It Takes Time
gtcotr/ss082706
Text for Today: Psalms 103 (NKJV)
6 ¶ The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
I have two sermons this morning. Allow me to share another verse from Psalms 103 and dispense with the first sermon before continuing on with this particular passage.
The verse I would like to add and comment on is the first verse of Psalms 3.
Psalms 3:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
This Psalm of David written late in life holds truths to the secret relationship the King must have had with his creator and friend. What made David special in God’s eyes? What gave David the edge above others of his day? Let’s look at this one particular verse and see.
Notice who David is speaking to: Himself!
It is said that men may talk to men and men may even venture to talk to God, but rarely do men talk to themselves! Here I am talking about deep, spirit-level conversations.
In the same vein, men may know others, men may even know God, but do you really know yourself?
How long has it been, if ever, since you sat down alone in a quiet place and had a long, meaningful conversation with yourself.
Take the time this week. (It Takes Time) And, everybody else - be sensitive to others to let them have some unencumbered personal time … they may need it. You’ll be glad you did!
Now for the second sermon. (If church is a place we hear from God, we …)
Our Key Scripture: (for the second sermon) Psalms 103:7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
Interesting here to note that in the Old Testament God revealed Himself differently to Moses than He did to the whole nation of Israel.
Why did God show Moses His ways while Israel only knew His acts?
It is most commonly understood that God did not make this choice Himself but rather left it up to each individual. It so happened in this case that Moses had a habit of drawing near to God while others seemed more comfortable with some distance between them and their creator.
We can see this acted out in the story of Exodus 20. God showed up in a rather spooky and spiritual way … He wanted to speak ---
Exodus 20:21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. (NKJV)
This is the same trait observed in Moses’ life earlier, when he first encountered the burning bush in Exodus 3.
Exodus 3
3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn."
4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." (NKJV)
Perhaps this turning aside, giving time (remember: It Takes Time) and attention, drawing near to God habit Moses had, was what separated him from the others of his day. At any rate, the results were astounding.
Moses knew God’s ways
The Children, Israel, knew only God’s acts
Moses knew what God wanted to do
Israel knew only what God had done
Moses knew where God wanted them to go
Israel only knew where they had been
Moses knew what God wanted them to have
Israel only knew what they had experienced
Moses saw the future
Israel saw the past
Moses was certain of victory
Israel was afraid of defeat
What do we know? God’s ways or only His acts?
What perspective do we have today? Well, I guess it depends on each of us and our pursuit of relationship with God. It is the direct result of our priorities - It Takes Time to value and grow anything.
Hosea 6:3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD … * Pursuit is required in any relationship - again - I - T - T
* God reaches out every day from heaven - we must reach back!
If we will spend time with God, we will trust Him more. Along with that, just like Moses, we too will come to know God’s ways:
* What He wants me to do
* Where He wants me to go
* His plan for my future
How does a person begin a relationship with God?
It Takes Time:
1. Prayer Time - keeps us clean and connected
2. Bible Time - teaches us God’s Word, Will and Way
3. Church Time - it’s God’s family
Where do you spend your time?
