Our goal written by David Psalm 63:1 O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly;My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
(1) Is this the reality in your life, or even among the brethren in your fellowship? Do you seek the Lord earnestly ? ________. Does your mind thirst for a word from the Lord? ___.
If not perhaps King David will show us the why not in the next few verses.
Psalm 63:2-5 Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory. 3 Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee. 4 So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
(1) David said that he has __________ the __________ and ____________ of the Lord. King David had witnessed the Shekinah [visible manifestation of the presence of God] glory of the Lord when he moved the Ark of God. Leviticus 16:2 And the Lord said to Moses, "Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
2 Samuel 6:2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim.
He observed the power and righteousness of God when at one point the oxen stumbled. 2 Samuel 6:6-7 . . . Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. [7] And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.
(1) Reread the opening statement of this chapter: Did King David experience a larger degree of intimacy, having seen God's power and glory displayed, and so could express such a craving to know Him better? ___________
Isaiah 6:2-3 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
(1)These angels are in the presence of the Lord Almighty, experiencing a perpetual revelation of God's power and glory: so awesome is his presence that they must shield their eyes and cover their feet. As we get to know God more intimately what will be our response?_______________________________________ Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
Exodus 33:20-22 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" (21) Then the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; (22) and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
(1) So that Moses wouldn't die, God _________ him with his hand.
Acts 7:33 "But the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is HOLY GROUND.
(1) When we are in His holy presence, what should our attitude be? _________________
(2) If the Holy Spirit is within us, when are we not on Holy Ground. _________________
Psalm 145:10-12 All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. 11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
(1) How can men know God if they have never seen a missionary or read a Bible? All that God has made will ___________ him.
Roman's 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
(1) The straw man; What about the man born in the remotest parts of the earth, having never heard the gospel? How can God fault him? God's word says that men are without ____________. His divine nature can be clearly seen and understood through ______ _____ _____ ______therefore the creation clearly reveals God.
The encircling universe declares the glory of the Lord.
Psalm 19:1b-4a The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (2) Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. {3} There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
(1) Can our finite minds even begin to comprehend the vastness of the universe, or the magnitude of His creation? Does man have an excuse for not believing in a divine designer and creator? _________________________
Listen to King Solomon's words of veneration as he declares in 1 Kings 8:27 the eminence of our God.
"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
(1) At this point in Solomon's life, what is his attitude toward God?___________________.
Later in Solomon's life, his entanglement with the world will dim his relationship with God, but in the end he will conclude that "all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear Godand keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Eccles. 12:13) Solomon had prayed and asked God for wisdom. God granted him the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit that you and I can now enjoy. He now saw things through spiritual eyes.
(1) Solomon's conclusion about life is to _____________ God and _________ God's commandments.
Jeremiah 10:12 But God made the earth by his power; He founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
(1) When you look at the intricacies of life, from the timing of our solar system to the complexities of the living cell which work in unison to make up a complete body, what kind of a person would conclude that there is no designer? _____________________________.
Psalm 14:1a . . . The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
(1) Have you ever thought of the unity of your own body? A. What makes a cell remain at it station? _________
B. What if a finger-nail cell chose to join the liver instead? ______________
C. What makes all of the group of cells that form the eye function together with the brain so that you can see? _________________.
D. Think of the millions of cells that must work in total unison to form you. What control do you have over their individual function? Can you command an individual cell to modify their behavior? ___________
E. Would the whole of you be possible without the wisdom of a designer? ________.
F. What power makes the cells of you function as a unit?_________
The answers to these Questions can only be found in the word of God.
Col. 1:17 He [Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
(1) What force is present that holds all thing in order? _______________.
Hebrews 1:3a The Son [Jesus] is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. . . .
All things are __________ by the __________. Who is that word? ___________ John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 TheWord became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(1) Do you think God speaking through the psalmist is being harsh when He flatly states that "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him?
Perhaps this is why so many struggle with a proper image of God. How could God, able to speak a universe into existence, concern himself with mankind? Listen to Jesus as He gives us the answer:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16
(1)For God so ____________ His creation and knew that He, in His glory, could never come into the fellowship with men in their unholy fallen state, unless He interceded. God gave Himself, through Jesus, born of a woman, to make possible to _____________ believes, eternal life.
1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
(1) Even the __________ long to understand Gods preoccupation with man.
If you have comments or suggestions please Email the compiler at deans@interpath.com
If you would Like to write the Author please address your correspondence to John and Lisa Bevere, P.O. Box 2002, Apopka, FL 32704-2002, U.S. A.
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