Be Strong in the Lord #2

(Trust in God)

Fred R. Coulter—August 11, 2007

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Let's understand something about the Word of God and why it will stand. First of all, we know Jesus said that He didn't come 'to abolish the Law or the Prophets.' We know that Paul wrote that 'all Scripture is God breathed.' That's very interesting from this point of view, because breath is likened also to the power of the Holy Spirit. But breath is what you use when you speak. So, it is God-breathed and inspired.

I just want to bring it up, because today so many people have believed the lie. What I would like you to do is take a day or take an afternoon or take a couple of hours and write down at on the top of a piece of paper all the lies we believe, and just enumerate them out. It will be very enlightening for you to have a greater focus on how much of what we count as the reality of the world, is not reality in fact. It is a created artificial reality!

Also, how much of it is created and artificial due to everything that we see in the world. People believe that the Bible is like any other ordinary piece of literature, written by the drive-by media filled with lies, but it's not.

We want to go through and realize how we need to be strong in the Lord, and it's going to be a combination of God's Word and God's Spirit, because we are on the verge or the cusp of terrible and horrendous things that are going to happen. This is why I'm giving this short series on To Be Strong in the Lord. I've got a stack of things that portend the future that is going to come down hard, and it's going to be very difficult for a lot of people to handle.

I want you to be strong in the Lord first, so when you hear some of the things that are coming down, then you won't be fearful. Because in bringing them out, I am not going to try and put a fear guilt trip on people, but to state the facts of the Bible so that we know and are prepared spiritually and mentally, and hopefully as much as we can physically, too, for what's coming down.

I think the stock market (at the giving of this sermon) is just a little kind of breath of bad news. The stock market dropped in one day 400 points, and because the Fed pumped in a lot of extra money, it came back 300 points. The Chinese have threatened to use the nuclear option on the dollar, which is that we're going to bail out of dollars entirely. I don't think we're going to grasp what kind of effect that that's going to have on the world, on America and on each one of us.

When it happens, we must first be prepared spiritually. Not only with the Spirit of God in us, but also that the Spirit of God within us we have stirred up and we are strong so that we can endure the things that are going to come and not get despondent. When they come it's not the end, there is a whole lot more to come after that.

2-Peter 1:19: "We also possess the confirmed prophetic Word..."—the whole Bible up to that point. Confirmed means that it was confirmed by the inspiration of Christ!

"...which you do well to pay attention…" (v 19). What happens when everything is nice and convenient and everything is fine and working well, you take a lot of things for granted that are essential. Just like today we arrived at our meeting place, and the water is supplied by a pump from a well and the pump is not working. Which means the bathrooms don't work, and we had to improvise to get some water for just that little thing. It brought to our mind how quickly we need water and how essential it is.

But people become lackadaisical and Laodicean and don't pay attention to the Word of God and don't study the Word of God, and it becomes old hat to them. Like one man said to me one time, 'What are you going to do when you come into the Church and after five years you know everything in the Bible?' I said what a misconception!

The Bible is designed and inspired by the mind of God and you will never know everything in the Bible throughout your entire lifetime! And it's such that we, as human beings, just because of the way that our minds function the way that we work, we must constantly renew the information that is there and renew God's Spirit, and that's why we have the Sabbath. So, Peter says, "…pay attention…" I guess they say today, 'Listen up!'

"…as to a light shining in a dark place..." (v 19). The dark place is the world, and the light is the Word of God.

"...until the day dawns..." (v 19)—the return of Christ. So, we have to keep at it until the return of Christ.

"...and the morning star arises in your hearts" (v 19)—the resurrection. When you are resurrected you will shine as the stars of heaven.

Here's how we're able to do this, v 20: "Knowing this first..."—Greek 'protos'—primary, the basic foundational underpinning of all the Scriptures that we are to know.

"...that no prophecy of Scripture... [any utterance of Scripture] ...originated as anyone's own private interpretation" (v 20).

This is where so many, many people, including those within the Church—brethren and ministers—go astray; they bring their own private interpretations. You're to let the Bible interpret the Bible, and let the Word of God tell us what it is. And there's a way to do that. That's why we have the 14 Rules of Bible Study in The Holy Bible in It's Original Order, A Faithful Version (Appendix A).

Verse 21: "Because prophecy was not brought at any time by human will, but the Holy men of God..."

What are Holy men of God? Monks off somewhere in a monastery? No! Moses was a Holy man of God. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. All the men of God who wrote the Scriptures had the Spirit of God, and in writing it God directed their minds, because it's God breathed.

"...spoke... [and wrote] ...as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (v 21). God used these men in such a way, that they spoke and wrote for Him, not for themselves, not for other human beings, but for Him! When we understand that:

• we realize that Jesus Christ is 'the same yesterday, today and forever'
• we have the words of God here
• we realize how important they are for us at any time in history

not just for us today, but even in the end-times when there are troubles coming! A lot of people can be 'glad time' institutional Christians, when everything is going good.

"…moved by the Holy Spirit." What does that do as far as the Word of God is concerned? What does that do? In doing the Bible project and going through the Old Testament and everything, it has certainly brought out the fact that as Jesus said, 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words won't.' That's what it says right here:

Matthew 24:35: "The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away." Why? Because when God speaks it is, and it is true! There is no lie in it.

Let me just tell you something that's important to understand, which is this: The way you can tell a false 'Christian' worldly preacher is that one of the first things he will say is, 'God didn't mean what He said.' In other words he saying that God is a liar!
Now, the epistle to the evangelist Titus by Paul, and this is what we really need to grasp; Titus 1:1: "Paul, a servant of God... [Paul says in Galatians 'and not of men'!] …and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the Truth that is according to Godliness; in the hope of eternal life, which God Who cannot lie promised before the ages of time" (vs 1-2).

Let's also understand that within the Word of God it contains many blessings for love, faith and obedience. But also half the promises of God are the guarantee that if you sin as an individual, the penalty is going to come upon you if you don't repent. If you sin as a family or a nation it is going to come upon you because God is in charge of everything everywhere at all times. When we grasp that point, this will give us

• more faith in God
• more understanding of the Word of God

and we can truly go before God and ask Him to:

• strengthen us
• help us
• encourage us

Because of what Paul said—what he taught what he believed, and his faithfulness to God—it eventually cost him all those who were supposed to be converted in Asia. Because he says in 2-Timothy, 'All in Asia have deserted me.' That's quite a statement! There will be times when you have to be strong in the Lord that you're going to have to stand alone. If you do things to please people, many people will come and associate because of the pleasing of people.

What Paul wrote is quite a thing, and this adds to the Word of God. This is where we need to come in our lives individually and every elder and teacher and minister needs to come in his life in relationship to what he teaches. Now, it doesn't mean that you have to be hostile and obnoxious toward people. I suppose there may be an occasion when that is necessary because of the hostility and obnoxiousness of people coming toward you.

Galatians 1:1: "Paul, an apostle, not sent from men nor made by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, Who raised Him from the dead."

Consider this fact concerning the New Testament: Paul wrote the most epistles: 14. He also supervised Luke in writing the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. This counts for two-thirds of the New Testament. That's important to bear in mind because only eight men were responsible for writing the New Testament. That becomes very important to grasp.

With this attitude that we are going to read, do you think for one moment that Paul would've written anything contrary to the will of God? the Word of God? the inspiration of God? No! As evidenced in here, he did not do that. When he got challenged with it he said, 'I am what I am by the grace of God,' not of what he did himself.

Verse 2: "And all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, in order that He might deliver us from the present evil world..." (vs 2-4). That's the whole process of:

• conversion
• salvation
• growing
• overcoming.

"...according to the will of our God and Father" (v 4).

So, the very fact that you're converted and have God's Holy Spirit and understand God's Word, it's according to the will of the Father, not because of any great thing that any of us individually have done. Let's understand something. The most that we, and anybody, can claim concerning the Word of God is that it's built on Christ and the apostles, and with God's Spirit He will teach us what we need to know! Yes, we need teachers, and teachers need to be responsible and preach the Word of God.

Verse 5: "To Whom be the glory into the ages of eternity. Amen." Here Paul sets the stage for what he's going to bring in the rest of this epistle.

Verse 6: "I am astonished that you are so quickly being turned away from Him..." Isn't this what happens? We've seen it, and it is rather astonishing how people can do that.

"...Who called you into the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which in reality is not another Gospel... [there is only one] ...but there are some who are troubling you and are desiring to pervert the Gospel of Christ" (vs 6-7).

How do they do that? By changing the words of God! You know all about the worldly holidays, getting rid of the Holy Days of God. Rather than take the challenge of God and obey and prove the Word of God, they throw it out and say that Sunday, Christmas, Easter and all of this sort of thing, and make God serve with their sins.

"...but there are some who are troubling you and are desiring to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But if we, or even an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel to you that is contrary to what we have preached, LET HIM BE ACCURSED! As we have said before, I also now say again. If anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to what you have received, LET HIM BE ACCURSED!" (vs 7-9).
Stop and think about the Christendom of this world, and how it began in its full-fledged form under Constantine, a pagan Roman emperor. The truth is that he was never converted and was not even baptized until he was ready to die. Think about all of the curses that have come upon the followers of Orthodox Christendom. I'm not going to include all the other cursed religions of the world; don't even have to mention them. They're already cursed because they never accepted Christ, but here they profess to accept Christ. Look at all of the curses that have come upon them. And the greatest curse that comes upon them is being cut off from God and not understanding the Word of God and not knowing of what they strongly affirm.

Years ago I wanted to find out what it was like at a Catholic Mass. I decided to go to a Catholic Church. This was down in Pasadena. One Sunday a friend of mine and I went over there to a Catholic Church and went in and we sat down and went through the whole thing that they did. It's totally contradictory to the Word of God from the get go, the whole setting of it. Their buildings are filled with idols and statues and little coves where they burn candles for the dead, and you light a candle and a prayer goes up.

How can a candle convey a prayer to God any greater then if you pour your heart out to God in your own prayer? Can't do it! That's no different than the Tibetan Buddhists who have prayer wheels. They're insane as could be in their religion. They don't practice anything they just walk around and hit all the spinning prayer wheels, and the prayer wheels send prayers up to God. Utter nonsense of men! That's all part of being accursed from God because they are unwilling to follow the Word of God.

Verse 10: "Now then, am I striving to please men, or God? Or am I motivated to please men? For if I am yet pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Quite a profound statement! A good check for every teacher and elder. If you're trying to please people, are you really a servant of Christ?

Verse 11: "But I certify to you, brethren, that the Gospel that was preached by me is not according to man." Remember, Paul is responsible for two-thirds of the New Testament. Keep that in mind when you read that.

Verse 12: "Because neither did I receive it from man... [he didn't bring it from Judaism or from paganism] …nor was I taught it by man; rather, it was by the revelation of Jesus Christ"—which is now recorded in the Bible for us. That's why the Word of God is not going to perish. That's why when things in our lives—troubles and difficulties where we are living—come along, we need the Word of God to strengthen us. We need the Spirit of God to strengthen us, because we're going to have to stand!

Let's see about 'the day of trouble,' because there's going to be troubles coming. What about Galatians in relationship to the seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3 and the problems enumerated in Galatians and those enumerated in the seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3?

I would have to say, that there would probably be a good corollary between Galatians and Thyatira, if you read the message to the Thyatirans. Yes, they're going into a gospel that's perverted. What did the Thyatirans do? They allowed that 'woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit fornication and to sacrifice things to idols!' I would say Galatians comes very, very close to that.

That would be an interesting study. Go through all the Epistles of Paul and take the seven churches of Rev. and kind of outline the things that are there in the seven churches of Rev. Then take the Scriptures that you find in Gal. and 1st and 2nd Cor. and I would have to say 1st and 2nd Cor. probably would fit into the Laodicean Church with all their false teachings, lukewarmness and all of that sort of thing. That would be an interesting study in itself.

The truth is that leaving Christ from the Truth to embrace error is not like flipping a coin. It's more like we have discussed, you're following the light then you turn around, you're still in the light but you're walking away so it's a process. This is what Paul is talking about here, it starts with the process of pleasing people rather than pleasing God.

There're are going to be days of trouble that are going to come:

• What do we do?
• How do we handle it?
• Where do we turn?
• We've got to be strengthened in God!

Psalm 20:1: "May the LORD answer you..." This is a plea to God to hear anyone in the day of trouble. At the end-time we have 'the beginning of sorrows.' Isn't that a lot of trouble? Then that's going to evolve into the Tribulation. We are facing times, and we don't know when it's going to come. We don't know how far down the road these things are going to be. But nevertheless, the day of trouble is coming.

I daresay that all of us have experienced a day of trouble in our own lives, even while we've been Christians. I know I have, you have, every one of us. So, here's a prayer.

Verse 1: "May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob set you on high"—Who was the One Who became Jesus Christ. So, we look to God to help us.

Verse 2: "May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion. May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah" (vs 2-3). In other words today all the works that you do:

• your prayer
• your study
• your yieldedness to God
• walking in God's way

those are the sacrifices that we give today.

Verse 4: "May He grant you according to your own heart and fulfill all your plans." What is the thing that we have to have in our heart continually? Seeking the Kingdom of God as we covered in the sermon series: Keys to Answered Prayer. You always start out with God the Father, His will in heaven and earth and seeking the Kingdom of God.

Verse 5: "We will shout for joy in your victory, and in the name of our God we will set up banners.…" Always remember this: In spite of all the difficulties our victory is going to come through Christ! When it says set up your banners, that means the banners of victory. Of course, the victory will come with the resurrection. That's why Christ says, 'Don't take thought about your life, what other men can do to you.' Yeah, they can take your life; they can kill the body but they can't take your life. What are they going to do when they see you resurrected?

"...May the LORD fulfill all your prayers. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed..." (vs 5-6). Let's understand something else here. Everyone who has the Spirit of God has been anointed from God; that is the anointing of God for each one of us! Not the king who is anointed, but if he's anointed king then he is held more responsible as being king.

"...He will answer him from His Holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand" (v 6). This reminds me of a story of a Seventh-Day Adventist German in WWII who was drafted into the Weimar. He couldn't get out of it, so God gave him grace and favor in the eyes of his superiors. He said, 'I keep the Sabbath and I can't work on Saturday.' All during the war they put him in the Transportation Department and worked it out that he did not have to work on Saturday Sabbath. He would come in and do mechanical work on the trucks and so forth on Sunday.

In the midst of one of the most wicked armies, wicked regimes, terrible oppression of killing and things, was God able to save? Yes, He was! Likewise, with us!

Verse 7: "Some trust in chariots..." Today it's cars. And you see this latest ad with Mercedes-Benz. 'I love you, I love you,' laying on the hood of the car and stroking it and petting it! It's only going to cost you $70,000 for that car anyway; you better love it!

"...and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They are brought down and fallen, but we have risen and stand upright. Save, O LORD; let the King [God] hear us when we call" (vs 7-9).

Now let's see how we get strong in the Lord. It is a process! It's not something that all of a sudden you believe in God, you believe in Christ and now you have perfect faith in everything. No, it doesn't work that way.

I think it's interesting if you would study the book of Deuteronomy and go through it, that you will find that it is the most spiritual of all the books of the first division of the Bible being the Law. Let's see how we are strengthened.

Deuteronomy 11:1: "Therefore, you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge and His statutes and His judgments and His commandments always."

When trouble comes, don't give up on God. Trouble and trials come and they come from God so that He can test our heart, our mind and our attitude and see what we're going to do.

Verse 8: "Therefore, you shall keep all the commandments which I command you this day, so that you may be strong..." Keeping the commandments of God in spite of all the circumstances around gives you spiritual strength.

"...and go in and possess the land where you go to possess it" (v 8). We're going into the Kingdom of God, not the land.

Verse 13: "And it will be..."

Part of the things that I stressed in the sermon series: Keys to Answered Prayer was that you claim the promises of God. And you rightfully can come claim it because you're not demanding of God, because He's already promised it. So, if you claim the promises of God in a humble, repented, yielded, yet, strong attitude, God will bless you.

"...if you will hearken diligently to My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (v 13).

That's the commitment! That is why, and we need to understand that it is damnable and accursed thing to do for any minister, to make people follow him as a person! As one man in the Journal recently wrote, the only way you're going to have salvation is if you're with me! NO! The only way you're going to have salvation, is if Christ is in you and you love God! Tactics like that—and that is a tactic—take you away from Christ. Just step back, watch what happens, take the long view, and just realize that if it's contrary to the Word of God it can't be right regardless of how good it sounds!

Verse 16: "Take heed to yourselves..." This is the whole thing that's important. We have to be honest with ourselves and police ourselves; it's not up to the minister or anyone else to police you. That's where the world has it wrong. They expect the police to make people keep the law. They can't do it. They get more police and what you have is more and more lawbreakers. So, they have more and more police. And in a lawless society, you have more and more lawbreakers. That's contrary to what God wants. God wants you to police yourself, to live your life before Him with His Word and His Spirit in you, that you are connected to God! So, we have to:

Verse 16: "Take heed to yourselves that your heart may not be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods, and worship them" (v 16). That's precisely what Paul was talking about there and Gal. 1.

Verse 17: "And the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you..." If there's any one thing you don't want, you don't want God mad at you! But if you're:

• in a repentant attitude
• trusting in God
• Christ in you
• loving God
• loving the brethren
• loving your neighbors
• doing the things that please God
• studying His Word
• putting it in your heart and mind

then God will be there with you!

"...and He shut up the heavens..." (v 17). This is what we are going to see, because we're going to be facing this; so we might as well just put a little introduction into the problems that are coming right here.

"...so that there will be no rain..." (v 17). God said that He's is going to

• rain in one place
• blow in another place
• mildew in another place
• flood in another place
• drought in another place
• fires in another place (Deut. 28)

If that isn't our evening news, I don't know what is.

"…and so that the land will not yield her fruit, and you perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD gives you. Therefore... [here's what we do]: ...you shall lay up these My words in your hearts and in your souls, and bind them for a sign upon your hands so that they may be as frontlets between your eyes" (vs 17-18).

Now today it's written within our heart and in our mind, because what is important is that all of us, after learning and studying the Word of God and we go out for the next week:

• that we all can stand before God
• that we can all individually love God
• that we can all individually keep His commandments.

That's what God wants, and that you have this relationship with God.

Verse 19: "And you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

This is really quite a tremendous chapter, Deut. 11, when you come to understand it.

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Psalm 35—this is how you fight your enemies. You have to do what you can do, but if God delivers you from your enemies, don't take it into your hands to go beyond that. For example there was a woman I heard of, and I think she was even in the Church, that there was a man who broke into her apartment and was stealing things. When she came home she scared him off. Rather than be satisfied with the fact that God delivered her, maybe she lost some of her goods, yes, but she went out and chased him down and he killed her. So, after God has done things for you, don't go out and take matters into your own hands!

Psalm 35:1: "Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me..." Remember this: If God is for you who can be against you!

"...fight against those who fight against me" (v 1). Does God have a better way of taking care of the enemy than we do? Yes, indeed! Remember that you're never going to change the society through the ballot box! You're never going to bring righteousness into the world because people have 'moral' values. Never happened!

You're never going to get rid of the conspiracy of Satan that has cast a pall over all nations and is thoroughly into all religion, governments, business and so forth. Only Christ can do that.

Verse 2: "Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help." Ask God to help you; He'll intervene! It may be a tough battle; it may be a protracted battle.

Verse 3: "Also draw out the spear and the lance against those who pursue me; say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.' Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion, those who seek after my soul; let them be turned back and humiliated, those who devise evil against me. Let them be as chaff before the wind; and let the angel of the LORD drive them away. Let their way be dark and slippery; and let the angel of the LORD pursue them" (vs 3-6).

Just stop and think for a minute, how God literally did this during the days of Jehoshaphat. And how the Assyrian armies came down —also during the days of the Hezekiah—and were ready to conquer Judah, and how Hezekiah, especially, and Jehoshaphat took it before God. In the case of Hezekiah he laid the very letter of threat from the Assyrians right before God at the temple. He read it and said. 'Yes, God, true he has done all these things.

The Word came to him, 'I will fight the battle for you, you won't have to lift a hand.' What happened? They got up the next morning and went out there and all the 185,000-man army of the Assyrians were dead! The king of Assyria fled back to Assyria because he didn't have any more armies, and he went into the house of his god and his two sons killed him for being so incompetent as to allow that to happen. God took care of it! Then they were how many weeks bringing in the loot and burying the bodies. So, there's a good example of that.

Psalm 34—here it's good to also read this into the record. How we can be strong in the Lord. And to be strong in the Lord is to trust in the Lord, look to Him to help us, and so forth.

Psalm 34:1: "I will bless the LORD at all times... [good times, bad times, in between times] …His praise shall always be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (vs 1-3). When trouble comes here's what we we're to do, and this is where our strength is:

Verse 4: "I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." You don't have to be fearful. This is why I'm going through this, before I bring many of the things that are going to be quite astounding and fearful, indeed, when you hear them. You are going to see them, and you're going to have to live through them. But God will protect you and be with you.

Verse 5: "They looked to Him and were radiant… [enlightened] …and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard, and saved him out of all his troubles" (vs 5-6).

Remember: A sign that God is with you is not the absence of troubles! Some people think that if you're God's why do you have troubles? No! The answer is you are delivered and saved out of all your troubles! God does His part; we do our part. We also have to be 'wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.' Here's another thing that helps you be strong in the Lord when you understand that God has to take care of the enemy. 'The angel of the Lord encamps about them that fear Him and delivers them' (Psa. 35)

Whatever your troubles take them to God. And here's another key that's important, too: While it is good to seek wise counsel, no man, minister, brethren or anyone in the world can save you in the place of God. God alone is going to save you! It also falls into we have the things we need to do. So, if we say, 'O God, bless me with a good crop' and you never sow the seed and get out there and work, then don't say, 'God, I asked for a good crop and You didn't give it to me.' His answer is, 'You're the one to sow, and I'm the one to make it grow!

Verse 8: "O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." That's where were going to focus.

Verse 14: "Depart from evil..." What is that? Repentance! That's why every day in our prayers we ask God to forgive us our sins, which is repentance.

"...and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry" (vs 14-15). God will hear!

Sometimes the problems are so deep and so complicated that even though you're praying and God is in there deliberating step-by-step, you won't see the results of it until sometime down the road. But keep at it.

Verse 16: "The face of the LORD is against those who do evil.... [do not ever envy the evil or the wicked] …to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles" (vs 16-17).

One of the biggest difficulties that people have is that when troubles and difficulties come, they blame God! It's His fault! NO! It's the fault of the way that the world is, and Satan the devil and other people, not God's fault. Here's what we need to do.

Verse 18: "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are of a contrite spirit." The whole purpose of all of the things we go through, is for us to realize and understand that self is vanity! We need God, His Spirit and His way!

Verse 19: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all." Trusting in God is where your strength comes from:

• you love God
• you believe God
• you have faith in God
• you have to trust God
• trust God that He will do His part
• you trust God that He will help you do your part.

Sometimes we have to ask God: 'Lead me with Your Spirit so I know how to do my part.'

Psalm 40:1: "I waited patiently for the LORD..." God is not going to necessarily do it immediately unless you need immediate help. Be patient! I know a lot of people say, 'Well, one of my faults is that I'm not patient.' That's a fault of everybody! We have to learn it. Patience is the first step of endurance!

"...and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a Rock, and established my steps…. [when the deliverance finally comes]: …And He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God; many shall see and fear, and shall trust in the LORD" (vs 1-3).

Read the whole book of Esther. Look at the terrible circumstances that developed, how bad they became and seemed to get worse and worse, even to the threat of the extermination of all the Jews within the Persian realm. How did God deliver them? By the hand of Mordecai and the courage of Esther, against implacable foes!

How did the deliverance finally come? The king couldn't sleep one night! What do you do when you can't sleep? You get up and read! So, he got up and he read. He said I haven't read the chronicle of the kingdom lately; bring it to me. He started reading the chronicle of the kingdom, and he saw that Mordecai saved him from a conspiratorial assassination by some of those who were closest to him. He called his servant in there and he said, 'Has anything been done to this man in saving my life?' And he said, 'No my Lord.' So, the king thought on that. The next morning Haman, the enemy of the Jews, who got the order signed to exterminate them, came into the king and he was hoping to really get all the blessing and action of everything going on. So, he came in and the king said, 'Haman I need your advice. Tell me what the king should do to the one whom he favors.' Of course, Haman said—thinking that's got to be him—'Put him on the king's horse, put his robe of authority upon him and have someone take him through the city and say, this is the one whom the king honors.'

The king said to Haman the Agagite, 'Good, you do that to Mordecai, because he saved my life.'

So, God will work things in ways that we have no way of understanding. And as a result of that, the Jews have the Feast of Purim.

"...many shall see and fear, and shall trust in the LORD" (v 3). Didn't that happen? What did it say because the Jews were delivered? Many converted to Judaism because they didn't want to be on the wrong side of God!

Verse 4: "Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust and does not respect the proud, nor those who turn aside to lies." Isn't that exactly what we just discussed? Then the rest of it goes right into a prophecy of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 115 is really quite a Psalm. In going through the Psalms for the Bible project I was struck at how many difficulties and problems that David had. Yet, he was one in whom God delighted.

Psalm 115:1: "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory for Your mercy and for Your Truth's sake." That needs to always be the focus of what we do in whatever circumstances we are in.

Verse 2: "Why should the nations say, 'Where now is their God?'…. [Where is He?] …Our God is in the heavens; He has done whatever He has pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; they have noses, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; they have feet, but they do not walk; they do not make a sound through their throat. The ones who make them are like them, and so is everyone who trusts in them" (vs 2-8).

You can take this part of this Psalm and you can superimpose this on the way that the world is today around us. They have all kinds of idols, which are the works of their hands.

Verse 9: "O Israel..." Put your name there. Just like it is, 'O Israel, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and being.'

"...trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron...." vs 9-10). We can say to the ministry today, though we're not the priesthood of Aaron, the same principle applies, because what was the priesthood to do but to teach the people.

"…trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. O you who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield" (vs 10-11).

Here's what happens, v 12: "The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, both small and great. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. May you be blessed of the LORD Who made the heavens and the earth" (vs 12-15).

God has brought us to a tremendous relationship with Him! Never forget that. He's called us to the greatest calling that we can have, in eternal life and spiritual glory for all eternity! Always keep that in mind when troubles, difficulties and trials come.

Verse 16: "The heavens, even the heavens, are the LORD'S; but the earth He has given to the children of men." Then here is another little Scripture which proves the point: as long as there's life there's hope!

Verse 17: "The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence. But as for us, we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. O praise the LORD!" (vs 17-18). Quite a Psalm on trusting in God; that really inspired me.

Psalm 71 talks about when we get old and gray that God won't forsake us, and there are many of us reaching that point. I know Jim Hyles wanted me to look at a video that I did clear back in 1988, and he put it on a DVD for me. It was about the ACLU and all the problems, all the different things that they were supporting. When I saw the video, I saw myself much younger.

At that time the way my hair grayed, it grayed on the sides, and then came up toward the crown of my head, so at that point I had that skunk streak right down the middle of my head! One time there was a woman who came up to me and she was very serious, and she said, 'Do you tint your hair? Because I had that skunk streak! And I said 'No, I don't tint my hair.' Now, today I'm white headed! And someone said, 'Well at least you have hair!'

Psalm 71:16: "I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD... [that's how we are to do it] ...I will speak of Your righteousness, even of Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth... [however long you been in the Church] ...and until now I have declared Your wonderful works. But now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me..." (vs 16-18).

No, God won't forsake you—old and gray, weak and rusting, falling apart—that's just the way that the human body has been designed. It's designed to wear out and die. Everybody who ate nothing but organic food all their lives, and drank the purest water possible all their lives, died! We are to do the best we can in eating and drinking, that is true. We need to trust in God to not forsake us when we're old and gray.

Comment was made they died that's true, but they didn't have heart attacks and diabetes and all of the cancer and all the modern diseases that we have today, which are additional curses upon us.

"…until I have declared Your strength to this generation, and Your power to everyone who is to come. And Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You Who have done great things. O God, who is like You?" (vs 18-19).

Verse 1 is the introduction to this Psalm. So, if you're discouraged because you're getting old, read this, believe it, ask God for help. If there are things you can do, ask God to lead you to understand what you need to do. And do the best you can.

You're going to die, even those who eat organic foods and things like this, still come down with diseases and so forth. That's not the answer to everything. But the comment was made that their dad died in his sleep and that's the way to go. I think with today's so-called modern medical methods, they don't let people die when it's time for them to die. They crank them up and keep them going and collect tens of thousands of dollars while they keep their physical bodies going. So, there is a balance.

But I need to tell you one other account. I forget the name of the man, and I forget the name of the king. But this was in England. There was a man who was the longest-lived man in England. He had a very simple diet, he ate all the vegetables and everything that he grew. He ate the lamb that he raised, took care of himself and he lived to be 157-years-old. He lived through the reins of the 11 kings.

Finally, the last king to celebrate his 157th birthday invited him to the palace to eat with him. He went to the palace and ate with the king, and drank with the king, and, of course, it was over a process of a couple of days. He went home and three days later died. The king's food killed him! Now you know why Daniel didn't want king's food.

Psalm 71:1: "In You, O LORD, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame." Ask God to lead you, guide you, give you the understanding, so you're not put to confusion.

Verse 2: "Deliver me in Your righteousness… [not our own] ...and cause me to escape... [it may be with the skin of your teeth] ...incline Your ear unto me, and save me. Be my strong Rock of refuge to which I may always go..." (vs 2-3). Always go to God! Never let prayer be the last thing you do. Let prayer always be the first thing that you do!

"...You have commanded to save me; for You are my Rock and my Fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and ruthless man, for You are my hope, O Lord GOD, my trust from my youth" (vs 3-5). Then he recounts that this was even from his mother's womb.

All of these things are to strengthen us spiritually in the Lord. We need to be fortified in spirit, in mind, in everything so that we can withstand the troubles and difficulties that are going to come.

Psalm 118:5: "I called upon the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place…. [What a relief!] …The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.... [if you're first on God's side] ...What can man do to me?" (vs 5-6).

Matthew 10:28: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but do not have power to destroy the life…"

Psalm 118:7: "The LORD is for me as my Helper..." God may even intervene and bless other people and cause them to help you, in whatever way you need. I think about it many, many times this way. How many people does God have to bless in the world, so that there are enough brethren who can give tithes and offerings to whatever church they are in for the carrying on the work of that church, regardless of what they are doing? We won't make any judgment value on it.

But consider where you work, consider what you do, consider where your income comes from etc. etc. etc. There's always someone else there, who is doing something so that God can bless you, and it will be a benefit to you. God is active with many, many people doing many things, just out in the carnal world, so that we can live, that we can have the opportunity to love God and worship Him, trust Him and serve Him, etc.

"...therefore, I will look in triumph upon those who hate me" (v 7). Don't take it in your hands to do it, let God do it!

Verse 8: "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surround me, but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them" (vs 8-10). That is a direct prophecy of Christ at His return. They're all going to submit! Quite a thing!

Just think about how God has used America as a blessing to the whole world to fulfill His promise that he gave to Abraham, that in you shall all the nations of the world be blessed. That's going to expand out through the Millennium when Christ is here, and Abraham is here, and then it's going to be magnified even more. But what does Israel always do with the blessings that God has given? They always corrupt themselves by their lovers. (Ezek. 16:31[transcriber's correction] )

The reason that so many things are going to come upon America, is because of the blessings that God is given America, and how we have taken it to turn it into, as it were, a rejection of God after God has given it, and to pursue lovers of other nations that they may be our friends. They are all going to end up being our enemies, because we've excluded God! So, that's why I'm giving what I'm giving, because we need to be prepared, because that's coming down the road.

Now let's see how we are to get our heart and our mind. Israel was going in and Joshua was given charge to help lead the Israelites into the 'promised land,' and it was going to be a lot of fighting, blood, guts and gore, but God was going to bless them and fight their battles for them. Here is the attitude that we need to have so that

• we can be strong in the Lord
• we can have courage in the face of danger
• we can have wisdom in the time of trouble
• we can have the blessing of God to be with us
• we can be provided a way of escape, which God will give us

Joshua 1:5: "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.... [God held that up right to the end] …As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you." That's why never, never blame God when troubles come. Never blame God! He'll help you out of it.

Verse 6: "Be strong and of good courage..."—regardless of the circumstances. Remember what happened when they sent the spies into spy out the land, and only Joshua and Caleb came back and said, even though these are strong and mighty cities and giants are there, they'll be like grasshoppers before us because of God. And the other ten said, 'Oh no, we can't do it!' So, regardless of the circumstances don't get discouraged or despondent!

"...for you shall divide for an inheritance to this people the land, which I swore to their fathers to give it to them…. [the goal for us is eternal life in the Kingdom of God] …Only be strong and very courageous... [this ties right in where we began in Deut. 11] ...so that you may observe to do according to all the Law, which My servant Moses commanded you...." (vs 6-7). To do all that My servant Jesus Christ, My only begotten Son has given and commanded you to do.'

"...Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go" (v 7). Spiritual prosperity and blessing is the goal! Not physical; the physical will come as God desires to give it to us.

Verse 8: "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth..." Now, we have the whole Bible today as never before, and you can apply it to that.

"...but you shall meditate therein day and night..." (v 8). In other words, it's going to guide you in all your thoughts, all your actions, everything that you do. It doesn't mean that you become a religious nut. It means that you become right-minded before God with His laws and His commandments and the teachings of Christ, and the teachings of Christ through the apostles and New Testament, and just add all of that together.

"…that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, neither be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you in all places where you go" (vs 8-9).

And remember this: You have the Spirit of God in you! Does He go with you wherever you go? Yes! That's what to remember.

Let's see what Jesus told the apostles, and notice how similar this is to Joshua 1. There's a certain parallel here, too. Just as Joshua was going to take the children of Israel into the 'promised land' into an area they had been before, so also the apostles were going to start in Jerusalem and go out and be witnesses into all the world.

John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace...."

• peace of mind
• peace of understanding
• resolution of conflicts

"...In the world you shall have tribulation. But be courageous! I have overcome the world" (v 33). God will give us the victory!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

• 1 Peter 1:19-21
• Matthew 24:35
• Titus 1:1-2
• Galatians 1:1-12
• Psalm 20:1-9
• Deuteronomy 11:1, 8, 13, 16-19
• Psalm 35:1-6
• Psalm 34:1-6, 8, 14-19
• Psalm 40:1-4
• Psalm 115:1-18
• Psalm 71:16-19, 1-5
• Psalm 118:5-6
• Matthew 10:28
• Psalm 118:7-10
• Joshua 1:5-9
• John 16:33

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 2-Timothy
• Revelation 2; 3
• Deuteronomy 28
• Esther
• Ezekiel 16:31
• Deuteronomy 28

Also referenced:

• Appendix A: 14 Rules for Bible Study (The Holy Bible in Its Original Order)
• Sermon Series: Keys to Answered Prayer

FRC:po/bo
Transcribed: 1/14/16