REVIVALTALK

Genesis 12:1-3 - “Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”      Why do we stand with a small Middle Eastern nation roughly the size of the U. S. State of New Jersey? We stand with Israel because the Jewish people are the covenant people of God. In a world filled with antisemitism and hatred for the Jewish people, we stand together with them against an enemy who seeks their destruction.      In Genesis 12:3, the Lord promises to bless those who bless the children of Israel, and He will curse those who curse them. Is this curse real? On October 7, 2023, Hamas brutally attacked Israel and killed innocent civilians, babies, and the eld...

        Psalms 122:1-9 This Psalm is a Psalm of David.  In these scriptures he writes about the joy of going to the House of the Lord.  Verse 1 reads, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  He continues in verse 6 with this admonition.  “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.’” Why does the Bible encourage us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem?”  Jerusalem was the one place among the twelve tribes of Israel that God chose to place His name.  Deuteronomy 12:5 reads, “But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.” The Lord promises blessing to those who are a blessing to His covenant people.  God spoke these words to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be ble...

  Psalms 23:5 – “My cup runs over.”             The God we serve is the God who is more than enough. I love the words of Jesus in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The words “more abundantly” literally mean to the full, till it overflows.” The Complete Jewish Bible reads, “I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.”             God doesn’t just meet our need, but desires to over meet our needs. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” The latter part of verse 5, “my cups over,” is a picture of overflow and abundance. The Great Shepherd receives us with extravagance. Proverbs 11:25 says, “The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.”...

Psalms 23:5 – “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”             When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we learn about the power of the Comforter, the precious Holy Spirit. John 16:7 says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”              We are living in a time of great shaking, persecution, and governmental chaos. We have the promise of God to prepare a table for His people in the presence of our enemies. This is a supernatural table. It will restore our strength, refresh our spirits, and reenergize our minds.              The Psalmist continues in verse 5, “You anoint my head w...

Psalms 23:5 – “ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”              In this passage the Great Shepherd promises to prepare a table before you in the presence of my enemies. This is retribution. There have been some who planned your demise. They rejoiced when you failed, and it looked like it was all over. The good news is that the Lord always has the final word. It is not over till God says it is over. The enemy might have written your obituary, but God said, “I have will have the final say.” What looked like a death has turned into a resurrection.             The Cambridge Dictionary defines retribution as “deserved and severe punishment.” Deuteronomy 32:35 from the New American Standard Version says, “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution; In due time their foot will slip. For the day of their ...

  Psalms 23:5 – “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”             In verse 4 David writes, “I will fear no evil.” Verse 5 reveals why we do not have to fear. I John 4:18 says, “Fear has torment.” As believers we have power over the spirit of fear. We have the promise of 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” In the Middle East the shepherd carries only a rod and staff. Phillip Keller writes, “Each shepherd boy, from the time he first starts to tend his father’s flock, takes special pride in the selection of a rod and staff exactly suited to his own size and strength. He goes into the bush and selects a young sapling that is dug from the ground. This is carved and whittled down with great care and patience. The enlarged base of the sapling where its trunk joins the roots is shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hard wood. The sapling itself is s...

  Psalms 23:4 – “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Tony Cooke writes in his book, Because the Lord is My Shepherd , “The 23rd Psalm is loved for so many reasons, but it is perhaps the fourth verse that causes it to be such a source of comfort during the most traumatic and difficult times of life. While this psalm vividly portrays God’s comfort and support, it does not ignore the hard realities of human existence. Rather, David’s words show us the power and care of a Shepherd whose influence penetrates and transcends even the worst that life can throw at us.” [i]   A believer is not exempt from the challenges of life. The Psalmist David writes in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” The good news in Psalms 23:4 is “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Our great shepher...