1 A Song of Ascents.
Happy is everyone in awe of Adonai,
who walks in His ways,
2 for you will eat the labor of your hands.
You will be blessed
and it will be good for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
Your children will be like olive saplings around your table.
4 Behold, thus will the man be blessed
who fears Adonai.
5 May Adonai bless you out of Zion,
and may you see Jerusalem in prosperity
all the days of your life,
6 and may you live to see your children’s children.
November Prayers (8)Calling the Heart to Worship
Read Psalm 8
His majesty is on display this morningin all that we see this day.The splendor of the heavens, the sun that rules this dayas well as the moon and stars that will rule this night.And He has made you and EVERYONE you will see today“just a little lower” than Himself!
Is this not a stunning, mind-bending, astonishing truth?All of us have…
How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in His ways!
~ Psalm 128:1
OBSERVATION:
Fear the Lord -
Follow Him...
Exalt Him...
Adore Him...
Revere Him...
Who walks... not sits on the side of the road, not runs full tilt, but walks - comfortably alongside...
...in His ways - not my own, not my "shortcuts" or bypasses...
APPLICATION:
F.E.A.R. Him...
Walk in His ways...
Always in all ways...
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father - forgive my wanting to run ahead and thank You for Your Holy Spirit's reminders to slow down and walk and talk with You along the way You have in store for me... In Jesus's Name, and for Your glory...
If I may... going back to my children's choir days in south Florida...
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
Prayer: We bless and praise your name, most holy God because you have made great promises to your people. You are good, and you do all things well. You bless us with the comfort of your Word, reminding us that you are kind to us, blessing us when we walk in fear. We thank you that you have changed our hearts and minds to love you and serve you, though we know that we fall short of all that you…
Let's talk about joy the Scripture tells us in Psalm 128
that you will be happy who fears the LORD. This is the
way of life, of those who fear GOD—joy!
Joy C.S. Lewis said is the serious business of
Heaven; Martin Luther said I know how easily
one can forfeit the joy of the Gospel.
The Scripture tells us that the joy of men has withered
away in connection with their disobedience—the first
thing to go when our hearts go astray from GOD is joy!
You see, to entertain sin is to invite sorrow.
Mother Teresa once wrote:
One filled with the joy the LORD preaches
without even preaching; A.B. Simpson said
there is no time Satan in the world tempts
the heart so persuasively—as when it has
lost the joy of the LORD.
See an Angel comes to announce the Gospel & he calls
it glad tidings! Good news of great joy & I believe that
man is not qualified to preach the Gospel without joy!
He must first be touched with the goodness of joy before
he can preach the Gospel of glad tidings. See one of the
things JESUS could have done to prepare the Disciples to
preach the Gospel is you know teach them some specific
method or something..
But what happens is HE pours out HIS SPIRIT upon
them & we know that the fruit of the SPIRIT is joy!
2.] Wine Gladdens the Heart
HE came upon them, like wine!
Wine was CHRIST's chosen preparation for the preaching
of the Gospel—we know in Psalm 16:11 | In the presence
of the LORD is fullness of joy!
Not not just joy, but fullness of joy!
And at HIS right hand pleasure is forevermore!
It's unending joy! See we must happily submit
to GOD & find that in this, is the highest way of
life that a man can experience joy.
There isn't anything more joy-filled than being
filled with GOD—as C.S. Lewis also said:
GOD does not give joy, HE is joy
Praise GOD! See HE's with us in every aspect of our lives
—to be joy in that, even joy in the midst of sorrow, even
joy in the midst of pain!
3.] Joy Obliterates All Other Circumstances
Joy even in the midst of not knowing what to do!
because it's not based upon anything external HE
HIMSELF is that joy! In Ephesians 5:18, Paul likens
the SPIRIT to wine on the day of Pentecost.
The men are not drunk as you suppose, we see
that even in Song of Solomon that HIS love is
likened to this wine of the SPIRIT.
We know that in Luke 5:33-39 that the wine of the
new covenant burst the religious system; and we
know that in Luke 10:34 when we have the parable
of the Good Samaritan, the man is beat up on the
road, he's bloody & he's passed by a Levite & he's
passed by another…
But who is the one who bandages him up?
It's the good Samaritan & what does he use? He
uses wine! GOD does not heal us from being
battered & beaten in this life or by other people
or even by the Church in some circumstances..
He doesn't heal us by mere words or theology
alone—HE heals us with the wine of HIS presence
& HIS SPIRIT, which is inseparable from the heart
being made merry in joy!
The Scripture says in Psalm 104 that
HE gives men wine to drink to make their hearts
glad & their faces glisten with oil! Scripture says
in Psalm 47
YOU O GOD have put joy in my heart! Praise GOD
this is so important, we see also that joy isn't
taking refuge in GOD!
The Psalmist shows us obviously joy is in HIS
presence we see joy is resting in HIS victory
[Psalm 20:5]
4.] Joy is Our New Way of Life
We see that joy is connected to as we live
righteous, we grow in joy! We see GOD
HIMSELF is joy that there's joy in HIS rule.
There's joy in hearing HIM, there's joy in
repentance; there's joy in HIS shadow!!!
There's joy in HIS presence, HIS joy in the
springs of GOD! There's joy! HIS joy is our
satisfaction -- there is joy shed abroad in
our hearts by the HOLY SPIRIT.
Joy is our way of life.
...................................................................................
1 Thessalonians 5 16 joy in Nehemiah is
said to be strength, the fruit of the SPIRIT
in Galatians is joy! joy joy upon joy!
...................................................................................
This is the way of life in the Christian's life.
Richard Raleigh writes that:
When he experienced JESUS, he says HE
became all his desire, all his joy — all his
consolation, all his strength!
So that his song was always about HIM & in HIM
all of his rest! See joy has nothing to do with
having or not having--joy has nothing to do with
being treated right or being treated wrong.
...................................................................................
Joy has nothing to do with any of these things;
it is the MAN CHRIST JESUS; it is the shadow of
the ALMIGHTY, it is the reception of the SPIRIT.
...................................................................................
As I read a quote earlier that brown bread in
with the Gospel is great fair in other words
even if you have nothing—if you have the
Gospel, you have everything!
And that Gospel is the glad tidings great joy!
JESUS HIMSELF received & experienced.
Richard Raleigh goes on to describe his sense
of GOD's presence in this manner he says:
a certain sweet gift flows into the pure mind
& as if drunk with strong wine, we melt into
the pleasures of the CREATOR.
He also says this inebriated my spirit with the
burning wine of YOUR sweetest love—so that
forgetting all evils in all limited sites illusions
& images, I may exalt embracing YOU alone!!!
And I may rejoice in my GOD, my JESUS!
You see it is the Christian life experience joy as
we experience GOD, joy erupts on the inside
that we might leave the Sanhedrin rejoicing
with our backs bloodied!
Rejoicing because of the Name of the LORD!!!!
We see that choosing to drink the wine of
Heaven will make us whine for the Earth..
I remember reading Reinhard Bunkey said:
Don't argue, shine & that shining is nothing
other than JESUS WHO is anointed with joy
above all HIS fellows!
O a joy even in the midst of pain is probably the
greatest demonstration of GOD giving you a life
that is greater than anything that can happen to
you in this life!
Praise GOD you see the enemy is after your joy
—the lack of joy is an indication GOD no longer
is the source, but this ecstatic life..
This life of ecstasy in HIS presence comes from
a life of experiencing GOD & that is the joy that
we know! That's the highest joy that we're able
to know & I want to encourage you to live a life
rejoicing always, not just joy five days a week or
six days a week.
But living in joy even in the midst of things not
going your way, or someone being mean to you
or things not happening the way you thought or
expected or things start falling down all around
You grip on to CHRIST WHO is GOD's smile in the
heart—grip on to CHRIST WHO pours the SPIRIT
out without measure!
& let the SPIRIT HIMSELF fill your heart with the
love of GOD shed abroad! That great joy & love
in our hearts by HIMSELF.
I just want to encourage you this year there's probably
all kinds of things going on in your life there's probably
more things going to happen this year.
But this is certain, the joy of the LORD is your strength
& that we can live in the shadow of the ALMIGHTY and
rejoice there no matter what happens!
No matter what rain falls!
We have the pavilion of GOD ALMIGHTY & we can dance!
We can dance in HIM & enjoy HIS presence!
Bless you guys!!
Joy upon joy be released upon you, wine of Heaven, Amen!
Hey guys it's Eric Gilmore, I'm extremely excited about
adoration mentorship international. This is a time every
Tuesday night where we can get to know each other &
interact in a way that will help you give JESUS the kind
of love HE deserves in your everyday life.
There's two types of involvement you can be a part of it:
If you want one or two Tuesday nights a month, I encourage
you to sign up at patreon.com backslash Eric Gilmore pick
your level of interest & I am excited to get to know you to
pray with you, and to grow together in our love for CHRIST
through this online mentorship program.
Blessing on the House of the God Fearing
Psalm 128:1-6
A Song of Ascents.
1Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
2When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table.
4Behold, thus shall the man be…
