...thoughts expressed here are not necessarily final.
September 18,
2006 Names continued...
Oh Splendor of Heaven
Oh splendor of heaven
Come down to this earth,
Come sweep out the leaven
Of this world and show your worth!
And as all your treasures you unfold
An inheritance as yet untold,
Open our eyes to see
A vision of eternity!
The splendors of heaven
Now make manifest
So we can show the world
This God by which we’re blessed
And may all your glories from on high
Inhabit out lives and make us fly
The splendors of heaven
Bring us joy that we can see
The splendors of heaven
Aren’t reserved for eternity!
Lord open our eyes
That we may perceive
The vision of heavenly holiness
That we may receive!
The Splendors of heaven,
A glorious crown
For which our hearts yearn
Are ours if we learn
To cast them all down.
Anthony Foster
September 18, 2006
Jehovah Shalom
A restless heart can’t find release
Till it’s possessed by the Prince of Peace
The soul in turmoil can’t find a home
Till it comes to Jehovah Shalom!
Jehovah Shalom
You are God our Peace
Jehovah Shalom
In you all battles cease
Jehovah Shalom
In you we find release
Our enmity with God is done
For you are Jehovah Shalom!
Our battle’s not against flesh and blood
But with Satan and our Sin
But if we trust in God above
He’ll give us peace within
He’ll give us peace with Him
Peace that passes understanding
Peace that gives us rest
So lay down the strife and the struggles
Lay down your weapons of war
Put on your spiritual armor
And you will have peace evermore
For you are Jehovah Shalom
You can make our heaer your home
‘And the peaceable fruit of righteousness
Will fill our lives as we confess
Yes you fill our lives as we ]learn to bless
The Name of Jehovah - Jehovah Shalom
Anthony Foster
September 18, 2006
Yahweh Rapha
May your holiness heal each heart
As you bind up our wounds and set us apart
Your name is Yahweh Rapha to my soul
God of Healing come make us whole!
When we are broken and bound by pain
May your healing touch relieve the strain
Your name is Yahweh Rapha- the God who Heals
For Yahweh Rapha restores and reveals
The secret of healing is found in this hand
Found in the grace by which we stand
Tender mercies and kindness are at his command
With healing in his wings,
He has arisen and His cure He brings
So may the brokenness be healed
By this great physician to whom we yield
Your name is Yahweh Rapha to my soul
God of Healing come make us whole!
Anthony Foster
September 18, 2006
Yahweh Tsidkinew
Oh peaceable fruit
Proof of our pursuit
We feed on the one who is our righteous root.
Lord our Righteousness
Yahweh Tsidkinew bless
Train us in trust as your name we confess.
Oh Lord we trust
You are holy and just
And this is what we will become
As we are conformed
And we are transformed
Make us like you when it’s said and done.
We long for righteousness
So we long for You
The Lord our Righteousness
You are tried and You are True
The King who does justice
The King who does Right
Prove Your worth
As You shed abroad your righteous light.
Sun of Righteousness arise
Bring your healing to our cries
How long how long will you delay
Let your justice be done
And your judgment come
Reign in righteousness Yahweh Tsidkinew we pray!
Anthony
Foster
September 16, 2006
Hebrews 12:11
Since the
discussion is on, my two cents...
I remember when the news report came on about the co-pilot of the Delta
flight that crashed in Lexington awoke- his first words were; "why did
God do this to me?" His mother, trying to minister to him replied "God
had nothing to do with it, it was just an accident. " I cringed at the
denial of the only ultimate hope for comfort possible in times of
crisis: God is in control. And God is Good.
The problem of evil , the responsibility of man, and the Sovereignty of
God is not a new issues. You rightly cited one key verse in the
discussion: The biblical answer from Joseph in Genesis 50:20: What you
meant for evil God meant for Good. Paradoxical, perhaps, but not an
insurmountable problem. Nor is it a new debate. It revolves around the
two wills of God. The distinction in the way God wills has been
expressed in numerous ways throughout time. For example, some have
spoken of efficient will and permissive will, or the will of decree and
will of command, decretive will and preceptive will, etc., etc.
Man is responsible. God does not violate the wills of his creatures.
People really do get what they want- either to live in God's presence
or outside of it. If all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, all deserve hell. God is not obligated to save any. (The fact that
he does not save all does not make him one whit less holy and
righteous.) And His creation of men who sin does not make him the
author of evil. Most importantly, there is a difference in ordaining
and authoring as well. If Evil exists outside the ordinative/decreetive
will of God, God's will has been thwarted, and a whole bunch of
scripture fails to attain. He either works all things according to His
counsel, or He is not the God of Scripture. I recommend Jonathan
Edwards on this- no one has ever wrote more eloquently concerning this
aspect of the Glory of God.
And I agree with Kirk that Romans 8 is all about the believer's
assurance that those who are the called according to His purpose can
rest in that good purpose. Our challenge is often to see the blessings
in what we call curses and the curses in what we call blessings, eh?
The bottom line is that someone or something is in control. As for
foreknowledge, if God does not know all things, what kind of god is he?
: Limited in all his other attributes as well. That is too small a god.
It is a glorious thing to settle in your heart once and for all that
God is truly in control of all things. I am not writing this in hopes
of starting a big debate, but rather because it has already been
started and it deeply impacts our roles as leaders under the authority
of a Sovereign God.
Be Blessed,
Anthony
Anthony Foster - Sep 20, 2006 10:56 pm (#291 Total: 291)
Point by Point, lotsa questions...
I don't pretend to be the Bible answer man here, but here goes...
Q. Does God cause an individual to commit evil?
A. God does not cause an individual to commit evil.
Q.On the other hand, Does God allow evil to take place?
A.absolutely. If not, something has occurred in the universe that has
outdone God and thwarted his will.
This past Sunday evening the focus of my message was on Romans 8:28.
The approach that I took was simple, “God works ALL things together for
good.”
A. Qualifier follows: For those who are the called. According to His
purpose.
Q. What are some of the “things?” How about death, sickness, cancer,
hurricanes, poverty, racism, church splits, disunity within a church,
etc.?
A. His glory will not be thwarted by fallen eareth or fallen man. His
purposes prevail.
Q. How do we define “good?” Better still, Who can really define “good”
if ALL things work together to produce that “good?”
A. Even if we are killed, we go into His presence. Nothing separates
us.
Q. I guess the question I have is, “Does God ever remove his spirit for
a season of time from His children, especially those called the
Ministry, in order to teach them or to mature them?
A. Those he loves He will chastise (Heb 12:5-6) explains a lot. God
doesn't move but we do.
A. Or perhaps God let you have your way for a season knowing your heart
would ultimately be drawn back to his better way...
Q. Was that rebellion “evil” and did God place that “evil” in my heart
in order to get me to surrender to His will?
A. He allowed it, even ordained it, but did not DO it.
Q. “Does God always know what we will do?”
A. Yep. I even think middle knowledge attains, but is not necessary.
Q. Remember Abraham and Isaac, as Abraham was about to kill his son
Isaac God said, “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear
God …” (Ex.22:12 NIV)? Did God not know that Abraham feared him?
A. God knew then and now and always. It's not a false statement, just
does not tell the whole story. I think he is patting his child on the
back in affirmation and declaration that He knows.
Q. 4 U: Can it be said that our estate in the final glory is far better
than our estate before the fall? I think so. In the garden we were able
to sin and able not to sin. After the fall we were not able not to sin.
In the final estate we are not able to sin. Sounds like God even had a
good purpose in the Fall, though Man was responsible for it.
