Read A Psalm: Psalm 70

Psalm 70

For the director of music. Of David. A petition.

¹ Hasten, O God, to save me;
    O Lord, come quickly to help me. 
² May those who seek my life 
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace. 
³ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” 
    turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you 
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
    “Let God be exalted!”

⁵ Yet I am poor and needy; 
    come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer; 
    O Lord, do not delay.

Outline/Stanza

1-3   Petition for salvation against enemies

4-5   Petition to God for quick deliverance

Main Point:

Those whom God saves and have sought Him are saved and delivered

Read a Psalm: Psalm 69

Psalm 69

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

¹ Save me, O God,
    for the waters have come up to my neck. 
² I sink in the miry depths, 
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
³ I am worn out calling for help; 
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, 
    looking for my God.
⁴ Those who hate me without reason 
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause, 
    those who seek to destroy me. 
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

⁵ You know my folly, O God;
    my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ May those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me,
    O Lord, the Lord Almighty;
may those who seek you
    not be put to shame because of me,
    O God of Israel.
⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake, 
    and shame covers my face. 
⁸ I am a stranger to my brothers,
    an alien to my own mother’s sons; 
⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me, 
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. 
¹⁰ When I weep and fast, 
    I must endure scorn;
¹¹ when I put on sackcloth, 
    people make sport of me.
¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But I pray to you, O Lord,
    in the time of your favor; 
in your great love, O God,
    answer me with your sure salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,
    do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
    from the deep waters. 
¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
    or the depths swallow me up 
    or the pit close its mouth over me. 
¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, out of the goodness of your love; 
    in your great mercy turn to me.
¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant;
    answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. 
¹⁸ Come near and rescue me;
    redeem me because of my foes.

¹⁹ You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
    all my enemies are before you.
²⁰ Scorn has broken my heart
    and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
    for comforters, but I found none. 
²¹ They put gall in my food
    and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²² May the table set before them become a snare;
    may it become retribution and a trap. 
²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever. 
²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;
    let your fierce anger overtake them.
²⁵ May their place be deserted; 
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents. 
²⁶ For they persecute those you wound
    and talk about the pain of those you hurt. 
²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime; 
    do not let them share in your salvation. 
²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life 
    and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ I am in pain and distress;
    may your salvation, O God, protect me.

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song 
    and glorify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,
    more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. 
³² The poor will see and be glad —
    you who seek God, may your hearts live! 
³³ The Lord hears the needy 
    and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and all that move in them, 
³⁵ for God will save Zion 
    and rebuild the cities of Judah. 
Then people will settle there and possess it;
³⁶     the children of his servants will inherit it, 
    and those who love his name will dwell there.

Outline/Stanzas

   1-4     Cry for salvation

  5-12    Zeal for the Lord has become a scorn and disgrace 

13-15     Cry for deliverance

16-19     Cry for quick salvation

20-21     People's response is scorn and disgrace

22-28     Imprecatory cry against those who scorn and disgrace

29-33     The Lord draw near to those who seek Him

34-36     The Lord preserves the land for those who love Him

Main point:
The Lord draws near to save, preserve and bless those who zealously come to Him for salvation.

Read a Psalm: Psalm 68

Psalm 68

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.

¹ May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; 
    may his foes flee before him.
² As smoke is blown away by the wind,
    may you blow them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
    may the wicked perish before God.
³ But may the righteous be glad
    and rejoice before God;
    may they be happy and joyful.

⁴ Sing to God, sing praise to his name, 
    extol him who rides on the clouds —
his name is the Lord —
    and rejoice before him.
⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, 
    is God in his holy dwelling. 
⁶ God sets the lonely in families, 
    he leads forth the prisoners with singing;
    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ When you went out before your people, O God,
    when you marched through the wasteland, Selah
⁸ the earth shook, 
    the heavens poured down rain, 
before God, the One of Sinai, 
    before God, the God of Israel. 
⁹ You gave abundant showers, O God;
    you refreshed your weary inheritance.
¹⁰ Your people settled in it,
    and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord announced the word,
    and great was the company of those who proclaimed it:
¹² “Kings and armies flee in haste;
    in the camps men divide the plunder. 
¹³ Even while you sleep among the campfires,
    the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
    its feathers with shining gold.”
¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,
    it was like snow fallen on Zalmon.

¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains; 
    rugged are the mountains of Bashan.
¹⁶ Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains,
    at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
    where the Lord himself will dwell forever? 
¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands
    and thousands of thousands; 
    the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
¹⁸ When you ascended on high, 
    you led captives in your train;
    you received gifts from men, 
even from the rebellious —
    that you, O Lord God, might dwell there.

¹⁹ Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, 
    who daily bears our burdens. Selah
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves; 
    from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

²¹ Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
²² The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
    I will bring them from the depths of the sea, 
²³ that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, 
    while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

²⁴ Your procession has come into view, O God,
    the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. 
²⁵ In front are the singers, after them the musicians; 
    with them are the maidens playing tambourines. 
²⁶ Praise God in the great congregation; 
    praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel. 
²⁷ There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
    there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
    and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your power, O God;
    show us your strength, O God, as you have done before.
²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings will bring you gifts. 
³⁰ Rebuke the beast among the reeds, 
    the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may it bring bars of silver.
    Scatter the nations who delight in war. 
³¹ Envoys will come from Egypt; 
    Cush will submit herself to God.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, 
    sing praise to the Lord, Selah
³³ to him who rides the ancient skies above,
    who thunders with mighty voice. 
³⁴ Proclaim the power of God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    whose power is in the skies.
³⁵ You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; 
    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

Outline/Stanzas:

  1-4      Let the enemies of God be scattered and His people rejoice over it    

  5-6      God cares for the lowly and broken

 7-10     When God comes, prepare for bountiful blessings

11-14     God gives the command and king's flee from Him

15-18     God will dwell in the mountain of Bashan

19-23     God is the deliverer of His people

24-27     God will gain victory

28-31     God will receive tributes from kingdoms far away

32-35     God will be given praises.

Main Point:

God will come, scatter his enemies, rescue the lowly and broken, establish His kingdom and the people will give Him tribute and rejoice over Him.

VisionCast July 2012

Last July 1, 2012 I started serving in the outreach that my home church sent me to minister. As I reflect as to what God wants me to do in this new setting, here are some of the thoughts that come to mind (for revision, time and time again)... Revised (January 17, 2013)

Church Name: Marikina Christian Fellowship Olandes

Vision: God would use MCF Olandes as a catalyst for the transformation of Communities
[A (group of) strategic church(es) for greater gospel impact to communities, cities and the world.]

Mission: To lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Problem addressed by the Vision:

• Moral Decay
• Spiritual Decay
• not directly but believed to be connected: Economic Decay 

[Here in the Philippines, there are so many 'hidden' churches. 'Hidden' with it is the impact, influence and power that the gospel should and could bring about to the lives of people who are lost in sin and the influence of sin in the world.] 

Threat: Without the redemption of Jesus Christ, communities are in decay
[If we don't become strategic, we will just become a 'normal' 'hidden' church.]

Possible Communities for Transformation: If we become strategic in our ministry, we can target the following communites: IVC Community, Barangka Community, Tañong Community, Barangka High, Tañong High, RiverBanks Community, Libis Community, Katipunan Community. Marikina CIty as whole (because Riverbanks is a known area within Marikina City). Also, strategic thinking forces us to maximize what God has given for maximum impact and influence. 

Lord, do everything in Your power to change the course of my direction if this is not Your will, but if this is You, please I ask, do everything in Your power and resources to launch us and make us church you want us to be. Amen.

Read a Psalm: Psalm 67

Psalm 67

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face shine upon us, Selah
² that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.

³ May the peoples praise you, O God;
    may all the peoples praise you. 
⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy, 
    for you rule the peoples justly 
    and guide the nations of the earth. Selah
⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest, 
    and God, our God, will bless us. 
⁷ God will bless us,
    and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Outline

1-2 As God favor comes so shall His ways and salvation be known 

3-5 Let all people praise God as He reigns upon us

6-7 God's blessing should cause us to revere God

Main point:

God's favor upon us should lead us to worship and be glad in God!

Response:

Lord, we praise you for you have looked upon us with favor! Amen.

Read a Psalm: Psalm 66

Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

¹ Shout with joy to God, all the earth! 
²     Sing the glory of his name; 
    make his praise glorious! 
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! 
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe before you.
⁴ All the earth bows down to you;
    they sing praise to you,
    they sing praise to your name.” Selah

⁵ Come and see what God has done,
    how awesome his works in man’s behalf!
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land, 
    they passed through the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice in him.
⁷ He rules forever by his power,
    his eyes watch the nations—
    let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah

⁸ Praise our God, O peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
⁹ he has preserved our lives 
    and kept our feet from slipping. 
¹⁰ For you, O God, tested us;
    you refined us like silver. 
¹¹ You brought us into prison 
    and laid burdens on our backs.
¹² You let men ride over our heads; 
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come to your temple with burnt offerings 
    and fulfill my vows to you—
¹⁴ vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats. Selah

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God;
    let me tell you what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened; 
¹⁹ but God has surely listened
    and heard my voice in prayer.
²⁰ Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!

Outline:

1-7 Praise the Lord for the things He has done

8-15 Praise the Lord for His rescue

16-20 Praise the Lodr for His answers

Main Point:

Praise the Lord for His awesome rescue and His answer to our prayers.

Response:

Lord, be praised! Be praised for you have rescued us time and time again. Be praised for answering our prayers! Amen.