Partakers Christian Podcasts

Gimel   17 Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. The Psalmist plea in verse 17 is not an uncommon one in the Old Testament. The Psalmist is turning his eyes away from his own situation, and onto God and what God wants for him – total obedience! Now it could be that the Psalmist’s life was in danger of physical death from one of his enemies. It is equally true that the Psalmist is also speaking of his spiritual life, which is only in fellowship with God. Salvation, is not through keep the rules of

Beth - Psalm 119v9-16 9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.   Today we look briefly at the second of its twenty-two letters - Beth From verse 9, it would seem that the young man is the writer himself.  He is seeking wholeheartedly a way to keep himself pure and upright before God. He is pleading most earnestly not to stray from obeying God and God's commands!  The commands are so embedded with him that they form his very being, such is this young man's desire not to sin against the Lord. He then goes on to comp

Aleph 1 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. 3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. I wonder what you regard as being successful in life? Is it the amount of money in your bank accounts? Or perhaps it is the long and successful career? Now while there is nothing essentially wrong with those sorts of things, the Psalmist writes that the key to living a successful life is to be obedient to God and doing, as He has decreed. God has spoken and given His decrees, law, commands and statutes! Look at the picture the Psalmist writes. Walk according to the Law of the Lord. Ke

Words for Scripture Welcome back to our series based on Psalm 119. This is the second in our series. Throughout Psalm 119, the writer has 8 different words for Scripture or "Law of the Lord". When the Psalmist says "God's Law", "Law of the Lord" or Torah, he does not mean, as some think, just the Mosaic law, but rather all of the revealed will and mind of God in the Old Testament scriptures. We, of course, don't know how much of the Old Testament was written when the Psalmist was writing Psalm 119, but we do know that he would have had at his disposal at least the first 5 books, the Pentateuch. That's Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy to you and I. Additionally, it is also quite probably some of the historical books and maybe even the book of Job. So with that brief introduction lets investigate these 8 words. Of course our modern translations don't always use these words, but rather, these are root meanings of the original Hebrew words. 1. Commandments: This word, commandment, signifies a direct ord

Introduction Welcome to the beginning of our journey together through this colossus or giant of the Psalms! The name for the moment of this series is Scriptural Delight. Alas because of its length, a lot of people are put off reading it, let alone studying it. Yet it has a vibrant beauty and pearls of wisdom to offer Christians living in the 21st century with all its rigours, tests and temptations. Why did the Psalmist write this Psalm? I think the Psalmist wrote it to encourage followers of God to firstly, lead a holy life, a life of obedient godliness and secondly, to show what true worship of God is like, through the study of His written word. To aid the reader of the Psalm help achieve these twin goals, he wrote it as an acrostic, so as to aid memorisation! The Psalm has 22 stanzas or sections, with each line of that particular stanza beginning with the same letter from the Hebrew alphabet. For example, the first section has 8 lines, all of which begin with the letter Aleph. The second section of 8 lines

Studies of Ruth Study 5 - Ruth's Worship through Obedience. The book of Ruth is a cameo story of love, devotion and redemption set in the black days of the Judges. It tells the story of a pagan woman giving up everything to cling to the people of Israel and to God Himself. Shows her faithfulness when the nation was faithless. Download the mp3 audio using the link below to start discovering more about this great lady of faith. In our previous episode, we looked at Ruth's wholeness of obedience. In this episode, we look at Ruth’s worship through obedience. Now, finally, Ruth's obedience was also worship. How is this? The result of Ruth's obedience was Obed, the child fathered by Boaz as kinsman-redeemer, the one would inherit the family land and name in place of Naomi's dead husband and sons. Obed in Hebrew means "worship". Is not obedience really the outward action that derives from the inner response of faith love, and trust practised in regard to individuals and God? Jesus said "If you love me, you wi

Studies of Ruth Study 4 - Ruth's Wholeness of Obedience. The book of Ruth is a cameo story of love, devotion and redemption set in the black days of the Judges. It tells the story of a pagan woman giving up everything to cling to the people of Israel and to God Himself. Shows her faithfulness when the nation was faithless. Download the mp3 audio using the link below to start discovering more about this great lady of faith. In our previous episode, we looked at Ruth's witness in her obedience. In this episode, we look at Ruth’s wholeness of obedience. But just how did Ruth's obedience come to have such a tremendous impact on those around her? It all started with a personal commitment, a permanent decision that brought her peace and provided her with direction for all that followed. On the border of Moab, Ruth had told Naomi of her commitment (Ruth 1:16-17) as we read earlier. Ruth's commitment was absolute. Rather than constraining her, this new commitment gave her new purpose and opportunity to develo

Psalm 81 to Psalm 85 Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection! Psalm 81 For the director of music. According to gittith. Of Asaph. 1 Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! 2 Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre. 3 Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival; 4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5 When God went out against Egypt, he established it as a statute for Joseph. Right mouse click or tap here to save/download these Psalms as a MP3 file Psalm 82 A psalm of Asaph. 1 God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: 2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 “The ‘gods’ kn

Psalm 76 to Psalm 80 Often we hear the Psalms one by one, but today we offer you the chance to hear a group of Psalms read as a collection! Psalm 76 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song. 1 God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great. 2 His tent is in Salem, his dwelling-place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. 4 You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains rich with game. 5 The valiant lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands. 6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both horse and chariot lie still. 7 It is you alone who are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet – 9 when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. 10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. 11 Make vows to

A Christian Response to Suffering & Sickness Jeremiah 37:11-16  After the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property among the people there.  But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!" "That's not true!" Jeremiah said. "I am not deserting to the Babylonians." But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison. Quite possibly the biggest question Christian Disciples ask themselves or is asked of them by others concerns the problem of suffering. I will start out by saying I don’t have all the answers, but hope to give some idea as to what the

A God of Joy and His people Part 3: Today Holy Barrier: I wonder what the biggest fence, wall or barrier is that you have either seen! Perhaps one of the biggest walls in the world is the Great Wall of China. It is over 4000 miles long, about 25 feet high and up to 30 feet thick! It is huge!! I have seen it both up close and from the air! It was originally built to keep out invaders - for that is what walls and barriers do: Keep out enemies! However big the Great Wall of China is, there is one barrier that is even bigger!  Just as it was for ancient Israel, it is for us today.   The biggest barrier to exist is the one that separates God from all His creation. This barrier is holiness, for God is a holy God and people are inherently not!  The prophet Ezekiel gives a vivid picture of the holiness of God and describes it as a fire, a bright light, radiance, full of glory and majesty. If that is holiness, what is sin? Sin is both a heavy burden. Sin is like also toxic virus of the soul and a

A God of Joy and His people (Part 2) 2. Life worship -Leviticus 18v1-5; 19v9-18 In our first part, we looked at the ceremonial cleansing of God's dwelling place. Now Leviticus moves to the matter of personal & communal holiness and moral impurity.  Repeatedly in this book, God has frequently said "Be holy, for I am holy".  The ancient nation of Israel was to be an obedient example to the whole world, a unique concept or paradigm if you like!  God was present with them and they were to be His light in a dark world.  The people of Israel were to live a life that reflected the holiness of God!  God desired obedience over sacrifice! Be Holy! Holiness was to be a moral attribute of ancient Israel, much the same as it was for the holy God who dwelt amongst them.  In chapter 18, we see at least 3 characteristics of this relationship! Firstly there is the call to be loyal to God!  God's laws were not be obeyed slavishly but to obeyed joyfully and with effervescent vigour! 

A God of Joy and His people Part 1 We look again in the book of Leviticus. Some of the words and phrases we commonly use come straight from the book of Leviticus.  Words such as jubilee and scapegoat are commonly used today.  And what husband hasn't offered a form of guilt offering to his wife! Leviticus does have important things to tell us about sin, obedience and holiness.  Perhaps most importantly it tells of God dwelling with His people. So tonight we delve into Leviticus chapter 16, which is the centre and pinnacle of the book. So please do turn in your bibles to Leviticus 16. 1. Sacrifices & Atonement (Leviticus 16v1-10) Day of Atonement Chapter 16 describes the Day of Atonement! We know that God had chosen Israel to be His people and that they were to be a shining beacon of light and hope to the world!  As part of the covenant made with their leader, Moses, God said that He would be their God and they would be His people! What a contrast to the nations around them that wors

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 5 Called to service! Just as it was for Aaron and the Old Testament priesthood, when we serve and minister, God's honour is released. This is done because service is to show the beauty and glory of God to others. Serving, service and ministry are never to be about what we as mere humans can get out of it. When that is the motive, God is neither honoured nor glorified. God's glory and supremacy is to be the ultimate reason for service!  God is both zealous and jealous for His glory and honour to be upheld! Nadab and Abihu could testify to that I am sure! As Christians, as part of our life of true Joy, we are called to serve and minister.  We are called to exhibit and show our true Joy - just as Aaron and his family were called into a lifetime of obedient service to Jehovah God. Their JOY motto was to be "Jehovah Over Yourself".  For us, true joy is to be "Jesus Over Yourself".  Each of us here tonight is called to perform a unique serving and minister

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 4 So what's all this got to do with us today in the 21st century? Over and over again in the Old Testament, we see that the nation of Israel were to be a people of service separated out for God!  Under the terms of the covenant God made with them through Moses, that was the core of God's agreement with them. It commenced with the stipulation "Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me (Exodus 19v5)". This covenant was with the nation of Israel in order that those who believed God's earlier promise to Abraham could know how to live a life worthy of being God's people: to live a life relating socially to God and to other people. It was also to show how humanity could approach God on God's terms alone and not on their own conditions! God was and is a perfect and holy God! His people, Israel, were to be a holy and separated people of service and to reflect God's

Leviticus 9-10 Obedient Service - Part 3 A God of Judgement Now today, in the 21st century, we have a problem. We are quite comfortable with a God of love, peace, joy and kindness. In the movie Crocodile Dundee, Mick Dundee announces that "Me and God - we'd be mates".  If that is the limit of our vision of God, then may I suggest that our vision and opinion of God is too small? Perhaps our God is too nice and too comfortable. Yet a problem seemingly remains. How on earth can a God of love, peace, gentleness, kindness and joy act like this against two of his dedicated servants, Nadab and Abihu? Is not that a God who is at odds with himself? The first thing we can say here about God is that while He is most assuredly a God of love, kindness and peace, He is also a God of judgement - a God who judges. That is plainly evident from this passage. We need to acknowledge him as a great lover, but also as a terrifying Judge. Not just a friend, but also a Judge! The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that i

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 2 Great tragedy! Leviticus 10v1-11 These two men, Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron the High Priest, start their duties. They take their pans, fill them with hot coals from a fire, place aromatic incense on the coals and offer this to God as an act of worship. The fire from the glory of the Lord comes out, engulfs them and they die. What happened? They hadn't followed the strict guidelines as given by the Lord and had therefore violated all the instructions given to them.  Strict regulations were required by sinful humans to be in and work in God's holy presence! How different can these two scenes be? In the first passage we looked at, fire represented God's presence and spoke of His love, warmth, purity and blessing upon His people. Here though, the fire represents a different aspect of His presence through his active holiness and therefore danger and judgement. Who were Nadab and Abihu? They were Aaron's eldest sons and had received a privileged upbringing.  Th

Prayer With those fires in Los Angeles, California on our minds, I can easily imagine the terror and fear of those people. I don't know anybody in their path, but I do have friends of friends who are. So we pray: Lord God, from your wellsprings of grace and mercy, give wisdom & knowledge to those fighting the fires, and help people at their points of need... May those wildfires and winds abate quickly. May it be so, Dad. Amen...   Click or tap here to download as a mp3 file.  

Leviticus 9~10 Obedient Service - Part 1 Introduction Here we witness together a scene of great and exuberant joy! The first seven chapters of Leviticus talk about the different offerings or sacrifices that the nation of Israel was to make to God. Then in chapter 8 we see the beginning of the priesthood and the joyful work of Aaron and the priests. Their main role of service was to act as mediators between a holy God and the people of Israel, particularly in the role of making those offerings and sacrifices. In fact, they were the ultimate multi-taskers, as they seemed equally adept as butchers, doctors, teachers, quality assurors and public health inspectors!  The passage we have in front of us tonight shows the culmination of this priestly ordination. Great joy! (Leviticus 9v22-24) Israel was a nation, chosen by God, to be His people and to be a shining light of God's glory to the world around them. This nation, God's treasured and precious people, however, way back in Exodus 19, refused to be a nat

The Lord's Prayer Matthew 6:9-13 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." We come to perhaps one of the best known passages of the Bible, in what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Most of us here tonight are I am sure familiar with it, if not over familiar with it. It is a prayer which is common to all churches of all denominations, just as it is known to those of others faiths and indeed, no faith at all. Why the Lord’s Prayer? Personally, I find it helpful to regularly go back to basics, to what should be familiar territory for somebody who has been a Christian for over 40 years now. I need to be reminded of the things that we commonly call the basics. So reflecting upon and pondering upon what th