Partakers Christian Podcasts

Proverbs 2

G’day! Welcome to Partakers and to Wednesday Wisdom, where we are listening to what the Bible has to say through the Wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Come on in!

Today it is Proverbs 2. Download this episode using this link

1 My son, if You will receive my words, and hide my commandments with you;
2 So that You incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if You cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding;
4 If You seek after wisdom as for silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then shall You understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
7 He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a shield to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keeps the paths of judgment, and preserves the way of his saints.

9 Then shall You understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yes, every good path.
10 When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you:
12 To deliver you from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaks forth things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the disobedience of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they are disobedient in their paths:
16 To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flatters with her words;
17 Which forsakes the guide of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclines to death, and her paths to the dead.
19 None that go to her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That You may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

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Psalm 37

37:1 Don't fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
37:3 Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
37:4 Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
37:5 Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
37:6 he will make your righteousness go forth as the light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
37:7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.

37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more.
Yes, though you look for his place, he isn't there.
37:11 But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
37:12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.
37:13 The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright in the way.
37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken.
37:16 Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked.

37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
37:18 Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
37:19 They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
37:20 But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish- vanish like smoke.
37:21 The wicked borrow, and don't pay back, but the righteous give generously.
37:22 For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
37:23 A man's goings are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way.
37:24 Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.

37:25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread.
37:26 All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His seed is blessed.
37:27 Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever.
37:28 For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn't forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.
37:30 The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice.
37:31 The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.
37:32 The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.

37:33 Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
37:34 Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
37:36 But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37:37 Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
37:38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
37:40 Yahweh helps them, and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they have taken refuge in him.

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Wednesday Wisdom

Proverbs 1

G’day! Welcome to Partakers and to Wednesday Wisdom, where we are listening to what the Bible has to say through the Wisdom literature of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Come on in!

Today it is Proverbs 1. Download this episode using this link

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain to wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother:
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace to your head, and chains about your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, consent You not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay waiting for blood, let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in your lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not you in the way with them; refrain your foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which takes away the life of the owners thereof.
20 Wisdom cries without; she utters her voice in the streets:
21 She cries in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she utters her words, saying,
22 How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make known my words to you.
24 Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But you have set at nothing all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes;
27 When your fear comes as desolation, and your destruction comes as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish comes upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33 But who ever gives head to me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

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Psalm 96 to Psalm 100

Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection!

 

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Psalm 101

1 I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life –
when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart.
3 I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.
I hate what faithless people do;
I will have no part in it.
4 The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

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Psalm 102

1 Hear my prayer, Lord;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.

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Psalm 103

1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits –
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

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Psalm 104

1 Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendour and majesty.
2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

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Psalm 105

1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

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Psalm 91 to Psalm 95

Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection!

 

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Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.’
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

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Psalm 92

1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed for ever.
8 But you, LORD, are for ever exalted.

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Psalm 93

1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
2 Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
3 The seas have lifted up, LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea –
the LORD on high is mighty.
5 Your statutes, LORD, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.

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Psalm 94

1 The LORD is a God who avenges.
O God who avenges, shine forth.
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, LORD, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?
4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, LORD;
they oppress your inheritance.
6 They slay the widow and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, ‘The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.’

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Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

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Psalm 86 to Psalm 90

Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection!

 

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Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God;
3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

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Psalm 87

Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.

1 He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you, city of God:
4 ‘I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me –
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush – and will say, “This one was born in Zion.”’

5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
‘This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her.’
6 The Lord will write in the register of the peoples:
‘This one was born in Zion.’
7 As they make music they will sing, ‘All my fountains are in you.’

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Psalm 88

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.

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Psalm 89

A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm for ever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

3 You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4 “I will establish your line for ever and make your throne firm through all generations.”’

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Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying, ‘Return to dust, you mortals.’

4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death –
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.

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God and His church!

As Christian Disciples, we declare that we believe in God! That's what we have been doing in our praises and testimonies! Somebody asked last week what I meant by a WOWFactor of God! Just that - testimonies of how great is our God. As Christian Disciples, we declare that we not only believe in the existence of God, but that we can know God personally! We declare that we can grow in our knowledge of this great and Almighty God who is infinite and beyond our limitations of space and time! This great and awe-inspiring God we trust, obey, follow and worship, amazing as it sounds, is personable and knowable. This God we worship is a personal God and not a remote being or an un-emotive statue to place on a shelf. More than that, this God wants to be known. So with that said, just who is God?

1. Who is God?

God's Natural Attributes

God's Moral Attributes

2. Our Relational Response

God desires to bring people back into relationship with Himself! To do so, God established a New Covenant! This Covenant has four main features:

• Justification - Sins will be forgiven and removed.
• Promised Holy Spirit - God will live inside people and they will be led by Him.
• Regeneration -God will renew & restore people.
• Restoration - God will be their God, and they will be His people.

The Church

Fellowship

Worship

Evangelism

Jesus' WOWFactor

As I close, here is my own WOWFactor about Jesus, the Son of God. My Jesus is unique, majestic, tender, wise, strong, and lovely. My Jesus, whom I seek to serve and obey in every facet of life. I often don't achieve it, but I know that when I fall and fail, I can ask for forgiveness and He will grant it from His wellsprings of grace and mercy. It is this Jesus whom I depend upon and personally know to be totally reliable in every way. When people let me down, turn away from me, discourage me, think wrongly off me, or incorrectly assume my motives.
This Jesus always picks me up. He never turns me away. He always encourages and embraces me. At the end of the day, I know that Jesus has been dependable, going ahead of me throughout the day! I give Him thanks. Amazing! This Jesus who died on a Roman cross two thousand years ago was the same Jesus who was raised from the dead, without decay, into newness of life and ascended to the right hand of the Father. What is more, this Jesus is coming back to gather His followers, to Himself. Jesus is coming back, but not as a baby this time. There will be no kitchy-kitchy koo factor this time. No! Jesus the Son of God, is coming back as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Are you ready?

Amazing! This God-man, Jesus, is coming back and He will do the most extraordinary thing. We read about it in Revelation 21:4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Isn't that just the most amazing verse of Scripture? Picture the scene! Jesus Christ taking your face in His scarred hands and wiping away your tears - tears of suffering and tears of joy. You will say to yourself, it was all worth it - the trials, temptations, sufferings and experiences I have had for the sake of Jesus Christ my Master. Are you ready for Him?

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A Story of Two Women!

2 Chronicles 22:10-12 - When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah's sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so that she could not kill him. He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

2 Chronicles 23:11-15 - Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king's son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, 'Long live the king!' When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went to them at the temple of the Lord. She looked, and there was the king, standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and musicians with their instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her robes and shouted, 'Treason! Treason!' Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops, and said to them: 'Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her.' For the priest had said, 'Do not put her to death at the temple of the Lord.' So they seized her as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate on the palace grounds, and there they put her to death. Jehoiada then made a covenant that he, the people and the king would be the Lord's people. All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

The two main characters which we will look at today are Athaliah and Jehosheba. This story has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster! I can see Angelina Jolie playing the role of Athaliah and Julie Andrews as Jehosheba! What do you think? As hard as it is to believe, our two characters tonight are related! Come and listen to find out more! 

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Studies of Ruth

Study 5. Worship Through Obedience.

Then finally, Ruth's obedience was also worship. How is this? The result of Ruth's obedience was Obed, the child fathered by Boaz as kinsman-redeemer, the one would inherit the family land and name in place of Naomi's dead husband and sons. Obed in Hebrew means "worship". Is not obedience really the outward action that derives from the inner response of faith love, and trust practised in regard to individuals and God? Jesus said "If you love me, you will obey what I command!" (John 14:15). Ruth's acts of obedience throughout this her story, are also practical acts of worship of the God she had made her own by faith. So Ruth's obedience has four factors to it: the wow factor, the witness factor, the wholeness factor and finally the worship factor!

Conclusion

Let us ask God to work in us, changing our weak attempts at obedience into acts of divine worship. We find delight in serving the Lord, instead of indulging in resentment over sinful leaders. The result will be inner freedom and release from bitterness, and also a powerful story to those in authority and to onlookers as well. Just as too Ruth's obedience of Naomi, moved Boaz and all Bethlehem, the Holy Spirit will enable us move others (Colossians 3:23-24).

While we obey others we can joyfully remember that it is God alone who is worthy of complete obedience. When our confidence in Him is reflected in our submission to others we become living stories to our trust in God's perfect plan. If we follow the example of Ruth, perhaps someone will notice our stories and find the witness, the wholeness, and the worship in our lives of obedience and praise God because of us. And, remember this from 1 Samuel 15:22 "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

So go and be obedient to our awesome and holy God! Through obedience to Him, as revealed in Scripture, you will be growing and changing into the very likeness of Jesus Christ whom you follow. Through obedience, you will be able to enduring and be persistent in your Christian lifestyle and evangelism. So much so, that people will ask you for the reason for the hope you have and portray.

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Studies of Ruth

Study 4 - Wholeness in obedience

Let's start with a question. How did Ruth's obedience come to have such a tremendous impact on those around her? It all started with a personal commitment, a permanent decision that brought her peace and provided her with direction for all that followed. On the border of Moab, Ruth had told Naomi of her commitment (Ruth 1:16-17) as we read earlier. Ruth's commitment was absolute.

Rather than constraining her, this new commitment gave her new purpose and opportunity to develop her character. When they arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth volunteered to pick up the leftover grain (Ruth 2:2). When she returned to Naomi, Ruth shared her grain with Naomi and told her about her day.

Then it was Naomi who sensed God's direction and gave Ruth detailed instructions as to how to approach Boaz, which Ruth obeyed perfectly (Ruth 3:1-6). Ruth 4:17 indicates that after Ruth's future and family were secure, Naomi was included in the household redeemed by Boaz, for when the neighbours noticed how much she cared for Obed they said "Naomi has a son." Truly the deepest love, trust and respect were at the centre of Ruth's & Naomi's relationship, bringing both of them mutual fulfilment.

As Ruth obeyed Naomi, so she obeyed Boaz, both at their first meeting and later at the threshing floor. She won both the admiration of Naomi and Boaz as much by the quickness of her unquestioning responses as by her completeness in carrying out commands. Ruth won respect because she offered her respect in the form of obedience. Her obedience was total and complete. Not through coercion, but by love and adoration.

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