FBC Morning Light – September 8, 2022
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Encouragement for the journey from God’s Word.
Today's Scripture: Hebrews 5 / Psalm 105:1-15
Music credit: "Awaken the Dawn" by Stanton Lanier, https://www.stantonlanier.com/
- 00:18
- Well, a good Thursday morning to you. How are you doing today? You feel worn out, tired, weary, hope not.
- 00:28
- That does happen to us from time to time physically, doesn't it? Maybe we don't get enough rest or been burning the candle at both ends, kind of a problem, you know, and then before you know it, we try to get up one day and we're just dragging through the day.
- 00:44
- Well, I hope that's not the case for you today. But you know what's true of us spiritually, or physically, can also be true spiritually, where we just feel wrung out.
- 00:55
- We feel like we have no strength spiritually speaking, you know, we're not really enthusiastic about getting into the
- 01:05
- Word or, you know, going to church or, you know, spending time with the
- 01:10
- Lord. We're just very lethargic about that and maybe struggling with sin and feeling constantly defeated, just having no strength whatsoever to overcome.
- 01:25
- What can be behind that? Well, honestly there can be several things that can contribute to that spiritual anemia, if you will.
- 01:34
- You know, one of them can simply be an avoidance of the spiritual food, the nourishment that we get from God's Word.
- 01:41
- But in one of our passages of reading today, in Psalm 105, I think there are two things that are mentioned in verses four and five that can contribute to a spiritual anemia.
- 01:58
- One is a failure to remember, a forgetfulness.
- 02:04
- Let me show you what I mean. In verse five, it says, "...remember his marvelous works which he has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth."
- 02:14
- Now, I'll tell you in a minute why I think this can be a contributing factor to spiritual anemia, but our problem is that we can get so wrapped up in what's going on in the present, and maybe the present involves some difficulties financially, physically, maybe problems at work or in the family or whatever.
- 02:40
- We're just dealing with crises or dealing with problems, and we can be so focused on those things that we don't remember.
- 02:48
- We forget. We forget the marvelous works which the Lord has done.
- 02:54
- Has he done any? Has he done any marvelous works in your life ever? Do you remember those?
- 03:00
- Think how easy it is to forget them. He says to remember them, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth.
- 03:08
- This kind of goes back to what I said a minute ago about one cause of spiritual anemia can be a failure to get into God's word and to take in his word.
- 03:18
- That's where we find his judgments. When we forget about the judgments of his mouth, we don't have his word guiding us and directing our steps and helping us in decisions we have to make and so on and so forth.
- 03:34
- One reason for our spiritual anemia can simply be our failure to remember.
- 03:41
- But that's in the context that exhortation to remember his marvelous works is in the context of what was just written in verse four.
- 03:49
- Verse four says, seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face forevermore.
- 03:57
- So a second reason and really the primary reason why we may face spiritual anemia and be just really struggling spiritually is that we're not seeking the
- 04:09
- Lord. He says seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face forevermore.
- 04:15
- If I get up in the course of my week, I get up in the morning and I just rush around to get ready to get out the door and get to work or to get going with the kids or whatever it is, your day -to -day responsibility.
- 04:30
- If your routine is to just get up in the morning and get going on the routine, getting ready, getting breakfast, getting out the door and then going through your work through the course of the day and then you get home at the end of the day and you have your evening routine of your dinner and whatever it is in the evening and all that kind of stuff.
- 04:52
- You really give no time or thought or energy at all to the
- 05:00
- Lord and to your relationship with him. What happens if you don't eat?
- 05:08
- You're going to get weak and you're going to get hangry. You need to eat.
- 05:15
- You need the nourishment that physical food gives to your body. You also need to eat the things of the
- 05:24
- Lord. You need to seek the Lord and his strength. If I'm not seeking the
- 05:31
- Lord, if I'm not seeking his strength, then how in the world do I expect to have it? I shouldn't.
- 05:36
- The reality is, I won't. Let me encourage you, if you're spiritually dragging, to ponder this.
- 05:49
- Do you really seek the Lord? Do you seek his strength? Do you seek his face forevermore?
- 05:57
- Where do you find him? Where do you find the Lord? In his word? In his works?
- 06:04
- In the wonders that he has done? You see how verses 4 and 5 go together? Oh, that we may be a people who are growing in strength in our
- 06:15
- Christian life. Father and our God, I pray today that you would encourage us to seek you, to seek your strength, to seek your face forevermore.
- 06:26
- And in so doing, may we find the spiritual strength that we long for in the course of our day, to live for Christ, to honor him, to glorify him with all that we are and all that we do.
- 06:40
- We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. All right, well have a good Thursday, and hey, live