OUR FATHER WHO GIVES LIVING WATER TO THOSE WHO ARE THIRSTY FOR LIFE

Psalm 104 verse 10 says this;

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;  it flows between the mountains.

This verse speaks of the water that the Lord makes fall from His upper chamber and it flows as springs into the ravines between the mountains.

This water then flows down to the fields where the wild donkey quenches it thirst and the birds of the air (spirits) inhabit the space around them and lift their voices to sway their lives.

Verses 11 and 12 say it this way;

They give drink to every animal of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky dwell beside them; They lift up their voices from among the branches.

This process is emblematic of the way that the Lord makes living water available to the marginalized peoples and those lowest in the heirachies of men.

The wild donkey represents the untamed men who dwell in the land subject to the vagaries of the  seasons for their survival. Their own fallen nature makes them subject to the spirits of the air (birds) who operate in their midst and work to destroy their lives and destinies.

They are the ones to whom the living water from God is made available so that they may quench their thirst and be revived to a life in God.

John 4 verse 10 is an important convergence of this principle where the woman at the well, in the ravines, so to speak, of the social hierarchy, is offered a chance of revival by the Lord Jesus.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

This woman, who had been subject to the influences of the spirits that plagued her life with one broken relationship after another, encountered Jesus when she came to the well to quench her thirst.

He knew details about her life and surprised her with His words about her situation and she was suddenly enraptured by the reality of the eternal life that Jesus offered her.

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;  it flows between the mountains.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO RESCUES OUR FALLEN RACE

We are going look at Psalm 14 verse 3 again but in greater detail in order to understand the axioms listed;

All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

The verse lists 3 absolute statements;

• All humans have turned away from God
• All humans have become corrupt
• Every single human does not do good

This listing reveals a cause-and-effect sequence of events. 

First, we all turn away from God. We then become corrupt after we de-couple from God's life. Once we become corrupt, our actions degenerate and become altogether sinful.

Thus we all manifest our fallen nature and it is only by the mercy of God that He brought about the possibility of our salvation through the sacrifice of the perfect sinless life of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE SON RULES IN THE MIDST OF HIS ENEMIES

Psalm 79 verse 4 says this;

We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

This verse alludes to the hostility faced by God's people by the people who dwell around them.

They are surrounded by scoffers and those who are pleased to see God's people suffer. These enemies are those spoken of in Psalm 110 verse 2 which says;

The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

The people of the Lord's kingdom is described as being embedded in the midst of His enemies as opposed to being geographically segregated from them.

It is while they are in this precarious position that they are ruled by the mighty scepter of God.

This mighty scepter of authority rules God's people unto judgement and unto righteousness and brings occasion for them to be derided and held in contempt by those in whose midst they dwell leading to persecution and attacks.

But on the Lord's day, the kingdom of darkness will be uprooted and cast down.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SEARCHES OUT HIS PEOPLE AND BRINGS THEM TO HIS SALVATION Part 2

Continuing with Psalm chapter 14, verses 3 - 4 says this; 

All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.

This passage declares the totality of the corruption of the human race. Among the myriad of members of the human race alive now and who have ever lived, not a single example of a sinless person exists.

All who do evil are marked by their lack of knowledge of their predicament and so act against God.

They mindlessly attack and tear apart God's people and it never occurs to them to call on their creator.

Verse 5 goes on to say;

But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.

This means that the presence of God among His righteous people stirs up dread and conviction in the hearts of the evildoers and this is the prompt by which sinful men may lift their eyes to God and receive salvation.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SEARCHES OUT HIS PEOPLE AND BRINGS THEM TO HIS SALVATION

Psalm 14 verses 1 - 2 says this;

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

This passage points to the mode of existance many of us humans beings operate by.

We are undiserning and dismiss the possibility that God exists and thus, feeling unsupervised and unaccountable to anyone, we conduct ourselves in whatever way our flesh is led and corruption sets in.

Above this miasma of humanity, the Lord looks down to discover any people who percieve and understand their true condition and are thus seeking transendance from their fallen state.

The Lord, upon detecting these people, brings them into proximity of His righteous ones who carry God's presence and when they are exposed to the presence of God, they are overwhelmed with dread and they are convicted of their sin.

This is mainly the way that God separates out those whom He chooses for salvation and brings to repentance.

As verse 7 says;

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO RESISTS PRIDE

The book of Isaiah chapter 15 verses 3 - 4 says this;

In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.

Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.

Judgement was brought upon Moab and their towns and cities were suddenly ruined overnight.

In dismay, the people wailed and cried out so loudly that neighbouring towns could hear them and the soldiers, in fearful response, themselved cried out and their hearts were shaken.

Moab's judgement had been brought against them because they had risen up in pride and they were brought down.

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OUR FATHER WHO REACHES OUT TO HIS PEOPLE TO SAVE THEM EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE STUBBORN

The book of Isaiah chapter 65 verses 2 - 3 says this;

All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good,  pursuing their own imaginations—

 a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick;

This passage reveals the persistent efforts that the Lord invested in order to win over His people. He held out His hands to offer salvation to them  but they were stubborn and insisted on following their own evil  paths.

The people ignored the Lord's entreaties of reconciliation and instead, insulted the Lord by practicing the dark arts of necromancy and sacrificing in graveyards.

Those who practiced the unrepentant defilement and rebellion did so with a sense of superiority over others which was galling to the Lord as it says in verse 6; Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day. a fire that keeps burning all day.

Severe judgement was thus invited into the land as verse 7 says;

“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountain  and defied me on the hills, I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds.”

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