The LORD's Day May 27, 2007 Pentecost Sunday

The Elements of Our Faith

Psalm 104.1-15

Water, wine, oil, and bread are included in the things that are given to us by the LORD from the earth He created. These could be some random things mentioned by the LORD through this Psalmist. They may not have any more significance than the physical realm of which they are a part. Many view the Bible like that. But similar to people who see flowers and don’t take time to notice the intricacies of the each bloom, they pass over things that are treasures revealed only to those who take time and meditate upon what God is saying.

This Psalm is celebrating God and His Creation. It is exulting Him as the One Who sustains what He has made. It is a wonderful and amazing world that God has made. The whole earth is full of His Glory

In His communication with us He has taken many things He has created to illustrate His power and love towards us. The sparrow is watched over carefully by our Heavenly Father. Not one falls without Him noticing it. We see sparrows and we think of His love.

In the sacraments of the church we have been given certain things by the LORD to illustrate to us His love and his power and work. Four are mentioned here in the verses we just read.

1. Water, the life giving liquid. vs.10-14

You can only go three days without water before you will begin to die of thirst. It is precious

Water is used in baptism. John the Baptist baptized with water for repentance. It symbolized a change in the heart of man.

Paul speaks of it in his letter to the Romans as being symbolic of Jesus’s death and resurrection in our own life. He writes, “ 1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6.1-4)

Jesus spoke of salvation as the water of life. The Spirit and the bride say, Come And let him who hears say, Come Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22.17)

He spoke of the water He gives to the woman at the well. Those who drink of it will never get thirsty again.

Water quenches thirst. In the physical realm we need 8 glasses a day. There is nothing like a cold glass of water. In the spiritual realm the water of life takes away the thirst of life. We have a spring of living water welling up within us when we believe on Jesus. He spoke about this in John 7 If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as[c] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Today is Pentecost Sunday. On this Day 1,975 years the Holy Spirit was outpoured on the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem and the church was born. About 3,000 men from every nation on earth were there, believed and were baptized that day. People have been getting their spiritual thirst quenched ever since that time. Oh that God would give us another Pentecost

Water refreshes. In his sermon on the day the lame man was healed Peter proclaimed, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3.19 Times of refreshing come as we walk with the LORD in the light of His Word. As we get into God’s Word and allow His Spirit to work in us, times of refreshing come. As people come to the LORD times of refreshing come. As people break sinful habits and pour that energy and time and money into the kingdom, times of refreshing come. How we need that water of life today in our nation!

Water cleanses. In his letter to the Ephesians5, Paul writes that men are to love their wives as Christ love the church. He tells us that Christ died to make her (the church) holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

As we get into God’s Word, it cleanses us. We see where we need to grow and what needs to be cleansed within us.

The second element we see in this Psalm is wine.


2. Wine, the drink of joy. v.15

Wine gladdens the heart of man. It is a drink of celebration.

Of course we know it was used by Jesus in the Passover the night He was betrayed. He told us that this is the Blood of the New Covenant shed for many. Wine speaks of the fact that our sins are washed away by Jesus’s blood and that the joy of the Holy Spirit comes into the heart of the forgiven.

There is nothing like being truly forgiven. We need to recapture that joy in the church today. Jesus Christ has forgiven my sins and I am free Hallelujah What a joy to not have the burden of my sins pressing upon me but to be free from it!

Wine comes from grapes. It is made by crushing them. The winepress was located in the vineyard. Hold that thought as we look at the other two things mentioned here in this Psalm as life giving substances for man.

3. Oil, the special fluid.

Oil was obtained from Olives. Olive presses were located in the groves of olive trees. Gethsemane (Matthew 26.36) means “an oil press”. The Garden of Gethsemane was located at the base of the Mount of Olives. The olives were harvested then crushed. There was a little rock trench (hewn out) It would run down that trench and was collected into vessels right in the garden.

Oil, we are told here in the 15th verse of this Psalm, makes the face of man shine. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and his face was like that of an angel. Moses spent time with God and the people of Israel told him to cover his face with a napkin- a veil. James Hudson Taylor, the missionary to China, stayed with a family in Australia and the lady of the house said to her husband, “Look at how his face shines ” The presence of the Holy Spirit brings a glow to the countenance of God’s people. What is in your heart will come out on your face. In the Old and New Testament oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Oil was used for anointing God’s men for service.
Prophets, Priests and Kings were anointed. Samuel anointed David. Aaron and his sons were anointed and Psalm 133 speaks of it as a beautiful thing.

Oil is to be used when praying for the sick person to be healed.
James 5 gives the instructions. It was a symbol of the work and gift of the Holy Spirit. The anointing with oil helps keep the focus as this as a gift of God. So many problems arise when these instructions are not followed.

Oil reduces friction.
Your car will not go very far without oil in the engine. In relationships in the church we need the presence of the Holy Spirit. He keeps us cool. He reduces the friction that can arise in differences of opinions. We need Him to fill us and flow among us.

4. Bread, the solid food.

We have been talking about liquids. Now we come to a solid. Bread was made from wheat and barley in the time of the Bible. The wheat was brought int from the harvest, placed on the threshing floor and the ox would tread upon it crushing the good out of what was to be discarded- the chaff which the wind blew away.

Crushing experiences- the wine, olive oil and the wheat were all products of crushing. You know where I am going with this. We look at crushing experiences as the end of something, Gods looks at them as a process and a beginning. Crushing experiences bring good out of people. Painful times produce people of character. They sift out the true believers. They show us what is in our hearts. Job was tested and he and others found out what was in his heart.
People who want to be close to Jesus will experience pain. But oh the fruit that comes out of these times. There is something about the LORD that you cannot experience until you have suffered. Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote that when Jesus calls a man He bids him come and die. He did die but like Abel and that great cloud of witnesses, being dead he still speaks. There is great joy and wonderful fellowship to be found in sharing in the sufferings of Jesus.

Jesus said that He was the Bread of Heaven. He said He was the Bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world. He was born in Bethlehem, which means the House of Bread. He taught us to pray for daily bread.

This element- the unleavened bread- bread in its purest form-is used by Jesus to have us remember His sufferings that He went through in His Body. We take it and eat it and remember that He said it is His body broken for us. Isaiah 53.5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

The wine comes from grapes which are grown on a vine, the oil from the olive trees and the bread from wheat which is a plant. The water comes down from above and waters the earth so all these can grow.

As we have seen there is spiritual application here. I don’t think these things were randomly picked out by God. There is rich meaning here. He has written His Word into His creation. Romans 1.20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For us who know Jesus this Psalm has physical blessings for us- things that God has given for our physical and emotionally well being. These verses also have deep significance spiritually. They are full of benefits for us. My grandmother loved that verse “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation..” Psalm 68.19

If you are in need of cleansing it is provided for you. Thirsty or hungry Jesus is the answer. In need of healing? He is our healer. In need of forgiveness- the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. He is the great I AM. If you are in need of strength come to Him the Bread of Heaven today. Stop trusting in other things- they will let you down

Let’s worship and serve Him with all our hearts

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The LORD’s Day
May 27, 2007
Pentecost Sunday- Memorial Day Weekend

We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
Elements of Our Faith Psalm 104.1-15
*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
Please join us for coffee and bagels downstairs if you are visiting today.
Prayer this evening at 6pm in the backyard of the parsonage

V
This Week
Bible Reading Psalm 107-109
Monday Men’s Prayer Meeting 6:30am in the church basement
Wednesday Bible Study 7:30pm 1312 Pine Acres Blvd.
Thursday Bible Study 10:30am at the church
Next Lord’s Day
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children) The LORD’s Supper will be served
Spanish Service- 4pm

In Your Prayers For All of God’s People
Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, home on leave right now, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son on his third tour of Iraq. Please pray for the whole family. Billy Knapp, Jr. in Iraq with the Marines (neighbor of the church and Pastor- Billy’s sister graduated from Good Shepherd) One of Billy’s friends (also from the Island) was killed three weeks ago in the fighting in Iraq. Please remember that family in prayer. Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton... Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan and Tom Hindelang safe during their times in Iraq. Christine Frankland, Katharina’s daughter continuing to recover from surgery Pray for her as they dela with a complication that arose from the surgery. Kathy, Ziggy and Margot’s daughter-in-law, under the doctor’s care for fibromyalgia. Pray for their son Michael’s friend Andy whose wife died suddenly this week. Pray for Eloise Brooks in Sunrise Manor undergoing rehab. She is coming along well. She is in room 214. Remember Jean Louis as both he and Eloise are on dialysis. Grace Martin, Edie Raevis’ daughter, fibromyalgia. kidney stones and liver inflamation. Edie’s Sister, Grace, recovering from internal bleeding, now home. Edie had an eye examination on Thursday. Reginald Mooney, friend of Terri and John Garry, with a tumor in his kidney. Lisa Siler, a staff member of John’s, is expecting a baby and had three year old named Lauren with scarlet fever. She is home and doing well. Praise the LORD
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A number of nursery school families are going through difficult times. If you would like to sponsor a child presently at Good Shepherd, see Alice or call the school at 666-7503
If you would like to help with the Sunday Morning Bagel ministry see John or Terri Garry.


Notes on Our Time in the Word of God This Morning:
Elements of Our Faith

Psalm 104.1-15

Pastor’s messages are now available online:
http://thesundaymorningmessage.blogspot.com/
Church e-mail: bayshorenaz@rock.com
Church Phone: 631-969-1730
1314 Pine Acres Boulevard, Bay Shore, Long Island, NY 11706-5436


Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all for the glory of God