DAVID’S PRAYER WAS ALSO AN AMAZING PROPHECY

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Thank goodness we have the Psalms: how helpful they are in our Christian walk, they explore the full range of human experience in a very personal and practical way. However, one psalm, Psalm 22 stands out because Jesus quotes verse 1 as His last words from the Cross. Why did Jesus take us to this psalm? It is obvious when we read the rest of the psalm, the psalm is a prophecy of what Jesus was experiencing on The Cross at the time He spoke it.

David had no understanding God was using Him to deliver a prophecy that provides incredible detail about what Jesus would experience on The Cross one thousand years later. David was obviously going through a terrible time in his life to have expressed the words he did in this prayer but consider that God gave David the words to pray so that His prayer could be used by Jesus to prove He is who He said He was, the promised Redeemer of not only Israel but the World.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you, they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!… I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots... ” Psalms 22:1-8

Note how Psalm 22 ends, David understood that regardless of whether God answered his prayer, God is still in control of His universe and this scripture will come to pass:

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” Romans 14:11

Moreover, it reveals that King Jesus will rule over the nations from Jerusalem in His soon coming Millennial Kingdom.

“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you: You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him but has heard when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.“ Psalms 22:22-28

“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

A lot of bad theology inevitably surfaces when we face suffering. When people lose their faith because of suffering, it suggests a weak or nominal faith that didn’t account for or prepare them for evil and suffering. Any faith not based on the truth needs to be lost—the sooner, the better.

Suffering and evil exert a force that either pushes us away from God or pulls us toward Him. But if personal suffering gives sufficient evidence that God doesn’t exist, then surely I shouldn’t wait until I suffer to conclude He’s a myth. If my suffering would one day justify denying God, then I should deny Him now in light of other people’s suffering.

Believing that God exists is not the same as trusting the God who exists. A nominal Christian often discovers in suffering that his faith has been in his church, family, career, or social network, but not Christ. As he faces evil and suffering, he may find his beliefs shaken or even destroyed. But genuine faith—trusting God even when we don’t understand—will be made stronger and purer.

The last three paras have been excerpted from Randy Alcorn’s book “90 Days of God’s Goodness”.

PPAYERS AND PETITIONS

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

What an amazing and encouraging Scripture. Do you believe what is says? Is it your experience? It should be, it is mine. Mind you, I am 85 years old and have been serving the Lord many years. For 30 plus years, I owned and managed Christian Press and Care & Share Products distributing Christian materials to Christian and secular gift shops. Over those years I have seen God answer our prayers in amazing ways. You can read about those in my book Build a Kingdom Business – Empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Available on Amazon as an ebook or from me as a trade paperback book – ron@bakb.com.au

CHAPTER 5

God’s Provision and Protection
God miraculously intervenes in a watershed event at Care & Share Products to dramatically impact two organizations and the lives of a number of individuals.
The following scripture is appropriate to this story.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
As I previously explained, I purchased Christian Press Pty Ltd from Bill Dalrymple in October, 1983.
Bill owned the premises and was very generous in giving us a low rent. One consideration in that decision was the fact we employed his two sons. Both were mentally retarded, one significantly so.
In early 1988, Bill advised me that he needed to sell the premises and he gave me 18 months notice so that I had sufficient time to look for a new home for Care and Share.
We had only just changed the name of the company from Christian Press to Care & Share and our customer focus from Christian Bookshops to Card & Gift Shops. As this was God’s call, we knew Care & Share had a future so were confident He would provide a new home for His company.
Bill employed a major real estate group, Raine & Horne, to look after the property sale. Enter Ted Angus – the protagonist of the story. He is our hero.

Ted Angus was our contact at Raine & Horne. Ted was in his 50’s and I knew on his first visit to inspect the premises that the Holy Spirit was “knocking on his door”. He was not attending a church but had Christian friends and was clearly searching for meaning and purpose in life. Every time he brought people to view the property, we had deep and meaningful discussions. At times, embarrassingly, he was oblivious to the fact that his clients were ready to leave. Over the course of about nine months that it took to sell the property we became friends.
During this time, I gave Ted a number of Christian books to read. As well, he became a regular visitor at the Christian Bookshop in Bankstown which was walking distance from Ted’s, Raine & Horne office.
Cecil, the owner of the bookshop and Ted also became good friends. It was a joy therefore, for both of us when Ted finally came to know his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ about 6 weeks before we moved out of 3 Harley Crescent, Condell Park.
I remember the phone call when Ted told me (“the penny had dropped” – his phrase) he had come to realize who Jesus Christ really is. Ted subsequently repented and accepted Jesus as His Lord and Saviour. The circumstances were interesting; Ted had just finished reading a Christian book Cecil had sold him. Whilst I can’t remember the title, I do remember Ted telling me, the author died before the book was published.
The book was about the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. The author had had problems with
what he perceived as discrepancies in the different Gospel accounts. I remember Ted’s excitement as he explained to me how the Holy Spirit had given the author understanding. “It was like he was at a football match and realized that a person on the other side of field would have a different perspective on the match and therefore give a different report on it”.
Amazingly, the Holy Spirit’s inspiration prompted the author to write the manuscript. Though he died, it was the instrument God used to convert the author’s brother and get the book published so it could
aid the Holy Spirit to change the lives of people like Ted Angus.
Also, if Bill had not sold number 3 Harley Crescent, I would never have met Ted and be used by
God in his conversion. No doubt, God could have done it differently but as you will see, God had
much more to show Ted through the relocation of Care and Share.

If you want to read the rest of this amazing story which includes God using a hail storm to get us into the right premises, you will need to purchase the book.