Learning to Wait

Please read Psalm 62:1-9. Twice in this Psalm David speaks of his soul "Waiting" or "Being silent" before the Lord. This silence is significant,especially in a world filled with noise. It is so difficult for us, at times, to be perfectly still before God, as an instrument whose silent cords wait for His divine touch. Note several aspects of waiting. First, he waited on God. Lit. "My soul is silent. He displayed unwavering submission and quiet faith. He put into practice a silence of the will. The Psalmist believed, was patient, was silent in resignation and he was obedient. "Waiting is hope and trust lengthened. How did he do it? With his soul. He who talks much of his troubles to men is apt to say too little about them to God. What came out of it? Deliverance, present, personal, and eternal. Second, why should we wait on the Lord? Because the secret of strength lies in submission. This is seen in what He is. He is our Rock. He is our strength, God enables us to stand in the midst of all the evil forces of the world. Our Savior is able to deliver us from the power of sin. Our Defender is able to save us from the attacks of the Devil. Because He keeps His great promises, we can trust Him fully. If we do not trust Him with and in all, we do not trust Him at all. Third, how should we wait? Expecting Him to keep His Word. We must be unmovable. He is my Refuge what enemy can pursue me? He is my Rock, what storm shall shake me? He is my Defense, what temptation shall wound me? He is my Salvation, what grief shall deject me? He is my glory, what slander shall defame me? Forth, the result of waiting upon the Lord. Trust will develop. He wants all trust, from all saints at all times. We need to trust in times of prosperity, of desertion by friends, of poverty, of conscious sin, of chastisement, of death. These are the times we learn how to pray. We need to learn how to speak plainly with God. The word "Pour" signifies that the heart is full of grief, and almost afraid to empty itself before the Lord. Jesus is the wonderful counselor. He will be our Refuge. Jesus puts the false helps upon which men depend into contrast with the only help of man, that is God Himself. The false helps are 1. Men of low degree. 2. Men of high degree. 3. Oppression. 4. Robbery. 5. Riches. In this passage of Scripture the weakness and uselessness of all these things apart from God is clearly seen. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Who is Watching You

Please read I Peter 2:11-25 The central section of Peter's letter emphasizes submission in the life of a believer. This is certainly not a popular topic in this day of lawlessness and the quest for "personal fulfillment," but it is an important one. God wants each of us to exercise authority: but before we can exercise authority we must be under authority. Satan's offer to our first parents was freedom without authority, but they ended up losing both freedom and authority. Peter shares three excellent motives for submitting to authority and thus living dedicated, obedient Christian lives. First we must be obedient for the sake of the lost. As Christians, we must constantly remind ourselves who we are. We are God's dearly beloved children. We are resident aliens who have our citizenship in another country. We are soldiers involved in a spiritual battle. Our real battle is not with people around us, but with passions within us. War means a military campaign. We are witnesses to the lost around us. Second we must be obedient for the Lord's sake. It is our responsibility to advertise God's virtues. This is especially true when it comes to our relationship to government and people in authority. As Christian citizens, we should submit to the authority vested in human government. The word ordinance simply means creation or institution. We must respect the office even when we cannot respect the man or woman in the office. Peter named the offices we are to respect. The king, means the emperor or president. God's church has been able to live and grow in all kinds of political systems. Two phrases are important. The will of God and the servants of God. God has willed that we silence the critics by doing good, not by opposing the authority. Silence is literally muzzle, as though the pagan critics were like a pack of yelping, snapping dogs. Third we must be obedient for our own sake. What Peter wrote has application to employees. Sometimes a Christian employee may be wronged by an unbelieving co-worker or supervisor. For conscience sake he must take it, even though he is not in the wrong. A Christian's relationship to God is far more important than his relationship to men (see Matthew 5:10-12). Peter encouraged these suffering slaves by presenting three pictures of Jesus Christ. He is our example in His life. He is our substitute in His death. He is our watchful Shepherd in heaven. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God" (Romans 13:1-2). I believe Paul derived the teaching of submission to human authorities from the example of Jesus who submitted to the corrupt officials and authorities. If anyone had a right to defy authority Jesus did. He had done nothing wrong. There was nothing in His conduct that could be blamed. He always did that which was right, there was no sin found in Him. As believers we are called upon to suffer evil rather than to do evil. Christ being our supreme example of wrongful suffering, we are called to follow in His steps. God does not call upon us to be masochists, its by faith, we take steps to prevent any form of retaliation. As believers we are to recognize that two wrongs don't make a right. Because another abuses authority we don't have the right to fail to submit to authority. Difficult as it may seem, we must learn to submit to authority under duress, when abused, when pressured and when our desire to get a pound of flesh is strongest. The Sermon on the Mount is all about doing that which is contrary to our natural flesh. "All the ways of man are right in his own eyes" (Proverbs 14:12). The Living Bible paraphrases Proverbs 21:1 as, "Just as water is turned into irrigation ditches, so the Lord directs the king's thoughts. He turns them wherever He wants to." This greatly helps us understand God's sovereignty. Are not all governors of men under the control of God. This fact determines the history of the world. Its His Story. We learn that the "Authorities that exist are appointed by God." And "Those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." This is exactly why Moses declared the actions of Korah and company as "Rebellion against God Himself" (Numbers 16:11). Our Lord was not concerned if the government of his homeland was legal or illegal, or if it governs appropriately or inappropriately. What mattered was that the believer recognizes God's sovereignty. That means we are confident that God never sleeps or slumbers, He never looks the other way. God is totally aware of everything that happens. I believe a good understanding of God's sovereignty is necessary to truly live by faith. God is in the business of ruling His creation. That is why we can say "In God we trust." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.