Partakers Christian Podcasts

Bible Reading - Psalm 27

Psalm 27

By David.
27:1 Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?

27:2 When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh,
even my adversaries and my foes,
they stumbled and fell.

27:3 Though an army should encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me,
even then I will be confident.

27:4 One thing I have asked of Yahweh,
that I will seek after,
that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life,
to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.

27:5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me secretly in his pavilion.
In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me.
He will lift me up on a rock.

27:6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me.
I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent.
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.

27:7 Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice.
 Have mercy also on me,
and answer me.

27:8 When you said, “Seek my face,”
my heart said to you,
“I will seek your face, Yahweh.”

27:9 Don’t hide your face from me.
Don’t put your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me,
God of my salvation.

27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
then Yahweh will take me up.

27:11 Teach me your way, Yahweh.
Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.

27:12 Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen up against me,
such as breathe out cruelty.

27:13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.

27:14 Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage.
Yes, wait for Yahweh.

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Bible Thought - Who is God?

 

 

Who/what is God?

 

I have had people say to me, I believe in God’s existance but I don’t need to study the Bible to know Him! But belief in His existence is not enough! Even satan and his demons believe in God’s existence! It is only through the Bible we can study God and His relationship with the universe. All we can know about God is not contained in the Bible, but the Bible contains all we can know about God during our earthly life! That is because God is infinite and beyond our limitations of space and time! Yet the God we as Christian disciples follow and worship, is knowable through the Bible. This means that God is a personal God and not a remote being. That is a key to studying Him! He wants to be known and has given us the Bible in order for us to do so.

How can we know about God?

In the Bible, what we know of God are the fundamental qualities or powers of His being. The Bible elucidates statements about God, by God, through which we try and understand God, using our finite minds. The Bible reveals God to us! God is spirit, yet a personal and infinite being (John 4:24). He is one in substance, nature and being and incapable of division (Deuteronomy 6v4). Yet He is three coequal people, or the Trinity! It is through the Bible we discover what pleases, angers, offends, or gives joy Him!

The words revealed in the Bible describe His attributes! The fact we are able to take hold and understand this about an infinite God is evidence that God desires to be known by humans! So what are some of the attributes of God? There are two different kinds of attributes: natural and moral.

1. Natural Attributes

a. Transcendent - God's self-existence apart from and independent of creation. This reflects God’s majesty and greatness. Romans 11:33; 1Chronicles 29:11; 1Kings 8:27

b. Immanent/Omnipresent - God is wholly present everywhere. God fills the universe in all it's parts without division Psalm 139:7-12; Jerermiah 23:23-24

c. Omnipotent - God has power to do all things that are the object of power. With God all things are possible Luke 1:37. He is El Shaddai or God Almighty. Jerermiah 32:17-18 Nothing is too hard for you.

d. Omniscient - God has perfect knowledge of all things - actual, past, present, future and possible. 1 John 3:20 God knows all things; Psalm 47:5 Infinite understanding.

e. Infinite - God has no limits. He has an internal and a qualitative absence of limitation. Boundless activity - Romans 11:33; 1Timothy1:16; Psalm 147:5

f. Immutable - God is unchangeable. Malachi 3:6 - I AM God and I change not; Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

g. Eternal - God is without beginning or end. He is the alpha and omega. God is outside of time - time is in God, and He is free from the succession of time. God lives in the eternal present - past, present and future, are NOW for God - He is the I AM YAHWEH Exodus 3:14. From everlasting to everlasting you are God. 1 Timothy1:17; Psalm 102:7

h. Spirit God is a free personal Spirit

· God is not material. He is invisible and indestructible. John 4:24; 1Timothy1:17; 1Timothy6:15-16

· God is Life Jn 14:6. Energy & activity!

· God has Personality. Self-consciousness & communicative!

 

2. Moral Attributes

a. Goodness - absolute perfection. Seeking creations' welfare.

• Love - God is love 1 John 4:8-10. God communicates and gives of Himself.
• Grace - God gives us what we do not deserve. God's riches at Christ’s expense Ephesians 2:7; The unmerited goodness of God John 1:16.
• Mercy - God does not give us what we deserve. The goodness of God to those in distress - tenderness & compassion (Ephesians 2:3-5)
• Long-suffering - God is slow to anger. God longs to forgive (Exodus 34:6-7)
• Truth - John 14:6 The revelation source and foundation of all truth is God/Jesus

b. Holiness - moral excellence and perfection of God. Separation from sin. What God is!! Heb 7:26 "Be holy, for I am Holy".

c. Righteousness - Holiness in action. God's actions conform to His Holiness. Justice deals with the ab­sence of righteousness. Sin must be dealt with – (Genesis 18:25 & Psalm 89:14)

Why do we study this God?

 

There are at least 4 reasons!

a) Avoids confusion! As we study God, we come to know truths about Him and are able to discern what are true and false facts about Him! "Truth combats error" Satan distorts scripture to put people off the truth.

b) Truth develops character 2 Peter 1:3-9 - The strongest Christian disciples are those with a good growing knowledge of biblical truth. Since study increases our knowledge of God, it increases the possibilities of love, growth and service of the Christian disciple. We study it to put it into practice! What we believe about God, affects our behaviour! James 1:22 says "We must be doers of the Word not just hearers of this is to be effective."

c) We are commanded to grow in our knowledge of God - 2 Timothy 4:2-4

d) This God is to be worshipped and part of our service and submission to this God, is that worship is given to Him alone (Deuteronomy 5v6-9). As humans we are created in His image, and as Christian disciples we were bought at a price when Jesus died on the cross and we accepted Him as our Lord and saviour. He is due our worship and reverence! It is on worship that I hope to discuss next time!

One of the best books regarding getting to know God is the appropriately titled “Knowing God” by JI Packer - it’s a thoroughly modern and readable classic! For more to think about, please do read for yourself 2 Peter 1:3-9. Ask yourself the following questions, writing them down if you can, and see how you respond or react to them. Then why not share your answers with your spouse or a close friend, so that you can pray over any issues together.

Q1. From my knowledge of God, what do I find comforting?

Q2. From my knowledge of God, what do I find disturbing?

Q3. How has my knowledge of God grown and affected my behaviour since I became a Christian disciple?

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Bible Reading - Psalm 135

Psalm 135

¹ Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord! Praise him, you who serve the Lord,
² you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; celebrate his lovely name with music.
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure.
⁵ I know the greatness of the Lord- that our Lord is greater than any other god.
⁶ The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.
⁷ He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

⁸ He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals.
⁹ He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people.
¹⁰ He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings-
¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan.
¹² He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel.
¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever; your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation.
¹⁴ For the Lord will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.
¹⁷ They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.
¹⁸ And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
¹⁹ O Israel, praise the Lord! O priests-descendants of Aaron-praise the Lord!
²⁰ O Levites, praise the Lord! All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord!
²¹ The Lord be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

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Bible Reading - Psalm 40

Psalm 40

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

40:1 I waited patiently for Yahweh.
He turned to me, and heard my cry.
40:2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay.
He set my feet on a rock,
and gave me a firm place to stand.
40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth,
even praise to our God.
Many shall see it, and fear,
and shall trust in Yahweh.
40:4 Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust,
and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

40:5 Many, Yahweh, my God,
are the wonderful works which you have done,
and your thoughts which are toward us.
They can’t be declared back to you.
If I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you didn’t desire.
You have opened my ears.
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
40:7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come.
It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
40:8 I delight to do your will, my God.
Yes, your law is within my heart.”

40:9 I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly.
Behold, I will not seal my lips,
Yahweh, you know.
40:10 I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart.
I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not concealed your loving kindness
and your truth from the great assembly.
40:11 Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh.
Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me.
40:12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me.
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up.
They are more than the hairs of my head.
My heart has failed me.

40:13 Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me.
Hurry to help me, Yahweh.
40:14 Let them be disappointed and confounded together
who seek after my soul to destroy it.
Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.
40:15 Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!”
40:16 Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
Let such as love your salvation say continually, “Let Yahweh be exalted!”
40:17 But I am poor and needy.
May the Lord think about me.
You are my help and my deliverer.
Don’t delay, my God.

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Bible Reading - Psalm 144

Psalm 144

A psalm of David.

¹ Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.
² He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.
³ O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,
mere mortals that you should think about them?
⁴ For they are like a breath of air;
their days are like a passing shadow.
⁵ Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.
Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.
⁶ Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!
Shoot your arrows and confuse them!
⁷ Reach down from heaven and rescue me;
rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies.
⁸ Their mouths are full of lies;
they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.
⁹ I will sing a new song to you, O God!
I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
¹⁰ For you grant victory to kings!
You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.
¹¹ Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies.
Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.
¹² May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.
¹³ May our barns be filled with crops of every kind.
May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands,
¹⁴ and may our oxen be loaded down with produce.
May there be no enemy breaking through our walls,
no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares.
¹⁵ Yes, joyful are those who live like this!
Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.

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Bible Reading- Psalm 129

Psalm 129

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

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From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me.
Let all Israel repeat this:
From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,
but they have never defeated me.
My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,
turning yellow when only half grown,
ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.
And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing:
"The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord's name."

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Bible Book Explanation - Leviticus

Old Testament

Book of Leviticus

Summarised in 1 Minute

Key Verses

Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life. Leviticus 20:7-8 - "‘Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am Yahweh your God. You shall keep my statutes, and do them. I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.

Summary

The book of Leviticus is God's guidebook for the nation of Israel, showing them how to worship, serve and obey Him. Fellowship with Almighty God was through sacrifice and obedience, to reveal His holiness to other nations.

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Bible Reading - Psalm 148

Psalm 148

¹ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies!

² Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven!

³ Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars!

⁴ Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds!

⁵ Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being.

⁶ He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked.

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths,

⁸ fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him,

⁹ mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,

¹⁰ wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds,

¹¹ kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth,

¹² young men and young women, old men and children.

¹³ Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven!

¹⁴ He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones- the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!

 

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Church History Part 28

Part 28

The Church at the start of the Age of Reason

The 18th century is widely regarded as the ‘Age of Reason’ – the age of scientific discovery. Science was discovering the natural laws that governed the earth. With the advent of the theory of evolution, the idea of a supernatural world was dispensed with. Quickly God had become merely at best an impersonal observer and the supernatural, spiritual worlds and the divine inspiration of Scriptures were being denied.

Within general society, the 'need for God' disappeared as science and philosophy felt they could explain everything without the need of a God or gods. For the church, this was a century of stagnation and decay. In the USA, the original evangelical fervour had faded into commerce and prosperity.

However, there were glimpses of the Church being empowered. Not all was lost! There were still glimmers of the church still being alive! In the mid-18th century there was a spiritual revival throughout the USA and Britain.

America – In America, there was the Great Awakening! Revival started in 1730 under the passionate and spiritual preaching of Jonathon Edwards. He was followed by George Whitfield, an Englishman who waited for 6 weeks in 1740 and preached to crowds of thousands. Many thousands turned to the church and became Christians during this time of revival.

Jonathon Edwards (1703 – 1758) – Edwards’ conversion took place when one day he was reading 1 Timothy 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Later in life he looked back and wrote "As I read the words, there came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from any thing I ever experienced before… I thought with myself, how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be rapt up to him in heaven; and be as it were swallowed up in him for ever!" You can see the reference in it's context by clicking here 

As regards to his approach to science, rather than scurrying away from it as many church leaders did, Edwards like some others, embraced it! As he went on in life, while many in the church found that science was pushing them to an impersonal view of God, Edwards went the other way. He embraced the natural world as evidence of God’s craftsmanship and design. He went on to become perhaps America’s finest philosopher and thinking as well as a mighty preacher and church leader.

Wales – In Wales, revival broke out in the Church of England in 1738-1742 under the divinely inspired preaching of Howell Harris and Griffith Jones. It was during this time that George Whitefield was converted before he went to the USA to preach the same gospel there!

England – Perhaps the greatest names in England were the Wesley brothers - John (1703 - 1791) and Charles (1707 - 1788)! Together they revitalised a church quickly stagnating! Open air preaching, vibrant songs and zealous sermons were their hallmarks. At the heart of their preaching and hymnody were these thoughts “Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence or conviction that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that He loved me and gave Himself for me.” You can see the reference in it's context by clicking here.

Many came to faith because of them, and these people were discipled methodically. Together they founded the Methodist movement which gave birth to the Methodist denomination.

The church is almost 1800 years old now. The Holy Spirit is still at work, empowering the church despite the Age of Reasoning and the ignorance of the spiritual aspects of life.

That’s it for this time! That is the conclusion of our series HAHA! I hope you have enjoyed this speedy journey in the life of the Church! The story of the Church continues, and will continue until the object and source of the Church’s faith, Jesus Christ returns in glory just as He has promised to do! 

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Bible Reading - Psalm 113

Psalm 113

 

(Read by Sharona)

1 Praise Yahweh! Praise, you servants of Yahweh,
praise the name of Yahweh.

2 Blessed be the name of Yahweh,
from this time forth and forevermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same,
Yahweh's name is to be praised.

4 Yahweh is high above all nations,
his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like Yahweh, our God,
who has his seat on high,

6 Who stoops down to see
in heaven and in the earth?

7 He raises up the poor out of the dust.
Lifts up the needy from the ash heap;

8 that he may set him with princes,
even with the princes of his people.

9 He settles the barren woman in her home,
as a joyful mother of children.

Praise Yah!

 

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