to separate ourselves or come out and away from them, i.e the false teachers, but we are also not to touch their filthy things.
So our cleansing takes place by our separation from that which is not of God.
We just put it off, leave it, walk away from it, stop the behavior, etc.
We turn from our sins and turn to and trust in God.

(3) Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2nd Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

As we respond to God's promise, here’s what we are doing and here's what will happen to us.

(1) We are perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
We are to work towards complete purity is the idea.
The false teachers had brought in much impurity to the church, telling them that certain practices were okay for them to participate in. But this is not true.
God wants us to not give ourselves over to our sinful nature, but to do all we can by His grace and power through faith to work to being as pure as we can be before Him.

(2) We are being transformed, or conformed, or growing in the Lord Jesus Christ as He would want us to, and intends for us to grow.

As we work towards living a life of purity something else happens in our lives. We will grow.We will be transformed into the image of Christ.
All of this takes place because we are walking in wisdom and wisdom starts with fearing God, respecting God, living a life of reverence towards God.

Some Questions:

1. Have you realized how real the spiritual battle is that we are in?

2. Do you see how that our enemy is a liar and cannot tell the truth?

3. Is it comforting to know that God loves You and gives You promises to help you march all the way to heaven in one piece?

4. Is there any area of your life right now that God is speaking to You about and calling you into the life He has for you?

5. Do you know what blessings await you as you obey Him?

A Prayer:

Father, You are the shepherd of Your people. You look over us. You watch over us. You know when the enemy is about trying to destroy Your work, and You give us Your Word to guide us into the truth and the right and protective path to live. Thank you for all of that, Lord, thank You.
In Jesus’ name

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHO GOD IS"

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHO GOD IS"

Psalm 46:1 A Psalm "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble."

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer:

In this Psalm David is expressing the many things God is and the many things that God does for his people.
We are just going to look at one verse.

1. God is our refuge.
Psalm 46:1 A Psalm "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble."

David understood that God was actually this for him, and for all who know Him and trust in Him.
He is our refuge.
The word refuge means, shelter, hope, trust. Shelter from rain or storm, from danger, from falsehood.

What a blessing to know that in times of peril, difficulty, and danger that our God is a refuge for us, for you personally.
God is Your refuge.
In fact that is one of His names, if you will, "God is our Refuge”.

2. God is our strength.
Psalm 46:1 A Psalm "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble."

Also, along with being our refuge, He is our strength.
The idea behind this word is that of strong, power, and mighty boldness.
God is our strength.
Not we are our strength, but He is our strength.
Here's what Paul said about God being our strength.

2nd Cor 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2nd Cor 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

3. God is a our very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1 A Psalm "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble."

This is such a comfort. God is not only our refuge, and strength, but look at what is said here, He is a “very present help in trouble”.

There are three parts to this truth.
God is very present.
God is our help
And, He is very present to help us in trouble.

What it means, is that he is always ready to help us in times of trouble.

Some questions:

1. Do you ever think of God as your refuge?

2. How about your strength? Do you really know He is your strength, do you find Him strengthening You?

3. This next one is one we are more prone to act on. Finding his help in times of trouble.

4. Can you think of the last few times God has really helped you when you were in trouble?

A Prayer:

Father, these Psalms You have left for us are incredibly wonderful and comforting to our souls. They really speak so often to the situations in our own lives. Thank You for making them available for us, Lord. May we pass them on to others as we fellowship, and seek to share Your help and comfort with those who are in need. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US, AND WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US TO DO"

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US, AND WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US TO DO"

2nd Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation

2nd Corinthians 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

2nd Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Some explanatory thoughts, application, questions and a prayer:

Paul was describing the ministry that God had given to him. And in this section of the letter he goes into great detail as to what the ministry is in it's purest and simplest sense. He explains here that God has done something for us, (actually a number of things) and that in turn, God has given us something to do in our service to Him.

1. God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Reconciliation means that God has brought us to Himself. We were not with Him, but He has provided a way for us to be brought to Him, into a relationship with Him.
He did this through Jesus Christ.

Jesus came and died for our sins, was buried, and then rose from the dead. And when we turn to Him, believing in Him, and receiving Him, we are brought into union with God. We are now with God, whereas we were separated from Him, and without Him, now we are with Him.
We have been reconciled to God.

2. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
2nd Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Having reconciled us, God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
That is, we are instruments, servants, of God that He uses through the gospel to bring others to Him, just like He brought us to Himself.
It's very important to see that this is our role, this is our ministry from our Lord.

3. God was actually in Christ reconciling the world to Himself and has not imputed our trespasses to us.
2nd Corinthians 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

When Jesus died on the cross we are told that God Himself was in Christ.
How this can be is a mystery, but it's true nonetheless.
God has personally brought us to Himself.
Words fail us to express our gratitude to Him for what He has done for us.

4. God has made us ambassadors for Christ, and He is working through us.
2nd Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

This is just another way of saying what was said earlier. That God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
We are heaven's ambassadors.
Ambassadors represent a leader, and they bring the message of their leader to those to whom they are sent.
We have God's message, the Gospel.
We are to share that message by example and by verbal proclamation to those in our world, and to those God sends us to.

God saved us, and now He wants to use us to help others become what we are, "reconciled to God”.

Questions:

1. Can you remember the first time you heard the gospel message and really understood it?

2. Do you remember when you responded to the message of the gospel?

3. Do you know that at that time it was God speaking to you, and it was to God that you responded?

4. Do you know that at that very moment you were now brought back to God Himself?

5. Would you please take a moment to meditate on the fact that you have a responsibility to God as His servant, You are His ambassador to share the gospel with others. God wants You to be faithful to Him.

6. Will you pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon You and make you filled with love, compassion, and heaven's ability to share Christ with others?

A Prayer:

Father, You Yourself were in Christ bringing us to Yourself by paying the price for our sins. No one else could do this for us. We could not pay for our sins, nor can we erase them, nor can any other person do for us what Christ has done. Lord, though You speak to men all around the world 24 hours a day through creation, it's us You use to verbalize to a person's mind the wonderful eternal life giving good news of the Jesus Christ. I'm afraid, Lord, that we may not have understood this ministry You have given us. And I'm afraid that maybe we have been negligent to be as faithful as we ought to be in this ministry. Lord, for those of us who are simply afraid to tell others about Jesus, would You please do whatever it takes to make us into faithful ambassadors of heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia