Proverbs (Program #3) – The Detailed Precepts for Man To Live a Proper Human Life (1)

Whenever we come to God’s word, whether to a deeply spiritual book such as Ephesians or to a book with easy to understand, ethical and moral precepts such as Proverbs, the kind of person that we are will have much to do with what we take away from our reading of the Bible. In fact, the Bible itself tells us that the words of Scripture can be spirit and life to us as we see in John 6, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life”. But the same New Testament also provides a strong word of caution in 2 Corinthians 3, “Who has made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life”. Spirit and life or dead letter, the Bible can be either. And the determining factor as to which we will experience has everything to do with us and how we approach this word of God.

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Proverbs (Program #2) – The Principles for Man to Live a Proper Human Life

Many people love the book of Proverbs because the truth conveyed in these short, easy to understand, poetic utterances matches their ethical approach to the Bible and the Christian life itself.  Fearing God is a good example. There are numerous passages in Proverbs that extol the benefit of fearing God. The question is not then, “Should we fear God?” Of course we should and even we must. But we fear God not simply out of duty or instruction but because our reverence to Him issues in a deeper and more genuine experience and love for Him. The difference may seem subtle but in actuality, the difference is profound and life-changing.

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Proverbs (Program #1) – An Introductory Word

It’s probably safe to say that the book of Proverbs would be a favorite of a large percentage of Bible readers in all cultures. Written primarily by the legendary King Solomon, the possessor of great wisdom, it’s a book that’s easy to read and to study and to admire the marvelous examples of human wisdom and godly principles that are the main contents of this book. But while it is a book that may help us to live a better life to improve our character, and even to learn the valuable principles that reflect various aspects and attributes of God, there is also a profound danger with such a book. And that danger is that it can be a book that we can apply by our own strength and our own individual pursuit of human perfection. Why is that a danger, you ask? The answer to that can only be found by studying not only the Old Testament books such as Proverbs and Job but studying the entire Bible itself and being brought into the divine revelation. And that divine revelation shows us in that in God’s ultimate economy, wisdom like everything else, becomes the very Person of Christ Himself.

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Psalms (Program #42) – The Consummate Praise

Over the course of his nearly 70 years of ministry, Witness Lee conducted three in depth studies of the book of Psalms. His first study took place in 1954, he came back to the book again in 1969, and his final study, this life study, that he gave near the end of his life, in 1993. Although all three studies bear similarity for certain each got progressively deeper and higher, unveiling more of God’s central line, His eternal economy. As we come to the final program in the life study of the Psalms, I thought it is appropriate to quote a short portion from his second study of the Psalms called “Christ and the Church revealed and typified in the Psalms” – more…

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Psalms (Program #41) – The Expressions of the Saints Before Jehovah in Different Directions and Final Prayers of David

As we had been carefully considering the book of Psalms for these past 40 programs it has become very clear that the Psalms are difficult to categorize.  Though they are all poetic, and most often lofty in their language. The thoughts and sentiment expressed are widely varied. At times they express the most common of human concepts, at other times they touched the height of God’s divine thought and frequently they revealed Christ in type, in shadow, and in prophecy with striking details and clarity. But at the end what we find are not dramatic revelations or high points but rather the earnest and heart felt prayers of men who bored once striking characteristics and that was their nearness and closeness to God and their deep love and care for the things of God.

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Psalms (Program #40) -The Preciousness of Zion and Jerusalem in the Experiences and Praises of the Saints (2)

They are 15 Psalms that are referred to as the Psalms of the Ascent, from 120 to 134. These Psalms typified the ascending or raising up of God’s people, from a low suffering place to a place in the high peaks. These high places refer to as Zion in the scripture and it represents many things. Its’ from Zion that God first blesses His people and from Zion He deals with those who persecute and hate His people, is also from Zion that He bring His people into the light to realize their own fallen sinful condition so that they may repent and to receive His forgiveness. Making them humble where they had formally being proud and haughty. Once humbled God brings His people up to and into Zion where they can dwell in Him in oneness and where He can find His rest and His abode in them. This is Zion, this is the place to which we all must ascend for our ultimate destiny or destination in the Christian walk, is the heavenly Zion, the New Jerusalem where God and man will find their mutual habitation and full satisfaction.

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Psalms (Program #39) – The Preciousness of Zion and Jerusalem in the Experiences and Praises of the Saints (1)

15 Psalms from Psalms 120 to 134 comprised a section known as the Psalms of ascent. They are all very short and very sweet.  Lord will we will see they bring us to the high peaks.

Psalms 120:1 ” In my distress I called out to Jehovah, And He answered me.”
That tells you a lot right there. The whole thing starts with distress and up until Psalms 119 is full of the law and they loved the law but they can’t keep the law, eventually the children of Israel don’t follow the law. And eventually start to serve idols. So, the result is they go to captivity and they are in distress. These Psalms of ascent started out with distress. If you do not have the distress where you go down you can never come up. So there is a lot of appreciation. more…

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Psalms (Program #38) – Christ—The Reality of the Law as the Testimony and the Word of God

consider for a moment an interesting observation.  Suppose the ruler of a country were to pass a law legalizing corruption, what will that tell you of the character of that ruler?  It will likely tell you that this person, this one making such law was also corrupt himself.  You see, laws are actually a kind of portrait of the law-giver.  So when we come to the laws of God we shall realize that they are a portrait of the Person that gave them.  In another word, the laws given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai is a portrait of the Person of God, a portrait of Jesus Christ.  So when we come to a passage of Scripture such as the 119th Psalm with its 176 verses many speaking of the law, we should have the impression that what we are seeing is not God’s demands upon you and me but rather we are seeing Christ as God’s expression and also the one to whom we are coming that He may supply us with Himself in order that we as His members could live Him out fully meeting even surpassing God’s every demand.

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Psalms (Program #37) – The Praise of God’s Elect Consummating in the Particular Position of Christ

The four gospels give us a four-fold record of what Christ is and what He has done.  However, the gospel did not reveal Christ as much as the Psalms do.  Psalms 118:22 says “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the head of the corner.”  The head of the corner, that is the corner stone.  Christ as the corner stone is the hardest point to understand in the entire Bible.

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Psalms (Program #36) –  The Highest Revelation of Christ

OK, here is a Bible question for you.   There is one verse in the Old Testament that is quoted directly at least twenty times in the New Testament and is referred to indirectly at least another twenty times.  What Old Testament verse could possibly command this much attention in the New Testament?  Well, here is a clue: it’s a verse from the Psalms.  In fact, it’s from a Psalms that Martin Luther said it’s the highest revelation of Christ in all the Psalms.  Give up?  It is Psalms 110:1  “Jehovah declares to my Lord, Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies Your footstool.”  That’s our topic today.

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