Be All That You Can Be

Pray

• Text

Dictionary.com def. - ARMY

1,	the military forces of a nation, exclusive of the navy and in some countries the air force.

2.	(in large military land forces) a unit consisting typically of two or more corps and a headquarters.

3.	a large body of persons trained and armed for war.

4.	any body of persons organized for any purpose: an army of census takers.

5.	a very large number or group of something; a great multitude; a host: the army of the unemployed.

Hebrew

H1416 gĕduwd ghed·üd' band, troop, army, company, men H2426 cheyl khāl wall, rampart, host, trench, poor, bulwark,  H2428 chayil khah'·yil army, man of valour (Gidion Judges 6), host, forces, valiant, strength, riches, wealth, power, substance, might, strong, misc H2429 chayil (Aramaic) khah'·yil aloud, army, power, most H2502 chalats khä·lats' deliver, Arm, loose, armed men, prepared, take, army, make fat, put off, delivered out, draw out, armed soldiers, withdrawn H4634 ma`arakah mah·ar·ä·kä' army, fight, order, place, rank, rows H4675 matstsabah mats·tsä·bä' garrison, army H6635 tsaba' tsä·bä' host, war, army, battle, service, appointed time, warfare, soldiers, company, misc New Testament (Greek) G3925 parembolē pä-rem-bo-lā' castle, camp, army G4753 strateuma strä'-tyü-mä army, man of war (Eph 6), soldier G4760 stratopedon strä-to'-pe-don army

Most kings have some sort of kingdom and with that some form of government is established

• God has a Kingdom (Matt 6:33… seek ye first,  Mark 1:14 …Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God)

• Kingdom on earth lost by Adam through disobedience… (Rom 5: 19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

• Kingdom re-established by Christ –start when born and deal sealed at cross  (Isa 9:6… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.) (the word government is also translated “responsibility” in some versions)

• Kingdom lost temp (God had plan…  ) – re-established by Jesus, Jesus’ ministry on earth – fully man and fully God (teaching) -then at cross

• Until Jesus comes back The Kingdom Of God re-established in our hearts by being born again  John 3:3 … Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 

If believers are a “band” or have “something in common” we are, by definition, an army

As soldiers in that army we have a commander, His name is Jesus

·        He is The Name above all Names  (Rev 22:13, Isa 44:6)

·        Alpha and Omega (Rev 21:6)

·        The list goes on and on – all boils down to how God first described Himself and told Moses when asked His Name – He said I Am

He sets Himself apart, distinguishes self as The Head, Ruler, The COMMANDER OF THE ARMY!

If you and I are born again, we are in that army – like it or not

·        Our Commander has given us a mission – expand The Kingdom

1.      Mark 16:15
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation

2.      go to church or Bible Study – stay connected with other believers   

Ecclesiastes 4:12  Though one may be overpowered,
       two can defend themselves, A cord of three strands is not quickly broke

 Find out who God is from The Word

Find out who The Word says you are

meditate on The Word – daily – making that a priority is the only way you can   do it –

teach children the word–

set example

teach others (introduce them to Christ, about personal relationship)

if you fall back – go back at it

living for Christ is a process it has to be on purpose and because you want to (free will)

Draw Near To Him

                                                                    

·      

        

                        1.    God Chooses to draw near to us – 
                                 up to us.
                        2.     We crave for what we eat. Devour 
                               Word

3.    determine what you eat - meditate on Word daily.    -  Prov. 4:23 …guard your heart                 (issues of life)

4      We need to want to be in God’s presence because of who He is – not what He can do.

5.            We need to have holy reverence – the fear of the Lord

·        Humility

Our text scripture has been James 4:8 – but let's look at what God says to us through James before and after this verse – the entire passage.

James 6-10   6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  10 10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

 Let's also look at Isa 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

1.            God loves humble people

2.            hates pride

         ·        Most have a misconception of Godly humility – 

3.            as used here means to make oneself lower than the other person on purpose

           a)    Blessed are the humble (Matt 6)

           b)    He who is first will be last
           c)    Defer to others-

           d)    We are supposed to put other’s needs as a priority – help people – James calls this                  “true religion”

·        Let’s  take a look at another form of Godly humility –

4.        

            agreement with God – being in tune with Him : example 1 Sam 17:26-28      

many confuse being in agreement with God with being conceited

1.            Little Shepard boy arrives on scene bringing supplies

2.            finds mighty warriors of Israel hiding behind rocks

3.            finds all are afraid of Goliath

4.            who is this uncircumcised Philistine? – (what is going on here?)

5.            Brother’s reaction

6.            God calls David man after His own heart

David not conceited – standing up for Lord out of love for God, God did not need David’s help but used David to help His people because David:

·        David humbled himself before God (God knew his heart)

·        David stood up for god

·        David’s humbled himself to Saul (God’sking) brought supplys

other examples:

1.            Moses – Numbers 12:3

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

Who wrote Numbers? – Moses!

2.            Jesus – Matt 11:28-29

28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Humbleness here consistent with the idea of

1.            obedience  - Jer. 29:11 -  links obedience and humbleness

2.            dependence on Him – 2 Cor 3:5 – 2 Cor. 12-9-10 – giving all the credit to God

3.            our view of ourselves – 1 Cor 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Humbleness and fear of The Lord the aspect of Christian life that God is looking for –

If we know nothing else, but truly Seek His Presence showing these two things: you automatically will – be obedient in truth – because of who He Is,

You will be in agreement with Him.

Proverbs 22:4-5 tells us He will then reward us with His presence:

            4 By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honour, and life

5 Thorns [and] snares [are] in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

         

(Amp says He will reward with his presence)

If you want to be in agreement with God, you must get to know Him, much easier to agree with someone when you know them.

-         Meditate on Word – Josh 1:8

·        End meeting in prayer

Psalm 103 - What Is God Like?

Praise

Pray

          So much in this Psalm

  One of most loved Psalms.

·        Written by David late in his life

·        Thought to summarize God’s dealings with him

1.   divided into two main divisions : vs 1-10 & 11 – 22

a.   1-10 divided twice: 1-5 & 6-10

b.   11-22 divided three times. 11-14,15-18,19-22

c.   each verse, in keeping with the rules of Hebrew poetry, starts each verse with the consecutive next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. – Perfect symmetry – but then what do we expect with inspiration from The God Of The Universe?

d.   Seems like praise for answered prayer and blessing in spite of fact that David made some very grave mistakes in life.  Attitude of gratitude – Gratefulness for all of the forgiveness he experienced or given by God in his lifetime. – account of Bathsheba is most glaring.

2.Vs 1-5

1^st vs. -  1  Praise the LORD, O my soul;
       all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

a.  the very, very least he could do – This was a command of David to David. He often talked to his inward self. Talked to his spirit when he did not understand his emotions. Spirit is closer to God – booK of Jn tells us “God is a spirit”  Rom 12:1  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to    offer your bodies as living   sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

                   
b. “oh my soul” God is a spirit I must worship Him in spirit and truth

Jn 4:23 – “worship in spirit and truth”

c. “all that is within me” – so much to give thanks for it takes    all I (we) have & that still not enough / the best we can give

3.  2nd vs.  -  Praise the LORD, O my soul,
       and forget not all his benefits-   repeats stirring up self to worship – most rewarding relationship possible, then points out that the rewards or “benefits” of that relationship are endless. There is a feeling of “incomprehensible things he will do for His children”

a.   Again, he repeats “praise” or “bless” – must be important.

b.   To all who know or want to know God, praise and thanksgiving are the most important things.

 c.          4 who forgives all your sins
                   and heals all your diseases,

        a. benefits of knowing, being obedient to, The God Of The Universe who wants to be “Abba Father”& give His Wisdom to His kids. David lists benifits

        b. forgiveness of sins

c.   heals ALL of your diseases

5.   Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with            lovingkindness and tender mercies;

a. “for by grace ye are saved” – Eph 2:8-9

6. 5 who satisfies your desires with good things
       so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

a.   Like natural parents – only wants good things for His kids. “who would give their child a stone if he asks for a loaf of bread” Matt. 7:11 says it like this – (read

b. Renews your youth. Our spirits renewed even born again when we come to know Him.

c. Eagle’s feathers renewed yearly

Being a follower of Jesus is not by any means a negative. People who don’t know Him tend to focus on the negatives of serving Him. They see the Christian life as full of negatives based on worldly, unknowing and in some cases closed-minded and or fearful and untrue ideas and attitudes. Psalm 
103 vs 5-8 tell us: who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s, The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed..He made known his ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel:

We have all heard that the God of the Old Testament is full of wrath, murderous and vengeful. While the God of The New Testament is full of grace, love and mercy. Yet David declares in Psalm 103 verses 8-11: The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

We know the God of The Old Testament and the New Testament are the same God. David testifies to a loving God when he speaks of His unfailing love, mercy, the fact that He is slow to anger and does not remain angry.

Before He chose the Israelites to bring His righteousness to the world, people in every corner of the world had an opportunity to come to Him. Romans 1:20 tells us that God reveals Himself in nature so those who don’t recognize Him are “without excuse”. He did not want His Chosen People polluted and diluted by pagans. By the same token,  read Revelation 14. That chapter tells how He will pour out His Wrath on the unbelievers (in Jesus) of the world.

In The Bible, God does not spend a whole lot of time trying to convince us that He is God. Most of His effort goes into telling us what He is like. He has effectively told us that His love is perfect, without end, unstoppable once it is poured out. Also what I get out of The Word (The Bible) is that His wrath is equally as perfect, without end, unstoppable once it is poured out.

The fact is, if we want to see His mercy, love, grace we must accept the sacrifice He directed His only Son to make in our behalf.